[Vision2020] My letters

[Tony]

Ralph, you provoke thought once again.  I perhaps was unclear.  It was not 
YOUR writing that I meant to characterize as slavishly dogmatic, but the 
unquestioning posture of many "believers" who regard any skeptical analysis 
as a threat to their entire belief system.   This tendency, it seems to me, 
stifles intellectual growth - and I have gathered from your correspondence 
over the years that you share my frustration in that regard.

We are all certainly blessed to be able to say what we like without being 
subject to the whims of an editor.  Isn't the internet a great thing?

Have a good weekend,  -Tony
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ralph Nielsen" <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
To: "Tony" <tonytime at clearwire.net>
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: My letters


> Tony,
>
> That WAS one of my letters. I nearly always write my letters in  response 
> to someone else's. I don't recall writing any in response to  one of 
> yours. So I don't see what you're complaining about.
>
> I certainly don't understand what you mean by "slavishly dogmatic"  since 
> I usually deal only with what the Bible says, not sectarian  dogma. Many 
> people consider me to be quite knowledgeable about the  Bible. Besides 
> being a member of the Society of Biblical Literature,  as I showed you in 
> my forthcoming letter to the Daily News, I have  also been a member of the 
> Jesus Seminar for 11 years. I have both met  and corresponded with Bible 
> scholars for over a dozen years.
>
> Some years ago I told a local clergyman friend, "You have to watch  what 
> you say, but I can say what I like--and I do." To which he  replied, 
> "Bless you, Ralph."
>
> So I say, "Bless you, Tony."
>
> Ralph
>
>
>
> On Oct 18, 2006, at 11:14 AM, Tony wrote:
>
>> No Ralph, I specifically referenced YOUR letters.  Was that  unclear?  If 
>> you wish to lock wits with Mr. Hennigan, I do suggest  you address your 
>> concerns to him via the Tribune, and I do wish you  luck.
>>
>> To clarify Ralph, I frequently found your questions regarding Bible 
>> content to be compelling as I have had similar concerns with the 
>> slavishly dogmatic nature of the religious community over the  years.  I 
>> just longed for you to opine on another subject for once-  ANY subject.
>>
>> Have a good evening,       -T----- Original Message ----- From:  "Ralph 
>> Nielsen" <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
>> To: "Tony Simpson" <tonytime at clearwire.net>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 7:56 AM
>> Subject: Fwd: Chaussée and Hennigan
>>
>>
>>> Tony,
>>>
>>> You mean letters like this one?
>>>
>>> Ralph
>>>
>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>
>>>> From: Ralph Nielsen <nielsen at uidaho.edu>
>>>> Date: January 4, 2005 4:30:40 PM PST
>>>> To: letters at lmtribune.com
>>>> Subject: Chaussée and Hennigan
>>>>
>>>> The letters of Peter Chaussée (Jan. 3) and Thomas A. Hennigan  (Jan. 
>>>> 4) were amusing. Neither seems to realize that Thomas  Jefferson was  a 
>>>> not Christian and quote him out of context to  make it appear that  he 
>>>> was. In fact Jefferson and many other  Founding Fathers were  Deists, 
>>>> who did not believe in the God of  the Bible or in Jesus  Christ. 
>>>> Jefferson repeatedly called the  Bible a "dunghill." We can  be sure 
>>>> that Jefferson, unlike  Chaussée, did not believe in demons,  even 
>>>> though the Gospels  literally swarm with them.
>>>>
>>>> Peter Chaussée wrote, "The gods of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, et   al., 
>>>> aren't scary because they aren't real." Thomas Jefferson   wrote, "I 
>>>> have recently been examining all the known  superstitions  of the 
>>>> world, and do not find in our particular  superstition  [Christianity] 
>>>> one redeeming feature. They are all  alike, founded  upon fables and 
>>>> mythologies."
>>>>
>>>> Hennigan quoted quite selectively from Jefferson's Statute of 
>>>> Virginia for Religious Freedom to make it appear that a few 
>>>> Christians are being persecuted by "liberals." Let me quote just  a 
>>>> little more from this document. "That to compel a man to  furnish 
>>>> contribution of money for the propagation of opinions  which he 
>>>> disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." I  heard on  today's 
>>>> news that a certain "born-again" hypocrite in  the White  House has 
>>>> already forked over more than a billion  dollars of our  taxes to 
>>>> organizations of superstition in which  many of us do not  believe. Who 
>>>> is really being persecuted, Mr.  Hennigan?
>>>>
>>>> Ralph Nielsen
>>>> 334 Lauder Ave.
>>>> Moscow ID 83843-2514
>>>> (208) 882-7338
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>