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30 Jul 2004 @ 15:03, by craiglang. Religion
How Would Jesus Vote?
What would the politics of Jeshua Ben Yusef be, if He walked the Earth today? My short answer is that we probably don't know. But it would probably be something very different from what anyone would expect.
I'm writing this article for our church newsletter. I think it has alot to say to those on both the right and the left, who tell me they are "followng Jesus".
. More >
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 12 Jul 2004 @ 11:13, by bombadil. Religion
"I have many names, and none of them matter.
Names are not important. More >
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 29 Jun 2004 @ 01:33, by b. Religion
This story that I have been writing in this blog took place in the late nineteen sixties. I have skipped ahead of the last sections that I have written. I want to display an in depth conversation with L Ron Hubbard. Later in this story I become a member of LRH Commodore Staff, CS5-Ethics. Then I worked closely with L Ron Hubbard in his office every day and had hundreds of conversations with him. More >
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1 May 2004 @ 11:05, by celestial. Religion
A Vision of the Day. More >
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14 Mar 2004 @ 16:00, by craiglang. Religion
According to traditional Christian teachings, the season of Lent is one of preparation and austerity. It is a time when the faithful prepare for the tragedy of the Cross, and the promise of the Resurrection. I thought about this in a slightly different way this morning, as I looked out the window at a gray March sky.
The first word that entered my mind, to describe the morning, was that very term, "austere". It was a bleak, blustery sky, with a cold wind out of the north. There were a few flakes of snow floating in the air. The brief flicker of spring warmth seemed to have been snuffed out by the chill resurgence of winter, a reminder that winter was not finished yet.
I have never considered myself a traditional follower of any religion, even though I was raised a Lutheran. But I was taught all the traditional teachings - including those about Lent. And somehow this day seemed to perfectly echo the traditional lenten theme - a time of sparseness and of preparation for the challenge and the hope that lies ahead.
I had been sick for most of Friday and Saturday, with a roaring sinus infection. It had forced me to miss a day of work at a time when our project is at it's busiest. It had also forced me to miss the monthly Minnisota MUFON UFO investigators meeting. And thus, I was not be able to give the talk I had put together (those who know me, will know that thngs have to be pretty extreme for me to miss a MUFON meeting... :-) ... ). All in all, it was a less than pleasant turn of events from what had eariler promised to be a fun and interesting weekend.
The day on Saturday was instead spent mostly asleep. When awake, it was occupied with sipping echinachea tea and trying not to feel too disappointed at the turn of events. It was a time of trying to stay focused in the present moment - and I realized that perhaps, this was the lesson that the Universe was trying to teach me on this day.
Maybe the point of the day was the necessity of avoiding attachment to outcomes. Maybe the lesson was once again, that of mindfulness. It was one of those lessons that each of us can espouse so easily, especially after reading books such as Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now". Yet when the chips are down, it can be so hard to actually put this wisdom into practice. Perhaps, I decided, the Universe felt that once again, I needed yet another lesson in how to be Mindful - and so this one came in the form of a sinus infection and a missed UFO investigators' meeting.
The next day, Sunday, I felt alot better - still a bit cruddy, but at least passably human. I managed to drain my sinuses by means of a hot shower (a small portable Roto-Rooter would have been nice), to eat breakfast and to get ready for Church. The sky was gray and depressing outside, and closely matched my mood. A very gray cloud hung over this human as he got dressed and ready.
A short time later, having eaten breakfast, Gwyn and I were off to church - with me looking forward to my usual nap during the sermon :-). But today, I was captured by the message in an entirely different way. The sermon was on Lent - a very brief(!) talk by the minister on the emptiness that seems to come in preparation for the Christian holy days. I smiled as the gears started turning in my mind (and as this article began to take shape).
One key point was that the time of preparation, then of pain, ends up as a time of resurrection and of hope. The master theme of the story is just this - that what, at one moment, may seem to be the most hopeless, can actually turn out to be our greatest joy. And this was the message that got my attention. And as the service ended, and a brief social hour began, my spirits felt trememdously uplifted by this thought.
