It’s bare 2 years since our money was bled of zeros and I swear my memory ain’t being a honey at all, I forgot what the before looked like for sure; I’m cured.

Why cure? It reflects my present sketch, the absence of resentment, the ‘expect nothing’ mind, that true universal set, allows my scowl to flat at whatever hap. Sweet content.

Scoff at the profs. cos all they do is profess for a day’s bread, never they confess. Tell the truth, go find flora as your roof and while there ponder the world’s spook. Profuse littering of our living with religions; my meaning, laws, rules, convictions.

Life, when callow, is the divines fellow. Thought that be roughly Thoreau, but this is mine, neonatal, ignorant, I AM callow.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:33

According to Luke 17:21, the kingdom of God is within us.  We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, according to II Corinthians 5:21.  So when we focus on our position in Christ, that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, then all these other things will be added until us.

Why?  Because we are taking our rightful position as the sons and daughters of God.

Award-winning writer and filmmaker Geoffrey Dunn’s book The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power will be released by St. Martin’s Press in spring 2010.

Now this should be a good read.  Those that loved Bush and supported his lies are the ones that support Palin and claim she is intelligent and experienced and they are not able to tell when they are being manipulated using God to do it.

Mike Wooten, 37, who still serves as an Alaska State Trooper in Anchorage, called Palin’s book “a pack of lies.”

According to Wooten, Palin and her father, Chuck Heath Sr., have “interfered with my life–and my children’s lives–for at least the last five years. And it is still going on. I’m done with it.”

An independent investigation ordered by the bipartisan Alaska Legislative Council (composed of ten Republicansand four Democrats) and conducted by former Republican prosecutor Steve Branchflower, resulted in the finding “that Governor Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.”

The report issued by Branchflower documented more than thirty occasions in which then Governor Palin, her husband Todd or members of her staff tried to influence Alaska’s highly regarded Commissioner of Public Safety, Walt Monegan, to fire Wooten. When Monegan refused, Palin fired him instead.

Wooten served 10 years in the Air Force and three more in the Air National Guard Reserves. He participated in a trio of U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf War–Desert Storm, Desert Shield and Restore Hope–before returning stateside to Alaska at Elmendorf Air Force Base.

Disabled from his military service, Wooten pointed out that neither Todd nor Sarah Palin, or Chuck Heath, served in the armed forces. Wooten said he was particularly “disgusted and incensed” by Palin’s “insincere” dedication in Going Rogue to “our men and women in uniform.”

It is interesting to note that those who have been victimized by Palin during her political career–including former Wasilla police chief Irl Stambaugh; Monegan and himself–were all veterans. “Sarah is only about Sarah,” Wooten said. “She doesn’t care about the ‘men and women in uniform.’ It’s all about advancing Sarah’s career.”

It is also interesting to note that Palin mentions none of Wooten’s military record, but cites many charges that were brought against Wooten that were subsequently dismissed. She contends that there were “ten different” citizen complaints field against Wooten–without acknowledging that all of them were filed by members of her family or close friends. “They filed every stinking one of the charges,” Wooten contends. “But it’s been more like two dozen.”

Palin, Wooten would be one of those you always call a hero, and he served our country.  Why would you attack one of our heros unless you are a terrorist supporter.  Are you anti-American, Palin?

John Cyr, the former Alaska Public Safety Employees Association Executive Director, confirmed Wooten’s charges:

“Not one complaint has ever been made about Mike Wooten’s professional performance from any member of the public other than the Palin/Heath family and their closest friends. The troopers that I’ve talked to that have worked with Mike tell me Mike is the kind of guy they’d go through a door with. That he does his work. He’s a professional. You know, just no complaints out there about Mike’s work.”

“It’s the product of an ugly divorce and custody battle,” Cyr [pictured below, at left, with Wooten] said of the complaints against the State Trooper. “It’s nothing more than that.”

Palin I thought you were a Christian?  Why are you so full of hate, revenge and lies?  Is that what your Jesus would do?  I am glad God didn’t want you to be President.

It is interesting how she can so easily fool Christian Republicans that seem to worship her like a God.  Bush fooled them, destroyed our economy, lead us to a war based on lies of WMD and ties to 9/11 and then sold torture to his Christian supporters that excused it and allowed it to continue.  Praise God?

In a letter dated January 1, 2000, written on official City of Wasilla stationery, Palin praises Wooten profusely, though she fails to declare her then-pending familial relationship with him.  She also didn’t mention this in her book.  I wonder why?  Does she wish to just deceive all the people she can?

Hey Palin, here is what you had to say about Wooten that you rather no one know about:

“It is my pleasure to provide character reference examples for Mr. Mike Wooten. Since I have become acquainted with Mike I continue to be impressed with his integrity, worthwhile community spirit and trustworthiness…  On a personal note, I have witnessed Mike’s gift of calm and kindness towards many young kids here in Wasilla. I have never seen him raise his voice, nor lose patience, nor become agitated, in the presence of any child. Instead, Mike consistently remains a fine role model for my own children and other young people in Wasilla.  I wish America had more people with the grace and sincerity that mirrors the character of Mike Wooten. We would have a much kinder calmer trustworthy nation as a result.  I believe the United States Air Force has been fortunate to have the services of Mike the past 10 years. His work ethic, his American patriotism, his obvious dedication to traditional values, and his strong faith in God and truth is witnessed in Mike’s everyday living.”

Why wasn’t this in your book Sarah Palin?  Are you afraid everyone will see you for the wack job you are?

Seems the RNC likes to point fingers at others for what they allow to be posted and then blame them for the post.  So, why is this any different.

RNC is as racist as the KKK and they are sexist and homophobic as well.  Not sure how they get any votes outside of hate filled Christians.  I guess they do get the KKK and Socialist Nazi groups vote.

A former South Carolina legislator has been fired from the state attorney general’s office after authorities say he was discovered in a cemetery with a teenage stripper during his lunch break.

Police reports released said 66-year-old Roland Corning was stopped after his car was spotted in an area police say is known for sex and drug use. According to the report, a Columbia police officer watched Corning drive into the Elmwood Cemetery at around 3:15pm Monday. When Corning spotted the patrol car, the report says he quickly drove off.

A visitor to the cemetery saw Corning’s SUV speeding through the area, and police pulled him over a few blocks away. Police say an 18-year-old woman who works at the Platinum Plus strip club was with Corning. Corning and the woman gave police conflicting statements as to why they were at the cemetery and the nature of their relationship, the report said.

Police also found Viagra and sex toys that Corning said were there ”just in case.”

He is a former state lawmaker from northeast Richland County and has been active in the state’s Republican Party…Corning is perhaps best known in the House for his work on anti-abortion initiatives.

