Hermeneutic (Method of Interpretation)

* I use primary sources to derive theology or philosophy for a particular belief system

* I focus on what I see as the pure or original interpretation of the philosophy or theology

* I do not research current or past deviations of each major belief system

Practice and Bible Derived Reasoning

General Methods

* My method of ethical reasoning is derived from practical considerations.

* My method of theological reasoning comes from Biblical considerations.

* My method brings these perspectives to their logical conclusions.

* My theory is based on what the Bible says about theology and what helps influence a person do the right thing.

* I back track the way people should act according to the Bible and what the Bible says about God into a theory that is most consistent with these outcomes.

Applications according to Theory

* My theology, Towards a Philosophy of the Bible, mirrors what the Bible says about God and a solution to suffering that best answers this problem.

* My ethics, Still Theory, are based on a combination of the philosophies most consistent with the Bible and having the least major ethical dilemmas and answers postmodern questions about suffering and uncertainty.

* My psychology, Liberation Psychology/Theology, enables the person to be their own advocate and focuses on religion as a secondary approach to solving lingering problems with Schizophrenia, as the most effective practice is to take the medication.

* My aesthetics, Bible Model Aesthetics, works to solve practical issues like accessibility, morality, and quality from a Biblical perspective.

* My sociology/biology, Community through the Humanities, focuses on finding harmony with the groups of people we come into contact with in real world situations and applying ethics from Still Theory.

* My theory of education, Learning of the Heart, is based on the realities of life and how people can know what is right and wrong.

Contrasting Theories of Education

Learning of the Mind

* The establishment assumes that public education through high school prepares a person for the world

* The establishment assumes that everyone should be educated in the same manner

* The establishment assumes that they know best what the public needs to learn

* The establishment assumes that what they believe is right and wrong should be imposed on everyone else

* The establishment assumes that public education improves people's social status and morality

* The establishment assumes that with slight modifications, they will get radically different societies

Learning of the Heart

I believe that being prepared for the world is a combination of different things, which the public school system fails at all of them, including:

* understand how the establishment works, how to use it to improve one's life, and avoid it changing the individual or placing more limits than normal on the individual

* develop critical thinking skills and determine what is right and wrong by conscience

* develop a useful skill for financial support and independence

* I believe that different people should be taught different things

* I believe that people know what is right and wrong at birth

* I believe that the world's idea of right and wrong is contrary to God's

* I believe that people's social status is determined by who they know and what status their parents have and their morality is determined by personal choice

* I believe that in order to radically change society, we must make major changes

Unified Social Theory of Natural Science

* All creatures that feel pain should be kept from any unnecessary suffering

* The difference between humans and animals is a matter of degree

* Human beings are not defined by any distinct characteristics in the Bible

* The distinguishing factor between people and animals is a social construct

* People have social and physical power over animals and are responsible for their well being

* Flora should be treated with respect to their well being as well as fauna

* Water and cells should be carefully looked after as they are the building blocks of life

* The earth should be treated with the same respect as other life forms

* Preservation of life does not mean no harm is done

* Although animals and people may be perceived as the same, the human has a responsibility to look after the animal

* Not subjecting sentient beings to physical pain is just the beginning of a social ethic

* Humans should use their resources to actively advocate for the well being of all sentient beings

Conservative Curriculum

Some study to learn

What others have dreamed of

Some study to learn

What is popular

Some study to learn

The values of the past

Some study to learn

The traditions of their ancestors

Some study to learn

What they already believe

Some study to learn

What is well understood

Some study to learn

To be respected by others

Some study to learn

The path well traveled

Some study to learn

From a specific ideology

Some study to learn

From what others tell them

Some study to learn

To be opinion leaders

Some study to learn

To memorize information

Some study to learn

Rules others have made

Some study to learn

What is practical

Some study to learn

What is widely accepted

Some study to learn

What isn't controversial

Some study to learn

Without questioning

Liberal Arts

There are few colleges

Where you can create

Your own major

There are few colleges

That encourage you to think

There are few colleges

That care about

More than reputation

There are few colleges

That don't bend over backwards

For a few dollars in grants

There are few colleges

Who dare to have a vision

There a few colleges

Who don't depend on sports

For getting funding

And recruiting students

There are few colleges

Who are not indebted to

Government and big business

There are few colleges

Who control their own curriculum

There are few colleges

That challenge the status quo

There are few colleges

That prepare students

For unpredicted changes

In the future of society

There are few colleges

That take pride in

Creating controversy

On campus

There are few colleges

That spend as much

On human development

Than on Scientific research

College Football

America is a society

Oriented around sports

We believe that competition

Brings positive change

We believe that physical fitness

Is more important than education

We believe that winning

Is the most important method for change

We are aggressive in business and politics

We are not interested in the community

The leaders only care about

Their own status and wealth

Our young all believe

That they will play

American football for money

They either want to get money

For being famous

Or get a welfare check

Our athletes make millions of dollars

For running a ball across a line

The players feel tough

Because they run into each other

We think that being a man

Means memorizing sports statistics

We spend most our time

Talking about what teams win

And about our football team

We played on in high school

We believe that we peaked in college

And that the only thing important

Is whose team won the game

Lost Opportunities

How will we compete

When every one

Has a college degree?

Will we have to get doctorates

For a family wage job?

How are we to pay

For our education

When our families

Are too rich

To receive aid

But too poor

To afford to help?

Will anyones be rewarded

For a liberal arts degree?

The only degrees that pay

Are business and engineering

Is that what

We want to base

Our future on

Technology alone

With no room

For the arts or religion?

We only care about

What is the quickest way

To build things

Bigger, better, and faster

We have no culture

And no reason to create

We have no imagination

Or reason to live

Other than for

Getting drunk after work

Or losing ourselves

In virtual worlds

We are afraid

To confront reality

And solve real problems

We are told

The problems are too complex

And we need

To solve problems

Through politics and business

We don't have the creativity

Or the time and energy

To pursue positive change

Theology includes Philosophy

Everyone has a perspective

Everyone has opinions

There is nothing theological

That is not influenced by philosophy

We do not live in a vacuum

And ideas come from somewhere

There are no new philosophies

Just restatements done with less eloquence

There is no way to only study the Bible

We are only fooling ourselves

And no one else

We cannot distance ourselves

From our own foolishness

We are corrupt to the core

It is not possible to read the Bible

Without prejudice and without feelings

The Bible is not meant to be

A list of rules or a systematic theology

Don't you think there is a reason

That there are so many views on

Every branch of theology?

The Bible is not meant to be interpreted

The same by the entire church

The Bible is not about a set theology

No one will ever uncover

The full philosophy of the Bible

The greatest theologians

Have only scratched the surface

And were wrong more times

Than they were right

Verses don't mean just one thing

The Bible should not

Be read in any set order

Verses should not stand alone

There are no hidden meanings

But few meanings have been found

There is more to a single phrase

Than can be understood

By the human mind in all eternity

And the Bible is only one small part

Of who God is

To say we were only influenced by the Bible

Or that we believe what the Bible says

Does not adequately explain our beliefs

We have presuppositions and experiences

But these aren't necessarily stumbling blocks

Feelings are great and mental exercises are of use

But we need to reflect on our background

Or we will be repeating the mistakes

Of even the greatest of theologians

It is ok to not be right on even the main points

To disagree creates a healthy diversity

The church does not need core beliefs

Our doctrines only hold us back

There is more to life than theology

And there is more to the Bible

Than your statements of faith

Honesty

When you make claims

Which you use Scripture

To support your position

It is not honest

When you don't state

Your intentions up front

And explain your background

We are not merely spiritual beings

We are not just vessels

Of God's will

We have our own

Hopes, desires, and dreams

We are not pure spirits

With empty minds

There is a psychology

To religious beliefs

Ideas don't come

Out of a vacuum

We cannot wall ourselves

Off from unbelievers

We cannot understand

Our culture expect by

Reading books

Besides the Bible

Our minds are sponges

And we absorb ideas

From places we are

Often unaware

This is the use of

The study of philosophy

We get impressions

From many venues

We just assume

They are all from the Bible

Just because we are Christians

What we come up with

Is not independent

Of our culture and history

Ideas influence us

In subtle and surprising ways

We do not need to read a book

To be influenced by capitalism

Or to evaluate atheism

We are part of a larger

Ecosystem of dialogue

Great thinkers build

On what others have said

Christian and otherwise

Great theologians study philosophy

Some of the greatest philosophers

Were trained as theologians first

The early church adopted

Many ideas from Greek paganism

There is no way to be purely Christian

Without affection and sympathies

Freedom of Choice

Scripture is not meant

To be understood intellectually

Nor by our feelings alone

Although Scripture ministers

To all areas of our person

We should keep our focus

On the heart and the will

It is good to have diversity

Especially in opinion and perspective

The Bible is not meant

To be interpreted in just one way

We don't need an entire denomination

To be in agreement on any doctrine

Don't you think there is a reason

Why no one can agree

Or that theologians were interested

In such different topics

Throughout divergent eras?

The more widespread the views

The harder it is to see a pattern

God deliberately designed the Bible

To be poetic instead of legalistic

God could have just written

A list of rules and left it at that

We could just turn off our brains entirely

But that is not God's nature

He wants us to make rational decisions

And for different people

To go into different directions

And to see the Bible from different views

We have to realize that God speaks

To our entire person

That God is spirit and flesh

Christianity is not meant to be an organization

Or to have a rigid structure

Even the Bible explains salvation

Differently every time

All believers will enter Heaven by grace

But each will do it in a different way

What is Rational?

W hat is the definition of rational?

Believing that man is the highest good

Or that his intellect can grasp everything

Do you think you can disprove God

By quoting a famous atheist?

You win an argument

But just show your own limitations

And your own weak intellect

Not everything is meant to be

Analyzed in the Scientific method

What cannot be disproved

Is greater than that which can be proven

Guess and check can only go so far

And scientists are as bigoted

And resistant to change and new ideas

Than as are any other bureaucrats

The ideas of Science may have

At one time been an area for non-comformists

But it is no longer

Everyone believes in Science

And that is a great weakness

The masses can be convinced of anything

Scientists fail to realize

That it was their community that

Made a fool of Galileo

The first scientist was a smart ass

When your belief system

Can only understand matter-energy

Aren't you smart enough

To realize that it cannot explain

Anything important

It is not wrong to have a theory

To explain something

But when you use it as an excuse

To hide from spiritual realities

Who is the greater fool?

It doesn't matter how good you are at debate

Or how many facts you have on your side

Some things just don't make sense

Just because the entire Scientific establishment

Believes in one thing, the masses think it is true

No matter how many times

Society confuses facts with truth

The number of believers is growing worldwide

It is interesting that those who think

They are so enlightened

As to be better informed than God

And think that they are the enemy of the establishment

That their ideas resonate best with

The people who create the problems

They are trying to fix

If the same system that said the world is flat

Now even admits they cannot observe

95% of the mass of the universe

Why should I believe them about evolution?

For a community that shuns innovators

And anything unusual or different

And is mainly motivated by prestige

Why would I believe anything

They print in numbers

And collect evidence for?

If scientists would study other philosophies

They would start to realize that the world

Is much bigger than Science

And that the real problems in life

Are not going to be solved by more technology

That we are never going to resolve

The true cause of suffering through education

That the innovation that will bring solutions

Is something that was written down 2,000 years ago

That the most unusual ideas were some of the oldest

That we are just re-inventing what China

Designed thousands of years ago

Without the Scientific method

If the Chinese were not smart enough

To keep the empire going

How are we going to be able to survive

A few more generations of Science?

One of the big problems with Science

Is it has no ethical foundation

Just as you cannot add security onto technology

Not designed with a firm foundation

Ethics are not just an add on

People do not become ethical by

Attending a one semester course

Or even after earning a Ph.D. in philosophy

It is not that we do not know enough

To do find a solution to our problems

But that we need a way to stop

Ourselves from creating more problems

Self control is the key to our survival

But the solution is not an invention

But supernatural intervention

Where Blame is Due

If Christianity is to blame for everything

People claim it is

Then why is there so much more evil

Done by countries which are primarily atheist?

Before jumping on the bandwagon

And blaming every problem on Christianity

People should actually read what the Bible says

The Bible never says it is ok to mistreat animals

Augustine and Thomas Aquinas hated animals

But their theology is based more on Greek paganism

Than it is on any possible interpretation

Of the Bible come up with by the biggest idiot

The Bible holds humans responsible for taking care

Of the entire ecosystem

Not only are we responsible for what we have done

But we must correct any problems no matter

How they were caused

Unlike what the religious wrong say

The Bible states very clearly in several places

That there is no distinction between man and woman

Or peoples of any race or any other background

Contrary to popular belief, the Bible noes not say

That corporations should control the government

Or that the wealthy got that way because

They were following God's laws

The Bible says over and over and gives many examples

Of moral people who loved God and suffered terribly

Many times exactly because of it

Contrary to popular belief, claiming to be born again

Does not get you to Heaven according to the Bible

You have to humble yourself before God

And believe you are equal to your fellow man

Before you can be saved

According to the Bible, environmental destruction

And stealing from people's retirements are sins

And are greater than that of committing adultery one time

Unlike what many people think

The Bible does not tell you everything to do

And is designed for there to be different interpretations

Of many ideas in theology

Similar to Taoism, the theology of the Bible is no-dualistic

Even though many Christians treat Paul's letters

Like analytical arguments, they are really mystical

Unlike what many Christians believe

The Bible encourages study of other religions and

Being intellectual by Paul's example alone

The religious ideas the Bible disparages come from

Occult religions like Greek Paganism

Which has been synchronized with Christianity

By Augustine and Thomas Aquinas

God and Country

The religious wrong have long believed

That America was a Christian nation

What America really was and this includes

The religious wrong

Is founded on the idea of

Not wanting to pay taxes

The founding fathers were anarchists

So to follow in their foot steps

Would be to overthrow the current government

The United States has always been

An aggressive and violent nation

Something we inherited from the English

We thought we were better than

The rest of the world

It was our duty to spread our power

No matter what the cost

Following in the footsteps of the English

We held people as slaves even though

We claimed to be a democracy

We used biological weapons on the

Native Americans and dishonored treaties

These are not things a Christian nation would do

They do not honor God

And they do not promote human dignity

Now the religious wrong want us to protect

Humans that are not even born

But thinks it is ok to torture baby animals

In their use for food and experiments

Both of which are unnecessary

They believe that monopolies/dictatorships are good

And that our bill of rights is unimportant

They are against giving to charities

They instead want to tax the poor

And give it to the rich to make bigger weapons with

They are using a couple of attacks worldwide

As an excuse to invade another nation

When it had no intention of attacking anyone

So our dictator could settle an old score

The American House of Bush

Loves to redefine worlds until they have no meaning

They have over written every law against pollution

So a couple rich white men can get even richer

He has held teachers responsible for how

Prepared the kids are for school without

Factoring in different socioeconomic conditions

Which will ultimately destroy the school system

After doing all this our dictator has the audacity

To claim he is a born again Christian

There is absolutely nothing Christian

About the way this creep acts

Medieval Morality

Enlightenment writers love to denigrate

The European Medieval period

By referring to it as the Dark Ages

Because they hated God so much

And they were enamored by material wealth

And advanced technology used in warfare

They blamed all their problems on God

Modern authors refer to the time

As being backwards and violent

What they really hate is that it was

A relative time of material poverty for Europe

After the fall of the Roman Empire

The entirety of Europe struggled to survive

But people don't see the bright side

Without the wealth to destroy others

And depending on the harvest for their food

People began to rely upon God

And had respect for God and nature

People still had evil in their hearts

But the scale of destruction was

Exponentially less than in "enlightened times"

In fact, although historians love to blame

Christianity for the big wars of the next 500 years

The Church was losing more and more power

As things began to be more and more violent

People saw Science as a way they could

One up God and avoid those inconvenient

Sexual and financial morals

See the main problem with Science is

That it has no formal ethics as part

Of its system of discovery

The superiority of philosophy

Is that it has an ethics

The superiority of religion

Is that is also has a reason

The superiority of Christianity

Is that is also gives a way

A Matter of Faith

Many people believe

That evolution should be

Accepted because

Most scientists believe it

They say it should just be

A matter of evidence

I believe it as a matter of faith

First of all, Science did not

Just arrive out of nowhere

And was not always

The way everything was decided

Neither are we more advanced

For relying on it for everything

Science was invented and came out

Of a particular western philosophical

School called the Enlightenment

Contrary to popular belief

Most technologies of the modern world

Were not invented by Europeans or

By their precious Science

They were dreamed up and produced

First by the Chinese

In fact, the Industrial Revolution

Came about from our discovery

Of Chinese technologies

Invented hundreds or even thousands

Of years earlier

There are many other methods

Of discovery and verification

Jainism has a number all by itself

The five senses, testimony, ESP,

telepathy, and an all knowing ascended being

Mystics have a number as well

Faith, intuition, and prophetic visions

Most schools of Hinduism

Verify knowledge by

Perception, inference, comparison, and testimony

So we see that Science is only

One school out of many

In the panorama of philosophy

Even if I would be convinced

If provided the evidence

In the Scientific form

It would not be possible

For me to accept evolution

Except by blind faith

Because it requires a Ph.D.

In Science to have the background

To make an informed position

Otherwise it is just oversimplified

And I have seen this done

In philosophy and religion

So I would only trust my own

Research into the theory of evolution

Circular Argument

Most people believe anything

Someone with a Scientific education says

How do they prove things?

By facts, of course

How have they proven

That facts are truth?

Because that is Scientific

Facts determine details about

Specific events and measurements

But how does one prove Love?

How does one disprove it?

Many people believe if there

Are no facts for proving something

Than it must not be true

But facts are less important

Than things determined by faith

Things determined by experience

Things determined by reflection

Things determined by immersion

In a particular field of work

Things determined by scripture

Things determined by miraculous

Answers to prayer

If there is nothing to prove

That facts are true

Other than a circular argument

Then why do we base our society

On this shaky ground

And why do we force

This viewpoint on young children?

Our world is getting worse and worse

The more we use facts

To determine policy and direction

Shouldn't we base our ideas

By what works and what doesn't

In the real world

With cold, hard truth

Not by just flimsy facts

After all, it's not like it's hard

To present lies as facts

Only One Answer

There are few things in life

That only have one answer

This is one of the things

People like so much about Science

But this a false premise

As Science is only one way

Of discovery

And is only applicable

To one way of thinking

Coming from the culture of

One part of the world

Having multiple answers

Is the great thing about art,

Philosophy, and religion

The humanities are the only

Fields that treat other cultures

With dignity and respect

They are the only ones

That explain what being

Sentient is like

They answer the most

Important questions

Better because they can

Have multiple answers

Most things in life are paradoxes

Which aren't very compatible

With Science and math

How can you reduce

Most fundamental problems

Down to one solution?

How can you explain

Feelings in numbers and attributes?

How do you express mystery

With a system that is designed

To explain everything?

Ever wonder why economists

Can't predict the future

With mathematical models

Or why it is so hard to

Communicate with psychologists?

Ever wonder why scientists

Are surprised when they

Discover animals are sentient

Or can have mental disorders?

We have an ancient heritage

Of wisdom and understanding

That is aware of things

Science can only dream of

To rely on a system that

Ignores questions of the spirit

Or things that cannot be tested

Under controlled conditions

To guide society into a better world

Shows that our world no longer

Values the truth and is only looking

For easy solutions and doesn't care

About how bad the consequences are

Philosophy of Life and Death

Many Christians see salvation as an end and not just a beginning. They absolve themselves of doing any help in the world, because they see the world as corrupt and take the easy answer of letting the world fall apart. They look knowingly at each other and think they are so much better, because they are saved.

This is based on the theology of saved by faith alone, but it is not consistent, even within its own system. If God saved us, because we repent of our sins, then why do we think we are better than others? We are all equally bad and God's criteria for reaching out to us is just that we humble ourselves before God and consider ourselves equal to unbelievers. If we can't even do that, how can we consider ourselves to be born again or followers of Christ?

If Christ, who is God Himself, did not even consider Himself equal to God and submitted Himself to the authority of men, then where do we get off thinking that we are better than unbelievers. Often, theologians compare Christ's descent to being human as equivalent to us descending to being a bug, but this is a gross exaggeration of our worth and gross simplification of God's glory above man. Christ being born as a human is more equivalent to use giving up our existence permanently.

God is not limited by any thing and He is so far above us that we amount to a grand total of zero in comparison to God. It is a miracle that any of us is actually saved and the effort is almost entirely on God's side. It is not that our submission to God means anything, but just a rightful understanding of our place in the universe; it is the grace of God that does the work.

It is important that we make a choice, to submit ourselves before God, but this is just the beginning of the path. Just because we can't get beyond grace, salvation, and faith, does not mean that we do not make the effort to grow. Just because the world is going to end soon is no reason to let everybody suffer, without attempting any way, to help reduce the suffering.

The majority of the Bible tells about how we should live our lives, while on earth. If we really want mass conversions to the Christianity of the Bible, we are going to have to show unbelievers that we truly value life.

For a person to choose a philosophy of death and to totally give up on improving the world is a defeatist mentality. How can we expect to have victory in Christ if it doesn't start by reaching out to our own communities in Christ reflected love?

Future World Religion Trends

By the year 2050, the term White Christian will be an oxymoron. If you take into account the actual faithfulness of people calling themselves Christian, the Christian world has already shifted to the Southern Hemisphere. In many of the countries throughout the world, they are not as honest at doing statistics as in the United States, where predominantly Muslim countries are going to severely undercount the number of Christians and the same will happen in the predominantly Hindu country of India.

Europe had not entirely converted to Christianity until the 14th century and there were more Christians in Asia than in Europe, until the years 1000. Most of the reduction of Christians in the Middle East happened in the late 19th and 20th century. The first big reduction of Christians in the Middle East came, after they supported the Mongol Empire. The conversion of non-Muslims to Islam was largely brought about by the missionary efforts of the Sufis. 10 percent of the populations of Egypt and Syria are still Christian. Islam is now experiencing a major fundamentalist revival and many more nations are going to be governed under Islamic law.

Many of the most populous African nations have a mixture of Christians and Muslims and there is not the same idea of separation between church and state in Africa than there is as in the West. When a predominantly Christian nation, with a large Muslim minority, declares itself to be a Christian nation or the exact opposite situation occurs, we are going continue to have major wars in Africa. And now we have nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons on the open black market.

At the same time, Europe is going to have more and more immigrants from Africa, for there to be enough labor pool to keep Europe's economy going. America is going to continue to have a strong Christian minority, reinforced from a strong influx of Christian immigrants from all over the world, especially Latin America. The Pentecostal movement is very strong in Latin America. Europe and the United States are going to be dependent on oil for a long time and this will dramatically affect our alliances. We will continue to be afraid of angering the Muslim nations and will continue to bend over backwards, to keep our supply of oil coming.

Some of the biggest world religions by 2050 will be Pentecostalism, Catholicism and Islam, just counting in the population increase and not on any new converts. Buddhism, which not long ago had 20 percent of the population of Asia, now has shrunk to 5 percent, due to the spread of Communism in traditionally Buddhist countries. Whenever China allows more freedom of religion, it will not be surprising if we find out 10 percent of China is Christian already, even under extreme persecution.

The Christian South tends to be: much more conservative in sexual morality, supernaturally and community oriented, and by all evidence much more biblically based. The most popular book in the Bible in Christian Africa is Revelations. Much of this is due to cultural backgrounds of those in the Southern hemisphere, where: they are coming from animist religions and are in extreme poverty, they experience persecution regularly and have large refugee populations, all of which reinforce the relevance of the Biblical narrative of God's work with Israel, in the Law and in the Prophets.

The Case for Liberal Christianity

If we follow the example of the early Church, as recorded in Acts, we see the early Christians as members of a ideal collective community like an Ashram, Kibbutz, or Monastery. If we follow Jesus example, we would carry out the Gospel, while doing good works, especially in service of those rejected by society. Convincing people to be born again was originally linked with helping out those in need in practical situations. Christianity is inherently liberal in its social aspects.

Now we see famous people, like the American president claim that they are born again Christians, the word Christianity loses all meaning. Voting conservative counters all the money sent to help starving people in Africa. Conservatives (in other word, people following atheistic convictions) voting either Republican or the very similar Democrat, in the United States, just perpetuate the establishment, which is referred to in the Bible as the world and Christ told us to be no part of. In fact, Jesus was most critical of the equivalent of the Church establishment, which at that time was in the form of the Jewish establishment - these are the people referred to as the Pharisees and Saducees.

Although I believe that Christianity is socially liberal, I hold to what the Bible says on salvation and eternity. I see helping others out who are in need, as another note in the same song on the same instrument.

I believe that our American society is pluralistic and that holding people to Biblical standards who aren't born again doesn't make any sense, if you believe in eternal salvation and a literal interpretation of the miraculous of the Bible. The Bible is not about a set of rules, but about a relationship with God. According to Jesus, following the Ten Commandments alone not only doesn't get you to Heaven, but is impossible. And according to Paul, the only way we can keep from sin is by the direct divine intervention of our savior, Christ.

Not only is it non-sensical to expect people to follow the laws of the Bible, without becoming born again first, it actually goes against an orthodox interpretation of the Bible. Furthermore, if I had the choice of living in an idealistic society with conservative "Christians" as leaders and live in a predominantly atheistic society, I would definitely choose the later. The only kind of Christian dominated society I would want to live under would be directly under the authority of Christ, in the flesh.

The thing on the mind of most conservatives to change about society is to persecute or severely limit the rights of people who are homosexual. Although I believe that homosexuality is a sin, I believe divorce is also, but I don't see many conservatives giving up sexual relations with their previously divorced spouse. And these are the same kinds of people with the same reasons for discriminating against people of color and women in previous generations.

Instead of targeting people, because I don't agree with their values, I seek to help those out who society has rejected. The most rejected by society are animals. Cute little furry animals are kept as prisoners and tortured, so that the chemical and meat industries can collect more cash from unsafe products. Their habitat is destroyed all over the world, in a senseless rush to use up all the world's potentially renewable resources in a couple generations. Also, prisoners are discriminated against. We often see them as the enemy in our society, but we all have sinned and are to forgive our neighbors. So we should help people who have made mistakes to get back a productive place in society and find a way to keep from getting sent back to jail.

Technology

One of the things that has really complicated life is the increased complexity in software, games, phones, mainly centered around the Internet.

I remember when I first used a computer, the main difference between using the computer for word processing rather than by hand or on a type writer was the ability to cut and paste. When you make the jump from producing for print, to producing for the web or email, the complexity increases at an exponential rate. Things like structured documents and file size matter much less, when you are not moving documents around primarily in an electronic format.

I think the problem is, that things are advancing so fast that we are not able to adjust our society, in a useful way. Criminals, people in the sex industry, and the military understand technology well and make good use of it. But for the average person, just understanding what the main features are, or even what the feature descriptions mean the software does is overwhelming, even for as simple a thing as a word processor, even for me.

I was reading about 2 things over the last several weeks, that sound like very useful technologies, one quite old and the other not even ready for use yet. One is Web 3.0 or the Semantic Web and the other is the RISC OS operating system.

The RISC OS is a operating system first made by the BBC and comes from the United Kingdom (also known as Great Britain). It is not well known anywhere, especially in the United States, but this system is easier to use and more suited to desktop publishing than the latest Mac. It is relatively expensive and is not compatible with many things, but it makes up for this in its well thought out design.

The Semantic Web is a way of getting computers to understand human language better, by making the information smarter. This means giving extra information for the computer, along with the writing designed to be read by humans. This is built on what is called an ontology, or system of knowledge, where the computer is shown how words are related. This is a very simple level of complexity for the computer to handle, but should make things easier for us. For example, when you search for pizza, the computer doesn't understand that Italian food is related to pizza, so if you search for pizza places, it is not going to list the Italian restaurant.

This is a great idea, but the problem is who gets to decide which ontology to use. What if the ontology said that Jesus Christ is the same as Buddha or Allah?

