" It can be a really rocky road and much more challanging than other path choices.."

well...perhaps. Depending on what kind of rocks and what path. It was a REAL challenge being careful what I said and to whom after I got out of college in Kansas. Some folks there had NO sense of either humor OR of compromise on these issues. Even the Unitarian church I attended for awhile was criticized from some directions for not toeing the line.....and this was not in a rural area.

"... that which was lost in the Fall."..a concept I couldn't deal with even as a little Methodist kid. *I* didn't fall...why did Adam's impertinence affect ME? *wry grin* As I read and thought, it just seemed to me that these stories were less about Theological truth, and more about weaving a web of promises & obligations to allow "the flocks" to be shepherded by the church/state, and ultimately, about wealth & power for many.

Whether the basic message IS 'fact' or not is simply not demonstrable...but it is an anchor and a guide for many....and many use it ONLY that way. I wish it were easier to deal with those who take the admonition to "be fishers of men" too seriously. I have been told all too often "you're a good guy, Bill, but you're going to burn in Hell if you don't confess 'X' and believe 'Y'".....If you know about Pascals Wager, you may see why I often try to explain that there are simply MORE than the 4 possibilities Pascal listed..(i.e., God 'may' have a weird sense of humor!)

...anyway, it is nice to discuss these things quietly now & then....it is important to try to understand viewpoints other than our own!

take care....