Maybe he can tell everyone that God is testing him and wants him to remain at his position and if everyone is moral and Christian like, they would forgive him and forget it.  It seems to work for Mark Sanford, so far.

Bishop Janusz Kaleta of Holy See, the Apostolic Administrator of Atyrau  was asked if the Vatican’s stand was clearly against gay tourism, the Bishop answered:

“The church teachings are from the Bible. If we change this teaching, we will not be the Catholic Church. Don’t expect the Catholic church to change these issues, because it is our identity.” When asked if the Vatican is open to dialogue about welcoming such homosexual groups of tourists in the future, Bishop Kaleta responded that “such demonstrations are just not ethical.”

The question was clarified to the Bishop that what was meant by gay travel was traveling for the purpose of a visit, not as a demonstration. To this the Bishop replied,

”I consider if someone is homosexual, it is a provocation and an abuse of this place.  Try to go to a mosque if you are not Muslim.  It is abuse of our buildings and our religion because the church interprets our religion that it is not ethical.  We expect respect of our church as we expect to respect that a person does not have to belong to the Catholic Church.  If you have different ideas, go to a different location.”

Apparently, child molesting priest are allowed and even excused and hidden as it is apparently respectful of the church if priest molest children?

Help raise money for sex education by supporting Scarleteen at their web site:

http://www.scarleteen.com/

“Want the basics of sex and gender? It’s a Genderpalooza. You can find out what you might not already know about puberty, then get educated on about male sexual anatomy with extras on foreskins and the the prostate gland. You can get the lowdown on female anatomy, and check out some additions on labia, breasts and vaginal discharges.”

“Do you have your prereqs on sexual orientation? We’ve got The Bees and…the Bees: A Homosexuality and Bisexuality Primer for you. Thinking about coming out this year? Here’s a guide on How to Come Out of the Closet Without Tripping Over Your Laundry.”

If you are from a Christian family you are likely taught to not have sex which is proven to not work.  Maybe you are taught to do side hugs instead of “front” hugs because that will cause you to not sin. …haha.

Well, the site is one of the best places for our teens to visit and learn about sex.  Being educated is far better than believing in magic.

If you haven’t noticed, believing in magic is what lead to the war in Iraq and the practice of torture, in the name of God which magically makes it moral….so they seem to think.

Watch how this man named “Robert Erickson” stood up at a teabagger rally organized to protest immigration, and made an anti-immigration speech.  He fooled the Christians (its not that hard, evidence is never required) with boilerplate nonsense about immigrants taking jobs causing bringing crime, and then he stated that they also bring disease, namely small pox.  I wonder, when the settlers from the new world came here with their sickness and slaughtered the American Indians while preaching Jesus saves, would they consider that illegal immigrant status?

Then he got them with this:

“I say it’s time for us to say enough is enough! Are you with me? Are you with me? Let’s send these European immigrants back where they came from! I don’t care if they are Polish, Irish, English, Italian, or Norwegian! European immigrants are responsible for the most violent and heinous crimes in the history of the world, including genocide and slavery! It’s time to restore the sovereignty of people native to this land!”

“I want more workplace raids, starting with the big banks downtown. There are thousands of illegals working in those buildings, hiding in their offices, and taking Dakota jobs. Let’s round them up and ship them out. Then we need to hit them at home where they sleep. I don’t care if we separate families, they should have known better when they came here illegally!”

“If we aren’t able to stand up to these European immigrants, who can we stand up to? We need to send every one of them back home, right now.”

Then he led the crowd in a chant of  “Columbus go home!”  Of course, the people chanting at that point were plants from the group of anti-racists who organized the prank.  The right wing audience did eventually catch on.  Pretty funny stuff!  Just agree with them on a few matters of Christian hate and you got them hooked.  Imagine if you make them believe you are a follower of God,  you can likely get them to drink kool-aid….oh…someone already did that, didn’t they?   As they realized they’d been fooled, they stood in silence, while the counter-protesters urged Columbus to go home.

Yet another interview with Richard Dawkins on the sesquicentennial of the publication of On the Origin of Species. In the following he addresses the evolutionary future of humanity (to the extent that he can), the idea of thought and reason, what there was before the big bang (evolution vs. cosmology; addressing the fallacy between the two), Ray Comfort, and evolutionary proof for the dis-existence of a God.

My favorite quote:

Daniel Dennett, the American philosopher, described it as the best idea any one ever had. It’s such a powerful idea, it’s an extremely simple idea, but the amount that it explains is simply colossal, it explains the whole of life, the diversity of life, the beauty of life, and above all the illusion of design. Living things look as though they have been designed at a fantastically complicated level, what, and before Darwin came along everybody thought that they were designed. What Darwin showed was that you can get the illusion of design, with virtually nothing, I mean with a very, very simple idea using the ordinary, benign laws of physics.

Beautify put.

And, of course, the blatant dismissal of Ray Comfort:

There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot.

Evidence!

From YouTube:

November 24, 2009 on CNN

Speaking to CNN on the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin’s seminal work “On the Origin of Species,” Dawkins said the evidence to support the theory that life on earth came about through natural selection, and not design by God, was “now massively buttressed by molecular evidence.”

And referring to U.S.-based evangelist Ray Comfort, who argues that the universe and life is the result of an intelligent creator, Dawkins said: “There is no refutation of Darwinian evolution in existence. If a refutation ever were to come about, it would come from a scientist, and not an idiot.

Could anything be more pathetic?  Could anyone do worse than this?

I doubt anyone could top this, right?  Wait?  What is this?

It appears Bush is not a fan of the Bush, if you know what I mean!

I guess this is how the terrorist got away with 9/11, does this make Bush a traitor or terrorist?  Or just a gay Christian?

Now, can we just hold hands for a while?  I miss you so much, my lover.

I guess that is why Bin Ladden’s family was allowed to leave the USA after 9/11 when no one else was.  Someone is in bed with the King Arab.

It seems Joe Lieberman keeps avoiding the invites by Rachel Maddow to come onto her show.  It appears he is very much afraid to actually debate health care reform with someone that doesn’t  share his view.  I wonder why?

Joe, why you running away?  Afraid to be exposed?  Lets get it out in the open, unless you are a coward.  I guess you could ask your Christian Republican friends to pray that everyone will be taken care of, but you probably realize that isn’t going to work.  I think your version of God is more real than theirs anyway.  You go Joe.

I guess this is a religious thing and Jesus would not have wanted those without insurance to get the care they need.  I am sure Jesus would rather people suffer and that no one give to help others.  It just isn’t the Christian way or the Jewish way, I guess.  Don’t worry Lieberman, I am sure you have a big dollar job waiting for you when you are no longer a senator.

Go with the money, Jesus would! Right?  Oh yeah, you don’t believe Jesus is a God.  I forgot.