As we stepped out of church and headed off to our next destination, a nearby lunch counter for after-church coffee and conversation, I noticed that the clouds had begun to part. The sun shone through the breaking cloud deck. Blue sky was starting to replace the gray of the morning. To me, it was as if somehow God was accenting the message I had just heard, that after darkness and gray comes hope and light.
I looked up at the sunburst and smiled as we got into the car. Life in the present moment can truly be sunny and beautiful. More >
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 12 Feb 2004 @ 02:54, by jazzolog. Religion
Art is frozen Zen.
---R.H. Blyth
From a certain point onward there is no longer any turning back. That is the point that must be reached.
---Franz Kafka
The birth of a man is the birth of his sorrow. The longer he lives, the more stupid he becomes, because his anxiety to avoid unavoidable death becomes more and more acute. What bitterness! He lives for what is always out of reach! His thirst for survival in the future makes him incapable of living in the present.
---Chuang-Tzu
The "Left Behind" series, novels whose plots revolve around the Rapture now number 40 million in print. (Photo: leftbehind.com/CBS)
Let me say at the outset that my main problem with the current and prevalent Evangelicals has to do with theology rather than politics. They have the right to yearn for a state grounded in their principles, and the mainstream has the right to send them back to their pews---which is what we're going to do. I want neither George Bush NOR the Dalai Lama as my emperor.
My theological problem involves what I judge to be the major thrust of prayer among Evangelicals. I find the literal reading of Biblical material as silly as a literal reading of Mother Goose. I do not think of the Bible as a fairy tale, but I do know what a parable is and what it isn't. It ain't a New York Times editorial---or at least oughtn't to be (most of the time). Jesus taught with parables, not news items or States of the Union speeches. Prayer becomes distorted in a literal perception of parable and scripture.
I believe Evangelicals use prayer as an appeal to God to do stuff for them...and as a ritual of gratitude when they think the tasks have been righteously performed. I believe this is magical thinking...and I find much of magic in what Evangelicals do. The very air and atmosphere of a Pentecostal meeting is magical: the circle, the hands-holding and waving, the chanting (whether in tongues or not), the public emotional convulsion of being born again, the healings. The power here is magic...which is perfectly OK, as long as it is recognized and celebrated as such. More >
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3 Feb 2004 @ 08:47, by mikenight. Religion
When a preacher does not recognize the context of prophecy or context of their own books like that of Revelation which have already took place in Johns' day and age (the 3rd John from Patmos) then is this error causing people to be anti Moshiach and anti Jewish. Does this mistake cause people to hate peace or hate the coming Temple or coming Moshiach because they are taught to expect in our day and age a false Messiah in the Temple and a false worship in that Temple (which is not Biblical)?
Ask yourself this question: You teach your kids on one hand to inspire to bring Peace, Inspire to bring and see Moshiach to his Temple then turn around and teach them to thwart or watch out for that very same thing (Peace, Temple, and Moshiach). This double sided twist makes people damn and thwart the Jewish Moshiach and expectations making for a no win situation since you want peace and gathering and building of the Temple but also want to prevent and thwart it as well, which makes no sense. The reason it makes sense to these twisters are because they don't see the events occured in the day of John of Patmos in which he was warning from therefore they expect to see these events occur in our day and age. If a Jewish Rabbi comes to the Temple to come would you dare condemn or try and thwart the Jewish Procession? Then isn't that saying Jews have no right to return to their heritage and devotional inspired Temple which acts as a central outlet for spiritual awareness? Aren't you condemning the Torah? Aren't you anti Moshiach and anti Judaism?
Therefore a little error has caused many preachers to teach anti Moshiach and anti fulfillment of the Prophecy of the returning kingship of the Davidic Lineage.
COntext of Christian revelation shows the time of the Roman revolt whereby John of Patmos (not to be confused with other Johns of your bible) was warning of Romes adversary set up mocking the Jewish worship by placing an icon of a man for people to worship as their G0d while taking away their authority by replacing it with their own which stood on the seven hills (Vatican). Daniel's prophecy already took place with Antiochus so when preachers use John's revelation with Daniel which already occured they totally distort expectation of future events and thus become anti Temple and anti Moshiach (anti Jewish).
