A few days ago I went to a presentation by “The Embassy” a student ministry at a nearby university. The topic of discussion was Hell. Here was what I found out about the event on their website beforehand:

Skeptics Welcome:

Nov. 09/09 – Go To Hell
The concept of Hell is hard to swallow – that a large number of people will spend their afterlife in a place of eternal torment and unquenchable fire. At The Embassy, we want to take a good, hard look at where this idea came from, expose the myths associated with it, and make some suggestions that might just surprise you – whether you’ve been attending church your whole life or have spent an equally long time avoiding it.

And judging by this material I had the impression that this group would be more progressive and rational than other church groups. On the flyer it said that “the concept of Hell is hard to swallow” and I jokingly commented that they would try to make me swallow it. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened.

When I walked into the small auditorium I was surprised  to see band equipment on the stage. I believed that this was going to be a thoughtful discussion. However, I was surprised once more when I had to endure three terrible Christian rock songs before they got to the substance of the discussion. This involved me sitting down while the faithful stood up, some with their arms in the air (maybe even waving them like they just didn’t care).

The first speaker talked about what Hell might be like. He quoted some theologians and apologists and came to the conclusion that we don’t exactly what kind of place Hell is, but it is not a place you want to be. What I thought was going to be a thoughtful discussion was actually a sermon. I was being preached to. This part wasn’t all that bad. The speaker did assume that the Bible was the true word of God and that Hell existed, but I couldn’t have expected much more from a church group.

It was the next part that really surprised me. The main pastor came up on stage and talked about why Hell exists in the first place. He said that God created Hell for Satan and the other fallen angels who rebelled, but made no connection to human afterlife.

He also said that heaven would not be heaven if all the bad people could get in. And he said that these bad people would be getting what they wanted anyways, to be away from God. However, he still maintained that God was still omnipresent because only the compassionate part of his nature would be missing in Hell (also known as a cop-out).

Furthermore, the pastor said that qualifying for heaven has nothing to do with the amount good things or bad things you did. He said that all that was required was belief in Jesus Christ. But, it is never answered what happens to people who have never heard the Gospel. It is also never explained how a belief in a deity has to do with being a good person.

In addition, he ends up contradicting some of the statements he made earlier about it being easy to imagine Hitler, Osama Bin Laden and other evil people being in Hell because he labelled them as evil solely by their actions. It is very arguable that Hitler who was Christian is in heaven. It is even arguable that Bin Laden is in heaven because for all we know he may have been a believer in Christ.

During the sermon we could text questions to the pastor to be answered at the end. Two of my questions came up at the end. The first one was: What if you don’t believe in the concept of Hell? They basically answered me as a Christian and said that the Bible makes it clear that Hell exists. But, I guess that’s the basis of Christian apologetics: assumptions and more assumptions.

My second question (more of a comment) was: An omnipotent God is capable of infinite rehabilitation especially a loving one. And for this they answered me as if I was a Catholic and which consisted of  the concept of Purgatory being attacked.

The pastor also said that when you force your will on a person it is the same as rape. So, sending people to Hell in the first place doesn’t count as imposing on someone? And he also made the point that some people might not want to reform. This logically implies that given the option of heaven or hell that some people would actually choose Hell (which is both a very disgusting and fallacious suggestion).

At the end of the sermon, the conclusion they came up to was “God is not loving in spite of Hell, but because of Hell.” By that time I was already thoroughly annoyed, but I still had to endure some Christian rock music as I exited the auditorium. Overall, I felt I was deceived into believing I would hear some rational discussion. Instead, it just ended up being like any other sermon; it was meant for indoctrination, not education.

By Matt Horan

I’ve been mulling over a phrase.  Frankly, there’s something about this phrase that, when I say it, just seems to have gravity.  I keep saying it over and over, trying to figure out why.  What’s the big deal?  Let me share it with you.

“I was there.”

Have you ever said that before?  Do you know what I mean?  When you say it, there’s something about it that just has impact.  “I was there.”

