How should a faithful Christian interact with non-believers?

Never partner or have fellowship with an unbeliever.

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2 Corinthians 6:14

Never talk to or welcome unbelievers because they are wicked.

Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.
2 John 1:9-11

Talk to unbelievers and be prepared to respectfully answer their questions.

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.
1 Peter 3:15

Speak gibberish to unbelievers. (speak in tounges)

Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy, however, is for believers, not for unbelievers.
1 Corinthians 14:22

… or Kill them.

They agreed that anyone who refused to seek the LORD, the God of Israel, would be put to death—whether young or old, man or woman.
2 Chronicles 15:13

I like this time of year; the winding down towards Christmas and a well-earned break for those of us who work for a living. The chance to spend time with family and friends far away; mostly family.

Everything seems to slow down gradually, much to the indignation of demanding bosses who have projects to complete; but they gradually get into the spirit as well. Not so for retail businessmen; they become busy little bees, and will sting you with their prices if you’re too much in the spirit, or if you’re too much into the spirits, as the case may be. And except around shopping malls, even traffic becomes easier. What a joy to drive to work and back, this time of year.

However, even crass commercialization has some appeal; a visual feast for the senses with christmas decorations nearly everywhere, feel-good christmassy music coming from shops and malls, fake fir trees in windows and aisles, multi-coloured lights flashing, and most importantly, people seeming more cheerful than at any other time of year. And what about the kids? They tend to become more manageable, although a slightly heavier burden on the wallet.

For us non-believers, all this hoo-ha over what was once a pagan festival, is supposed to be exasperating, but I find it all rather charming; amusing perhaps. I really enjoy the christmas carols, even if the words have no appeal or meaning for me. However, like most normal people, I do find Boney M slightly annoying, but Andrea Bocelli or Frank Sinatra singing carols, is a real delight for the senses.

And somehow, people become more generous too at this time of year. Those beggars standing at the traffic intersections usually get something extra, and even other less fortunate adults and children from miscellaneous charitable organizations, benefit. A real pity that Christmas doesn’t come at least once a month. Imagine how different the world could be, if Christmas was about people, rather than gods.

It’s really convenient for us all that the early Christians chose to commemorate Christmas around the time of the winter solstice, incorporating it with pagan festivals such as the Celtic Yule, the Roman Saturnalia and the solstice feast of Mithras, the Roman god of light which falls on 25 December,  just before New Year’s Eve, a traditional celebration for the Roman god, Janus. And not forgetting New Years Day, the traditional day for hang-overs. Yes, a wise decision to fit it in with happy, festive times.

I ran into an article the other day, that seemed to support my contention that morality is independent of faith in God. As you might expect, I was rather impressed with the logic expressed by the writer on the subject.

I have long been told by, especially conservative religious types, that religion, specifically Christianity, is responsible for moral behavior in humanity. In this, I have always contended that they are quite wrong. I have long concluded, through both reading and study, and personal observation, that morality is part of the human condition, and is subject to evolution like many other things.

Frans de Waal is of the same opinion, and shows how animals can be shown to exhibit traits that are akin to real caring and empathy for others, and moreover, they can make choices to indicate their preference for cooperation and sharing rather than ego driven personal selfishness.

He claims that certain people who are creationists object to evolution for this very reason. They cannot accept, and believe somehow that religion will fail, if morality is not tied to God. Their conclusion is that man cannot evolve morality, but it is a precept that goes hand and hand with God.

I think that thinking rather shallow, and certainly not in accordance with the evidence. I refer of course to the growing fields of evolutionary brain study, and ethics. Taking, as countless other scientific disciplines now do, the evolutionary model as their start, those who study the brain and human ethical systems, are more and more convinced that morality is a natural outgrowth of man’s evolving life.

Yesterday’s liturgy consisted of readings in Job and in Mark. They both raise interesting possibilities. The issue in Job is whether humans will worship a God only if there is a reward or if Job will continue to follow Yahweh even when he is visited by unimaginably wretched calamities. Does Job change his tune when his life devolves from happy and fulfilled to miserable and seeming abandonment?

Similarly, in Mark, Jesus tells the young wealthy man to go and sell everything and give to the poor and follow him. In return he will gain everything in life and eternal life in death. Pretty neat rewards wouldn’t you say?

Evolutionary ethicists and others are rather concerned about a reward/punishment system that is the basis for being “good.” And well they should be. I suspect there are few people indeed who would claim that fear of God’s retribution is the only reason for their “moral” behavior.

There is every good reason to conclude that morality is independent of God belief. Certainly humans were well along in cooperating and helping each other, sacrificing purely personal motives for the sake of the group, well before anyone suggested a “being” might be in control of the universe.

I’ve discussed the issue of evolution and the dilemma of the creationist with a lot of people, and from many different angles. Some scientists simply won’t engage, finding the discussion wasteful. The creationist has everything at stake in being right, and thus cannot engage logically with the issue. I too subscribe to this conclusion, but sadly continue to find myself drawn into argument. The argument always ends the same however, since the average creationist would rather listen to a self-styled “expert” (read no credentials), rather than one who is actually trained in the area–namely evolutionary biology.

I had, honestly, never seen the issue of morality as being tied to this issue. But de Waal certainly makes a good case. However,  there are those who, at this point in time at least, still place little credibility on the entire field of evolutionary ethics or brain development.

For me, I am suspicious of any religious conclusion that starts from the proposition that we are coerced into behaving well. I find nothing free in being presented with two alternatives, one good, the other bad. That’s not choice, that’s simply following the logic of doing the least harm to self.

And moreover, as most of us know, realizing that morality is a natural development in evolutionary growth, has nothing to do with reducing God to some smaller sphere of influence. God is still God and has always been God. Releasing ourselves from outdated and I would argue harmful conclusions about God are both mature and useful in the journey to discover who God really is.

Let me say that I think that the correct reading of the Mark story I mentioned above, is not that Jesus promised reward for following him. In fact, desiring the reward would be counterproductive in the end. One must, to do it right, be selfless in our service to others. And I think the Christian theology is quite clear on this point. But what is clear theologically, is not always how it comes across to Joe Coffee at the plant. It comes across as coercive and thus not free.

The non-believer is right to sit back with arms crossed and demand explanation. Our complicated philosophical ruminations don’t ring true in Average America. It seems to me that it is better to acknowledge the truth:

We are moral because we have evolved to that, to whatever degree that we can claim it today. We share that with the higher forms at least of the animal kingdom. Religion serves as a mighty re-enforcement and that is a good thing. But our non-believing brethren deserve more than our claim that only in faith can we be moral actors in the world.

Just sayin’.

Everyone envisions God. Even those who come down on the side of no God, have in mind some form of being that they deny. Each of us must struggle with our religious heritage, or lack of it, our experiences, our education and our cultural mores in formulating our personal God.

No doubt some of that is dictated by the way in which we choose to view our faith tradition. Those in traditions whether formal or informal, which are rigid and set in stone, tend to have rigid notions of God that can never be changed. Change denotes wrongness and for some, all the reason needed to chuck the entire enterprise. Most atheists were former believers who have been forced to admit that what their tradition teaches cannot be in some respect true. For some, this means the end of all faith. For most of us, it simply means that we are growing up.