Dear God,

I realize you are very busy being everywhere at all times and because of that I know you have seen the millions of starving and sick children around the world.  I realize you are so full of compassion, love and mercy so my prayer should be an easy one to grant. Could you end the suffering of these children all around the world?

No, No, I am not asking that you end their suffering by drown them like you did in the old days.  I am asking that you end their suffering by providing them with clean water, providing them food and the medical care they need.

I pray this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ.  I am sure there are many Christians that pray to you to end suffering of children around the world.  So with my prayer and their payers, I am sure your promise to answer our prayers will come true.

I can see it now, I will wake in the morning to a special news announcement that food and medicine has fallen from the sky and been delivered to all that need.

Yes, I realize we spend millions of dollars on Churches and I realize that us Christians have more worldly things than any of the suffering could ever imagine having.  I realize you asked us to sell our possessions and give to the poor but since you have the power to provide to them all, why should we?  Oh, time to go, I want to play xbox on my 60 inch plasma display….

Thanks for your help on this one!

Peace out, dude!

While again attempting to make any negative implication they can to Obama, Fox News was discussing the Ft. Hood event and attempting to imply it was a terrorist attack, prior to any investigation having been completed.

Then we get to the WTF moment provided by Perino:

PERINO: And we had a terrorist attack on our country. And we should call it what it is. Because we need to face up to it so that we can prevent it from happening again.

HANNITY: I agree with you. And why won’t they say what you just so simply said?

PERINO: They want to do all of their investigations. I don’t know. All of the thinking that goes into it. But we did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush’s term. I hope they’re not looking at this politically. I do think we ought it to the American people to call it what it is.

It seems they want to avoid that FACT that 9/11 happened under the Bush Term.  They would love to forget the fact that Bush was warned of the event and even told it was likely to happen with the use of planes crashing into buildings.  The fact that they had once before attempted to blow up the twin towers should have been a clue to the Bush administration that it was a top candidate for attack.

Perino hopes they are not looking at this politically?  Tell that to yourself, idiot.  George Bush seemed to believe he was put in place by God Almighty and probably thought we couldn’t be attacked.  He likely prayed to his God to protect America thinking that his God actually was real (delusional people are not good with power or leadership).  Superstitions are not true, Bush.  Fox News, you seem to believe superstitions are true as well but if your God is so real and so powerful, why did you not pray to protect American and have all terrorist destroyed?  What?  You don’t love America?  Or did you actually pray and again not get answered?

When you feel great, you can easily brush off any negative thought or issue.

So, instead trying to avoid negative thinking, focus on what make you feel great, remember that feeling and bring it on whenever you need it.

A Forgotten Tradition

Often, when we speak of tradition, there is one that we have forgotten. It must be remembered that there is another tradition, a godly one that we are to follow: the Pauline tradition.

“Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which you have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle” (II Thessalonians 2:15).

“Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us” (II Thessalonians 3:6).

We are to receive the traditions of Paul because:

●     He is Our divinely Appointed Pattern.

“And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that you might learn in us …” (I Corinthians 4:6).

“Wherefore I beseech you, be followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus … who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which are in Christ …” (I Corinthians 4:16, 17).

“Be followers of me, even as I also am of Christ” (I Corinthians 11:1).

“Those things, which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do …” (Philippians 4:9).

“Hold fast the form of sound words, which you have heard of me …” (II Timothy 1:13).

“But you have fully known my doctrine, manner of life …” (II Timothy 3:10).

●     He is Our divinely Appointed Apostle.

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify my office” (Romans 11:13).

“That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:16).

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).

“Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (I Timothy 2:7).

“Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles …” (II Timothy 1:11).

●     To Him has been Committed this Current dispensation.

“For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you” (Ephesians 3:1-2).

“Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the Word of God” (Colossians 1:25).

“… A dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me” (I Corinthians 9:17).

“According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust” (I Timothy 1:11).

“… The gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me …” (Galatians 2:7).

“But has in due times manifested His Word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Savior” (Titus 1:3).

This current dispensation and its message were committed to Paul as a trust. The word “commit” means “to give in trust; to put into the hands or power of another; to entrust; to put into any place for preservation; to deposit;”[1] “to deposit (as a trust or for protection), to entrust.”[2]

The word “trust” means a “charge received in confidence; that which is committed to one’s care; something committed to a person’s care for use or management, and for which an account must be rendered.”[3]

As we receive the truth of this dispensation, we also receive the very dispensation itself, like Paul, becoming dispensers of God’s grace.

“… Which is given me to you” (Ephesians 3:2).

“… Which is given to me for you” (Colossians 1:25).

“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to your trust … And the things that you have heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (I Timothy 6:20; II Timothy 2:2).

Why was Timothy to commit his trust to men who were faithful? Because,

“… It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2).

We now have a trusteeship that has been committed to our own trust. We need to be faithful to Paul’s pattern – Paul’s tradition – and be ever so careful of the religious traditions of men!

Are we following Paul’s traditions, or man’s?

Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
Bible Student’s Notebook
© 2000, 2009

Today I received the richest blessing any mortal soul can be given, but to be able to share it with you, we must climb into the time machine and set the date for March 11 2009 when I wrote a post to my blog entitled “What would you die for?” in this post I discussed faith in God, resulting in actions, being proactive in purifying your life, getting rid of worldly influences, to allow your spiritual life to grow. Little did I know, across the globe a reader of my blog would consider it impetus to contact me in the comments field… here is what followed…

Hi there,

I came across your blog a while ago and I enjoy reading your work. I found this post(What would you die for?) particularly interesting because I have been having a problems with my faith. Since you are welcome to discussion I was hoping maybe I could tell you my story and you might be able to offer some advice. So here goes… My faith first began to weaken when someone I trusted very deeply betrayed me. In this terrible moment of darkness and confusion, I prayed to God that He would help me to get through this time in my life and teach me the lessons I needed to learn. As time went on, I noticed that my prayers seemed to be having little effect on my overall outcome, so I decided to pray even more fervently than before. Still, despite all of my tearful supplications, nothing in my life changed and no answer was given for the questions I was asking.

It was at this point that I could have done one of two things: A) I could have contented myself with saying “Well, God works in mysterious ways” and gone about my usual routine or B) Seriously question why my prayers were being ignored. I chose the latter. I realized that if I ascribed the behavior God was showing me with the same behavior a father would show to his son, any rational person would recognize that these were the actions of an indifferent parent. For if a son came to his father and earnestly pleaded for guidance, only to be completely ignored, we would most certainly call this man a terrible father. By applying this uniform standard of behavior to both God and man, we can see that rather than being the loving, gentle God we learn about from an early age in Sunday school, He is instead an indifferent parent at best and a voyeuristic sadist at worst.