“How about that game yesterday, huh?  What a finish!”

You grin and nod, “I was there.”

“Did you hear that inauguration speech?”

Grin and nod, “I was there.”

Did you hear Matt’s amazing sermon this morning?

“I was there.”

What’s interesting is that you can get a better view of the event if you’re not there.  If you’re watching a sporting event on TV, they’ll zoom in to the most important things.  They’ll replay the most important moments.  They’ll show you different angles when there’s controversy.  And they’ll provide 2-3 people to tell you what’s happening and what they think about it.  You’ll be much better versed on what happened if you watch it on TV.

If you’re watching someone give a speech on TV, they’ll zoom right in on their face, and you can adjust the volume so that you can catch every word crisply and clearly.  You can even turn on the subtitles on some TVs.  Then once again, when it’s over, 2-3 people will be right there telling you what you heard and what they think about it.

And on top of all that, you don’t have to wait in line to get a snack or a drink or use the bathroom, and you don’t have to pay for parking.  There are dozens of good reasons that it’s much better to not actually be there, yet when we can, we say it with such satisfaction!  “I was there.”  What’s the big deal?  What’s so great about there that we don’t have here?

One of my favorite parts of Scripture is Psalm 139.  Hear these words:

“Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

Even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.” [v. 7-10]

If we were created in God’s image, and if God is a God who is there, then it is only fitting that there is something deeply fulfilling when we can say that we were there.  We are at our best, we are most like our Creator, when we are there.

God shows his omnipresence in Jesus Christ.  God did not choose to do some sort of saving work from afar.  He didn’t watch us on TV, didn’t write us a letter, didn’t send us an e-mail.  God stepped into this world, into humanity in its entirety.  He loves us, and so He decided that He was going down there.  So He lived with us, talked with us, and walked with us.  He listened, He cared, He met people’s needs.  He healed.  He forgave.  There was disease, poverty, slavery, racism, war, hate; and of all of the places for the Creator of the universe to be, he decided that he would be there.  And next time you pray about things that have happened that really hurt you or hurt the people that you love, remember that the God to whom you speak can say to you, “I was there.”

There’s another phrase that has similar gravity.  I sat with this one as well, and it’s not one that makes you grin and nod.  Try this one:

“I wasn’t there.”

Sometimes we like saying it because it gets us out of trouble or gets us off the hook.  We throw our hands up and we announce, “Hey, it’s not my fault.  I wasn’t there.”  Saying this can relieve us of responsibility or ownership of any problems that have arisen there.

But other times, its not something that feels good to say.  Have you ever left a sporting event, thinking that it was over, only to find out later that you missed an amazing comeback?  It hurts to think that you could have been there, but weren’t.

What’s worse is when someone really would have been helped by your presence, but you weren’t there.  Maybe you have an excuse, maybe there’s a really good reason, and maybe they let you off the hook, “It’s okay, don’t worry about it.  I know that you wanted to be there.”

Do you have moments in your life when you weren’t there?  Can you feel the difference between saying “I was there” and “I wasn’t there”?  Even if not being there got you out of taking responsibility, or even if you had a good excuse, there is a vast difference between the feelings that these two phrases give us.  And as we hear the Scripture today, and as we consider who God is, and as we consider that we were created in God’s own image, the reason is clear.  We are created in the image of a God who is there.

When we are present, we are being true to who we are.

When we are absent, we try to rationalize our being someone that we’re not with reasons or excuses.

“I couldn’t be there to worship God with you because…”

“I couldn’t afford to share what I have because…”

“I can’t meet together with a small group because…”

“I don’t have room for someone new because…”

“I can’t be present because…”

“I wasn’t there because…”

There are plenty of becauses, but there is no because that can be inserted there that can change the fact that we were created to be able to say “I was there.”  No excuse can change who you are.  You were created to be there.  I have a friend who told me once that they weren’t going to be going to church on Sunday morning because they’d gone to a wedding the day before.

