'''Complete Ideological Discoveries''' Ben Huot January 26, 2010 == '''Table of Contents''' == Chapter 18 1.1 For More Information8 1.2 License8 1.3 Introduction8 Chapter 29 2.1 Intellectual Breakthroughs9 2.1.1 Philosophical Positions9 Hermeneutic (Method of Interpretation)9 Practice and Bible Derived Reasoning9 Contrasting Theories of Education9 Unified Social Theory of Natural Science10 2.1.2 College Education10 Conservative Curriculum10 Liberal Arts11 College Football12 Lost Opportunities12 2.1.3 Philosophy of Religion13 Theology includes Philosophy13 Honesty14 Freedom of Choice15 2.1.4 Striking Back16 What is Rational? 16 Where Blame is Due17 God and Country18 Medieval Morality19 A Matter of Faith20 Circular Argument21 Only One Answer22 2.2 Social Breakthroughs23 2.2.1 Religion23 Philosophy of Life and Death23 Future World Religion Trends23 The Case for Liberal Christianity24 2.2.2 Innocence Lost24 Technology25 Human Relationships25 2.2.3 The Public Mind and American Democracy25 2.2.4 The Protestant Ethic26 Hard Work26 American Philosophy27 Faith and Work27 Bad Monk28 Religion of Isolation29 Worldly29 Who Can Help Themselves30 2.2.5 Capitalism and Atheism31 Un American31 Democracy vs. Capitalism31 Freedom and Terror31 More than Bread32 Conscience34 Logic and Religion34 On Marx and Engels35 Marxism is Defeated37 2.2.6 What If? 38 Buddhists Missionaries38 European Backwaters39 Christian World40 Contemporary Jesus40 Toy Society42 Farm Society43 2.3 Emotional Breakthroughs43 2.3.1 Son of Strength43 2.3.2 Heaven and Earth44 2.3.3 The Breakthrough45 History45 Background45 Questions46 The Letter46 More Thoughts46 In Verse47 2.4 Nature of God47 2.4.1 Jesus Poetry47 The One47 The Majestic Down to Earth48 Jesus48 2.4.2 Self Poetry49 With one material, many souls49 Directions50 Holy Spirit50 2.4.3 Heavenly Father Poetry51 The Perfect Programmer51 Praise and Criticism52 Praise God for Everything52 Awesome God53 Family Appreciation53 Tolerance54 God, Help! 55 Walking Forward56 Morning Sunshine56 2.4.4 Son of God Poetry57 The Missionaries57 God Speaks57 Religion Means Education58 Campus Community59 Open Market59 Epic Hero60 Ancestor60 Center of Gravity61 Crossroads61 Chapter 362 3.1 The Purpose of Philosophy62 3.1.1 General Ideas62 3.1.2 Psychology in Philosophy62 Ethics and Consistency in Philosophy63 Creativity and Philosophy63 3.1.3 Schools of Philosophy64 Paradox (Also Known As Non-Dualism)64 The Supernatural and Asian Philosophy and Religion64 Confucianism64 Taoism65 Existentialism65 3.2 Main Ideas65 3.2.1 Why Study the Old World? 65 3.2.2 Main Objective66 Broader World View66 Holistic Worldview66 Think For Yourself66 What God Wants66 Christ and Christianity66 3.2.3 How I Can Both be a Free Thinker and a Christian66 Christianity is about Free Choice66 Christianity is Multicultural67 Christianity is Misunderstood in the West67 The Church is not the Problem67 Why Christianity is the Best Religion67 Solving our Problems67 3.3 Ethical Vision67 3.3.1 Why Avoid Objectivity? 67 Fear of Controversy67 Believe in Yourself67 3.3.2 Definitions68 Defining Terms68 Denotation68 Connotation68 My Use of Connotation and Denotation68 3.3.3 Radical Equality68 The Principle68 Same Application in Every Situation68 Consistency Plus Holistic Worldview69 Reality and Ethical Ideals69 3.3.4 Redundancy69 Plan on Being Short69 Be Self Reliant69 Murphy’s Law69 Have More Than You Need69 Risky Investments70 Natural or Man Made Disasters70 What to Have on Hand70 What the Government Will Do70 More than Necessary70 Above and Beyond70 3.4 Spiritual Vision70 3.4.1 No Perfect Solution70 You Pay for What You Get70 You Can’t Get Everything You Want71 Roots of Problems with Economy71 People Want Everything without Working For it71 Things Don’t Just Happen71 The Real Solution71 3.4.2 How to Help Our World71 Most Problems are Spiritual in Nature71 God’s Rules71 God is in Control72 What We Can Do72 3.4.3 Solutions for Our Addictions72 Our Problems are All Addictions72 Real Solution is Prayer72 Rebellion Against God is the Cause72 The Weak are Hurt Most72 Our Heads and in our Hearts72 3.4.4 Why So Negative? 73 Reasons73 Things are Going Well73 3.5 Personal Religious Experience73 3.5.1 Why am I a Christian? 73 Why My Experience is Unusual73 Why I Began to Believe73 What Continued my Interest73 3.5.2 My Testimony73 Life Events Were Unexpected73 The Most Power74 How to Make a Difference74 Failure of Greatest Thinkers74 What I had Planned74 Biggest Influences74 Divine Intervention74 Family Influence74 3.5.3 My Approach to Christianity74 Paradox and the Bible74 Paradox and Faith75 The Apocalypse and the Environment75 My Writing and Paradox75 3.6 Religion and the Church75 3.6.1 What is the Best Church? 75 No Church is Perfect75 New Members75 Can’t Agree with Any75 The Bus Problem76 3.6.2 What About Sexual Morality? 76 Why Avoid It? 76 What I Do Cover76 3.6.3 Why Don’t I Work with Others? 76 I Appeal to a Small Group76 Few Would Respond76 3.6.4 Why are Christians so Mean? 76 Psalms76 Isaiah77 Luke78 John78 2 Corinthians79 Galatians79 Colossians79 James80 2 Peter80 3.7 Christian Theology81 3.7.1 The Covenant with God81 New Testament and Old Testament God81 Evolution of the Covenants81 Spiritual Realities81 Being Christian = Being Kind81 Exodus 34:81 Deuteronomy 29:82 Jeremiah 34:83 Hebrews 1:84 Hebrews 2:84 Hebrews 3:85 Hebrews 4:85 Hebrews 5:85 3.7.2 Central Biblical Paradox86 Faith Alone Plus Good Works86 How Salvation Works86 How Both Can Be True86 3.7.3 Advantages and Dangers of Mysticism86 Different Types of Mysticism86 Roman Catholic Approach86 Eastern Orthodox Approach86 Paradox and Faith87 Christ and Salvation87 Our Relationship with God87 3.8 Religion and Politics87 3.8.1 Losing Our Souls87 What We are Taught87 What We Believe87 3.8.2 Why America Needs God88 We Need Values88 At the End of our Wealth88 There is Much Work to Do88 We Need to Conserve88 3.8.3 The Church and Education88 History of Scholarship88 Why Christians have Rejected Academia88 Christians Should do What is Right 89 Christians Need to Take a Stand89 The Battle is Spiritual89 3.9 Secular Philosophy89 3.9.1 Rationalism in Philosophy89 What is Rational? 89 Spirituality is Worthwhile89 3.9.2 Do Atheists Have Values? 89 Definition of Atheism89 Nietzsche90 Anarchy90 Major Atheistic Philosophies90 The Enlightenment90 Existentialism90 Variations of Atheism90 3.10 Religious Issues90 3.10.1 Philosophy and Religion90 Philosophy is Going Beyond the Basics90 Philosophy is not for Most People91 What Kind of Person are You? 91 3.10.2 Popular Misconceptions about Philosophy and Religion91 3.10.3 The Kind of Christianity I am Promoting91 3.10.4 Another Perspective on Orthodoxy91 3.10.5 Rich White Men92 3.11 The Bible and Making Decisions93 3.11.1 What Defines Us93 3.11.2 What Does Freedom Mean? 93 An Summary of the Biblical Concept93 Passages that Talk about Biblical Freedom93 3.11.3 The Biblical Approach to Suffering95 Western vs. Non-Western Attitudes95 Who is Responsible? 95 Encouraging People Who Suffer95 Environment and Prophecy95 Understanding God’s People96 3.11.4 Heaven, Eternity, and God96 Eternal Perspective96 Roses and Heaven96 Indian Mystic Poets96 Understanding Revelations96 3.11.5 What We Should Do96 3.12 Thinking Long Term97 3.12.1 My Perspective97 3.12.2 My Vision of the Future97 3.12.3 Patience98 3.12.4 Perseverance99 3.12.5 Ways to Develop Discipline101 3.13 Learn to be Kind and Patient101 3.13.1 First, Learn from Others’ Experiences101 3.13.2 Second, Broaden your Reading101 3.13.3 Third, Get your own Unique Perspective101 3.13.4 Fourth, Understand that Differences are OK102 3.13.5 Fifth, Learn Communication Skills102 3.13.6 Sixth, Learn to Think Empathetically Instead of Purely Fact Based102 3.13.7 Seventh, Learn from Experience102 3.14 Being Creative and Helping Others102 3.14.1 How to Think Creatively102 Get Ready to Think102 Think About the Idea102 Try the Idea Out102 Get Ready for Future Ideas103 3.14.2 Creativity and Saving Money103 Living Without a Car103 What Riding the Bus is Like103 Bus People103 Alternatives to the Bus103 Re-Occurring Expenses103 3.14.3 Theft or Charity104 The Meaning of Free Culture104 The Situation Today104 Loss of Trust104 Foreign Workers104 The Best Way to Fight104 Serve your Country104 3.14.4 Reasons to Create Rather than Consume105 Help Yourself105 Enhance Your Self-Esteem105 Learn New Things105 Help Others105 3.14.5 Why Volunteer? 106 Getting Perspective106 The Way the Youth Live106 Lazy Employees106 Greater Expectations106 No Easy Way106 Be a Patriot106= Chapter 1 = '''First Things''' by Ben Huot == 1.1 For More Information == For more books and information, visit me on the web at http://benjamin-newton.com/ Feel free to send me e-mail regarding the books and website at mailto:ben@benjamin-newton.com I even enjoy constructive criticism == 1.2 License == This entire PDF is licensed together under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License as a whole, and nothing is to be separated, added on to, or modified in any manner. Clarification on what no derivatives means: No changes may be made in any way including but not limited to: the material content and design must be copied as a whole (everything contained in this pdf file) •with nothing added •without anything taken away must be kept in its original form with no additions or subtractions to •file formats •HTML and CSS code •PDF files •graphics and movies •sounds, music, and spoken word •interactivity and flash •file and directory structure •filenames and directory names •links •distribution method == 1.3 Introduction == This collection, Complete Ideological Discoveries, contains most of my writings on the topics of philosophy and religion, including: my intellectual discoveries, my worldview and message, how to learn values, and general information on philosophy and theology that are commonly misunderstood. This book contains Theoretical Breakthroughs and the Book of Belief. = Chapter 2 = '''Theoretical Breakthroughs''' by Ben Huot == 2.1 Intellectual Breakthroughs == === 2.1.1 Philosophical Positions === ==== Hermeneutic (Method of Interpretation) ==== •I use primary sources to derive theology or philosophy for a particular belief system •I focus on what I see as the pure or original interpretation of the philosophy or theology •I do not research current or past deviations of each major belief system ==== Practice and Bible Derived Reasoning ==== General Methods •My method of ethical reasoning is derived from practical considerations. •My method of theological reasoning comes from Biblical considerations. •My method brings these perspectives to their logical conclusions. •My theory is based on what the Bible says about theology and what helps influence a person do the right thing. •I back track the way people should act according to the Bible and what the Bible says about God into a theory that is most consistent with these outcomes. Applications according to Theory •My theology, Towards a Philosophy of the Bible, mirrors what the Bible says about God and a solution to suffering that best answers this problem. •My ethics, Still Theory, are based on a combination of the philosophies most consistent with the Bible and having the least major ethical dilemmas and answers postmodern questions about suffering and uncertainty. •My psychology, Liberation Psychology/Theology, enables the person to be their own advocate and focuses on religion as a secondary approach to solving lingering problems with Schizophrenia, as the most effective practice is to take the medication. •My aesthetics, Bible Model Aesthetics, works to solve practical issues like accessibility, morality, and quality from a Biblical perspective. •My sociology/biology, Community through the Humanities, focuses on finding harmony with the groups of people we come into contact with in real world situations and applying ethics from Still Theory. •My theory of education, Learning of the Heart, is based on the realities of life and how people can know what is right and wrong. ==== Contrasting Theories of Education ==== Learning of the Mind •The establishment assumes that public education through high school prepares a person for the world •The establishment assumes that everyone should be educated in the same manner •The establishment assumes that they know best what the public needs to learn •The establishment assumes that what they believe is right and wrong should be imposed on everyone else •The establishment assumes that public education improves people’s social status and morality •The establishment assumes that with slight modifications, they will get radically different societies Learning of the Heart I believe that being prepared for the world is a combination of different things, which the public school system fails at all of them, including: •understand how the establishment works, how to use it to improve one’s life, and avoid it changing the individual or placing more limits than normal on the individual •develop critical thinking skills and determine what is right and wrong by conscience •develop a useful skill for financial support and independence •I believe that different people should be taught different things •I believe that people know what is right and wrong at birth •I believe that the world’s idea of right and wrong is contrary to God’s •I believe that people’s social status is determined by who they know and what status their parents have and their morality is determined by personal choice •I believe that in order to radically change society, we must make major changes ==== Unified Social Theory of Natural Science ==== •All creatures that feel pain should be kept from any unnecessary suffering •The difference between humans and animals is a matter of degree •Human beings are not defined by any distinct characteristics in the Bible •The distinguishing factor between people and animals is a social construct •People have social and physical power over animals and are responsible for their well being •Flora should be treated with respect to their well being as well as fauna •Water and cells should be carefully looked after as they are the building blocks of life •The earth should be treated with the same respect as other life forms •Preservation of life does not mean no harm is done •Although animals and people may be perceived as the same, the human has a responsibility to look after the animal •Not subjecting sentient beings to physical pain is just the beginning of a social ethic •Humans should use their resources to actively advocate for the well being of all sentient beings === 2.1.2 College Education === ==== Conservative Curriculum ==== Some study to learn What others have dreamed of Some study to learn What is popular Some study to learn The values of the past Some study to learn The traditions of their ancestors Some study to learn What they already believe Some study to learn What is well understood Some study to learn To be respected by others Some study to learn The path well traveled Some study to learn From a specific ideology Some study to learn From what others tell them Some study to learn To be opinion leaders Some study to learn To memorize information Some study to learn Rules others have made Some study to learn What is practical Some study to learn What is widely accepted Some study to learn What isn’t controversial Some study to learn Without questioning ==== Liberal Arts ==== There are few colleges Where you can create Your own major There are few colleges That encourage you to think There are few colleges That care about More than reputation There are few colleges That don’t bend over backwards For a few dollars in grants There are few colleges Who dare to have a vision There a few colleges Who don’t depend on sports For getting funding And recruiting students There are few colleges Who are not indebted to Government and big business There are few colleges Who control their own curriculum There are few colleges That challenge the status quo There are few colleges That prepare students For unpredicted changes In the future of society There are few colleges That take pride in Creating controversy On campus There are few colleges That spend as much On human development Than on Scientific research ==== College Football ==== America is a society Oriented around sports We believe that competition Brings positive change We believe that physical fitness Is more important than education We believe that winning Is the most important method for change We are aggressive in business and politics We are not interested in the community The leaders only care about Their own status and wealth Our young all believe That they will play American football for money They either want to get money For being famous Or get a welfare check Our athletes make millions of dollars For running a ball across a line The players feel tough Because they run into each other We think that being a man Means memorizing sports statistics We spend most our time Talking about what teams win And about our football team We played on in high school We believe that we peaked in college And that the only thing important Is whose team won the game ==== Lost Opportunities ==== How will we compete When every one Has a college degree? Will we have to get doctorates For a family wage job? How are we to pay For our education When our families Are too rich To receive aid But too poor To afford to help? Will anyones be rewarded For a liberal arts degree? The only degrees that pay Are business and engineering Is that what We want to base Our future on Technology alone With no room For the arts or religion? We only care about What is the quickest way To build things Bigger, better, and faster We have no culture And no reason to create We have no imagination Or reason to live Other than for Getting drunk after work Or losing ourselves In virtual worlds We are afraid To confront reality And solve real problems We are told The problems are too complex And we need To solve problems Through politics and business We don’t have the creativity Or the time and energy To pursue positive change === 2.1.3 Philosophy of Religion === ==== Theology includes Philosophy ==== Everyone has a perspective Everyone has opinions There is nothing theological That is not influenced by philosophy We do not live in a vacuum And ideas come from somewhere There are no new philosophies Just restatements done with less eloquence There is no way to only study the Bible We are only fooling ourselves And no one else We cannot distance ourselves From our own foolishness We are corrupt to the core It is not possible to read the Bible Without prejudice and without feelings The Bible is not meant to be A list of rules or a systematic theology Don’t you think there is a reason That there are so many views on Every branch of theology? The Bible is not meant to be interpreted The same by the entire church The Bible is not about a set theology No one will ever uncover The full philosophy of the Bible The greatest theologians Have only scratched the surface And were wrong more times Than they were right Verses don’t mean just one thing The Bible should not Be read in any set order Verses should not stand alone There are no hidden meanings But few meanings have been found There is more to a single phrase Than can be understood By the human mind in all eternity And the Bible is only one small part Of who God is To say we were only influenced by the Bible Or that we believe what the Bible says Does not adequately explain our beliefs We have presuppositions and experiences But these aren’t necessarily stumbling blocks Feelings are great and mental exercises are of use But we need to reflect on our background Or we will be repeating the mistakes Of even the greatest of theologians It is ok to not be right on even the main points To disagree creates a healthy diversity The church does not need core beliefs Our doctrines only hold us back There is more to life than theology And there is more to the Bible Than your statements of faith ==== Honesty ==== When you make claims Which you use Scripture To support your position It is not honest When you don’t state Your intentions up front And explain your background We are not merely spiritual beings We are not just vessels Of God’s will We have our own Hopes, desires, and dreams We are not pure spirits With empty minds There is a psychology To religious beliefs Ideas don’t come Out of a vacuum We cannot wall ourselves Off from unbelievers We cannot understand Our culture expect by Reading books Besides the Bible Our minds are sponges And we absorb ideas From places we are Often unaware This is the use of The study of philosophy We get impressions From many venues We just assume They are all from the Bible Just because we are Christians What we come up with Is not independent Of our culture and history Ideas influence us In subtle and surprising ways We do not need to read a book To be influenced by capitalism Or to evaluate atheism We are part of a larger Ecosystem of dialogue Great thinkers build On what others have said Christian and otherwise Great theologians study philosophy Some of the greatest philosophers Were trained as theologians first The early church adopted Many ideas from Greek paganism There is no way to be purely Christian Without affection and sympathies ==== Freedom of Choice ==== Scripture is not meant To be understood intellectually Nor by our feelings alone Although Scripture ministers To all areas of our person We should keep our focus On the heart and the will It is good to have diversity Especially in opinion and perspective The Bible is not meant To be interpreted in just one way We don’t need an entire denomination To be in agreement on any doctrine Don’t you think there is a reason Why no one can agree Or that theologians were interested In such different topics Throughout divergent eras? The more widespread the views The harder it is to see a pattern God deliberately designed the Bible To be poetic instead of legalistic God could have just written A list of rules and left it at that We could just turn off our brains entirely But that is not God’s nature He wants us to make rational decisions And for different people To go into different directions And to see the Bible from different views We have to realize that God speaks To our entire person That God is spirit and flesh Christianity is not meant to be an organization Or to have a rigid structure Even the Bible explains salvation Differently every time All believers will enter Heaven by grace But each will do it in a different way === 2.1.4 Striking Back === ==== What is Rational? ==== W hat is the definition of rational? Believing that man is the highest good Or that his intellect can grasp everything Do you think you can disprove God By quoting a famous atheist? You win an argument But just show your own limitations And your own weak intellect Not everything is meant to be Analyzed in the Scientific method What cannot be disproved Is greater than that which can be proven Guess and check can only go so far And scientists are as bigoted And resistant to change and new ideas Than as are any other bureaucrats The ideas of Science may have At one time been an area for non-comformists But it is no longer Everyone believes in Science And that is a great weakness The masses can be convinced of anything Scientists fail to realize That it was their community that Made a fool of Galileo The first scientist was a smart ass When your belief system Can only understand matter-energy Aren’t you smart enough To realize that it cannot explain Anything important It is not wrong to have a theory To explain something But when you use it as an excuse To hide from spiritual realities Who is the greater fool? It doesn’t matter how good you are at debate Or how many facts you have on your side Some things just don’t make sense Just because the entire Scientific establishment Believes in one thing, the masses think it is true No matter how many times Society confuses facts with truth The number of believers is growing worldwide It is interesting that those who think They are so enlightened As to be better informed than God And think that they are the enemy of the establishment That their ideas resonate best with The people who create the problems They are trying to fix If the same system that said the world is flat Now even admits they cannot observe 95% of the mass of the universe Why should I believe them about evolution? For a community that shuns innovators And anything unusual or different And is mainly motivated by prestige Why would I believe anything They print in numbers And collect evidence for? If scientists would study other philosophies They would start to realize that the world Is much bigger than Science And that the real problems in life Are not going to be solved by more technology That we are never going to resolve The true cause of suffering through education That the innovation that will bring solutions Is something that was written down 2,000 years ago That the most unusual ideas were some of the oldest That we are just re-inventing what China Designed thousands of years ago Without the Scientific method If the Chinese were not smart enough To keep the empire going How are we going to be able to survive A few more generations of Science? One of the big problems with Science Is it has no ethical foundation Just as you cannot add security onto technology Not designed with a firm foundation Ethics are not just an add on People do not become ethical by Attending a one semester course Or even after earning a Ph.D. in philosophy It is not that we do not know enough To do find a solution to our problems But that we need a way to stop Ourselves from creating more problems Self control is the key to our survival But the solution is not an invention But supernatural intervention ==== Where Blame is Due ==== If Christianity is to blame for everything People claim it is Then why is there so much more evil Done by countries which are primarily atheist? Before jumping on the bandwagon And blaming every problem on Christianity People should actually read what the Bible says The Bible never says it is ok to mistreat animals Augustine and Thomas Aquinas hated animals But their theology is based more on Greek paganism Than it is on any possible interpretation Of the Bible come up with by the biggest idiot The Bible holds humans responsible for taking care Of the entire ecosystem Not only are we responsible for what we have done But we must correct any problems no matter How they were caused Unlike what the religious wrong say The Bible states very clearly in several places That there is no distinction between man and woman Or peoples of any race or any other background Contrary to popular belief, the Bible noes not say That corporations should control the government Or that the wealthy got that way because They were following God’s laws The Bible says over and over and gives many examples Of moral people who loved God and suffered terribly Many times exactly because of it Contrary to popular belief, claiming to be born again Does not get you to Heaven according to the Bible You have to humble yourself before God And believe you are equal to your fellow man Before you can be saved According to the Bible, environmental destruction And stealing from people’s retirements are sins And are greater than that of committing adultery one time Unlike what many people think The Bible does not tell you everything to do And is designed for there to be different interpretations Of many ideas in theology Similar to Taoism, the theology of the Bible is no-dualistic Even though many Christians treat Paul’s letters Like analytical arguments, they are really mystical Unlike what many Christians believe The Bible encourages study of other religions and Being intellectual by Paul’s example alone The religious ideas the Bible disparages come from Occult religions like Greek Paganism Which has been synchronized with Christianity By Augustine and Thomas Aquinas ==== God and Country ==== The religious wrong have long believed That America was a Christian nation What America really was and this includes The religious wrong Is founded on the idea of Not wanting to pay taxes The founding fathers were anarchists So to follow in their foot steps Would be to overthrow the current government The United States has always been An aggressive and violent nation Something we inherited from the English We thought we were better than The rest of the world It was our duty to spread our power No matter what the cost Following in the footsteps of the English We held people as slaves even though We claimed to be a democracy We used biological weapons on the Native Americans and dishonored treaties These are not things a Christian nation would do They do not honor God And they do not promote human dignity Now the religious wrong want us to protect Humans that are not even born But thinks it is ok to torture baby animals In their use for food and experiments Both of which are unnecessary They believe that monopolies/dictatorships are good And that our bill of rights is unimportant They are against giving to charities They instead want to tax the poor And give it to the rich to make bigger weapons with They are using a couple of attacks worldwide As an excuse to invade another nation When it had no intention of attacking anyone So our dictator could settle an old score The American House of Bush Loves to redefine worlds until they have no meaning They have over written every law against pollution So a couple rich white men can get even richer He has held teachers responsible for how Prepared the kids are for school without Factoring in different socioeconomic conditions Which will ultimately destroy the school system After doing all this our dictator has the audacity To claim he is a born again Christian There is absolutely nothing Christian About the way this creep acts ==== Medieval Morality ==== Enlightenment writers love to denigrate The European Medieval period By referring to it as the Dark Ages Because they hated God so much And they were enamored by material wealth And advanced technology used