My own theology has been stated more than once here. I believe that God is indeed omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. I believe that God created out of Himself by calling creation into being. I believe he ordered the rules of the universe, those physics principles we have uncovered to date, and perhaps some we have yet to uncover.

Out of the primeval “stuff,” natural laws took over, and in the end, systems, stars, planets naturally arose. On some of these planets, life naturally arose, and eventually through a natural process of evolution, something we understand through the lens of 150 years of peer-reviewed study, sentient beings came forth.

Some of those sentient beings evolve to true self-hood, and then what I think is a natural next step: the wondering of how and why they came to be. At that first moment, I imagine God smiling broadly, though I don’t image God as a corporeal being.

I image God as the hand that reaches out in wonder and awe, and lifts up its creature, much as you or I might gingerly pick up a newborn puppy or kitten. So fragile, yet alive. So filled with promise, yet still not able to relate to it’s surroundings. We hold it tenderly, carefully, upholding it safely, and marveling at it. We do not expect anything from it for many months yet, but we are hushed in our joy at this being.

So I see God, holding us, calling to us, waiting with the patience only God can exhibit, waiting, waiting until we look up and wonder why, how, when. God stands ready to begin our spiritual conversation. We have the choice to hear and respond.

That conversation can remain as child to parent, and would seem to in the case of those who demand a God of sharp edges and finite rims. A God that is unchanging, and can be elicited merely by reading a series of writings. Such a God is most limited, most human actually, and not at all mine as it were.

But there are many choices, and each of us makes ours.

There is the avenger God. I know lots of people who love this God. They are frustrated with “how so many people get away with it,” being bad. They don’t see the punishment meted out in this life, but trust that their God will take care of business in the next. The Hitler’s and Madoffs, and criminals will get theirs, they tell themselves. It is not a perfect answer, for they dearly wish to see the ruin of these people, but it probably keeps them from being homicidal.

There is the legalistic God. Lots of people adhere to this model. God, through his “word” set down a whole lot of rules and regulations for living. Follow these, and you get a reward. Don’t and, well you waste your time pretty much. Non-Christians fare badly in this model, as do any who are from churches not deemed “original.” God often becomes the church itself, so following another tradition is walking away from the truth. Ritualistic incantations must be done “accurately” or they are ineffectual. God requires the exact words, and in the right order.

There is the Judge God. Here God puts each person on trial at death, and the scales of justice determine where you go. Those that have on balance done more good than ill, go up, the rest go down. Lots of otherwise “not so spiritual” people see God this way, and I suspect do charitable work in order to up their “good” score.

There is the relationship God. Here God conceives of his creation as precious opportunities to experience life through. God graciously calls us to our Spirit selves, and if granted permission, God works through us for the betterment of all humankind. We are, as creature, in a learning mode, trying our best to fathom this Creator and discern how best to love Him. We recognize that our relationship of I-Thou is meant as a model for how we act in the world.

There is the watchmaker God. God put the watch together, in the universal sense, and sits back or moves on to greener pastures. He has no further part to play, but life simply moves along as best it can. This is a rather pessimistic view, and frankly functions about as well as atheism. In other words, you might as well believe in no God as this one.

There is a God of much bigger things. God is Oneness itself. Planetary concerns are trivial and small in comparison to the grand work that God is engaged in. We will share in this work when we move on after death. Or there is no work, but full communion of minds. In which case, it most resembles I would guess Buddhism.

I imagine you can guess how I envision God. I have no doubt that there are a hundred variations on these themes and plenty of others as well. We are unique creatures, each of us, and no doubt, we are right to see God in our own unique way. But I maintain, that how we envision our Creator probably says more about us as creature than it does about God. What are you learning about you by the way you see God? It’s a good thing to explore something.

Just sayin’.

(The picture, if looked at carefully suggests a hand formed by the clouds)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/216551

Check out the link.  Good old Sammy Boy strikes again.

CCD,

Ben

I’ve written before on this blog about changing your religion in adulthood. A recent poll found that half of all Americans change religion during adulthood. But what about abandoning your religion entirely?

Today, I’m over on PoliticsDaily.com talking about the rise of atheism in the U.S. and the U.K., and some of its more humorous offshoots. (Spoiler Alert: Prove the Unicorn Doesn’t Exist game…)

Come on over and have a look, and leave a comment if you dare. I’m sure I’ll be thoroughly pilloried by readers. (FYI: for those of you who are put off by the need to register with AOL before leaving a comment on the site, don’t worry. They just want to know that you have a valid email address and once you register, you can visit as much as you like.)

Enjoy!

Image: Unicorn Cosplay by Sam Howzit via Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Scott ascribes a lead position to the role played by Divine Grace, which in some cases operates throughout a person’s life. The remarkable survival stories of Jewish prisoners of war in concentration camps substantiate this. The assertion of Jesus Christ that “Many are called, but few are chosen”, can also be interpreted as “All of us are called by and to Grace, but few of us choose to listen to the call.”

Grace transports one from the platform of understanding of Truth to its full realization. Speaking of the unpredictability of Grace, Jesus is reported to have told Nicodemis, a believer in Christ as the true Messiah, amongst the Pharisees, a sect of non-believers, “Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it will go next, so it is with the Spirit. We do not know on whom He will next bestow this life from Heaven.” Suffice to say that we are vastly limited from the dimension of our minds to find answers to the ways and workings of the omnipotent force.

Ramana Maharshi said that to try and understand the nature of Self-realization with the mind is presumptuous. Dependent as the intellect is on the light of the Self, it is incapable of understanding the magnificence of the entire manifestation, of which it is but a limited part. It is like trying to measure the sunlight at its source by the standard of the light given by a candle.

Instead of limiting oneself to the intellect, the wise one opts for the path of devotion or inner reflection, conscious of a higher power. The door of Grace unfolds when the mind bows in wonder, reverence and gratitude to the power of the divine. – The Times of India

What if children are afraid of the dark simply because they are innocent beings? Darkness seems evil in the minds of children, and thus, children being more pure-hearted than any other human being, they are afraid of it. And we, having been exposed to evil through exposure to mankind, have ceased to be afraid of the darkness, just as we have ceased to be afraid of evil – because it is so common.

What if American relationships fail so often because of over-exposure to the media? Movies, TV shows, novels, music, all teaches us that relationships are based on feelings of being in love, that recurring fights are normal and can even be healthy, that abandonment of a wife and a family can sometimes be a good thing, that a relationship is for me before it’s for you. In truth, we should be being taught that true love is self-less, that true love is based first on reason and dedication before it is based on feeling, that recurring fights should be nipped in the bud and resolved and should not be met with any other reaction than marital counseling, that remaining with your family is always the right decision with very few exceptions. What if, because of what we are exposed to, and because of what we aren’t exposed to, we have been misled? And thus we do not know what love is, and we are lonely, and we fall in and out of love and our relationships fail over and over and over again?