They said, “That counts, right?”

What if it does?  If you’re trying to check off all that you think you need to meet the minimum Christian church-going requirements, then sure, let’s have going to a wedding “count.”  So now you can say “I wasn’t there because I went to a wedding the day before.”  Unfortunately, that excuse still starts with, “I wasn’t there,” and to have to say that is to not be like Christ.

See, when we can say, “I was there,” a third and even more powerful phrase is unlocked for use.  Try out how it feels when you can say, “We were there.”  That’s the spirit of the Scriptures.  That’s the spirit of the church.  That’s what the church should always be able to say. Do you feel the power in that?  Do you feel the possibilities to effect change, to offer love, to offer reassurance, to change the world?  “Don’t worry—we’ll be there.”

Offering our presence creates a connection.  By being present in worship, present in small groups, present for those who need us, present in the various moments in the life of the church; we connect to God, and to each other.  A good excuse might get me off the hook, but it doesn’t connect me to God, and it doesn’t connect me to others.  This is who we are—people created in the image of a God who can always say “I was there.”

We are people created in the image of a God who can always say “I was there.”  Therefore, we are at our best when we can say, “I was there.”

…and the church is most able to offer hope and love to this world when it needs us when together we can say, “Don’t worry—we’ll be there.”

I have been struggling for quite some time. Pacing a room in mind back anf forth for way too long. No I’m not crazy,  I’m human. We all go through it. Do I date this girl or guy? Is he right for me? Is he or she “the one?”

Should I go back to school? What should I study? law? medicine? or keep my job? Life is all about uncertainty because we’re not omniscient. We don’t know everything, because that is how we were created. If we did, then we would all be gods. More than one god means too many leaders, and ultimately confusion. Why do you think the world is the way it is today? We have too many countries with their own leaders and their own rules.

Can you imagine the Pope telling President Obama, “I resign?” Can you see President Obama telling Venezuelan President Chavez that he can serve as President of the United States? No one has any foreseeable plans to cede their authority. We are so caught up in power and authority that we have failed to realize who is really in control. Need a little help? God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have never ceded their divine powers to us. The Holy Trinity is most powerful government and authoritative figure known to man. They are omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.  Can you say the same?

Today’s lifestyle was not the vision God had in store for us. Everyone walks around confused about their sexuality, their faith, their family, their future. All we ever do is doubt everything and everyone, because it’s basic instinct. How can one ever be certain about anything. Nothing is guaranteed.

The only thing that you can bet your life on is  God, because He sent His only begotten Son to die for us. A life for a life. Who better to trust? I don’t know about you, but I hate gray. I hate being in the middle ground. I’d like to know where I’m going and so I am going to trust in Him who knows all. The choice is up to you. Will you choose to stay in the dark or see the light?

Job description: Looking for someone intelligent, committed, understanding, and patient. Preferably a faithful person who can lead, teach, and share the good news. Praying without ceasing is a requirement. Someone who forgives others is a must. Ability to be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient is a plus.

Have you ever just wondered what life would be like? Have you ever tried to do plan ahead? Did you know you were playing God by trying to take control of uncontrollable factors? Are you applying for His job? I have. Have you? Would we be able to meet the high demands of the job or buckle under the extreme amounts of pressure? If God were to come down from His throne and hand you His resignation, would you accept to be His replacement?

I’m sure you have thought about that special someone. Maybe you prayed you would get that job, because you would do so many good things. I have definitely heard people promise God everything, if they got their way just this one time.  HA!

Many of the things we try to get on our own or against God’s will are not the best things for us. Remember that cute guy you had your eye on? Did you know he was an abuser with a violent temper?  His last girlfriend was either six feet under or had an extensive medical record. Remember that gorgeous gal with that unforgettable figure? After only a year of marriage, she was a cheater and  robbed her husband blind. Remember that job you’ve always dreamed of? How do you like the long hours, low pay, little respect? I guess it’s not all that it was cracked up to be. I guess in these situations, the 80-20 rule would apply. We are often unhappy with the way things are or the people we’re with. We tend to wander off in search of something or someone better. Unfortunately, we lose our ways, leaving behind our blessing in disguise.