in warfare They blamed all their problems on God Modern authors refer to the time As being backwards and violent What they really hate is that it was A relative time of material poverty for Europe After the fall of the Roman Empire The entirety of Europe struggled to survive But people don’t see the bright side Without the wealth to destroy others And depending on the harvest for their food People began to rely upon God And had respect for God and nature People still had evil in their hearts But the scale of destruction was Exponentially less than in "enlightened times" In fact, although historians love to blame Christianity for the big wars of the next 500 years The Church was losing more and more power As things began to be more and more violent People saw Science as a way they could One up God and avoid those inconvenient Sexual and financial morals See the main problem with Science is That it has no formal ethics as part Of its system of discovery The superiority of philosophy Is that it has an ethics The superiority of religion Is that is also has a reason The superiority of Christianity Is that is also gives a way ==== A Matter of Faith ==== Many people believe That evolution should be Accepted because Most scientists believe it They say it should just be A matter of evidence I believe it as a matter of faith First of all, Science did not Just arrive out of nowhere And was not always The way everything was decided Neither are we more advanced For relying on it for everything Science was invented and came out Of a particular western philosophical School called the Enlightenment Contrary to popular belief Most technologies of the modern world Were not invented by Europeans or By their precious Science They were dreamed up and produced First by the Chinese In fact, the Industrial Revolution Came about from our discovery Of Chinese technologies Invented hundreds or even thousands Of years earlier There are many other methods Of discovery and verification Jainism has a number all by itself The five senses, testimony, ESP, telepathy, and an all knowing ascended being Mystics have a number as well Faith, intuition, and prophetic visions Most schools of Hinduism Verify knowledge by Perception, inference, comparison, and testimony So we see that Science is only One school out of many In the panorama of philosophy Even if I would be convinced If provided the evidence In the Scientific form It would not be possible For me to accept evolution Except by blind faith Because it requires a Ph.D. In Science to have the background To make an informed position Otherwise it is just oversimplified And I have seen this done In philosophy and religion So I would only trust my own Research into the theory of evolution ==== Circular Argument ==== Most people believe anything Someone with a Scientific education says How do they prove things? By facts, of course How have they proven That facts are truth? Because that is Scientific Facts determine details about Specific events and measurements But how does one prove Love? How does one disprove it? Many people believe if there Are no facts for proving something Than it must not be true But facts are less important Than things determined by faith Things determined by experience Things determined by reflection Things determined by immersion In a particular field of work Things determined by scripture Things determined by miraculous Answers to prayer If there is nothing to prove That facts are true Other than a circular argument Then why do we base our society On this shaky ground And why do we force This viewpoint on young children? Our world is getting worse and worse The more we use facts To determine policy and direction Shouldn’t we base our ideas By what works and what doesn’t In the real world With cold, hard truth Not by just flimsy facts After all, it’s not like it’s hard To present lies as facts ==== Only One Answer ==== There are few things in life That only have one answer This is one of the things People like so much about Science But this a false premise As Science is only one way Of discovery And is only applicable To one way of thinking Coming from the culture of One part of the world Having multiple answers Is the great thing about art, Philosophy, and religion The humanities are the only Fields that treat other cultures With dignity and respect They are the only ones That explain what being Sentient is like They answer the most Important questions Better because they can Have multiple answers Most things in life are paradoxes Which aren’t very compatible With Science and math How can you reduce Most fundamental problems Down to one solution? How can you explain Feelings in numbers and attributes? How do you express mystery With a system that is designed To explain everything? Ever wonder why economists Can’t predict the future With mathematical models Or why it is so hard to Communicate with psychologists? Ever wonder why scientists Are surprised when they Discover animals are sentient Or can have mental disorders? We have an ancient heritage Of wisdom and understanding That is aware of things Science can only dream of To rely on a system that Ignores questions of the spirit Or things that cannot be tested Under controlled conditions To guide society into a better world Shows that our world no longer Values the truth and is only looking For easy solutions and doesn’t care About how bad the consequences are == 2.2 Social Breakthroughs == === 2.2.1 Religion === ==== Philosophy of Life and Death ==== Many Christians see salvation as an end and not just a beginning. They absolve themselves of doing any help in the world, because they see the world as corrupt and take the easy answer of letting the world fall apart. They look knowingly at each other and think they are so much better, because they are saved. This is based on the theology of saved by faith alone, but it is not consistent, even within its own system. If God saved us, because we repent of our sins, then why do we think we are better than others? We are all equally bad and God’s criteria for reaching out to us is just that we humble ourselves before God and consider ourselves equal to unbelievers. If we can’t even do that, how can we consider ourselves to be born again or followers of Christ? If Christ, who is God Himself, did not even consider Himself equal to God and submitted Himself to the authority of men, then where do we get off thinking that we are better than unbelievers. Often, theologians compare Christ’s descent to being human as equivalent to us descending to being a bug, but this is a gross exaggeration of our worth and gross simplification of God’s glory above man. Christ being born as a human is more equivalent to use giving up our existence permanently. God is not limited by any thing and He is so far above us that we amount to a grand total of zero in comparison to God. It is a miracle that any of us is actually saved and the effort is almost entirely on God’s side. It is not that our submission to God means anything, but just a rightful understanding of our place in the universe; it is the grace of God that does the work. It is important that we make a choice, to submit ourselves before God, but this is just the beginning of the path. Just because we can’t get beyond grace, salvation, and faith, does not mean that we do not make the effort to grow. Just because the world is going to end soon is no reason to let everybody suffer, without attempting any way, to help reduce the suffering. The majority of the Bible tells about how we should live our lives, while on earth. If we really want mass conversions to the Christianity of the Bible, we are going to have to show unbelievers that we truly value life. For a person to choose a philosophy of death and to totally give up on improving the world is a defeatist mentality. How can we expect to have victory in Christ if it doesn’t start by reaching out to our own communities in Christ reflected love? ==== Future World Religion Trends ==== By the year 2050, the term White Christian will be an oxymoron. If you take into account the actual faithfulness of people calling themselves Christian, the Christian world has already shifted to the Southern Hemisphere. In many of the countries throughout the world, they are not as honest at doing statistics as in the United States, where predominantly Muslim countries are going to severely undercount the number of Christians and the same will happen in the predominantly Hindu country of India. Europe had not entirely converted to Christianity until the 14th century and there were more Christians in Asia than in Europe, until the years 1000. Most of the reduction of Christians in the Middle East happened in the late 19th and 20th century. The first big reduction of Christians in the Middle East came, after they supported the Mongol Empire. The conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was largely brought about by the missionary efforts of the Sufis. 10 percent of the populations of Egypt and Syria are still Christian. Islam is now experiencing a major fundamentalist revival and many more nations are going to be governed under Islamic law. Many of the most populous African nations have a mixture of Christians and Muslims and there is not the same idea of separation between church and state in Africa than there is as in the West. When a predominantly Christian nation, with a large Muslim minority, declares itself to be a Christian nation or the exact opposite situation occurs, we are going continue to have major wars in Africa. And now we have nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons on the open black market. At the same time, Europe is going to have more and more immigrants from Africa, for there to be enough labor pool to keep Europe’s economy going. America is going to continue to have a strong Christian minority, reinforced from a strong influx of Christian immigrants from all over the world, especially Latin America. The Pentecostal movement is very strong in Latin America. Europe and the United States are going to be dependent on oil for a long time and this will dramatically affect our alliances. We will continue to be afraid of angering the Muslim nations and will continue to bend over backwards, to keep our supply of oil coming. Some of the biggest world religions by 2050 will be Pentecostalism, Catholicism and Islam, just counting in the population increase and not on any new converts. Buddhism, which not long ago had 20 percent of the population of Asia, now has shrunk to 5 percent, due to the spread of Communism in traditionally Buddhist countries. Whenever China allows more freedom of religion, it will not be surprising if we find out 10 percent of China is Christian already, even under extreme persecution. The Christian South tends to be: much more conservative in sexual morality, supernaturally and community oriented, and by all evidence much more biblically based. The most popular book in the Bible in Christian Africa is Revelations. Much of this is due to cultural backgrounds of those in the Southern hemisphere, where: they are coming from animist religions and are in extreme poverty, they experience persecution regularly and have large refugee populations, all of which reinforce the relevance of the Biblical narrative of God’s work with Israel, in the Law and in the Prophets. ==== The Case for Liberal Christianity ==== If we follow the example of the early Church, as recorded in Acts, we see the early Christians as members of a ideal collective community like an Ashram, Kibbutz, or Monastery. If we follow Jesus example, we would carry out the Gospel, while doing good works, especially in service of those rejected by society. Convincing people to be born again was originally linked with helping out those in need in practical situations. Christianity is inherently liberal in its social aspects. Now we see famous people, like the American president claim that they are born again Christians, the word Christianity loses all meaning. Voting conservative counters all the money sent to help starving people in Africa. Conservatives (in other word, people following atheistic convictions) voting either Republican or the very similar Democrat, in the United States, just perpetuate the establishment, which is referred to in the Bible as the world and Christ told us to be no part of. In fact, Jesus was most critical of the equivalent of the Church establishment, which at that time was in the form of the Jewish establishment - these are the people referred to as the Pharisees and Saducees. Although I believe that Christianity is socially liberal, I hold to what the Bible says on salvation and eternity. I see helping others out who are in need, as another note in the same song on the same instrument. I believe that our American society is pluralistic and that holding people to Biblical standards who aren’t born again doesn’t make any sense, if you believe in eternal salvation and a literal interpretation of the miraculous of the Bible. The Bible is not about a set of rules, but about a relationship with God. According to Jesus, following the Ten Commandments alone not only doesn’t get you to Heaven, but is impossible. And according to Paul, the only way we can keep from sin is by the direct divine intervention of our savior, Christ. Not only is it non-sensical to expect people to follow the laws of the Bible, without becoming born again first, it actually goes against an orthodox interpretation of the Bible. Furthermore, if I had the choice of living in an idealistic society with conservative "Christians" as leaders and live in a predominantly atheistic society, I would definitely choose the later. The only kind of Christian dominated society I would want to live under would be directly under the authority of Christ, in the flesh. The thing on the mind of most conservatives to change about society is to persecute or severely limit the rights of people who are homosexual. Although I believe that homosexuality is a sin, I believe divorce is also, but I don’t see many conservatives giving up sexual relations with their previously divorced spouse. And these are the same kinds of people with the same reasons for discriminating against people of color and women in previous generations. Instead of targeting people, because I don’t agree with their values, I seek to help those out who society has rejected. The most rejected by society are animals. Cute little furry animals are kept as prisoners and tortured, so that the chemical and meat industries can collect more cash from unsafe products. Their habitat is destroyed all over the world, in a senseless rush to use up all the world’s potentially renewable resources in a couple generations. Also, prisoners are discriminated against. We often see them as the enemy in our society, but we all have sinned and are to forgive our neighbors. So we should help people who have made mistakes to get back a productive place in society and find a way to keep from getting sent back to jail. === 2.2.2 Innocence Lost === I used to think that the common conception, that earlier decades of this century or earlier centuries were more innocent, was just nostalgia. But, as I now enjoy watching TV shows that I watched in my youth, I am reminded about how much simpler things were, even 15-20 years ago ==== Technology ==== One of the things that has really complicated life is the increased complexity in software, games, phones, mainly centered around the Internet. I remember when I first used a computer, the main difference between using the computer for word processing rather than by hand or on a type writer was the ability to cut and paste. When you make the jump from producing for print, to producing for the web or email, the complexity increases at an exponential rate. Things like structured documents and file size matter much less, when you are not moving documents around primarily in an electronic format. I think the problem is, that things are advancing so fast that we are not able to adjust our society, in a useful way. Criminals, people in the sex industry, and the military understand technology well and make good use of it. But for the average person, just understanding what the main features are, or even what the feature descriptions mean the software does is overwhelming, even for as simple a thing as a word processor, even for me. I was reading about 2 things over the last several weeks, that sound like very useful technologies, one quite old and the other not even ready for use yet. One is Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web and the other is the RISC OS operating system. The RISC OS is a operating system first made by the BBC and comes from the United Kingdom (also known as Great Britain). It is not well known anywhere, especially in the United States, but this system is easier to use and more suited to desktop publishing than the latest Mac. It is relatively expensive and is not compatible with many things, but it makes up for this in its well thought out design. The Semantic Web is a way of getting computers to understand human language better, by making the information smarter. This means giving extra information for the computer, along with the writing designed to be read by humans. This is built on what is called an ontology, or system of knowledge, where the computer is shown how words are related. This is a very simple level of complexity for the computer to handle, but should make things easier for us. For example, when you search for pizza, the computer doesn’t understand that Italian food is related to pizza, so if you search for pizza places, it is not going to list the Italian restaurant. This is a great idea, but the problem is who gets to decide which ontology to use. What if the ontology said that Jesus Christ is the same as Buddha or Allah? As our jobs become more and more directly associated with computers, we socialize mainly with computers, and we get entertainment mainly with computers, the less culture we will have. Art created based on watching people type into computers is not a interesting subject for most artists. When I was a kid, if someone could use a computer on a TV show, they were a nerd and specialist and they were only used, as one of many skills. Now on TV shows, almost everyone uses a computer and the computer specialists know a tremendous level of background knowledge and skill, in almost every area of computers. ==== Human Relationships ==== Over the last 20 years, the family and other social interactions have changed rapidly and are quite different then they were even a few years ago. When I was a kid, no one was talking about Gay rights or discrimination against homosexuals. I never thought of the idea of same-sex marriages. There were no actors playing gay main characters on any of the TV shows I watched. Now we have numerous shows where men even kiss on TV and everyone has an opinion on gay marriage. International relations were different when I was younger. We didn’t worry much about terrorism in America and Russia was our main enemy. Russia was falling apart and so we were entering a time of peace without there being any conceivable future threats. When the first Gulf War happened it was fought in a few days. When I went to school, my parents supported the teachers and we followed the principals rules. Today, parents can get the schools to do anything they want them to by threatening to sue. When I went to school, we didn’t know of anyone who was an illegal immigrant. I did not know of anyone on paid school staff who did translating. When we learned about history, it was just about American history and a little history of England. When I went to school, we didn’t have any after school programs. But we had numerous sports to choose from. On sitcoms today, the relationships are totally different. We see the mothers as the leaders of the family, and the dads act like kids. The kids are seen as equal partners in decision making. The parents have the same amount of maturity as their kids. Sex is commonly talked about and the women don’t want to get married any more than the men. Women are as interested in the way the guy looks, as the kind of job he has. === 2.2.3 The Public Mind and American Democracy === Many young people are critical of America and then my parent’s generation will say "it is the worst form of government, except for all others". American democracy works, but not for the reasons people think. Sure we are free to vote, but there are only 2 parties that have a chance of winning and they are almost identical. Many young people get upset because they want real change and they believe that our democracy should allow them to make radical changes. Then, when they realize it is not possible: they stop voting, they get involved in violent protests and sabotage, they take out their frustrations with their cars, drink heavily or take drugs, or try to do various lobbying efforts. The reality is that we are not ruled by a democracy but by a dictatorship, but instead of using violence to control people, the dictatorship uses the media to control our world-view. People say that is not true because we can say almost anything we want about the government and there are no censors. As long as it is not communicated to enough people in a way that will convince them, then the government doesn’t care. Controlling people’s minds is the best way to control the government. People will put up with almost anything, as long as they think they are well enough off financially. People like to talk about freedom, but really all most people want to do is just follow orders. Most people don’t care about doing what is right or wrong, as long as they are members of a large group that can tell them what to believe. It is not that the average person wants to cause problems for others, its just that they are unwilling to change anything about their lives to help. They key for individuals, who want to do what is the right thing and not just what is comfortable, I would like to introduce: the concept of "no blood on my hands" where we work to limit the amount of destruction we cause to others and use creativity to go "under the radar" so that we are following all the laws, but we are at the same time freeing them from the media controlling our minds and we work to "free others" on a small scale. "No blood on my hands" means limiting our impact on the environment and the poor. Many things fall under this, which is often called the voluntary simplicity movement. Some of the things I do are: use shampoo and detergent that are not tested on animals, I don’t eat beef, I don’t drink alcohol, I use open source software, and I give to help farm animals left to starve to death and to Christian ministries in prisons. "Going under the radar" seems the easiest to do on the Internet. Be part of the long tail, where you appeal to a small segment of the market or a given specialty. You can effectively compete with the likes of Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in concert with many other specialty sites, without any coordination necessary. You can subvert the media by licensing your work under a creative commons license. "Freeing others" comes from sharing information that condemns consumerism and materialism. Instead of consuming the information that is produced for the masses, get your information from foreign books and international news from other countries. Another way to free others is to be positive and encourage others. Pray for them and find news of positive things going on in the world. Most importantly, do not invent any technology that would upset the economy, even in a way that would help others. The government doesn’t look to kindly on people figuring out how to produce energy for free or anything that fundamentally advances Science. === 2.2.4 The Protestant Ethic === Have you ever wondered why so many Republicans are Evangelicals and why so many Evangelicals are Republicans? Because many are both interested in making money. But many are moral because they never spend it - that would be pagan. You too can get rich if you join our church. Our theologians have found the secret to creating wealth - having lots of money to start with. ==== Hard Work ==== My neighbor says He wants a website You do websites? What is it for? To sell things I am not your man I know how to write How to design How to think How to create How the technology works I  have 9 years of experience And am hard working I can do it for free By I don’t know how To convince people To buy something It is a common misconception That people are poor Because they are lazy In America we equate Hard work with money But their are millions Who would beg to differ Proverbs says we should Work hard But God never promises To make us rich Even if we follow All His commandments If godliness equated money Or money was to be valued Then Jesus would have been rich Paul was poor and in prison And he was happier then Than any time of his life Solomon was rich but depressed When he had the wealth Of the entire world He wrote the most Nihilistic book of the Bible ==== American Philosophy ==== You thought philosophy Was the love of knowledge But why does it matter If it can’t make you rich? If working 40 hours a week Gives you enough money To live on Then working 80 hours a week Will give you money to invest If you invest all that money You will be rich And then you can start Your own business So you can be a proprietor Then you can sell Your business To make more money Don’t worry about Studying the classics It only matters If you have money The more money you have The more you can make The more time you spend The more money you make This is all you need to know The rest is luck and marketing What else is there to life? ==== Faith and Work ==== You are a technical writer Your job is to write About new technology Your audience is affluent You publish for your advertisers You publish facts But they seem to always Be in favor of whoever Pays you the most money When you are discovered You lash out angrily With weakly worded insults You get angry comments You lose more readers Do you think You did something wrong? Was that you at church On Sunday In the front row? Was it you who ranted on About those liberal rascals In the church parking lot? Do you think you were Acting Christian? What has that Got to do with it? ==== Bad Monk ==== He wears a coarse robe Of brown burlap His head is shaved And he is silent He works in the fields In the heat of the day He picks oranges Atop high ladders And makes marmalade The following morning To give to the Orphans and widows To bring a smile To their little faces He kneels down For the midnight prayers This is how he spends Most of his days What a waste He could be pulling A 6 figure salary As a professional gambler If he would just Jump the border And steal someone’s identity No questions would be asked He would only be taking A job Americans Are unwilling to do ==== Religion of Isolation ==== God loves me And my family He doesn’t like you He chose to save me No matter what I do I am one of the few Who get to go To Heaven God didn’t choose you So you got to Hell I cannot explain Why God makes Those decisions But we have no right To contest it I don’t have to care That all my friends And coworkers Are unbelievers I believe they Have been specifically Chosen to suffer For all eternity It is all set in stone And it doesn’t matter How you or I act You are one of those Who haven’t been chosen I will not associate with you Because I am better We have exclusive clubs And we make more money Our kids will be Your kids bosses God has blessed us For His reasons We have enough members We are not interested In your salvation We will try to punish you By creating laws That are based on our Odd view of life We think everyone Should follow our beliefs No matter if they believe Or not ==== Worldly ==== The whole world Is Going to Hell Except the members Of my church If you don’t believe Just like us In our warped View of Scripture There is no hope For you Those who are Not among us Die their hair Bright colors They paint their fingernails All solid black They have piercing And they have tattoos They read Harry Potter And listen to Liberal radio broadcasts And non Christian music They have parties And watch movies They watch TV And use the Internet They drink alcohol Outside of communion No on like that Would dare come to Our church ==== Who Can Help Themselves ==== God will only help you If you can help yourself You are only saved If you are rich God always blesses you In a purely financial way Christian charity Means having a job That pays lot of money If you can do this By your own skills Then God will help you God looks down on Those who are lazy Who we can determine By those who make Only a little money Money follows grace The point of following All of God’s commands Is to get rich If you weren’t gaining anything Then why would you Go to all the effort Of going to church And raising money To send your kids To camp in the summer? === 2.2.5 Capitalism and Atheism === ==== Un American ==== Conservatives say that It is un American To challenge the power Of multinational corporations But how American Are these companies? They don’t pay any taxes To the American government They don’t employ US workers They are invested in by Unstable dictatorships Countries in the Middle East Their bank accounts are in Offshore islands Or Swiss banks ==== Democracy vs. Capitalism ==== Our enemy during the cold war Was communism And millions died for this cause But what were we fighting for? Democracy isn’t the opposite of communism Anymore than medicine Is the opposite of sociology How could people be against communism? A more equitable distribution of wealth Should fit in comfortably In a country with a distribution of power What we were really fighting was dictatorship But we supported other dictators The only thing that differentiated Our "communist" enemies from Our dictator friends Was who would open their markets Their raw materials and cheap labor To multi-national corporations To sap every drop of possible profit from