False Dichotomy

"Attraction vs. Objectification"
Here's another thought: Rather than make a false dichotomy, there's another option.
One may apprectiate the object (e.g. a woman or man, clothed or unclothed) as as "thing" of beauty, not to be abused (or possessed) but delighted in as one of life's many creations. It's possible to surf the web, watch TV or movies, and peruse the ubiquitous magazine racks without feeling guilty viewing such examples of beauty.

"A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
... from Endymion by John Keats, 1818

Love

John Birkimer lifted this from a David Brooks column:
In a famous passage, Reinhold Niebuhr put it best: “Nothing that is worth doing can
be achieved in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope. ... Nothing we do,
however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as
it is from our standpoint. Therefore, we must be saved by the final form of love,
which is forgiveness.”

He will direct your paths

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Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
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world without end (or beginning)

Many believe in an eternal life as something in the future. It's harder to conceive of a world that has no beginning, i.e. no big bang to get things started. However it happened, three dimentional life and spiritual "life" have evolved or emerged. Mysteriously, the spiritual forces have acquired some control over the temporal (natural law) existence. The Judaeo-Christian God as one of these forces has some control but not absolute control (how could a loving God allow genocide, for example). The concept of a loving God has shown survival value in the ebb and flow of life forces. We choose to honor this God who (however evolved) enables much love to be expressed in the world. Jesus the Christ was the highest expression yet of this love and his living presence helps us show this love. It would be nice if this god could be all powerful and answer all prayers for healing and peace, but other spiritual forces must prevent this from happening. It's not God's fault that evil exists. Similarly other gods (Allah, Buddah, the animist, Hindu) enable their believers to experience meaning and hope amid the experiences of this life. These gods -- like angels -- are real and not the creation of men's minds. This is not a well developed systematic theology and likely never will be. It's just one person's attempt to understand how god can be love yet not all powerful.

Failure and Success

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I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan
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10

Three leaves remained at the beginning of the day.
One of them is barely hanging on. When the rains come this evening this one may fall as well leaving only two. Likewise, Indiana fell today (90-73) as the Cats won their 10th and go 10-0 for this season. Two games remain with Austin Peay up next in a week. By then there may remain just the two leaves nearly ready to symbolize 2000. Thanks to Wendell, Eddie, Bossy and others.

Too Eager?

Three leaves on the tree after the winds last night, but four games remain for UK, and the tree may have been too eager, as UK trails UConn by six at the half. This may be the learning experience Coach Cal's been looking for. Wouldn't be horrible if UK were to lose and might prevent the big head going into the SEC. Of course, a loss would postpone the 2000 win celebration, but it'll come eventually even if UNC were to pass them by. It's just a game, right? We need the guardian angel help for the second half from Walter, Eddie, and Bossy. Go Big Blue!

UK 64 - UConn 61 Whew!