There are those other scenarios where we know exactly what we were called to do. We know exactly who God has chosen for us and we turn our backs on God. Did you know that God’s will shall be done with or without you? With life, it’s either the easy or the hard way. Unfortunately, we like to test God and end up wasting way too much time to come full circle. Look at it this way, why would you try to avoid the very path that you will end up traveling months or years later? Imagine how much further you would have been, had you only listened to Him.

We already have a job in God’s kingdom, to teach the nations and baptize them in the name of the Holy Trinity. Read Matthew 28 and you’ll see. We’re so busy doing a bad job and here we are looking for a promotion.  Before we can look at doing someone else’s job, let’s  work on ourselves.

In the meantime, thanks for interviewing, we’ll call you (not)!

I have heard the question asked so many times, “If there is a god, and if this god is good, why does he allow evil?”  I guess I have even asked that question or one similar.  There are many questions that need to asked along with this:  Is God all powerful?  Is God all knowing?  Is God all present?  Is God unchanging?  Is God a god of love and mercy?  If you answer all of those from a Biblical perspective then you can answer the question of evil.

Let’s look at part of the prayer of the Psalmist and his concern about evil.

A prayer of the Psalmist.

“Break Thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till Thou find none.”  Psalm 10:15 (KJV).

One of the first things that comes to my mind as I read this is a question.  “Who are the wicked?”  To be extremely accurate about it, that would mean me, you, all of us.  Because God is holy, righteous, and just, and He cannot look upon iniquity, ie. evil.  Then He must rid the world of us.

I want to assure you that He has broken the arm of the wicked.  The arm of the wicked was broken when sin was put to death with Jesus on the cross.  “Boy, it sure doesn’t seem like it.  Look at what’s happening in the world, and in my life”.  Be assured that all sin has been paid for.

The way God has dealt with my evil and yours is by judging it on His Son Jesus Christ.  He paid the debt for our sin.  Ultimately there will be no more sin.  It will one day reach a height, and plunge into the eternity of nothingness.

When Jesus comes into our hearts to live, abide, and stay evil is banished.  You are no more evil.  That begs another question.  “Then, who are the evil?”  All those who reject the free gift of grace in Christ Jesus.

One day, and it may be soon Jesus will come and all evil will be eternally put away.  Even the lamb and the lion will roam together, and without threat to the lamb.  The small child will be able to play over the den of the serpent without any fear (See Isaiah 11).  There will be no more ruthless rulers in the world.  Jesus will rule in the hearts and lives of people the world wide.

-Tim A. Blankenship

I have this scene from some medical show in my head. The characters are this adorable elderly husband and wife couple. The wife is dying and the husband is hysterical. He keeps saying, “No, stay with me Rosie. Stay with me, Rosie. Don’t leave me.”

I connect so strongly with this scene. Just thinking about is causing me to cry again.

He goes on to say, “I can’t be the one to let her go.”

–

I am so afraid of being abandoned by God. Even when I can’t feel Him, when I am sure He is no longer around my heart continues to cry out, “Stay with me, Jesus. Don’t leave me.” During these times I don’t need Him to audibly speak to me, I don’t need Him to show up in miraculous ways, I don’t need His power to flow through me in extraordinary measures. I need Him to stay with me. I don’t want Him to leave.

And even when I feel like He has abandoned me, I can’t be the one to let go. I can’t. I am absolutely nothing without Him. I have nothing without Him.

–

Everyone feels this way. Everyone wants to have a “someone.” Someone who will not abandon them, someone who will not let them go. This is all so cliché. And as Christians we all know the cliché answer is that God will always be with us. He is the only One who can fulfill this desire. “Our hearts have a God shaped hole.”