The reality is that no one has ever Or would ever give up power willingly The only reason why we can speak freely In America is because our souls Are bought and paid for in full The only way the government would allow Government that is voted in office Is if they had absolute control over the media We can say whatever we want in America So long as no one hears it or doesn’t act on it ==== Freedom and Terror ==== We are afraid of being attacked without warning We lost 3,000 of our people Those in the Middle East are tired of being victims Of American violence We have killed off hundreds of thousands of them And we are fighting the wrong nation It is just like how the police in America Don’t bother to solve crimes But rather find the nearest person of color To be a scapegoat to appease the grieving Who is really a threat to who? A few thousand poor people With improvised weapons living in tents Or the most wealthy nation in the world Which has the capability to fight the entire Rest of the world together and win We spend more in a day on war Than our entire annual budget for education The president thinks it is a waste of money To offer free medical care for the poor But keeps on donating money to the rich Who have drove their companies into the ground We spend more on software That we could get a better version for free Than the annual salary of the person Operating the computer In a third world country Our kids take drugs to escape from reality And that finances the Middle Eastern terrorists We invade their country but won’t Destroy the crops that it comes from For fear of alienating ourselves from the locals There is an easy solution It is against the religious beliefs of those Who are growing the drugs to continue with it So all we need to do is guarantee them the same money From selling something that is not a drug But our government is really afraid of Alienating the multi-national corporations That got the government elected ==== More than Bread ==== Man does not live on bread alone What is best for man Is not limited to what is best For his taste-buds And for his sensual enjoyment A person has more needs Than food clothing and shelter Man needs a good relationship With God with other people And with the animals and plants And his entire ecosystem Which is primarily spiritual What we see is not all there is What we can sense is not eternal Satisfying our feelings And maintaining physical health Is not the entire picture People have hearts and souls They need to help others They need to give of themselves This may not be a balanced accounting In the realm of money But the heart and the soul Have needs as well What the body craves can actually Destroy the mind What the mind craves can Destroy the heart We need to know there is more To life than eating and sleeping What we need to be satisfied Is in the giving of ourselves To our Heavenly Father first In humility and reverence And to those who are in need Who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually Hungry and malnourished We need to sacrifice our own needs So that we both may live better lives It is bad to be a slave to work But it is worse to be a slave to your belly This is the problem With solutions to problems That are only economic This is why communism and capitalism Both fail at improving lives Like treating medical problems Without awareness of the patients minds Does not guarantee good health It does not matter how much money You have or how protected you are If you cannot make the lives Of anyone else better Than how can you call yourself human? Even animals help other animals in need Even plants provide for life Giving of themselves And returning the resources back When they part with life The point of a business is to make money At least theoretically And a corporation only has a responsibility To its shareholders There is nothing to be gained By society as a whole Even if the business advances technology Or extends our lives Because it is doing it at the cost Of other people and animal’s welfare To live happy and fulfilling lives We do not need cell phones Or computer games Having a more powerful military Does not guarantee we will win wars Having the best education system Does not mean there will be no crime Immunizing people against diseases Does not guarantee a long life Man does not live on bread alone ==== Conscience ==== Some people say we need Objective standards to live by So that we can all agree On what is right and wrong We make all these turns of logic And people are then Afraid to make choices Or more likely turned off by Ethics in particular Or philosophy in general We do not need to understand The phenomenology of Hegel To know what is right Is it surprising that basic laws Are similar across belief systems And that people still find The Bible is relevant to them? Is it a wonder that atheists Are much more likely To be afraid of death? There are absolutes And this does not mean That we can be objective But rather that the Creator Of the multi-verses Actually exists That we are responsible For our own actions Whether or not we claim We didn’t understand Do businessman really Believe if being honest That killing off an entire species Or leveling an entire forest Or experimenting on animals Or wiping out an entire civilization Is not wrong? People lie and rationalize God doesn’t ==== Logic and Religion ==== Why do we need rules? Why can we just live By doing what helps ourselves? How do we define What helps ourselves? Is there no such thing as generosity? Do we think that all our desires Could be satisfied on our own? Could we have a society Where everyone did whatever Gained him the most And ignored the spiritual dimension? Spiritual forces are at play And are involved in every thought And action we make Denying that there is a God Does not make it so And getting rid of religion Because some people abused it Does not solve the real problem The real problem is that When we seek to satisfy Our own desires And do not keep our focus on God And on those in need Our desires escalate First, we are fed with bread Then, all we want is cake Then all we want to have is a job Then all we want is to be middle class Then all we want is a car Then all we want is a house Then all we want is a wife Then all we want is a family But seeking all these For the benefit of just yourself Adds up to a very sad world That no one would want to live in Do you ever wonder what Car companies would do If wheel technology was patented? How would we communicate If the English language was copyrighted? What if libraries were illegal? How could people afford to do research? What if we didn’t have free education? What if there were no scholarships? The point is that even the universe Did not come out of a vacuum We are all interrelated to each other And we all have had help No one is a self made man Businesses get more government money Than those on welfare We need to see to our whole Community and its welfare If we are to live in peace with each other ==== On Marx and Engels ==== Communism has failed And yet it has never actually been tried We associate freedom With domination by monopolies And morality with corruption The whole world is oriented Around how to make a few people Even richer than they are now The only developments we see Are first applied to warfare Or they receive no funds We want to minimize our losses But if they are not Americans We don’t care how many suffer Even those who are our allies Unless they are white We are only limited in The deployment of violence By our fear of retaliation But that is not great In a world we dominate In every sense of the word We can afford to launch Preventative wars against countries Who are driven by morality Just because we have no values We think freedom is about money And the only sin is enjoying sex We think that people’s behavior In their bedrooms Is more important than what Others do in boardrooms We think we are so different Than our greatest enemies But we really see life the same way They only hate us because we are rich And we only persecute them Because we use different vocabulary Giving money to those in need Is considered corruption And our only values Are about saving money Because their may be inefficiency In the government running welfare We get rid of it entirely There is less and less of a middle class And people only think they are Because they keep changing The meaning of the word We are continuing to get poorer More in spirit than money But we keep on voting For those who created our problems The word liberal is so vilified That the average American Thinks the poor should be punished We keep on taxing alcohol and tobacco With no restraint And no one speaks out for the poor But even our poor Are rich by the world’s standards But no one considers Africa Or anywhere there isn’t oil We only treat those in the Middle East as people To the extent that we Are addicted to oil We know we are running out But it is considered un-American To use alternatives or to conserve American values consumerism Most our economy is based on spending The only thing our government Asks of us is to get ourselves into debt For things we don’t need Or even care much about The ideas of Marx and Engels Are very much alive Their solution would never work But their statement of the problem Is as relevant today as when They first wrote it The difference is that the proletariat Is in the Third World But anyone who isn’t white We really have no time for ==== Marxism is Defeated ==== We have long since defeated What we call communism And yet we still think it alive And fear it alone Basically we equate any idea Of justice or peace As a ruse to a dictatorship The only people we trust Are the cowards that send Our children to war And spend their time in office Finding ways to make themselves richer With no thought as to the consequences We think that war means peace And that evil is good We claim to be a Christian nation And yet our values Are whatever makes the most money We don’t care if the corporations Control the government We call this democracy And claim that is what we fight for But the only people that win Are those supplying the weapons Our heads of state are capitalists And the only thing that motivates them Is the interests of those with The most money Because they never spend any of it But on charities that get them more money They are considered good and moral We think that every rich man Got his wealth by his work alone And the only way God blesses us Is by making us materially rich Christ would be a liberal And that makes Christians mad Because that means they are in the wrong They are too busy persecuting Those who look Middle Eastern to them Than to think about compassion or humility They see Christ as a conqueror Basically Rome is their God They only pray to God Because they think that will help them Win more wars Like a superstition they pick and choose Obscure references and equate them With invented meanings They are right on every detail Of every subtlety of cultural meaning And yet miss the main ideas === 2.2.6 What If? === What if the Chinese didn’t close down their fleet of ships after Zheng He’s expeditions in the Ming Dynasty (about 1433 AD) ? The Chinese had the largest wooden ships ever built and and more than any European power at that time -  and may have sailed as far as the New World, but they could not afford to anymore with other projects and wars related to conflicts with Mongolia, as they didn’t sail in order to make money. ==== Buddhists Missionaries ==== Coming off ships Brimming with canons Loaded with gold And human slaves Along the Swahili coast We have a new religion Coming to Africa From the Chinese Buddhism is spreading Westward into the jungles Of central Africa Buddhism wasn’t very popular At first until we were Allowed to keep Our old religions We said we were happy With our own gods And didn’t need theirs But they told us If we didn’t follow them We would come back again As a monkey Or end up this life In a crate headed for China To work the rice fields We were told how compassionate This guy called Buddha was We asked why they didn’t Feed the hungry locals They said we had to give up Everything and be a monk Most of us signed up As we had nothing Until we found out We had to beg for food Buddhism didn’t sound like Much of an improvement Buddhism sounded like A religion for the wealthy The Chinese government Said they were just here For trade and to make us More civilized We thought that meant We would get rich But it seemed the longer The Chinese were here The poorer we became The continued to make Improvements in infrastructure So the Buddhists could Spread their religion We have trains all over Africa They get our natural resources On ships headed to China Faster that way We found out that most Of the officials weren’t Buddhists And that Buddhism wasn’t Really Chinese anyway We were told that Buddhists Were pacifists Although we saw many Chinese soldiers who were Buddhist ==== European Backwaters ==== No one cares about Europe Why would they? They are few in number And they don’t have any money The Buddhists were active here But the Christians outlawed them As heretics and put them in prison They were not a European religion There are no empires in Europe And the countries are all really small The whole land mass Is smaller than China They don’t have anything of worth To trade or to sell They don’t make good slaves They look like ghosts They are the color of death And they are dressed in rags They don’t have any navies of any size We could conquer them easily But they have nothing worth taking They believe in one God And most can’t read They have no common language We still are not sure Whether to classify them As humans or not They have no culture like ours The few people who can read Spend most of their days praying They are obsessed with their classics Some stuff written down 1, 000-2,000 years ago By a small empire called Rome And an even smaller one called Greece What if we found another world that worshipped Jesus and was much more technologically advanced than us? ==== Christian World ==== People from another world Who look a lot like us And can speak our languages Appear in a museum Of ancient artifacts They tell us about their God And His name is Jesus Christ And they came to our world As missionaries because Their world is all Christian They have been traveling From world to world For hundreds of years To spread the Gospel Through inventions of Their own designs They live in a world That is a thousand years More advanced than ours They can also travel Through time and space They have never seen A world as corrupt And as evil as ours That hasn’t destroyed itself They live communally And they have no crime Their society has lasted For thousands of years Without conflicts They want to help us But they say the problem Is not that we haven’t Advanced in technology enough But that we need to Improve ourselves morally They have no environmental problems And have never had any in their history They treat animals as equals And eat entirely vegetarian They have hundreds of billions of people On their world And they are self-sufficient energy wise Even though they their technology Uses a lot of energy Because they limit their use What if Jesus came today? ==== Contemporary Jesus ==== If Jesus came today He would be homeless And hang out with Strippers and escorts He would be at the clubs And at the political rallies With anarchists and goths He would be the son Of a computer programmer Who worked in a small business Based on open source His mother would be An artist or designer He would listen to reggae And be vegetarian He would live in a Community house With all possessions Held in common He would hand out flyers For environmental causes He would hang out At poetry readings And at Internet cafes He would be a member Of His local Linux Users Group And would use only Open Source software He would have served in Iraq And in the Peace Corps He would have Started a new religion And criticized the political elite He would start a reform Of the religious wrong He would be a liberal And speak out against The conservative powers People would follow Him But not be able to explain why The news would not film Him And people would Make fun of His followers Pastors would say that He was a heretic They would ban Him From church on Sunday And the police would Call Him an agitator Bush would call Him A terrorist leader And He would be Imprisoned without trial He would be interrogated And released to a mental hospital He would form His own band And He would have a blog Where He would write poetry With millions of monthly visitors What if stuffed toys ran the world? ==== Toy Society ==== Children are prized above all They are the friends Of the powerful elite The president’s dump truck Is pushed by a toddler And the famous actors Sign the diapers of their fans The toy entrepreneurs Load up the toy boxes In their factories And the children Drive around the boxes In battery operated And joystick controlled All terrain vehicles The children go to play At the toy research centers To see what toys Are the most popular And for quality control They are played with Under supervision Of the toy managers To make sure they Are safe for play Day care for the toys Is provided by toddlers And teams of seamstresses Are trained to be The top surgeons Of the toy leaders Each toy is treasured For its entire life The toy gets a new Assigned kid to look after When the previous kid Begins to grow up No toys are ever given To animals to martyr There is always A loving home For every toy They will always be warm And kept clean and dry There are always activities To keep the toys busy They have a great Christmas party Where they meet new kids And a holiday parade Where all the toy stars Are dressed up and honored There are award ceremonies For the kid’s favorite Toys of the year When the kids grow up They are used as heaters What if farm animals ran the world? ==== Farm Society ==== The cows roam free All over the midwest Milk, cheese, and ice cream Are free for every child No animals are in prison And they all have Their own barns With heated blankets And human employees To clean away the cow pies Half the nation’s wealth Is in grain, crackers, and alfalfa The currency is sugar And no one eats meat The pigs are the police And everyone caught Eating an animal’s flesh Is sent across the border The sheep clear the Wildflowers and weeds So the human workers Can plant the corn and wheat For their cow leaders All the extra paper From all the books Not recorded in farm animal Languages are recycled With the help of the goats There is plenty of power To run the mills From all the cow pies Cows are assigned To each residential block To keep the grass cut There is no more Need for cars Nothing too small To carry a cow Is licensed to drive There are new uses For all the SUVs They are all powered By sugar cane Left over from cow deserts == 2.3 Emotional Breakthroughs == === 2.3.1 Son of Strength === I have developed the idea of raising the bar, once I reach the level that was once my goal, for a higher goal and then on and on until I die. I think I reached rock bottom recently. I have developed the ability to understand philosophy despite having Schizophrenia and with it the near impossibility of understanding abstract thought. Based on this insight, I surmised that I could do the same thing with my physical body. I would strengthen my will to the point that I could force my body to do what it couldn’t physically much as Special Forces do. The problem is that in the Special Forces, when the training is done, that at some point the service member gets to rest. They don’t tire out the service members to the point that they have no energy, before they drop them onto classified missions. So for me to assume that I could will myself into mastering my body is a flawed assertion at best. But that was very arrogant to assume that I could reach that level of intensity, without having even attempting that kind of training. Anyway, when I came back from my run, which I was able to push myself past more pain than I was able to do in any of my cross country running, I tasted blood in my lungs and at the point when I got back to my retirement center, one of the managers thought I was having a heart attack. This showed me that I need to slow down and be aware that although I can dream of saving the world, I do not have the energy to. In addition to never being able to feel fully rested no matter how much sleep I have had, I can’t push past it with greater mental strength, as I don’t even have the control over my mind as a normal person does. What the Apostle Paul said in Romans is at the heart of (Christian) Existentialism. We cannot do what we want to. We are not strong enough mentally to reach our goals. We must leave saving the world to God and just help in small ways or else we will not survive long enough to see the fruits of our efforts. I have finally realized that having Schizophrenia is not just a mental illness; it is a physical one as well. If your medicine is being effective on giving you some control of your thoughts, then you will have no energy to do anything. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. I have recently arrived at the conclusion that the increased suffering of the world recently is the direct fault of Christians not following what God has called them to do, and in response to the fact and because I am in the wealthiest nation on the earth and because of my gifts of intelligence and creativity that I should be able to make a measurable dent in the amount of suffering that the sentient beings of the earth must feel. But the problem is I don’t have the strength to have the reach that I believe I should have. Many of the problems of the world, if they are to be solved by people, need more resources than I have been given. I will just have to accept that there is some reason that God is allowing this to happen by conscious choice alone. I have had to struggle with whether to say I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead and that he was both man and God or that that is a fact. I have recently come to understand that belief is stronger than facts. Similarly to how I said when we had to mark opinion as false and fact as true that opinions could be truths but facts are not consequential enough to be truths. So it shows more certainty to say that I believe in Heaven and Hell than to say flatly that there is a Heaven and Hell and that is the truth whether you agree with it or not you will go to one, because of course its true to the limits of my knowledge which is all I can guarantee by saying it is the truth, but to say I believe something to be true means that I haven’t just proved it intellectually, but it is so true that I risk eternity on it. === 2.3.2 Heaven and Earth === There is a rhythm that exists Deep inside your spirit When all you hear is breathing And your mind is all alone Thoughts take flight And you see nothing Returning the power to Heaven And the ten thousand things Follow your mind Liberation is a subtlety And freedom comes from control The hierarchy reflects nature And the order is transparent Within an instant Everything fades away The mind is ruler And the body follows When the mind is empty The body is fully alert With each breath Heaven takes more territory And the Earth longs For heaven’s leadership A unity exists When Heaven is patriarch And his rule is sage-like And shows perspective The Way leads to your heart And is illuminated by your breath Heaven leads the Way And each member settles in For a long peace And a stable rule The Way is narrow When your mind is a casualty of war It broadens As Heaven is seated on your throne === 2.3.3 The Breakthrough === ==== History ==== In Elementary School, I was so bored, as the classes were so stupefied and repetitious, that I daydreamed most of the time. Middle School was a dark time for me, as I had a very painful time getting rid of some huge warts. I also struggled with people kicking and hitting me, especially on the bus and in shop class. High school was a renaissance for me, as I had always looked forward, to being in clubs. By my junior year, I was involved in Cheerleading, Boy Scouts, Summer Camp Counselor, Explorer Scouts, Catering, French Club, Model United Nations, Speech Team, a Political Club I started, a multimedia CD-ROM project with Sony, Future Business Leaders of America, a student journal, and a number of other ones I cannot remember. Other years I did Cross Country and Long Distance Track, instead of Cheerleading. I put as much work into each of these, as I was able to, with the most time spent on: the Political Club I started, Cheerleading, Speech Team, and Boy Scouts. At the end of my junior year, I signed up for the military, under the delayed entry program, so that I shipped, off for Basic Training a month, after I graduated from High School. I spent the whole year getting into shape for the Army and reduced my load of activities down to the seven I enjoyed most. Some of the reasons for joining the military were: serving my country, money for college, getting a break from school, and getting experiences for my resume. The military was harder than anything I had done before and I proved that anyone could do it, if they put in as much effort, as I did. When I left the military, due to mental illness, I went into school right away, but I began writing some poetry, about a year through, and was inspired by learning about Postmodernism in an English Writing class, Chinese philosophy ,in my year long Chinese literature course, and Existentialism and Ecofeminism in some summer courses. I started out with a Business major, but later switched to Journalism, as I hated business so much and was not very good at it. I was always good at writing and so Journalism was a much better match. Then on December 11th 1999, I was voluntarily admitted to the psychiatric ward of the local private hospital. I did not write for several months afterwards because I couldn’t. I didn’t know if I could write or understand philosophy again, but I continued to pursue it for a number of months and when I switched to a newer medicine I began to be able to write well again and understand philosophy. ==== Background ==== I have studied philosophy, religion, and literature, both European and Asian for 9 years, to help give myself a multicultural understanding of the Bible. I believe that theological traditions, in American culture, have kept us, from understanding what the Bible is really about. What is really misunderstood is who the Holy Spirit is and how God’s Spirit works, in the world, and in our hearts. The passages, that deal with the Holy Spirit, are some of the most cited and the most unread of the Bible. The Holy Spirit spoke through David, in the Psalms, and through God’s prophets, as well as in Paul’s letters. I have developed a philosophy that combines Philosophical Taoism and Christian Existentialism, to help people understand God in a new way that originally comes from Scripture itself. This philosophy is meant to help seekers understand biblically based Christianity better and this also serves as an inspiration for Christianity, starting several hundred years from now. But, I have pursued this as much, as I have the ability to and I will need to rely on God, to keep this around as long as it is His will to do so. For most people, their problem is ignoring what God is telling them, but my problem is that I take too much of it on myself. I have to realize, that God can do any of the work, that needs to be done that I cannot complete. This is not an excuse, to neglect God’s voice, and fail to do the work He has prepared for us, but there is a balance in God’s expectations and I have fallen on the side, of being a workaholic. And the search for rest and my struggle with doing too much is an important theme in the philosophy. My understanding of Chinese philosophy is based on my upbringing as a Confucian scholar, which in western terms would be considered a workaholic. Ironically, Existentialism and Taoism have a lot to do with rest and enjoyment of life, but the paradox is that the father of Existentialism, Kierkegaard, worked himself to death. I have recently had the opportunity to see a number of contemporary Chinese philosophy influenced works of art, in a museum near where I live, and the common theme is the magnitude of work and the precision involved in creating it. When I compare European art, to Asian art, I laugh, because it is so simplistic. But I have also seen the freedom in western art especially the Impressionists and in the work of Picasso. I have constantly been fighting, to save the world, since my departure from the military, but I have finally realized, that it is ok to rest and that my work is finished. ==== Questions ==== It is commonly thought, that if you believe in the Bible, it answers all your questions, so you don’t have to think. You often hear people, who call themselves Christians, say they believe in all these absolutes and that they have life all figured out. This is totally wrong. While the Bible does give assurance of salvation, provided you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus’ resurrection, there is not much else the Bible gives specific answers to. Once you get past a couple of basic theological ideas about God, man, and their relationship, the more you look through the Bible, the more you will be surprised, at the implications of scripture. Did you know that Scripture never says, that we can’t travel through time or different dimensions? Did you know that the Scriptures describe something, that sounds a lot like a UFO? Did you know that the Bible doesn’t even refer to those, who can be saved, as human beings and that the Bible never says, that there aren’t aliens? In fact, the more bizarre Science gets, the more the Bible lines up, with these new theories. It is commonly thought, that only atheists are skeptics and that uncertainty is not a Biblical theme. The truth is that there are very few absolutes, in the Bible. The Bible