By now, anyone reading my blog (more than this article) knows that I am a Christian, but also knows that I have more liberal views on the world than most. What if Christians are the leading reason why non-believers do not become Christians? Christians come across as snobby, uptight, stuffy, rule-oriented, judgmental, closed-minded, conservative, boring, sheltered individuals. Non-believers look at that and say “What the hell is the point? Christ seems cool. But these people are nothing like him.” Simply because we have become so over-indulged in what not to do and what rules to follow that we have forgotten how to live Christ. The Bible is good, it is necessary, but living Christ does not mean becoming a modern Pharisee and becoming over-obsessed with rules, with gray-area arguments, with ignorantly sheltered thinking because we’re too afraid to become part of this world. We do not know what showing an example of Christ means. We only know how to follow rules. We only know how to close our doors to the world. We only know how to piss people off with our religious dogmatism, with our conservative mindset, with our unwillingness to become culturally relevant in order to understand the world that we live in, instead of sheltering ourselves because we have somehow contorted Bible verses to support that behavior. Christians do not live Christ. I have rarely met any who do. Even I do not come close, despite how big I talk on the subject. But we must learn.

What if all of us in the world have forgotten what makes us men?

What if life is so much more than what we’ve learned?

What if technology and progress and modernism has only produced more depression and distraction from true abundant life than we ever knew was possible?

What if we’re all wrong?

What if I’m wrong?

What if we all die miserable? Even those who have Christ end with no peace? End with bitterness, sadness, and unrest in the heart? Or even worse: fool ourselves by thinking we know where we’ll go when we die, when in truth we don’t?

What if we’re all wrong?

What if I’m wrong?

What if the world is more evil than anyone could possibly imagine? Even those who think they can imagine are farther from the truth than they even know?

What if I’m wrong?

What if we’re all wrong?

Apparently, there are some things that are so offensive that they can’t even be stated on a paid advertisement. Case in point: A series of bus advertisements in Des Moines, Iowa have been removed because of their deeply disturbing message.

***Warning: The following images contain graphic material that may not be suitable for easily offended audience members***

The offensive advertisements:

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Yes. That advertisement was actually deemed to be too offensive to remain on the sides of DART buses in Iowa. In fact, the governor, Chet Culver, described them as ‘disturbing.’ Additionally, who could forget the fox news coverage of President Obama’s inauguration speech in which he mentioned non-believers in addition to Jews, Christians, and Muslims:

I think one could make a reasonable argument that the exclusion of irreligious individuals from the political conversation, or deeming the acknowledgment of non-believers existence to be offensive, is actually more offensive than the advertisements and Obama’s speech.

I won’t make that point because it would ignore a very important fact: words and actions are not, and in fact, cannot be offensive by themselves. Claiming offense always involves willful participation of the person claiming to be offended. Why, then, do certain types of people seem to claim offense at even the slightest challenges to their belief-systems (religious or otherwise)? Basically, claiming offense is a subtle attempt at intimidating another person. In saying “I’m offended,” the person taking offense is actually saying “You know, I don’t like what you’re saying and I want to make you pay a social price for saying it because people generally don’t like when feelings are hurt.”

Accusing people of being offensive over disagreements in religious or political ideologies is an attempt to socially stigmatize them. By doing so, easily offended individuals give themselves an easy way of avoiding the criticism to which they claim offense. We would all be better off to realize that words can’t be offensive to us without our consent to be offended. Moreover, the general quality of discussion would benefit from focusing criticism on issues which need to be criticized, but have been excluded from discussion because they have been previously deemed to be too sensitive of a topic.

Now, since the bus advertisement was so obviously not something that should be considered offensive, I feel like non-believers should at least get their money’s worth. It would really suck to be accused of being offensive without having done at least a little something to deserve it.

Judas meets Pilate (Family Guy):

Visions happen to everyone, because we are all a Natural Witch.  Things like visions will continue to happen throughout anyone’s lifetime, if they choose to acknowledge the Otherside. (Note: It does depend on the individual and what “level” they are at for understanding. Visions can be in the form of dreams or awake day-dreaming.)

Powerful seers are out there and choose not to have the ability striped away. The Otherside is not about power or control, like it is here. The seers here realize balance must be in place so as not to cause harm.  (All actions are to be for the higher good.)

Getting into the Science for a minute

Science has done micro-studies on people using the power of “positive thinking” when trying to find close by parking spaces; findings suggest that “it,” does work and does happen.  There are a lot of people who scoff at such a notion of positive thinking.  (Look at the depression rate…etc. etc.) Because there are “non-believers,” many chalk up the Otherside’s help to “good luck.”

Now, science has not come out to say that they have been studying people “who claim to have visions,” because the ones that do – know to keep quite.

Take a look at this: Richest woman’s ‘visions’ claim amuses Israelis

Each of us has the ability to become more than we are (not by means of higher education, money or the like) and the means to have fulfilling lives.  When the Natural Witch begins to peek out in you, it is not something to run from, it is something to begin to understand.  It means it is your time to get to know who you really are and what your purpose is.  Once a Natural Witch learns, there is no going back.  Really, there is no going back period when you begin to wake up – ha! – one way or the other the Otherside will show you.

That is the purpose of wasting nothing in the Universe.

I’m layin’ back and enjoying the day, as best as I can, given it’s barely breaking 70 today. Not skipping church, if you were thinking that. I went yesterday, a first time for me. I was obligated to set up for our library book sale, so it obviously made no sense not to go to Saturday evening services. It was different. Not my cup o’ tea as they say. But as our priest said, “now you’ve been to one!”

So, I’m foot loose and fancy free as they say, or don’t as you prefer your metaphor.  I’m not sure what foot loose means, nor fancy free for that matter. Another of those things we take for granted and have no clue where they came from. Probably had something to do with the plague or something. You know that “ring around the rosy” got it’s start there don’t cha?  Yep.

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Moving right along, I just wanted to announce that I’m a bona fide professional book reviewer. I’m sure you can tell the difference, when I passed through that portal into the rarefied confines of New York publishing heaven. Yes indeed, and the view is quite fine looking down upon the rest of you wannabes.

The proof of my new found status is that I received in the mail, U N S O L I C I T E D, my first book from a publisher. Now I was curious, and somewhat confused to be sure at first. I dutifully looked through my LibraryThing (located to the left down the sidebar), assuming it was one that I had checked off as wanting to review. No such find. I noted that it came from the Hachette  Book Group, which distributes for Little Brown & Co. I noted that the review I just did for “The Evolution of God” came from LB&C. So my interest was piqued.

I finally wrote an email to the distributor, and received a reply rather quickly. Indeed, they had thought I might enjoy the book sent, and would be most pleased should I review it. A cheesy smile encompasses my face, as I am back in the throes of “professional” something or other, albeit, no word of $$$ seemed to cross a lip either way. I’m not sure if money is required to seal the deal, but I’m choosing to revel in my new found glory. I assume of course that you are all suitably impressed and will announce this fact around your neighborhood, family, and professional associations as well.

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Moving on to the short takes as it were. I was alerted via email by Shannon of a blog I should look at, a post in particular and found myself at “Caught a glimpse of Jesus down by the railroad tracks…”  This in reference to my mini rant of two days about  “What is the Message?”  Said blogger is in discernment for the diaconate in TEC, and runs a homeless shelter. Interesting and compelling reading, so take a look.

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I ran across this piece and found it highly amusing and well, heck far be it from me to stop beating a dead horse. I say turn it into horseburger! Sarah, well known, for being the most incurious politician in America, unless the curiosity has to do with herself, is almost unintelligible as you well know. Her inability to capture a single thought and expound on it in any rational way are legend. This post from John Lundberg at HuffPo, shows just how easy it is to find the poet in Sarah’s words, if not any sense. Since poetry need not contain sense, well it all makes perfect sense doesn’t it? Enjoy. Few laughs are as cheap as this one.