If these declarations seem harsh or blasphemous, remember that I am only applying reason to a situation that is commonly overlooked and examining behavior to its logical conclusion. The same situations can be observed when people utter such common phrases as “God gives me strength” or “There’s a reason for everything”. The latter phrase is perhaps the greatest example of people exhibiting cognitive dissonance and falsely attributing fortune and misfortune to God or the devil respectively without thinking about what they are actually saying. When someone is passed over for a job opportunity and counters with, “Everything happens for a reason. God must not want me there” they are declaring that they believe in the power of God to direct their life. However, while adhering to the concept of freewill (since they themselves acknowledge their freewill to disobey God) they deny the freewill given to those who just denied them this job, attributing it to the divine intervention of God. This is a logical fallacy. People want to see God’s omnipotent hand pulling the strings of the dancing marionettes around them while they remain curiously unattached. Not only is this incredibly (albeit inadvertantly) narcissistic, it is also an example of someone parroting religious talking points without ever examining what they are saying. God is not controlling the good or bad that happens to you because God is not controlling other people.

I don’t know if you will be able to offer any advice. This is how I have been feeling lately, but at the same time I have been trying to seek advice from someone who might be willing to listen. I hope this wasn’t too much for a comment. You don’t have to reply if it was.

Jane.

When I read this, I was quite surprised, but very happy to be given the chance to reply, I prayed fervently about it and enlisted prayer from others before writing the following email…

Hi There ,

Sorry it has taken so long for me to reply to you, but as I said I wanted to take care in my reply.

Before I make my comment on your situation I think it would be beneficial for me to tell you about my journey over the last few weeks…

When I received your message, I had been having great difficulties in my own life, after reading your message, I prayed that God would give me the wisdom to answer as he would have me do so, and guess what, my life got worse, personally, professionally and spiritually, clients went sour, friends seemed indifferent, I felt that I was in a spiritual desert, I could not find the living water… then the inevitable occurred, “Lord… Why!” and that “why” was all-encompassing, Why cant i find you? why is my occupation failing? why can i not even find a friend to share my burdens with?

He then Led me to understand some things, first I realized how able I was to place my faith in him for salvation, but how I refused to have faith in him for the rest of my life I struggled against this as I did not want to surrender to his control, my heart kept saying, but what if he doesn’t come through for me? then he led me to Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” and I realized my feelings are not to be trusted, I may feel God is far from me, but Jesus said in Matt 28:20 “and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” so I claimed that promise and later he again impressed a scripture on me… Rom 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” I concluded that in my case this was the cause of my lack of faith, so I sought to hear the word of God, returning to my habits of reading scripture and loading my iPod with Sermons…

So many things have happened since then I don’t really know what to start with, but on the 29th of April I turned 21, to celebrate this the weekend before I went away to a mountain retreat with those closest to me, (none of which live nearby) the closest came from 4 hours drive away, the furthest came 1400km for this weekend, it was certainly a spiritual High for me, among these people were who I consider to be some of the most spiritually wise people I know…

This weekend, forced me to let go of my trials, one could perhaps call it involuntary faith. Away in the mountains, no phone, no internet… I could not DO anything to fix the problems I was facing, I had to let God do what he does so well…

Did I return to Clients that were miraculously happy, and jobs that had fixed themselves? of course not I still came home to face the struggle but since i had begun “hearing the word of God” my faith was restored, now past the birthday rush, I am still dealing with some of those issues but praise God he is using me for HIS purposes, when I accepted the life that was his and he died the death that was mine i relinquished my rights to this world. Job understood that in 13:15 when he said of God “Though he slay me, yet will i trust him” this is true dicipleship, nobody told Job why he was suffering in fact the only people who offered any hypothesis at all said you must have done something REAL bad for God to hate you this much… little did they know the Great controversy being played out before them.

I believe God allowed me to go through that trouble for multiple reasons, but not least of which, to qualify me to write you this very email, and for that I Praise Him.

You discussed freewill, and I will go deeper into that shortly, but first I would like to say this, while God will not force you to do what you do not want to, if you ask him to shape your will, he is faithful to do so.

I totally understand your reasoning about “Everything happens for a reason” being a logical fallacy, however, while that does hold a certain amount of philosophical water, if you consider the nature of God I believe it can be logically explained;

God, being the personification of Love(1John4:8), has indeed given us free choice, applying it to the Job opportunity example you provided, I think your viewpoint perhaps underestimated the omniscience of God, if you are submitting your life to God and he knows the job which he has prepared for you, where you will be most productive for him, with unlimited foresight wouldn’t it be reasonable to theorize that in the months and perhaps years leading up to your application he guided the correct HR officer into that position who will appreciate the unique skillset you would be bringing? simultaneously preparing you and shaping your experience for the upcoming opportunity? is he removing anyones freewill? no, but intimately knowing the the innermost recesses of every soul ever created would allow him to maneuver you safely through your life, being the loving interventionist that he is, without ever once bending the will of an unwilling soul.

Your personal experience, pleading with God and the betrayal of those close to you, is not something that I would even attempt to decipher as i do not have all the details, much less am I wise enough to explain God’s motives, all I can offer there is my own experience, the most recent part of which, I detailed in the first portion of this email, I have felt forsaken, but if the Bible is correct, the guarantee that I am not (and will never be) forsaken is that Jesus was.

Those feelings were exactly that… feelings, Chemical rushes, the reality never changed, only my perception, I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart”

I am by no means calling the sincerity of your prayer into question but I would suggest that you have been going through the spiritual desert and you are not yet finished seeking him.

In your email, you asked for advice, I have no qualification to do so aside from being a fellow brother in Christ… but if I could suggest anything it would be to give God the benefit of the doubt, take him at his word in Jeremiah, seek for him like hidden treasure, I guarantee your faith will be restored.

In Ephesians 6 where Paul writes about putting on the full armour of God, I believe there is a reason Faith is linked to the shield… if you use your faith to keep discouragement at bay, it will give our faulty human logic time enough to see the hand of God working in our lives.

Remember, God does not ask us to have “Blind” faith at the beginning of our walk with him, we have the experience of others and indeed those in the Bible to give us courage until we have an experience of our own to hold on to.

I have so many more avenues to go down, but I think I have probably said enough for this particular email. I promise my next email will find you in a much more timely manner.

I very much look forward to hearing back from you. I won’t be offended if you disagree with me, I just hope I have at least provided you with a slightly different way to view things.

I leave you in His care.

God Bless.

Luke.