is also very Asian, in its content. Most of the Bible is poetry and one of the main unifying themes, of the Bible, is suffering. The Bible speaks against the occult and even Greek philosophy, but not Eastern Philosophy or Christian mysticism. Christians, who are honest, have to admit, that they constantly struggle with sins, doubts about promises in the Bible and various psychological issues, like addictions and depression. The Bible doesn’t say, that all suffering comes from sin. In fact, King David suffered from depression and paranoia and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Although the Bible helps us recognize, that there is a spiritual component to most issues, it leaves open the idea, that we can have psychological conditions, as well as physical ailments, that aren’t necessarily the result of sin. ==== The Letter ==== I had a great break through last night. I realized that I constantly looked for ways to improve my philosophy and my website in my mind and I have come, to the conclusion, that there is nothing more I can do, with the philosophy. I have just started telling myself, that I do not need to solve all the world’s problems, by myself. I have to wait on God, to solve the world’s problems, in His time. I have gone as far as I can, in this direction. I have realized, that God doesn’t require us to do some gigantic special project, and we are only responsible, for ourselves. Just because other people have no vision and are not bright enough, to think of anything other than sports, does not mean what I have done is of no value. There is no reason why most people need to understand what I have done. I don’t need to constantly improve myself. It is OK, to just enjoy life. If people don’t share my interests or values, maybe it is their problem and not mine. People being rude to me, or not liking me is not always my problem. I don’t always need to be the one to change. I do not need to be able to answer everyone’s problems, that keep them from salvation. I am only responsible, for myself, and keeping the right attitude, before God. ==== More Thoughts ==== I don’t have to always be learning new things. I don’t always have to do everything, for a reason. I don’t always have to make ten backups, of everything I create. I don’t have to publish everything I do. I don’t have to worry about all the possible bad things people could use, what I have created, to do. I don’t have to constantly get more talented, at everything. I don’t have to master every discipline. I don’t have to complete everything, as soon as I think of it. If something is that important, it will come back to me later. ==== In Verse ==== My mind runs endlessly At the speed of thought There are no breaks To watch TV There is no excuse To stop working When you believe You can save the world How can you end Your essential project When you believe Everyday is your last You push harder And you never stop When your expectations Are endless And always rising You will never finish You will never be satisfied Until you are at the end Of what you can handle I stopped yesterday I cannot continue I need to wait On God to save us Continued improvement Is not necessary I am not always wrong Its not always my fault When someone doesn’t like me When someone can’t relate I am not responsible For anyone but myself == 2.4 Nature of God == Breakthroughs in my understanding of the nature of God. === 2.4.1 Jesus Poetry === ==== The One ==== The words jump out at you They dance on the page A steady light to pierce through the mist and shadows A light that gravity cannot bend A power that surpasses that of the undead Like a quark compared to a strand of DNA A book of the highest magic A chill like that of a winter storm As soothing as a glass of tea for a sore throat A written record that proves history as we know it is a lie Balrogs and Orcs ambush us at every turn The road goes ever on and on He stands taller than an Elven King With strength greater than that of a ring The battle is fought even in the Shire Little Hobbits pass by without notice The evil within is greater than that of the Dark Lord We must struggle each year with the pain of our youth Stepping out on the first day of the Fellowship Knowing terror lurks under every darkened forest But that One older than the forest is singing merrily And in the havens the Immortals sing songs higher than we can sing We are inseparable with the One even when at the farthest reaches of the universe Our brothers and sisters move in concert with our every twitch The words spoken by the Hebrew prophets thousands of years ago Are a postmodern deconstruction of our present situation What broke the symmetry of the emptiness? Is it the same force that has slowed down the explosion of new life forms? That disharmony increases with every day That we fly apart faster every second ==== The Majestic Down to Earth ==== A comet down to a meteor pebble A red giant star to a black hole The One now just a grain of sand in a mile long stretch of beach The One now a snowflake in a winter snowstorm How much greater was His descent to earth? With the authority to bend the laws of physics and chemistry With the ability to create life out of nothing The eternal now confines Himself to a human life span That which all creation cannot contain is born a helpless child His head turned down in respect for others His eyes wide so that He does not harm anything His feet dirty because He does not think of himself His hands calloused from His devotion to his family business in His youth His understanding is brilliant as diamonds His words are as clear as glass His insight is like polished bronze He delicacy in speech is like that of a potter We are weighed down with worry about how those who hate us will retaliate The government is turning on those who are trying to save us Our time is spent working for multinational corporations dreams Our investments are lost because they were based on deceitful schemes His message is for our time Humility and compassion are the keys to restoring our lives ==== Jesus ==== Is the universe in constant struggle Between good and evil? Does not nature possess more order? Do we not have breaks between calamities? Do basic structures break down Most of the time or infrequently? Both merciful and just All-powerful and humble All-wise yet foolish by our standards A joke more serious than a tragedy Is He both opposites at once Or merely a mixture of equal parts He is everything He is my whole world Yet He is not contained by His creation Is He merely first order infinity? Greater than someone could write down Powers of infinity in an infinite time period If He were just a Greek god Or the heavenly ruler of China He would not even bow Himself down To visit earth But He is infinitely greater than everything He could create in all of eternity Stretching in an infinite number of dimensions if He never ceased God does not struggle against evil He beat all the powers of evil that ever will be or have been With just a sentence God is God enough to live as a man Secure enough in His holiness to save all of mankind in a single night Not afraid to descend into the pit of Hell And powerful enough to rebuke the Devil himself, in His own name When we look to God To shuffle blame to Someone we don’t think will respond We have to calm ourselves and be rational God is not a man and does not make mistakes Our problems are caused by our own bad choices And the bad choices of others But He already has answered our prayer He has shortened the time of the tribulation And as we pray more and more It comes nearer and nearer So we won’t have it hanging over our grand children’s heads === 2.4.2 Self Poetry === ==== With one material, many souls ==== What is our true self? What is our true identity? Are we one with God Is God in us or is He our true identity? Is the individual soul an illusion? Do we only exist as One? Truly there is something That unites the universe Not only is there something That unites body and mind But also the same thing Is the foundation of everything And there is something else The same moral purpose in everything But we also have a soul that exists And although it may be made of the same As that of matter and energy and of other souls The composition is unique In each one of us Just as each snowflake is made of the same molecule There are ten thousand different kinds Each one is an individual creation With its own shape, size, and texture So does our soul have a unique identity And we have our own special characteristics So we can share a common God And we can empathize with each other We can understand what it is to be human And have the same desire to know our Creator But we each have our own will And we are directed by a different facet Of the same moral purpose To the extent that we have cultivated it To the extent that we desire to know God ==== Directions ==== We are all moving in different directions But our makeup is aligned at the same slope We can move a mountain If we have the faith of a mustard seed If we seek God with all our heart We can have eternal life With even the effort of our own will We can effect great change As long as we are in sync With the Greater Moral Purpose As long as we act In concert with God’s will We share the same substance But we each have a different mind A different will and heart We can share in general moral purpose But each is going toward a different direction It is where these lines of purpose intersect That we are linked in a bigger task Like each cell we live and die in our own timing We have our own body and our own director As an organ we are working towards a larger purpose And in this way we can act as one Many wills, with the same thing in their minds and on their hearts With one Leader We follow with a mind that thinks its own thoughts Just because we are not the same spirit Does not mean we cannot work as one in the Spirit of God We do not need to be God To know that we are interlinked in relationships And connected in Greater Purpose ==== Holy Spirit ==== These contours upon which we travel Are the straightest path to the nearest soul We can know we are in agreement And work as with one body Because we understand We are each separate members That have wills working together While we keep our hearts and minds focused But what is this road upon Which the mind is linked to its vessel How does the distinct mind of one being Understand what the mind of the other is doing Without asking and without explanation Without external signal of any kind? It is like the cool current of wind In the penetrating heat of our yellow sun It is a subtlety that unites our thinking And brings us together for greater purpose Donning the protective mask In one fluid motion Or knowing what line of code is wrong Just by seeing how the web page looks There is another level In which we understand Another way in which things happen Than the official regulations It is how someone writes without an outline And still puts together a coherent argument It is in a way that cannot be pinned down It has no universal name In the Bible we know it As the Holy Spirit Or God in the world Who brings together His flock === 2.4.3 Heavenly Father Poetry === ==== The Perfect Programmer ==== God is the perfect programmer We are all his programs I am a flawed program How can this be? My source code was perfect In every respect But I let others add code I started out stable and efficient I was useful to my Creator But the other code was sloppy And my executable became corrupted I kept on throwing up error messages I blamed the kernel and other software Everyone was wrong but me My file formats were universally compatible But I decided not to publish my new source code Or even document my APIs I would only release a software development kit If people purchased a service plan I used other peoples programs I downloaded illegally off the Internet I began to see nothing wrong With being infested with viruses I was getting more bloated by the day And my features grew so great in number That I became too complex to compile without errors I began to seek other business models I released some source code but not all No one will develop me anymore I rely on my my public relations staff To buy my way into your computer I claim no responsibility for damage I would be recalled But people don’t expect computers to work ==== Praise and Criticism ==== I have a memory problem And a vision problem My eyes are fine And my mind works great But I have huge blind spots I constantly pray for protection And I have a great memory For how people have hurt me But it is only when I stop and rest That I remember to give thanks For all God has protected me from My greatest problem is fear And I have struggled with chronic Physical and mental suffering And my life has not been easy For a middle class American’s standard But what I was saved from Is greater than I could have imagined I lost my mind due to my service in the Army But I still have all my limbs and organs intact I was able to get out of the military When my mental illness interfered with my job And my peace of mind I had allergic pink eye for 3-1/2 years But it ended with my first anti-psychotic medicine When we watch the news It is mostly negative And people are quick to point out problems But rarely offer solutions It is easy to criticize others actions When they do not act heroic But how do we know what we will due When we are in a crisis ==== Praise God for Everything ==== Praise God for everything good We know of or have experienced Praise God for everything good We have yet to or may never discover Praise God for everything good We have labeled as a coincidence Praise God for what we have learned Jesus is the best teacher Praise God for what we have learned Sins to avoid and the way to salvation Praise God for when we have peace Spiritual as well as physical Praise God for when we have plenty God provides for His creation Praise God for when we have stability In our jobs and in the universe Praise God for His forgiveness For when we treat each other bad Praise God for healing us From bad decisions and from injuries Praise God for everlasting life If we only submit to God Praise God for His suffering For our bad choices Praise God for our freedom We can choose good or bad Praise God for being who He is Supreme in character, wisdom, and power Praise God for loving us Even when we don’t return His love ==== Awesome God ==== God is not your little sister Who you need to protect God is not in debt You don’t need to finance Him God does not need an advocate He is God whether He is worshiped or not God is not pressed for time He has plenty of time for you You do not need to argue God’s case Creation speaks out His name God doesn’t need you to fulfill his plans God is in control of history If you can travel back and forth in time God is already there and everywhere else If we travel to another planet God is just as much in control If we have a multi verse and parallel realities It is there because God created it God is not limited by having poor followers God is all powerful in and of Himself God doesn’t just watch you in church God sees all God doesn’t like Christians better than unbelievers God loves us because He chooses to God will not do evil This does not mean His power is limited in any way God does not play favorites You don’t get points for good deeds God will judge everyone And none of us will pass without Christ God does not struggle to defeat evil He destroys it in His timing and with His methods God doesn’t care what we think is immoral He invented morality God is not fooled like people are God knows your heart ==== Family Appreciation ==== Thanks God for my family Thank God for my mom Whose encouragement uplifts And who continually advocates for me Thanks God for my dad Whose advice has saved me from harm His prayers give me hope Thank God for my sister Who listens carefully to what I say Whose visits cheer me up Thank God for my Uncle Clive Who faithfully looks through my work Whose careful words brighten my day Thanks God for my stuffed cows Who are always near by Whose humor and thoughts keep my company Thank God for giving my a family That is always near in spirit And who put my needs ahead of theirs Who are anxious to hear what I have learned And who consider what I say With open minds and careful consideration Who care enough to consider my feelings And adjust their words and tone Who I can consider colleagues And who understand what I am doing Better than anyone else Thanks for your inspiration And your love ==== Tolerance ==== Is is better that we not offend The pride of those doomed to eternal death Or better that more have eternal life? Is the preservation of one more year of life Of significance when we count in eternity? Is it so important that we have personal transportation That we sacrifice our young men’s lives? Do we seek to be so tolerant of the wealthy That we let the poor suffer violence? Are we so addicted to popular culture That we no longer care what is right and wrong? Are we so far devolved morally That we throw away our future? Because some people used Christ’s named for evil Does that mean that there is no truth in the Bible? Why do we give to charity When we vote against those in need? Why speak out for what is wrong When we don’t even try to live morally? Do we need to rewrite history To prove what we are doing is right? Isn’t it a bad sign that we have no faith? There is more to the world than white America God values those in the Asia and Africa Even if we won’t even help feed them When the rest of the world hates you You might think you did something wrong When you read the Bible and get offended Do you think you are you better than God? Who are we to judge the world From our Postmodern point of view? Atheism is a blip in world history And the future is more Christian than pagan And there are more Muslims than atheists Do we only tolerate those with big lobbies? Do we only look after those who can speak for themselves? When we choose to give some rights and not others What is the basis for this decision? Why do we put women and children Above the lives of our soldiers? Why do we disregard the lives of animals When our society is built on their labor? There is more to life than American football And there is more going on in the world Outside Hollywood and Wall Street ==== God, Help! ==== We look around us And we hear rumors All point to our destruction Our imminent demise Our fresh water is infected Garbage drifts in the sea Our forests are destroyed Daily more are burned down Our food make us sick And we eat ourselves to death We generate dangerous waste For ten thousand years Deadly incurable diseases Spread like wildfire Our rich steal from the poor And conduct scams without penalty Our president is a dictator He starts wars out of revenge Our politicians don’t care about us They follow the largest sum of money Our religious leaders Preach hate and prejudice The people don’t seem to care As long as they can see the football game And there is plenty of beer They will sell their souls To not have to get up off the couch God, we repent of our sin Please have mercy on us We take full responsibility And are willing to pay the penalties Please forget our sin And be our God And we will be Your servants We will put the poor and the rejected Above our own desires We will honor You With our actions and not just our words ==== Walking Forward ==== With back straight And eyes level A relaxed walk With long strides Brilliant blue sky And radiant sun Long rows of books Quick glances And moving on With each turn And a rapid survey Passing by numerous sections Already absorbed With each step I pass walls of books And with each shelf Years of study I am beginning to feel More relaxed And sure of my ideas There is a subtlety That exists in the mind And a slight change in pace That signals growth And increasing certitude The times of clarity Multiply in number I still don’t have plans For tomorrow But there is a stillness And a gentle attitude Overflowing from my heart And my head is a little lighter On my shoulders The weight is slowly receding And I get glimpses of peace And times of conviction That experience exponential growth And continued enthusiasm ==== Morning Sunshine ==== In the cool of the day Darkness fades gently And the sun rises confidently Over the distant horizon At what point does it become day? Where exactly is the horizon? I learn sometimes in leaps Sometimes at a slow walk God continues to rise in my heart I do not know when I will fade But I know God will continue To outshine the darkness of my soul We bow to God’s brilliance And are blinded by His Presence We are dark and low Not worthy to be the dirt On which He treads We live most our life in the shadows It is hard to watch the sun We hide from the intense light But are afraid when it leaves We scatter far and wide To our own devices When night falls But we need to return To the radiance of our Lord Before we start our day Under the direct light of the sun === 2.4.4 Son of God Poetry === ==== The Missionaries ==== God does not love America More than any other country God does not condone wars Over natural resources God is not Republican He does not support the Religious "Right" Bush is not following the Bible America was never a Christian nation The Bible does not promote capitalism Christians should speak out against corporations TV evangelists are seldom Preaching from the Bible correctly The Bible is incompatible with Science The way it is taught in schools The Bible is more Scientifically sound Than the theory of evolution God is not in danger of being outdated America is regressing God is worshiped in the Third World Only Europe has no faith Religion is not a competition The Bible has no equal We don’t need to denigrate others To support our beliefs God is not White God loves all races God is not a God of hate God loves all people No matter what they have done And no matter who they are ==== God Speaks ==== God speaks all languages He speaks to us in our language Arabic and Chinese Spanish and Pali Hebrew and Russian Croatian and Pigeon Farsi and French There is a word for Christ In every language There is a word for suffering There is a word for submission There is a word for sacrifice There is a word for humanity There is a word for hope There is a word for joy There is a word for peace There is a word for life There is a word for eternal There is a word for forgiven There is a word for repentance There is a word for belief There is a word for sin There is a word for good There is a word for heaven There is a word for love There is a word for victory There is a word for change There is a word for compassion There is a word for service ==== Religion Means Education ==== The Bible is not just words For memorization and quotation It is not a means to control Or a way to win arguments The Bible is not a set of rules To conform to The Bible is not a goal to achieve Or a means to a higher consciousness Christians do not ascend And God is not trying To advance us technologically God does not make you rich If you are devout God is not a reason for bad behavior Or an excuse to give up God does not want us To be workaholics The Bible is a weapon Against our own selfishness And our pride and stubbornness But we must plunge the sword Into ourselves God wants us to learn He wants us to grow Not to be wealthy or more advanced But to be moral and healthy We do not grow by secret knowledge Or by special powers We learn who God is And learn how to submit to Him We learn the source of our problems Is our own poor choices And we get deliverance from them To the extent that we give God control Of our minds, our hearts, and our souls ==== Campus Community ==== Under the cover Of strong oak branches And on the carpet of Carefully manicured grass The entire campus Is overflowing with deep green And on these memorial benches Of weathered cedar and black iron I watch with fading eyelids As people pass the Frisbee by Which dogs catch in mid air And students cover the lawn Leading up to the ornate marble library Ivy is digesting the brick halls And the sounds of construction Permeates the adjacent buildings All the vertical wood surfaces Are covered in propaganda A gray bearded man Plays the guitar And sings songs Only fully understood by him Softly a block away What a community What an idyllic atmosphere I like to think that Maybe some are believers ==== Open Market ==== You can smell the incense a mile away And you can see everyone’s toes It is Saturday again downtown The booths are all assembled And manned with merchants There are pamphlets and stickers Posters and pens All carrying the logo Of a charity or small business This is how capitalism was envisioned This is a diverse gathering Fresh picked produce And organic baked goods Hemp clothing and more Everything is produced locally Or a product of fair trade There is silver jewelry galore And every kind of clothing tie dyed The local charities are out in Solid numbers and well stocked With sign up sheets And passionate volunteers There are dozens of groups Fighting to save the forests And dozens of groups For equality and justice Globally and locally There is continual music And the aisles are crowded The lines slowly shift forward And the restrooms are portable A Christian group lurks in the distance If you squint real hard ==== Epic Hero ==== Christ is the greatest epic hero The most powerful and the strongest But His goal was not war And He did not kill His message was second To His example And greatest of all Was His humility joined With His divinity Conquering the spirit world Or starting an empire Was not His way He conquered the greatest enemy The most entrenched traitor Our heart and our minds And our sins and bad attitudes He healed and He prophesied He was merciful and had authority He was a descendant of the Jewish people And He was the One who created all Because of my Hero, Jesus I have eternal life He did the hardest thing anyone has done To make it as easy as possible for me I do not have the energy to do yoga Or the leadership to start an ashram I don’t have the discipline to pray 5 times a day Or the money to journey to Mecca Christ has provided the only way For my salvation And He has invited everyone to join And the cost is free as in freedom ==== Ancestor ==== Born as a descendant Of the Scottish monarchy And with many castles to Our family name If we could prove it Starting out to free Scotland From the brutal English I later gave up The quest for nationalism Not only did the Stewards Inherit the throne of England But I have a greater legacy Which I have given up on The previous ancestry for I am born again And grafted into The lineage of Israel And am part of the inheritance Of the Son Of God The second Adam Christ, the Creator of All Has chosen me Before the beginning of time To be one of His children And any who will believe Are all God’s chosen people Whether Asian or European African or North American Latin American or Australian ==== Center of Gravity ==== Night has fallen on Europe And it is late afternoon in America But the sun is just rising in Africa And it is still morning in Latin America And it is a few hours before dawn in Asia Christ is universally understood And is available to all believers In Europe and North America The white man is diminishing in numbers And his power does not extend Beyond his own continent Even at home, foreigners from the south Are overwhelming the West But Christ loves the South Just as much as the North But the white man has lost his religion And those from Africa and Asia Are embracing and comprehending God In ways that the West never could Christ is not just a moral teacher He is a living God Christ loves the poor And identifies with the losers of war The spiritual world is real Even more than Science could theorize Christ is not an abstract concept But a real force in everyday life God is not just our Creator He is our Ancestor He wants to adopt us To be a part of His lineage And to share His inheritance God shapes history In ways we could never imagine And God has a special plan For those in the Africa and Asia For the persecuted and the fatherless From those rich in Spirit ==== Crossroads ==== We are at a turning point As believers worldwide We have passed on the torch To our friends in the South What does God have planned For those who understand Christ better? What more will God reveal In the 21st century? There is no need To spread the Gospel southward We need missionaries in the North There is nothing we can teach the South Now we need to learn from them Africa is becoming the leader The younger child that God loves And we have become wealthy We have given up our inheritance For things of this world We can no longer see the truth Of God’s divine intervention And the miracles available For those who truly believe We look down on the humble And reject those with problems We blame the sick The physically and mentally weak For our declining power in the world We don’t realize Our lack of character And are unable to comprehend What sacrifice means We are an empire on decline Will those in the South pray for us? = Chapter 3 = '''Book of Belief''' by Ben Huot == 3.1 The Purpose of Philosophy == === 3.1.1 General Ideas === === 3.1.2 Psychology in Philosophy === Do you keep on trying to solve the symptoms of your problems, and are never able to deal with the source of your problems? If you constantly try to improve yourself and your life and are tired of the over simplicity of pop psychology, you can get deeper insights and more sophisticated and useful answers by reading philosophy. Philosophy is more than just an intellectual exercise and has more applications than just ethics. Reading philosophy is like reading an inspirational self help book but with much more creativity and originality. Good philosophy is always very practical. Any good theory should be a useful guide in real life situations. If you have found philosophy to be overly abstract, difficult to understand, or not very practical, you should try reading Eastern philosophy