There is nothing we can do to convince Him to stay with because He always IS with us. When we can’t feel Him, He is there. He loves our heart cry for Him though. He doesn’t see it as one of our faults. He doesn’t tell us to try harder because if we did more, He would be with us. We bring delight to Him. He loves to feel wanted. He enjoys us.

Genesis 4:16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

If God is present everywhere with all of His being then in what way can Cain leave the presence of the LORD? In fact, throughout the Bible we read about God being present in a particular place (e.g. heaven), or going somewhere, or people coming into or leaving the presence of God.  How are we supposed to understand such texts when we affirm that God is present everywhere in all of His being?  How can somebody leave the presence of God who is present everywhere?

The answer is that God is present everywhere in all of His being, but He manifests his presence differently.

God’s presence to bless

This is the most common way in which the Bible speaks about the presence of God. We shouldn’t think that these passages demonstrate that God is only present there and not elsewhere, “but rather that here he especially [makes] His presence known and here He especially [manifests] His character and [brings] blessing to His people.”[1]

1 Samuel 16:18 One of the young men answered, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence, and the LORD is with him.”

Psalm 51:11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Isaiah 59:2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

We see from Isaiah 59:2 that our sin separates us from God’s presence to bless.  David repents and pleads that he would not be cast away from God’s presence because of his sin. Is there any unrepented sin in your life that is separating you from the presence of God?

James 4:8-10 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. [How? Answer:] Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

At the end of the book of Deuteronomy Moses hands over the leadership of Israel to Joshua. It is Joshua’s task to lead Israel into the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 31:7-8 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” (see also Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:5; 3:7)

Moses seeks to encourage Joshua by promising God’s presence. This should fill Joshua with strength and courage and drive out fear.  God is present to bless and guarantees success. Following Moses death, God encourages Joshua with the same promise of His presence to bless.

Joshua 1:5-6 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

It is only when Israel sins against God and He removes His presence from them that they are defeated.

Joshua 7:11-12 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant that I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies. They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you.

We Christians also have the promise of God’s presence in this special sense.

Hebrews 13:5-6 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”

Jesus promises His presence with us when we are engaged in fulfilling the great commission and when we gather in His name.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God’s presence in judgment

The Bible also speaks of God being present in judgment.

Isaiah 64:1-2 Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence- as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil- to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!

Some people speak of hell as being the absence of God, but this is slightly misleading. It would be better to think of hell as being “a negative relationship to God, an experience not of His absence so much as of His presence in wrath and displeasure.”[2]

Coram Deo

Coram Deo is a Latin phrase meaning “before the face of God.”  This does not simply mean we are always in God’s presence.  Everyone is always in the presence of God but most are not living Coram Deo.  Coram Deo speaks about living with a continual conscious awareness of the presence of God.  It means living every moment ‘with’ God, praying to Him continually and seeking to please Him in whatever we do. This was the desire of the Psalmist (Read Psalm 16:11; 27:4).  Let us seek to live this way.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 27:4 One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

[2] J.I. Packer, Concise Theology, 262

Psalm 139:7-12 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

In this passage David meditates on the fact that it is impossible to be away from God’s presence. God is in heaven. God is in Sheol. God is in the uttermost parts of the sea. There is no where we can go to escape from the presence of God. Wherever we go we can say, “God is here.” Jonah discovered this the hard way in his futile attempt to flee from God’s presence by boat. But for David this was a great comfort, for God is always there to lead him and to hold him. As he declares in Psalm 23:4, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

For others this truth is terrifying. Jeremiah asks the question:

Jeremiah 23:24 Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

The point is we cannot hide our sin from God. He is present everywhere and therefore sees everything. God declares this in the context of announcing judgment against false prophets (see Jeremiah 23:13-20). And from God’s judgment there is no escape.

Amos 9:1-4 I saw the LORD standing beside the altar, and he said: “Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake, and shatter them on the heads of all the people; and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword; not one of them shall flee away; not one of them shall escape. “If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them. And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.”