As our jobs become more and more directly associated with computers, we socialize mainly with computers, and we get entertainment mainly with computers, the less culture we will have. Art created based on watching people type into computers is not a interesting subject for most artists. When I was a kid, if someone could use a computer on a TV show, they were a nerd and specialist and they were only used, as one of many skills. Now on TV shows, almost everyone uses a computer and the computer specialists know a tremendous level of background knowledge and skill, in almost every area of computers.

Human Relationships

Over the last 20 years, the family and other social interactions have changed rapidly and are quite different then they were even a few years ago.

When I was a kid, no one was talking about Gay rights or discrimination against homosexuals. I never thought of the idea of same-sex marriages. There were no actors playing gay main characters on any of the TV shows I watched. Now we have numerous shows where men even kiss on TV and everyone has an opinion on gay marriage.

International relations were different when I was younger. We didn't worry much about terrorism in America and Russia was our main enemy. Russia was falling apart and so we were entering a time of peace without there being any conceivable future threats. When the first Gulf War happened it was fought in a few days.

When I went to school, my parents supported the teachers and we followed the principals rules. Today, parents can get the schools to do anything they want them to by threatening to sue. When I went to school, we didn't know of anyone who was an illegal immigrant. I did not know of anyone on paid school staff who did translating. When we learned about history, it was just about American history and a little history of England. When I went to school, we didn't have any after school programs. But we had numerous sports to choose from.

On sitcoms today, the relationships are totally different. We see the mothers as the leaders of the family, and the dads act like kids. The kids are seen as equal partners in decision making. The parents have the same amount of maturity as their kids. Sex is commonly talked about and the women don't want to get married any more than the men. Women are as interested in the way the guy looks, as the kind of job he has.

Hard Work

My neighbor says

He wants a website

You do websites?

What is it for?

To sell things

I am not your man

I know how to write

How to design

How to think

How to create

How the technology works

I have 9 years of experience

And am hard working

I can do it for free

By I don't know how

To convince people

To buy something

It is a common misconception

That people are poor

Because they are lazy

In America we equate

Hard work with money

But their are millions

Who would beg to differ

Proverbs says we should

Work hard

But God never promises

To make us rich

Even if we follow

All His commandments

If godliness equated money

Or money was to be valued

Then Jesus would have been rich

Paul was poor and in prison

And he was happier then

Than any time of his life

Solomon was rich but depressed

When he had the wealth

Of the entire world

He wrote the most

Nihilistic book of the Bible

American Philosophy

You thought philosophy

Was the love of knowledge

But why does it matter

If it can't make you rich?

If working 40 hours a week

Gives you enough money

To live on

Then working 80 hours a week

Will give you money to invest

If you invest all that money

You will be rich

And then you can start

Your own business

So you can be a proprietor

Then you can sell

Your business

To make more money

Don't worry about

Studying the classics

It only matters

If you have money

The more money you have

The more you can make

The more time you spend

The more money you make

This is all you need to know

The rest is luck and marketing

What else is there to life?

Faith and Work

You are a technical writer

Your job is to write

About new technology

Your audience is affluent

You publish for your advertisers

You publish facts

But they seem to always

Be in favor of whoever

Pays you the most money

When you are discovered

You lash out angrily

With weakly worded insults

You get angry comments

You lose more readers

Do you think

You did something wrong?

Was that you at church

On Sunday

In the front row?

Was it you who ranted on

About those liberal rascals

In the church parking lot?

Do you think you were

Acting Christian?

What has that

Got to do with it?

Bad Monk

He wears a coarse robe

Of brown burlap

His head is shaved

And he is silent

He works in the fields

In the heat of the day

He picks oranges

Atop high ladders

And makes marmalade

The following morning

To give to the

Orphans and widows

To bring a smile

To their little faces

He kneels down

For the midnight prayers

This is how he spends

Most of his days

What a waste

He could be pulling

A 6 figure salary

As a professional gambler

If he would just

Jump the border

And steal someone's identity

No questions would be asked

He would only be taking

A job Americans

Are unwilling to do

Religion of Isolation

God loves me

And my family

He doesn't like you

He chose to save me

No matter what I do

I am one of the few

Who get to go

To Heaven

God didn't choose you

So you got to Hell

I cannot explain

Why God makes

Those decisions

But we have no right

To contest it

I don't have to care

That all my friends

And coworkers

Are unbelievers

I believe they

Have been specifically

Chosen to suffer

For all eternity

It is all set in stone

And it doesn't matter

How you or I act

You are one of those

Who haven't been chosen

I will not associate with you

Because I am better

We have exclusive clubs

And we make more money

Our kids will be

Your kids bosses

God has blessed us

For His reasons

We have enough members

We are not interested

In your salvation

We will try to punish you

By creating laws

That are based on our

Odd view of life

We think everyone

Should follow our beliefs

No matter if they believe

Or not

Worldly

The whole world

Is Going to Hell

Except the members

Of my church

If you don't believe

Just like us

In our warped

View of Scripture

There is no hope

For you

Those who are

Not among us

Die their hair

Bright colors

They paint their fingernails

All solid black

They have piercing

And they have tattoos

They read Harry Potter

And listen to

Liberal radio broadcasts

And non Christian music

They have parties

And watch movies

They watch TV

And use the Internet

They drink alcohol

Outside of communion

No on like that

Would dare come to

Our church

Who Can Help Themselves

God will only help you

If you can help yourself

You are only saved

If you are rich

God always blesses you

In a purely financial way

Christian charity

Means having a job

That pays lot of money

If you can do this

By your own skills

Then God will help you

God looks down on

Those who are lazy

Who we can determine

By those who make

Only a little money

Money follows grace

The point of following

All of God's commands

Is to get rich

If you weren't gaining anything

Then why would you

Go to all the effort

Of going to church

And raising money

To send your kids

To camp in the summer?

Un American

Conservatives say that

It is un American

To challenge the power

Of multinational corporations

But how American

Are these companies?

They don't pay any taxes

To the American government

They don't employ US workers

They are invested in by

Unstable dictatorships

Countries in the Middle East

Their bank accounts are in

Offshore islands

Or Swiss banks

Democracy vs. Capitalism

Our enemy during the cold war

Was communism

And millions died for this cause

But what were we fighting for?

Democracy isn't the opposite of communism

Anymore than medicine

Is the opposite of sociology

How could people be against communism?

A more equitable distribution of wealth

Should fit in comfortably

In a country with a distribution of power

What we were really fighting was dictatorship

But we supported other dictators

The only thing that differentiated

Our "communist" enemies from

Our dictator friends

Was who would open their markets

Their raw materials and cheap labor

To multi-national corporations

To sap every drop of possible profit from

The reality is that no one has ever

Or would ever give up power willingly

The only reason why we can speak freely

In America is because our souls

Are bought and paid for in full

The only way the government would allow

Government that is voted in office

Is if they had absolute control over the media

We can say whatever we want in America

So long as no one hears it or doesn't act on it

Freedom and Terror

We are afraid of being attacked without warning

We lost 3,000 of our people

Those in the Middle East are tired of being victims

Of American violence

We have killed off hundreds of thousands of them

And we are fighting the wrong nation

It is just like how the police in America

Don't bother to solve crimes

But rather find the nearest person of color

To be a scapegoat to appease the grieving

Who is really a threat to who?

A few thousand poor people

With improvised weapons living in tents

Or the most wealthy nation in the world

Which has the capability to fight the entire

Rest of the world together and win

We spend more in a day on war

Than our entire annual budget for education

The president thinks it is a waste of money

To offer free medical care for the poor

But keeps on donating money to the rich

Who have drove their companies into the ground

We spend more on software

That we could get a better version for free

Than the annual salary of the person

Operating the computer

In a third world country

Our kids take drugs to escape from reality

And that finances the Middle Eastern terrorists

We invade their country but won't

Destroy the crops that it comes from

For fear of alienating ourselves from the locals

There is an easy solution

It is against the religious beliefs of those

Who are growing the drugs to continue with it

So all we need to do is guarantee them the same money

From selling something that is not a drug

But our government is really afraid of

Alienating the multi-national corporations

That got the government elected

More than Bread

Man does not live on bread alone

What is best for man

Is not limited to what is best

For his taste-buds

And for his sensual enjoyment

A person has more needs

Than food clothing and shelter

Man needs a good relationship

With God with other people

And with the animals and plants

And his entire ecosystem

Which is primarily spiritual

What we see is not all there is

What we can sense is not eternal

Satisfying our feelings

And maintaining physical health

Is not the entire picture

People have hearts and souls

They need to help others

They need to give of themselves

This may not be a balanced accounting

In the realm of money

But the heart and the soul

Have needs as well

What the body craves can actually

Destroy the mind

What the mind craves can

Destroy the heart

We need to know there is more

To life than eating and sleeping

What we need to be satisfied

Is in the giving of ourselves

To our Heavenly Father first

In humility and reverence

And to those who are in need

Who are physically, emotionally, or spiritually

Hungry and malnourished

We need to sacrifice our own needs

So that we both may live better lives

It is bad to be a slave to work

But it is worse to be a slave to your belly

This is the problem

With solutions to problems

That are only economic

This is why communism and capitalism

Both fail at improving lives

Like treating medical problems

Without awareness of the patients minds

Does not guarantee good health

It does not matter how much money

You have or how protected you are

If you cannot make the lives

Of anyone else better

Than how can you call yourself human?

Even animals help other animals in need

Even plants provide for life

Giving of themselves

And returning the resources back

When they part with life

The point of a business is to make money

At least theoretically

And a corporation only has a responsibility

To its shareholders

There is nothing to be gained

By society as a whole

Even if the business advances technology

Or extends our lives

Because it is doing it at the cost

Of other people and animal's welfare

To live happy and fulfilling lives

We do not need cell phones

Or computer games

Having a more powerful military

Does not guarantee we will win wars

Having the best education system

Does not mean there will be no crime

Immunizing people against diseases

Does not guarantee a long life

Man does not live on bread alone

Conscience

Some people say we need

Objective standards to live by

So that we can all agree

On what is right and wrong

We make all these turns of logic

And people are then

Afraid to make choices

Or more likely turned off by

Ethics in particular

Or philosophy in general

We do not need to understand

The phenomenology of Hegel

To know what is right

Is it surprising that basic laws

Are similar across belief systems

And that people still find

The Bible is relevant to them?

Is it a wonder that atheists

Are much more likely

To be afraid of death?

There are absolutes

And this does not mean

That we can be objective

But rather that the Creator

Of the multi-verses

Actually exists

That we are responsible

For our own actions

Whether or not we claim

We didn't understand

Do businessman really

Believe if being honest

That killing off an entire species

Or leveling an entire forest

Or experimenting on animals

Or wiping out an entire civilization

Is not wrong?

People lie and rationalize

God doesn't

Logic and Religion

Why do we need rules?

Why can we just live

By doing what helps ourselves?

How do we define

What helps ourselves?

Is there no such thing as generosity?

Do we think that all our desires

Could be satisfied on our own?

Could we have a society

Where everyone did whatever

Gained him the most

And ignored the spiritual dimension?

Spiritual forces are at play

And are involved in every thought

And action we make

Denying that there is a God

Does not make it so

And getting rid of religion

Because some people abused it

Does not solve the real problem

The real problem is that

When we seek to satisfy

Our own desires

And do not keep our focus on God

And on those in need

Our desires escalate

First, we are fed with bread

Then, all we want is cake

Then all we want to have is a job

Then all we want is to be middle class

Then all we want is a car

Then all we want is a house

Then all we want is a wife

Then all we want is a family

But seeking all these

For the benefit of just yourself

Adds up to a very sad world

That no one would want to live in

Do you ever wonder what

Car companies would do

If wheel technology was patented?

How would we communicate

If the English language was copyrighted?

What if libraries were illegal?

How could people afford to do research?

What if we didn't have free education?

What if there were no scholarships?

The point is that even the universe

Did not come out of a vacuum

We are all interrelated to each other

And we all have had help

No one is a self made man

Businesses get more government money

Than those on welfare

We need to see to our whole

Community and its welfare

If we are to live in peace with each other

On Marx and Engels

Communism has failed

And yet it has never actually been tried

We associate freedom

With domination by monopolies

And morality with corruption

The whole world is oriented

Around how to make a few people

Even richer than they are now

The only developments we see

Are first applied to warfare

Or they receive no funds

We want to minimize our losses

But if they are not Americans

We don't care how many suffer

Even those who are our allies

Unless they are white

We are only limited in

The deployment of violence

By our fear of retaliation

But that is not great

In a world we dominate

In every sense of the word

We can afford to launch

Preventative wars against countries

Who are driven by morality

Just because we have no values

We think freedom is about money

And the only sin is enjoying sex

We think that people's behavior

In their bedrooms

Is more important than what

Others do in boardrooms

We think we are so different

Than our greatest enemies

But we really see life the same way

They only hate us because we are rich

And we only persecute them

Because we use different vocabulary

Giving money to those in need

Is considered corruption

And our only values

Are about saving money

Because their may be inefficiency

In the government running welfare

We get rid of it entirely

There is less and less of a middle class

And people only think they are

Because they keep changing

The meaning of the word

We are continuing to get poorer

More in spirit than money

But we keep on voting

For those who created our problems

The word liberal is so vilified

That the average American

Thinks the poor should be punished

We keep on taxing alcohol and tobacco

With no restraint

And no one speaks out for the poor

But even our poor

Are rich by the world's standards

But no one considers Africa

Or anywhere there isn't oil

We only treat those in the

Middle East as people

To the extent that we

Are addicted to oil

We know we are running out

But it is considered un-American

To use alternatives or to conserve

American values consumerism

Most our economy is based on spending

The only thing our government

Asks of us is to get ourselves into debt

For things we don't need

Or even care much about

The ideas of Marx and Engels

Are very much alive

Their solution would never work

But their statement of the problem

Is as relevant today as when

They first wrote it

The difference is that the proletariat

Is in the Third World

But anyone who isn't white

We really have no time for

Marxism is Defeated

We have long since defeated

What we call communism

And yet we still think it alive

And fear it alone

Basically we equate any idea

Of justice or peace

As a ruse to a dictatorship

The only people we trust

Are the cowards that send

Our children to war

And spend their time in office

Finding ways to make themselves richer

With no thought as to the consequences

We think that war means peace

And that evil is good

We claim to be a Christian nation

And yet our values

Are whatever makes the most money

We don't care if the corporations

Control the government

We call this democracy

And claim that is what we fight for

But the only people that win

Are those supplying the weapons

Our heads of state are capitalists

And the only thing that motivates them

Is the interests of those with

The most money

Because they never spend any of it

But on charities that get them more money

They are considered good and moral

We think that every rich man

Got his wealth by his work alone

And the only way God blesses us

Is by making us materially rich

Christ would be a liberal

And that makes Christians mad

Because that means they are in the wrong

They are too busy persecuting

Those who look Middle Eastern to them

Than to think about compassion or humility

They see Christ as a conqueror

Basically Rome is their God

They only pray to God

Because they think that will help them

Win more wars

Like a superstition they pick and choose

Obscure references and equate them

With invented meanings

They are right on every detail

Of every subtlety of cultural meaning

And yet miss the main ideas

Buddhists Missionaries

Coming off ships

Brimming with canons

Loaded with gold

And human slaves

Along the Swahili coast

We have a new religion

Coming to Africa

From the Chinese

Buddhism is spreading

Westward into the jungles

Of central Africa

Buddhism wasn't very popular

At first until we were

Allowed to keep

Our old religions

We said we were happy

With our own gods

And didn't need theirs

But they told us

If we didn't follow them

We would come back again

As a monkey

Or end up this life

In a crate headed for China

To work the rice fields

We were told how compassionate

This guy called Buddha was

We asked why they didn't

Feed the hungry locals

They said we had to give up

Everything and be a monk

Most of us signed up

As we had nothing

Until we found out

We had to beg for food

Buddhism didn't sound like

Much of an improvement

Buddhism sounded like

A religion for the wealthy

The Chinese government

Said they were just here

For trade and to make us

More civilized

We thought that meant

We would get rich

But it seemed the longer

The Chinese were here

The poorer we became

The continued to make

Improvements in infrastructure

So the Buddhists could

Spread their religion

We have trains all over Africa

They get our natural resources

On ships headed to China

Faster that way

We found out that most

Of the officials weren't Buddhists

And that Buddhism wasn't

Really Chinese anyway

We were told that Buddhists

Were pacifists

Although we saw many

Chinese soldiers who were Buddhist

European Backwaters

No one cares about Europe

Why would they?

They are few in number

And they don't have any money

The Buddhists were active here

But the Christians outlawed them

As heretics and put them in prison

They were not a European religion

There are no empires in Europe

And the countries are all really small

The whole land mass

Is smaller than China

They don't have anything of worth

To trade or to sell

They don't make good slaves

They look like ghosts

They are the color of death

And they are dressed in rags

They don't have any navies of any size

We could conquer them easily

But they have nothing worth taking

They believe in one God

And most can't read

They have no common language

We still are not sure

Whether to classify them

As humans or not

They have no culture like ours

The few people who can read

Spend most of their days praying

They are obsessed with their classics

Some stuff written down

1, 000-2,000 years ago

By a small empire called Rome

And an even smaller one called Greece

What if we found another world that worshipped Jesus and was much more technologically advanced than us?

Christian World

People from another world

Who look a lot like us

And can speak our languages

Appear in a museum

Of ancient artifacts

They tell us about their God

And His name is Jesus Christ

And they came to our world

As missionaries because

Their world is all Christian

They have been traveling

From world to world

For hundreds of years

To spread the Gospel

Through inventions of

Their own designs

They live in a world

That is a thousand years

More advanced than ours

They can also travel

Through time and space

They have never seen

A world as corrupt

And as evil as ours

That hasn't destroyed itself

They live communally

And they have no crime

Their society has lasted

For thousands of years

Without conflicts

They want to help us

But they say the problem

Is not that we haven't

Advanced in technology enough

But that we need to

Improve ourselves morally

They have no environmental problems

And have never had any in their history

They treat animals as equals

And eat entirely vegetarian

They have hundreds of billions of people

On their world

And they are self-sufficient energy wise

Even though they their technology

Uses a lot of energy

Because they limit their use

What if Jesus came today?

Contemporary Jesus

If Jesus came today

He would be homeless

And hang out with

Strippers and escorts

He would be at the clubs

And at the political rallies

With anarchists and goths

He would be the son

Of a computer programmer

Who worked in a small business

Based on open source

His mother would be

An artist or designer

He would listen to reggae

And be vegetarian

He would live in a

Community house

With all possessions

Held in common

He would hand out flyers

For environmental causes

He would hang out

At poetry readings

And at Internet cafes

He would be a member

Of His local

Linux Users Group

And would use only

Open Source software

He would have served in Iraq

And in the Peace Corps

He would have

Started a new religion

And criticized the political elite

He would start a reform

Of the religious wrong

He would be a liberal

And speak out against

The conservative powers

People would follow Him

But not be able to explain why

The news would not film Him

And people would

Make fun of His followers

Pastors would say that

He was a heretic

They would ban Him

From church on Sunday

And the police would

Call Him an agitator

Bush would call Him

A terrorist leader

And He would be

Imprisoned without trial

He would be interrogated

And released to a mental hospital

He would form His own band

And He would have a blog

Where He would write poetry

With millions of monthly visitors

What if stuffed toys ran the world?

Toy Society

Children are prized above all

They are the friends

Of the powerful elite

The president's dump truck

Is pushed by a toddler

And the famous actors

Sign the diapers of their fans

The toy entrepreneurs

Load up the toy boxes

In their factories

And the children

Drive around the boxes

In battery operated

And joystick controlled

All terrain vehicles

The children go to play

At the toy research centers

To see what toys

Are the most popular

And for quality control

They are played with

Under supervision

Of the toy managers

To make sure they

Are safe for play

Day care for the toys

Is provided by toddlers

And teams of seamstresses

Are trained to be

The top surgeons

Of the toy leaders

Each toy is treasured

For its entire life

The toy gets a new

Assigned kid to look after

When the previous kid

Begins to grow up

No toys are ever given

To animals to martyr

There is always

A loving home

For every toy

They will always be warm

And kept clean and dry

There are always activities

To keep the toys busy

They have a great Christmas party

Where they meet new kids

And a holiday parade

Where all the toy stars

Are dressed up and honored

There are award ceremonies

For the kid's favorite

Toys of the year

When the kids grow up

They are used as heaters

What if farm animals ran the world?

Farm Society

The cows roam free

All over the midwest

Milk, cheese, and ice cream

Are free for every child

No animals are in prison

And they all have

Their own barns

With heated blankets

And human employees

To clean away the cow pies

Half the nation's wealth

Is in grain, crackers, and alfalfa

The currency is sugar

And no one eats meat

The pigs are the police

And everyone caught

Eating an animal's flesh

Is sent across the border

The sheep clear the

Wildflowers and weeds

So the human workers

Can plant the corn and wheat

For their cow leaders

All the extra paper

From all the books

Not recorded in farm animal

Languages are recycled

With the help of the goats

There is plenty of power

To run the mills

From all the cow pies

Cows are assigned

To each residential block

To keep the grass cut

There is no more

Need for cars

Nothing too small

To carry a cow

Is licensed to drive

There are new uses

For all the SUVs

They are all powered

By sugar cane

Left over from cow deserts

History

In Elementary School, I was so bored, as the classes were so stupefied and repetitious, that I daydreamed most of the time. Middle School was a dark time for me, as I had a very painful time getting rid of some huge warts. I also struggled with people kicking and hitting me, especially on the bus and in shop class.

High school was a renaissance for me, as I had always looked forward, to being in clubs. By my junior year, I was involved in Cheerleading, Boy Scouts, Summer Camp Counselor, Explorer Scouts, Catering, French Club, Model United Nations, Speech Team, a Political Club I started, a multimedia CD-ROM project with Sony, Future Business Leaders of America, a student journal, and a number of other ones I cannot remember. Other years I did Cross Country and Long Distance Track, instead of Cheerleading. I put as much work into each of these, as I was able to, with the most time spent on: the Political Club I started, Cheerleading, Speech Team, and Boy Scouts.

At the end of my junior year, I signed up for the military, under the delayed entry program, so that I shipped, off for Basic Training a month, after I graduated from High School. I spent the whole year getting into shape for the Army and reduced my load of activities down to the seven I enjoyed most. Some of the reasons for joining the military were: serving my country, money for college, getting a break from school, and getting experiences for my resume. The military was harder than anything I had done before and I proved that anyone could do it, if they put in as much effort, as I did.

When I left the military, due to mental illness, I went into school right away, but I began writing some poetry, about a year through, and was inspired by learning about Postmodernism in an English Writing class, Chinese philosophy ,in my year long Chinese literature course, and Existentialism and Ecofeminism in some summer courses. I started out with a Business major, but later switched to Journalism, as I hated business so much and was not very good at it. I was always good at writing and so Journalism was a much better match.

Then on December 11th 1999, I was voluntarily admitted to the psychiatric ward of the local private hospital. I did not write for several months afterwards because I couldn't. I didn't know if I could write or understand philosophy again, but I continued to pursue it for a number of months and when I switched to a newer medicine I began to be able to write well again and understand philosophy.

Background

I have studied philosophy, religion, and literature, both European and Asian for 9 years, to help give myself a multicultural understanding of the Bible. I believe that theological traditions, in American culture, have kept us, from understanding what the Bible is really about. What is really misunderstood is who the Holy Spirit is and how God's Spirit works, in the world, and in our hearts.

The passages, that deal with the Holy Spirit, are some of the most cited and the most unread of the Bible. The Holy Spirit spoke through David, in the Psalms, and through God's prophets, as well as in Paul's letters. I have developed a philosophy that combines Philosophical Taoism and Christian Existentialism, to help people understand God in a new way that originally comes from Scripture itself. This philosophy is meant to help seekers understand biblically based Christianity better and this also serves as an inspiration for Christianity, starting several hundred years from now.

But, I have pursued this as much, as I have the ability to and I will need to rely on God, to keep this around as long as it is His will to do so. For most people, their problem is ignoring what God is telling them, but my problem is that I take too much of it on myself. I have to realize, that God can do any of the work, that needs to be done that I cannot complete. This is not an excuse, to neglect God's voice, and fail to do the work He has prepared for us, but there is a balance in God's expectations and I have fallen on the side, of being a workaholic.

And the search for rest and my struggle with doing too much is an important theme in the philosophy. My understanding of Chinese philosophy is based on my upbringing as a Confucian scholar, which in western terms would be considered a workaholic. Ironically, Existentialism and Taoism have a lot to do with rest and enjoyment of life, but the paradox is that the father of Existentialism, Kierkegaard, worked himself to death.

I have recently had the opportunity to see a number of contemporary Chinese philosophy influenced works of art, in a museum near where I live, and the common theme is the magnitude of work and the precision involved in creating it. When I compare European art, to Asian art, I laugh, because it is so simplistic. But I have also seen the freedom in western art especially the Impressionists and in the work of Picasso.

I have constantly been fighting, to save the world, since my departure from the military, but I have finally realized, that it is ok to rest and that my work is finished.

Questions

It is commonly thought, that if you believe in the Bible, it answers all your questions, so you don't have to think. You often hear people, who call themselves Christians, say they believe in all these absolutes and that they have life all figured out. This is totally wrong. While the Bible does give assurance of salvation, provided you repent of your sins and believe in Jesus' resurrection, there is not much else the Bible gives specific answers to.

Once you get past a couple of basic theological ideas about God, man, and their relationship, the more you look through the Bible, the more you will be surprised, at the implications of scripture. Did you know that Scripture never says, that we can't travel through time or different dimensions? Did you know that the Scriptures describe something, that sounds a lot like a UFO? Did you know that the Bible doesn't even refer to those, who can be saved, as human beings and that the Bible never says, that there aren't aliens? In fact, the more bizarre Science gets, the more the Bible lines up, with these new theories.

It is commonly thought, that only atheists are skeptics and that uncertainty is not a Biblical theme. The truth is that there are very few absolutes, in the Bible. The Bible is also very Asian, in its content. Most of the Bible is poetry and one of the main unifying themes, of the Bible, is suffering. The Bible speaks against the occult and even Greek philosophy, but not Eastern Philosophy or Christian mysticism.

Christians, who are honest, have to admit, that they constantly struggle with sins, doubts about promises in the Bible and various psychological issues, like addictions and depression. The Bible doesn't say, that all suffering comes from sin. In fact, King David suffered from depression and paranoia and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Although the Bible helps us recognize, that there is a spiritual component to most issues, it leaves open the idea, that we can have psychological conditions, as well as physical ailments, that aren't necessarily the result of sin.

The Letter

I had a great break through last night.

I realized that I constantly looked for ways to improve my philosophy and my website in my mind and I have come, to the conclusion, that there is nothing more I can do, with the philosophy. I have just started telling myself, that I do not need to solve all the world's problems, by myself.

I have to wait on God, to solve the world's problems, in His time. I have gone as far as I can, in this direction. I have realized, that God doesn't require us to do some gigantic special project, and we are only responsible, for ourselves.

Just because other people have no vision and are not bright enough, to think of anything other than sports, does not mean what I have done is of no value. There is no reason why most people need to understand what I have done. I don't need to constantly improve myself.

It is OK, to just enjoy life. If people don't share my interests or values, maybe it is their problem and not mine. People being rude to me, or not liking me is not always my problem. I don't always need to be the one to change.

I do not need to be able to answer everyone's problems, that keep them from salvation. I am only responsible, for myself, and keeping the right attitude, before God.

More Thoughts

I don't have to always be learning new things. I don't always have to do everything, for a reason. I don't always have to make ten backups, of everything I create. I don't have to publish everything I do. I don't have to worry about all the possible bad things people could use, what I have created, to do.

I don't have to constantly get more talented, at everything. I don't have to master every discipline. I don't have to complete everything, as soon as I think of it. If something is that important, it will come back to me later.