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A couple of atheists took me to task for my post last week about atheists and that I found them intellectually wanting. Seems at least one person agrees with me, lumping their “certainty” of no God as about as obnoxious as the “certainty” of fundamentalists. Now I hadn’t thought of that. Just a short piece by worth a gander. As I continued compiling this post, more was generated in comments to the above and so another post ensued. It makes for good reading if you are so inclined in the atheist-vs-agnostic-vs-believer saga.

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And just cuz it’s been forever since I posted a recipe, I thought I’d do one that makes my mouth water, nachos! Good homemade nachos are priceless in the Tex-Mex inventory, and this one just says, yowie, that’s a spicy nacho! As with all nachos you can add or subtract ingredients here and there as your taste dictates. Let’s hear it for Spicy Chicken Nachos!

I think that next week, we shall be trying some of these! No need to thank me for helping you with menu planning! lol.

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Okay, go out and enjoy what’s left of Sunday. And bring back the sun and some heat. I’m sick of fall weather in July.

I have been periodically answering some claims made by a person who says he “lost” his faith. I think in the end it becomes rather more clear that said person never had a real faith. Certainly when he came up against logical issues with faith as he understood it, he was not motivated to look for a way to reconcile those issues with the faith he was presented. Pity he did not. He might have found some answers.

In any case, this person now declares himself an atheist. And sad to say, his blog is not the thoughtful questioning  I had hoped it would be, but is the more common one which consists of  making fun of a faith tradition and making claims that are unsupported by real facts. In so doing, the speaker, doesn’t realize that the person who is made to look silly is himself, mostly for a childish, pedantic, and ill-informed list of claims about what Christianity lacks in his opinion.

I have often said that I find seasoned atheists rather intellectually challenging. They seldom engage in snickering jokes about believers and call them names. They don’t refer to God as an “imaginary friend,” and liken Him to the Easter bunny. They are wise enough to actually know a few things. But in reality, most intellectual atheists are way to smart to really be atheists at all, which is why they differ so magnificently from the wannabe atheists.

Definitionally speaking, an atheist denies the existence of God. That doesn’t get us very far does it? I can deny the existence of a material reality and claim that we are all living an illusion. As long as no one asks me to prove my claim, I’m proudly the holder of it. And the atheist too, can deny that God exists, and when he proves that God does not exist, then he can continue with that appellation.

The atheist will protest that he does not have to prove a negative, that it is incumbent on the believer to prove the existence of God. I suppose that is correct as far as debate rules go, but then, we aren’t debating. I have no particular interest to “prove” the existence of God, for I believe that intellectually, that cannot be done. I make one claim only, well, actually two.

First I claim that I believe that God exists, and second, I claim that it is rational for a human being to come to that conclusion. Not that the atheist should or must, but that it can be rational for anyone who does so believe, to believe.

So the atheist, if he wants to prove that he has the right to ridicule me for believing, better darn well prove that God doesn’t exist. Otherwise I have no patience with you, because you are merely expressing your lack of knowledge of what can and what cannot be proven.

The agnostic, on the other hand, doesn’t fall into this trap. The agnostic says, I find there is no believable evidence for God’s existence, and I’m not sure there is any means by which God can be proven ever. So I maintain that I have no idea and no one else does either. That is a position that is sensible and I can relate to. For I agree, God is not provable, except to one who already believes. When you believe, you can find any number of reasons why you believe. They do not meet an objective test however, and that must be admitted.

 Either you have experienced that something, that creates within you a certainty of belief, or you haven’t. And frankly, we don’t feel that certain every day. Plenty of the time, we question, we doubt, we spend hours of time thinking, trying to reconcile things that don’t make sense. There is not a thing wrong with that. That is what drives us in part to continue searching on this marvelous journey.

Contrary to the second illustration above, anyone who discards God because of the standard fundamentalist litany of Christianity, was never much of a believer in the first place. They are the ones who were “raised” in a faith, but never paid much attention to it. When confronted with real facts that some things in the bible were not as reported, they are shocked and then use this as an excuse to walk away. God is a joke. I know this because I found out that the  Bible isn’t reliable as “the word of God.” So goes their thinking.

Now they can start a blog and look up neat websites that list all the inconsistencies in the bible, and they can look up neat quotes of other non-believers, and they can post sentences here and there from ancient believers who make statements of their present realities which we find archaic and not in keeping with scientific knowledge. Haha, aren’t we somethin’? Sticking it to the Christians, those dopes who believe in all this voodoo.

And guess what? They are the ones who are silly. Because they are so limited in their understanding of any religion that they didn’t know they barely scraped the surface of what it is about. Most of us didn’t get stuck in fundamentalism. We realized it for its extreme limitations and we long ago moved on. We have matured, need I say, and our theology of God reflects that maturation.

It is in the end, too boring and tiresome to talk to adults about faith when they are at the child’s level and most of us are at least still moving along the path. We haven’t figured it all out, or even a tiny bit of it rightly probably, but we have realized that it is our responsibility as creature to make the effort to discern God, not God’s responsibility to hand it to us in some singsong simplistic fashion. In that effort, God supports us, I’m convinced, and guides us to what we need to read, what tradition we need to be in, and where. We make mistakes, we come unto roadblocks, we get confused, we find paradoxes and contradictions, and we continue to puzzle and think and read and study and pray, and we work out a knot here and there.

In the end, I believe, as I’ve stated here before, in perhaps not so clear a fashion, that we must each of us create a workable but ever changing theology that clicks for us. The atheist in his lack of  intellectual prowess has given up and makes claims that he cannot support. The agnostic is still open to being persuaded by evidence. I get the agnostic, but I’m not wasting any more time on the dullard who claims he doesn’t care enough to think any more.

FROM WND

‘We all know about terrorism. This is the war you don’t know about’

The Third Jihad the movie

Can the United States of America as we know it crumble from within in just a few short years?

The stunning possibility is more than just a dream to some enemies of the greatest nation on Earth. It is a fast-becoming probability. “We all know about terrorism. This is the war you don’t know about,” declares “The Third Jihad,” an eye-opening movie now available on DVD.

The film’s trailer can be seen here: http://bit.ly/WqKr4

The movie, the newest offering from the producers of the captivating documentary film “Obsession,”explores the existence of radical Islam in America and the emerging risk that this “homegrown jihad” poses to national security, western liberties and the American way of life.

“It’s an entire movement, and the idea of it is hatred for our way of life,” says former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.” Featured in the DVD are clips of Muslim leaders in the U.S., including Abdul Alim Musa, an imam in Washington D.C., who boldly states, “On our website we talk about the Islamic State of North America by 2050.”

The film examines a secret document uncovered by the FBI that reveals the plans of the radicals already in America.

“The Third Jihad,” narrated by devout Muslim American Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, opens with the following statement: “This is not a film about Islam. It is about the threat of radical Islam. Only a small percentage of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims are radical. This film is about them.”

In 72 minutes, the film reveals that radical Islamists driven by a religiously motivated rejection of Western values cultures and religion are engaging in a multifaceted strategy to overcome the Western world.

