TFF writes: "baggage = assumptions about what a thing is or what properties it manifests that aren't explicit in the revised definition..."
This is why I feel that when we dialogue about complex ideas--For example "God"--I like for people to given me their definition, not just the one in the dictionary.
You go on: "...for example, you think of the universe as everything and then use it only to describe those things which are desirable." If you mean me, I accept the Universe, warts and all. But I choose to avoid the warts and work on processing the all good. BTW, for those who find the word God, or the word I use in my signature, has too much baggage, I am comfortable with calling the "ground of all being" Nature, or Universe.
I am all about the moral, ethical and loving use of GOD, Nature, or the Universe, not about creeds--certainly not about imposed ones. I like to refer to deeds, not creeds--unless they motivate me to be more loving.