In Verse

My mind runs endlessly

At the speed of thought

There are no breaks

To watch TV

There is no excuse

To stop working

When you believe

You can save the world

How can you end

Your essential project

When you believe

Everyday is your last

You push harder

And you never stop

When your expectations

Are endless

And always rising

You will never finish

You will never be satisfied

Until you are at the end

Of what you can handle

I stopped yesterday

I cannot continue

I need to wait

On God to save us

Continued improvement

Is not necessary

I am not always wrong

Its not always my fault

When someone doesn't like me

When someone can't relate

I am not responsible

For anyone but myself

The One

The words jump out at you

They dance on the page

A steady light to pierce through the mist and shadows

A light that gravity cannot bend

A power that surpasses that of the undead

Like a quark compared to a strand of DNA

A book of the highest magic

A chill like that of a winter storm

As soothing as a glass of tea for a sore throat

A written record that proves history as we know it is a lie

Balrogs and Orcs ambush us at every turn

The road goes ever on and on

He stands taller than an Elven King

With strength greater than that of a ring

The battle is fought even in the Shire

Little Hobbits pass by without notice

The evil within is greater than that of the Dark Lord

We must struggle each year with the pain of our youth

Stepping out on the first day of the Fellowship

Knowing terror lurks under every darkened forest

But that One older than the forest is singing merrily

And in the havens the Immortals sing songs higher than we can sing

We are inseparable with the One even when at the farthest reaches of the universe

Our brothers and sisters move in concert with our every twitch

The words spoken by the Hebrew prophets thousands of years ago

Are a postmodern deconstruction of our present situation

What broke the symmetry of the emptiness?

Is it the same force that has slowed down the explosion of new life forms?

That disharmony increases with every day

That we fly apart faster every second

The Majestic Down to Earth

A comet down to a meteor pebble

A red giant star to a black hole

The One now just a grain of sand in a mile long stretch of beach

The One now a snowflake in a winter snowstorm

How much greater was His descent to earth?

With the authority to bend the laws of physics and chemistry

With the ability to create life out of nothing

The eternal now confines Himself to a human life span

That which all creation cannot contain is born a helpless child

His head turned down in respect for others

His eyes wide so that He does not harm anything

His feet dirty because He does not think of himself

His hands calloused from His devotion to his family business in His youth

His understanding is brilliant as diamonds

His words are as clear as glass

His insight is like polished bronze

He delicacy in speech is like that of a potter

We are weighed down with worry about how those who hate us will retaliate

The government is turning on those who are trying to save us

Our time is spent working for multinational corporations dreams

Our investments are lost because they were based on deceitful schemes

His message is for our time

Humility and compassion are the keys to restoring our lives

Jesus

Is the universe in constant struggle

Between good and evil?

Does not nature possess more order?

Do we not have breaks between calamities?

Do basic structures break down

Most of the time or infrequently?

Both merciful and just

All-powerful and humble

All-wise yet foolish by our standards

A joke more serious than a tragedy

Is He both opposites at once

Or merely a mixture of equal parts

He is everything

He is my whole world

Yet He is not contained by His creation

Is He merely first order infinity?

Greater than someone could write down

Powers of infinity in an infinite time period

If He were just a Greek god

Or the heavenly ruler of China

He would not even bow Himself down

To visit earth

But He is infinitely greater than everything He could create in all of eternity

Stretching in an infinite number of dimensions if He never ceased

God does not struggle against evil

He beat all the powers of evil that ever will be or have been

With just a sentence

God is God enough to live as a man

Secure enough in His holiness to save all of mankind in a single night

Not afraid to descend into the pit of Hell

And powerful enough to rebuke the Devil himself, in His own name

When we look to God

To shuffle blame to Someone we don't think will respond

We have to calm ourselves and be rational

God is not a man and does not make mistakes

Our problems are caused by our own bad choices

And the bad choices of others

But He already has answered our prayer

He has shortened the time of the tribulation

And as we pray more and more

It comes nearer and nearer

So we won't have it hanging over our grand children's heads

With one material, many souls

What is our true self?

What is our true identity?

Are we one with God

Is God in us or is He our true identity?

Is the individual soul an illusion?

Do we only exist as One?

Truly there is something

That unites the universe

Not only is there something

That unites body and mind

But also the same thing

Is the foundation of everything

And there is something else

The same moral purpose in everything

But we also have a soul that exists

And although it may be made of the same

As that of matter and energy and of other souls

The composition is unique

In each one of us

Just as each snowflake is made of the same molecule

There are ten thousand different kinds

Each one is an individual creation

With its own shape, size, and texture

So does our soul have a unique identity

And we have our own special characteristics

So we can share a common God

And we can empathize with each other

We can understand what it is to be human

And have the same desire to know our Creator

But we each have our own will

And we are directed by a different facet

Of the same moral purpose

To the extent that we have cultivated it

To the extent that we desire to know God

Directions

We are all moving in different directions

But our makeup is aligned at the same slope

We can move a mountain

If we have the faith of a mustard seed

If we seek God with all our heart

We can have eternal life

With even the effort of our own will

We can effect great change

As long as we are in sync

With the Greater Moral Purpose

As long as we act

In concert with God's will

We share the same substance

But we each have a different mind

A different will and heart

We can share in general moral purpose

But each is going toward a different direction

It is where these lines of purpose intersect

That we are linked in a bigger task

Like each cell we live and die in our own timing

We have our own body and our own director

As an organ we are working towards a larger purpose

And in this way we can act as one

Many wills, with the same thing in their minds and on their hearts

With one Leader

We follow with a mind that thinks its own thoughts

Just because we are not the same spirit

Does not mean we cannot work as one in the Spirit of God

We do not need to be God

To know that we are interlinked in relationships

And connected in Greater Purpose

Holy Spirit

These contours upon which we travel

Are the straightest path to the nearest soul

We can know we are in agreement

And work as with one body

Because we understand

We are each separate members

That have wills working together

While we keep our hearts and minds focused

But what is this road upon

Which the mind is linked to its vessel

How does the distinct mind of one being

Understand what the mind of the other is doing

Without asking and without explanation

Without external signal of any kind?

It is like the cool current of wind

In the penetrating heat of our yellow sun

It is a subtlety that unites our thinking

And brings us together for greater purpose

Donning the protective mask

In one fluid motion

Or knowing what line of code is wrong

Just by seeing how the web page looks

There is another level

In which we understand

Another way in which things happen

Than the official regulations

It is how someone writes without an outline

And still puts together a coherent argument

It is in a way that cannot be pinned down

It has no universal name

In the Bible we know it

As the Holy Spirit

Or God in the world

Who brings together His flock

The Perfect Programmer

God is the perfect programmer

We are all his programs

I am a flawed program

How can this be?

My source code was perfect

In every respect

But I let others add code

I started out stable and efficient

I was useful to my Creator

But the other code was sloppy

And my executable became corrupted

I kept on throwing up error messages

I blamed the kernel and other software

Everyone was wrong but me

My file formats were universally compatible

But I decided not to publish my new source code

Or even document my APIs

I would only release a software development kit

If people purchased a service plan

I used other peoples programs

I downloaded illegally off the Internet

I began to see nothing wrong

With being infested with viruses

I was getting more bloated by the day

And my features grew so great in number

That I became too complex to compile without errors

I began to seek other business models

I released some source code but not all

No one will develop me anymore

I rely on my my public relations staff

To buy my way into your computer

I claim no responsibility for damage

I would be recalled

But people don't expect computers to work

Praise and Criticism

I have a memory problem

And a vision problem

My eyes are fine

And my mind works great

But I have huge blind spots

I constantly pray for protection

And I have a great memory

For how people have hurt me

But it is only when I stop and rest

That I remember to give thanks

For all God has protected me from

My greatest problem is fear

And I have struggled with chronic

Physical and mental suffering

And my life has not been easy

For a middle class American's standard

But what I was saved from

Is greater than I could have imagined

I lost my mind due to my service in the Army

But I still have all my limbs and organs intact

I was able to get out of the military

When my mental illness interfered with my job

And my peace of mind

I had allergic pink eye for 3-1/2 years

But it ended with my first anti-psychotic medicine

When we watch the news

It is mostly negative

And people are quick to point out problems

But rarely offer solutions

It is easy to criticize others actions

When they do not act heroic

But how do we know what we will due

When we are in a crisis

Praise God for Everything

Praise God for everything good

We know of or have experienced

Praise God for everything good

We have yet to or may never discover

Praise God for everything good

We have labeled as a coincidence

Praise God for what we have learned

Jesus is the best teacher

Praise God for what we have learned

Sins to avoid and the way to salvation

Praise God for when we have peace

Spiritual as well as physical

Praise God for when we have plenty

God provides for His creation

Praise God for when we have stability

In our jobs and in the universe

Praise God for His forgiveness

For when we treat each other bad

Praise God for healing us

From bad decisions and from injuries

Praise God for everlasting life

If we only submit to God

Praise God for His suffering

For our bad choices

Praise God for our freedom

We can choose good or bad

Praise God for being who He is

Supreme in character, wisdom, and power

Praise God for loving us

Even when we don't return His love

Awesome God

God is not your little sister

Who you need to protect

God is not in debt

You don't need to finance Him

God does not need an advocate

He is God whether He is worshiped or not

God is not pressed for time

He has plenty of time for you

You do not need to argue God's case

Creation speaks out His name

God doesn't need you to fulfill his plans

God is in control of history

If you can travel back and forth in time

God is already there and everywhere else

If we travel to another planet

God is just as much in control

If we have a multi verse and parallel realities

It is there because God created it

God is not limited by having poor followers

God is all powerful in and of Himself

God doesn't just watch you in church

God sees all

God doesn't like Christians better than unbelievers

God loves us because He chooses to

God will not do evil

This does not mean His power is limited in any way

God does not play favorites

You don't get points for good deeds

God will judge everyone

And none of us will pass without Christ

God does not struggle to defeat evil

He destroys it in His timing and with His methods

God doesn't care what we think is immoral

He invented morality

God is not fooled like people are

God knows your heart

Family Appreciation

Thanks God for my family

Thank God for my mom

Whose encouragement uplifts

And who continually advocates for me

Thanks God for my dad

Whose advice has saved me from harm

His prayers give me hope

Thank God for my sister

Who listens carefully to what I say

Whose visits cheer me up

Thank God for my Uncle Clive

Who faithfully looks through my work

Whose careful words brighten my day

Thanks God for my stuffed cows

Who are always near by

Whose humor and thoughts keep my company

Thank God for giving my a family

That is always near in spirit

And who put my needs ahead of theirs

Who are anxious to hear what I have learned

And who consider what I say

With open minds and careful consideration

Who care enough to consider my feelings

And adjust their words and tone

Who I can consider colleagues

And who understand what I am doing

Better than anyone else

Thanks for your inspiration

And your love

Tolerance

Is is better that we not offend

The pride of those doomed to eternal death

Or better that more have eternal life?

Is the preservation of one more year of life

Of significance when we count in eternity?

Is it so important that we have personal transportation

That we sacrifice our young men's lives?

Do we seek to be so tolerant of the wealthy

That we let the poor suffer violence?

Are we so addicted to popular culture

That we no longer care what is right and wrong?

Are we so far devolved morally

That we throw away our future?

Because some people used Christ's named for evil

Does that mean that there is no truth in the Bible?

Why do we give to charity

When we vote against those in need?

Why speak out for what is wrong

When we don't even try to live morally?

Do we need to rewrite history

To prove what we are doing is right?

Isn't it a bad sign that we have no faith?

There is more to the world than white America

God values those in the Asia and Africa

Even if we won't even help feed them

When the rest of the world hates you

You might think you did something wrong

When you read the Bible and get offended

Do you think you are you better than God?

Who are we to judge the world

From our Postmodern point of view?

Atheism is a blip in world history

And the future is more Christian than pagan

And there are more Muslims than atheists

Do we only tolerate those with big lobbies?

Do we only look after those who can speak for themselves?

When we choose to give some rights and not others

What is the basis for this decision?

Why do we put women and children

Above the lives of our soldiers?

Why do we disregard the lives of animals

When our society is built on their labor?

There is more to life than American football

And there is more going on in the world

Outside Hollywood and Wall Street

God, Help!

We look around us

And we hear rumors

All point to our destruction

Our imminent demise

Our fresh water is infected

Garbage drifts in the sea

Our forests are destroyed

Daily more are burned down

Our food make us sick

And we eat ourselves to death

We generate dangerous waste

For ten thousand years

Deadly incurable diseases

Spread like wildfire

Our rich steal from the poor

And conduct scams without penalty

Our president is a dictator

He starts wars out of revenge

Our politicians don't care about us

They follow the largest sum of money

Our religious leaders

Preach hate and prejudice

The people don't seem to care

As long as they can see the football game

And there is plenty of beer

They will sell their souls

To not have to get up off the couch

God, we repent of our sin

Please have mercy on us

We take full responsibility

And are willing to pay the penalties

Please forget our sin

And be our God

And we will be Your servants

We will put the poor and the rejected

Above our own desires

We will honor You

With our actions and not just our words

Walking Forward

With back straight

And eyes level

A relaxed walk

With long strides

Brilliant blue sky

And radiant sun

Long rows of books

Quick glances

And moving on

With each turn

And a rapid survey

Passing by numerous sections

Already absorbed

With each step

I pass walls of books

And with each shelf

Years of study

I am beginning to feel

More relaxed

And sure of my ideas

There is a subtlety

That exists in the mind

And a slight change in pace

That signals growth

And increasing certitude

The times of clarity

Multiply in number

I still don't have plans

For tomorrow

But there is a stillness

And a gentle attitude

Overflowing from my heart

And my head is a little lighter

On my shoulders

The weight is slowly receding

And I get glimpses of peace

And times of conviction

That experience exponential growth

And continued enthusiasm

Morning Sunshine

In the cool of the day

Darkness fades gently

And the sun rises confidently

Over the distant horizon

At what point does it become day?

Where exactly is the horizon?

I learn sometimes in leaps

Sometimes at a slow walk

God continues to rise in my heart

I do not know when I will fade

But I know God will continue

To outshine the darkness of my soul

We bow to God's brilliance

And are blinded by His Presence

We are dark and low

Not worthy to be the dirt

On which He treads

We live most our life in the shadows

It is hard to watch the sun

We hide from the intense light

But are afraid when it leaves

We scatter far and wide

To our own devices

When night falls

But we need to return

To the radiance of our Lord

Before we start our day

Under the direct light of the sun

The Missionaries

God does not love America

More than any other country

God does not condone wars

Over natural resources

God is not Republican

He does not support the Religious "Right"

Bush is not following the Bible

America was never a Christian nation

The Bible does not promote capitalism

Christians should speak out against corporations

TV evangelists are seldom

Preaching from the Bible correctly

The Bible is incompatible with Science

The way it is taught in schools

The Bible is more Scientifically sound

Than the theory of evolution

God is not in danger of being outdated

America is regressing

God is worshiped in the Third World

Only Europe has no faith

Religion is not a competition

The Bible has no equal

We don't need to denigrate others

To support our beliefs

God is not White

God loves all races

God is not a God of hate

God loves all people

No matter what they have done

And no matter who they are

God Speaks

God speaks all languages

He speaks to us in our language

Arabic and Chinese

Spanish and Pali

Hebrew and Russian

Croatian and Pigeon

Farsi and French

There is a word for Christ

In every language

There is a word for suffering

There is a word for submission

There is a word for sacrifice

There is a word for humanity

There is a word for hope

There is a word for joy

There is a word for peace

There is a word for life

There is a word for eternal

There is a word for forgiven

There is a word for repentance

There is a word for belief

There is a word for sin

There is a word for good

There is a word for heaven

There is a word for love

There is a word for victory

There is a word for change

There is a word for compassion

There is a word for service

Religion Means Education

The Bible is not just words

For memorization and quotation

It is not a means to control

Or a way to win arguments

The Bible is not a set of rules

To conform to

The Bible is not a goal to achieve

Or a means to a higher consciousness

Christians do not ascend

And God is not trying

To advance us technologically

God does not make you rich

If you are devout

God is not a reason for bad behavior

Or an excuse to give up

God does not want us

To be workaholics

The Bible is a weapon

Against our own selfishness

And our pride and stubbornness

But we must plunge the sword

Into ourselves

God wants us to learn

He wants us to grow

Not to be wealthy or more advanced

But to be moral and healthy

We do not grow by secret knowledge

Or by special powers

We learn who God is

And learn how to submit to Him

We learn the source of our problems

Is our own poor choices

And we get deliverance from them

To the extent that we give God control

Of our minds, our hearts, and our souls

Campus Community

Under the cover

Of strong oak branches

And on the carpet of

Carefully manicured grass

The entire campus

Is overflowing with deep green

And on these memorial benches

Of weathered cedar and black iron

I watch with fading eyelids

As people pass the Frisbee by

Which dogs catch in mid air

And students cover the lawn

Leading up to the ornate marble library

Ivy is digesting the brick halls

And the sounds of construction

Permeates the adjacent buildings

All the vertical wood surfaces

Are covered in propaganda

A gray bearded man

Plays the guitar

And sings songs

Only fully understood by him

Softly a block away

What a community

What an idyllic atmosphere

I like to think that

Maybe some are believers

Open Market

You can smell the incense a mile away

And you can see everyone's toes

It is Saturday again downtown

The booths are all assembled

And manned with merchants

There are pamphlets and stickers

Posters and pens

All carrying the logo

Of a charity or small business

This is how capitalism was envisioned

This is a diverse gathering

Fresh picked produce

And organic baked goods

Hemp clothing and more

Everything is produced locally

Or a product of fair trade

There is silver jewelry galore

And every kind of clothing tie dyed

The local charities are out in

Solid numbers and well stocked

With sign up sheets

And passionate volunteers

There are dozens of groups

Fighting to save the forests

And dozens of groups

For equality and justice

Globally and locally

There is continual music

And the aisles are crowded

The lines slowly shift forward

And the restrooms are portable

A Christian group lurks in the distance

If you squint real hard

Epic Hero

Christ is the greatest epic hero

The most powerful and the strongest

But His goal was not war

And He did not kill

His message was second

To His example

And greatest of all

Was His humility joined

With His divinity

Conquering the spirit world

Or starting an empire

Was not His way

He conquered the greatest enemy

The most entrenched traitor

Our heart and our minds

And our sins and bad attitudes

He healed and He prophesied

He was merciful and had authority

He was a descendant of the Jewish people

And He was the One who created all

Because of my Hero, Jesus

I have eternal life

He did the hardest thing anyone has done

To make it as easy as possible for me

I do not have the energy to do yoga

Or the leadership to start an ashram

I don't have the discipline to pray 5 times a day

Or the money to journey to Mecca

Christ has provided the only way

For my salvation

And He has invited everyone to join

And the cost is free as in freedom

Ancestor

Born as a descendant

Of the Scottish monarchy

And with many castles to

Our family name

If we could prove it

Starting out to free Scotland

From the brutal English

I later gave up

The quest for nationalism

Not only did the Stewards

Inherit the throne of England

But I have a greater legacy

Which I have given up on

The previous ancestry for

I am born again

And grafted into

The lineage of Israel

And am part of the inheritance

Of the Son Of God

The second Adam

Christ, the Creator of All

Has chosen me

Before the beginning of time

To be one of His children

And any who will believe

Are all God's chosen people

Whether Asian or European

African or North American

Latin American or Australian

Center of Gravity

Night has fallen on Europe

And it is late afternoon in America

But the sun is just rising in Africa

And it is still morning in Latin America

And it is a few hours before dawn in Asia

Christ is universally understood

And is available to all believers

In Europe and North America

The white man is diminishing in numbers

And his power does not extend

Beyond his own continent

Even at home, foreigners from the south

Are overwhelming the West

But Christ loves the South

Just as much as the North

But the white man has lost his religion

And those from Africa and Asia

Are embracing and comprehending God

In ways that the West never could

Christ is not just a moral teacher

He is a living God

Christ loves the poor

And identifies with the losers of war

The spiritual world is real

Even more than Science could theorize

Christ is not an abstract concept

But a real force in everyday life

God is not just our Creator

He is our Ancestor

He wants to adopt us

To be a part of His lineage

And to share His inheritance

God shapes history

In ways we could never imagine

And God has a special plan

For those in the Africa and Asia

For the persecuted and the fatherless

From those rich in Spirit

Crossroads

We are at a turning point

As believers worldwide

We have passed on the torch

To our friends in the South

What does God have planned

For those who understand Christ better?

What more will God reveal

In the 21st century?

There is no need

To spread the Gospel southward

We need missionaries in the North

There is nothing we can teach the South

Now we need to learn from them

Africa is becoming the leader

The younger child that God loves

And we have become wealthy

We have given up our inheritance

For things of this world

We can no longer see the truth

Of God's divine intervention

And the miracles available

For those who truly believe

We look down on the humble

And reject those with problems

We blame the sick

The physically and mentally weak

For our declining power in the world

We don't realize

Our lack of character

And are unable to comprehend

What sacrifice means

We are an empire on decline

Will those in the South pray for us?

Ethics and Consistency in Philosophy

Philosophy reveals what kind of person you are by forcing you to prioritize your values. By forcing you to choose what standard you evaluate truth and morality, you learn more about yourself. Are you the kind of person who puts utility above all, do you believe that avoiding pain or staying alive is the most important value, or do you find that being strong and independent in thinking is best? Do you believe that moral standards should be followed because God says so, because they are good for you in the long run, because they are practical, or do you believe that you need to develop your own standards?

Philosophy teaches ethics by emphasizing consistency, which is another word for fairness. No matter what philosophy you go by, you make a deliberate decision to be the same in your expectations of yourself as you expect in others. This is one of the reasons why Existentialism talks so much about anxiety and despair: when you make a decision in how to behave, it is only fair that you have the same expectations of everybody else in that given situation and this should cause you to feel an awesome sense if responsibility (in making this kind of decision).

Philosophy can help you find a purpose and and depth to your life. The reason I so enjoy reading the writings of major philosophers is their passion. If you read from Rosseau, Nietzche, Kierkegaard, Camus, Hafiz, Meera, Kabir, Chuang Tzu, Bodhidharma, Dogen, and other major philosophers, you will realize that important philosophers have often had difficult lives fighting for their belief amongst much opposition and have made immense sacrifices in the way they live their lives to be consistent with their beliefs.

Creativity and Philosophy

Philosophy and religion are very creative fields, except instead of producing some sort of physical art, philosophy and religion creates new ideas. Just like artists use different types of media concepts to express their creative ideas in, philosophers start out with a basic set of concepts known as a philosophical or religious school.

Examples of philosophical and religious schools are: Stoicism, Epicurianism, Empiricism, Rationalism, Existentialism, Sufi Islam, Bhakti Hindusim, Sikism, Theravada Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism/Realism. Some of the greatest philosophers and religious leaders have actually successfully combined more than one school, like: Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Hegel, Kabir, Chu Hsi, and Bodhidharma.

Another way in which philosophy and art are related is that much of Asian philosophy and religion and Existentialism are expressed in visual art, literature, and music. The concepts are philosophy, but the creative work is art. Often there is an elaborate symbolism that is used to create a bridge between the two.

People can express their devotion to God and to ethical principles by creating artistic works. In the West, we often see religion as a set of doctrines that have to be accepted in their totality or not at all. In the East, it is commonly considered acceptable to mix and match different aspects of different philosophies and religions. You don't have to accept a fixed doctrine that someone else has put together.

One of the big differences between Asian and European art is that in the West, we often create a picture, because we think that it looks visually attractive, without necessarily illustrating a philosophical or religious idea. We feel free to express ourselves, with any style or combination of styles, without committing to any belief system. In the East, it is traditional to evaluate art by how well it conforms to a specific classical tradition, or how it illustrates a particular concept, in a particular school of religion or philosophy. There are established symbols and methods of writing literature or painting and conforming to this tradition is what makes it beautiful.

Paradox (Also Known As Non-Dualism)

Paradox is often seen as a synonym for a contradiction, but that would be non-sensical and is not used in philosophy in this way. Dualism is a descriptor for opposite concepts like male and female or kindness and seriousness. Non-dualism or paradox acknowledges that often things that appear to be true opposites are actually related, just as the yin yang symbol represents: there is a seed of the yin in the heart of the yang and vice versa. Good and evil are often thought of as a duality, but philosophies generally have a system of ethics, so good and evil are not related paradoxically, although society's conception of right and wrong could be a paradox.

The Supernatural and Asian Philosophy and Religion

Many Christians think that studying Eastern philosophy and religion will some how push people into the occult. The answer to this assumption is not a simple one, but I can explain the situation very clearly.

To explain the reality of the situation, a person needs to understand the basic progression of religion. The earliest phase was that of Animism, where everybody worshipped fallen angels and each country had their own gods, while 1 person or one small group of people worshipped the Creator (who was later understood to be Jesus Christ). The next phase was that of the revealed religions, which started in Asia mostly and are the basis for most major mono-theistic religions and then there were also the major non-religious philosophies of China and India that occurred at the same era. The latest phase came out of the west, with the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, based on the Greek and Roman animism, which is the basis for modern Atheism, Science, and the Theosophy movement, and modern Paganism came as the final phase.

So the Bible forbids doing any activity that involves the supernatural, without being done by God, in the way that is described in the Scriptures. So, as a Christian, I am not going to read any type of books about supernatural practices of Animism or modern Paganism (New Age). The way things that are supernatural are dealt with in traditional Indian and Chinese philosophies is that there is no understanding of this Biblical concept and in addition, a lot of these philosophies don't distinguish between and are many times combined with different forms of Animistic supernatural practices. This occurs because Indian and Chinese philosophies and religions are not exclusive, like Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, in that it is perfectly acceptable to take parts of the Chinese and Indian philosophies and religions and combine them with any other belief system.

On the flip side, there are many writings (most of the most important) that only contain philosophy and no supernatural practices, so if you go by my list in the Book of Lists or read about each work in depth, before reading it, you can get a very deep understanding of the Indian and Chinese philosophies and religions without getting involved in any Animist supernatural practices.

Confucianism

Confucianism is a philosophy indigenous to China. The Chinese philosophies are unique in that they are mostly concerned with ethics. In Chinese philosophy, like Chinese medicine, is not overly concerned with why something works, but rather that it does work.

The proof for various historical schools lie in the belief that in ancient China, that the government was more virtuous and that the society was much more peaceful and stable. In Confucian and Taoist texts, the arguments are given support by how previous sages ran the government in the past by quoting decisions individual leaders made and their historical results.

When Confucius was writing his philosophy, he based it not on his original ideas, but on how the previous dynasty ran the government. He got famous for editing the classical Book of Songs, which was a collection of love stories taken from all over China. Confucius interpreted this romantic love as love of the state.

He believed that ethics was made up of humanity and ritual. Ritual is similar to what we call manners or protocol and humanity refers to paying attention to people's feelings and situation. He believed that the scholar should run government and that in reading the classics that the scholar would learn to be ethical.

Later on, the government gave tests for people, who wished to be leaders (as the government ran all business, which was mostly farming) and to qualify, the candidates had to prove how much they understood Confucianism, by writing poetry about its concepts. Even though China had much more advanced technology in the past, they got past over economically and militarily by Europe, because instead of rewarding advancements in technologies of war, the Chinese government rewarded the study of the arts and the humanities.

Taoism

Taoism has two major schools, both of which are fundamentally different. There is Religious (or Esoteric) Taoism, which is a form of animism, based on the pre-Confucian indigenous religion of China. And then there is Philosophical Taoism, that is based on the philosophy of the I Ching, without the religious elements and is described in the writing of Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, and Lieh Tzu.

The philosophical Taoism is the original Taoism and is how the scholars of China practiced Taoism. When I refer to Taoism, I mean philosophical Taoism. If you find Taoist texts written after the time of Chuang Tzu and Lieh Tzu, they are mostly of Religious Taoism.

Taoism is the paradoxical counterpart to Confucianism. Whereas Confucianism is a government supported philosophy that advocates the idea of sacrificing your own self for the good of the society, Taoism stresses individuality and independence of spirit. Whereas Confucianism is concerned mostly with human affairs and the cultivation of reason, Taoism is more focused on nature and on the human spirit.

Taoism is not a religion, although it does deal with the spiritual side of life. Taoism acknowledges a creator God, but is very vague about what that entails. Taoism, like Confucianism, is about ethics, primarily. The highest good in Taoism is staying alive, at the expense of material gain or social standing.