In contrast to the use of “violent jihad” and terror to instill fear in “non-believers,” “The Third Jihad” introduces the concept of “cultural jihad” as a means to infiltrate and undermine our society from within.

Get “The Third Jihad” direct from WND’s Superstore.

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Judgment of the dead pagans at the Great White Throne

Those who are not Born Again will not be raised for Judgment until after the Millennium.  They will take part in a subsequent resurrection after the millennium is over.  They will be judged at the Great White Throne.  If their names are not in the Lamb’s book of Life, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire which is the second death.  If they worshiped the beast, their name will not be in the Lamb’s book of Life.  If their name is in the Lamb’s book of Life, they may continue as the New Nations, but they will never be part of the New Jerusalem.

http://truthinlove.com/References/judgment_of_unbelievers.htm

When we sit together, its normal to have a heated discussion/arguments on political and religious subjects. So the other night when I totally rejected one of  Fahad’s firmly false beliefs that Christians and Jews cannot be friends to Muslims (Rephrase: Christians and Jews are enemies of Muslims), he was taken aback. So down he goes and rummages through his books of Islamic Scholars or looks up to all those people whom he reverred as most Islamic of all and comes up with a number of Ayahs he claimed gave a Clear translation to his already firm belief. I’m not sure if he cared to READ through any of these (since most people are eager to paste it rather than reading and understanding the pre-post contexts), but here is how he pasted to me over the chat:

Fahad Noor says:

osama n faraz: References regarding our disscussion :: Off course none of them does mean key CHEER PHAR DO SUb KO…. Al-Maa’idah: 51 , Al-Maa’idah: 54 , Al-Maa’idah: 80-81 , Al-Maa’idah: 55 , Aal ‘Imraan: 118 , An-Nisaa 88 , 89 , 90 , An-Nisaa’: 138-139 , At-Tawbah: 23 , At-Tawbah: 71 , Aal ‘Imraan: 28 , Just FYI guys………………….

Without a further thought, I went through each and every one of them, reading the context and also referring websites. Its amazing how we de-peril so many other false things that we’ve always considered to be Islamic when infact, they’re not even close to Quran or Islam.

So after great good research/finding/reading of about 10 hours (its 7 AM in the morning now and I haven’t slept), here is what I replied

Dear Fahad: I studied the verses given above with their context and here is what I found. I dont take guidance from any scholar of Islam .. I let my own common sense guide me, since Quran is very easy to understand if you really wish to understand it. I will give Engish translations to all your aforementioned Ayahs and will discuss each seperately.

I’m not sure if you went through all of the AYAHs yourself, but some of them DO NOT mention christians or jews at all. Infact there is ONLY 1 single AYAH that has a clear reference against Christians and JEWS .. but with the context of AYAHs that follow it, the meaning is totally different. Please READ if you have TIME.

 Your very first Ayah  

Al-Maa’idah: 51  ,  Al-Maa’idah: 54

 O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors; they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust

This is a very clear message not to take Christians and Jews as friends. But this is what one finds if you go a little beyond these Ayahs and look into Ayah 55 of the same verse.

Your (real) friends are (no less than) Allah, His Messenger, and the (Fellowship of) Believers, those who establish regular prayers and regular charity, and they bow down humbly (in worship). (55)

This is in clear continuation of AYAH 51-54. This means that Indeed, a Muslim’s true friend is Allah, Mohamed and his fellow Muslim brothers in comparison to Christians and Jews. WHERE IS IT written that Christians and JEWS are ENEMIES of MUSLIMS? And if you go further forward to AYAH 57

O ye who believe! Take not for friends and protectors those who take your religion for a mockery or sport, whether among those who received the Scripture before you, or among those who reject Faith; but fear ye Allah if ye have Faith (indeed). 

 DISCUSSION:

If you read the 3 AYAHS together, you’ll see that it says “Dont take Christians and JEWS as friends IF:

1) You have REAL FRIENDS available ie Allah (ofcourse), His Messenger (ofcourse) … and only THOSE people who are believers of Muslim faith, establish prayers and donate charity, and are HUMBLE.

so lets say if I have a situation, where I’m faced with a Hypocrite, arrogant, Corrupt Muslim brother, and on the other side I have humble, honest, God loving Christian fellow, whom should I befriend?

or in terms of Nations, lets say Pakistan has China and Afghanistan, both as friends. Who, in your humble opinion Mr. Fahad Noor, should we seek help from?

Allah has given us a clear choice. A Pious Muslim could be a better friend compared to a cheat Christian…and vice versa. If you dont agree, read point number 2.

2) Dont take THOSE christians and jews as friends who MOCK your religion Islam and play around with it…

Also, from this AYAH 57 it is very clear that Chrisitans and Jews are among the People of Scriptures (Holy Books) and they’re not Non-Believers or KAFIRs. Kafirs are those who REJECT FAITH (Faith is belief in ONE GOD)

ON a whole, this Ayah is generally applied not only for PEOPLE…but for NATIONS too. If this was it, Allah would’ve never allowed to marry between Christians or Jews (since they’re Ahl-e-Kitab or Followers of the Holy Scriptures)

Aal ‘Imraan: 118

O ye who believe! take not into your intimacy those outside your ranks: they will not fail to corrupt you. They only desire your ruin: rank hatred has already appeared from their mouths: what their hearts conceal is far worse. We have made plain to you the Signs, if ye have wisdom. (118)

Ah! ye are those who love them, but they love you not, though ye believe in the whole of the Book, when they meet you, they say, “We believe”: but when they are alone, they bite off the very tips of their fingers at you in their rage. Say: “Perish in your rage; Allah knoweth well all the secrets of the heart.” (119)

DISCUSSION: Both the AYAHS DO NOT refer to CHristians or Jews but refer to Unbelievers. Unbelievers can be of many kind.

1) Ethiests, 2) Pagans, 3) Fireworshippers, 4) Hypocrites (those who claimed they were Muslims but they were not)

In this Ayah particularly, Allah refers to Unbelievers who portray themselves to be Believers

In the next Ayah , 119, Allah addresses Prophet and says “You LOVE them but they dont love you.” Allah refers to a particular incident in this passage, and later in Ayah Allah refers to Ghazwa Badar. Here we’re talking about particular incident and particular people the prophet was thinking they’re friends, but Allah guided him and made it known that THEY ARE NOT FRIENDS!

JEWS and Christians are Monoethiests: they believe in ONE God and Their OWN Prophets. Hence they DO NOT FALL under the category of NON-believers.

