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This idea of imaginary friend may just be something that you all are using to express your own thoughts/feelings, but please allow me to just interject quickly... the Lord is not my imaginary friend! There is no "real-er" presence in my life.. not my husband, not my kids. There is a verse in Romans that says, "God sent the the Spirit of His son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out "Daddy, Father". Isn't that beautiful? I don't have an intimate relationship with my earthly father but through Christ I do with my heavenly Father and it is beautiful and REAL.
I'm sure that is hard for you to understand and I am not trying to sound "defensive", not at all, but just as I have learned from all of you, I hope you can learn from me too... imaginary friends sound cool, but He is not one. 
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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If there were no church for me to attend or no organized religion at all... gosh in some ways that might be a GOOD thing, under times like persecution (as in other countires right now) Christians grow even truer/more devoted. I pray that would be the case for me. Actually, I know it would be... because this relationship does not rely on my faith in Him, but His faithfulness to me. So it's not at all about my church, that just happens to be part of the way the Lord calls us to worship and serve as a body of people. But the relationship is personal, Christians understand that we have direct access to God with no further need for a mediator like a priest or Rabbi, though teachers and leaders serve a wonderful purpose - but the core of it is my heart and His heart. And He has truly changed my life, thanks for bringing that up Gigi. I could write out all the ways but it would take a novel .... "were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to recount". (Psalm 40, one of my favorites!)
I grieve that so many here have been treated badly by others in the name of "church" or "God" or even "Jesus". It breaks my heart and for what it's worth (not much I'm sure) let me just say that I'm sorry, if you read about Jesus life He did not treat people that way. The only people He ever spoke "rudely" to were the religious hypocrites/pious leaders of the day who mistreated those who tried to follow them. So anyway... for what it's worth, consider that an apology.
Thanks to everyone for being so open and from what I can, so kind and respectful too! This is priceless! 
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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what is PK? i must be missing something? lol 
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http://www.myspace.com/rachelle423
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Oh goodness. I was just joking (and I'm sure Nelly was too). We weren't trying to say it was equivalent or at all the same thing as people's faith in a higher power!
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I lack faith, but I have NO lack of interest in other people's faith! Its very cool that you got a minor in philosophy. I loved my degree. People act like it's impractical, but it really teaches you how to argue and reason in a way that no other major does.
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Take care,
Michelle
...the greatest of these is LOVE. (I Cor 13)
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What did you get your degree in instead of philosophy? And it's not too late... maybe you can be one of those women who goes back and gets another degree after she's retired. I think that would be a great way for people who love learning to keep their brain moving (instead of, say, golf).
I don't think Poe is irrelevant at all. Every writer has a certain philosophical take on the world, and his is extremely strong.
And I have to admit, I have forgotten a lot of the specifics of each philosopher. I can call up a general understanding, but unless it's someone I loved (like Kant, or Dennett, or the communitarians) the complexities of their argument are totally gone. I guess my brain filled up with other things in the past five years. 
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for boys, a bar mitzvah, for girls a bat mitzvah (they literally mean son or daughter of commandment, and can be used as a noun, for the person or event, or a verb - i got bat mitzvahed at my bat mitzvah, and i'm now a bat mitzvah), is the religious transition into adulthood. at 13 (sometimes 12 for girls - and keep in mind that in mor religious circles girls don't have this at all) you become an adult in the eyes of the religion, having to follow all the laws for adults. it's a ceremony in which you read from the torah or haftarah (the companion reading to that week's torah portion) for the first time. and at least in the conservative/reform world i grew up in, have a big party afterwards. they can sometimes get ridiculously expensive - dj, decorations, food - almost like a wedding, or a really shnazzy sweet 16.
hope that helps - let me know if there's more to explain.
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jaime
ibs-a (mostly d) // vegetarian
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