Taoism stresses a very extreme form of non-dualism. In Chuang Tzu, the "Discussion on Considering All Things Equal" warns of false distinctions. Taoism teaches that society has mixed up true right and wrong as it originally was understood and works against the natural state of man and so has lost its virtue. Taoism claims to be the original philosophy of China, predating the dynasty that Confucius celebrates.

The values of Taoism are humility and compassion and Taoism considers all sentient beings (including animals) to be equal in worth and to be respected equally. Taoist virtue is described as a state of spontaneity and tranquility, that is felt, while an experienced athlete is in the middle of performing, or an experienced artist or craftsmen is in the middle of creating something.

Taoism is often mixed up with Buddhism, because Zen Buddhism is a synchronization of Buddhism and Taoism, but Taoism predates Zen Buddhism by at least hundreds of years. Buddhism and Taoism are actually very opposite in nature. There is a famous picture of Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Buddha in front of a honey pot. Buddha abstains, Lao Tzu dives in, and Confucius deliberates.

Existentialism

Existentialism was made famous by Sartre, who named a philosophical school, in which he included many philosophers both before and at his time, many of which vigorously rejected the label. Modern Existentialism originated with Kierkegaard and was Christian in its origins. The basis for Existentialism is in the writings of the Apostle Paul and in the writings of Augustine.

Existentialists talks frequently about the distinction between subject and object. Kierkegaard believed that we cannot be objective because of our fallen state. According to Kierkegaard, the only being that can be objective is God. Kierkegaard and most other Existentialists believe that any system of thought cannot adequately describe the human spirit, because free will is what defines human being (human being is what Existentialism literally means).

Kierkegaard and Camus talk considerably about the absurdity of life. Kierkegaard is also obsessed with humility. Kierkegaard sees Christ's being a man and God at the same time as the greatest paradox. He also believes that our relationship with God is paradoxical too. He believes when we are most conscious of our sins and faults that we are actually closer to God than at any other time.

Kierkegaard and Sartre believe that we should feel a tremendous weight of responsibility when we make choices. Kierkegaard and Sartre both stress the importance of the freedom of will. Kierkegaard, although a committed Christian who obviously wants everyone to go to Heaven, does not believe in proselytizing, because he believes that saving faith only exists, when we believe in Christ, without anybody pressuring us into it. Kierkegaard believes that a Christian should resist the pressures of social conformity. He even goes so far to say that when everybody is Christian that nobody is Christian.

Broader World View

When I present different ideas of mine, I am not doing so to persuade you, but to stimulate your thinking and help you find a broader view of the world. I think that the world is becoming too analytical and is relying too much on facts and on Science as their only sources for truth.

Holistic Worldview

It is not that there is no place for linear thinking, but that there is also value in holistic, artistic, and creative approaches to problems as well. I am not trying to get rid of Science, but rather show people that the spiritual world is just as important and that emotions are as useful as facts in decision making.

Think For Yourself

I could have argued some of my main philosophical ideas more directly to the point that they would be much more persuasive, but I am more interested in getting you to think for yourself rather than just getting my ideas adopted. I want people to come up with their own ideas and take responsibility for their outcomes rather than just regurgitating what they were told.

What God Wants

I believe this idea of coming up with your own ideas is an integral part of the Bible. God wants us to freely choose to follow Him and to choose to follow him with our intellect and emotions as well as our spirit. He wants us to really believe in what He values and take risks in applying these truths we need to accept whether we understand them or not in the best way we know how.

Christ and Christianity

We need to see beyond a set of doctrines and realize that Christ is more than what a systematic theology can explain and accept Him as a role model and as an individual. We need to pursue a life as it was lived by Christ in its entirety and to do so we must use our intellect and emotions to apply His personality and values to our very different situations.

Christianity is about Free Choice

Many people associate free thought with Atheism and Science. But the most real part of the world is the spiritual world and the thing that defines humanity is our free choice. Although Science is not rejected by specific Biblical Scriptures, a worldview that sees things only from a material perspective misses out on so much.

Christianity is Multicultural

Many colonial powers tried to use Christianity, to control people in the third world and in their own countries. But, if you read the Bible and talk to most people in the world who call themselves Christians, you will realize that they come mostly from the third world and are very often very anti-western. Christianity is the world's most popular and culturally diverse belief system and it did not get to the point it is today, by advocating the domination of people.

Christianity is Misunderstood in the West

The reason why Christianity has been used to support the establishment is because it is a poor person's religion, but all the negative ideas people have tried to make the Bible say are not in there. People in the West need to read the other books of the Bible that you don't here often in Western churches, like the Prophets and they need to re-read the Letters of Paul in a totally different context, to really understand what the Bible is all about.

The Church is not the Problem

The Church dominated Western Civilization, in Medieval Times, but the basis for Democracy and Capitalism has nothing to do with the Bible. The basis for modern ideas of toleration are often thought of as a result of the Enlightenment. But, if you read John Locke's Letter Concerning Toleration, you will realize that the basis for not pressuring someone into believing in something comes from Biblical concepts.

Why Christianity is the Best Religion

Christianity is the best belief system, because it effectively deals with our spiritual selves, in a way that no other belief system does. The Bible explains the way to freedom and dignity, for all those suffering. Christ is a loving God, who saves us from destroying ourselves and we are now seeing the destruction of Revelations taking place before us. We are beginning to realize that our Apocalypse is self induced and the environmental disasters, that we will be experiencing, are all the direct result of sin and greed. Our problems are not a matter of us not being smart enough or things that can be avoided through technological advancement.

Solving our Problems

Our true enemy is not the devil, but our own selfishness. God wants us to be creative and happy in life, but He knows, as He has lived as one of us, that we need Him in our lives, to find fulfillment and joy. We need to embrace the spiritual side of life and live as God intended us to, or else we will destroy ourselves, not just economically, but morally and emotionally. But God wants us to make this choice of our own free will. And God has different paths for all of us, but they start with a simple prayer.

Fear of Controversy

It is a sad situation today where so few writers of non-fiction know so little about their subjects that they find a need to hide behind facts and statistics. Writers are afraid of having people not like them, because their readers disagree with their conclusions. Most people think that religion and politics are controversial, but in any discipline in even the most narrow and academic subjects are constantly torn part by bitter and nasty debates and whose participants are in a constant struggle to get followers to their approach. It is sad that where there used to be a belief that the free exchange of ideas was of utmost importance, there now seems like there are only certain opinions that people are allowed to have, if they want to be considered as serious or an educated person.

Believe in Yourself

My approach is that I want people to come up with their own ideas and I actually don't want any followers. But I still have very definite opinions on almost everything and I will argue in favor of what I believe. It is great that others disagree strongly as I enjoy real diversity caused by real differentiators like: income, regional history, belief system, political beliefs, family influence, sub culture, hobbies, career, talents, life experiences, and the like. Lets learn to disagree even on important issues and have some faith in what we believe in enough to know that it will prevail. The only thing that I hope to agree upon with my readers is the avoidance of the mainstream beliefs and of the supernatural.

Defining Terms

One of the most important aspect of debate is at the very beginning, where you define your terms. Many arguments are in opposition to each other mainly because of a difference, in what the key words involved mean. Philosophy is largely about defining words and philosophical schools are often branched out, according to the philosopher's understanding, of key terms. When you are not clear on how someone is using words and what they mean by them, you cannot fully understand their message.

Denotation

Denotation is the dictionary definition of a word. Although words evolve over time, according to how they are used or misused, the denotation is a more precise and direct understanding of the word in question. Denotation is the official definition, although there can be more than one and the wording used differs by dictionary.

Connotation

Connotation is based on what a word is thought to imply, rather than what its official definition in. The word Christian communicates a wide range of different stereotypes. that have nothing to do with what the word Christian means. Many other loaded words can divide people, not based on the standard meaning of words, but rather on what prejudices people assume to be true, based on public education, government and powerful lobbies propaganda, peer pressure, group think, and political correctness.

My Use of Connotation and Denotation

When I use many of the words I frequently refer to, I often am writing about how I perceive the connotation and how it corrupts people's understanding, of the reality of the situation. I also use certain words, for their connotation, rather than their denotation. I believe that the word Christian is used very stereotypically and challenged by poorly formed arguments. These arguments are based mostly on inaccurate assumptions, personal experience that are not typical, and on looking for arguments against Christians, instead of trying to find the truth. In other words, because many of those arguing against Christianity do not stick to facts and are not consistent or rational in their arguments, I feel fine with treating Atheism and Science the same way. But I will not claim to be objective, like those, who often attack Christianity, claim.

The Principle

The big principle that unites most my ethical beliefs is a principle I call "radical equality". My sense of fairness is not based on getting my own way, but, rather on every body being completely equal in every way. People, animals, and the entire ecosystem should be treated with equal weight and should all be empowered to enjoy the same rights and responsibilities. All rules should apply in every situation and should be based on general principles, instead of detail oriented laws that were designed, for rich people to not have to follow them, but are targeted for poor people instead.

Same Application in Every Situation

I believe that animals should have the same rights as people, that employees and employers both have an obligation to each other, that immigration law should be the same for every country, that women should be treated exactly the same as men, that if it is wrong to kill or hurt a person the same applies to an unborn baby as applies to an animal as applies to the environment as applies to any one else.

I believe that social services are as important, as law enforcement and national security; that businesses and individuals should pay the same taxes and have the same responsibilities; that father and mothers should have an equal access to their children, when they get divorced; that the environment is as important as the economy; that everyone should get the same financial aid for college; that everyone should have an equal choice as to what education they get; and people should always follow laws, no matter how unimportant they are, how hard it is to get caught, how little the punishment is, or inconvenient they are.

I believe that laws should be more severe, based on how many people are hurt and that economic crimes will get the same penalties as "violent" or physical crimes; that our polices toward other countries should be rated on how they treat their people and not on how much money corporations can make off of their resources; that we should give equal consideration in transportation funding, per person, based on how much energy they consume, in their method of transport; that any organization that has employees and receives money should be taxed equally, no matter what the organization is: a small business, a non-profit, or a large corporation.

Consistency Plus Holistic Worldview

In my writings, I have combined the ideas of radical equality, or extreme consistency, with a holistic worldview. I apply the same values or ethical standards to both: religion and politics, to my use of money and my treatment of others, and to my philosophical reasoning and my writing style. I don't see the environment and the economy, labor rights and animal rights, or my personal morality and my expectations of others as separate things. My religion affects everything in my life including: my beliefs, how I spend my money, how I relate with others, what I choose to write about, and what I expect out of others. My key value is radical equality.

Reality and Ethical Ideals

I realize that I don't have the ability to change the course of government or the culture and even if I do eventually have an influence, it might be centuries away if at all. But just like we still try to follow the ideals in the US Constitution and our religious writings, even in the face of corruption and greed, so we need ethical/moral standards to strive for. Just like in Christianity we get forgiven for everything we turn from and feel bad about, we still need to do our best to reform our ways, to have deeds that provide proof for our faith. We should continue to do as much as we can and not give up just because change is hard or that we can't get others to fully change their ways.

Plan on Being Short

It seems like most people like to put everything to the last minute and the last dollar. Not having extra money and extra time to do something or buy something is asking for trouble. It almost always takes people 4 times as long to finish something than they thought. There is always something unexpected, that you need to allow extra money for. Car repairs can cost thousands very easily and medical bills can easily be in the tens of thousands.

Be Self Reliant

Never rely on anyone else, to do something, or to be on time for anything. Always have backups of your backups, for your important computer files, as backups and the originals can easily fail. Everything fails and you will fail yourself.

Murphy's Law

Redundancy is needed in every walk of life and in every aspect of your life. The one thing I believe in with my whole heart other than the Bible is Murphy's Law. Everything that can go wrong will. Just plan on everything, that could, by any possibility, not work, always assume it will not work and plan ahead accordingly.

Have More Than You Need

Of course you cannot plan out everything and not everything is so important. But anything you value must have an alternate plan. Plan for not having power, running water, or sewer, for at least 72 hours, in the worst time possible. Always be prepared for the weather to change. Carry extra money in cash, to get yourself home, no matter where you are. Do not depend on battery power or credit cards. Always have at least several months of salary saved. Make sure you can get to the money, even if your home is destroyed.

Risky Investments

Don't invest any money, you cannot lose, in anything less reliable than US government bonds or in the bank, earning interest. Never put any money in the stock market that you cannot afford to lose. Most investments are risky to the point of being educated gambling and like gambling in Los Vegas, you can lose everything you have. Do not depend on anything you do not have in cash. Real estate has lost considerable value periodically. Never buy on credit, if you do not have the money, on hand, in the bank, already.

Natural or Man Made Disasters

Plan on your house being destroyed by: flood, earthquake, volcano, or civil unrest. Live in a safe neighborhood and in a city, that is not big enough, to be targeted by terrorists. Have alternate locations, where you can travel to, on foot, where you can live, in the case of natural or man made disasters. Store valuable information, in other locations, than just your house. Keep a list of important phone numbers and addresses.

What to Have on Hand

Always keep water on hand, in enough quantity, to last for, at least 72 hours. Have a sanitary way to dispose of your human waste, without modern plumbing and sewage, on hand, in your house. Keep some sort of self defense on you, most importantly, to keep dogs off you. The best way to deal with animals is pepper spray or even better, do not be in their way. Never feed a wild animal, block its exit, or bother its children.

What the Government Will Do

Do not expect the government to help you out, when you are in a bad situation. Even during natural disasters, the government is their to contain you, rather than help you. If a disaster happens that affects your town, expect people to come to the door, asking for your valuables, with no badges or uniforms, who have firearms, loaded and ready to shoot.

More than Necessary

When you learn multiplication and division, you are getting good at addition and subtraction; when you are learn algebra, you get good as multiplication and division; when you learn calculus, you get good at algebra. In the military, you always train to a higher standard than what is necessary in your job. If you need to run a 5km, learn to run a 10km. If your boss tells you to arrive a 9, get there by no later than 8:30.

Above and Beyond

The only way to be on time is to arrive early. The only way to pass a test is to practice beyond what you are tested on. Always do more than necessary. Always go above and beyond and you will always accomplish what you set out to do.

You Pay for What You Get

There is no perfect solution to any problems. Everything has its upsides and its downsides. You can't have your cake and eat it too. There are no silver bullets. To get something worthwhile you have to pay for it and not buy something else with the same money. If you don't want to save for something before you buy it, then you will be in debt and you will pay many times the amount you would have before, long after what you have used up what you bought. There is no way around it.

You Can't Get Everything You Want

In computers it is often said that you only get 2 of the following 3: cheap price, easy set up, and works. In software you can have any 2 of the following 3: efficiency, cross-platform, and easy to create.

Roots of Problems with Economy

The problems we have with the economy that have faced almost every government throughout history is that either the government, the leader, and/or the people want to get something without having to save for it and then they want to either get out of paying for it, delay paying for it, and then they try to avoid the inherent risk of doing this. The easy way to solve the problem with credit is to not use credit and instead of taking on a huge risk by borrowing money for a given venture, you save up your money before hand to buy whatever you want to.

People Want Everything without Working For it

This is the way with every issue including politics: people don't want to have to pay taxes, but they want all kinds of government services. Businesses and non-profits want to use someone else's money to borrow, but then they don't want any outside group that they borrow the money from to exert any influence. People want to win a war fast and cheaply, but they don't want to have to volunteer to fight in it, make sacrifices to support those who have volunteered, and they don't want the ones they are fighting to not like them or their country. Businesses want to be able to use up limited resources and leave their waste without cleaning it up and not have to pay the cost of this permanent damage.

Things Don't Just Happen

Just understand now that no one can give you anything for free, even if they want to. You must fight for everything you have got. You won't win the lottery, but you probably will get cancer. You may work hard, but you probably won't become famous, wealthy, or powerful. You will probably not make any more money than your parents did. You will not find the perfect job, wife, or have perfect children. Things do not just fall in your lap for free. Bad things will happen to you but good things will only come to the few, the lucky, those who know the right people, and will fade away fast.

The Real Solution

To be free of this, accept reality and focus on helping others and secure your place for eternity. The only thing you know for sure will happen is where you will go after you die. You will have to give up everything for it, but it will be not be enough, so God will give it to you for free, as He has already paid the price. You can either have a brief time with lots of money or everlasting life. Choose now. You cannot have both. Either way it is not free.

Most Problems are Spiritual in Nature

Most of the major problems our country is facing now, including our debt crisis, environmental crisis, energy consumption crisis, and the increasing power of terrorists are all spiritual in nature. The judgements in Revelations are all caused by environmental disasters, the esistance to the West in the Muslim world has been very effective in blocking the growth of Christianity, and the reason for most wars (including the present ones in the Middle East) for the last several hundred years at least are planned by those who spiritually control the world behind the scenes. So to deal with these problems politically is not effective, because they are spiritual in nature.

God's Rules

We have no power directly over the spiritual world, but God places certain rules on what things are allowed by whom in the spiritual world. God wants people to be in control of their own destiny, so He allows us to take part in His plans, by praying for His will to be done. This takes away the limitations God places on Himself and increases His influence throughout the world. Why God has chosen to work this way may not make sense to most people, but I know it does work this way.

God is in Control

We do not need to fear the problems in the world today, because God places special protection on His people. It is true that the spiritual forces that hate God, what He stands for, and His people have plenty of power to destroy us, and the reason why we have not been defeated from the beginning is because God is in the world with His Spirit and doesn't allow those behind the scenes to directly hurt His people. The forces against God have the most power when they are doing things in secret and they can get people to stop praying and reading the Bible.

What We Can Do

We are in control of our future very directly. We can take up the cause and choose to be a part of God's plan for the future, or we can do it our own way, but either way God will ultimately win and we will serve one master or another. The best that we can do to help improve our world is to: pray for God's will to be done, have the right attitude before God, read the Bible, and show God's love in the way we treat others in everything we do.

Our Problems are All Addictions

All our problems in America come down to addictions. Our addictions to drugs and alcohol, addictions to fighting the appearance of age, addictions to games and sports, addictions to information and the Internet, addictions to sex and fetishes, addictions to work and networking, addictions to money and investments, addictions to coffee and sugar, addictions to food and weight loss, and all the other ways in which we distract ourselves are caused by our fear of the increasing signs of global catastrophe. The number one reason why our youth pursue distractions is because they seriously believe they will not live past the age of 30.

Real Solution is Prayer

The real solution to our addictions is to solve our environmental, economic, cultural, and religious divisions, that are increasing in their violent confrontations, because we are at the limits of the oil, water, and soil that we need to survive. There are only 2 solutions: stop our addictions to our distractions in the West or a massive die off of the poorest part of the population in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. We already know which solution those in power would prefer. The only way to avoid this solution is to pray.

Rebellion Against God is the Cause

We know that all our problems are rooted in our rebellion against the Christian God and His laws. The way to break the cycle is to submit ourselves to God and pray that His will be done. There is no other way to affect change on a global scale. Only God's intervention will save us and will only come when we are truly sorry for our addictions and stop participating in them. That is the power of consumerism of American corporate culture: that we are addicted to it.

The Weak are Hurt Most

The consequences for our addictions is that the poor, the weak, and the sick are going to be trampled upon by our masters - the corporations. When we sin, we hurt pollute the natural world, the animals and our soil and water. There only defense is God's divine intervention. It is the only way to destroy the disease of sin, where it breeds. Our only liberation is through our choice to pray that the will of God happens, in our lives, as it does in Heaven.

Our Heads and in our Hearts

If we try our way out by science and technology, we will face the same problem within 50 years. The only way we will last to the next century is for us to turn to God. The underlying problem is not a war in the Heavens or on Earth, but the war in our hearts. We need to defeat our carnal self and empower our spiritual self, and that is the key to our survival on earth. We can only do this, by first submitting to God, in all areas of our lives.

Reasons

Sometimes my writing may appear negative, but there are good reasons for that. For one, writings is therapeutic for me and helps me accept the things that I cannot control in my life that causes my problems. Second, it is very hard to write something positive and uplifting or humorous. A third reason is that we live in very serious times.

Things are Going Well

What I want my readers to know is that most the most important things in my life are going very well and have been improving greatly each year for the last 10 years. I have learned a lot about myself, my illness, and what caused the major problems in the world today. My mental health has improved greatly as well as my independence. I have a great family and have enjoyed spending my time with them and sometimes I have been able to help them with some things. I have read about computers every day over the last 7 years and have increased my ability to fix or avoid problems as well as my ability to create better graphics and publish books. I have continued to do better financially each year and I have more money saved and my income is very secure.

Why My Experience is Unusual

I don't have the typical experience of being an unbeliever as a child and then accepting the Lord as my Saviour later in my life. I cannot remember exactly what was in my mind when I first asked the the Lord into my heart. I was only 4, but the following factors were likely in my mind, as soon as I could understand anything about myself.

Why I Began to Believe

There are four major factors in my decision to become born again and stay with the faith since then. Most importantly, I have always know that I needed help and the fact that needed it was much more obvious from my time in the military and since then. I wasn't a big leap to submit myself to God, because I hated arrogance more than anything else and understood why God placed the most importance on the ideal of humility. I never considered another faith as I knew that God was like how he was portrayed in the Christian bible, as I have a certain sensitivity to the spiritual things, and I could feel God's presence.

What Continued my Interest

And one of the things that has made me continue to be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually interested in the Bible is because of its complexity compared to other religious, philosophical, literary, and historical works of the greatest human thinkers. People are known to memorize the Koran and Buddhist Sutras, but I have never heard of a person who could conceivably memorize the entire Bible. The Bible is very simple and at the same time the greatest thinkers have struggled with even basic Christian doctrines (which is major reason why there are so many different denominations).

Life Events Were Unexpected

My life didn't turn out like I thought it would. But, I am very happy with my life how it is now. When you are young you believe that you can be a famous singer, actor, athlete, politician, or CEO. Later in life you realize that the main reason so little really changes even of things that everyone can agree with and don't require any sacrifice is that no one really wants change. Most people who get into power don't get there because they want to change the world, but rather are so willing to compromise and so willing to do anything to fit in, that they have no vision and no integrity.

The Most Power

The wisest man knows that a father and a mother are the ones with the most power in the world. They may not change a lot of people's minds, but they have more impact on their children then anyone else will. And having kids is usually so easy that we usually go to great lengths to prevent it.

How to Make a Difference

The best way to improve the world is find what you are good at, find a skill you do that someone will pay you for, and use the latter to finance the former. You can tell you are doing the right thing when you have a lot of powerful opposition, you cannot reach many people, you cannot make any money off it, or that no one finds you relevant.

Failure of Greatest Thinkers

The best test of whether you will change the world will be by how much you are rejected in your generation. Confucius, Baha'ullah, Socrates, the Apostle Paul, Spinoza, Rousseau, Hume, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and many other major thinkers were failures during their lifetimes. Abraham Lincoln lost election after election, but never gave up. Van Gogh couldn't sell his paintings to pay for a meal.

What I had Planned

When I was in high school, I was interested in international relations and wanted to becomes a wealthy philanthropist in international marketing (the distribution part). Then I went into the military and after not being able to complete my enlistment and my failure in college business classes (I took accounting 5 times before I passed), I realized that what I was good at was writing. Before I had a chance to complete my schooling and find a career, I was diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia, and started out in the mental ward of the local private hospital and worked my way up to where I am now - living independently.

Biggest Influences

But the reason I am happy with my life is not just because I had been able to accept my illness easily, as I was glad I didn't have cancer like I thought and I got rid of chronic allergic pink eye with my first antipsychotic. My real success is because of the direct divine intervention of the Christian God and the ability of my family to accept and embrace me despite my illness and their willingness to continually and ability to effectively advocate for me.

Divine Intervention

From the placement of myself in a base that was not going to deployed to a war zone, was in the US, as well as in a command that was willing to let me go with an honorable discharge; to my diagnosis before I had committed any crimes, to my staying out of the hospital ever since I was diagnosed, to the fact that the newest medicines effectively treated my mental illness; and to my ability to be more independent every year, to my ability to understand abstract thought, to having the motivation to study the same things for 10 years after college all happened miraculously; because of God was looking over me and intervened directly on my behalf.

Family Influence

Most of the direction and inspiration in my writings came from things my sister, mother, father, grandmother, and uncles Clive and Jeff told me and set as an example by their actions as I grew up.

Paradox and the Bible

I believe in the miraculous of the Bible, plus the social gospel, as I do in every other major paradox of the Bible. Most my beliefs are based on paradoxes. Many people often consider paradoxes to be contradictions, but I use the term differently: I think of paradoxes are things, that are considered contradictory at first, but upon further examination, we realize that they are complimentary, like male and female. The most important paradox of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is the One Creator God eternally and also was fully human, while on earth (at the same time).

Paradox and Faith

The reason why I believe that faith is the most important aspect of understanding the Bible is because paradoxes are best understood with the heart instead of the mind. The Bible is not written, to communicate the exact same thing, to everyone and is designed, so that even the greatest theologians will never find a systematic way to explain it. The Bible was not meant to be argued rationally, but believed by those who are willing to place their hope in God, rather than their own minds and their own abilities. The biggest thing that God hates is an arrogant person and the more we are able to explain the natural world, through rational means, the bigger our egos get and the less we feel the need for God. At the same time, we realize the things we though that we understood well, we knew less about than we thought.

The Apocalypse and the Environment

Many people have read the prophecy of the Bible and come to the conclusion that God is planning on destroying us, for no good reason. The irony of the situation is that we can see prophecy being fulfilled today and most of the plagues of the Bible are environmental disasters, that we created ourselves. God was not punishing us, but rather letting us feel the consequences, of our own greed and arrogance. We have know for a while what was necessary to make the world livable, for our grandchildren and it has been proven to us in ways that we can understand, but no one cares enough, to give up any of our toys, so that we can save our future. We are so addicted to our gods (our brands), that we cannot cut back on our consumption, even if it would make life better, for all of us.

My Writing and Paradox

Many of my books are based on paradoxes like how: Muslims understand God the Father, Zen Buddhists and Bhakti Hindus understand the Holy Spirit, and African Christians understand Jesus Christ better than any church in North America and Europe does. I then talked about how the body and the mind are as important a component of a person and their relationship with society as the heart and the spirit, and how both eternal salvation and social justice are equally important. I also talked about how we can be encouraged and live in hope and strive to improve ourselves, even as our world is being destroyed, and how we should consider businesses and people to be just as important and how the rights of both Christians and Muslims should be equally respected.

No Church is Perfect

There is no one perfect church or denomination. Evangelicals are good at sticking to their beliefs no matter what the obstacles, the Catholic church is great for its service, Mainline Protestants are good at social issues, and the Eastern Orthodox Church is great at its emphasis on mysticism. All churches are good at something and what you like about them will be different from me. No church is perfect in its theology and its commitment to living the Scriptures.

New Members

The things that I think is lacking in most churches are its commitment to new members and in making them feel welcome. It is hard to find a good church today, as they are so inward focused that they don't seem to care if someone new comes. Many churches are also bad at catering to young singles. Basically the church expects you to be out all weekend getting drunk, until you get married and have kids in your mid thirties.

Can't Agree with Any

The reason I don't go to church currently is because most churches I tried were too conservative politically and the liberal ones don't seem to have much commitment to Scripture. I just get angry at the conservative churches and don't feel any reason to go to the liberal ones. I like the Catholic Church because it combines both of the things I like about Evangelical and Mainline Protestant Churches. But I don't have the patience to go through a year long induction process. I also cannot agree with Catholic theology about Mary and the veneration of "saints".

The Bus Problem

The decisive thing is that the bus only comes one every hour on Sunday and that they often miss your stop, because they are too full, late, or just don't want to bother to stop. You then have to wait 2 hours and then you have to transfer and may have to wait an hour, for that as well and then do the same going back. You have to get to church really early and stay really long, to do it, which makes me very uncomfortable. And I heard they're cutting Sunday service totally with the bus now.

Why Avoid It?

I do not talk about sexual morality, as it is explained in the Bible, because I believe that that is one of the things other Christians have explained well. I have nothing to add to that. I like to write about things I know and things that are poorly understood as I have limited resources and don't feel the need to cover something, when I could not do any better myself at it. I am not going to cover every issue in the Bible, but I do believe that Biblical sexual ethics are important and should be followed.