An-Nisaa 88 , 89 , 90  :

Why should ye be divided into two parties about the Hypocrites? Allah hath upset them for their (evil) deeds. Would ye guide those whom Allah hath thrown out of the way? For those whom Allah hath thrown out of the way, never shalt thou find the Way. (88)

They but wish that ye should reject Faith, as they do, and thus be on the same footing (as they): so take not friends from their ranks until they flee in the way of Allah (from what is forbidden). But if they turn renegades, seize them and slay them wherever ye find them; and (in any case) take no friends or helpers from their ranks. (89)

Except those who join a group between whom and you there is a treaty (Of peace), or those who approach you with hearts restraining them from fighting you as well as fighting their own people. If Allah had pleased, He could have given them power over you, and they would have fought you: therefore if they withdraw from you but fight you not, and (instead) send you (guarantees of) peace, then Allah hath opened no way for you (to war against them). (90)

DISCUSSION: There is no reference made to Christians or JEWS. This is for Kuffar-e-Makkah and Allah is again Addressing the Holy prophet telling him about Evil designs of the Unbelievers (Not Christians or Monoethiests)

An-Nisaa’: 138-139 :

To the Hypocrites give the glad tidings that there is for them (but) a grievous Penalty; - (138)

Yea, to those who take for friends Unbelievers rather than Believers: is it honour they seek among them? Nay all honour is with Allah. (139)

DISCUSSION: Again! Addressing Non-Believers. Christians and Jews are not Hypocrites or Munafiqs. The People of Mecca were Hypocrites which means they showed they were muslims when in Reality they were not. So, again…nothing on Christians and JEWS here.

At-Tawbah: 23 :

O ye who believe! take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong. (23)

DISCUSSION: This AYAH clearly means that one is not to Love an INFIDEL (One against ISLAM and DENIES GOD) even if his OWN Father or Relative is an INFIDEL. I dont understand HOW do you relate this to Christians and JEWS? HOW?!?!

At-Tawbah: 71 :

The Believers, men and women, are protectors, one of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practice regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. On them will Allah pour His Mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise. (71)

DISCUSSION : This ayah does not say anything related to our discussion. Not even the Ayahs before or after this one refer to anything related to our discussion.

Aal ‘Imraan: 28: لا يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ فَلَيْسَ

Let not the Believers take for friends or helpers Unbelievers rather than Believers: if any do that, in nothing will there be help from Allah: except by way of precaution, that ye may guard yourselves from them. But Allah cautions you (to remember) Himself; for the final goal is to Allah. (28)

DISCUSSION:  As already stated above, Christians and JEWS do not fall in the category of Non-Believers

Mushrikeen, Mushrik, Those who believe GOD shares his soveriegnty with other GODS and who openly go against the laws of Allah, are the ones called Non-Believers.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion: I would only refer to one simple AYAH which is very Universal in its meaning.

Please refer to Surah Baqara: verse 62. A homework for you . And also read its Tafseer which I’m sure will try to reject the FACT laid down in this strong verse.

Its good that you atleast searched up some material and brought forward. But I think if you would’ve read it with your OWN judgement, you would have come to the conclusion.

Dont take help from books written by so-called scholars of Islam. Become a scholar, open the Book and read it yourself with an open mind and heart. QURAN wasn’t written for scholars. Its written for the entire Human Race, ignorant/wise alike.

Soccer Mom Psychic’s  Client Reviews
As posted on the BEST PSYCHIC DIRECTORY in New York!
Soccer Mom Psychic  is “Laura Colavito-Agosta”
Here are some of my Client Reviews                                    
I felt myself relax immediately. Her style is quick, but detailed, I liked that. A few predictions came true right away she was correct. She asked about a person nobody could have known and a place that was dear to me. She is straightforward but doesn’t dwell. Her compassion was evident in her presentation, her guidance very valuable I highly recommend this very sweet and talented intuit.
posted on Feb 13, 2008 by Mary Sullivan
Laura has given me “several” phone readings and I have to honestly say they are just as accurate and informative as a person to person reading…there was quite a bit of information that came true almost immediately. Her passion for what she does is evident when she speaks to you. She is a truly “gifted” psychic and I highly recommend her services!
posted on Feb 19, 2008 by Maryellen Falchi
During my first phone reading, there was confirmation immediately that Laura is the real deal. She pinpointed some things that were currently happening that nobody else knew about. She provided me with detailed notes after the session that I could refer back to at any time and I do so quite often taking note of her ability and accuracy. I highly recommend Laura to those who are looking for some insight and clarity.
posted on Feb 27, 2008 by Robin Graff
Take this from someone who has had many readings in her life – Laura is the real deal. Be prepared for goose bumps. She has proven to me and my family members that she has the gift. This is not someone trying to exploit their talent but to enlighten others. Nor do you have to worry about small town talk; everything is confidential. PS – I give her readings as gift.
posted on Mar 17, 2008 by Chena Spagnoli
I have been calling Laura for many years. I find her to be very compassionate and intuitive. Laura has a special energy about her. She has brought to the surface many things about myself and many things about my past that no one could have possibly known. I would highly recommend her as truly gifted. I am a professional, I travel all over, and I am in my 50s & more than satisfied with my association with Laura.
posted on Mar 25, 2008 by Anna Ayala NY
I have had many reading in my life, but none compare to Laura. There were times when I was listening that my mouth would drop in amazement because there would be no way possible she would know certain things. She is compassionate, caring and I believe truly has been put here to do this. I highly recommend her to anyone. She asks no information; it is truly her intuitive gift that guides her. She describes things in detail…I was moved…
posted on Apr 5, 2008 by Michelle Augustino
I am pleased to know Laura on a personal and business level. She truly is a wonderful woman. She’s honest, compassionate and VERY insightful. I will tell you that I have recommended many business associates, friends and family to Laura and all were more than satisfied with there readings and Laura’s intuitive ability.
posted on May 4, 2008 by Carol Gorey
I have spoken with Laura she is wonderful. I will listen very carefully and take notes. I find her prices very reasonable. Laura is very caring and very outgoing. Laura doesn’t have to prove herself to me she has a lot of talent. I will only speak with her. Others have been dead wrong; Laura is by far the best!!!
posted on Jul 10, 2008 by Laura Lacertosa
I had a fantastic reading with Laura recently. She is generous, accurate and caring during her readings. So much information comes through that you better have your pen and paper ready to write it all down! Laura is able to give messages, look into the past and future, and she accurately came up with names related to certain situations. This is the real deal! Highly recommended.
posted on Jul 10, 2008 by Shariq Mahbub
My reading was a b’day present to myself at a time I so needed clarification. Laura was right on and made every effort to make sure I understood everything with great detail. She ROCKS….she’s the real deal. Thank You and God Bless You.
posted on Jul 10, 2008 by Marlene Bruno
I had a reading done by Laura. She picked up on a lot of things that only people I know personally would know. She even ’saw’ someone I wanted to ask about AND she even said what this person’s name was! I will definitely be contacting Laura again.
posted on May 2, 2009 by Irene Lui
I have known Laura for fifteen years both personally and professionally. She is a truly amazing talent and every reading I sit with her, she surprises me. A reading with Laura is always a remarkable experience: one that should not be missed. If you want a reading which will be life changing, seek out Laura!!
posted on May 10, 2009 by Lillian Franceschina
Laura is always spot-on. Once, I mentioned a name to her, and she was able to tell me things about the person in detail, and was completely accurate about everything. With each reading she gives me, she elaborates on everything and spends time telling me everything she sees and everything I want to know. I would recommend her to everyone, as her gift is truly amazing.
posted on May 27, 2009 by Lara DeLeo

I love the fact that I have no problem in believing God and His word.  I mean, what else is there that works so great to make and cause me to have a great life and to live a great life? When everything else around me is either failing or crumbling, I know for a fact that the Great Truth Maker is giving me insight to how I should believe, how I should act, what I should say and what I should expect.  That makes me a truth taker.