The attempt to flee from God is futile. When God comes in judgment it is impossible to escape. You cannot run from Him; you can only run to Him and plead for His mercy.

These passages teach us about God’s relation to space. God relates to space differently than we do.  We are limited by space; able only to be in one place at one time. This is not so with God.  He created space and is therefore separate from it and cannot be contained by it. Solomon affirmed this in his prayer of dedication for the newly constructed temple.

1 Kings 8:27 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built!”

When we think of God’s presence, we ought not to think about God in spatial terms.  We are in the presence of God; we are not simply in the presence of part of God (i.e. His hand, metaphorically speaking).  If we travel from here to another part of the universe, we wouldn’t move from the presence of one part of God to the presence of another part of God.  Rather, God Himself is present everywhere in all of His being.

Saying God is present everywhere is not the same as saying that God is everything.  He is separate from everything in which He is present.  When you put a sponge in water, the water fills every part of the sponge, but it is still separate from the sponge.  The water is not the sponge, and the sponge is not the water, even though the water is present everywhere in the sponge.  This is the same with God.

I was going to work the other night and the sky was dark with black clouds, following an evening of rain.   It was around 9:30 pm, and I was in my normal ‘going-to-work’ mood, trying to be ‘up’ and singing a prayer for safety and health for both my client and myself. I always ask God to send me help from His sanctuary, especially asking for nurse angels to fill the room.  I’m sure that sounds wierd to you, but that’s how I deal with worry and dread.

I was buzzing along, topping a steep and winding hill, when I saw, sandwiched in between two dark clouds, the most gorgeous full moon I’ve ever seen.  It was the size of a dinner plate, an optical illusion, I’m sure.  And since there is little traffic on that back road at night, I stopped and admired the golden moon for a moment.  Slowly, the clouds closed over it, and the blackness returned.  A faint hint of gold reminded me that it was still there, shining just as brightly as ever.

That moon reinforced for me the fact that God is always with me, hidden sometimes, but always present.  That faith, like a pair of x-ray glasses, gives me the ability to see through the darkness and find the Light. Thank you, God, for the big moon, bright moon, sailing so slowly by.

Ok this one is going to be short and sweet, since god never makes mistakes. Oh wait, he made Adam and Eve and purposely made Eve smart enough to harvest food, then punished her for it. Or he made her unable to resist temptation and punished her anyway. But that’s just one time. Or is it? He “ruined” two cities and rather than trying to bring them in line, he wiped them out, including non-sinners like Lot’s wife who had the decency to mourn the deaths of her fellow human beings, thereby punishing Lot, another good soul. I thought we’re supposed to hate the sin, not the sinner, and talk about giving up easily. The door to door bible pushers would be ashamed. Something doesn’t quite make sense though. Two of the sins mentioned in the Quran is that the people were homosexuals and cheated on their wives. Well, if they were allowed to have relationships with other men, then they’d be happy wouldn’t they? It’s like forcing a homosexual into a heterosexual.

Even worse than with Lot, though, is what happened with Noah. Is it me, or does God just give up really quickly? And if Noah and his family were the last remaining humans after the flood, doesn’t that make Adam and Eve completely irrelevant? God essentially wiped the slate clean so everything that happened before is inconsequential. Oh yeah, and god let Noah’s son die. Who did he think he was climbing the tallest mountain above sea level (So they were in India?) but still drowned? For an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being, he just can’t seem to keep people in line. Not sure if this is chronological, but Abraham’s story is pretty troubling. This is less of a mistake and more an April fool’s prank. I guess he didn’t expect Abraham to have such a follower’s attitude. Or old Abe just hated his son and needed a good excuse. In any case, god retracted that order quickly enough, thankfully, so I’ll let that one slide…barely. Then Jesus, oh man.