What I Do Cover

I focus mainly on economic and environmental ethics and discipline, because I believe that these are not explained well or understood well from a Biblical point of view. I also focus on parts of the Bible that are not talked about as much and are not understood as well like the Prophets. I am confident that when people read the Bible, they will notice all the other issues described in the Bible, that I have not covered, and I don't think people will miss or have trouble interpreting Scripture related to sexual ethics.

I Appeal to a Small Group

My experiences working in a team is that I do all the work and everyone else gets credit for it. The Humanities approach has fallen out of favor in the 20th century and Science and Social Science have dominated the field, in my lifetime. I also have a unique perspective on my study of religion, which would make it hard to find someone doing something compatible. Christians don't like what I do, because I am liberal in my politics and am willing to study other religions and points of view. And non-Christians don't like my adherence to Christian morals and my unwillingness to include pagan, animistic, and occult writings and practices.

Few Would Respond

I would love to inspire someone else to be a philosopher, but I wouldn't want consider them as a successor if they adopted my philosophy or mainstream views and I would not consider anyone to be inspired by me who takes part in occult practices or study occult writings. I truly do walk the path less traveled and few people are interested in the study of philosophy or even are willing to read about anything, even things they agree with. I do still want more people to becomes Christians, even though I don't want anyone to feel pressured into it, because I believe that Christianity is a superior religion, but I believe that the Bible speak for itself and does not need to be defended.

Psalms

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

1

Isaiah

Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment. And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. And the eyes of them that see shall not be dim, and the ears of them that hear shall hearken. The heart also of the rash shall understand knowledge, and the tongue of the stammerers shall be ready to speak plainly. The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful. For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail. The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy speaketh right. But the liberal deviseth liberal things; and by liberal things shall he stand. Rise up, ye women that are at ease; hear my voice, ye careless daughters; give ear unto my speech. Many days and years shall ye be troubled, ye careless women: for the vintage shall fail, the gathering shall not come. Tremble, ye women that are at ease; be troubled, ye careless ones: strip you, and make you bare, and gird sackcloth upon your loins. They shall lament for the teats, for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine. Upon the land of my people shall come up thorns and briers; yea, upon all the houses of joy in the joyous city: Because the palaces shall be forsaken; the multitude of the city shall be left; the forts and towers shall be for dens for ever, a joy of wild asses, a pasture of flocks; Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest. Then judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places; When it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be low in a low place. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass.

2

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.

3

Luke

A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

4

John

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

5

2 Corinthians

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;) Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

6

Galatians

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

7

Colossians

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth: As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ; Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God; Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

8

James

My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter? Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh. Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

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2 Peter

Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance; Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me. Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

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New Testament and Old Testament God

Many people say they like the God of the Old Testament or the God of the New Testament and many people, even Christians, see these as opposing points of view and have a hard time reconciling them. One of the ways of understanding Scripture is the idea of progressive revelation, like in Mayana Buddhism, where God reveals more about Himself, over time. Many people think the Old Testament God was really repressive and that the New Testament God was very lenient and forgiving, but in reality it was the same God and the same moral standard.

Evolution of the Covenants

The New Testament and the Old Testament are named, after the 2 covenants God made, with man. The first was made with Abraham, renewed with Moses, and the Prophets. We learn later on in the Psalms and the Prophets that God does not delight, in the ceremonies He prescribed for people's forgiveness, but rather desired people, to make a genuine change of heart. We find out later on that all the commandments, summarized in the 10 Commandments, that would never be changed, until Jesus comes back again in glory, were about loving God, with all our heart and loving our neighbor, as ourselves.

Spiritual Realities

Throughout prophecy, we learn that idolatry and adultery are related and in the New Testament, we are told we either serve God or money, and in the Apocalypse, there will only be 2 options: serve God or serve the false gods. God judges people differently, who have heard about Him and made a commitment or covenant with Him and those who are ignorant of this. God takes loyalty to Him, as the most important thing, and the Bible teaches how serving God is the same, as loving others and doing good.

Being Christian = Being Kind

Not only were the pagan cultures of Biblical times worshiping false gods, but they were treating their people bad as well. The Bible connects your relationship with God, with your level of morality. As Christians mature, they are provided proof of their faith, in the way that they act. Being a committed Christian is supposed to be the same as being a kind person. We are in constant battle, between our spiritual and our carnal selves, and when we sin, our carnal self is in control and we are violating God's laws. Christians do continue to sin, but they should sin less and less, as they mature. If a Christian fails, to try to reform themselves, then the Bible basically says they are not real believers.

Exodus 34:

1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. 2 And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. 3 And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. 4 And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. 5 And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. 6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. 8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. 9 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. 10 And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. 11 Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. 12 Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: 13 But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: 14 For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: 15 Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; 16 And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. 17 Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. 18 The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. 19 All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. 20 But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. 21 Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. 22 And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. 23 Thrice in the year shall all your men children appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. 24 For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year. 25 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. 26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. 27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. 28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31 And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32 And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the LORD had spoken with him in mount Sinai. 33 And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. 34 But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. 35 And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

Deuteronomy 29:

1 These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2 And Moses called unto all Israel, and said unto them, Ye have seen all that the LORD did before your eyes in the land of Egypt unto Pharaoh, and unto all his servants, and unto all his land; 3 The great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great miracles: 4 Yet the LORD hath not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day. 5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot. 6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God. 7 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them: 8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. 9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. 10 Ye stand this day all of you before the LORD your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel, 11 Your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water: 12 That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with thee this day: 13 That he may establish thee to day for a people unto himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14 Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath; 15 But with him that standeth here with us this day before the LORD our God, and also with him that is not here with us this day: 16 (For ye know how we have dwelt in the land of Egypt; and how we came through the nations which ye passed by; 17 And ye have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them:) 18 Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood; 19 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst: 20 The LORD will not spare him, but then the anger of the LORD and his jealousy shall smoke against that man, and all the curses that are written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the LORD shall separate him unto evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this book of the law: 22 So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses which the LORD hath laid upon it; 23 And that the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom, and Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim, which the LORD overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24 Even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this great anger? 25 Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt: 26 For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them: 27 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book: 28 And the LORD rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as it is this day. 29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Jeremiah 34:

1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, 2 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: 3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: 5 But thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem, 7 When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah. 8 This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 9 That every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. 10 Now when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let them go. 11 But afterward they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. 15 And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name: 16 But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids. 17 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19 The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed between the parts of the calf; 20 I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

Hebrews 1:

1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? 6 And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. 7 And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. 8 But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. 9 Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. 10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands: 11 They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment; 12 And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. 13 But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

Hebrews 2:

1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. 2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Hebrews 3:

1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. 7 Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: 9 When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years. 10 Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways. 11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) 12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; 15 While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. 16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses. 17 But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

Hebrews 4:

1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. 3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. 5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. 6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: 7 Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. 11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief. 12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 5:

1 For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. 5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 6 As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared; 8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; 10 Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. 11 Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Faith Alone Plus Good Works

One of the major paradoxes, in Christianity, that has split the church, is over salvation being by faith alone and at the same time having proof, for your faith, through your changed attitude and behavior. Scripture states that no one is good but God. Man is born spiritually and morally corrupt, in his core self. Even Christians have this problem too. But a the same time, Christians need to prove their faith, by their good work. A simple way to resolve this paradox is to realize, that when we do good, as Christians, that it is a combination of our choice and God's supernatural intervention, that makes this possible.

How Salvation Works

Just as God is almost entirely responsible for our salvation and all He asks of us to admit we have disobeyed His laws, that we are not deserving of anything, and we accept His authority in our life, the vast length of the separation from God is bridged by God's unconditional grace and forgiveness. God is perfect and cannot tolerate injustice, so He came to earth, in human form (while still remaining God and being perfect in morality), to sacrifice Himself, as Jesus Christ, so that our failures in following His laws and our arrogance, for attempting to try to be good, without God and erecting our own corrupt attempt, at moral standards, in contradiction of God' s laws can be overcome (by God's sacrifice of Himself and the taking on the penalty of our misdeeds).

How Both Can Be True

So the way in which we can do good, as Christians, is almost entirely because of God's grace and very little is because of our effort. We can be good, while fallen, because, as Christians, we are submitting ourselves to Jesus Christ and letting him take control of our lives. Christians can be good and at the same time fallen, because we have not given over all of our life to God, and as we grow, we hand over more and more aspects of our lives, to our Lord Jesus Christ. A genuine Christian should grow in this way, so that even though he does good things, who he is is still a sinner and a fallen individual. So Christians are both fallen and should have good deeds at the same time. Both are true and denying either one is not Biblical.

Different Types of Mysticism

Mysticism is often used very vaguely and has many different meanings for different people. The essential meaning of mysticism that almost everyone can agree upon is mystery. Mysticism can be as different as Evangelical Christianity is from occult religions (occult means hidden and the Bible refers to those who do things ungodly as doing so in a secret way, because they are ashamed of it). There is nothing orthodox or unorthodox about mysticism in Christianity. Modern Christian mysticism seems to be most common in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, although modern Evangelical theology can be seen as very mystical as well.

Roman Catholic Approach

One of the big things that has kept me from becoming Roman Catholic, besides the year long commitment to the process of joining, is that it is common for Roman Catholics to pray to "saints" and there is special reverence for Mary, Mother of Jesus that I cannot find Biblical support for. In Latin America, names of Christian "Saints" are often used in the practice of pre-Christian animism and have confused many people as to what Christianity is all about. Christianity is not like the ancient Roman practice of just renaming all the Greek gods. The Christian God is totally different in values/morality, position of authority, attributes, relationship to people, and almost everything else that constitutes a given spirit or person.

Eastern Orthodox Approach

I like the importance placed in the Eastern Orthodox church on the Jesus Prayer and on the mystical instead of rational approach to Scripture. The idea that one can experience a spiritual connection with God, beyond what is described in the Bible, of how we are instructed how to relate to God, is hard for me to reconcile with scripture. I know that this practice is not the same as a person becoming one with God, in the sense that they achieve the same level spiritually, but I think it is problematic and I think that it requires too elaborate an explanation, that could so easily cause confusion, to people who are spiritually immature.

Paradox and Faith

Paradox is one of the major philosophical concepts of mysticism. The way in which I see the Bible as mystical relates more to how Kierkegaard sees the paradox of Jesus Christ's existence and our relationship with Him as was described in the new Testament, especially in the Apostle Paul's letters to the various early Christian churches. The belief that Jesus was both man and God is a paradox and must be accepted by faith, not reason and in our relationship with God should be one of humility, in reverence to the reality, of who God is and our proper response to who He is.

Christ and Salvation

So important is humility, that I agree with Kierkegaard, that when we are farthest from God, because of sin, we are actually closer, by way of grace. The most important thing in faith is humility, as that is what God wants most of us, because that is essentially what the process of repentance and salvation is about. God realized that no one of us could ever be anywhere good enough to earn our way to God, so Jesus decided to save us by grace and to forgive our sins by his own sacrifice. In salvation, God's grace and sacrifice reach out to us and all we do is accept his offer with the appropriate respect.

Our Relationship with God

This isn't to say that sin is preferable, but only that our obvious failure increases our realization of how much we rely upon God's grace. And humility before God is not a matter of debasement, but really just an acceptance of a reality we can only partially imagine and understand more fully by faith and through God's grace. Think about it this way: even though every human is equal in worth, because God both created and redeemed all of us on His own; any number compared to infinity is zero. No matter how great we are or how moral we are, we are nothing in comparison to the Christian God. God is not a mere spirit, but rather is infinitely greater than anything that could possible by created or imagined by Him or anyone else over all of eternity.

What We are Taught

We are taught to specialize in narrow way of thinking and compartmentalize religion, science, history, and art. We are taught to substitute facts for truth and math for faith. We substitute current event soundbites for our understanding of history and substitute fashion for our vision of art. We lose our souls and learn to compromise in public schools. The youthful enthusiasm we have for new ideas and change is directed towards conformance to our peers and the trends started by our manufacture heroes: musicians, actors, models, and athletes.

What We Believe

All our desires to resist what our parents taught us are channeled into an addiction to consumption and materialism. We challenge ourselves in how much alike we can be and compete for the attention of those who epitomize a narrow and unrealistic view of the ideal opposite sex. We seek our happiness through our consumption of entertainment, that we passively view, without critical thought or consideration of the effort involved in its creation. We just expect to live the fairy tale life, that we see in the movies and music videos, even though the rich and famous are not satisfied by that either.

We Need Values

America needs God now more than ever. America needs the Christian God, who is superior to the other gods, because God provides all the things we need to have values and behave morally. A code of ethics tells us what we must do, religion gives us a reason why, and the Christian God gives us the power to do so. We in America are so enamored by our games and entertainment pastimes, that we have forgotten that the most important aspect of life is spiritual. We are not going to be able to be rich, while trading our economic, political, and social future, for a fun time now.

At the End of our Wealth

We have spent all we can and borrowed as much as others will lend us. We have gone through: our natural resources, our financial resources, and our human resources. We have nothing to sell the rest of the world, that they want or need and we cannot afford to buy, what the rest of the world wants to sell us. We are bringing down the entire world economy and the third world will be hit hardest of all. We need to understand what position we are in today, to get the motivation to improve ourselves, so that we can have a future.

There is Much Work to Do

We need to do a lot of things at once. We need to start investing in our future: by getting more education, by learning to save money, by learning manners and how to treat people fairly, and we don't have time to waste. At the same time our country needs to: stop fighting expensive wars oversees that will never be resolved, stop wasting our limited natural resources like coal and oil before we have none left, we need to rebuild our infrastructure, invest in educating people in things that will get them jobs that pay enough to support a family, secure our borders so that criminals don't get in an out of the country without our knowledge or consent, find a way to constructively employ those who are unemployed and not able to find new jobs, and clean up our environment and build infrastructure to deal with the economic, social, and technological problems caused by our over consumption of natural resources.

We Need to Conserve

Our economy has permanently contracted, while our population continues to grow and our grandparents have lost their retirement savings and are now trying to find jobs as well. We need to find a way to continue to advance technology, while, at the same time, still keeping jobs for the average person. It does no good to save so much money on plastic junk, when we have only been able to do so at the cost of our jobs. We need to find a way to get by with: less energy, less money, and less technology. We need to revert to a much earlier century in our use or energy, or else we will have a mass die off of the human population.

History of Scholarship

The Church in its various flavors has traditionally been at the forefront of education: the Renaissance and the Cyrillic family of Slavic languages were started by Eastern Orthodox monks, the golden age of the Islamic world was started by Jacobite and Nestorian Christians, and the Catholic church helped preserve and advance the written works of the pagan and Christian worlds for centuries. When Protestant Christians went overseas as missionaries, they translated the Bible into the native language of the local people and even created written languages, if there was none to start with, and founded some of the best educational systems, in the countries they had missions and they are still alive today.

Why Christians have Rejected Academia

The rise of the Evangelical branch of Christianity seems to not place the same emphasis on education. Some of the major reasons may be that: a lot of the academic world is trying to push the idea that white Christian males caused all the world's problems, many Christians in the academic community are trying to push a Christianity that is not Biblical in its theology, academia constantly argues against all of the miracles in the Bible by trying to explain them scientifically, and academia seems to have accepted Darwinian evolution, life being formed by chance, and an old Earth theory as a gospel truth.

Christians Should do What is Right

But my belief is that we should only oppose things that are wrong morally or contrary to the Bible, so I think the push for Christians should be to do what is right, instead of just doing the opposite of the unbelievers. Just because many pagans are trying to help the environment doesn't mean that Christians shouldn't do so as well. Just because atheists dominate Science doesn't mean that we should give up on creationism. Just because many in academia have argued against imperialism and colonialism doesn't mean that Christians cannot embrace this idea as well, but explain how it is rationalism and a lack of spiritual values that caused this problem to get exponentially worse.

Christians Need to Take a Stand

Christians need to bring Biblical values back into the educational system and fight for the future of our culture. Christians should not be afraid to challenge secular beliefs, just because they are popular and assumed to be true by the majority. Christians need to show how academia's beliefs in things that contradict the Bible are not the result of letting the evidence lead to the truth, but rather that much of academia just assumes things to be true, because they don't have the moral fiber, to stand up for the truth. Christians should not be afraid to have an opinion or to use Scripture to support their views, in the non-Christian world.

The Battle is Spiritual

Christians need not fear that they will be rejected or lose funding, because God will back them up. Christians need to realize that the future of education of young people is a spiritual battle and when they find opposition to realize that there are spiritual forces behind this. The best thing Christians can do is keep the right attitude before God, pray for God's will to be done, live as moral a life as possible, and keep reading Scripture for answers to our problems. The only thing Christians should be afraid of as being able to defeat them is their own addiction to sin and unwillingness to submit their lives to God. The real battle is in our minds and our greatest enemy is our carnal self.

What is Rational?

People often use the word "rational" in contemporary speech, to describe doing things that are sensical and well thought out, but rational means something completely different in philosophy. Rational philosophy is often described as diametrically opposed to faith or mysticism. Having faith in something, if it is real, makes sense, but is not always called "rational," because that word in philosophy is usually used to refer to using empirical evidence, to support a claim about something, that can be tested in a lab and is part of the natural world.

Spirituality is Worthwhile

A lot of things in life cannot be proven Scientifically, so that they are sometimes referred to as irrational. This is because the spiritual aspects of life can only be fully understood by faith, in what is not a physical or mathematically understood reality. There are a number of reasons for believing in spiritual things: values like love or honor, the motivation to do something because it is believed to be the right thing, and choosing to sacrifice yourself for something greater are all spiritual things, cannot be explained through Science, but are still very important.

Definition of Atheism

Atheism basically mean not theistic or not believing in a God or other deities. Most of the people that do not believe in God in the West probably are doing so, because they don't want to follow rules. You could call that a value too, because values or ethics can be any system that is consistent. For instance, Christianity by the example of Christ has the values of humility and compassion.

Nietzsche

Nietzsche has a very different set of ethics. Nietzschean ethics are based on the pre-Socratic philosophers (the Greek philosophers before Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle) and Greek paganism. Nietzsche values strength and beauty primarily and he is very passionate and committed to his beliefs. If the majority of Christians had the same passion for their beliefs, then there would be much less to criticize in how Christianity is commonly practiced today. I share with Nietzsche the idea that I do not want any followers.

Anarchy

For people that do not want to follow any rules are often categorized as Anarchists, but I think the real issue that defines Anarchists, from others who reject the establishment, is that Anarchists do not respect private property, because they feel it was gained through deception and violence. I am not an Anarchist, because I am Christian and the Bible has rules against destruction of private property, even if it is gained dishonestly.

Major Atheistic Philosophies

There are many other Atheistic codes of ethics or complete philosophies including: Existentialism, Postmodernism, and the most famous of all - the Enlightenment. The Enlightenment was based on the ideas of the major Greek and Roman philosophers and culture and was about the free exchange of ideas and the idea of a culture and a government founded on reason and the rule of law, instead of on faith and obedience. Rousseau believed that people were good naturally and that evil was a learned behavior. The biggest new ideas of the Enlightenment were Science and the Social Sciences.

The Enlightenment

Hegel was famous for uniting the two major schools of the Enlightenment, called British Empiricism and Continental Rationalism. Empiricism was based on using empirical evidence to find truth and Rationalism was based on the idea that there is an "a priori" statement that everything else is discovered from. Descartes' a priori was "I think therefore I am". Hegel based his ideas on an elaborate system that made extensive use of the concept of paradox. Hegel's philosophy was part of a school called phenomenology, which is very hard to explain or understand.

Existentialism

Kierkegaard and later Existentialists usually agreed that they were against any kind of system used to explain the unique qualities of human being (or existence). Existentialism started out Christian, but some of the most famous Existentialists like Sartre and Heidegger were Atheists. Postmodernism is a reaction against the Enlightenment's belief in absolute values, but still embraces Science and reason, as the source of truth.

Variations of Atheism

Atheism is also a very general category, that involves many variations on the lack of belief in a God (a belief in a God or gods is also known as religion). There are at least dozens of variations and the most common is the Agnostic variation, which people claim, who have not decided whether or not they believe in God. Science is the best known philosophy which is designed on a kind of Agnosticism towards evidence and reason.

Philosophy is Going Beyond the Basics

So you already have a religion and you wonder why you need philosophy. Philosophy is to religion, as math is to science. You can be born again and have eternal life without learning much about philosophy, but if you are the kind of person that just does the basic to get by, than all means don't bother. You don't even have to be literate, to be born again. Many people get by without the most basic understanding of math or science.

Philosophy is not for Most People

Not everyone has time to learn about everything in depth. Philosophy is not for everyone. Society needs many more engineers, than it needs philosophers. But if you don't want to learn about philosophy, because you already have done the bare minimum for you religion, then you might at least want to re-examine your attitude, as it will not get you far in life. Doing the bare minimum will keep you at a boring, unfulfilling job, for the rest of your life.

What Kind of Person are You?

Philosophy is for those who want to get more out of life, for people who know life is short and they want to discover what is most important in life. They want to understand why things are the way they are and what they can do to change things. Philosophy is for people who cannot live life without examining themselves and their place in the universe. Philosophy is for people who cannot be satisfied, by a one sentence answer. Philosophy is for people who enjoy thinking and learning.

An Summary of the Biblical Concept

Most people think of freedom as the ability to choose what they want to do. The irony is that most people are driven by the desire for pleasure, actually become addicted to sin, and end up destroying themselves, as a direct result of their free choices. It is ironic that so many Americans died for their citizens to experience freedom and yet most Americans are so desperate to belong to a social group that they make the exact same choices as everyone else.

As you can now see, theoretical freedom is not the same as real freedom, because our greatest enemy is ourselves and our own selfishness. The Bible talks about how we are slaves to our own greed and that to be free is to be adopted back in to God's family, being reconciled with our Creator, and being forgiven for our mistakes. Freedom is only achieved by understanding the concept of sin, realizing that some choices lead to destruction, and then accept that we must submit ourselves to Christ in order to be truly free.

We have one of two masters: we serve money (the devil) or God. We cannot keep from choosing sides. If we don't make the decision to repent of our sins, then we are making the choice to continue in sin and we will be in servitude to a master, who want us to have no freedom. There are many times in which there are multiple decisions we can make and none are bad decisions. Life does not allow simple choices very often and even simple choices can be hard to make. But for us to know the truth about our relationship with God is the starting point in which we can fight against our greatest enemy, our stubborn will.

Being free is related to being humble. This is a paradox that few understand. There is no freedom in an addiction and if we live to satisfy our desires, we will never be happy or at peace with ourselves. The only path to freedom must begin with acknowledging that we cannot be free, with no commitment to God. Being free is really about accepting that we cannot be happy on our own. We need to go back to the relationship we have all been estranged from. We must come back to our Heavenly Father with respect and humility. Grace is the route to freedom and it is given freely. We just need to accept the reality as it is.

Passages that Talk about Biblical Freedom

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

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Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

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What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Western vs. Non-Western Attitudes

To many Western Christians, passages about prophecy and about how suffering builds character make God seem like a sadist or a masochist. But in Africa, Revelations is the most popular book of the Bible. Why do different cultures see things so differently and how can talking about suffering be positive?

Who is Responsible?

I must first assure to you that God is not responsible for our suffering and neither is the devil. God restricts what the devil can do to us (like we read about in Job) because God wants us to be responsible for our actions and have a free will, so that we can choose our own destiny. The part that doesn't make sense is that good people suffer because of what bad people have done and the bad people often live without any ill effects.

Encouraging People Who Suffer

So the point of talking about the suffering we will have is not to say that it is worthwhile nor even ok that we suffer, nor is to scare us about the future, but rather to communicate to those who are already are suffering, that it is not for nothing. In other words, it is to encourage us. I think, for many in the West, we are relatively rich and do not suffer physically anywhere near like it is in the Third World, so we misinterpret prophecy about the future as some sort of punishment, for us who believe.

Environment and Prophecy

We are learning now about the world, things that were prophesied to happen at the end of time. These birth pains are already occurring, which we label as environmental disasters. These we have caused, because of our own lust, selfishness, and sin.

Understanding God's People

This goes back again to what it means to be a Christian and what group of people Christ has targeted for His Kingdom: Christianity is a religion for the materially poor and the spiritually rich. We will never understand who Christ is, until we understand what the majority of the Christians in the world, throughout history or even now, are like in their circumstances and in their spiritual make up.

Eternal Perspective

I have thought about what Heaven might be like, for a long time. Time would obviously be different, if we are to live forever, so that we don't need to have an endless list of things to do. I think we see part of this in Taoist writings, and when we get very good at something, we are in the process of performing the action, and we are in the moment or in the flow, time goes by at a different rate. Compare kissing your girlfriend or wife with getting your hand burned: in one situation, time goes by faster than in the other situation. I think one of the reasons why God still sees us as sinners, even if we have repented many years ago, is because for God, everything happens at once (this is really a vast oversimplification), so God sees everything we have ever done as the real us, instead of what we are at an given time.

Roses and Heaven

I took some close-up pictures of some roses, while visiting my parents, and they were so perfect and beautiful that they gave my a feeling of peace, joy, and awe. The roses remind me of how I imagine Heaven. At the end of the Book of Revelations, Heaven is described as a golden city, with precious jewels and a garden. I used to think that this seemed inconsistent with how God speaks in support of values, instead of material wealth, throughout the rest of the Bible.

Indian Mystic Poets

But I remember reading some of the writings of South Indian Mystic Poets and how there is a branch of the Bahkti Hindu movement (this is a movement based on the devotional path of Hinduism) that believes God cannot be explained and so can only be talked about in mystical terms. This school believes similarly to how Moses Maimonides talked about how God can only be described in terms of what He is not, instead of what He is. God is not finite, He is not mortal, He is not defeatable, God was not created, and He is not limited by anything. The Indian mystic poets that believe this way, include some of the most famous: Kabir, Guru Nanak, and Meera. But this other school of the Bhakti movement understands God as a celebration and that living a spiritual life is one of splendor and rich in spiritual qualities.

Understanding Revelations

Revelations starts out as a very scary horror film or nightmare scenario. We read this book of the Bible and are terrified of ever having to live through this, but throughout most of the history of the Church, Christians have found comfort in reading Revelations, because it gives them hope. Have you ever gone on a camping trip? How did you feel when you came home, took a shower and then slept in your own bed? Have you ever had a hard workout on a very hot day? What did you feel when you got to drink a cold drink? That is what Heaven is like. Heaven is about comforting us after all we have suffered in our lives. We will truly appreciate it, after all we have been through in our lives.

Get Ready to Think

1. Get plenty of sleep

2. Give yourself as much time as possible

3. Thoroughly research the topic

4. Don't limit your options unnecessarily

Think About the Idea

1. Prioritize what is most important

2. Be willing to make trade-offs

3. Discuss the idea with other people

4. Take a lot of time to think about it

Try the Idea Out

1. Make controlled experiments

2. Roll out your idea in stages

Get Ready for Future Ideas

1. Be willing to try new things

2. Practice thinking differently

3. Take calculated risks

4. Try things you haven't before

Living Without a Car

One of the big ways to save money is to not own a car. This involves a real sacrifice and can be isolating. It is not for everyone. The alternatives are most commonly: taking the bus, walking, riding a bike, and taking a taxi. Each has its own purpose and more than one can be used, based on the situation.

What Riding the Bus is Like

If you have good bus service in your town, this could be a solution by itself. One of the things to plan for is to live at a major intersection in town, so that they are unlikely to cut your stop or route, because, at least in my town, they make service cuts every year. One of the things about the bus, at least in my town, is that a bus may not come at the scheduled frequency (they are never on time), if the bus is full or they are behind schedule, so you have to allow extra time. Another thing that is frustrating is dealing with the drivers, who: will often not stop at the right stops, will want you to hurry on the bus at some times and then at others make you wait for people to get off (that you can't see), and they often don't give you time to sit down or to get off before driving off. In my town, the service is good weekday mornings and afternoons. You also cannot carry big packages or luggage, drink or eat, or listen to load music on the bus.