I take what He says at face value regardless of the ‘opinion’ mill out there or the nay-sayers who don’t want to believe the Truth Maker!

That’s the awesomeness of knowing God and knowing He has my best interest at heart.  Because of that, whatever He says about me–I’m going to receive as truth and not as His opinion of me.  What He says is so much better for me than anything I know of in life.

I’ve been around those who want to give me their opinion but that and 3.99 will get me my favorite coffee drink at Starbucks; caramel macchiato latte.  I’ve learned to listen to what God has to say and have fared so much better in life because of it.

I want to be a winner and not a loser.  I want to be a victor and not a victim.  I want to be successful and not a failure.  I can be all things through Christ who strengthens me.

So, it’s my choice, and I chose to be a truth taker.  I listen to the Truth Maker.  He’s making a lot of Truth and will always make a lot.

That’s what I think about it.

Timothy – www.exaltationchurch.com

PTI reports :

Six cabinet ministers of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s new team are ‘non-believers’. These ministers “solemnly affirmed” that they would bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution while taking oath today.

Firstly, I am not sure if they are non-believers of god or they just happened to exclaim, “Me ? A minister ? I don’t believe it !!!”.

But if it is the former, I salute the guy who thought of inserting solemnly affirmed in quotes,whatever that means. But if I were him, I would be so offended that I would insert every word in quotes. After all, as Indians, we wouldn’t even vote in an Indian Idol if he doesn’t thank god enough.

Now if you are not scared that non-believers are slowly taking over this country and its administration, you should be ! Then there is the undeniable fact that believers are essential for the general welfare of the people. The logic being simple :

More than a staggering 1% of believers do something constructive with their beliefs, like charity to temples. Now we all know that 2% of temples donate a huge 3% to charity, after they have spent on gold, ornaments and shopping for the deities, who are known to be very fashion conscious. After all, a temple’s gotta do what a temple’s gotta do. Going back to the main point, you can see that quite a lot of the money pours straight down to charity and welfare of the people, which is exactly what a leader is supposed to do.

But with non-believers, all you might have is pure unadulterated corruption. Which I hear is very bad for everyone.

So if you have nothing to do, I urge you to protest against the non-believer ministers.

Get Rich Quick

While driving to my sister’s house the other day I noticed a sign posted outside of a Church.  I always notice this sign when going to her house or whenever I take this road.  I like the sayings that they have. Sometimes when all is not clear to me, I get in my car and drive by just to see what is posted. But yesterday’s sign post was different.

With all that is happening in the economy now, we all continue to keep playing the lotto, mega millions or take five, thinking “you got to be in it to win it” right?

Oh, how the money will help!

Yeah, well that is what I thought until I saw what my faithful sign had posted.

 So here is your “how to”   ”Get Rich Quick” 

The sign read:

“Get Rich Quick”

“Count your Blessings”

Maybe it’s not what you want to hear because it’s not going to pay your bills, but for a moment, just one moment stop what your doing and think about it.

Count your Blessings.

I come from a background of textiles.  Yes, Gaston County, North Carolina was my hometown area, and our bread and butter were textiles.  I didn’t know anything else for 18 years.  My dad and mom worked in it all their lives.  It was nothing for me to see my dad covered in lint from the top of his head to the tops of his shoes.  The fragrant smell of cloth, yarn, cotton and material dye permeated our clothes, our house and our town.

Even now, I find myself buying a new garment and putting it up to my nose to get a nostalgic smell and memory of my childhood days. I know that someone has just used the label to sell me a cheap product.

I overheard a conversation recently with some pastors and one pastor’s comment was that he makes sure that they are “Christians” before he marries them.  I interjected into the conversation.  I explained how that it is a sad commentary, as there are non-Christians who have better marriages than Christians a lot of the time.

Just because someone wears the label “Christian” it doesn’t always mean what we think it means.  However, many choose to use that label to be accepted by others, to gain favor in business relationships or even to gain a position or favor swinging the pendulum to their side.

When folks wear the label and don’t measure up to the standards of what Christ meant–it sadly devalues the entire family of believers.  So what do we do about it?  We continue to show others what it means to be 100% Christian and not a blend of good and evil.  Even Jesus said that there would be tares among the wheat.  Tares look like wheat until maturation at harvest time.  The wheat bows over with the golden top.  However, the tares stand upright and proud.

Interesting that wheat bows while tares pridefully do not.  Yes, there are people who look like, smell like, act like and even wear the label of Christian that live among us.  In actuality, they are just not Christians.  Jesus said at harvest time, he would take care of them.

Remember, it might say it on the label, but it doesn’t mean it is the read deal.

That’s what I think about it.

DTW-www.exaltationchurch.com

Waylon Jennings sang a song called “Looking For Love In All the Wrong Places” and the chorus says…

I was looking for love in all the wrong places

Looking for love in too many faces

Searching your eyes, looking for traces

Of what.. I’m dreaming of…

Hopin’ to find a friend and a lover

God bless the day I discover

Another heart, lookin’ for love

There are so many people everyday in our lives that are looking for love.  They are looking for it in so many places.  Sure, I could name a few where they are looking for it and not finding it.  Places like the local bar, clubs, social organizations, match a mate services and even church.  People, by nature, want to be loved.  People, by creation, need to be loved.  So who is going to love them, and how are we going to show that love?

We have opportunities everyday to show people agape.  The Emmaus organization is founded upon the principle that God’s agape is all around us.  We just need to receive it by faith and release the overflow to others.  If you’ve ever gone on an Emmaus weekend you understand and comprehend the overwhelming agape that is given to a pilgrim.  By the time the weekend is over, the pilgrim has been blessed by a weekend filled with acts of servitude and gifts of love.

It’s a great weekend, believe me.

However, we need to look for giving love in all the right places.  We ought to everyday wake up with the attitude that we’re going to serve people all day long.  When someone comes to your mind, you ought to ask yourself, “How can I show that person love today?”  What is it that we can do or say that will convince that person that we truly agape them? How can I show the agape of God to others that will persuade them to be a believer of God through the teachings of Jesus Christ?”

Our acts of agape can go so much further than the “niceties” of the world.  Jesus taught us how to agape others and showing us the agape of the Father.  When others see our love for them, they will see God in us.  Isn’t that the way Jesus taught it?

Imagine living in a world where you were served by everyone?  What would that be like?  A place where you could do nothing for yourself because everyone wanted the chance to do things for you?  Nice, huh?  See, that’s what we need to in order to show people that they have been looking for love in all the wrong places.  Now, show them that they can look for love in the right place.  That place is found in you.

When you get the napkins at the restaurant get several and give them to your friends.  When you get your coke refilled, offer to refill your friends.  When you get coffee, see if someone else wants coffee.  When you want something think of others as well.

I want to go to a church like that.  As I hit the parking lot, I’m overwhelmed with love.  Maybe it’s just me, but I’d love that.

That’s what I think about it.

DTW – www.exaltationchurch.com

Here’s what I’ll do . Let me start by generalising all belief systems . Lets say there are two ways of looking at the metaphysical. You believe in a God , Supernatural Power, Divine consciousness , A Creator. Or you believe that there is nothing supernatural , as everything is within the boundaries of science, only currently unexplained and undiscovered.