God had sex with Mary (which must have been A-MA-ZING) and had a magician son who he then had violently killed, brought back to life, then eventually let die again. God gave Mohammed a faulty memory too. In one story, Mohammed knew the Night of Power (Laylut al Qadr) during Ramadan where you pray a ton and your blessings are multiplied over a thousand-fold. Mohammed was about to tell everyone the date but came across two guys fighting. Being aggravated at having to deal with such idiocy, he forgets the date of what is nearly the most important night of everyone’s lives. He can only remember its one of the last odd numbered nights that will be characterized as a foggy night. I think god was just being selfish since Mohammed was supposed to be his last prophet and he was trying nickel and dime the Muslims for more prayer.

But there’s a pattern here with killing children, isn’t there? He tries to get Abraham to kill his son, he lets Noah’s son die, and he let Moses commit mass infanticide. Then he goes ahead and kills his son. TWICE! I thought that was age where people valued sons because they could continue the family line. It must be some type of morbid fascination.

Finally, every problem that has ever existed and ever will exist in the entire universe from the beginning of existence until the end of time are all god’s mistakes because he is supposed to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. He controls everything and so he is the puppet master who punishes his dolls for not acting the way he wants. If a person does it, it might be mental disorder since the dolls are extensions of the master’s personalities. If we deny god that responsibility, we deny his omnipotence, breaking the definition of Yahweh, Adonai, or Allah. God is either weak or evil.

Je suis un fan de Google Reader depuis sa première sortie… Je trouvais génial de lire le flux RSS sur les écrans de mes différents ordinateurs à différents endroits de travail. En plus, à l’époque, c’était le seul système qui permettait en plus de les consulter facilement sur mon K800.

De l’eau a coulé sous les ponts du WEB depuis 2007… Google est devenu omniprésent, le iPhone est apparu et les opérateurs ont décidé de nous laisser un tarif plat pour l’Internet mobile.

C’est vrais ça, omniprésent… même si cela reste le meilleur moteur de recherche, même si YouTube n’a quasiment pas d’équivalent car omniprésent et multi-plateforme… Ma liberté de choisir en prend un coup.

Bon, ya autre chose encore… Twitter.  Lui aussi, il est omniprésent. Mais il a encore quelque chose de rebelle, il a quelque chose qui fait qu’il ressemble plus a un écosystème qu’a un aspirateur à vendre de la pub dirigé par une seule boîte. Et puis, il faut dire que c’est quand même vachement interactif, connectif, social média et Web dynamique.

Bon, je décide, donc, de faire une démarche un peu à l’opposée du tout gratuit pour entammer ma déGooglelisation…. Je me paie pour Fr. 5.50 Newsstand un super lecteur de Flux RSS. Interface graphique très soignée… c’est super agréable à consulter ces lectures de cette façon.

Un article vous intéresse…. vous désirer partager avec vos amis… Il s’interface parfaitement avec Twitter.

Pour accéder à Twitter… J’ai investi encore une fois Fr. 5.50 pour TwitterFon Pro… Très agréable pour tout faire avec Twitter. Il s’intègre parfaitement à d’autres Web Services comme bit.ly depuis Safari Mobile…. Super Cool.

J’accède de façon instantanée à plus d’information qu’avec Google Reader… Un peu de CoucheCool en plus…

Pour le fun, encore Fr. 1.10 pour EatWillGrow un pacman de nouvelle génération qui s’intègre également à Twitter.

En plus, dans l’écosystème, on peut même s’intégrer, merci @mirkohumber qui m’a fait découvrir, à un système de vente de t-shirt, threadless… c’est du délire… c’est vraiment un écosystème.

Alors, tout ça, c’est bien coolfun…. C’est bien du vrais Web… et j’ai pas de regret de pousser Google de plus en plus hors de ma technomap…. et en plus, pour Fr. 12.10…. je participe à financer le travail de développeur humain… avec qui on peut dialoguer… directement sur Twitter.

NB: je sais…. je finance également Apple mais… pour l’instant il ne présente pas encore de menace pour notre liberté de choisir.