To this very day, I believe the hand of God wrote that email, merely using me as a secretary as I am a faulty human, I am not capable of such words…

Hi Luke,

Lately I have been seeking for something, anything at all to lead me back to God. I have missed my faith, and I have done things that I am not proud of. Your words were extremely encouraging. I can’t say that they will restore my faith overnight, but at least they give me something to think about. It is strange how I came by your blog by “accident” because I have been seeking answers from those who are close to me and no one has come as close as you did to say something that would make me consider opening my heart again. I really appreciate your words, and I hope to read more on your blog; you’ve got talent!

Sincerely,

Jane

Praise God the story does not end there! a little while after this I was considering what had been discussed and I felt others would benefit from it… so I sent a new email…

Hi Jane,

How have you been? I was just working on a new post and thinking about your message, as long as I remove any identifying features (name’s, places etc) how would you feel about allowing me to publish our correspondence on my Blog?

I only ask this, as the questions you asked are the same questions many people struggle with, and I feel that people would be blessed by reading it, it is totally up to you.

Still Keeping you in my prayers.

Blessings.

Luke.

Some 6 months later… TODAY the 26th of November 2009 I received the Following email and the blessing I refereed to in the opening paragraph…

Luke,

I hope everything is going great for you. Sorry for the half a year late reply!!! I changed my email address (I don’t use this address anymore) and this email was just forwarded to my email now (i have no idea why it took so long). I would not mind at all if you post our correspondences on you blog. I have yet to thank you for changing my life. You made such an impact on my life and you are the reason Jesus in now back in my heart. GOD BLESS YOU!!! If you would still like to talk, i would love to hear from you. My new email address is [REMOVED] I hope you’re doing great. Happy Thanksgiving tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Jane

In my life I have labored for the Lord with joy in my heart but this is the first time anyone has ever blessed me by those words “You are the reason Jesus in now back in my heart” I am deeply humbled by this, and pray that you all be able to experience the Almighty hand of God use you as an instrument for His Glory.

Please share this story around, we should Rejoice when the Lord touches the hearts of his children!

Luke.

Not a good day, really. First thing this morning I had an appointment with my doctor, requested because I thought maybe I want to try anti-depressants again, to combat the naturally increased levels of anxiety associated with my job. The doctor ended up seeing me half an hour late, as he always does, causing a great deal of stress as I would have to be at work within the hour. He only gave me a few minutes, just like he always does, in which I had to persuade him that my problem really isn’t just a case of mild newcomer nerves. I got a prescription for three months’ worth of citalopram, which I was on last year. I had thought it might be useful to try something else, something that won’t cause all the unpleasant side effects that put me off citalopram before, but since the doctor was clearly too busy for a proper discussion, I had to make do with what I was given. I really can’t wait to move next month so that I can sign up with a new doctor.

When I was finally out of the doctor’s surgery I rushed home to take the first tablet in the course, before I had to go to work. Maybe it’s an alcoholic thing to do, rushing home in a frenzy to take a pill in the hope that I might feel better, rather than leaving it for tomorrow. With some extra serotonin in my system, I think I felt OK on the tube to Notting Hill this morning. I certainly didn’t feel horrible like I have every morning for the past two weeks. That can probably be put down to the expectation effect, rather than any real chemical action. SSRI’s such as citalopram take weeks to have any real effect, which is how they are not habit-forming.

At work I had three hours of customer service to look forward to – after yesterday’s ‘experience’ they seem to think I’m ready to be let loose on the public properly. I logged on to find about 300 customer e-mail enquiries that urgently needed responding to. The same guy who sat with me yesterday at the helpdesk sat with me again today, offering help when it was needed. I got the impression after an hour that I should be starting to feel more confident in answering the enquiries on my own. My supervisor began to sound tired and bored with my endless requests for help. After two hours, I noticed him rolling his eyes nearly every time I spoke. I began to panic, horrified by the thought that I was being a burden, and I made a few mistakes, choosing to go ahead and respond to enquiries alone rather than risk further eye-rolling by asking for more help.

After three hours I had to take a break just to calm down. I went out to Starbucks, sat down and stuffed my face with sugar. My hands were shaking; I was sure that I’d finally proved myself to be the failure that I always thought I was in their eyes. I’d reduced someone who was supposed to be helping me to eye-rolling boredom. In his eyes, I could be a bit slow, at best. Stupid, at worst. The thought of being seen as stupid is absolutely horrifying to me. I don’t know why.

After using up my paid break I returned to the office where I was allowed to get on with the other part of my job, the bit that I’ve got used to over the past two weeks, where I have to update the website with retailer offers. I’m comfortable with this bit of the job: it’s got nothing to do with customer service, it’s just typing words and numbers into a live website. Of course, two weeks ago I was in a similar place with this part of the job to the place where I am now with the new part. I thought I’d never understand any of it two weeks ago. Now it’s almost a piece of cake. If I can get my head around that, surely I can understand anything. Well, that’s what I’m hoping.

At 5pm Melanie announced to the office that our thanksgiving dinner was ready and waiting for us downstairs. I didn’t know why the whole company was choosing to go to a thanksgiving party, until I got downstairs and saw all the alcohol. About fifty fresh bottles of various descriptions sat on a table in the corner of the room, and the thirty or so employees of the company were fighting their way over to the table to lay claim to their share of the night’s alcoholic refreshment. Melanie and some of the other directors had cooked turkey; with all the booze distracting everyone the food was almost a second thought at this point. I put some meat and potatoes on a paper plate and went to sit on the only free seat in the corner of the room. It’s a really bad space for a party: only one large sofa and a few swivel chairs had to accommodate thirty people with their dinner and drinks. From the moment I sat down I knew I wasn’t enjoying myself. Everyone separated off into their little cliques where they were bound to stay for the rest of the night. Melanie, who I might have felt comfortable chatting to, was busy serving up the food in the kitchen and didn’t look as if she would be mingling any time soon. I forced the food down my throat in three minutes and decided I’d had enough of the party. I had to leave. No one was really interested in socialising: it was all about getting pissed as quickly as possible. I had hoped that tonight would finally be my opportunity to meet the other people in the company, get to know some faces and names outside of the small, uncomfortable little team that I always work in. Alas, I didn’t stand a chance of making a single friend.

I wasn’t the first person to sneak out early tonight. One of the guys who trained with me three weeks ago was out of the door like a shot after forcing his food down in a similar way to me. At least I didn’t have to be the first to leave. Just five minutes of the event was more than enough for me. It’s not the fear of drinking that puts me off these kinds of things: it’s the fear of being around drunk people. I can’t handle it.