Essentially , two poles apart , philosophical outlooks . Lets call the “Believers ” – Theists , and the “Non-believers” -Atheists.  

Atheism in itself isn’t new , it has always existed . Case in point , India had the Carvaka school of philosophy and the west had it’s Hellenic equivalent, the epicurean philosophy . To them , this life was the only reality, after death , you were just that – dead .

I personally believe theism has existed for as long as Homo sapiens have existed. The Gods were created at the dawn of humanity. Whereas atheism took a little longer to surface. The reason being this – the original basis for a belief in a supernatural entity(s) , can be traced directly to ignorance . Like I mentioned in my earlier post , our ancient ancestors did not understand the environment they were living in . One day a huge ball of flame in the heavens scorched their lands , and water fell from the sky on another. Having no means of coming up with an explanation based on natural processes, they blamed the Gods. These Gods were then based on the form of man, where they needed praise, anger preceded destruction, and in joy, the Gods were generous . To start out , it was God who was created in man’s image.

The reason as to why Atheism could not have existed as a counter philosophy to the gods , was because there was undeniable “proof” of his existance. The reason why everything happened . How could man explain the rain without the Gods sending it down from the heaven to water his crops?

As the intellectual ferment of the human mind improved , guided by his desire to understand , he saw and learnt more. Man finally had another explanation , to that so readily attributed to God.  Some no longer felt the need for a supernatural force, and in essence Atheism as a philosophy took root. 

Interestingly , Theism and Atheism are concepts that are in a constant struggle to get a step ahead of the other . As one has progressed , it has forced the other to adapt . When man discovered the nature of lightning , the theists could no longer attribute it to Zeus, so instead they said ” yes, that’s why that happens , but who do you think made it so that it occurs that way? ” . The concept of God was refining itself , from a direct cause , to the cause behind the cause . From a local demi-god like status to that of a omni-present and omni-potent creator. 

The intellectual refinment has lead to a distillation of the concept of God. My point is this , as science progresses , eventually , everything will be explained through rational thought . That day , theism will refine itself to just pure belief in a creator . There will be left no “proof ” that they shall be able to roll off their tongues.

Essentially , the purpose of Theism is not to disprove Atheism , but rather to have that un-shakable belief and faith that it requires of it’s followers , and science will help it get there.

Published on Oakland North
6 February 2009

Regardless of your opinion of President Barack Obama’s inaugural address, there was one seemingly benign statement that made inaugural history: “We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and…” While the content of the sentence was a much-needed acknowledgement of the religious diversity in this country, it contained one final word that has been absent from most political discourse, “non-believers.”

As an atheist, I was never more aware of the influence of government-sponsored religion than when I was in the U.S. Army. Chaplains are fixtures in the military and my disdain for their religious presence solidified when I attended a mandatory suicide awareness briefing while stationed in Iraq and a chaplain stated that those considering suicide needed to develop a stronger relationship with Jesus and pray more.  Because I was merely an enlisted specialist, there was no way for me to express my concerns and be critical of the Chaplain, who was a high-ranking officer.I was not alone in my frustrations. Some soldiers objected because they were not Christians, but more common were those who, faithful or not, took offense to these religious leaders, who were rarely in harm’s way, talking to them about war, death and morality. So I did the only thing I could, stay quiet. During my Army oath of enlistment I omitted the phrase, “so help me god.” At ramp ceremonies and funerals I avoided participating in prayers because I was the one taking pictures. All other times, when heads were bowed I held my chin up. My one religious success was forcing the drill sergeants to designate a “meditation” room at basic training for those of us who didn’t attend church and were tired of always getting stuck cleaning the barracks in the absence of those soldiers of faith.

I have always been fascinated by religion and spirituality. While I was raised with a foundation in the Episcopal Church, my parents’ careers in the National Park Service resulted in a strong Native American cultural influence in our house. They have always been open minded and progressive when it comes to religion, seeing it as an opportunity for community rather than dogma. There was a time when I was actively involved in church, singing in the choir, a member of the youth group and serving as an acolyte during Sunday services. Ironically, it was my involvement in religious activities that began to push me away from the church. My descent from grace began when I was 16-years-old.  I was on a youth group trip near Denver, Colorado, working at a summer camp for underprivileged inner city children. Standing under the basketball hoop one sunny day, a camp counselor told the children (ages six to 12) that they, and their families, would go to hell if they did not accept Jesus Christ as their savior. That was my breaking point. I knew I could no longer be a part of this.

I will still church when visiting my parents, but only to sing and visit with friends. Later, as an undergraduate studying sociology and cultural anthropology at the College of William and Mary, I became fascinated by the evolution of spirituality and religion, and spent time living with and studying indigenous peoples in Central and South America. I flirted with a wide range of spiritual practices – paganism, Buddhism, Baha’ism – but nothing felt comfortable. I became increasingly critical of the inherently divisive nature of organized religion, in any form. I no longer saw a need to believe in a higher power. The universe is something tangible and it is the duty of humanity to protect it and each other. We do not need a god to tell us how to act.

While I have a respect for the cultural significance of religion, I am strongly critical of a religious presence in the political affairs of any country. If the United States prides itself on being a bastion of freedom and democracy, why are sessions of Congress opened with a prayer? Any official prayer, regardless of the content or the orator, is inherently discriminating against those who often identify as “freethinking secularists.” The label is simple – it means beliefs should be formed on the basis of reason and logic and should not be influenced by authority, tradition, or any other dogma and that governmental practices or institutions should exist separately from religion and religious beliefs.

The debate over whether the United States was founded on Christian principles has been heating up for several decades as issues such sexual education classes in public schools, gay marriage and abortion emerged onto the political stage.  If Christianity was in fact the underpinning of our society’s birth, then why were the Founding Fathers so vocally mistrustful of religious intrusion into government? In 1813, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Religion is a subject on which I have ever been most scrupulously reserved. I have considered it as a matter between every man and his Maker, in which no other, and far less the public, had a right to intermeddle.” In fact, it was not until 1956 that “In God We Trust” became the national motto, a byproduct of Cold War communist hysteria.

But meddle the public did. According to a 2006 study published by the American Sociological Association, “Atheists are America’s most distrusted minority.” Accounting for roughly three percent of the U.S. population, Americans rate them below Muslims, recent immigrants, gays and lesbians and other minority groups in “sharing their vision of American society.”

The inclusion of religious ideas and activities in government, no matter how innocuous they may seem, sends a message that those “lacking” faith cannot be just and moral leaders. I believe that the opposite is true. The War in Iraq is just the latest in a long line of examples of how the clashing of religious dogmas (though not operating in a vacuum) can lead to distrust, violence and even war.  Would it not be proper to surmise that by removing religion from government, we would be removing at least one catalyst for conflict?

So while the inaugural ceremony was steeped in prayer and religious references, the mere fact that President Obama acknowledged the existence of this small minority of non-believers is a promising step forward in establishing true freedom and equality in this country – the freedom to be or not to be. As the first African American president, his election demonstrates that this country can move past discrimination and prejudice. His speech subtly asserted that it is the role of the government to recognize and protect all minority populations. This gives faith to the faithless that one day, our non-beliefs will no longer be a litmus test for elected office and we will not have to awkwardly look at the ground during an opening prayer.