NB2: Qu’est-ce qu’on va devenir le jour où Google achète Twitter. bon, si c’est APPLE… on commence aussi à s’inquiéter… Ils vont tous nous foutre en tôle dans des prisons technologiques

NB3: et mon MAC…. à quoi, il sert dans tous ça ? A plus grand chose (là, je la pousse un peu…), juste à lire les articles que j’ai placé dans instapaper depuis mon iPhone Livre de poche et à créer du contenu quand j’ai quelque chose à dire. Mais ça… c’est une autre histoire.

Salaam and Greetings of Peace:

“Do not praise your own faith exclusively, so that you disbelieve all the rest. If you do this, you will miss much good – nay, you will miss the whole truth of the matter. God the omniscient and omnipresent cannot be confined to any one creed, for He says, ’Wheresoever ye turn, there is the face of Allah.’”

- ibn al-Arabi

Ya Haqq!

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.

Running through nerves to nerves…

Flowing through veins to veins…

Moving from heart to mind…

Everywhere…..

So much omnipresent

Everywhere….

Inside the soul…

Just Everywhere….

Just Everywhere….

Religion may be a evolutionary opiate.There is a theory (hypothesis) that the tendency to have magical beliefs may be an evolutionary niche that played a role in our evolutionary survival. Magical thinking gives people hope in an otherwise apathetic cruel world. It may have helped early human endure and cope with harsh survival hardships and statistically cruel adversities. What believers really seek to find through religion is a sense security, order, purpose. It is the hope that there is an answer to the “why” of their existence (sometimes a miserable one). They want to feel special enough for a deity to concern him/herself with their obviously insignificant lives; Insignificant from the overwhelmingly large perspective of the universe. A person’s life may affect other people, his immediate environment, in very rare occasions mankind and our planet. But outside this picoscopic blue oasis the significance of their lives is nonexistent. The universe carries on unaware of our existence.

The believer’s desire is understandable, even skeptics wonder about these things. Shit! On some level we all seek some kind of validation to our existence. Subconsciously, I delude myself with the idea that I am special. However, I’m just another very curious self-aware human; One of many of our species; not exactly the same as the rest, but not very different. These false ideas help me emotionally tussle with failure, adverse circumstances. I delude myself with the prospect of an incredibly bright successful future to motivate myself, knowing full well many of my fantasies will not come true. I could fall ill and die. I could fall victim to some life altering event. A jagged frozen blue turd can fall off and airplane and land on my throat or I could just fail miserably. There is no destiny, no guarantees. The universe has no bias towards or against me. The only guarantee is that someday I will die.

It is normal for individuals to feel like they are destined to someday enjoy glory, wealth, happiness, success, peace, pleasure, a sense of fulfillment etc. These are delusions in contrast to statistical reality. Most people don’t become wealthy, glorious, and successful. Many die young, poor, under miserable conditions; work their entire lives earning meager livings with little satisfaction. Most don’t become what they dreamed they would grow up to be. Many achieve their goals, but the satisfaction is short lived or not as pleasurable as envisioned. Many, who were on the road to glory and success, living dream lives, die before their prime. But if we were to be so blatantly honest, realistic and pessimistic with ourselves I suppose we would all be overdosing on Percocet and Valium. There is plenty to be depressed about. A little Intentional self deception helps us deal with what would otherwise be overwhelming.

A very common example of this conjuration we play with ourselves occurs when a loved one passes away. To try and cope people sometimes say things like “He gone to a better place now”, “we will see her again when Jesus comes”, “I know I’ll see him in heaven” or “She is in heaven smiling down on us”. Yet our emotions defraud us and contradict our statements. We cry and grieve like we will never see them again. Deep down we are well aware death is an end and the likelihood of ever enjoying that person’s company again is nil. This is the reason why many religions, if not all, concern themselves with an afterlife. They help believers cope with the prospect of their own mortality.

So I wonder if religion is an expression of a somewhat necessary “brain generated delusion” that evolution has provided the human species. None the less, this particular expression of an otherwise useful evolutionary niche, is past its prime in many ways, and is retarding humanities progress.