As soon as I left I was full of doubts once again about the future of my job. Someone was bound to notice my sudden departure. They could be thinking: what an ungrateful arse, staying only long enough to eat our food without bothering to talk to anyone! With the added pressure of the extra work that I am now being expected to do every day, I’m really fearful about the whole thing tonight. I went straight to the gay step 11 meeting from Notting Hill – I desperately needed to be in a safe place with safe people. There I managed to share about what had just happened, though it was an incredibly busy meeting and I don’t usually manage to jump in when there are so many others needing to speak. I’m glad I was able to go to the meeting tonight, and I’m really glad I was able to talk about all the things going through my mind. As a consequence I felt much better, for a while. People came up to share with me their experiences of dreaded office parties, how we all find it impossible to deal with so-called ‘normal’ people in the real world where getting drunk is the highest priority for most. The trouble with socialising in the ‘real’ world is that it’s all so meaningless. None of the conversation that I heard tonight was of any real interest to me; a few years ago it wouldn’t have mattered as I would have been too wasted to care. Today I can’t ignore the fact that most of what these people want to talk about is utter shit! I don’t want to be judgmental, it’s just the way British society works. As long as you can get really drunk, nothing else matters.

Following are more comments I have received from Christians and my reply:

Christian: “First off, you have no evidence that there isn’t a God. That leaves the possiblity open that there is a God.”

Truelogic: You can not prove that Buddha is not real, so that leaves the possibility open that he is real.  You cannot prove that any God is not real and thus that leaves it open that any and ALL Gods are real.  You cannot prove that breaking a mirror doesn’t bring bad luck, that leaves it open that it is possible.  You can’t prove that I don’t have a magical, healing, invisible Dog that only I can see and that he actually created all things.  That leaves it open that it is possible.

However, what is likely?  It is not likely that any of the man made Gods are true and it is not likely that I have an invisible Dog.  Just because I want to believe in an invisible being doesn’t make it true because someone can’t prove it isn’t real.  We can provide substantial amounts of evidence to show the Christian God is not real.

1. We could address the never ending list of claims made by Christians (virgin birth, dead walking, snake talking, walking on water, talking and writing bush (while on fire), man flying into the mountain tops with another invisible man named Satan (also not proven), …etc.

2. We could address the many similarities in the Christian God and those that came before him.  Such as Horus how was born to a virgin, preceded by a bright star in the sky, had a father named Joseph and mother named Mary, visited by three at birth, announced by an angel, …etc.  There are other Gods and stories that are direct copies from earlier religions….therefore, not likely original or true.

3. We could demonstrate that the Hell of the Christian bible is a copy of the Egyptian hell created long before Christianity came along.

Those are some examples of evidence to show that the Christian God is not likely.  Now, I can provide more evidence against the Christian God than I can against an invisible Dog.

Christian: From what we do know scientifically is that every shred of evidense points to a delibrate designer.  How about our Universe?  Something had to start it right?  There is endless amounts of scientific data to support a Creator or Designer.   Are you a Big Bang believer? Excess Quarks? or what… If you are so sure he doesn’t exist you must have so explanation for how the earth was created.”

Truelogic: Again, as an Agnostic, I am honest and do not make claims about how everything came to be.  I am honest in that I state, I don’t know.  If you were honest, you would not claim to know the one invisible power that created all things, especially when you have NO evidence to support your claim.  It is just dishonest and immoral for you to do so.

If you believe there MUST be a designer or creator then prove that it is YOUR Version.  The Christian version.   Everyone seems to think their God has done it and yet NONE prove it.  You are no different.  Your God is not more real than any other God and since you claim ONLY your God is real, the onus of proof would lie on you to prove your God is the only God.  Therefore, I would reasonably expect you to provide evidence that the others are NOT real.  Fact is, you can’t do it.  You may not like facts but science uses facts and that is why I don’t believe there is a space station above the earths atmosphere, I know it is there.  I have even seen it in my telescope.  I didn’t notice your God or any other God floating around above it either.

Now, if you believe all things must have had a designer and things are so complex that they couldn’t just happen.  Then we can reasonably apply that logic to your God and thus your God is far more complex if he created complex things and thus he must have a creator.  Maybe Allah or Buddha created your God?  Can you prove they didn’t?

Of course you can’t prove it but it would be absurd if I actually thought that if you can’t prove I am wrong, I must be right.  That would only expose me as being completely ignorant.

FACT is, you can not prove your Version of God is the ONLY real God or that he is even remotely true.  Sorry, but those are the facts.

The following statement is an example of what many Christians have stated to me regarding Atheist:

“Christian faith allows us to believe in God in the same way Atheists faith allows them to not believe in God.  It takes more faith to not believe than it does to believe. “

Recently someone commented to additionally to this by stating:

“Hating on one disproportionately only shows your tainted bias.”

Lets apply some logic and common sense to these two statements:

There is a difference between having a faith or a belief  in a supernatural being (in this case God) and NOT believing in a supernatural being.  The onus of proof is on those that make a claim.  If their claim is extraordinary, then it is reasonable to provide extraordinary evidence to prove your claim is fact.

Since Christians claim their form of superstition is real and that it has amazing supernatural powers then it is only fair to expect them to provide the evidence in support of such a claim.  Just as most Christians expect and even demand that scientist provide evidence to prove their claims of evolution.  I believe this is reasonable to apply to anyone that is making a supernatural claim.

I don’t believe crossing the path of a black cat for the same reasons that I don’t believe in any of the Gods.  There is NO evidence to demonstrate it is true.

Atheism is a faith? If Christian wish to claim Atheism is a faith then they must accept that they too are Atheist.  They are an Atheist with respect to all other Gods except their own.  I am an Atheist with respect to all Gods, plus one more…their God.

They don’t believe in the other Gods the same reasons I don’t believe in their God.  In their reasoning, they are justified for not believing in other Gods, but I am not justified in not believing in their God?

Any child can reason through the failure in their logic.

In fact, it is far more reasonable to not believe in their God or any version of man made Gods.

Their claim that I am biased or not objective is another attempt to deflect the truth:

As I am an Agnostic, I don’t believe in any of the man made Gods.  I am an Atheist with respect to Man Made Gods just like the Christian is an Atheist with respect to all the same Gods as me, except one.

As an Agnostic, I am not threatened with unfathomable pain through the application of fire on my flesh in a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth for an eternity as punishment for not believing.  I have free will to believe without some constraint of fear of what will happen if I don’t believe.  As an Agnostic or Atheist, we have this freedom.  Christians don’t fear that they will lose their virgins in heaven for not believing.  They have free will to not believe in Allah, in this sense.

Additionally, as an Agnostic, I am not promised some great rewards of eternal life, health, happiness, peace, love for believing in what I believe.  Therefore, some future event doesn’t guide my decision.

I ask, which person is more likely to be objective?  A person that is promised great magical rewards to believe and promised the most horrible punishment if they don’t?

Or, someone that is not constrained by such belief?