Bus People

The people on the bus can be frustrating too. Most people who ride the bus do so, because they cannot afford any other options. Most people who ride the bus are: kids, the elderly, people with various disabilities like those in wheelchairs and the developmentally disabled, the poor, and people who have lost their licenses to drive, due to reckless or drunk driving. Many people on the bus have bad manners and have a hard time getting along with others. Usually there is at least one person who is very annoying, who does something like: making loud repetitive sounds, staring at you, going on and on with irrational ramblings, or trying to start a conversation with you or the bus driver. I try not to make eye contact with anyone and avoid smiling, which helps keep people from harassing me directly. I also avoid certain times and routes to avoid certain annoying people.

Alternatives to the Bus

If I want to get anywhere on the weekends, I either walk or take a taxi. I have tried using a taxi, to get to a meeting, at a certain time, but I found that, if you call them too early, they forget and that not very many taxis are running on the weekend. There must not be much competition for taxis in my town. Riding a bike around town works well, in my town, because of all the bike paths, but you will have to find somewhere to put your bike (there isn't much room on the bus for them) and you should avoid getting a nice one as they are often stolen. Riding a bike in the rain is not fun either and it is hard to carry packages.

Re-Occurring Expenses

Another big way to save money is to reduce re-occurring expenses. Some of these include cell phones, cable TV, Internet, games, movies, music, computers, software, and eating out. Not everyone needs every electronic device out there. People survived fine for thousand of year without cell phones. Most people do not have much time to watch cable TV, so for most people that is a bad investment. You can get the entire season of a show on DVD or on iTunes and just see what you want, without paying, for all the stuff you never watch on cable. The Internet is vital for most people, but check the rates from different companies and different plans, not usually advertised, and you can also get free wireless network, at many different businesses in many areas, like restaurants and coffee shops. You can save money on music, by just buying the songs you want on iTunes, instead of purchasing an entire CD, for one song. You can also save money, by buying movies on iTunes, rather than buying them on DVD or Blu-ray. Many people can actually save money on a Mac, due to not having to pay lots of money for constant repairs, because Macs last longer, and Macs have much higher resale value. You can save on software, by using open source software, instead of paying hundreds of dollars, for Microsoft and Adobe titles.

The Meaning of Free Culture

Free culture is a movement primarily Internet based and is an information era application of a much older reason for publishing. Most alive today people can't remember what it was like before people created art, music, literature and that kind of thing, without the primary reason being to make money. In fact, most of the intellectual property created in the last hundred years is also not worth the same as what was created before.

Compare, for instance, sacred religious texts with popular culture creations like Disney movies. Would you more likely risk your life for the Bible or for the animated Cinderella? I believe that there is a direct connection between why something is created and its value.

The Situation Today

Today, most things that are created for profit are not very high quality. Think of a recent movie or song that you thought would be worth preserving. The reason for this is that there is a whole network of powerful people, who act as gatekeepers of information. To reach a wide audience, you need an advertising campaign, which requires an investment of a tremendous amount of money.

Loss of Trust

The Internet is making it much cheaper to publish information and therefore, we can reach each other, instead of having to get approved by a magazine editor or TV news producer. People used to trust their newspapers and TV reporters, before my generation which has seen a tremendous number of people in the establishment caught, pushing their own agendas and publishing for the advertisers, instead of for the readers. The thing that people get really upset about is when the journalists keep on supporting the establishment, no matter what it does and then, at the same time, claim to be objective.

Foreign Workers

Another thing that is lowering the bar to getting published is that people in third world countries and major Asian nations are now taking over the jobs of American journalists, engineers, and managers. Now one seemed to care when the blue collar workers lost their jobs, because we didn't mind people of color doing menial labor, but when they moved up the ladder to white collar jobs, now everybody gets defensive and cries out about the injustice. If it is ok for factory workers to lose their jobs to foreign workers, it is also ok for white collar workers to lose their jobs as well (and it is about time).

The Best Way to Fight

Many people's response is to steal songs and movies, because they don't find them worth the cost. But the problem with this is we just end up with less control over our media purchases and many people go to jail. The better way to fight the establishment and their control over our information, is to produce the content ourselves. I cannot single handedly provide enough information for everyone in America, but together with hundreds of thousand of others, we can cover a lot of ground.

When someone got a degree in a field, they used to have a certain level of competence, but the professional community has lowered its standards of both integrity and work ethic, to the point that diplomas don't mean much anymore. We may not be able to match the resources to do the same amount of research, but we can contribute without a profit motive, which makes us much more "objective".

Serve your Country

We need to have a free culture in America worth the sacrifices of our military service members and other Department of Defense and State Department workers. Especially as I am a veteran, I believe that it is very important that our military doesn't become an arm of corporations and their desire to get more money and power, at the expense of the average citizen. I do not believe that Disney movies, the NASCAR, or the Wall Street Journal are worth dying for. So if you want to help America and don't want to get burned alive and have permanent brain damage form serving in Iraq or Afghanistan, you will serve your country very well at home, by making sure we have something in America worth sacrificing lives for.

Help Yourself

* you can promote the things you have interests in

* you can be in control

* you can become famous

* if you want something done right, do it yourself

* you know best what you like

* you can pass the time

* you can get a better job

* you can create a market for your job

* you can create things for advertising

Enhance Your Self-Esteem

* you can take pride in your creation

* you can expand your interests

* creating for others provides meaning in your life

* you can find a new hobby

* you can see beyond your circumstances

Learn New Things

* you can enhance your experience

* you learn best by creating based on what you learn

* you can learn a new skill or perfect a skill

* you can make a good resume and portfolio

* you can learn to be patient

* you can learn discipline

* you can develop a work ethic

* you can expand your knowledge

Help Others

* if no one created, there would be nothing to consume

* you can influence others

* you can leave a legacy for your children

* you can meet other people

* you can be a role model

* you can contribute to your community

* you can make your family look good

Getting Perspective

When a person has plenty of money, they have a nice family, and they still feel a lack of purpose or joy in life, a good psychologist will often recommend the client becoming a volunteer or, in some other way, donating their time, for the benefit of others. One of the great things about spending your time making other people's lives better is that it gives you perspective. Many of us in the modern United States have lived very sheltered lives and have little perspective on how the majority of the world lives.

The Way the Youth Live

Basically, we are often spoiled rotten, in comparison. Many of us don't know what difficult really means. We spend most our youth going to school for a few hours day and don't have to even try to pass classes. Most children spend most their free time playing games, chatting or texting on a mobile phone, or hanging around at the local mall. This generation expects more than even my generation did. Kids now expect to be entertained, in order for them to put any effort, into learning at school.

Lazy Employees

Employees, even my parents age, typically do nothing but complain all day. It seems that people's greatest fear these days is actually doing their job correctly. We get paid so much more than any other country and yet we feel no loyalty to the company who pays us and have no pride in what we do. It is true that we have made some great progress, in the last couple generations, as far as rights for women and people of color, but we seem to have gone too far the other way now.

Greater Expectations

The biggest problem today is that people are lazy, because their parents never taught them any work ethic. We need to raise the expectations in our children, if we want to have responsible adult citizens. And some how this generation needs to learn discipline as adults. If we don't learn the easy way, we will be forced to learn the hard way. The easy way is to learn these values by our own choice and in our own way, but if we fail to learn this way, we will be forced to learn as a result of our country falling apart and the economy coming to a complete standstill.

No Easy Way

To have joy in life, we need to have more outlets than just work and play. Some people help others just with their jobs, but most people will not find fulfillment in working alone. If we do nothing after work, but entertain ourselves with corporate media, we will not feel at peace. Constantly distracting yourself does not keep you from having to find meaning in life. There is no substitute way to get self esteem, without putting effort into something. There is no pill that will make you happy, all by itself.

Be a Patriot

It breaks my heart to see the service members give their lives and their health, just for us to be able to consume more. There is no point in fighting for our freedom to choose Coke or Pepsi, Toyota or Honda, Republican or Democrat, and the like. We need to make choices that involve sacrifice. We need to delay our gratification, in order to exercise our free will. The things that are really worth doing require a tremendous effort. Writing a book, running a marathon, spending a year overseas, joining the Peace Corps, becoming an Eagle Scout, participating in local theater, working on a political campaign, and raising money to help the environment are all things that will help you be grateful for the things you already have.

Historical Perspective

Anyway, I decided to write this to encourage people today and to give some historical perspective partly gained by now being 32, living on my own for a number of years, my study of history, and my insights about God, that have come to me over the last 12 years. I think it would be best for people to stop watching the news. There are major changes happening in the world today, but I think we should be excited about them and not afraid of them.

No One Knows When

First of all I believe that no one knows the future or controls it except God and that just as the first coming of Jesus was not predicted by anyone, the same will happen in his second coming. I think that studying prophecy should only be done to show how God is in control of history and not to predict future events. The smartest theologians in history could not even understand the most basic theology of the Bible and they have never successfully predicted the future.

Unique Perspective

I also have no clear idea about the future, but I do have an unusual perspective on world history, I am very creative, and am good at connecting things that seem unrelated. First of all, America has nothing to fear in the future. America will no longer be the world power but will likely be a world power. I think that the American big business view of the world is going to be proven wrong and will fail. Things will get harder economically in America, but things will improve in many other ways. One of the things that scares me most is being in the world all alone, but that is unlikely. Even if we have an apocalyptic event like a nuclear war, there will still be a huge number of people left.

Not So Bad in America

Another thing that people don't seem to understand in America is that economists have a very poor record of understanding and explaining the present and have an even worse record of predicting the future. I think that we tend to overestimate our weaknesses and underestimate our strengths. I think that a lot of our world problems come from other world rivals trying to make things more difficult for America by distorting what other countries know about America. Just like I think Microsoft will be important in the future as a spoiler so is Russia. Russia still has global ambitions and blames us for its fall. Many of the growing powers in the world may well self destruct long before they threaten the US.

American Ignorance

I think Americans are often very naive about international politics, because we do not study world history in schools. The most important part of history is the very first part and the last couple centuries are actually least important. America is a anomaly in world history. America has lot fewer and less severe problems compared to the rest of the world because of our geography (no enemies on our borders), our abundant natural resources (which were mostly wood and fish), and our low population density. Almost everyone in the world, who is trying to improve the world would choose to live in the US, if they had a choice.

Origin of Middle East Problems

The Middle East was the way it is today because of decisions the people who live there made in the past. The spread of Islam and the Arab people was another anomaly of world history. Throughout most of history, people had far fewer freedoms than we enjoy today and at the most there were a few religious choices that were approved. The others were persecuted.

Technology and History

One of the keys to world history is the level of technology available at the time. For a very long time, throughout most of recorded history, what is now Europe traded with what is now India, Southeast Asia, and China and this was important for the world economy. Our modern way of life is all based on the energy we get from coal and oil. Without it, we will lose our technology very fast. How many people could build a printing press from scratch or know how to make an effective plough. These inventions took centuries and can be lost very easily.

Roman Empire Success

The Roman Empire was made possible because the technology of that era allowed people to navigate the Mediterranean, but was not advanced enough to allow voyage by the major world oceans. Rome became powerful when they took over North Africa (which supplied most of the food for the Roman Empire), Egypt, and the Middle East (which allowed them to financially benefit from the trade that went from the Mediterranean through the Red Sea and into the Arabian Sea to India).

Ascension of Europe

Europe was able to dominate most of the world during the last 500 years, which a big contributing factor was that the Portugese figured out how to go from Europe and around the coast of Africa to India, China, and Southeast Asia. One of the very important things that Europe needed from South and East Asia were spices, because they needed to preserve food and make them taste good enough to eat without modern refrigeration.

Technology vs. Morality

At this same time, Asia became increasingly weak and Europe became much stronger. This was partly because of slight weather changes and European mastery of weapons technology like guns and the shift in warfare technology that favored discipline over personal combat skills and bravery. Another factor that made India and China weak was the desire to focus on moral development and to not pursue technological advancement as aggressively as the west. European nations also gained wealth and power through taking over what they called colonies which were mostly along their major trade routes to the Orient.

Rome Not First Church

The Roman Catholic Church has convinced many people that it was the first church, but this is wrong. There were four equal and independent Christian centers and Rome was the least important (although it and the churches that separated from it after the reformation were the most successful politically for the last 500 years). The centers were, in order of importance: Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople, and Rome. The Church out of Alexandria became the Coptic church and the Ethiopian church is part of this, the Church out of Antioch divided into the East and West Assyrian Churches (who were responsible for the Islamic renaissance) who spoke Syriac, the Church out of Constantinople became what is now called the Eastern Orthodox Church who spoke Greek, and the Church out of Rome became the Roman Catholic Church who spoke Latin.

Parting Ways

The Roman Catholic Church has historically persecuted the other churches more than any other church. Each of these centers were political and economic centers as well. Antioch was an important economic center and Alexandria was an important intellectual center. The Western Roman Empire out of Rome became the basis for the church and political power of medieval Europe, but mostly just in the former Roman Empire lands including what is now Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and England and Ireland shortly afterwards.

Christianity and Paganism

During much of the Middle ages, much of Europe was pagan. Christians, in what is now called England, where pillaged and then if caught were tortured, until they converted to paganism, by the Vikings (from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden). The reason the English came, to what is now called England, was that they were invited from Germany, to fight off the pagan Vikings. The English became powerful enough and pushed the indigenous Celts into Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland and took over what was now England, with what started out as separate kingdoms.

Viking Legacy

The English monarchy starts with when the Normand's invaded England in 1066. The Scots came from Ireland and the King of Scotland eventually inherited the thrown of Scotland and England. They were united in the start of the 19th Century and that is where the Union Jack comes from. England never took over Scotland. The Vikings eventually converted to Christianity and the ones that settled in northern France became the nobility throughout Europe and became the leaders that started Russia (with the help of the Byzantine Empire). Russia was considered by many to be the third Rome after Constantinople and was a major center of the Eastern Orthodox Church until the Russian communist revolution during World War 1.

Christianity as Unifying Factor

During what Europe called the Middle Ages, Europe regressed technologically and became very religious and the Church was the only unifying factor. People starved for centuries, until they started to join kingdoms together and England, France, Spain, and Portugal united, to form the countries in roughly as they are today, the weather then changed in the 13th century, then after the bubonic plague which killed 1/3 of Europe, the Renaissance was started with the help of the Byzantine (Eastern Orthodox) monks, just before church in Constantinople (more important than the church in Rome) was taken over by the Ottoman Turks and turned into a mosque.

Asia was the World

During this same period, Asia was the world and Christianity was most active in Syria, Iraq, and Iran (as well as Ethiopia) and a small part of India. During the Roman Empire, Asia was just as important or more with the Persian Empire and the Chinese Empire (Han Dynasty). From the 4th to the 14th centuries Asia was at its zenith. The Church out of Rome and Constantinople persecuted the Church out of Antioch, so the Syriac Christians moved into the Persian Empire.

Reasons for Spread of Islam

Then after the western part of the Roman Empire fell apart, the Byzantine Empire (out of Constantinople) and the Persian empire became weak after fighting each other. Islam started and became a politically uniting force for the Arabs (who lived in what is now called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and then they were able to take over the Middle East and North Africa. The Christians there welcomed the Arabs (who were Muslims) into the Middle East, because they feared the Byzantine Empire more.

Europe Fights Off Islam

The Islamic Empires almost took over Europe twice, the result of which would have made Christianity an obscure African religion. The first time was after the Arabs took over North Africa, they went into Spain and luckily were defeated in southern France. Centuries later, the Ottoman Empire almost took over Europe, but were defeated by the Hungarians. The reason why the Muslims were there in Bosnia was that they were settled resettled there by the Ottoman Empire, which was expanding its empire into Eastern Europe (at the expense of the Christian nations there).

Ethnic Cleansing of Christians

Muslims got along with Christians in the Middle East for centuries, but many Muslims began to persecute many Christians about the same time as the Ottoman Empire was born. In fact the word genocide was developed after World War 2 to describe how the Muslims were destroying an entire linguistic and religious group (the Syriac Christians). At the beginning of the 20th Century half of the Ottoman Empire was still Christian. There are still some Christians in the Middle East. 10% of the population of both Syria and Egypt are Christian. There is also a large community of Christians in modern Lebanon (mostly Maronite).

Baseless Worrying

I remember as a kid how we feared Japan would own most of the US and how we thought we couldn't compete in areas like electronics. Now Sony and Nintendo are afraid of Apple and Japan has been declining for some time and has a much grimmer outlook than the US. The problem we have in America with too many old people and not enough young people is much worse in Japan. People seem to be afraid India and China will overtake the US.

We Can Feed Ourselves

The thing that people in our country don't understand is that China cannot even feed itself without food imports and the US still produces 25% of the world's food. Even without modern technology it would be conceivable to be able to feed our entire present population if we were smarter about what we grew, where we grew it, and where we lived. If we lost our modern technologies we would very quickly adapt.

Life will Return Soon

For a few weeks, things would be rough. But there would quickly be less crime. Once one person loots and they are shot for it, people will stop stealing. When the electricity (including hospitals and the sewage system) is off for a week, people will realize that it will never come back again and adjust. People will actually become closer friends as we will need each other. The church will be much stronger because people will feel they need God. People will be so much healthier that most people who need modern medications will no longer need them. Most people will be happier than before and we will likely have a higher literacy rate.

Importance of Economy

I think the thing that is most dangerous to the US is our debt. I think that every country that wants us to fail including the Muslim extremists (there are Christian Arab terrorists as well) are trying to kill us by bankrupting us. Wars have often been one by one side over spending to fight the war. When we spend 100 times what the terrorists spend, then we are losing the war. The key to our economic problems in America is our personal and corporate debt. The most important part of national independence is the economy. Many empires have failed because they didn't understand economics.

China's Problems

Another problem China has is that its population is growing, so that it needs substantial growth just to keep everyone employed. China is also very polarized between the rich and fast growing eastern coast and the remote inland parts of China where people are of different ethnic groups, very poor, and the agricultural land is being destroyed by sand blowing in. China will likely split into multiple countries. This would make democracy more likely in at least one of the new countries.

Indian and Russian Problems

India and Russia also have large problems. Russia depends a lot on oil prices being high for its economy. Another problem for India which directly affect Russia is that in the next generation or two global warming will likely dry up the major river in India. Russia might have a hard time integrating a billion people into Siberia.

Europe's Problems

Europe will suffer a lot from global warming with increased immigration from the Middle East and North Africa (as they will become uninhabitable in a couple generations). Europe could also become a lot like Siberia very quickly if the major ocean currents change. Europe has a very dense population and even though they have diversified their energy sources more than the US, they still depend on oil, especially from Russia. Europe will not do well in this situation and cannot feed its population without modern technology.

Europe is Falling Apart

Many people think that Europe will outdo the US economically. But this is unlikely, if we think about the history of Europe and its geography, demographics, and natural resources. Before the 2 World Wars, the UK, France, and Germany were all global power, by themselves. When they lost their colonies, mostly after the next few decades following World War II for France and the UK and World War I for Germany, they almost destroyed themselves from centuries of war after war. Now the UK, France, and Germany have to unite together, to compete against America economically.

Non-US Economies Weak

One of the big weaknesses of Europe and Japan, which makes their economies less resilient than the US, is that they focus on only a few industries and these are dominated by a few big corporations, so when one of these companies loses market share, the whole economy suffers. At this point, there is little still left that can keep European countries at First World economic status, over the next two generations. Many people now think the same fate will fall on the US, but our empire is mostly in the continental US, and we are much bigger and have many more resources than Europe has. We are still the world's main consumers, so China, India, Europe and all the other major economies still want to trade with us, for their own survival.

US Not Like Europe

Another thing to consider is that we have plenty of free space in our country and will have a big increase in our population, which will allow our large quantity of baby boomers in retirement a big enough base of young people, to support them. Of course, we will still go through tough times, in the US, but in Europe, China, and Japan these countries are all going to see a much bigger bubble of retired people, to support, as their countries are shrinking in population and cannot afford to keep increasing in numbers, even if they did have enough kids.

The other major factor, that puts the US in a better position than other major economic powers is that our empire is not far away geographically, nor is one part of our country holding another part of the country under their control. Even if the US split up, into regional countries, we would still be able to provide for ourselves, because most of our country has a least enough natural resources, to survive on their own, especially if they are willing to trade with each other.

My Focus of Study

I have studied world religions and philosophies for the greater part of 12 years. I have studied all the major belief system of the world including Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern Belief systems as well a the Enlightenment, Existentialism, Nietzsche (based on the Pre-Socratics), Epicureanism, and Stoicism. I also studied about the major events in history focusing on the between the 4th and 14th Centuries and focusing mainly on the Asian region.

Polytheism

There were a number of different religious texts which I did not read. Christians would call these occult, but I have been searching for a word that would explain the same things to non-believers. I have just recently thought of the basic differentiator that separates the occult religions from the major world belief systems (revealed religions) is that the occult religions all worship more than one god. Sometimes people refer to this as Polytheism.

What the Bible Forbids

Some belief systems like Animism or Neo-Paganism I would not read any primary texts, while with Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese belief systems I have avoided the ones that talk about worship of other gods. The main thing the Bible forbids Christians to take part in are supernatural practices not done by the one Creator God, and not done how it is prescribed to do in the Bible. Christians do have rituals but they are not the same as the ones used to worship other gods.

Christian Rituals

Some of the more well known and widely practiced Christian rituals described in the Bible include: The Lord's Prayer, baptism, communion, Pentecost (also known as "speaking in tongues"), laying on of hands, anointing with oil, fasting, testimony, reading scriptures in public, the Sabbath, Easter/Passover, and other various festivals talked about in the Old Testament. Other ones were added later like Christmas, weddings, funerals, dedication of young children to the Christ and His Church, and others, some with less scriptural basis.

Places of Worship

I also do not practice any other religion other than Christianity nor would I attend worship services of a number of religions or go into their places of worship like: Hindu Temples, Tibetan Buddhist gatherings, Religious (or Esoteric) Taoist gatherings. I have attended a zendo meditation and visited a mosque. I would also like to visit a Sikh temple and a Jewish temple. The only one I would worship in other than a Christian church would be a Jewish temple.

Disadvantages of Traveling

I also have not traveled outside my country at all and am not likely to travel to Europe, Asia, or Africa. I am not going overseas because it is very stressful for me to travel and I do not do well under stress. I like living in a city where I can go anywhere in town without being in a dangerous neighborhood. It also is very expensive to travel and I think I could use my money more productively. Also, many of the greatest treasures of Asia and Europe are in their written works that I can get modern English translations of them very inexpensively.

Regional Problems

I would also break my heart to see the castles and cathedrals in Europe and know that they had to give up their great forests for these. I would not want to travel to Africa because of the instability of most of the governments there, and the parts of Asia I would want to see would be very polluted, remote, or not a good place for Americans to go. I know many people visit places like China and Russia that they think are friendly to Americans, but I don't want to take a chance. After being in the military I know that traveling outside your country poses many other risks, that many world travelers manage to avoid, but could cost them dearly, if they run into the wrong situation or violate certain laws.

Life is Good Here

I live in a very beautiful and safe part of the world. We don't have many natural disasters, we can grow our own food, we are sparsely populated, we have mild weather (just enough change to see the seasons) we have plenty of water and the best quality of water, and very few poisonous or even biting insects (other than some small mosquitos). We even have many types of environments, including: desert, beautiful unspoiled beaches (although very cold and with dangerous undertows), mountains with enough snow to ski on them, huge forests, even many virgin forests (never before logged). The only bad thing where I live is the lack of jobs. There are also not many young people in my town.

The Value of my Work

I also wanted to keep a record of the most important Asian classics. There are two reasons why I didn't just buy and store a bunch of copies of these Asian classics, in modern English translations. It wasn't because I think I can write on the same level. History will decide what value my books are, but an encouraging sign is my lack of popularity in my own time. Many of the greatest thinkers in history were considered failures in their lifetime.

Increasing their Survivability

One of the reasons then for writing about these great classics was because I was able to condense them into a very small space (relatively), so they would be easier to transport and store safely. The other major reason is that I own the copyright on my own books and can let people copy them freely, but I cannot do the same, for modern English translations, of these Asian classics.

Asian Religions are Not New Age

Another reason for my books is to let Christians know that most major Asian belief systems can be studied, without violating scripture, and also letting them know that the New Age movement takes nothing more from any other Asian belief system than it takes from Christianity. I want Christians to have an appreciation for Asian belief systems other than Christianity, so that they can see Christianity as it was originally understood - as an Asian religion.

Christianity is Not European

One of the things that really changed how Christians practice their faith (for the worse) has been the assumption that Christianity is a European religion. In most of the world it is now understood that Christianity is either or both Asian and/or African, but in America and Europe many still are not aware of this. In the next couple generations the conception of a white Christian is going to be vary unusual, even in America and in Europe.

Christianity in Europe

Christianity was only considered European, because of the genocide committed in against Asian Christians. Despite this situation, Christianity has taken hold and is on the increase in most parts of the world, which more than makes up for its loses in America and Europe. In fact, the only reason why the European royalty ever accepted Christianity is because the Christian God was more powerful than the pagan gods and they believed this would help them win wars.

Uniquely European

Europe has often been behind Asia in terms of the value of its contributions to the humanities. There are some positive things that European culture has either taken on or come up with itself. One of the big ones are the Sciences and Social Sciences. Asian cultures did invent things, but they did not use the Scientific Method, per say. I think Europe brought about the idea that there are separate physical forces, that affect us, that are not directly related to spiritual problems.

New Understanding

Understanding that the physical aspects of the world behave according to certain physical laws, that are not directly attributed to spiritual causes was an important discovery. In the not too distant past, people would have thought that I was possessed and they would never realize what is the direct cause of my mental illness (which is chemical) and so not be able to treat it effectively. In the not too distant past, concepts like the idea that the mind could be treated separately from the soul and the concept of studying economics was not even dreamt of.

Both Realities are Important

I think it is bad to see the world as entirely physical or to think that the physical part of the world is more important than the spiritual world is a grave mistake. I think that people trust Science to solve all their problems and don't realize that most conflicts are spiritual in nature. On the other hand, thinking that everything is spiritual makes it difficult to stay rooted in reality.

Both Aspects Need Each Other

It would improve our society to have people aware of the spiritual consequences of their decisions and behavior, but the world would never function well enough, to allow time to reflect on these kinds of things, without most people working in a concrete, rational, and analytical focused endeavors. In other words, even though the most important parts of society, that makes us human and life worth living comes from what is not necessary, but without most people focusing on keeping the economy going and maintaining basic infrastructure, the former would not even be possible.

New Concepts of Freedom

But another great idea that came from Europe or was developed by Europeans primarily is the concept of personal freedoms, both as a legal concept and as well as a social endeavor. While in contrast to the cultural sophistication of Asia, Europe appears very simple and barbaric, the freedom to express yourself, without conforming to any tradition is uniquely European in origin.

The Asian Burden

One of the things that has increased my stress recently has been trying to think exclusively from an Asian perspective. I think one of the downsides of such a vast wealth of truly inspiring cultural traditions, that the desire to emulate these traditions causes undo stress. Sometimes I want to just write a poem or draw a picture and I shouldn't feel it needs to conform to some traditional expression of some profound concept.

Living a Balanced life

A life that is obsessed with the study of ethics and discipline is not a very balanced life. There needs to be a place for relaxation and enjoyment of life experiences and we need to keep ourselves firmly in the here and now. One of the ways to get relief from the focus on self improvement is by doing things that do not require thought. And both can strengthen each other. Often I get my best insights when doing something mundane like copying files, listening to music, watching a movie, or riding the bus. And I when I feel good mentally then I am able to be more positive and useful in my writing.

The Best of Both Worlds

I think it would be great if both East and West could learn from each other and I look forward to a day, when most people are willing to takes the best from every culture and not feel that they need to choose between important ideas, even if they are only paradoxically related. It is in the embracing of the paradox of living in a physical world, consumed with an overflowing of our emotions and in the simple daily tasks we do, to keep our bodies and minds strong, while still being aware of a bigger spiritual world that we also take part in, through our interactions with each other and knowing, that the basis for our sense of purpose and direction, in our lives can only be understood spiritually.

Mobility and Simplicity

One of the biggest changes, in how people use computers and what they expect of them, is the focus on mobility, being the most important requirement, in designing new products. The other big change in computing is the willingness of the average end user, to spend lots of time getting things set up, on their computer, doing computer maintenance, and needing to repair things, that break down over time. The web is changing in the direction of not making the user have to think, to navigate the website.