Proof these things in your book of Revelation took place in that era can be found by combining Luke 21:24 & Romans 11:25 which by history of that era, shows that Revelation 11:1-3 occurred in aprox 70ad. More >
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31 Dec 2002 @ 10:39, by theguider. Religion
Raising the Intelligence of the world
Applied Quantum Physics
A lion will seek out to attack and kill the weakest, or dumbest, or lamest, or the youngest wildebeest; one that the lion can kill with the least amount of effort. Once the death of this wildebeest occurs, the level of average health and/or intelligence of the wildebeest species has rose because of the removal of one lower than average in health or intelligence.
A lion that is too sick, or too old, or too lame, or too dumb, or too young will die because he cannot catch and kill another animal for food. When this occurs and the lion dies, the level of average in the lion species became higher because one at the lower end of the averages in this species is gone.
We - people, once thought that the sun was a God who was born as it rose in the east, and he lived as he traveled across the sky, and then died as he disappeared in the west, and then he traveled through the under-world of the dead, to be re-born again as he rose the next day in the eastern sky. Later, a theory that claimed that the earth revolves around the sun, and then, followed by proven facts, destroyed the belief that the sun was a God. And this knowledge raised the level in the average of intelligence of the human species.
Christianity followed the beliefs of Judaism about God placing intelligence into the first man and woman, Adam and Eve. This is proven in the story of the Apple; When God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of knowledge, He placed intelligence into them to comprehend, understand, and the ability to reason that there would be a consequence if they did not follow His words.
The Islamic religion came into existence around the 700s AD, and Mohammed said, God placed intelligence into the first insect. This was a new theory and its proof came from seeing life, including the insect in the world contain some kind of intelligence.
Each of these two theories of intelligence was back by "facts of their beliefs" of that day while the Islamic theory proved more species than human had intelligence.
Then, God's Angels told me that He instilled intelligence into the first one-cell animal. Today, with the use of microscope, we can truly see that all life contains some kind intelligence.
Each of the three teaching of intelligence raised the level of average of intelligence in the human species and brought us closer to God. Quantum Theory and Physics - working together while changing from one form to another in a peaceful manner, thus - is God - is Love.
Peaceful Manner - the lifestyle of nature. God created all, even what we consider as bad and/or evil. God created bad and evil to give each his individual choice to choose between doing good or bad. The intelligence that He placed in that first one-cell animal gives us the comprehension, understanding and reasoning to know what our actions will
Bring. Whereas, animals live mostly for personal survival, and while the "lifestyle" of all species of plants is to root out the other for its survival.
Applied Quantum Theory
If the cycle of plant and animal life would continue without interference from the human species, someday the world would end up with only one type of animal and/or one type of plant species living. Therefore, we should not judge if it is right for one animal to kill another for food to sustain life. But we must understand that killing one of another species for food is needed in the cycle of life of the animal and insect, while we should also understand that it is wrong to kill another human. For when one kills another of his own species, he is diminishing the populous of his species, but when one kills one from another species for food, he is continuing the cycle of his species.
We cannot force our "teachings" upon others, we can only inspire them to seek the truth. My doctrines (the things God's Angels have told and shown me) cannot be forced upon another, for each must seek for personal and individual doctrines that are symbolic for his understanding, comprehension and reasoning. For if we force and/or push our doctrines upon others, we are no better (righteous) than they as we try to place them under our
domination. But, we can help raise the level of intelligence of the human species by teaching the proven facts in their religions; all religions speak of Love to all, and this is what we need to inspire in them.
Animal instincts of survival drive individuals to force their beliefs upon others. This is truly demonstrated in the business world by companies taking over other companies. If this continues, someday, we will end up with one person owning and in charge of all we buy and consume. And, if we continue to allow our animal instincts to lead, there will come a time when only one person is alive and is living in a world where no one else exist.
In the knowledge of mathematics, it if thought that there is a mathematical formula for life in this third dimensional realm, and it is said that once it is found it will be a one-digit equation.
