"You might consider this list- Warning Signs of an Abusive Relationship:

Controlling behavior

Jealousy and possessiveness

Misogyny

Mood swings and short temper

Threats and violence

Emotional abuse

Blaming the victim

Hypercritical nature/unrealistic expectations

Any of these sound familiar? See a pattern? Perhaps you should get help. there are folks out there who can help you escape these types of situations."

So, you are willing to have humanity united regardless of what religion (or lack of) does so, yes? You are just as willing to be united under Islam or Buddhism as long as it is the truth. Good for you, that's a start.

I'm not going to argue the finer points of your post. You never answer my criticisms. I guess that is the easiest way out. Quote the bible as if it is the inerrant word. But if others do so they are "picking and choosing". Interesting. Are you fooling yourself or can you not see it. Anyway, you'll ignore any message I send to you from the "good book" so why make the effort? Only the verses you pick and choose and share are worthy and do not interfere with your fragile belief system. Too bad, I thought we could have an

honest conversation.

I assume you are a woman from your name, forgive me if I'm wrong.

I DO have one quote for you:

"Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." (I Timothy 2:11-14)

As far as Robert Parks: A self aggrandizing fool. Acted out of love? Ha.

There is the real possibility that what the Bible says is the truth, whether that appeals to you or not. Usually the truth is something that we don't really want to hear, though.

The nature of God is the nature of love – as if anyone really can say they understand that either. Love is not rational – anyone who has really experienced it will agree with this. It is not easily understood, but it is the strongest motivator there is. God can somehow elicit love from people. True love always frees, and gives us the freedom to follow what we want/choose. That may sound unbelievable, but to those who experience God's love – it is better than anything this world can offer. I am not trying to convince you of anything, Leon, I am maybe trying to get across to you how powerful God's love is. He loves with a strength that no one can understand, and it is what true Christians 'get'. This is worth seeking with your whole heart.

Life did exist before we were born – in our mother's wombs. Now we have this present existence, and Jesus taught and demonstrated life after death. Nothing cold hard biology, humanism, or other religions, for that matter, can come up with, will ever come close to what Christ offers. "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6:68).

Good luck is not good enough for God's children. We have a Good God, who we don't fully understand, but love and trust, because He loves us. Love is my weakness Leon. I love this God, and Jesus clearly demonstrates, teaches, and gives us the ability to love one another. I recognize that this will likely sound silly or foolish to a person like you, but this is how it is.

Anyway, this post is about Robert Parks, and I don't know the man at all, but I was really impressed by his act of going into North Korea to try to help the people there. As a Christian, I am impressed with what he did. To my way of thinking, it must have been motivated by love.

There contained in those words is why I find religion, and religious, despicable. How very condescending. Come out of the cave. We have discovered fire. You make think it the work of the devil but one day your church will use it to purge the earth of heretics and withes. Your Mediterranean Death Cult is a dying belief system. Thank god! Just as no one worships Zeus, Hera, or even Mithras, who the christians plagiarized, one day people will study Jesus as a myth. How quaint. Exept Jesus might be grouped in with other leaders of his ilk: Pol Pot, Mussolini, Stalin considering all the pain and suffering he and his followers have caused humanity.

I, like you, am a biological organism. No doubt we are special and unique for our ability to think. For our ability to create gods by the thousands and yet we can not manufacture even the lowliest worm (yet). We can contemplate our mortality, which is the reason for creating gods and heavens, we fear death. The thought of non-existence is scary but just as we did not exist before we were born, we will no longer exist after we die. God did not create us in his image, we created him (it). We are still suffering the repercussions of this particular group of gods we have created. Thankfully, these things too shall pass.

One day (I hope) we will set aside childish things and grasp our humanity and hopefully make the here better for all rather than grasping at hope for a pleasant hereafter. We will turn the cathedrals and temples and mosques into museums to our own stupidity and fear. We will unite and denounce those false idols which previously divided us. Amen!

There will come a time in your life, when you will seriously consider your Maker. I will continue to pray for you that when that time comes, you will receive Him with a grateful heart. A God who can be understood by the human mind would not be a God, it would be a human creation.