They often make another claim as if it validates their God as being real:

“You can’t prove God is NOT real”

This is of course an excuse or an attempt to deflect from the facts.  I can’t claim that they are not able to prove my invisible healing Dod is not real and therefore, he MUST be true.  That is absurd!!!  A pathetic attempt to demonstrate their God is any more relevant or true.

Because they have no evidence, they are forced to make excuses and additional claims that are not supported by facts.  If they cannot provide evidence to demonstrate it is a fact, then it is not true, … it is a LIE.

Bismillaah

From Islamweb.net

Those who think that this Bid’ah should be continued produce specious arguments which are flimsier than a spider’s web. These specious arguments may be dealt with as follows:

1 – Their claim that this is veneration of the Prophet :

The response to that is that the way to venerate him is to obey him, do as he commanded and avoid that which he forbade, and to love him; he is not to be venerated through innovations, myths and sins. Celebrating his birthday is of this blameworthy type because it is a sin. The people who venerated the Prophet the most were the Sahaabah as ‘Urwah Ibn Mas’ood said to Quraysh: “O people, I swear by Allaah that I have visited kings. I went to Caesar, Chasroes and the Negus, but I swear by Allaah that I never saw a king whose companions venerated him as much as the companions of Muhammad venerated Muhammad. By Allaah, whenever he spat it never fell to the ground, it fell into the hand of one his companions, then they would wipe their faces and skins with it. If he instructed them to do something, they would hasten to do as he commanded. When he did Wudoo’, they would almost fight over his water. When he spoke they would lower their voices in his presence; and they did not stare at him out of respect for him.” [Al-Bukhaari] Yet despite this level of veneration, they never took the day of his birth as an ‘Eed (festival). If that had been prescribed in Islam they would not have neglected to do that.

The response to that is that evidence can only consist of that which is proven from the Prophet and what is proven from the Prophet is that innovations are forbidden in general, and this is an innovation. What people do, if it goes against the evidence (Daleel), does not prove anything, even if many of them do it. Allaah Says (what means): {And if you obey most of those upon the earth, they will mislead you from the way of Allaah.}[Quran 3: 116]

3 – They say that by celebrating the Mawlid they are keeping the memory of the Prophet .

The answer to this is that the memory of the Prophet is constantly kept alive by the Muslim, such as when his name sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is mentioned in the Adhaan and Iqaamah and in Khutbahs, and every time the Muslim recites the Shahaadatayn after doing Wudoo’ and in the prayers, and every time he sends blessings upon the Prophet in his prayers and when he is mentioned, and every time the Muslim does a Waajib (obligatory) or Mustahabb (recommended) action that was prescribed by the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In all of these ways (the Muslim) remembers him and the reward equivalent to the reward of the one who does that action goes back to the Prophet . Thus the Muslim constantly keeps the memory of the Messenger alive and has a connection with him night and day throughout his life through that which Allaah has prescribed, not only on the day of the Mawlid and things which are Bid’ah and go against the Sunnah, for that puts one at a distance from the Messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the Messenger will disown him because of that.

4 – They may say that the celebration of the Prophet’s birthday was introduced by a knowledgeable and just king who intended thereby to draw closer to Allaah.

5 – They say that celebrating the Mawlid comes under the heading of Bid’ah Hasanah (good innovation) because it is based on giving thanks to Allaah for the Prophet !

Our response to that is that there is nothing good in innovation. The Prophet said: “Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours(i.e., Islam),that is not part of it will have it rejected.” [Al-Bukhaari] And he, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Every innovation is a going astray.” [Ahmad and At-Tirmithi) The ruling on innovations is that they are all misguidance, but this specious argument suggests that not every Bid’ah is a going astray, rather there are good innovations.

Ibn Rajab said: “The words of the Prophet ‘every innovation is a going astray’ is a concise but comprehensive comment which includes everything; it is one of the most important principles of religion. It is like his words ‘Whoever innovates anything in this matter of ours (i.e., Islam) that is not part of it will have it rejected.’ [Al-Bukhaari] Whoever innovates anything and attributes it to Islam when it has no basis in the religion, this is a going astray and is nothing to do with Islam, whether that has to do with matters of belief (‘Aqeedah) or outward and inward words and deeds.”

These people have no proof that there is any such thing as a “good innovation” apart from the words of ‘Umar concerning Taraaweeh prayers when he said: ‘What a good innovation this is.’ [Al-Bukhaari]

‘Umar said: ‘What a good Bid’ah’ meaning innovation in the linguistic sense, not in the Shar’i sense. Whatever has a basis in Islam, if it is described as an innovation, is an innovation in the linguistic sense, not in the Shar’i sense, because innovation in the Shar’i sense means that which has no basis in Islam.

Compiling the Quran into one book has a basis in Islam, because the Prophet had commanded that the Quran be written down, but it was scattered, so the Sahaabah compiled it in one volume so as so protect and preserve it.

The Prophet led his companions in praying Taraaweeh for a while, then he stopped doing that, lest it become obligatory on them. The Sahaabah continued to pray it individually during the life of the Prophet and after his death, until ‘Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab, gathered them behind one Imam as they used to pray behind the Prophet . Therefore, this was not an innovation introduced into the religion.

Compiling the collections of Ahadeeth also has a basis in Islam. The Prophet ordered that some Ahaadeeth be written down for some of his companions when they asked him for that. Generally, doing this during his lifetime was prohibited, for fear that the Quran might be mixed with things that were not part of it (from the sayings of the Prophet . When the Prophet died, this fear was no longer a factor, because the Quran had been completed and arranged in order before he died. The Muslims compiled the Sunnah after that in order to preserve it and keep it from being lost. May Allaah reward them with good on behalf of Islam and the Muslims, because they preserved the Book of their Lord and the Sunnah of their Prophet from being lost or being tampered with.

We may also say to them: why was this act of thanksgiving, as they call it, not done by the best generations, the Sahaabah, Taabi’een and followers of the Taabi’een, who loved the Prophet the most and who were most keen to do good and give thanks? Are those who introduced the innovation of the Mawlid more rightly-guided than them? Do they give more thanks to Allaah? Definitely not!

6 – They may say that celebrating the birthday of the Prophet is indicative of their love for him; this is one way of showing that, and showing love of the Prophet is prescribed in Islam!

The answer to that is that undoubtedly loving the Prophet is obligatory for every Muslim; he should love him more than he loves himself, his child, his father and all of mankind – may my father and mother be sacrificed for him – but that does not mean that we should introduce innovations for doing so that have not been prescribed for us. Loving him dictates that we should obey him and follow him, for that is one of the greatest manifestations of love, as it is said: “If your love is sincere then obey him; for the lover obeys the one whom he loves.”