The formula and equation to this mathematical question is zero. For zero plus zero always equal zero. No matter how many you place together as digits, the answer is always zero, and no matter how many you take away, you always end up with zero. While the symbol for zero is a continuous line that connects back to itself - the cycle of life, never ending life that contains nothing that we can feel, see, touch, smell or taste, and yet, it is opposite to what it is placed on and what it contains because you would not see it if it were the same color, and because it only contains energy while what you see is the line that makes the zero - the circle of life.
God can be symbolized as "0" because He is never-ending Love that continues out and returns as Divine Love - Parts of His energy that we know as Angels enters into our hearts and experiences the endurances (joys and distasteful things) of life. After our deaths, God's Angels ascend back to Him, and we embrace Him, thus, Divine Love returns to Him.
God contains energy of Love that cannot be seen, held, felt, tasted or smelled, but only experienced - He contains out-flowing energy of Love while animals - humans can only experience things that the animal can see, hold, taste, feel and smell - the human contains only selfish (drawn inward) energy. The Angels (parts of God) attempts to turn our selfish energy into Divine Love, but the human has the final choice of his actions.
Whatever you sow, you shall reap. Do good to others, and good shall be return to you. Do bad to other, and you shall receive bad from others. Allow the Angel within you to lead and he shall lead you to God - Eternal Heaven. Follow your feelings of the animal and it shall lead you to Satan - evil and Eternal Hell. For the cycle of life and the afterlife is the circle, the symbol of "zero."
The symbol "zero" that I refer to as God is a line that is arc - a continuous curve that returns back to its point of origin. This line is the geological location of Time, for the line is the cycle of Time. All that happens has its individual location on this line, and we live on that line.
One night as the Angel Joeen and I talked, I asked her to return the next night at 10:00 pm, and she said she would. The next night, she did not appear until after 11:00 pm, and when I asked she why she did not come at our appointed time, she replied that she was busy taking children to the Light. I recalled that she and I had traveled back into the past and into the future, but we never interacted with people during those times, we only interacted with people during the present time. Once she missed our appointed time, she could only go back to view the things that happened during the time of 10:00 pm, and she could not enter that time and interact with me at that location.
Angels and humans who are traveling in "out-of-body experiences" can travel to other places at this present time, or they can go back into the past or into the future, but they can only inter-act with people during the present time. Therefore, people "out-of-body," dead or alive, and Angels cannot change the past or future. Therefore, one cannot change his Hell to Heaven after death by removing past sins or changing his attitude that contributed to his Hell. Angels (parts of God) - Energy do not live on the line of time, the line of time is life (as we know it) and this third dimension.
The cycle of the Universe
The Universe is traveling of this continuous curve also, and as the Universe travels, it passes the speed of light as it continues to travel faster and faster. The faster it travels, the smaller it becomes, and the distances between planets, stars, etc. and including space become smaller, too, because it is the total of the Universe that is traveling on this curve, not just one or a few of the planets and stars. Once the Universe returns back to its point of origin, the Universe will collapse back into itself, and this cycle of life will end, and then, another cycle will start.
There may be other cycles occurring at this same time, and there may have been hundreds of cycles before, but we live in what is called the fifth cycle.
Life is simple, but we confuse it because all life is inter-woven, and you cannot examine one single piece of life and understand it. For all actions have re-actions - past, present and future, and in total, all pieces combine to form all of Life - God.
Once God placed intelligence into that first one-cell animal, all things to come was laid down in God's master plan - the domino chain-action effect - things that your ancestors believed in, thought and did contributed to your beliefs, thinking and attitude. Your ancestry goes back to the time that God placed intelligence into that first one-cell animal. That one-cell animal influenced what you think and do today, and while the one-cell animal's comprehension, understanding and reasoning combines with the new knowledge that you obtain and learn will influence your children of the future - the never-ending cycle of life.
We are here to enjoy, and experience, and to learn in knowledge that helps us understand life and death. Life may not seem grand, but to God all life is grandeur, for God did not promise us Heaven here on Earth, but He did promised us our individual pursuit of happiness.
