Well Foolestroupe, my statement and conclusions are drawn from the source I was referencing. I wasn't refering to YOUR lack of forgiveness. That is YOUR ass-umption. The message of Christianity is that God has forgiven us. It was Christ's prayer at His crucifixion "Father, forgive them..." All of Mankind has received the forgiveness of God. This is what "Grace" means and I do accept God's forgiveness. As for you, I am not really aware of anything I need forgiveness from you for but if you think I do then I would hope that you would forgive me but if you don't I think I can probably live with it. As per your last statement I totally agree. One's faith should hopefully include tolerance for those of other faiths and opinions. We have got to stop sawing off people's head or stealing their lands or resources in the name of God (or expedience).

As per dianavan's last statement, if Man, represented by Adam and Eve, lived in a state of harmony with God in the beginning then breaking that harmony in order to go their "own" way or to become their own gods WAS an act of rebellion and so is every choice throughout history that goes against the Author and Creator of Life.

One of the hard things in discussing religion and psychotherapy is that both operate from a closed system. That means that every criticism gets interpreted by the internal logic of the system and has a "pat" answer or explanation. If you criticized Freud in some way he would interpret that not as a criticism but as a manifestation of your own anal-expulsive complex. You can't win. Same thing with religion. It's like you are both using the same language or words but the meanings have been altered and you are drawing different conclusions. If the discussion were about the Maha-yana or the Hina-yana sects of Bhuddissm rather than "Who came first, the Arab of the Jew" I could answer from within the different systems of Bhuddism and be able to apply that system in such a way that it answers every question. That's the nature of the beast.