Loving the Prophet implies keeping his Sunnah alive, adhering firmly to it, and avoiding words and deeds that go against it. Undoubtedly everything that goes against his Sunnah is a reprehensible innovation (Bid’ah) and a manifest act of disobedience. That includes celebrating his birthday and other kinds of Bid’ah. Having good intentions does not mean that it is permissible to introduce innovations into the religion. Islam is based on two things, purity of intention and following the Prophet .

7 – Another of their specious arguments is when they say that by celebrating the Mawlid and reading the biography of the Prophet on this occasion, they are encouraging people to follow his example!

We say to them that reading the biography of the Prophet and following his example are required of the Muslim all the time, all year long and throughout his life. Singling out a specific day for that with no evidence for doing so is an innovation, and “…every innovation is a going astray.” [Ahmad and At-Tirmithi] Bid’ah does not bear any fruit but evil and it leads to a person distancing himself from the Prophet .

We’re living in a informational century, where information can be sold, bought and manipulated. Even if you don’t want to, enormous amount of information is passing through your head daily. Some of them you consider correct, some of them not. But, are you sure that you are thinking correctly?
As a idea from previous topic: where is information received by many, there is one to control and interpret this information. believe

The main problem of all that thing is that a wrong thought can cause wrong interpretation of many things, lead to another wrong decision and in the end form a wrong logic. There are a lot of documentary movies talking about manipulation and all that stuff.

There is a simple solution to this: don’t easily believe, accept the probability that even the most obvious things can be wrong, think clearly, without stereotypes, without emotions, analyze as many versions as you can, set some unbreakable principles, they will help you to make a correct decision even in the most difficult situations.

I’ve often thought of this transition from nearly-married person to single love-hunting person as something of a rediscovery; not a rebirth, but certainly wiping the slate to opaque if not clean. So you notice, and tick off the big ‘firsts since…’; first kiss, man cuddle, love making, fuck fest.

Today I had my First Time I Laughed Until I Cried With A New Boy since… We are in college together (I’m studying for my finance exams) and easily distracted, I was flipping through the answer. Some of the answers were so incredibly basic, I shared them in disbelief with a friend sitting next to me. We started giggling. Exam conditions, we stifled our giggles… People beginning to notice, we turned red as we fell about each other silently vibrating, clutching our faces, hiding the streaming tears, stuffing sleeves in our mouths to ineffectively stop any sound emanating.

The entire class was fixated as we struggled to draw breath with dignity, instead making noises only otherwise heard during camel birth. It was too much; he got up to leave the room, nearly making it outside before we both exploded, all too aware relief was so close. I, “shrieked”, unable to contain the added hilarity that he neither could contain it in a silent room, and he involuntarily snorted as he ran the last few paces through the door.

It took a full hour for us both to calm down again, by which point half my makeup had slid down my face and his face was so red, his featured seemed distorted. We shared a joke no one else got and bounced off each other to the heights of silliness. It’s not that I want to marry the man, but I was full of such inexorable relief that such men still exist and display it with such virility.

Knights Templar win heresy reprieve after 700 years

 By Philip PullellaFri

“The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.

 A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, “‘Processus Contra Templarios — Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars”‘ is a massive work and much more than a book — with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag.

 ”This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project,” said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican’s Secret Archives.

“Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.

The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and — to tantalize Templar buffs — replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.

Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.

 One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and imperfections seen on the originals.

Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy’s Scrinium cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive world distribution rights.

The Templars, whose full name was “Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon,” were founded in 1119 by knights sworn to protecting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.

 They amassed enormous wealth and helped finance wars of some European monarchs. Legends of their hidden treasures, secret rituals and power have figured over the years in films and bestsellers such as “The Da Vinci Code.”

The Knights have also been portrayed as guardians of the legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.

The Vatican expects most copies of the work to be bought up by specialized libraries at top universities and by leading medieval scholars.

BURNED AT THE STAKE

The Templars went into decline after Muslims re-conquered the Holy Land at the end of the 13th century and were accused of heresy by King Philip IV of France, their foremost persecutor. Their alleged offences included denying Christ and secretly worshipping idols.

The most titillating part of the documents is the so-called Chinon Parchment, which contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the Templars of charges of heresy, which had been the backbone of King Philip’s attempts to eliminate them.

Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip’s agents after they made confessions that most historians believe were given under duress.

The parchment, also known as the Chinon Chart, was “misplaced” in the Vatican archives until 2001, when Frale stumbled across it.

 ”The parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history. At first I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was incredulous,” she said.

 ”This was the document that a lot of historians were looking for,” the 37-year-old scholar said.

Philip was heavily indebted to the Templars, who had helped him finance his wars, and getting rid of them was a convenient way of cancelling his debts, some historians say.

Frale said Pope Clement was convinced that while the Templars had committed some grave sins, they were not heretics.

SPITTING ON THE CROSS

Their initiation ceremony is believed to have included spitting on the cross, but Frale said they justified this as a ritual of obedience in preparation for possible capture by Muslims. They were also said to have practiced sodomy.

 ”Simply put, the pope recognized that they were not heretics but guilty of many other minor crimes — such as abuses, violence and sinful acts within the order,” she said. “But that is not the same as heresy.”

Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, in 1312 Pope Clement ordered the Templars disbanded for what Frale called “the good of the Church” following his repeated clashes with the French king.

Frale depicted the trials against the Templars between 1307 and 1312 as a battle of political wills between Clement and Philip, and said the document means Clement’s position has to be reappraised by historians.

“This will allow anyone to see what is actually in documents like these and deflate legends that are in vogue these days,” she said.

Rosi Fontana, who has helped the Vatican coordinate the project, said: “The most incredible thing is that 700 years have passed and people are still fascinated by all of this.”

“The precise reproduction of the parchments will allow scholars to study them, touch them, admire them as if they were dealing with the real thing,” Fontana said.

 ”But even better, it means the originals will not deteriorate as fast as they would if they were constantly being viewed,” she said.”

“The Lord said, ‘I will hasten my work in its time’ (D&C 88:73). Surely anyone observing the recent growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is keenly aware of that hastening process. This should make us humbly grateful for the Lord’s omnipotent hand. Obstacles that seemed insurmountable have proven to be merely challenges for the faithful, for ‘with God nothing shall be impossible’ (Luke 1:37). “Inspiration has prepared the way from the beginning, when the Lord impressed the Prophet Joseph Smith to compose the twelfth article of faith: ‘We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.’ This inspired statement was surely written for our day. The Prophet knew that the gospel was ultimately to be taken to all nations regardless of their governmental differences. He knew that the ordinances of salvation and exaltation could bless the lives of people regardless of their politics. And he knew that people who were taught correct principles and who were loyal to their civil leaders and observing of their local laws would be most able to enjoy the blessings of the gospel.”

Elder Russell M. Nelson