or Existentialism. Some people who are religious don’t feel a need for philosophy, but philosophy is not a substitute for religion or a competitor to religion. Religion and philosophy add value to each other. Religion naturally brings up philosophical problems and philosophy is completed and answered by religion. You must commit to a particular philosophy and religion to understand them and find practical uses for it. But the answers to the questions philosophy brings up are not immediately resolved by religious doctrine. You will find answers to what you struggle with over a long period of time, after experiencing a wide variety of different situations and spending years reflecting on all of this. Just because the answers are not quick does not mean that you are not doing it right. The reason why you haven’t already solved the problems you have is that they are difficult to deal with and just because you can see a simple solution to your problem does not mean it will be easy. But philosophy and religion are worth the time involved in their discovery and they are one of the most effective ways to find meaning in life. ==== Ethics and Consistency in Philosophy ==== Philosophy reveals what kind of person you are by forcing you to prioritize your values. By forcing you to choose what standard you evaluate truth and morality, you learn more about yourself. Are you the kind of person who puts utility above all, do you believe that avoiding pain or staying alive is the most important value, or do you find that being strong and independent in thinking is best? Do you believe that moral standards should be followed because God says so, because they are good for you in the long run, because they are practical, or do you believe that you need to develop your own standards? Philosophy teaches ethics by emphasizing consistency, which is another word for fairness. No matter what philosophy you go by, you make a deliberate decision to be the same in your expectations of yourself as you expect in others. This is one of the reasons why Existentialism talks so much about anxiety and despair: when you make a decision in how to behave, it is only fair that you have the same expectations of everybody else in that given situation and this should cause you to feel an awesome sense if responsibility (in making this kind of decision). Philosophy can help you find a purpose and and depth to your life. The reason I so enjoy reading the writings of major philosophers is their passion. If you read from Rosseau, Nietzche, Kierkegaard, Camus, Hafiz, Meera, Kabir, Chuang Tzu, Bodhidharma, Dogen, and other major philosophers, you will realize that important philosophers have often had difficult lives fighting for their belief amongst much opposition and have made immense sacrifices in the way they live their lives to be consistent with their beliefs. ==== Creativity and Philosophy ==== Philosophy and religion are very creative fields, except instead of producing some sort of physical art, philosophy and religion creates new ideas. Just like artists use different types of media concepts to express their creative ideas in, philosophers start out with a basic set of concepts known as a philosophical or religious school. Examples of philosophical and religious schools are: Stoicism, Epicurianism, Empiricism, Rationalism, Existentialism, Sufi Islam, Bhakti Hindusim, Sikism, Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism/Realism. Some of the greatest philosophers and religious leaders have actually successfully combined more than one school, like: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Hegel, Kabir, Chu Hsi, and Bodhidharma. Another way in which philosophy and art are related is that much of Asian philosophy and religion and Existentialism are expressed in visual art, literature, and music. The concepts are philosophy, but the creative work is art. Often there is an elaborate symbolism that is used to create a bridge between the two. People can express their devotion to God and to ethical principles by creating artistic works. In the West, we often see religion as a set of doctrines that have to be accepted in their totality or not at all. In the East, it is commonly considered acceptable to mix and match different aspects of different philosophies and religions. You don’t have to accept a fixed doctrine that someone else has put together. One of the big differences between Asian and European art is that in the West, we often create a picture, because we think that it looks visually attractive, without necessarily illustrating a philosophical or religious idea. We feel free to express ourselves, with any style or combination of styles, without committing to any belief system. In the East, it is traditional to evaluate art by how well it conforms to a specific classical tradition, or how it illustrates a particular concept, in a particular school of religion or philosophy. There are established symbols and methods of writing literature or painting and conforming to this tradition is what makes it beautiful. === 3.1.3 Schools of Philosophy === ==== Paradox (Also Known As Non-Dualism) ==== Paradox is often seen as a synonym for a contradiction, but that would be non-sensical and is not used in philosophy in this way. Dualism is a descriptor for opposite concepts like male and female or kindness and seriousness. Non-dualism or paradox acknowledges that often things that appear to be true opposites are actually related, just as the yin yang symbol represents: there is a seed of the yin in the heart of the yang and vice versa. Good and evil are often thought of as a duality, but philosophies generally have a system of ethics, so good and evil are not related paradoxically, although society’s conception of right and wrong could be a paradox. ==== The Supernatural and Asian Philosophy and Religion ==== Many Christians think that studying Eastern philosophy and religion will some how push people into the occult. The answer to this assumption is not a simple one, but I can explain the situation very clearly. To explain the reality of the situation, a person needs to understand the basic progression of religion. The earliest phase was that of Animism, where everybody worshipped fallen angels and each country had their own gods, while 1 person or one small group of people worshipped the Creator (who was later understood to be Jesus Christ). The next phase was that of the revealed religions, which started in Asia mostly and are the basis for most major mono-theistic religions and then there were also the major non-religious philosophies of China and India that occurred at the same era. The latest phase came out of the west, with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, based on the Greek and Roman animism, which is the basis for modern Atheism, Science, and the Theosophy movement, and modern Paganism came as the final phase. So the Bible forbids doing any activity that involves the supernatural, without being done by God, in the way that is described in the Scriptures. So, as a Christian, I am not going to read any type of books about supernatural practices of Animism or modern Paganism (New Age). The way things that are supernatural are dealt with in traditional Indian and Chinese philosophies is that there is no understanding of this Biblical concept and in addition, a lot of these philosophies don’t distinguish between and are many times combined with different forms of Animistic supernatural practices. This occurs because Indian and Chinese philosophies and religions are not exclusive, like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, in that it is perfectly acceptable to take parts of the Chinese and Indian philosophies and religions and combine them with any other belief system. On the flip side, there are many writings (most of the most important) that only contain philosophy and no supernatural practices, so if you go by my list in the Book of Lists or read about each work in depth, before reading it, you can get a very deep understanding of the Indian and Chinese philosophies and religions without getting involved in any Animist supernatural practices. ==== Confucianism ==== Confucianism is a philosophy indigenous to China. The Chinese philosophies are unique in that they are mostly concerned with ethics. In Chinese philosophy, like Chinese medicine, is not overly concerned with why something works, but rather that it does work. The proof for various historical schools lie in the belief that in ancient China, that the government was more virtuous and that the society was much more peaceful and stable. In Confucian and Taoist texts, the arguments are given support by how previous sages ran the government in the past by quoting decisions individual leaders made and their historical results. When Confucius was writing his philosophy, he based it not on his original ideas, but on how the previous dynasty ran the government. He got famous for editing the classical Book of Songs, which was a collection of love stories taken from all over China. Confucius interpreted this romantic love as love of the state. He believed that ethics was made up of humanity and ritual. Ritual is similar to what we call manners or protocol and humanity refers to paying attention to people’s feelings and situation. He believed that the scholar should run government and that in reading the classics that the scholar would learn to be ethical. Later on, the government gave tests for people, who wished to be leaders (as the government ran all business, which was mostly farming) and to qualify, the candidates had to prove how much they understood Confucianism, by writing poetry about its concepts. Even though China had much more advanced technology in the past, they got past over economically and militarily by Europe, because instead of rewarding advancements in technologies of war, the Chinese government rewarded the study of the arts and the humanities. ==== Taoism ==== Taoism has two major schools, both of which are fundamentally different. There is Religious (or Esoteric) Taoism, which is a form of animism, based on the pre-Confucian indigenous religion of China. And then there is Philosophical Taoism, that is based on the philosophy of the I Ching, without the religious elements and is described in the writing of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Lieh Tzu. The philosophical Taoism is the original Taoism and is how the scholars of China practiced Taoism. When I refer to Taoism, I mean philosophical Taoism. If you find Taoist texts written after the time of Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu, they are mostly of Religious Taoism. Taoism is the paradoxical counterpart to Confucianism. Whereas Confucianism is a government supported philosophy that advocates the idea of sacrificing your own self for the good of the society, Taoism stresses individuality and independence of spirit. Whereas Confucianism is concerned mostly with human affairs and the cultivation of reason, Taoism is more focused on nature and on the human spirit. Taoism is not a religion, although it does deal with the spiritual side of life. Taoism acknowledges a creator God, but is very vague about what that entails. Taoism, like Confucianism, is about ethics, primarily. The highest good in Taoism is staying alive, at the expense of material gain or social standing. Taoism stresses a very extreme form of non-dualism. In Chuang Tzu, the “Discussion on Considering All Things Equal” warns of false distinctions. Taoism teaches that society has mixed up true right and wrong as it originally was understood and works against the natural state of man and so has lost its virtue. Taoism claims to be the original philosophy of China, predating the dynasty that Confucius celebrates. The values of Taoism are humility and compassion and Taoism considers all sentient beings (including animals) to be equal in worth and to be respected equally. Taoist virtue is described as a state of spontaneity and tranquility, that is felt, while an experienced athlete is in the middle of performing, or an experienced artist or craftsmen is in the middle of creating something. Taoism is often mixed up with Buddhism, because Zen Buddhism is a synchronization of Buddhism and Taoism, but Taoism predates Zen Buddhism by at least hundreds of years. Buddhism and Taoism are actually very opposite in nature. There is a famous picture of Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha in front of a honey pot. Buddha abstains, Lao Tzu dives in, and Confucius deliberates. ==== Existentialism ==== Existentialism was made famous by Sartre, who named a philosophical school, in which he included many philosophers both before and at his time, many of which vigorously rejected the label. Modern Existentialism originated with Kierkegaard and was Christian in its origins. The basis for Existentialism is in the writings of the Apostle Paul and in the writings of Augustine. Existentialists talks frequently about the distinction between subject and object. Kierkegaard believed that we cannot be objective because of our fallen state. According to Kierkegaard, the only being that can be objective is God. Kierkegaard and most other Existentialists believe that any system of thought cannot adequately describe the human spirit, because free will is what defines human being (human being is what Existentialism literally means). Kierkegaard and Camus talk considerably about the absurdity of life. Kierkegaard is also obsessed with humility. Kierkegaard sees Christ’s being a man and God at the same time as the greatest paradox. He also believes that our relationship with God is paradoxical too. He believes when we are most conscious of our sins and faults that we are actually closer to God than at any other time. Kierkegaard and Sartre believe that we should feel a tremendous weight of responsibility when we make choices. Kierkegaard and Sartre both stress the importance of the freedom of will. Kierkegaard, although a committed Christian who obviously wants everyone to go to Heaven, does not believe in proselytizing, because he believes that saving faith only exists, when we believe in Christ, without anybody pressuring us into it. Kierkegaard believes that a Christian should resist the pressures of social conformity. He even goes so far to say that when everybody is Christian that nobody is Christian. == 3.2 Main Ideas == === 3.2.1 Why Study the Old World? === •Have you attended public school but didn’t like it precisely because you wanted to learn and you were bored out of your mind? •Were you more interested in clubs and extra curricular activities because your school work was so repetitive and dull? •Did you get so disillusioned by the public school system that you decided to put off college and join the military or start out in a trade? •Do you enjoy reading and learning about other cultures and are tired of studying the American Revolution and the American Civil War? •Are you tired of reading white American and English literature? •Do you enjoy learning about other cultures? •Do you see the supernatural as important in everyday life and realize that Science is not the solution to our fundamental problems? •Have you had trouble classifying yourself into a particular social group and are more interested in helping a few friends and close family than becoming famous? •Do you really want the world to be transformed and realize that God is the answer? If you have had similar experiences and feelings, I invite you to Discover the Spiritual Old World with me. === 3.2.2 Main Objective === ==== Broader World View ==== When I present different ideas of mine, I am not doing so to persuade you, but to stimulate your thinking and help you find a broader view of the world. I think that the world is becoming too analytical and is relying too much on facts and on Science as their only sources for truth. ==== Holistic Worldview ==== It is not that there is no place for linear thinking, but that there is also value in holistic, artistic, and creative approaches to problems as well. I am not trying to get rid of Science, but rather show people that the spiritual world is just as important and that emotions are as useful as facts in decision making. ==== Think For Yourself ==== I could have argued some of my main philosophical ideas more directly to the point that they would be much more persuasive, but I am more interested in getting you to think for yourself rather than just getting my ideas adopted. I want people to come up with their own ideas and take responsibility for their outcomes rather than just regurgitating what they were told. ==== What God Wants ==== I believe this idea of coming up with your own ideas is an integral part of the Bible. God wants us to freely choose to follow Him and to choose to follow him with our intellect and emotions as well as our spirit. He wants us to really believe in what He values and take risks in applying these truths we need to accept whether we understand them or not in the best way we know how. ==== Christ and Christianity ==== We need to see beyond a set of doctrines and realize that Christ is more than what a systematic theology can explain and accept Him as a role model and as an individual. We need to pursue a life as it was lived by Christ in its entirety and to do so we must use our intellect and emotions to apply His personality and values to our very different situations. === 3.2.3 How I Can Both be a Free Thinker and a Christian === ==== Christianity is about Free Choice ==== Many people associate free thought with Atheism and Science. But the most real part of the world is the spiritual world and the thing that defines humanity is our free choice. Although Science is not rejected by specific Biblical Scriptures, a worldview that sees things only from a material perspective misses out on so much. ==== Christianity is Multicultural ==== Many colonial powers tried to use Christianity, to control people in the third world and in their own countries. But, if you read the Bible and talk to most people in the world who call themselves Christians, you will realize that they come mostly from the third world and are very often very anti-western. Christianity is the world’s most popular and culturally diverse belief system and it did not get to the point it is today, by advocating the domination of people. ==== Christianity is Misunderstood in the West ==== The reason why Christianity has been used to support the establishment is because it is a poor person’s religion, but all the negative ideas people have tried to make the Bible say are not in there. People in the West need to read the other books of the Bible that you don’t here often in Western churches, like the Prophets and they need to re-read the Letters of Paul in a totally different context, to really understand what the Bible is all about. ==== The Church is not the Problem ==== The Church dominated Western Civilization, in Medieval Times, but the basis for Democracy and Capitalism has nothing to do with the Bible. The basis for modern ideas of toleration are often thought of as a result of the Enlightenment. But, if you read John Locke’s Letter Concerning Toleration, you will realize that the basis for not pressuring someone into believing in something comes from Biblical concepts. ==== Why Christianity is the Best Religion ==== Christianity is the best belief system, because it effectively deals with our spiritual selves, in a way that no other belief system does. The Bible explains the way to freedom and dignity, for all those suffering. Christ is a loving God, who saves us from destroying ourselves and we are now seeing the destruction of Revelations taking place before us. We are beginning to realize that our Apocalypse is self induced and the environmental disasters, that we will be experiencing, are all the direct result of sin and greed. Our problems are not a matter of us not being smart enough or things that can be avoided through technological advancement. ==== Solving our Problems ==== Our true enemy is not the devil, but our own selfishness. God wants us to be creative and happy in life, but He knows, as He has lived as one of us, that we need Him in our lives, to find fulfillment and joy. We need to embrace the spiritual side of life and live as God intended us to, or else we will destroy ourselves, not just economically, but morally and emotionally. But God wants us to make this choice of our own free will. And God has different paths for all of us, but they start with a simple prayer. == 3.3 Ethical Vision == === 3.3.1 Why Avoid Objectivity? === ==== Fear of Controversy ==== It is a sad situation today where so few writers of non-fiction know so little about their subjects that they find a need to hide behind facts and statistics. Writers are afraid of having people not like them, because their readers disagree with their conclusions. Most people think that religion and politics are controversial, but in any discipline in even the most narrow and academic subjects are constantly torn part by bitter and nasty debates and whose participants are in a constant struggle to get followers to their approach. It is sad that where there used to be a belief that the free exchange of ideas was of utmost importance, there now seems like there are only certain opinions that people are allowed to have, if they want to be considered as serious or an educated person. ==== Believe in Yourself ==== My approach is that I want people to come up with their own ideas and I actually don’t want any followers. But I still have very definite opinions on almost everything and I will argue in favor of what I believe. It is great that others disagree strongly as I enjoy real diversity caused by real differentiators like: income, regional history, belief system, political beliefs, family influence, sub culture, hobbies, career, talents, life experiences, and the like. Lets learn to disagree even on important issues and have some faith in what we believe in enough to know that it will prevail. The only thing that I hope to agree upon with my readers is the avoidance of the mainstream beliefs and of the supernatural. === 3.3.2 Definitions === ==== Defining Terms ==== One of the most important aspect of debate is at the very beginning, where you define your terms. Many arguments are in opposition to each other mainly because of a difference, in what the key words involved mean. Philosophy is largely about defining words and philosophical schools are often branched out, according to the philosopher’s understanding, of key terms. When you are not clear on how someone is using words and what they mean by them, you cannot fully understand their message. ==== Denotation ==== Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word. Although words evolve over time, according to how they are used or misused, the denotation is a more precise and direct understanding of the word in question. Denotation is the official definition, although there can be more than one and the wording used differs by dictionary. ==== Connotation ==== Connotation is based on what a word is thought to imply, rather than what its official definition in. The word Christian communicates a wide range of different stereotypes. that have nothing to do with what the word Christian means. Many other loaded words can divide people, not based on the standard meaning of words, but rather on what prejudices people assume to be true, based on public education, government and powerful lobbies propaganda, peer pressure, group think, and political correctness. ==== My Use of Connotation and Denotation ==== When I use many of the words I frequently refer to, I often am writing about how I perceive the connotation and how it corrupts people’s understanding, of the reality of the situation. I also use certain words, for their connotation, rather than their denotation. I believe that the word Christian is used very stereotypically and challenged by poorly formed arguments. These arguments are based mostly on inaccurate assumptions, personal experience that are not typical, and on looking for arguments against Christians, instead of trying to find the truth. In other words, because many of those arguing against Christianity do not stick to facts and are not consistent or rational in their arguments, I feel fine with treating Atheism and Science the same way. But I will not claim to be objective, like those, who often attack Christianity, claim. === 3.3.3 Radical Equality === ==== The Principle ==== The big principle that unites most my ethical beliefs is a principle I call “radical equality”. My sense of fairness is not based on getting my own way, but, rather on every body being completely equal in every way. People, animals, and the entire ecosystem should be treated with equal weight and should all be empowered to enjoy the same rights and responsibilities. All rules should apply in every situation and should be based on general principles, instead of detail oriented laws that were designed, for rich people to not have to follow them, but are targeted for poor people instead. ==== Same Application in Every Situation ==== I believe that animals should have the same rights as people, that employees and employers both have an obligation to each other, that immigration law should be the same for every country, that women should be treated exactly the same as men, that if it is wrong to kill or hurt a person the same applies to an unborn baby as applies to an animal as applies to the environment as applies to any one else. I believe that social services are as important, as law enforcement and national security; that businesses and individuals should pay the same taxes and have the same responsibilities; that father and mothers should have an equal access to their children, when they get divorced; that the environment is as important as the economy; that everyone should get the same financial aid for college; that everyone should have an equal choice as to what education they get; and people should always follow laws, no matter how unimportant they are, how hard it is to get caught, how little the punishment is, or inconvenient they are. I believe that laws should be more severe, based on how many people are hurt and that economic crimes will get the same penalties as “violent” or physical crimes; that our polices toward other countries should be rated on how they treat their people and not on how much money corporations can make off of their resources; that we should give equal consideration in transportation funding, per person, based on how much energy they consume, in their method of transport; that any organization that has employees and receives money should be taxed equally, no matter what the organization is: a small business, a non-profit, or a large corporation. ==== Consistency Plus Holistic Worldview ==== In my writings, I have combined the ideas of radical equality, or extreme consistency, with a holistic worldview. I apply the same values or ethical standards to both: religion and politics, to my use of money and my treatment of others, and to my philosophical reasoning and my writing style. I don’t see the environment and the economy, labor rights and animal rights, or my personal morality and my expectations of others as separate things. My religion affects everything in my life including: my beliefs, how I spend my money, how I relate with others, what I choose to write about, and what I expect out of others. My key value is radical equality. ==== Reality and Ethical Ideals ==== I realize that I don’t have the ability to change the course of government or the culture and even if I do eventually have an influence, it might be centuries away if at all. But just like we still try to follow the ideals in the US Constitution and our religious writings, even in the face of corruption and greed, so we need ethical/moral standards to strive for. Just like in Christianity we get forgiven for everything we turn from and feel bad about, we still need to do our best to reform our ways, to have deeds that provide proof for our faith. We should continue to do as much as we can and not give up just because change is hard or that we can’t get others to fully change their ways. === 3.3.4 Redundancy === ==== Plan on Being Short ==== It seems like most people like to put everything to the last minute and the last dollar. Not having extra money and extra time to do something or buy something is asking for trouble. It almost always takes people 4 times as long to finish something than they thought. There is always something unexpected, that you need to allow extra money for. Car repairs can cost thousands very easily and medical bills can easily be in the tens of thousands. ==== Be Self Reliant ==== Never rely on anyone else, to do something, or to be on time for anything. Always have backups of your backups, for your important computer files, as backups and the originals can easily fail. Everything fails and you will fail yourself. ==== Murphy’s Law ==== Redundancy is needed in every walk of life and in every aspect of your life. The one thing I believe in with my whole heart other than the Bible is Murphy’s Law. Everything that can go wrong will. Just plan on everything, that could, by any possibility, not work, always assume it will not work and plan ahead accordingly. ==== Have More Than You Need ==== Of course you cannot plan out everything and not everything is so important. But anything you value must have an alternate plan. Plan for not having power, running water, or sewer, for at least 72 hours, in the worst time possible. Always be prepared for the weather to change. Carry extra money in cash, to get yourself home, no matter where you are. Do not depend on battery power or credit cards. Always have at least several months of salary saved. Make sure you can get to the money, even if your home is destroyed. ==== Risky Investments ==== Don’t invest any money, you cannot lose, in anything less reliable than US government bonds or in the bank, earning interest. Never put any money in the stock market that you cannot afford to lose. Most investments are risky to the point of being educated gambling and like gambling in Los Vegas, you can lose everything you have. Do not depend on anything you do not have in cash. Real estate has lost considerable value periodically. Never buy on credit, if you do not have the money, on hand, in the bank, already. ==== Natural or Man Made Disasters ==== Plan on your house being destroyed by: flood, earthquake, volcano, or civil unrest. Live in a safe neighborhood and in a city, that is not big enough, to be targeted by terrorists. Have alternate locations, where you can travel to, on foot, where you can live, in the case of natural or man made disasters. Store valuable information, in other locations, than just your house. Keep a list of important phone numbers and addresses. ==== What to Have on Hand ==== Always keep water on hand, in enough quantity, to last for, at least 72 hours. Have a sanitary way to dispose of your human waste, without modern plumbing and sewage, on hand, in your house. Keep some sort of self defense on you, most importantly, to keep dogs off you. The best way to deal with animals is pepper spray or even better, do not be in their way. Never feed a wild animal, block its exit, or bother its children. ==== What the Government Will Do ==== Do not expect the government to help you out, when you are in a bad situation. Even during natural disasters, the government is their to contain you, rather than help you. If a disaster happens that affects your town, expect people to come to the door, asking for your valuables, with no badges or uniforms, who have firearms, loaded and ready to shoot. ==== More than Necessary ==== When you learn multiplication and division, you are getting good at addition and subtraction; when you are learn algebra, you get good as multiplication and division; when you learn calculus, you get good at algebra. In the military, you always train to a higher standard than what is necessary in your job. If you need to run a 5km, learn to run a 10km. If your boss tells you to arrive a 9, get there by no later than 8:30. ==== Above and Beyond ==== The only way to be on time is to arrive early. The only way to pass a test is to practice beyond what you are tested on. Always do more than necessary. Always go above and beyond and you will always accomplish what you set out to do. == 3.4 Spiritual Vision == === 3.4.1 No Perfect Solution === ==== You Pay for What You Get ==== There is no perfect solution to any problems. Everything has its upsides and its downsides. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. There are no silver bullets. To get something worthwhile you have to pay for it and not buy something else with the same money. If you don’t want to save for something before you buy it, then you will be in debt and you will pay many times the amount you would have before, long after what you have used up what you bought. There is no way around it. ==== You Can’t Get Everything You Want ==== In computers it is often said that you only get 2 of the following 3: cheap price, easy set up, and works. In software you can have any 2 of the following 3: efficiency, cross-platform, and easy to create. ==== Roots of Problems with Economy ==== The problems we have with the economy that have faced almost every government throughout history is that either the government, the leader, and/or the people want to get something without having to save for it and then they want to either get out of paying for it, delay paying for it, and then they try to avoid the inherent risk of doing this. The easy way to solve the problem with credit is to not use credit and instead of taking on a huge risk by borrowing money for a given venture, you save up your money before hand to buy whatever you want to. ==== People Want Everything without Working For it ==== This is the way with every issue including politics: people don’t want to have to pay taxes, but they want all kinds of government services. Businesses and non-profits want to use someone else’s money to borrow, but then they don’t want any outside group that they borrow the money from to exert any influence. People want to win a war fast and cheaply, but they don’t want to have to volunteer to fight in it, make sacrifices to support those who have volunteered, and they don’t want the ones they are fighting to not like them or their country. Businesses want to be able to use up limited resources and leave their waste without cleaning it up and not have to pay the cost of this permanent damage. ==== Things Don’t Just Happen ==== Just understand now that no one can give you anything for free, even if they want to. You must fight for everything you have got. You won’t win the lottery, but you probably will get cancer. You may work hard, but you probably won’t become famous, wealthy, or powerful. You will probably not make any more money than your parents did. You will not find the perfect job, wife, or have perfect children. Things do not just fall in your lap for free. Bad things will happen to you but good things will only come to the few, the lucky, those who know the right people, and will fade away fast. ==== The Real Solution ==== To be free of this, accept reality and focus on helping others and secure your place for eternity. The only thing you know for sure will happen is where you will go after you die. You will have to give up everything for it, but it will be not be enough, so God will give it to you for free, as He has already paid the price. You can either have a brief time with lots of money or everlasting life. Choose now. You cannot have both. Either way it is not free. === 3.4.2 How to Help Our World === ==== Most Problems are Spiritual in Nature ==== Most of the major problems our country is facing now, including our debt crisis, environmental crisis, energy consumption crisis, and the increasing power of terrorists are all spiritual in nature. The judgements in Revelations are all caused by environmental disasters, the esistance to the West in the Muslim world has been very effective in blocking the growth of Christianity, and the reason for most wars (including the present ones in the Middle East) for the last several hundred years at least are planned by those who spiritually control the world behind the scenes. So to deal with these problems politically is not effective, because they are spiritual in nature. ==== God’s Rules ==== We have no power directly over the spiritual world, but God places certain rules on what things are allowed by whom in the spiritual world. God wants people to be in control of their own destiny, so He allows us to take part in His plans, by praying for His will to be done. This takes away the limitations God places on Himself and increases His influence throughout the world. Why God has chosen to work this way may not make sense to most people, but I know it does work this way. ==== God is in Control ==== We do not need to fear the problems in the world today, because God places special protection on His people. It is true that the spiritual forces that hate God, what He stands for, and His people have plenty of power to destroy us, and the reason why we have not been defeated from the beginning is because God is in the world with His Spirit and doesn’t allow those behind the scenes to directly hurt His people. The forces against God have the most power when they are doing things in secret and they can get people to stop praying and reading the Bible. ==== What We Can Do ==== We are in control of our future very directly. We can take up the cause and choose to be a part of God’s plan for the future, or we can do it our own way, but either way God will ultimately win and we will serve one master or another. The best that we can do to help improve our world is to: pray for God’s will to be done, have the right attitude before God, read the Bible, and show God’s love in the way we treat others in everything we do. === 3.4.3 Solutions for Our Addictions === ==== Our Problems are All Addictions ==== All our problems in America come down to addictions. Our addictions to drugs and alcohol, addictions to fighting the appearance of age, addictions to games and sports, addictions to information and the Internet, addictions to sex and fetishes, addictions to work and networking, addictions to money and investments, addictions to coffee and sugar, addictions to food and weight loss, and all the other ways in which we distract ourselves are caused by our fear of the increasing signs of global catastrophe. The number one reason why our youth pursue distractions is because they seriously believe they will not live past the age of 30. ==== Real Solution is Prayer ==== The real solution to our addictions is to solve our environmental, economic, cultural, and religious divisions, that are increasing in their violent confrontations, because we are at the limits of the oil, water, and soil that we need to survive. There are only 2 solutions: stop our addictions to our distractions in the West or a massive die off of the poorest part of the population in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We already know which solution those in power would prefer. The only way to avoid this solution is to pray. ==== Rebellion Against God is the Cause ==== We know that all our problems are rooted in our rebellion against the Christian God and His laws. The way to break the cycle is to submit ourselves to God and pray that His will be done. There is no other way to affect change on a global scale. Only God’s intervention will save us and will only come when we are truly sorry for our addictions and stop participating in them. That is the power of consumerism of American corporate culture: that we are addicted to it. ==== The Weak are Hurt Most ==== The consequences for our addictions is that the poor, the weak, and the sick are going to be trampled upon by our masters – the corporations. When we sin, we hurt pollute the natural world, the animals and our soil and water. There only defense is God’s divine intervention. It is the only way to destroy the disease of sin, where it breeds. Our only liberation is through our choice to pray that the will of God happens, in our lives, as it does in Heaven. ==== Our Heads and in our Hearts ==== If we try our way out by science and technology, we will face the same problem within 50 years. The only way we will last to the next century is for us to turn to God. The underlying problem is not a war in the Heavens or on Earth, but the war in our hearts. We need to defeat our carnal self and empower our spiritual self, and that is the key to our survival on earth. We can only do this, by first submitting to God, in all areas of our lives. === 3.4.4 Why So Negative? === ==== Reasons ==== Sometimes my writing may appear negative, but there are good reasons for that. For one, writings is therapeutic for me and helps me accept the things that I cannot control in my life that causes my problems. Second, it is very hard to write something positive and uplifting or humorous. A third reason is that we live in very serious times. ==== Things are Going Well ==== What I want my readers to know is that most the most important things in my life are going very well and have been improving greatly each year for the last 10 years. I have learned a lot about myself, my illness, and what caused the major problems in the world today. My mental health has improved greatly as well as my independence. I have a great family and have enjoyed spending my time with them and sometimes I have been able to help them with some things. I have read about computers every day over the last 7 years and have increased my ability to fix or avoid problems as well as my ability to create better graphics and publish books. I have continued to do better financially each year and I have more money saved and my income is very secure. == 3.5 Personal Religious Experience == === 3.5.1 Why am I a Christian? === ==== Why My Experience is Unusual ==== I don’t have the typical experience of being an unbeliever as a child and then accepting the Lord as my Saviour later in my life. I cannot remember exactly what was in my mind when I first asked the the Lord into my heart. I was only 4, but the following factors were likely in my mind, as soon as I could understand anything about myself. ==== Why I Began to Believe ==== There are four major factors in my decision to become born again and stay with the faith since then. Most importantly, I have always know that I needed help and the fact that needed it was much more obvious from my time in the military and since then. I wasn’t a big leap to submit myself to God, because I hated arrogance more than anything else and understood why God placed the most importance on the ideal of humility. I never considered another faith as I knew that God was like how he was portrayed in the Christian bible, as I have a certain sensitivity to the spiritual things, and I could feel God’s presence. ==== What Continued my Interest ==== And one of the things that has made me continue to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually interested in the Bible is because of its complexity compared to other religious, philosophical, literary, and historical works of the greatest human thinkers. People are known to memorize the Koran and Buddhist Sutras, but I have never heard of a person who could conceivably memorize the entire Bible. The Bible is very simple and at the same time the greatest thinkers have struggled with even basic Christian doctrines (which is major reason why there are so many different denominations). === 3.5.2 My Testimony === ==== Life Events Were Unexpected ==== My life didn’t turn out like I thought it would. But, I am very happy with my life how it is now. When you are young you believe that you can be a famous singer, actor, athlete, politician, or CEO. Later in life you realize that the main reason so little really changes even of things that everyone can agree with and don’t require any sacrifice is that no one really wants change. Most people who get into power don’t get there because they want to change the world, but rather are so willing to compromise and so willing to do anything to fit in, that they have no vision and no integrity. ==== The Most Power ==== The wisest man knows that a father and a mother are the ones with the most power in the world. They may not change a lot of people’s minds, but they have more impact on their children then anyone else will. And having kids is usually so easy that we usually go to great lengths to prevent it. ==== How to Make a Difference ==== The best way to improve the world is find what you are good at, find a skill you do that someone will pay you for, and use the latter to finance the former. You can tell you are doing the right thing when you have a lot of powerful opposition, you cannot reach many people, you cannot make any money off it, or that no one finds you relevant. ==== Failure of Greatest Thinkers ==== The best test of whether you will change the world will be by how much you are rejected in your generation. Confucius, Baha’ullah, Socrates, the Apostle Paul, Spinoza, Rousseau, Hume, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and many other major thinkers were failures during their lifetimes. Abraham Lincoln lost election after election, but never gave up. Van Gogh couldn’t sell his paintings to pay for a meal. ==== What I had Planned ==== When I was in high school, I was interested in international relations and wanted to becomes a wealthy philanthropist in international marketing (the distribution part). Then I went into the military and after not being able to complete my enlistment and my failure in college business classes (I took accounting 5 times before I passed), I realized that what I was good at was writing. Before I had a chance to complete my schooling and find a career, I was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and started out in the mental ward of the local private hospital and worked my way up to where I am now – living independently. ==== Biggest Influences ==== But the reason I am happy with my life is not just because I had been able to accept my illness easily, as I was glad I didn’t have cancer like I thought and I got rid of chronic allergic pink eye with my first antipsychotic. My real success is because of the direct divine intervention of the Christian God and the ability of my family to accept and embrace me despite my illness and their willingness to continually and ability to effectively advocate for me. ==== Divine Intervention ==== From the placement of myself in a base that was not going to deployed to a war zone, was in the US, as well as in a command that was willing to let me go with an honorable discharge; to my diagnosis before I had committed any crimes, to my staying out of the hospital ever since I was diagnosed, to the fact that the newest medicines effectively treated my mental illness; and to my ability to be more independent every year, to my ability to understand abstract thought, to having the motivation to study the same things for 10 years after college all happened miraculously; because of God was looking over me and intervened directly on my behalf. ==== Family Influence ==== Most of the direction and inspiration in my writings came from things my sister, mother, father, grandmother, and uncles Clive and Jeff told me and set as an example by their actions as I grew up. === 3.5.3 My Approach to Christianity === ==== Paradox and the Bible ==== I believe in the miraculous of the Bible, plus the social gospel, as I do in every other major paradox of the Bible. Most my beliefs are based on paradoxes. Many people often consider paradoxes to be contradictions, but I use the term differently: I think of paradoxes are things, that are considered contradictory at first, but upon further examination, we realize that they are complimentary, like male and female. The most important paradox of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the One Creator God eternally and also was fully human, while on earth (at the same time). ==== Paradox and Faith ==== The reason why I believe that faith is the most important aspect of understanding the Bible is because paradoxes are best understood with the heart instead of the mind. The Bible is not written, to communicate the exact same thing, to everyone and is designed, so that even the greatest theologians will never find a systematic way to explain it. The Bible was not meant to be argued rationally, but believed by those who are willing to place their hope in God, rather than their own minds and their own abilities. The biggest thing that God hates is an arrogant person and the more we are able to explain the natural world, through rational means, the bigger our egos get and the less we feel the need for God. At the same time, we realize the things we though that we understood well, we knew less about than we thought. ==== The Apocalypse and the Environment ==== Many people have read the prophecy of the Bible and come to the conclusion that God is planning on destroying us, for no good reason. The irony of the situation is that we can see prophecy being fulfilled today and most of the plagues of the Bible are environmental disasters, that we created ourselves. God was not punishing us, but rather letting us feel the consequences, of our own greed and arrogance. We have know for a while what was necessary to make the world livable, for our grandchildren and it has been proven to us in ways that we can understand, but no one cares enough, to give up any of our toys, so that we can save our future. We are so addicted to our gods (our brands), that we cannot cut back on our consumption, even if it would make life better, for all of us. ==== My Writing and Paradox ==== Many of my books are based on paradoxes like how: Muslims understand God the Father, Zen Buddhists and Bhakti Hindus understand the Holy Spirit, and African Christians understand Jesus Christ better than any church in North America and Europe does. I then talked about how the body and the mind are as important a component of a person and their relationship with society as the heart and the spirit, and how both eternal salvation and social justice are equally important. I also talked about how we can be encouraged and live in hope and strive to improve ourselves, even as our world is being destroyed, and how we should consider businesses and people to be just as important and how the rights of both Christians and Muslims should be equally respected. == 3.6 Religion and the Church == === 3.6.1 What is the Best Church? === ==== No Church is Perfect ==== There is no one perfect church or denomination. Evangelicals are good at sticking to their beliefs no matter what the obstacles, the Catholic church is great for its service, Mainline Protestants are good at social issues, and the Eastern Orthodox Church is great at its emphasis on mysticism. All churches are good at something and what you like about them will be different from me. No church is perfect in its theology and its commitment to living the Scriptures. ==== New Members ==== The things that I think is lacking in most churches are its commitment to new members and in making them feel welcome. It is hard to find a good church today, as they are so inward focused that they don’t seem to care if someone new comes. Many churches are also bad at catering to young singles. Basically the church expects you to be out all weekend getting drunk, until you get married and have kids in your mid thirties. ==== Can’t Agree with Any ==== The reason I don’t go to church currently is because most churches I tried were too conservative politically and the liberal ones don’t seem to have much commitment to Scripture. I just get angry at the conservative churches and don’t feel any reason to go to the liberal ones. I like the Catholic Church because it combines both of the things I like about Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Churches. But I don’t have the patience to go through a year long induction process. I also cannot agree with Catholic theology about Mary and the veneration of “saints”. ==== The Bus Problem ==== The decisive thing is that the bus only comes one every hour on Sunday and that they often miss your stop, because they are too full, late, or just don’t want to bother to stop. You then have to wait 2 hours and then you have to transfer and may have to wait an hour, for that as well and then do the same going back. You have to get to church really early and stay really long, to do it, which makes me very uncomfortable. And I heard they’re cutting Sunday service totally with the bus now. === 3.6.2 What About Sexual Morality? === ==== Why Avoid It? ==== I do not talk about sexual morality, as it is explained in the Bible, because I believe that that is one of the things other Christians have explained well. I have nothing to add to that. I like to write about things I know and things that are poorly understood as I have limited resources and don’t feel the need to cover something, when I could not do any better myself at it. I am not going to cover every issue in the Bible, but I do believe that Biblical sexual ethics are important and should be followed. ==== What I Do Cover ==== I focus mainly on economic and environmental ethics and discipline, because I believe that these are not explained well or understood well from a Biblical point of view. I also focus on parts of the Bible that are not talked about as much and are not understood as well like the Prophets. I am confident that when people read the Bible, they will notice all the other issues described in the Bible, that I have not covered, and I don’t think people will miss or have trouble interpreting Scripture related to sexual ethics. === 3.6.3 Why Don’t I Work with Others? === ==== I Appeal to a Small Group ==== My experiences working in a team is that I do all the work and everyone else gets credit for it. The Humanities approach has fallen out of favor in the 20th century and Science and Social Science have dominated the field, in my lifetime. I also have a unique perspective on my study of religion, which would make it hard to find someone doing something compatible. Christians don’t like what I do, because I am liberal in my politics and am willing to study other religions and points of view. And non-Christians don’t like my adherence to Christian morals and my unwillingness to include pagan, animistic, and occult writings and practices. ==== Few Would Respond ==== I would love to inspire someone else to be a philosopher, but I wouldn’t want consider them as a successor if they adopted my philosophy or mainstream views and I would not consider anyone to be inspired by me who takes part in occult practices or study occult writings. I truly do walk the path less traveled and few people are interested in the study of philosophy or even are willing to read about anything, even things they agree with. I do still want more people to becomes Christians, even though I don’t want anyone to feel pressured into it, because I believe that Christianity is a superior religion, but I believe that the Bible speak for itself and does not need to be defended. === 3.6.4 Why are Christians so Mean? === Probably because they are not genuine believers. Genuine Christians make mistakes, but they have the right attitude before God. You can tell by a person’s actions, more than by their words what they believe. Genuine Christians exhibit the fruits of the spirit. '''Fruits of Righteousness (or Fruits of the Spirit)''' ==== Psalms ==== Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish. Psalm 1 ==== Isaiah ==== Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. Isaiah 32 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Isaiah 55 ==== Luke ==== A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have. Luke 8:5-18 ==== John ==== I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. John 15 ==== 2 Corinthians ==== But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 ==== Galatians ==== But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:22-26 ==== Colossians ==== Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily. Colossians 1 ==== James ==== My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. James 3 ==== 2 Peter ==== Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1 == 3.7 Christian Theology == === 3.7.1 The Covenant with God === ==== New Testament and Old Testament God ==== Many people say they like the God of the Old Testament or the God of the New Testament and many people, even Christians, see these as opposing points of view and have a hard time reconciling them. One of the ways of understanding Scripture is the idea of progressive revelation, like in Mayana Buddhism, where God reveals more about Himself, over time. Many people think the Old Testament God was really repressive and that the New Testament God was very lenient and forgiving, but in reality it was the same God and the same moral standard. ==== Evolution of the Covenants ==== The New Testament and the Old Testament are named, after the 2 covenants God made, with man. The first was made with Abraham, renewed with Moses, and the Prophets. We learn later on in the Psalms and the Prophets that God does not delight, in the ceremonies He prescribed for people’s forgiveness, but rather desired people, to make a genuine change of heart. We find out later on that all the commandments, summarized in the 10 Commandments, that would never be changed, until Jesus comes back again in glory, were about loving God, with all our heart and loving our neighbor, as ourselves. ==== Spiritual Realities ==== Throughout prophecy, we learn that idolatry and adultery are related and in the New Testament, we are told we either serve God or money, and in the Apocalypse, there will only be 2 options: serve God or serve the false gods. God judges people differently, who have heard about Him and made a commitment or covenant with Him and those who are ignorant of this. God takes loyalty to Him, as the most important thing, and the Bible teaches how serving God is the same, as loving others and doing good. ==== Being Christian = Being Kind ==== Not only were the pagan cultures of Biblical times worshiping false gods, but they were treating their people bad as well. The Bible connects your relationship with God, with your level of morality. As Christians mature, they are provided proof of their faith, in the way that they act. Being a committed Christian is supposed to be the same as being a kind person. We are in constant battle, between our spiritual and our carnal selves, and when we sin, our carnal self is in control and we are violating God’s laws. Christians do continue to sin, but they should sin less and less, as they mature. If a Christian fails, to try to reform themselves, then the Bible basically says they are not real believers. ==== Exodus 34: ==== 1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. 10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. 11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. 18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. 19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. 20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. 21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year’s end. 23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. 26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk. 27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. ==== Deuteronomy 29: ==== 1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; 3 The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: 4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: 8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. 10 Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: 13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: 16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; 17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) 18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; 19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; 23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: 28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. 