I would like to close this part of this posting with a few questions to you.
In regards to the Catholic child sex abuse scandal; How can a religion who's many leaders have abused children and will not remove the offenders, say it is a religion of God, and state it believes in God? And, how can so many people still believe in and follow such an evil religion and its clergymen? And, does God approve of the sexual abuse of children?
"The Gift of Choice"
To help illustrate "the Gift of Choices" in the "chain-reaction" of life, image if you will, setting dominos in a formation so that the first roll of dominos contains only one domino, the second roll has two dominos side by side, the third roll has three side by side, and so forth and so forth until millions of millions of dominos are arranged in this order, and think of each domino are representing an ancestor (person and/or animal) in the evolution of human life. And think of this domino formation as the span of total life here on earth, and near the end of this formation and onto the end of this formation, the dominos represent humans.
As we knock over the first domino at the beginning of this formation, it will touch another and knock over the next roll of two others, and in turn they will knock over more, and this "chain-reaction" of knocking down the dominos will continue until the complete formation of dominos are laying down.
Now, image that the distances between each of the standing dominos and the location that each domino will obtain when it falls as the time that each person lives, and during that time all that each domino's (person's life) experiences influence the next domino (next of kin) that follows it.
And once that first domino was sat in place, and as all the others were placed in this formation, and as the first domino was touched as to knock it down, the chain-reactions of all of the other dominos as to what direction, and to what other dominos it would come in contact with, and to where each domino would final lay, is known to God.
We as the dominos, in this chain-reaction, believe that we have control over which direction our individual lives will go, but our life's directions was known by God before the start of time. All of our individual choices as indicated as "Gods Gift of Choice," are merely the things that we do that was influenced and directed by what occurred in our ancestors and our past life up until this present time. The things that we will do in the future are influenced by those things as well as what we presently do, and while all in known by God. Therefore, we are at the correct place in knowledge, and location of time, and geological location, that it was planned for us to be.
"God's Gift of Choice" is our experiencing of the unknown, and that is what life is all about - experiencing as we enjoy life. And it is this "experiencing life;" the recorded experience on energy that is the Soul. The Soul is that part of you that will live forever with God, for each person is made up of two parts: 1. Energy that allows solid matter to think and also gives our bodies movement - that is the Soul, and 2. Matter which will return to which it came from - earth. These two things must come together to form a living being.
And while we live, even though our life's adventures are known to God, our choices of doing good or evil will either help our Angel-within to glow brightly or dim, depending on which you chose. And the attitude of your character is influenced by your ancestors and you past life experiences, will be placed upon your Soul. And after your death, it shall be forever engraved upon the Angel-within. But you may change the attitude of your character, and if you do allow changes in yourself, it was a known factor at the beginning of time.
Another way to view the "Concept of Life," is to think of your Soul as being a file that contains your life's experiences, and the Angel-within as a disk, and God as the Master Computer. And after you die, your file (Soul) is transferred to the disk (the Angel- within), and the Angel-within takes your file to God where the Soul (your life's experiences) are downloaded into the congregation of God - His Angels. For God is all Angels in congregation. And therefore, until your life ends, your file is not complete and may be changed, but once life is over, your Soul stands as the Memory of You that will live forever in God, as well as the feelings that you had toward others will influence your descendants in their life, and that is your everlasting Heaven or Hell that you shall live in forever.
Therefore, we do not have control over the future. We merely have the control over the future as was known by God before the start of time. For we cannot control what others do and think, we only control what we as individual think and do. More >
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3 Feb 2002 @ 10:47, by fleer. Religion
Today the conservative newspaper Berlingske Tidende puts spotlight on a issue with Muslim schools under a free school system using authorative pedagogics and hard line discipline to educate muslim school children. More >
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17 Oct 2001 @ 13:18, by sindy. Religion
By Dick Ahlstrom, Science Editor
DNA fingerprinting has been used to prove that St Luke really is who he claims to be. Analysis of bones allegedly belonging to the evangelist writer of the Gospels now held in Padua has proven both the age and genetic background of the relics. More >
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