Reliability over Function

People are not getting more interested and obsessed about how technology works, but rather are losing patience with it taking up so much of their time. To sum this up, computers are becoming mainstream for consumers and people's needs are more simple then the developers think, and they are more interested in improving the way they do things, than what they can do or how it is done. Sometimes the process is more important than the outcome and sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

New Technologies

Think of the big hit technologies of the past few years, like the new Apple mobile devices, or the Nintendo Wii and other game consoles. People have even tried using the web, to keep in contact with their friends and family, that live far away. Twitter and Facebook have become as important as Google. People used to have fun looking up things, that they heard, that they did not know much about, or enjoyed just surfing the net and following links, but today they are more interested in finding a restaurant, or directions to the nearest movie theater. Google now focuses on giving relevant answers quicker and more directly, rather than making you do all the work. Technology is changing, to improve people'e ability, to engage with others socially.

Land Warrior: Finding Things Faster

There has also been a revolution in technologies used in combat. The Army and Marines are now rolling out into production a system called LandWarrior. It is designed, to allow instant communication, between every soldier, from private to general, instantly. One of the big things it helps soldier, on the ground, do is allow them, to get to the sites, where they have received intelligence about more quickly. This allows fewer soldiers, to be more successful and has helped turn the tide of the war, in Iraq.

Land Warrior: Being Aware of Its Limits

One of the ways, in which this helps soldiers is to give them real time maps, for their navigation. In the past, they had to consult a map and compass, to navigate, but now all they have to do is look in the eyepiece, of their squad leaders computer, and they know instantly where they are. At first, the soldiers would constantly have their eyepiece down, but found out soon, that they only needed to consult it, from time to time. Just as soldiers are finding a way, to make technology serve them, instead of being run around by it, so the consumer is becoming empowered, to use technologies, to improve their lives, instead of the computers wasting their time and making them less productive.

Sci Fi Tech

When you see how computers are used in futuristic Sci Fi films like Star Trek, most the devices they use are simple and small and they only have one traditional computer, in the form of a mainframe, for the ship. The devices they use, that they carry with them, are thin and light and are designed for the most common uses and do not try to do everything every specialist would need, in rare occasions. They have a tablet style computer for writing and reading, a sensor about the size of a smartphone, and specialized devices for things like sensing life and doing medical procedures.

A Generational Thing

While my parents generation see computers as a novelty and are so surprised, with what they are able to do and so intimidated by how they work (their complexity) and my generation is most experienced, with getting things to work for them and has little confidence, in relying upon them, to get work done, the next generation is taking technology, as a given, and are comfortable enough with it, to see it as a tool and nothing more. Just like when phones were invented and many were upset, that people would stop visiting each other, in person, or when VCRs came out the movie industry thought they would never get anyone, to go to a movie theater, so we will find the most useful role, for computers, in our lives and will stop allowing them to be some sort of mysterious and feared monster.

What Christians Think

Many of the most prominent and influential Christian leaders have thought that we are very close to the End of Times and the Apocalypse. There are several reasons for this. One reason is that there is a certain number of years between the major events in biblical history and the year 2000 timeframe gives the same amount of time between Christ's death and His return. Another reason is that technologies are available now, that would allow people to be able to destroy, on the scale described in Biblical prophecy about the End of Times. The third major reason is the return of Jewish people to Israel and the establishment of a Jewish nation, which was prophesied to happen before Christ's return. The fourth major reason is that we are getting close to bringing the gospel to all the nations on the earth. The fifth reason is because of all the wars going on in the Middle East, where Armageddon is supposed to happen.

Every Prediction was Wrong

This belief in the eminent return of Christ has had profound impact on the focus of Christian' efforts. Because so many Christians believe God is coming back so soon, they are not going to invest time in bringing social justice and the relief of suffering to the masses. But this generation is no more likely to be the End of Times than any other time in history. Biblical scholars have all been wrong in their predictions of the End of Times and this is because that Biblical prophecy is very cryptic about when this will happen, just like how people were surprised about the first coming of Jesus.

God is in Control

Many people think that the devil is planning the apocalypse and we are waiting for him to decide what time, but this is not biblical. God is in control of history and the Apocalypse and the reason why Word War II, Napoleon's empire, or the Cold War did not end up being Armageddon is because God said no, even though the devil wanted it to happen then. In fact, the cryptic nature of the prophecy about the Apocalypse was designed not only to keep Christians on their toes and motivate them to do what is right and spread the gospel, but it was also designed so that the angels, including the fallen ones, could not predict the time either. We continue to try to put our preconceptions about reality on God, and we do not see His plans, because we are too focused on worldly endeavors, like politics and business.

We Know Very little

Jesus could come back today or even a hundred thousand years in the future. In fact, when it happens we will likely not even see it, until the end of the first half of the seven year Tribulation. Also, from God's perspective, a day is the same as a thousand years, so the time could be very different than we have guessed, from the prophecy in the book of Daniel. We don't even know whether or not Christians will be in the world during the Tribulation or how to reconcile the battle of Armageddon, which is the last battle, with the battle that seems to follow it, called Gog and Magog.

No Reason to Worry

There is no reason to worry when we know so little about it. God has always been with us and provided us a way to cope with everything, that we have had to deal with, and He will do the same in this situation. The fact is God intervenes supernaturals almost constantly, so we do not need to fear any situation. We should focus on improving our own lives and stop worrying about things we have no control over.

Trust in God

God cares about humans, even though we have done nothing to deserve it, and we are in control of our destiny. We can make choices that make our lives better or worse. We were born into different situations, which we have no control over, but worrying doesn't solve anything. We need to accept the things we cannot change and change the things we can. Besides, what would knowing about the future now help you to deal with it? If there was some way to prepare for it, don't you think God would give us that information. We often cause more worry from fear beforehand than we suffer from the situation we fear.

Not like the Dark Ages

Many people now worry about, when we run out of oil, how our country will be affected. I had at one time compared what could happen, in the worst case scenario, as similar to the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages. There are also many reason why this situation, although very traumatic and serious, will end up being much easier to deal with.

Preservation of Information

The Internet may be the poster child of what is wrong with out society, but it has allowed us to gather supplies, from the far reaches of the world and preserve books, in many different locations. One of the big things that allowed the Industrial Revolution was the invention of a more effective plow. All the secrets to doing well, without oil, are already in books and they will still be here, if and when modern society falls apart.

It will Happen Slowly

Not only will we avoid a lot of the really bad possibilities, due to the preservation of information, but the shock will not be there, because at this point, if things fell apart, it will happen very slowly. The most dangerous and devastating effects of a break down of the world economy is not the lack of modern conveniences, but, rather the violence and disorder caused by the rapid change. The federal government has a plan to deal with these things, and it looks like bailing out the banks was one of the best ways to start.

Violence will Decrease

Another thing that we worry about is that we think society will break down and there will be no political or social order. One of the things that will help deal with a lack of law enforcement is the number of people with guns. Once one person steals something, from another person, after they get shot, the violence will stop suddenly.

No More Red Tape

The biggest reason why people commit crimes is that they think they will not be caught, and one of the big factors that helps them with this is the red tape, of the modern legal system. The beauty of having no official police means that we don't have the problems of a bureaucratic government and we don't have to convince anyone else of what happened or prove it. In Saudi Arabia, they cut off your right hand if yous steal, as the left hand is the hand use to wipe your butt, and there are very few robberies there anymore.

Increasing Church Involvement

Another real benefit of this kind of situation is that church attendance will skyrocket and it will be much easier to meet people and form long term relationships. Churches will be a great way to organize and form communities, around those who survive. The Church was the major center of civilization, during the Middle Ages, in Europe, and will likely rise to prominence again in this kind of situation.

We will Be Healthier

This will have a moralizing influence upon the entire population. Many of our addictions to video games, junk food, the Internet, and sex will die down, as they will be hard to maintain, in this situation. Most people, who depend on modern medications, will become healthy enough, so that they will no longer need those medications. And the polluted environment will finally have time to heal and future generations will live better lives, the sooner this happens.

Somewhere in the Middle

The most likely thing to happen is some situation in between, where we are now, and the complete breakdown of modern life. We will likely have more disasters, both man-made and natural, in most parts of the world. The US will fare the best, compared to the rest of the world, from the more violent weather, caused by global warming.

American Future is Bright

We may not still be one nation, and we will we have a vastly different culture, but whoever lives in America as our descendants will do well, in almost any likely situation. The only conceivable event, that could destroy America, would be a once in a million years asteroid hit or a once in ten thousand years event, like the eruption of a super volcano.

Full Scale Invasion of the US

One of the things, that scares Americans, in a Worst Case Scenario, is an invasion by China or Russia. Some might think this could be a possibility, if things get bad enough, in our struggle for limited oil, that we decide not to honor our debts, or some other hypothetical situation might happen, so that things get out of control, to the point, where our leaders feel they have no other choices. We can piece together what would happen, if we look at situations, that involved some of these factors, that have happened at other times and places in history and the unique combination factors specific to the US, including: our geography, our demographics, our military readiness, and our willingness to accept loss.

Our Military Strength

Some people might think that a country as large and advanced as China or Russia could take us on and have a chance at winning. The biggest thing that protects America is that we are an ocean away from our major enemies and rivals. Even Hitler wasn't able to reach as far as America during World War II. It is certainly possible, with current technologies, but it is more expensive and slows things down significantly. If our enemies get that far, other factors will hold them back. The first is that our military is the best in the world and is 25 years ahead of the rest of the world, in things like stealth. Even the latest Russian technologies are not as reliable or have the same abilities in key areas, that would allow fewer US tanks, helicopters, aircraft, and ships to inflict as much damage as their opponents.

Special Forces and Intelligence

Another major factor, if we don't count in the conventional military, is that there are other agencies that would step in. We have very large army of intelligence agents and special forces, which could even, just by themselves, make the war so bloody, that there would be somewhere like 90% casualties. Think of what the success of a tiny group of terrorists can be when the target us. The intelligence agents and special forces use similar tactics, but are much better trained, much better armed, there are many more of them, and they have better intelligence, than those they are fighting against. They have been through training, that makes this kind of situation, as easy to operate in, as it does for a kid playing paintball.

More Sources of Weapons

You also have to figure that the US military has a whole range of technologies, that are unknown, to the rest of the world, but we are ready to use, if we needed them. We had laser guided weapons and night vision battlefield ready in the Vietnam War and we had a whole fleet of stealth fighter/bombers ready to go, when we bombed Libya in 1985. Another thing to consider is that in many rural areas of the United States, the local population is often armed to the teeth already. In many rural states it is legal to have fully automatic military-style assault rifles, and that right is exercised, by a large number of people. Many people have enough ammunition rounds, to last 20 years of war. Our Department of Defense has already planned and prepared, for every possible scenario, including this one.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

And as for weapons of mass destruction, we have them too in as large or larger quantities, so that we can drop the same stuff on them. Also, it is not possible to destroy all the nukes of ones side, because we have nuclear powered submarines with nuclear weapons. No one knows exactly where they are, except the captain on the ship, those missiles can reach anywhere in the world, and they can survive for years, without any more fuel and only need to briefly rise up, to get food, every 6 months. Even if we had a full nuclear war, with a major nuclear power like Russia or China, most people would survive, if they build a simple shelter in their houses. The kind of nuclear bombs, that would be dropped currently would be very small and targeted, because destroying the entire country's infrastructure makes the land gained much less valuable.

We Won Last Time

If the US were invaded, we would have instant unity, between the most fundamentalist Christians and the most extreme feminists. The last time we fought a major world power on US soil, during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812, we won. It is true that the end of the Revolutionary War was a stalemate and the British decided it wasn't worth it, but it doesn't matter how you win a war. The British were the biggest military power at the time and the US was just becoming a nation. In Vietnam, the communists never won a battle against the US and were technically losing the war, yet the US was forced to leave and the communists are still in power, decades later.

Final Limiting Factors

Having a much bigger army does not mean that you will win, even if you have technology that is almost as good. This was proven in a number of wars, when Arab armies fought against Israel. Also you have to consider that even the Soviet Union was forced out of Afghanistan because of public opinion even, with no free press. Another factor is that we would likely be able to arm and train resistance in China or Russia and take the war home to them and could quite possibly break down the public order in their countries.

Don't Give Up

I am continuing my writing, in order to encourage others, that we can make a difference, as individuals. The bulk of my writing, before the depression started, in 2008, was trying to get people to realize that the problems in the world we keep hearing about are serious and need to be dealt with now, but that many people, who would be willing to make the sacrifices necessary, to make the world a better place, are just getting discouraged and think that it is time to just give up.

Just One Person

I just started reading a book written by the president of PETA, the animal rights organization, and she make a great case, for how we can make a difference, all by ourselves. Most people would give to charities, if they were wealthy, or try to change the government, if they were able to get into power, but much of history was changed, by a single person, who was just like everyone else, but decided to spend their years on earth making a difference, for others. A few people have changed history starting all by themselves.

Lessons from History

In my life time, I have seen the Soviet Union fall apart and atheism lose political power. The Soviet Union was such a huge power that, even as a kid, we feared the Russians, to be our greatest enemy. For much of the Cold War, many Christians were afraid that the majority of the world would give up their faith in religion. My parents saw major changes, in tolerance, for those of other races, within the span of just a decade, so that it is now unpopular and untolerated to be a racist. The US was winning the Vietnam War militarily and the war would have easily gone on, for another ten years, but it was cut short, by the the American people's unwillingness to let the issue go.

More Power than We Think

It is interesting, that we still do not seem to realize, that a government cannot keep itself in power, no matter how much power they have over their citizens, if they push things too far. The reason why the world is in the state it is, is because the US citizens may not want to be aware of some of the dirty things done to maintain our power, but basically expect someone to do those things, and that is the main reason why they are done. For instance, the reason why torture is likely still used, within the intelligence community, is not because it is thought to be useful or justified, by those who perform it, but that the leaders of the country would be held liable, if there were a terrorist attack and the people, who were involved, were in custody and did not give up the information needed to prevent the attack.

Power of American Citizens

Basically, Americans really don't care about what happens to non-Americans and feel justified in doing so, in order to maintain the kind of lifestyle, that we are used to. And yes, as always, I am referring to Americans, when I say we, as we have the ability, to change the world, as someone born in the third world does not have the resources, power, and the protection afforded by our civil rights. The really difficult thing, for us to accept very soon, is both the gravity of the situation, but also the great opportunity, that even one American has the ability to exercise, at little risk to themselves.

Local Example

I have spent about a year preparing, for surviving the end of the world, as we know it, caused by anything, from natural disasters, to the end of cheap oil. I wasn't happy, with the online communities, because people are so mean online, so I looked up about local Peak Oil advocates and I came across an interesting development and controversy. What had happened is that the local advocates brought this scenario, to the community government and after the case was presented, it was decided, that, instead of spending money, to become more self-sufficient energy wise, the budget was spent on improving the infrastructure, for increased car usage.

Apathy to Despair

This decision seemed to anger and frustrate those, who spent so much time and energy, to present their case, but I was not surprised. The things is that most people today consider not having electricity and modern plumbing is the same as being in the stone age and would likely just give up and wait to die, instead of working hard, to survive, in a more difficult situation. The problem is, when people are confronted with the possibility of a disaster, they quickly jump from apathy to despair.

Afraid of Hard Work

I think the big reason for this is that people who have grown up in the situation, that we are in now, have basically adopted the idea, that a successful society is one that: keeps on getting more and more advanced technologically, has fewer and fewer rules, and requires less and less effort, to keep it going. Since they have adopted this worldview, it is hard for them to think about the possibility, of losing this, and still surviving, in a rational manner. The only thing that seems to scare this last few generations is having to do an honest day's work.

Crises are Helpful

This may seem discouraging, but this situation has happened before and people will survive. I know it sounds cruel, but the fewer Americans who survive, the better it is, for those left. People will learn the value of hard work, but it is going to have to take a big shock, to get their attention. Unfortunately, Americans seem to jump from crisis to crisis, but have a hard time staying focused on the same thing, when there is no longer and imminent threat.

Understand the Reason Why

We have seen this happen with Homeland Security. The federal government spent tremendous amounts of time and money making sure, that we would never allow another tragedy like 9/11 to happen again and then, less than ten years later, we have the same problem, except the disaster was prevented, due to some fast thinking and brave airplane passengers. We also seem to gravitate between huge economic growth and huge depressions, which we could prevent with some simple oversight, but when no one is watching and the economy is going strong, we get rid of these important rules. We need to learn why things were set up the way they were before we start changing them.

Homeland Security Example

We also had a similar situation with joining the different intelligence and law enforcement agencies under the Homeland Security umbrella. The problem was that these agencies had been organized properly beforehand. We purposely separated the CIA and the FBI, even though it is inconvenient, in order to keep from these agencies from getting too powerful and end up like the SS or the KGB.

The other agencies were under different heads for equally legitimate reasons. Immigration does more than deal with terrorism. It also allows people to become citizens and the Coast Guard does more than just fight terrorism. They help in case of natural disasters and the help fight the war on drugs. And similar reasons explain why all the other agencies were arranged the way they were before we formed a Homeland Security cabinet position.

Hit the Reset Button

One of the thing, that really differentiates post World War II America, from before, is that we have no frontier. We need to find a way, to start things over again, as a society, as well as have a way, for people, to start over, as individuals. A big enough disaster may just give us the opportunity, to reorganize the way society operates, into a more healthy way of life. The worst thing that could happen is that we never do get hit by a big disaster and we continue on this same path. Without a major disaster, we will learn to work harder and appreciate the opportunities we have, but it will happen much more slowly.

People are Irrational

Instead of trying to appeal to a person's rational awareness of the world, we need to realize, that people are lead, by their emotions, most of the time. Instead of fighting this, we need to just accept this. We need to stop debating and understand the psychology of the citizens we are working with. This is the big reason why the government will never admit that we are low on oil, because that will cause the very disaster people are fearing.

People Cannot Decide

The government needs to do some things, without telling the people, and needs to avoid going through a public governmental process. Hard decisions need to be made and it does not matter so much what is decided, except that something must be decided and worked toward. The military understands this very well. Most people are not emotionally able, to make their own decisions, or to run their own government. The average person will never have the education or the inclination, to make hard decisions.

The big reason why the government is so indecisive is because the average citizen is indecisive. We seem to jump hack and forward, between opposite approaches, to our problems. We are almost evenly divided, between 2 opposing camps, so we give those, who have the most trouble making decisions, the power, to determine our leadership and our future.

Defeat of Atheism

The reason why this is a turning point in history is not just a matter of the decline of the US or the decline of the world economy, but it is the culmination of the downfall of the human ability, to solve our own problems, especially through technology. If the war on terrorism has taught us nothing else is that creativity and drive beats wealth and technology. We have learned that even the smartest people in the room don't give you the right answers and that pride can beat even the wealthiest. Not only have we seen that we cannot rely on government, to save us, during Katrina, but that capitalism can self-destruct, just as quickly, as communism.

Ascension of Christianity

We used to be afraid that most of the world would lose their faith, but now we fear that people are taking their belief in God too far. During the last few centuries, the Church has seen a huge barrier, to its expansion and it very survival, in Europe and most of America now, but, in the same period, many times the population of America and Europe have converted to Christianity, in every other major continent, in the world. The biggest contribution from the US, to the world, may very well be Pentecostalism.

One World Economy

The US is not going to fall, unless the rest of the world does. What we have is a one world economy, so that no one really wants anyone else to fail, because even the slightest damage done, to one of the major economies, in the world, will damage the others, just as much. The flip side of the US's complete dependence on China for its manufacturing has the side effect of China depending on the US, for both its market and for its ability to produce so much of the world's food. Basically, if the US is hurt too bad, China not only goes bankrupt but starves.

US Power will be Regional

It is true though that the US will return to a more maintainable world status as a major world power instead of the only world superpower. Some of the most successful and happy years of our country came as a result of our ability to focus on our own problems, and let someone else be hated, for interfering, in world politics. It looks like China and Saudi Arabia might be the world's police force, in the future, and people will forget about the US, just as quickly as they forgot about how much they hated the UK, France, and Russia.

Biggest Changes

The next generation will most likely see the greatest changes, in the recorded history, but they will be more social, than technological. The biggest commodities of the future will not only be oil, but water and soil. One of the sad things, that will happen, in just a matter of time, will be the die off of a major part of the world's population, because there are just too many mouths to feed and most likely Africa and Southern Asia will be hit the hardest. The world balance of power will shift, as a direct result of climate change and weather will be the biggest destructive force and the major focus of national security in the future.

Do It Yourself

There will be many positive changes, especially social. People will be more focused on the local community and will be more self-sufficient. People will be more and more interested in creating things, rather than consuming things. The do-it-yourself community will grow immensely. The big thing that the web based economy will have to do to survive is to focus on selling novelty and the personalization of products.

Mass Media

If Hollywood survives, their market will not be on selling generic products, to a mass audience. Every form of media will be online and there will be no way to get people to pay for it. More and more social groups and individuals will come out with their own media and use it to further their agendas. I think making money purely by advertising will become less and less valuable, as there will be so many more places for ads and so many more companies out there, that they will get lost in the static.

The big companies will be the ones with Big Brands. The big thing that will separate the little players from the big ones will be a matter of how they differentiate themselves. Americans will no longer find it profitable to sell commodity products for commodity prices.

All Information Public

So much information will be available, that the information itself will be less important and the way to sift through it faster will be where the money is. Every piece of information will be available, for everyone, by some point in the future. Scams will become much more convincing as they will be able to make use of this information.

Insignificance of Government

The most important factor in your life will not be the country you live in, but the technology provider that you use to access media and the Internet. The big reason why governments will stop being as big a factor will be because they cannot move as fast as technology can, so people will stop using the government to help them, when someone commits a crime against them.

Huge Industries

People will pay others mainly to give themselves more free time. The thing that will take more time than anything else will be finding things. Even though all information will be online, there will be so much of it that being able to answer meaningful questions will be a major source of income for many businesses. One of the things that people might enjoy most is having a break from technology and creating devices, that are fashionable and easy to use, will be a huge business.

Reaction Against Technology

Eventually people will actually start putting technology into their bodies. About this time, there will be a major reaction against technology and many people will try to exist off grid, but it will be much harder to do so, then ever before. Just like we all have phone numbers and email addresses, but don't have to have them, the same will be true of our access to the Internet and services that help us make sense of all the information.

The Future is Now

One of the reasons why I can say these things with such certainty about the future is because these things are already happening. The reason why they seem futuristic to many people is that they are not mainstream yet because people aren't emotionally ready for them. The biggest changes in the future will be social, not technological.

Computers are Dumb

The big thing in technology, that will take a very long time, if it is ever possible, unless we find some other advanced technology some other way than inventing it by ourselves, computers will not be much smarter in the near future. Many people are afraid of computers taking over the world, but the most advanced robot in the world can just barely walk upright on two feet up stairs.

Problem with Engineers

The social revolutions will be much like what Facebook is now and the reason why it was not done ten years earlier was not a technological problem, but a social one. People were afraid to give out personal information, when the web first came out, although it was designed originally for two way communication. This is the exact reason why the biggest challenge to change in technology is the older generation, especially the engineers.

The Next Generation

Science Fiction writers with little or no knowledge of science often in-vision some of the greatest technological leaps. The first people to adopt a new technology will always be the youngest generation and one of the key things that holds us back is that our leaders are so old and unimaginative. Some of this will only happen as that generation dies off.

Applications to Politics

These things all sound like they are only related to technology, but the same thing occurs on a political level as well. The big reason why I see the major climate changes, shifts of power, and wars over resources will happen is because people are not emotionally willing to make the changes necessary to avoid these changes.

Not all changes are bad, but people who seek to influence people of the future need to understand not just history, but modern psychology, as well. Philosophy is much less important. The real great thing that philosophy provides is training in thinking rationally for yourself, plus philosophy is also a humanity and the humanities encourage cross-discipline study, more than any of the sciences or social sciences. When you study Asian philosophy, you are studying Asian history, Asian religion, Asian literature, Asian art, and Asian music.

Rationale

It is true, that people tend to be unwilling to change and unwilling to listen to rational arguments and, as individuals, we have little power, to changes the way things are, on a grand scale. But this does not mean that we need to give up. Just like in a job, who you know is more important than what you know. Also, when you want something right, you need to do it yourself. The reality is you can get a lot of people to do small things, if you appeal to their emotions, but the most important and the bulk of the work must be done by you and maybe a few others.

Easier Routes

The most important factors, in determining your ability, to influence the future, is to never give up, work much harder than everyone else and to be creative. There are some things that you could do that would be very valuable, but they take a lot of money to do. Avoid these things. One of the big things we can now do, with minimal funding necessary, is to advertise and distribute information online.

Major Laws

Before you do this, make sure you are not violating any laws, because there is a very good chance that you will get caught, sooner rather than later. The big laws you need to worry about, beyond the obvious ones about not scamming people, making things up about people that are not true, distributing drugs, or other similar things are copyright, privacy, patent, and trademark laws. Copyright problems are the most common.

Ask Permission First

The easy way, to avoid running into a violation of someone's copyright, is to understand that everything is copyrighted automatically, as soon as it is created, and that you should ask people's permission, before using anything, that you have not created yourself. Copyrights cover everything, that is a creative work (in the broadest sense), so copyrights can include software, any kind of media like books, pictures, music, and the like. Patents cover a specific implementation of an idea and the patent laws, that you are most likely to run into, are about software and file format patents.

Copyrights

Copyright laws are in some way very logical and in other ways make little sense. You cannot copyright a short phrase, lists, fonts, or designs. You do not need to register, pay money, or to put copyright notices on your work, to protect your work with a copyright. Copyright laws only extend back a short amount of time. Book copyrights only go back to the 1920s, so anything done before then is not copyrighted, but modern translations (done after 1920) of earlier works are still copyrighted. You need to understand every license, that you have, before you use any piece of software. There are a few major categories of licenses, for programs and they can vary widely, but the main concepts are very similar.

Proprietary Programs

The first one is a proprietary program, like Microsoft Word or Adobe Photoshop. Both these programs are considered to be licensed to you and you need to pay, for each copy that you use. One copy means being on one computer at a time. Sometimes, you are allowed to have it on both a laptop and a desktop, but you can't use them at the same time. Many companies, governments, and non-profits often buy a license, for a certain number of users. Many people steal these programs and you probably won't be caught, but if you use them for business and they find out, you can get big fines. The way they find out is that one of the people working for you reports you and gets a big cash reward in exchange.

Variety of Proprietary Licenses

The software companies, who design these programs, often offer better deals, for those who work in education, usually just students and teachers, and for individuals that are not producing anything, that they will make money for. Legally, it would be better to outright pirate (steal) the software, than to use an academic license, for something you are going to sell. The educational licenses are getting stricter and stricter. Some companies monitor whether you are still in school and how many classes you are taking and can revoke your license remotely.

Open Source Licenses

Some people do not like these kinds of restrictions on software, so they use what is called open source software. This basically means, that you can use the software and distribute it all you want, but if a programmer changes the source code and distributes the modified program, then they need to give away their source code as well. Not all open source licenses require this though. Another advantage of open source software is that it survives, even if the company producing it goes out of business, or decides to stop developing it. Open source programs generally use free and open file formats, so you can usually take your work into other programs, to edit or view.

Other Common Licenses

Some other major categories of software include shareware and freeware. Freeware is free, but with the condition that you cannot distribute it, without getting permission. Shareware usually means that a program has a certain time limit or is limited, in what you can do with it, until you buy the program. Other names for shareware include demo ware, donation ware, trial ware and other similar terms.

Background

There are different types of licenses, for media, than for software, which includes every kind of writing, graphics, designs, audio, video, and multimedia. The same concepts apply as before with software. Ask someone's permission, before you use something, that someone else created. No matter what license is given, any rights to the media not specifically granted are retained by the copyright holder and you never get the copyright, unless you get permission stating exactly that. There are also things called moral rights, which means that if you use the images in a way that make someone look bad, then you have to get the rights to these as well. Some of the restrictions on copyrights, when you don't have moral rights, include using the media for things like pornography, racism, or promoting drug use.