29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law. ==== Jeremiah 34: ==== 1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: 3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: 5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 When the king of Babylon’s army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah. 8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. 11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. 15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant. ==== Hebrews 1: ==== 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? ==== Hebrews 2: ==== 1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted. ==== Hebrews 3: ==== 1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. ==== Hebrews 4: ==== 1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. ==== Hebrews 5: ==== 1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. === 3.7.2 Central Biblical Paradox === ==== Faith Alone Plus Good Works ==== One of the major paradoxes, in Christianity, that has split the church, is over salvation being by faith alone and at the same time having proof, for your faith, through your changed attitude and behavior. Scripture states that no one is good but God. Man is born spiritually and morally corrupt, in his core self. Even Christians have this problem too. But a the same time, Christians need to prove their faith, by their good work. A simple way to resolve this paradox is to realize, that when we do good, as Christians, that it is a combination of our choice and God’s supernatural intervention, that makes this possible. ==== How Salvation Works ==== Just as God is almost entirely responsible for our salvation and all He asks of us to admit we have disobeyed His laws, that we are not deserving of anything, and we accept His authority in our life, the vast length of the separation from God is bridged by God’s unconditional grace and forgiveness. God is perfect and cannot tolerate injustice, so He came to earth, in human form (while still remaining God and being perfect in morality), to sacrifice Himself, as Jesus Christ, so that our failures in following His laws and our arrogance, for attempting to try to be good, without God and erecting our own corrupt attempt, at moral standards, in contradiction of God’ s laws can be overcome (by God’s sacrifice of Himself and the taking on the penalty of our misdeeds). ==== How Both Can Be True ==== So the way in which we can do good, as Christians, is almost entirely because of God’s grace and very little is because of our effort. We can be good, while fallen, because, as Christians, we are submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ and letting him take control of our lives. Christians can be good and at the same time fallen, because we have not given over all of our life to God, and as we grow, we hand over more and more aspects of our lives, to our Lord Jesus Christ. A genuine Christian should grow in this way, so that even though he does good things, who he is is still a sinner and a fallen individual. So Christians are both fallen and should have good deeds at the same time. Both are true and denying either one is not Biblical. === 3.7.3 Advantages and Dangers of Mysticism === ==== Different Types of Mysticism ==== Mysticism is often used very vaguely and has many different meanings for different people. The essential meaning of mysticism that almost everyone can agree upon is mystery. Mysticism can be as different as Evangelical Christianity is from occult religions (occult means hidden and the Bible refers to those who do things ungodly as doing so in a secret way, because they are ashamed of it). There is nothing orthodox or unorthodox about mysticism in Christianity. Modern Christian mysticism seems to be most common in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, although modern Evangelical theology can be seen as very mystical as well. ==== Roman Catholic Approach ==== One of the big things that has kept me from becoming Roman Catholic, besides the year long commitment to the process of joining, is that it is common for Roman Catholics to pray to “saints” and there is special reverence for Mary, Mother of Jesus that I cannot find Biblical support for. In Latin America, names of Christian “Saints” are often used in the practice of pre-Christian animism and have confused many people as to what Christianity is all about. Christianity is not like the ancient Roman practice of just renaming all the Greek gods. The Christian God is totally different in values/morality, position of authority, attributes, relationship to people, and almost everything else that constitutes a given spirit or person. ==== Eastern Orthodox Approach ==== I like the importance placed in the Eastern Orthodox church on the Jesus Prayer and on the mystical instead of rational approach to Scripture. The idea that one can experience a spiritual connection with God, beyond what is described in the Bible, of how we are instructed how to relate to God, is hard for me to reconcile with scripture. I know that this practice is not the same as a person becoming one with God, in the sense that they achieve the same level spiritually, but I think it is problematic and I think that it requires too elaborate an explanation, that could so easily cause confusion, to people who are spiritually immature. ==== Paradox and Faith ==== Paradox is one of the major philosophical concepts of mysticism. The way in which I see the Bible as mystical relates more to how Kierkegaard sees the paradox of Jesus Christ’s existence and our relationship with Him as was described in the new Testament, especially in the Apostle Paul’s letters to the various early Christian churches. The belief that Jesus was both man and God is a paradox and must be accepted by faith, not reason and in our relationship with God should be one of humility, in reverence to the reality, of who God is and our proper response to who He is. ==== Christ and Salvation ==== So important is humility, that I agree with Kierkegaard, that when we are farthest from God, because of sin, we are actually closer, by way of grace. The most important thing in faith is humility, as that is what God wants most of us, because that is essentially what the process of repentance and salvation is about. God realized that no one of us could ever be anywhere good enough to earn our way to God, so Jesus decided to save us by grace and to forgive our sins by his own sacrifice. In salvation, God’s grace and sacrifice reach out to us and all we do is accept his offer with the appropriate respect. ==== Our Relationship with God ==== This isn’t to say that sin is preferable, but only that our obvious failure increases our realization of how much we rely upon God’s grace. And humility before God is not a matter of debasement, but really just an acceptance of a reality we can only partially imagine and understand more fully by faith and through God’s grace. Think about it this way: even though every human is equal in worth, because God both created and redeemed all of us on His own; any number compared to infinity is zero. No matter how great we are or how moral we are, we are nothing in comparison to the Christian God. God is not a mere spirit, but rather is infinitely greater than anything that could possible by created or imagined by Him or anyone else over all of eternity. == 3.8 Religion and Politics == === 3.8.1 Losing Our Souls === ==== What We are Taught ==== We are taught to specialize in narrow way of thinking and compartmentalize religion, science, history, and art. We are taught to substitute facts for truth and math for faith. We substitute current event soundbites for our understanding of history and substitute fashion for our vision of art. We lose our souls and learn to compromise in public schools. The youthful enthusiasm we have for new ideas and change is directed towards conformance to our peers and the trends started by our manufacture heroes: musicians, actors, models, and athletes. ==== What We Believe ==== All our desires to resist what our parents taught us are channeled into an addiction to consumption and materialism. We challenge ourselves in how much alike we can be and compete for the attention of those who epitomize a narrow and unrealistic view of the ideal opposite sex. We seek our happiness through our consumption of entertainment, that we passively view, without critical thought or consideration of the effort involved in its creation. We just expect to live the fairy tale life, that we see in the movies and music videos, even though the rich and famous are not satisfied by that either. === 3.8.2 Why America Needs God === ==== We Need Values ==== America needs God now more than ever. America needs the Christian God, who is superior to the other gods, because God provides all the things we need to have values and behave morally. A code of ethics tells us what we must do, religion gives us a reason why, and the Christian God gives us the power to do so. We in America are so enamored by our games and entertainment pastimes, that we have forgotten that the most important aspect of life is spiritual. We are not going to be able to be rich, while trading our economic, political, and social future, for a fun time now. ==== At the End of our Wealth ==== We have spent all we can and borrowed as much as others will lend us. We have gone through: our natural resources, our financial resources, and our human resources. We have nothing to sell the rest of the world, that they want or need and we cannot afford to buy, what the rest of the world wants to sell us. We are bringing down the entire world economy and the third world will be hit hardest of all. We need to understand what position we are in today, to get the motivation to improve ourselves, so that we can have a future. ==== There is Much Work to Do ==== We need to do a lot of things at once. We need to start investing in our future: by getting more education, by learning to save money, by learning manners and how to treat people fairly, and we don’t have time to waste. At the same time our country needs to: stop fighting expensive wars oversees that will never be resolved, stop wasting our limited natural resources like coal and oil before we have none left, we need to rebuild our infrastructure, invest in educating people in things that will get them jobs that pay enough to support a family, secure our borders so that criminals don’t get in an out of the country without our knowledge or consent, find a way to constructively employ those who are unemployed and not able to find new jobs, and clean up our environment and build infrastructure to deal with the economic, social, and technological problems caused by our over consumption of natural resources. ==== We Need to Conserve ==== Our economy has permanently contracted, while our population continues to grow and our grandparents have lost their retirement savings and are now trying to find jobs as well. We need to find a way to continue to advance technology, while, at the same time, still keeping jobs for the average person. It does no good to save so much money on plastic junk, when we have only been able to do so at the cost of our jobs. We need to find a way to get by with: less energy, less money, and less technology. We need to revert to a much earlier century in our use or energy, or else we will have a mass die off of the human population. === 3.8.3 The Church and Education === ==== History of Scholarship ==== The Church in its various flavors has traditionally been at the forefront of education: the Renaissance and the Cyrillic family of Slavic languages were started by Eastern Orthodox monks, the golden age of the Islamic world was started by Jacobite and Nestorian Christians, and the Catholic church helped preserve and advance the written works of the pagan and Christian worlds for centuries. When Protestant Christians went overseas as missionaries, they translated the Bible into the native language of the local people and even created written languages, if there was none to start with, and founded some of the best educational systems, in the countries they had missions and they are still alive today. ==== Why Christians have Rejected Academia ==== The rise of the Evangelical branch of Christianity seems to not place the same emphasis on education. Some of the major reasons may be that: a lot of the academic world is trying to push the idea that white Christian males caused all the world’s problems, many Christians in the academic community are trying to push a Christianity that is not Biblical in its theology, academia constantly argues against all of the miracles in the Bible by trying to explain them scientifically, and academia seems to have accepted Darwinian evolution, life being formed by chance, and an old Earth theory as a gospel truth. ==== Christians Should do What is Right ==== But my belief is that we should only oppose things that are wrong morally or contrary to the Bible, so I think the push for Christians should be to do what is right, instead of just doing the opposite of the unbelievers. Just because many pagans are trying to help the environment doesn’t mean that Christians shouldn’t do so as well. Just because atheists dominate Science doesn’t mean that we should give up on creationism. Just because many in academia have argued against imperialism and colonialism doesn’t mean that Christians cannot embrace this idea as well, but explain how it is rationalism and a lack of spiritual values that caused this problem to get exponentially worse. ==== Christians Need to Take a Stand ==== Christians need to bring Biblical values back into the educational system and fight for the future of our culture. Christians should not be afraid to challenge secular beliefs, just because they are popular and assumed to be true by the majority. Christians need to show how academia’s beliefs in things that contradict the Bible are not the result of letting the evidence lead to the truth, but rather that much of academia just assumes things to be true, because they don’t have the moral fiber, to stand up for the truth. Christians should not be afraid to have an opinion or to use Scripture to support their views, in the non-Christian world. ==== The Battle is Spiritual ==== Christians need not fear that they will be rejected or lose funding, because God will back them up. Christians need to realize that the future of education of young people is a spiritual battle and when they find opposition to realize that there are spiritual forces behind this. The best thing Christians can do is keep the right attitude before God, pray for God’s will to be done, live as moral a life as possible, and keep reading Scripture for answers to our problems. The only thing Christians should be afraid of as being able to defeat them is their own addiction to sin and unwillingness to submit their lives to God. The real battle is in our minds and our greatest enemy is our carnal self. == 3.9 Secular Philosophy == === 3.9.1 Rationalism in Philosophy === ==== What is Rational? ==== People often use the word “rational” in contemporary speech, to describe doing things that are sensical and well thought out, but rational means something completely different in philosophy. Rational philosophy is often described as diametrically opposed to faith or mysticism. Having faith in something, if it is real, makes sense, but is not always called “rational,” because that word in philosophy is usually used to refer to using empirical evidence, to support a claim about something, that can be tested in a lab and is part of the natural world. ==== Spirituality is Worthwhile ==== A lot of things in life cannot be proven Scientifically, so that they are sometimes referred to as irrational. This is because the spiritual aspects of life can only be fully understood by faith, in what is not a physical or mathematically understood reality. There are a number of reasons for believing in spiritual things: values like love or honor, the motivation to do something because it is believed to be the right thing, and choosing to sacrifice yourself for something greater are all spiritual things, cannot be explained through Science, but are still very important. === 3.9.2 Do Atheists Have Values? === ==== Definition of Atheism ==== Atheism basically mean not theistic or not believing in a God or other deities. Most of the people that do not believe in God in the West probably are doing so, because they don’t want to follow rules. You could call that a value too, because values or ethics can be any system that is consistent. For instance, Christianity by the example of Christ has the values of humility and compassion. ==== Nietzsche ==== Nietzsche has a very different set of ethics. Nietzschean ethics are based on the pre-Socratic philosophers (the Greek philosophers before Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) and Greek paganism. Nietzsche values strength and beauty primarily and he is very passionate and committed to his beliefs. If the majority of Christians had the same passion for their beliefs, then there would be much less to criticize in how Christianity is commonly practiced today. I share with Nietzsche the idea that I do not want any followers. ==== Anarchy ==== For people that do not want to follow any rules are often categorized as Anarchists, but I think the real issue that defines Anarchists, from others who reject the establishment, is that Anarchists do not respect private property, because they feel it was gained through deception and violence. I am not an Anarchist, because I am Christian and the Bible has rules against destruction of private property, even if it is gained dishonestly. ==== Major Atheistic Philosophies ==== There are many other Atheistic codes of ethics or complete philosophies including: Existentialism, Postmodernism, and the most famous of all – the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was based on the ideas of the major Greek and Roman philosophers and culture and was about the free exchange of ideas and the idea of a culture and a government founded on reason and the rule of law, instead of on faith and obedience. Rousseau believed that people were good naturally and that evil was a learned behavior. The biggest new ideas of the Enlightenment were Science and the Social Sciences. ==== The Enlightenment ==== Hegel was famous for uniting the two major schools of the Enlightenment, called British Empiricism and Continental Rationalism. Empiricism was based on using empirical evidence to find truth and Rationalism was based on the idea that there is an “a priori” statement that everything else is discovered from. Descartes’ a priori was “I think therefore I am”. Hegel based his ideas on an elaborate system that made extensive use of the concept of paradox. Hegel’s philosophy was part of a school called phenomenology, which is very hard to explain or understand. ==== Existentialism ==== Kierkegaard and later Existentialists usually agreed that they were against any kind of system used to explain the unique qualities of human being (or existence). Existentialism started out Christian, but some of the most famous Existentialists like Sartre and Heidegger were Atheists. Postmodernism is a reaction against the Enlightenment’s belief in absolute values, but still embraces Science and reason, as the source of truth. ==== Variations of Atheism ==== Atheism is also a very general category, that involves many variations on the lack of belief in a God (a belief in a God or gods is also known as religion). There are at least dozens of variations and the most common is the Agnostic variation, which people claim, who have not decided whether or not they believe in God. Science is the best known philosophy which is designed on a kind of Agnosticism towards evidence and reason. == 3.10 Religious Issues == === 3.10.1 Philosophy and Religion === ==== Philosophy is Going Beyond the Basics ==== So you already have a religion and you wonder why you need philosophy. Philosophy is to religion, as math is to science. You can be born again and have eternal life without learning much about philosophy, but if you are the kind of person that just does the basic to get by, than all means don’t bother. You don’t even have to be literate, to be born again. Many people get by without the most basic understanding of math or science. ==== Philosophy is not for Most People ==== Not everyone has time to learn about everything in depth. Philosophy is not for everyone. Society needs many more engineers, than it needs philosophers. But if you don’t want to learn about philosophy, because you already have done the bare minimum for you religion, then you might at least want to re-examine your attitude, as it will not get you far in life. Doing the bare minimum will keep you at a boring, unfulfilling job, for the rest of your life. ==== What Kind of Person are You? ==== Philosophy is for those who want to get more out of life, for people who know life is short and they want to discover what is most important in life. They want to understand why things are the way they are and what they can do to change things. Philosophy is for people who cannot live life without examining themselves and their place in the universe. Philosophy is for people who cannot be satisfied, by a one sentence answer. Philosophy is for people who enjoy thinking and learning. === 3.10.2 Popular Misconceptions about Philosophy and Religion === Just as with any other topic, in philosophy and religion the same word can have more than one meaning and most people have an inaccurate perception of the way things work. Just like in computers, the popular sound bites are based on people writing about something that they have not read enough about and many people who do know enough about it have agendas and are trying to push a certain viewpoint (which they have no problem compromising the facts in order to do so). The bulk of my books are used to explain how different things like Christianity, Existentialism, Taoism, Mysticism, Paradox, Liberal, and other terms are used incorrectly or have alternate meanings (that are different from what people imagine them to have). These inaccurate conceptions are the result of faulty common knowledge and the oversimplification of writers. One very widely held misconception about Eastern Philosophy from the Christian community is that it is somehow related to the New Age movement and so is incompatible with Christianity. The reality is that Christianity has already been synchronized with Greek Philosophy and Paganism, which has kept the Christian community divided, because of a lack of understanding of paradox (which is the basis for most Biblical theology). The New Age movement has taken things from every religion and has taken as much from Christianity as it has from Eastern Philosophy and what it is has taken from Eastern philosophy does not include the ethics or emphasis on discipline, which are the most important parts. === 3.10.3 The Kind of Christianity I am Promoting === I do not wish to change the theology of Christianity: I take both sides of most divisions in the church in theology. I believe that Jesus was a man and eternally is God, that salvation is by faith alone and still by faith plus works, that Free Will and Predestination are both true, and that Jesus came at the end of the 1st century AD and will come in the future at the same “time”. What I do wish to change is everything else. I do wish to change the philosophical, political, artistic, generational, regional, organizational, and perceived opposition aspects of the way Christianity is practiced in America. Philosophically, I wish to bring the church in America to a mystical and existential Christian approach to Scripture. Politically, I wish to bring a fiscally liberal approach to Scripture to the church in America. Artistically, I wish to bring a multi-cultural approach to Scripture to the church in America. Generationally, I wish to move the focus onto the generations succeeding the baby boomers, to the church in America. Regionally, I wish to bring a developing world center of gravity and approach to Scripture to the church in America. Organizationally, I wish to have the church in America organized by network, instead of top down and linear. Finally, I wish to to move the focus on threats to the church from Atheism to Paganism. === 3.10.4 Another Perspective on Orthodoxy === For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:17-31 Some would say that I have an more open view of what is acceptable for Christians, but in reality I just have a different view of what is orthodox and Biblical and what is not. I am really hesitant to learn anything about spiritual warfare or the occult especially from non-Christian sources. One of the reasons why I have studied about Asia so predominantly is because I am interested in other cultures but I didn’t want to get involved in or learn too much about Animism which is an important part of many ancient African and Latin American cultures. I also believe that the Church has been synchronistic in its use of Greek philosophy and religion in the development of Christian doctrines and the the study of Scripture. The warning against that comes from the first part of 1 Corinthians before the Apostle Paul starts to talk about sex and is quoted above. The Bible is fundamentally Asian and makes more sense and is more accurately interpreted if thought of from a traditional Asian worldview. A good way to get this point of view is by reading classical texts in Asian philosophy, literature, and religion. I also do my best to avoid learning about mythology other than the specifically Christian-based Tolkien view on English mythology. === 3.10.5 Rich White Men === Some people have assumed when I refer to “rich white men” that I am talking about community leaders or small business men. This is totally not true. When I talk about “rich white men”, I am referring to, at the most, a few thousand people who control most of what goes on in the world. I am referring to organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations or 33rd degree Freemasons and similar groups. I believe that these kinds of secret societies are pushing for a one world government and are pushing the ideology of the New Age movement and are supportive of an occult worldview. This sounds like a conspiracy theory, but there is little secret about these groups’ objectives. I believe that the Theosophy movement was one of the early organized efforts to bring about these objectives. I believe that this is also a white male dominated group who are principally English and American in nationality. The methods of these groups consist mostly of starting big wars to shift the balance of power in the world and have infiltrated public education and the media to promote the occult and a one world dictatorship. I believe that all of the national leaders of most world powers and anyone else who has a chance at winning an election at that level are supportive of these objectives or realize that they do not have the power to work against this movement. Either way, no one consequential in world politics is working against this effort and many are willing participants. I do not believe that we really have a democracy in America, but rather that people’s souls are owned by the media and public education, so that there is no effective resistance to this effort politically , economically, or socially. == 3.11 The Bible and Making Decisions == === 3.11.1 What Defines Us === It is common to see human development as either or both nature and/or nurture, but the most important factor that influences your quality of life is your decisions. One of the reason why Existentialism is so relevant today and is so universally important is that the true thing that defines humanity is free will. Our wills are the most important elements of what defines what is important in life and form the most integral part of our identity. We actually start out as a mostly blank slate, but we form our individuality by the choices we make. This doesn’t change the fact that we are not born into equally difficult circumstances nor are we born with equal abilities or health, but we can choose the direction that we take in life, even if we cannot determine our future to the extent we hope for. Many people start with some great limitations in life, but because of the choices they make, they become a genuine person that is trying to make the world a better place. No matter how wealthy or how popular a family you are born into, if you make bad choices, you will end up in a bad place and your life will get worse and worse. Even if you came from a bad home or had parents who didn’t learn from their parents how to raise kids, you can improve your attitude and the kind of person you are. Whether you are wealthy or not does not make your life better if you are not able to be happy when you are alone. No matter how many rules you get a way with breaking or how lenient society becomes in enforcing laws, your true freedom comes from your ability to make up your own mind about who you want to be. === 3.11.2 What Does Freedom Mean? === ==== An Summary of the Biblical Concept ==== Most people think of freedom as the ability to choose what they want to do. The irony is that most people are driven by the desire for pleasure, actually become addicted to sin, and end up destroying themselves, as a direct result of their free choices. It is ironic that so many Americans died for their citizens to experience freedom and yet most Americans are so desperate to belong to a social group that they make the exact same choices as everyone else. As you can now see, theoretical freedom is not the same as real freedom, because our greatest enemy is ourselves and our own selfishness. The Bible talks about how we are slaves to our own greed and that to be free is to be adopted back in to God’s family, being reconciled with our Creator, and being forgiven for our mistakes. Freedom is