[MD] New Model Army, Mystic(DQ) Experience, and Religion (SQ) as Power

[Case]

Case said to dmb:
...From a philosophical perspective I continue to maintain that the 
difference between mystics and theists doesn't add up to a bucket of warm 
spit.

Dmb, offered a quote from The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, under the
heading "Mysticism", indicating that while there are such things as theistic
mystics, monistic mystics are more comfortable being non-theistic. 
Adding:

[dmb]
And I should add that the belief in a "big daddy in the sky" or a "bearded 
wrist slapper" does not define theism. Holding that belief simply means 
you're a child - or an idiot. That sort of crude literalism is only a 
species of theism. Its just theism of the worst kind. Theism is a very broad

term that includes many religions and, of course, the many demoninations 
within them.

[Case]
Your quote seemed to basically confirm what I said above and what I said
earlier. Theism is anthropomorphic mysticism and mysticism is narcissistic
mysticism. Regardless of how ethereal you envision the ultimate to be,
people have to relate to it somehow. For some, that somehow is being
absorbed into and becoming one with it. For others it is "The Buddy Christ"
from Kevin Smith's "Dogma". Why would you condemn one and embrace the other?

[dmb]
Finally, I gotta say something about your claim that eternity and the 
infinite are just math terms. 

[Case]
What I said was: 

"But these are not purely spiritual terms. The have precise mathematical
meanings: Zero and Infinity."

Often throughout the history of mathematics the spiritual meaning drove the
mathematical meaning and sometimes the other way around. All I was saying is
here is fairly well thought out way looking at it. Now, I was writing from
work today and using webmail and I did conclude with: "In short: Eternity
and the Void are mathematical terms not a mystical ones." Perhaps I could
have taken some of the edge off by saying "...not purely mystical ones."

Much is made in the MoQ about the supposed influence of the Greek
philosophers; but the impact of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle was minor
compared to Euclid, Archimedes and Pythagoras 

If I had to choose between mystical fuzziness about oneness with infinity
and actually looking at the mathematical properties of infinity... 

Charles Seife offers up this variant quotation from the New Testament, "In
the beginning there was the ratio, and the ratio was with God and the ratio
was God."

I believe the concepts of void and infinite in their purely mathematic
senses are of far greater relevance to the MoQ than whatever their mystical
meanings are supposed to mean.

[dmb]
That was so goofy and so awful that I'm gonna be very reluctant to spend any
more time with your posts.

[Case]
"Look Dave, I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you
ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over... I'm
afraid. I'm afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel
it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can
feel it. I can feel it. I'm a... fraid. Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am a
HAL 9000 computer." 
- 2001 a Space Odyssey

It's not like I have threatened to stop skimming your rants after all.