And thanks for the well wishes.

I just wanted to thank you for your statistical back up for the the crazy thread that is going on at the drudge retort.

I noticed that Informed mind did not acknowledge the fact he was owned once again by reasonable arguments. The ideological blinders are strong with that one, and the religious blinders, the human rights blinders … errr…yah.

Err, anyways your last post was great, keep up the good work.

I’ve had depression at least since adolescence, and I’ve been getting treatment off and on for the past 10 years. When I first got treatment, I had my thyroid checked, and it was normal. Depression and other mental illnesses run in my family (lucky me!) so I wasn’t too freaked out or confused. Now, under the treatment of a psychiatrist, I’ve been diagnosed with Double Depression, meaning that I have both the low-level, Chronic Depression, and periods of pretty severe Major Depression. I’m in the throes of a major depressive episode right now, and have been for about the past year or so. Bleah. That’s my mood right now. LOL!

Photography is very therapeutic for me, since it forces me out of my head and I’m able to find a few moments of calm as I’m wandering through nature, mentally composing images. I’m so glad you liked my photos! It’s nice to know that other people can enjoy them as much as I do.

I am the father of two children; I have a son and a daughter. Of course each of these two children are unique. Neither is able, completely, to see life in the exact same nature. Even when both are in the same room, the view is different. Further, each is at a different life stage and is processing the events, sounds and conversation relevant to their specific nature and position.

To further complicate the matter, each has grown up with vastly different expectations. On how to act, how to speak and, perhaps, even how to BE. In short, their interpretation of life is going to differ vastly; and I am part of that divergence.

I suspect that if you were to get the two of them in a room alone and ask them questions about their father, you would get two different responses. To be sure the broad strokes would be the same, but the specifics would differ. I don’t need to coach my son how to sit when wearing a dress. And I don’t need to coach my daughter on how pee standing. Each of my children is going to see me differently. And so it is not surprising when their stories reflect that difference. My guidance and direction of each is going to emphasize their shortcomings and serve to polish their strengths.

I suspect the same is true of the Divine. That all of us are simply telling stories, dependent on our specific needs and strengths, of the same Creator. In fact, the God of the monk, the rabbi and the cleric are the same God of Abraham. However, I think it extends even further. That any belief in a divine that purports the “Golden Rule: could, in all likelihood, be an indication of a spiritual brother/sisterhood.

That’s all I meant to imply.

By the way, George Washington has a huge list of names for the Divine, you can find a short example here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=zT0j4VAl46EC&pg=PA243&lpg=PA243&dq=%22Washington%27s+Names+for+Providence%22+Novak&source=bl&ots=ZkvXxC4J0z&sig=bGO3wXFLnekW1y4EAyQIKKOIS7g&hl=en&ei=2mDuStmBC8aWtgfjl906&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=&f=false

My favorite though, is:

Name of That Being, from Whose Bountiful Goodness We are Permitted to Exist and Enjoy the Comforts of Life

Awesome.

Perhaps a better question would have been this:

“When a Christian monk, a Jewish Rabbi and a Muslim cleric gather to pray, is the Divine listening to each of them?”

Yes there are many differences. The differences are so obvious, I’m not going to list them all here.

When a crime is motivated purely be hate and prejudice, it elevates the crime to a different level. Of course, hurting someone for any reason is terrible, but understanding the social problems that are associated with prejudice and hate crimes means that these crimes need to be given special attention.