only achieved by understanding the concept of sin, realizing that some choices lead to destruction, and then accept that we must submit ourselves to Christ in order to be truly free. We have one of two masters: we serve money (the devil) or God. We cannot keep from choosing sides. If we don’t make the decision to repent of our sins, then we are making the choice to continue in sin and we will be in servitude to a master, who want us to have no freedom. There are many times in which there are multiple decisions we can make and none are bad decisions. Life does not allow simple choices very often and even simple choices can be hard to make. But for us to know the truth about our relationship with God is the starting point in which we can fight against our greatest enemy, our stubborn will. Being free is related to being humble. This is a paradox that few understand. There is no freedom in an addiction and if we live to satisfy our desires, we will never be happy or at peace with ourselves. The only path to freedom must begin with acknowledging that we cannot be free, with no commitment to God. Being free is really about accepting that we cannot be happy on our own. We need to go back to the relationship we have all been estranged from. We must come back to our Heavenly Father with respect and humility. Grace is the route to freedom and it is given freely. We just need to accept the reality as it is. ==== Passages that Talk about Biblical Freedom ==== Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Psalm 51:12 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:31-36 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8 === 3.11.3 The Biblical Approach to Suffering === ==== Western vs. Non-Western Attitudes ==== To many Western Christians, passages about prophecy and about how suffering builds character make God seem like a sadist or a masochist. But in Africa, Revelations is the most popular book of the Bible. Why do different cultures see things so differently and how can talking about suffering be positive? ==== Who is Responsible? ==== I must first assure to you that God is not responsible for our suffering and neither is the devil. God restricts what the devil can do to us (like we read about in Job) because God wants us to be responsible for our actions and have a free will, so that we can choose our own destiny. The part that doesn’t make sense is that good people suffer because of what bad people have done and the bad people often live without any ill effects. ==== Encouraging People Who Suffer ==== So the point of talking about the suffering we will have is not to say that it is worthwhile nor even ok that we suffer, nor is to scare us about the future, but rather to communicate to those who are already are suffering, that it is not for nothing. In other words, it is to encourage us. I think, for many in the West, we are relatively rich and do not suffer physically anywhere near like it is in the Third World, so we misinterpret prophecy about the future as some sort of punishment, for us who believe. ==== Environment and Prophecy ==== We are learning now about the world, things that were prophesied to happen at the end of time. These birth pains are already occurring, which we label as environmental disasters. These we have caused, because of our own lust, selfishness, and sin. ==== Understanding God’s People ==== This goes back again to what it means to be a Christian and what group of people Christ has targeted for His Kingdom: Christianity is a religion for the materially poor and the spiritually rich. We will never understand who Christ is, until we understand what the majority of the Christians in the world, throughout history or even now, are like in their circumstances and in their spiritual make up. === 3.11.4 Heaven, Eternity, and God === ==== Eternal Perspective ==== I have thought about what Heaven might be like, for a long time. Time would obviously be different, if we are to live forever, so that we don’t need to have an endless list of things to do. I think we see part of this in Taoist writings, and when we get very good at something, we are in the process of performing the action, and we are in the moment or in the flow, time goes by at a different rate. Compare kissing your girlfriend or wife with getting your hand burned: in one situation, time goes by faster than in the other situation. I think one of the reasons why God still sees us as sinners, even if we have repented many years ago, is because for God, everything happens at once (this is really a vast oversimplification), so God sees everything we have ever done as the real us, instead of what we are at an given time. ==== Roses and Heaven ==== I took some close-up pictures of some roses, while visiting my parents, and they were so perfect and beautiful that they gave my a feeling of peace, joy, and awe. The roses remind me of how I imagine Heaven. At the end of the Book of Revelations, Heaven is described as a golden city, with precious jewels and a garden. I used to think that this seemed inconsistent with how God speaks in support of values, instead of material wealth, throughout the rest of the Bible. ==== Indian Mystic Poets ==== But I remember reading some of the writings of South Indian Mystic Poets and how there is a branch of the Bahkti Hindu movement (this is a movement based on the devotional path of Hinduism) that believes God cannot be explained and so can only be talked about in mystical terms. This school believes similarly to how Moses Maimonides talked about how God can only be described in terms of what He is not, instead of what He is. God is not finite, He is not mortal, He is not defeatable, God was not created, and He is not limited by anything. The Indian mystic poets that believe this way, include some of the most famous: Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Meera. But this other school of the Bhakti movement understands God as a celebration and that living a spiritual life is one of splendor and rich in spiritual qualities. ==== Understanding Revelations ==== Revelations starts out as a very scary horror film or nightmare scenario. We read this book of the Bible and are terrified of ever having to live through this, but throughout most of the history of the Church, Christians have found comfort in reading Revelations, because it gives them hope. Have you ever gone on a camping trip? How did you feel when you came home, took a shower and then slept in your own bed? Have you ever had a hard workout on a very hot day? What did you feel when you got to drink a cold drink? That is what Heaven is like. Heaven is about comforting us after all we have suffered in our lives. We will truly appreciate it, after all we have been through in our lives. === 3.11.5 What We Should Do === Many Christians believe that there is one specific job they must do and that they need to figure this out or they are not following God’s will. If you want to know what God expects of us, read the Psalms and the Prophets. God does not require us to know anything that is not in the Bible. It is not likely that God or an angel will come and give you a vision of an exact job God wants you to do, but if God wants you to do something, you will have no doubts about it. All roads will lead to it and you will be reminded of it all the time, no matter what you do or where you go. God’s will for us is not something hard to figure out. God also treats us all equally. God wants us to be a certain kind of person, rather than doing a certain kind of job. God wants us to have a good attitude and to try to follow in Christ’s example of humility and compassion. The qualities God want us to emulate are abstract values, not specific actions. Jesus says it with the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule. He says the same in the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament. What God wants you to do is to use your natural gifts with a passion for who Jesus is. If you believe for a long time that something is important and the Bible doesn’t speak against it, then if you do it, then you are following God. == 3.12 Thinking Long Term == === 3.12.1 My Perspective === Although I believe that it is impossible for anyone to be objective but God, I can assure you that I have no financial interests in anything I write on, because I am a disabled veteran and make all my money because of my disability, regardless of what I do or do not do, and I cannot receive extra money from any other source and keep my pension. This website has never made me any money nor ever will (although it has cost me a lot) and all my books are sold at cost. When you read my books, you will realize that I am not interested in pushing any particular ideology, except for people to think for themselves and think more broadly. I believe and practice everything I say and my main aim is to improve the quality of life of people and animals. I also do not write anything unless I already have done a great deal more research than most people would before writing about any particular topic. Another unique element of my perspective is that I see the world as bigger than myself. If some change in the world would make other people’s lives better at the expense of or with no direct effect to me, I would welcome it. Take for example software and computers. Although I don’t play games on computers, I still see the value in it, because games accelerate the investment in the graphical processing power of computer chips, which will in turn allow me to improve the quality of my graphics. Even though I don’t have an iPod, people buying iPods makes my computer experience and what I can create with it better, because Apple can invest more in computers. The success of mobile computing, although I am not very interested in that in itself, is good because it gets more standards compliant browsers out there, that allow web sites to be designed easier and with more features. I also see things from a longer period of time than most people. Governments think the farthest ahead and that is only a generation at the most. I am planning hundreds of years ahead of time. I don’t form my perspective on what exists currently, but on what could be very important long into the future. That is why I think trends in society that last for many years are very important to consider (because they will shape the kind of society we will have in the future). I also have decided to focus on things that I am good at and a things that won’t be done by other people. I realize that the world needs many more engineers than philosophers. I could make a great contribution to the world designing software, but if I didn’t some one else would. If I don’t try to prepare people for the future, no one else will. I can afford to pay for someone to clean my house, cook my food, and write the software I use, but I couldn’t afford to pay someone to do my work, or even the most basic parts, to my standards with the amount of money I have. === 3.12.2 My Vision of the Future === I see our future as a challenge and an opportunity. To think that we will just give up, because life becomes very different or more difficult is a response that doesn’t comprehend the extent of human creativity and ignores the reality of a benevolent Creator, who has proven His desire to help transform us and the society we live in. People have lived throughout most of history at a level of basic subsistence and we have only had fossil fuels, electricity, and modern plumbing for a very short period of this history. While the small group of people that controls most that goes on in the world has made some decisions that were not made within the context of potential long term technological, political, economic and social evolution and adaptation, we are not going to be totally annihilated. Now is the time to rethink what is important in life and what our priorities should be. Before we get into major engineering projects which are costly in time and money, we need to work on the kind of expectations we need to have of our children to prepare them physically, emotionally, morally, and spiritually for a world we cannot yet imagine. We need to learn to do more with less, develop disciplined habits in spending, physical fitness, and energy use. We need to rethink whether or not we need each and every thing we spend time or money on. Things are changing fast and will accelerate, so we need to start planning what we want life to be like, before all our decisions are made for us. Define your future instead of just passively accepting what others have decided for you. === 3.12.3 Patience === Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Ecclesiastes 7:8 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD. Lamentations 3:26 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. Luke 8:15 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Romans 8:25 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. Romans 15:4 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Colossians 1:10 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; 1 Thessalonians 1:3 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ. 2 Thessalonians 3:5 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. Hebrews 6:12 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. Hebrews 10:36 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:3-4 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8 === 3.12.4 Perseverance === Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:11 The righteous also shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. Job 17:9 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. Psalm 37:24 Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Psalm 73:24 The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands. Psalm 138:8 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Jeremiah 32:40 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. Matthew 10:22 And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. Luke 22:31-32 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:37-40 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31-32 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one. John 10:27-30 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. John 15:4-9 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:30-39 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:38 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; Ephesians 6:18 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) Hebrews 10:23 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:4 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8 === 3.12.5 Ways to Develop Discipline === 1.Find role models who are disciplined 2.Pray for God’s help to become disciplined 3.Read the Bible 4.Fast or go on a diet 5.Save money or give to charity 6.Volunteer 7.Learn a foreign human or computer language 8.Learn a martial art 9.Meditate 10.Exercise consistently 11.Do anything constructive for a long time 12.Even developing a schedule is a start == 3.13 Learn to be Kind and Patient == === 3.13.1 First, Learn from Others’ Experiences === 1.Find others to emulate who are kind 2.Pray for God’s help to become kind 3.Read the Bible === 3.13.2 Second, Broaden your Reading === 1.Read about a wide range of history 2.Read a variety of ethical writings 3.Read up on common manners 4.Read biographies of famous people === 3.13.3 Third, Get your own Unique Perspective === 1.Learn your family history 2.Write your own autobiography 3.Discover or develop your own beliefs 4.Understand why you think the way you do === 3.13.4 Fourth, Understand that Differences are OK === 1.Read things that conflict with your beliefs 2.Find similarities to your beliefs in these writings 3.Try to understand the reason why others think differently === 3.13.5 Fifth, Learn Communication Skills === 1.Understand how you say things is as important as what you say 2.Learn to be direct 3.Learn how to read body language 4.Learn to evaluate situations from an emotional perspective === 3.13.6 Sixth, Learn to Think Empathetically Instead of Purely Fact Based === 1.Read writings of famous mystics 2.Read poetry 3.Practice being kind to animals 4.Learn to be subtle 5.Listen to highly sensitive people === 3.13.7 Seventh, Learn from Experience === 1.Spend time around people that are hard to get along with 2.Spend time around people in pain 3.Volunteer to help those who are disabled 4.Listen to what others say, when you disagree with them == 3.14 Being Creative and Helping Others == === 3.14.1 How to Think Creatively === ==== Get Ready to Think ==== 1.Get plenty of sleep 2.Give yourself as much time as possible 3.Thoroughly research the topic 4.Don’t limit your options unnecessarily ==== Think About the Idea ==== 1.Prioritize what is most important 2.Be willing to make trade-offs 3.Discuss the idea with other people 4.Take a lot of time to think about it ==== Try the Idea Out ==== 1.Make controlled experiments 2.Roll out your idea in stages ==== Get Ready for Future Ideas ==== 1.Be willing to try new things 2.Practice thinking differently 3.Take calculated risks 4.Try things you haven’t before === 3.14.2 Creativity and Saving Money === ==== Living Without a Car ==== One of the big ways to save money is to not own a car. This involves a real sacrifice and can be isolating. It is not for everyone. The alternatives are most commonly: taking the bus, walking, riding a bike, and taking a taxi. Each has its own purpose and more than one can be used, based on the situation. ==== What Riding the Bus is Like ==== If you have good bus service in your town, this could be a solution by itself. One of the things to plan for is to live at a major intersection in town, so that they are unlikely to cut your stop or route, because, at least in my town, they make service cuts every year. One of the things about the bus, at least in my town, is that a bus may not come at the scheduled frequency (they are never on time), if the bus is full or they are behind schedule, so you have to allow extra time. Another thing that is frustrating is dealing with the drivers, who: will often not stop at the right stops, will want you to hurry on the bus at some times and then at others make you wait for people to get off (that you can’t see), and they often don’t give you time to sit down or to get off before driving off. In my town, the service is good weekday mornings and afternoons. You also cannot carry big packages or luggage, drink or eat, or listen to load music on the bus. ==== Bus People ==== The people on the bus can be frustrating too. Most people who ride the bus do so, because they cannot afford any other options. Most people who ride the bus are: kids, the elderly, people with various disabilities like those in wheelchairs and the developmentally disabled, the poor, and people who have lost their licenses to drive, due to reckless or drunk driving. Many people on the bus have bad manners and have a hard time getting along with others. Usually there is at least one person who is very annoying, who does something like: making loud repetitive sounds, staring at you, going on and on with irrational ramblings, or trying to start a conversation with you or the bus driver. I try not to make eye contact with anyone and avoid smiling, which helps keep people from harassing me directly. I also avoid certain times and routes to avoid certain annoying people. ==== Alternatives to the Bus ==== If I want to get anywhere on the weekends, I either walk or take a taxi. I have tried using a taxi, to get to a meeting, at a certain time, but I found that, if you call them too early, they forget and that not very many taxis are running on the weekend. There must not be much competition for taxis in my town. Riding a bike around town works well, in my town, because of all the bike paths, but you will have to find somewhere to put your bike (there isn’t much room on the bus for them) and you should avoid getting a nice one as they are often stolen. Riding a bike in the rain is not fun either and it is hard to carry packages. ==== Re-Occurring Expenses ==== Another big way to save money is to reduce re-occurring expenses. Some of these include cell phones, cable TV, Internet, games, movies, music, computers, software, and eating out. Not everyone needs every electronic device out there. People survived fine for thousand of year without cell phones. Most people do not have much time to watch cable TV, so for most people that is a bad investment. You can get the entire season of a show on DVD or on iTunes and just see what you want, without paying, for all the stuff you never watch on cable. The Internet is vital for most people, but check the rates from different companies and different plans, not usually advertised, and you can also get free wireless network, at many different businesses in many areas, like restaurants and coffee shops. You can save money on music, by just buying the songs you want on iTunes, instead of purchasing an entire CD, for one song. You can also save money, by buying movies on iTunes, rather than buying them on DVD or Blu-ray. Many people can actually save money on a Mac, due to not having to pay lots of money for constant repairs, because Macs last longer, and Macs have much higher resale value. You can save on software, by using open source software, instead of paying hundreds of dollars, for Microsoft and Adobe titles. === 3.14.3 Theft or Charity === ==== The Meaning of Free Culture ==== Free culture is a movement primarily Internet based and is an information era application of a much older reason for publishing. Most alive today people can’t remember what it was like before people created art, music, literature and that kind of thing, without the primary reason being to make money. In fact, most of the intellectual property created in the last hundred years is also not worth the same as what was created before. Compare, for instance, sacred religious texts with popular culture creations like Disney movies. Would you more likely risk your life for the Bible or for the animated Cinderella? I believe that there is a direct connection between why something is created and its value. ==== The Situation Today ==== Today, most things that are created for profit are not very high quality. Think of a recent movie or song that you thought would be worth preserving. The reason for this is that there is a whole network of powerful people, who act as gatekeepers of information. To reach a wide audience, you need an advertising campaign, which requires an investment of a tremendous amount of money. ==== Loss of Trust ==== The Internet is making it much cheaper to publish information and therefore, we can reach each other, instead of having to get approved by a magazine editor or TV news producer. People used to trust their newspapers and TV reporters, before my generation which has seen a tremendous number of people in the establishment caught, pushing their own agendas and publishing for the advertisers, instead of for the readers. The thing that people get really upset about is when the journalists keep on supporting the establishment, no matter what it does and then, at the same time, claim to be objective. ==== Foreign Workers ==== Another thing that is lowering the bar to getting published is that people in third world countries and major Asian nations are now taking over the jobs of American journalists, engineers, and managers. Now one seemed to care when the blue collar workers lost their jobs, because we didn’t mind people of color doing menial labor, but when they moved up the ladder to white collar jobs, now everybody gets defensive and cries out about the injustice. If it is ok for factory workers to lose their jobs to foreign workers, it is also ok for white collar workers to lose their jobs as well (and it is about time). ==== The Best Way to Fight ==== Many people’s response is to steal songs and movies, because they don’t find them worth the cost. But the problem with this is we just end up with less control over our media purchases and many people go to jail. The better way to fight the establishment and their control over our information, is to produce the content ourselves. I cannot single handedly provide enough information for everyone in America, but together with hundreds of thousand of others, we can cover a lot of ground. When someone got a degree in a field, they used to have a certain level of competence, but the professional community has lowered its standards of both integrity and work ethic, to the point that diplomas don’t mean much anymore. We may not be able to match the resources to do the same amount of research, but we can contribute without a profit motive, which makes us much more “objective”. ==== Serve your Country ==== We need to have a free culture in America worth the sacrifices of our military service members and other Department of Defense and State Department workers. Especially as I am a veteran, I believe that it is very important that our military doesn’t become an arm of corporations and their desire to get more money and power, at the expense of the average citizen. I do not believe that Disney movies, the NASCAR, or the Wall Street Journal are worth dying for. So if you want to help America and don’t want to get burned alive and have permanent brain damage form serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, you will serve your country very well at home, by making sure we have something in America worth sacrificing lives for. === 3.14.4 Reasons to Create Rather than Consume === ==== Help Yourself ==== •you can promote the things you have interests in •you can be in control •you can become famous •if you want something done right, do it yourself •you know best what you like •you can pass the time •you can get a better job •you can create a market for your job •you can create things for advertising ==== Enhance Your Self-Esteem ==== •you can take pride in your creation •you can expand your interests •creating for others provides meaning in your life •you can find a new hobby •you can see beyond your circumstances ==== Learn New Things ==== •you can enhance your experience •you learn best by creating based on what you learn •you can learn a new skill or perfect a skill •you can make a good resume and portfolio •you can learn to be patient •you can learn discipline •you can develop a work ethic •you can expand your knowledge ==== Help Others ==== •if no one created, there would be nothing to consume •you can influence others •you can leave a legacy for your children •you can meet other people •you can be a role model •you can contribute to your community •you can make your family look good === 3.14.5 Why Volunteer? === ==== Getting Perspective ==== When a person has plenty of money, they have a nice family, and they still feel a lack of purpose or joy in life, a good psychologist will often recommend the client becoming a volunteer or, in some other way, donating their time, for the benefit of others. One of the great things about spending your time making other people’s lives better is that it gives you perspective. Many of us in the modern United States have lived very sheltered lives and have little perspective on how the majority of the world lives. ==== The Way the Youth Live ==== Basically, we are often spoiled rotten, in comparison. Many of us don’t know what difficult really means. We spend most our youth going to school for a few hours day and don’t have to even try to pass classes. Most children spend most their free time playing games, chatting or texting on a mobile phone, or hanging around at the local mall. This generation expects more than even my generation did. Kids now expect to be entertained, in order for them to put any effort, into learning at school. ==== Lazy Employees ==== Employees, even my parents age, typically do nothing but complain all day. It seems that people’s greatest fear these days is actually doing their job correctly. We get paid so much more than any other country and yet we feel no loyalty to the company who pays us and have no pride in what we do. It is true that we have made some great progress, in the last couple generations, as far as rights for women and people of color, but we seem to have gone too far the other way now. ==== Greater Expectations ==== The biggest problem today is that people are lazy, because their parents never taught them any work ethic. We need to raise the expectations in our children, if we want to have responsible adult citizens. And some how this generation needs to learn discipline as adults. If we don’t learn the easy way, we will be forced to learn the hard way. The easy way is to learn these values by our own choice and in our own way, but if we fail to learn this way, we will be forced to learn as a result of our country falling apart and the economy coming to a complete standstill. ==== No Easy Way ==== To have joy in life, we need to have more outlets than just work and play. Some people help others just with their jobs, but most people will not find fulfillment in working alone. If we do nothing after work, but entertain ourselves with corporate media, we will not feel at peace. Constantly distracting yourself does not keep you from having to find meaning in life. There is no substitute way to get self esteem, without putting effort into something. There is no pill that will make you happy, all by itself. ==== Be a Patriot ==== It breaks my heart to see the service members give their lives and their health, just for us to be able to consume more. There is no point in fighting for our freedom to choose Coke or Pepsi, Toyota or Honda, Republican or Democrat, and the like. We need to make choices that involve sacrifice. We need to delay our gratification, in order to exercise our free will. The things that are really worth doing require a tremendous effort. Writing a book, running a marathon, spending a year overseas, joining the Peace Corps, becoming an Eagle Scout, participating in local theater, working on a political campaign, and raising money to help the environment are all things that will help you be grateful for the things you already have. ----