Privacy Laws

One of the rules, that is unique, to media, are privacy laws. It is illegal, to use someone's image without their consent, unless you recorded the person in photo or video, in a public place. So, before you use anyone's image, be sure to get them to sign a written permission. Also, I recommend not using pictures of children or women of any age. I just avoid people entirely. More and more things are copyrighted, like the insides of buildings and museum art. The main principle to remember is, if it is not a public space, get permission, before you use the images, or video.

Royalty Free

Many designers keep a number of design elements like fonts, illustrations, photos, video clips, and sound effects, for later projects. The most popular licenses are called royalty free, meaning that once you pay for it, you do not need to pay again, no matter how many copies you distribute. You need to check the exact license, because there are often different fees, for different usages like web, TV, or print. There are also restrictions, to try to keep you from selling these same media collections to others. Generally, most clipart, stock photos and fonts are royalty free.

Creative Commons

There is a new license system, that has come out, in the last 10 years and is mainly used on the Internet. Creative Commons licenses include 4 main parts and most any combination of those. The 4 things, that can be allowed by the creator, without permission, are commercial use, free modification, free distribution, and no credit. So any Creative Commons license can allow or disallow any number of these things. So for instance, I license my books, to allow people to distribute them for free and use them for commercial use, but do not allow modification, and they have to give me credit. I license most of my photos, to allow people to modify them, as long as they give me credit and they allow anyone else, to modify their modification, of my original work.

Public Domain

Public Domain licenses allow you to do anything, with the media in question, without even needing to give credit, or having any others restrictions. After copyrights expire, which currently happens for books 75 years after the authors death, or 90 years after it was written, which ever comes first, they became public domain. This is the main reason why theaters love to do Shakespeare (because there are no royalties, that need to be paid). One of the things, that people think is public domain, that is not is the traditional happy birthday song.

Patents

Patent laws usually only affect those publishing media, by having to pay royalties, to use certain patented computer concepts. Some of these are file formats that include MP3, if you use it on a large scale, and recently MP4 video, for any use. I know this sounds terrible and it makes little sense, but because there are so many patents in video compression, that many think it is not possible, to come up with a video compression, that is good enough, to be practical and not violate someone's patent.

Some people have recently tried to sue people for using JPEGs, accessing any files over any network, web browser plugins and equally stupid patents. The big way, to get a lot of money, for not doing anything, is to file a patent, for an obvious and trivial idea, and then wait ten years, for everyone to adopt it, mainly doing so because it appeared to not violate any patents, and then sue a rich company, for violating your patent. This is not how patents were intended to work.

Trademarks

When you start a new company, you can get in trouble, if you use the same name, as another company, in the same industry, especially if the name is not a generic and obvious name. For instance, if you start an office company and you call it Apple, you have no problem, but if you start a software business and call it Apple, you will get into trouble. Logos are not industry specific, so if you make a logo, for any business, that looks like a bite out of an apple, expect Apple, to force you, to change your logo.

Springfield vs. Eugene

The town I grew up in, Springfield, Oregon, is considered to be a very conservative and working class town. It used to be a logging town and now the economy is more based on the largest hospital in the area, that has expanded tremendously, very recently. The town I now live in, Eugene, Oregon, borders Springfield on the west side. Eugene is considered to be a very liberal town, very anti-business, and its economy is based around the University of Oregon and the local community college. Eugene is famous for having most the really violent anarchists living here, that gave a bad name, to some world trade organization protests, especially one time in Seattle.

Mixed Realities

The truth actually is somewhere in the middle. There are many progressives, that live in Springfield and many conservatives live in Eugene. The neighborhoods vary widely, even within a couple of blocks, in both cities. Eugene is presently the larger city and Springfield is growing much faster, mainly because the cost of housing is so much cheaper, in Springfield. I lived practically my whole life, up until I became 18 in Springfield and have lived practically the entire time since then in Eugene. The big reason why I live in Eugene is that I am much closer to main bus lines and areas that I shop at and find entertainment at.

Typical Oregonians

Most people who live in Oregon are very unfriendly, idealistic, small-town minded, and anti-traditional religion. More serial killers come from Oregon and Washington then from any other states. Most people in Eugene are over 50 or students going to college. This is because, even before the economic depression in 2008, Oregon had very few jobs. Many people, with advanced degrees, work minimum wage jobs, if they can even get them, due to competition, with illegal immigrants.

Lack of Government Income

We are also one of the few states, without any sales taxes and a few years ago property taxes were removed, due to a myth that the only people paying property taxes were small, poor, family farms. Most farmers are actually very rich. Land is expensive and so is farm equipment. The lack of taxes benefited the large businesses, like the hospital and the dwindling timber industry. Several high tech firms came here, while they were exempted from taxes, for a few years, and then quickly left.

What Kind of Liberal?

Many of my perspectives on education are based on my experiences here. There are many different ways of being liberal, but the liberal element in Eugene is liberal in the sense of being very extreme in its feminist views, its white guilt, and its anti-Christian bias. Basically, the big stereotypes in the area is against white male Christians. Some of this is intensified by having very few people of color or Christians in this area. My experiences in both grade school and in community and university college reflected this.

My Academic Experience is Typical

It seems that my experience with feminism being the major emphasis in college is not unique. The majority of books I read on history constantly berate white Christian males, as causing all the problems in the world. This is simply not historically accurate. The problems that made Asia weak in the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia happened well before France and England became world empires. Furthermore, if western Europeans hadn't taken over much of the world that the Ottoman Empire would likely have conquered Europe and Christianity would be an obscure African religion.

Christianity was Always Asian

During European Medieval times (also known as the Asian Golden Age) Christianity was strongest in the Middle East and on the Silk Road and before Christianity was legalized in the Roman Empire, there were already small Christian communities in Southern India (Kerala). The Roman Catholic Church was only one of four or five different centers of Christianity and was the least important academically, financially, and politically. There never was just one original Christian church structure.

Persecution of Christians

Half the Ottoman Empire was Christian as late as 1900. All the areas that the successors to Mohammed conquered were all Christian and stayed that way for hundreds of years. Many historians decry the persecution of Jewish people in Europe, but the persecution of Christians in the Islamic empires was much worse. The concept we now called ethnic cleansing was done to the Christians who lived in the Middle East for hundreds of years. The world genocide originates as a word to describe how Syriac Christians were persecuted in the Middle East.

Christians in the Modern Middle East

The main Christian group in Lebanon is a descendant of the Syriac Christians as well as 10% of both Egypt and Syria. Many times, when you see on the news, that Palestinians are referred to as entirely Muslim, you hear some local Palestinians say they are Christian. Christians have done much worse under the new Iraqi government and most Iraqi refugees were Christian, although they only make up a small percent of the general population. Much of the violence in Darfur is Muslims against Christians.

Christians were the Indigenous Population

The Syriac Christians were the descendants of the people who originally live in the Middle East and during Biblical times were known as Assyrians and Babylonians. The people now known as the Arabs lived originally in the place now called Saudi Arabia and are in so many countries in the Middle East, because they ruled it for over a thousand years. The big reason for the Crusades was to liberate some of the local Christians in the area and take back the land previously taken from Christian rule. The Inquisition happened at the end of the time, when the Spanish finally liberated their country, from the Muslims. It makes sense that the Spanish were extra vigilant about the purity of their people's faith, as it the land was ruled by Muslim Empires, for hundreds of years just prior.

Mostly Poor and Non-White

Most of the Christian world now lives in poverty in the third world in Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. There are very few Christians left in Europe and a very small minority of them are white. Islam is a bigger force in Europe than Christianity and there are more terrorists in a number of Western European countries than there are in a number of the countries in the Middle East. There are many African churches, who are sending missionaries to Europe.

Myth of the Rich White Christian

The idea of the rich white Christian is a very rare situation, that only was true for a few hundred years in Europe and America, while the Western leaders were giving up their faith in Christ. Christianity outnumbers Islam 2 to 1 worldwide and is growing at a much faster pace, with most of the remaining strongly leaning to Christianity. Christianity has only been allowed, in most of these countries, for the last hundred years, but Islam has been converting in these areas in Africa and Southeast Asia, for over a thousand years. Christianity has a a dominant presence in the Philippines, Korea, and now in China.

Global Relevance of Christianity

The Koran must be read in Arabic and people becoming Muslim take on the history of the Arabic people. The Bible has been translated and can be accurately understood in almost any language. The only history that Christians take on is the history of Israel. Most African Christians were converted by fellow black Africans and many places in the third world believe that Christianity is more culturally relevant than Islam. Ethiopia has been Christian from the same time that the Roman Empire legalized Christianity and has been almost completely isolated from Europe most of that time.

Reasons for Conversion

One of the downsides, to the dominance of historians, who have an anti-supernatural bias, is that much of the world, throughout history and most of the world today is religious and they usually underestimate the significance of religion. Many people choose different religions, for different reasons. Some people convert to a religion, because they are opportunists and they believe that they will do better financially and/or politically. This can be because they believe in the supernatural, and they think that one God is more powerful than another.

Another reason would be that they believe that the religion will serve the purpose of their career advancement by means of a socially powerful force. Some people, though, actually believe the religion to be true and to be either the only way to God or a much better faith, because it makes their life better, or it makes other people's lives better. Often times, either way, that political loyalty and religious loyalty imply ones loyalty to one as loyalty to both.

When Faith is Ultimate Loyalty

But, oftentimes, if the person is genuinely devoted to the religion and not just, to what it gets them, or their country, then the religion is more important to them and their loyalties will be religious, at the cost of patriotism, family ties, or fame/money. I, for instance consider myself to be loyal to the Christian God, and that even my family comes after that.

This often scares non-religious and religious people alike, because a lot of people, with supreme loyalty to their faith will do whatever they think their religion tells them to do, even if this can result in irrational and unpredictable behaviors. For most people, who really understand their religion, as a consistent worldview and have enough common sense, not to do what one particular scripture says, without factoring in the main concepts of their faith, (which are generally moral and productive to stable societies) there is little to worry about, especially in the unpredictability factor.

Predictability

There is always going to be a certain instability, when you start factoring in faith, because part of faith is going beyond the rational, into things that cannot be proved, as that is what the word faith literally means. But to people, who follow a major branch of their faith, are not creative in a dangerous way, and not person that likes taking unnecessary risks, people of faith can, at the very least, be predictable. Really, the same kind of person, who you would not trust, if they were a person motivated by prestige or money is the same kind of person you wouldn't trust, who is motivated by faith.

Some people will be irrational, regardless of motivation and having someone of faith on your side means, at least, there is some kind of a moral angle in the motivation, which makes their loyalty much more predictable and also makes them more worthy of trust. A person motivated by just money or what they think is good for a group of people can be just as irrational and divided in loyalty, as someone of faith, who is not in their right mind and is unreasonable, in the logic, used in defense of their doctrines.

Any belief system that is moral will have good reasons for their doctrines, that can be understood, by others, who don't believe. Someone, who is open with their beliefs, is very likely to be extremely honest and public in their practice, if they really believe that their faith is legitimate. Fundamentally, a genuine person of faith is much more transparent and consistent, if not more moral, than those motivated by nationalistic or career advancement reasons.

More Willing to Follow

People easily find other ways, to get what they want, for them or their group, when their motivation goes no higher and they meet an impasse. But a person of genuine, rational, and open faith is someone who puts socially useful limits, on what they will do, to push an agenda. The only situation, in which you wouldn't want to trust a person of faith is when you are both doing things that are immoral and you pressure the person of faith to take part in this. As far as Christianity is concerned, the Bible very clearly says for us to follow all laws, unless we cannot do what the Bible commands.

The bottom line is that a person of faith is the kind of person that follows rules, that are given by others, even if they don't want to follow them. They are willing to sacrifice their immediate desires, for what they believe is more important morally, in the long run. The only way you can get an opportunist to do so, is by convincing them, that following laws, gets them their objective or that their objective would be undermined, by their breaking the rules.

Major Divisions

Many Christian seek to unite the entire Christian church and get rid of all the divisions and denominations. Some are closer than others and some Christian churches are more interested in joining together than others. One of the biggest divides in the church in America is the Evangelical branches and Liberal or Mainline Protestant branches of major American denominations like in the Methodist and Presbyterian churches. There are a number of theological, historical, and political reasons or a mixture of both in the divisions of the churches, especially the Protestant churches, over time.

The Halloween Coalition

There are good reasons why the Evangelical and Mainline Protestant branches would have trouble uniting. If God worked a miracle and both groups were willing to make major changes one in politics and the other in theology, it could work, but the scenario is as likely as what is referred to as the Halloween coalition, in American politics, where extreme conservatives and extreme liberals find commonality enough, to launch a third party, capable of defeating the American 2 party system. There must be some fear of this, because during the last few presidential campaigns (probably after seeing the success of Ross Perot) local police have been used to keep secondary candidates, like Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, from showing up at the presidential debates.

Minor Attempts at Unity

For most Evangelical denomination branches in the US, it is probably hard for most members to tell the difference in the theology, if they joined another Evangelical church. Definitely Churches work together, for things like homeless shelters and for disaster relief. There was an Evangelical cross-denomination movement for men, called Promise Keepers. I don't know if it is still going though. I don't find an easy fit in either the Evangelical or Mainline Protestant churches, the first due to the politics and the second due to theology, but I am very unusual and ahead of my time.

Roman Catholic Church Problem

The Roman Catholic church combines those two aspects, but not very neatly, and I also have a low opinion of the Roman Catholic church, for its arrogance and inaccuracy in telling everyone that they are the original and only true Christian church and that they have been responsible for most the big persecutions in Church history. The Catholic church was responsible for everything from: the Crusades, the Inquisition, the safe passage of NAZI war criminals, and the mixing of Christianity with Animism in Latin America. And my biggest complaint: the persecution of churches, not affiliated with the Roman Catholic church, when they sent missionaries to parts of the world cut off from other Christian, for centuries (who were Christians before anyone in the West was a Christian).

Chance for Failure

For any churches to be brought together successfully, every member must be onboard, because if anyone splits, we would then have even more divisions, than ever before. And in some parts of the world, the indigenous Christian churches would do more for Christianity, to stay separate, from European originated churches. I can appreciate why the Evangelical and Mainline Protestant churches had to split. I think the Evangelicals started more as a theological-based split, with the focus on Evangelism (recruiting new members) and keeping to a rigid theology, to keep from having Christianity losing essential theology, which would have transformed the church into something that didn't follow what the Bible said.

Evangelical Perspective

Certainly, from many of the strange opinions on the Internet, including things like: outright cults, combinations of Paganism and Christianity, Gnosticism, and other obvious perversions of Biblical doctrine, all claiming the title Christian, I can see that there reasoning is relevant today as it was when they started. There are obvious others, but I think most Evangelical Christians are aware of those. I think a lot of this comes from the Church rejecting education and people not understanding what the Bible actually says, by not reading the Bible, church leaders not being thorough in explaining theology, and people deliberately trying to push certain political agendas, very similar to and would help prove many of the popular conspiracy theories.

Mainline Protestant Perspective

I also similarly feel the pain of the Mainline Protestant churches, from a political point of view. We have Christians trying to justify torture of people not even proved to be enemies, the forfeiture of several very important constitutional rights, the creation of organizations whose purpose and structure are very similar to those set up in NAZI Germany and Soviet Russia, the removal of every law that prevented the Great Depression from reoccurring and another Great Depression following, the removal of almost all environmental laws, the invasion of a nation that had not attacked us, was a former ally, the occupation of done by volunteers, because of the cowardice of Congress not issuing a draft, and the situation made worse for everyone involved, the same failure that caused 9/11 happened less than 10 years later, the complete failure of our disaster management agencies to deal with an inevitable hurricane, and on and on.

Making the Situation Worse

One big lessons, from history, as to the possible outcome, of even a very obvious and popular movement, with groups very similar in both theology and politics, is that it can easily backfire and make inter church relations much worse. If there is an defection or suspicion of the process, things could end up like, when the leaders of the political regimes supporting the Ethiopian church and the Eastern Orthodox church, both, at different times and places, asked for help from the Catholic church. In both cases, the political situation and the survival of the church in that part of the world was dire and it seemed like the differences were more political then theological, but when those leaders renounced their versions of Christianity and accepted the Roman Catholic church, the people who also were the members of those churches revolted.

Don't Try this at Home

To sum up, this is a good idea ideally, but it would never work in practice. The best and only way, for this to happen, without making the situation worse, would be to pray for it. But never bring up the idea to Evangelicals and by no means use my name, as many Evangelicals think I am New Age, even though they don't have the knowledge to make that judgement and I do.

Make it Happen

I am a person of extremes. I am a passionate person, when it comes to ideology. If I do decide to do something, that I think is important, I do it with all my strength. I never half do something. I am persistent in things I find important and am so stubborn, that I keep at something, until I am able to finish it. I often times circle around a subject, look over the major terrain, sort through the information later on, like zooming in on a photo, I finally find the right angle, and I go in for the kill. It is good, to have strength of character, conviction, and commitment, to following through, with what you believe in.

Subtle in Subtlety

On the other hand, subtlety and moderation are equally important, as I am finding more and more, in my life. I even would say that moderation and subtlety are the keys, to a happy life and getting along well, with others. But a person can go to extremes, even in being moderate and subtle. Remember to be subtle, in your moderation and moderate, in your subtlety. No one likes a person who splits hairs and makes things more complicated, than they need to be.

Schizophrenia

I have found, that with Schizophrenia, that I experience life, in a much more amplified way. For me, Schizophrenia increases my emotions, exponentially. I tend to enjoy activities, that have little interaction and require little thought. I enjoy food, that is simple and not strong in taste. I don't like: strong cheeses, spicy ingredients, food that is hot in temperature, too much sugar, too much oil, I find chips too salty, I can only eat a small amount of chocolate and like dark chocolate the least, I don't like most nuts, and I don't like hard candy. Moderation makes my mental illness more manageable.

Being Assertive

One of the keys, to getting along with others, is to be assertive, but not aggressive. In other words, to get people to cooperate, with you, you need to both not appear weak and at the same time be gentle enough, so that you don't anger them or scare them away. Subtlety is important in writing, as well. Politicians, who are basically the popular crowd, are very good at not offending anyone and making everyone feel, that their views are being represented.

Popularity and Politics

The problem is that while people agree on most things in general, the details are what make or break the effort. When politicians get into office, they start making decisions, and inevitably disappoint, at least part, of their supporters. Politicians are hated mainly because they never want, to commit, to anything, or accept blame, for when things go bad. People don't feel that politicians are being honest. So, when you add moderation, to your life, and learn to be more subtle, be sure to use these ideas sparingly. Think of moderation and subtlety, as the outer shell, but your passion should provide the bulk of who you are.

Be Patient

Most important, you must be honest, with yourself, and accept who you are. Sometimes things we would like, to change about ourselves, are just part of who we are and help us more, than they hurt us. Many things, that we think we need to completely remove, from our personalities may just need a minor adjustment. An example for this would be writing, to be understood, while still not insulting people, by making them feel you are beating them over the head, with your ideas. And some of the things, that really bother us, about ourselves do need to change, but we need to be patient, because major life changes aren't going to happen, over night.

Oversimplification

Some of the problems the communists had, with ruling over a population, were due to their lack of subtlety. This is also a major American problem, as well. When we see many people on the news, that hate us and most of them are Muslim, we start to think that maybe the Koran teaches violence. It is likely that Osama Bin Laden is more popular, in most of the Muslim world, than the American President, but this does not mean that every Muslim is willing to act out in violence, against people, that can't defend themselves.

Liberals vs. Conservatives

Many liberals in America jump to some very wild and inaccurate about their impression of Evangelical Christians and vice versa. Many liberals think that Christians and radical Muslims approve of the same kind of treatment of women and that because they believe in something, by faith, that they cannot be smart or rational. Many Evangelical Christians think that liberals are unpatriotic, want to remove constitutional rights, and control the media. When we cannot see subtleties, in how we and others believe, we intensify the conflicts, over religion and politics.

Theory of Elections

One of the reasons why I think, that Americans vote for candidates, that alter back and forth, between 2 extremes, is because most of the population is reactive, rather than proactive. Just like our unwillingness to be disciplined in what we eat, how we spend our money, and in how we use computers, so we are unwilling, to make choices, that require sacrifice, in the short term, for long term happiness.

Businesses are in Control

And businesses have realized this and have exploited this, for their own gain. It isn't a coincidence, that, when we do well economically, that we cut taxes, on the wealthy and remove regulations on businesses and when things go bad, we interfere, with the government, so that the same businesses don't go bankrupt. We do the same in the stock market as well: we invest in companies, when they are at their peak and sell them, after they start dying and continue to lose money.

Leadership and History

Throughout history, many leaders were people of extremes, as well. Just like very few people, who are religious, bother studying about any other religion, so leaders, that were good at some aspects of governing, were unwilling to gain other ranges, of expertise. One of the big choices, that affected a nation's survival was whether the national government should be strong and put a minority of the population in power, or to allow regional areas and people of other ethnicities share power. Going to either extreme is usually not the best, but it is hard to take a middle course and what to do, in ruling a country, varied widely, on what country you were leading.

The Middle Way

Buddhism is famous, for being the middle way, because Buddha rejected asceticism and hedonism, alike. Christianity is too, in many ways. Christianity is a religion of moderation: between being mortal and feeling pain and being spiritual and confident of eternal joy, between law and heart, between reason and faith, being sure of salvation and yet in control of your own destiny, and between be saved from sin, but to try not to, even though you often fail.

Find Your Path

Many people think, that pleasure and pain are complete opposites, but that doesn't work, that way, in extremes. The Epicureans were widely thought, to have a philosophy of pleasure, but these philosophers realized, that extreme pleasure can bring pain. Some good examples, of this, are: addictions, ambitions, and self-esteem. Being moderate, by following rules and finding pleasure outside of work are both important. Embrace paradox, and find your own middle path, but start slowly.

The Sciences

The humanities consist of every kind of academic study, that is not a natural science, an applied science, or a social science. Some of the major natural sciences are: physics, chemistry, and biology. Applied sciences apply scientific methods to different technical disciplines, including things like: engineering, research and development, and medicine. The social sciences came, as a result of the European Enlightenment and are an application of science and math, to explain people and cultures. Social sciences include: anthropology, archaeology, economics, geography, history, law, linguistics, political science, psychology, and sociology.

The Humanities

The humanities include every kind of academic discipline, relating to culture, that existed before the Enlightenment and social sciences were developed. The humanities include: ancient and modern languages, literature, law, history, philosophy, religion, visual art, music, and performing arts (like dance and theatre). The humanities study the same thing, as the social sciences, namely cultures, but differ in their approaches. The humanities are a way to understand what is important, to another culture, by studying what has survived, of what the culture has created, rather than using the scientific method. In other words, the humanities are more subjective, than objective, in their perception of the world, which makes their perspective broader and more honest.

Advantages of the Human Approach

The humanities tend to be more cross-discipline, as, in many cases, especially in the Asian humanities, compared to the social sciences, in that studying literature often means the same as studying philosophy, religion, history, and art because many of these classics are literary, historically, and philosophically significant. The humanities are also more culturally and historically relevant, than social sciences, because they let ancient and Non-European cultures speak for themselves, rather than using scientific principles, as the primary sources were often written by the same group of people, that they were writing about, and are so old, that the concepts of science and social didn't exist yet.

Cultural Exchanges

The part, that really interests me most, in the process of learning about cultures and the humanities, is the mixture and cross-pollination, of belief systems and creative works. Many of the most interesting belief systems brought ideas, from other belief systems, so that the result often brought together the best of both worlds. I think that studying culture is exciting, because different groups of people, who live even in the same country, often have very different: religions, histories, languages, ethnicities, geographies, allegiances, values, goals, and worldviews.

Variety of Asian Cultures

Asian cultures are so much more interesting, than European one, because their history tends to be much longer, the quality of the creative work is much higher, and the field is much broader. When you study about Asian culture, you really are studying 3 or 4 different cultural areas, each as diverse, as all of Europe. China, which influenced mostly East Asia, India, which influenced mostly South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, which influenced mostly Southwestern Asia and North and East Africa, and Central Asia, which influenced mostly the Silk Road, Eastern European, and Russian crossroads are all very different.

Usefulness of Sciences

The social and natural sciences, especially earth sciences, meteorology, economics, and psychology, in particular, give this generation and the ones succeeding it insights, into how, to make the most of our resources and predict, prepare for, and explain the current trends, that will shape our future. We now have the opportunity, to make better use, of our circumstances and our abilities now, that we have more ways, to see the world. In other words, we have the potential, to have much more control, over our future. The thing, that I hope we don't lose, along the way, is the humanities approach, to education. If we lose that, then there will be little left, to live for, even if we secure a better future, for ourselves.

Usefulness of Humanities

Just like we need people, to run our sewage and waste removal systems, our national, criminal, and environmental defenses, our education, health, and safety, and other support needed, for basic survival, if we don't have purpose and meaning in life, than we are no longer human. While the natural and social sciences do a good job in showing us ways, to keep the system, from breaking down, the reason for the system only becomes apparent, if we continue our written culture. Without engineers, doctors, and soldiers we would not be able to live, but without philosophers, theologians, writers, and artists, there would be little point in keeping things going.

Greater Purpose

I have thought for a long time, without enough evidence to explain it, that the greater purpose of America, in the eyes of its leaders, is the same as that of the British Empire. I was going to devote a considerable amount of time and effort, to develop a complete explanation, of the connection. The funny thing is, that I had already understood it, quite well, from several other angles and had not attached as much significance to it, which is primarily explained, by my fairly unique perspective, on world history.

Directions Taken

This connection had eluded me, because I had assumed, that it was more complex and hidden. Ironically, throughout English and American History, society has consistently been moving, in, what I call a socially liberal direction, to be distinguished from my very different economically liberal political views. In other words, the common people have been given more and more freedoms, in areas such as religion and speech. I still hold that power was never given up and that the ideology of democracy does not reflect how America is governed.

Relative Importance

So the heritage, that connects America with England, is basically a development of the European Enlightenment. So, in realizing the simplicity in this view of the world, I have decided, as before, that modern European history just isn't as interesting, to study or as significant, in world history, as the Asian Golden Age, which confirms my whole emphasis on history and ideology. I think that the main reason why people of other countries don't understand Americans, is because we are naive about world history. This is because we do not learn about any history other than our own in public schools. One of the reasons why Americans feel so bad about America's role in the world is because they have nothing to compare it to.

America is Not So Different

I really believe that America is an Empire (it is definitely an Empire, when the country extends, from one side of the continent, to the other) and that we did kill off the native population, when we came over, to this continent. But, this is a continually repeated theme, throughout history. Almost every major empire has slaughtered those, who got into their way. The reality is America is no better or worse, than any other nation. Americans need to stop seeing everything, as we are told, by our government. We are being manipulated and made to feel bad about something we are not in control of and secondly are no different than anyone else.

Why I Criticize Europe

Many people, who read much of my writing, may think that I look down on Europe, for being a world bully or that European cultures are generally not as refined as most Asian ones. But this is not true. Again, Europe is no better than any other continent. The thing that motivates my criticism is that there is so much Anti-American sentiment coming from major European media about how American's caused all the problems in the world. The reason why I know this is not true is that America did not even exist, when these problems were fully developed.

European Realities

Many Europeans like to think of themselves as very cultured and peace loving, but they almost destroyed themselves through almost 3 world wars. Many European nations also had major colonies well into the 1970s. Even though it might appear as though I am disparaging the state of life in Europe during Medieval times, because of my description of the common people's poverty, I actually think that Medieval Europe, in many ways, was more ideal, than the present time, or during the Enlightenment. My views on world history are spiritual in nature and I do not think more highly of Asia, because of their greater wealth, during this period.

Strengths and Weaknesses

It is true that American has no culture. But we also haven't invented chemical weapons, car bombs, machine guns, tanks, and modern terrorist techniques. Americans also have no great pieces of architecture like cathedrals and castles, but we do have more tress left. American politics are run by big businesses, but so are European politics. Europe has much more advanced infrastructure than America, but in America our population density is much lower.