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Gospel of Truth

What you see and hear that cause's divisions among all peoples are words not of GOD, nor are they words inspired by your God; they are words written by men believing themselves higher than GOD and originated within human thought by lovers of deceit. Many deceivers come to you teaching that a man died by crucifixion after suffering the shedding of his blood, and a horrible experience of death to purchase from the Almighty GOD everlasting life for all humanity, by purging all of our sins so enabling us to enter GODS’ rest. Many thousands of books have been written about that man, and many people worship in his name so believing they will receive entry into the kingdom of his father. Most of you entered his kingdom for the first time with honest feelings of sincere enlightenment when taking those first steps for your salvation; you felt tremors, or perhaps chills on the back of your neck, as if electrified by an unexplainable call, with urging by someone to come forth and give your whole life to some all forgiving God. I want to reclaim you from that kingdom by acknowledging the true Creator of all things, who gives the gift of life freely without any conditions in order that each person is allowed the right and privilege by virtue of their birthright, to pursue the truth, and live their life according to what they learn and prove is true.

GOD is the Creator of all things but the truth is, GOD demands nothing from us; instead, each of us are endowed with the ability to reason, a unique gift that separates us from all other creatures, and a gift that allows us to use our freedom to learn from past mistakes. GOD is not what most people presume GOD to be, for if people truly knew what GOD is, they would cease pursuit of religious practice and the ancient beliefs of people who died before them. Humans will not learn the truth about death until after mortal death occurs; then, they will either learn the truth, or there is nothing to learn. GOD will not intervene in human affairs while we are living because GOD does not exist within the same dimension that we do; therefore, GOD is totally independent of all that created, of necessity, for if GOD were not independent of all that created, GOD would then be a part of creation, which is not possible because GOD existed previous to creation. If GOD existed previous to creation, GOD cannot possibly be a part of creation, which in fact denies that GOD intervenes in human affairs. I ask each of you to consider these next questions seriously: Why would GOD intervene in human affairs if each person receives the gift of life without reservation? Does GOD grant the gift of life in order to condemn people who reject the teachings of the uncountable number of religions on earth? What religion can prove its theology is true, and the promises made within the theology of that religion actually occur after mortal death? Truth is where you find it, but most people today will reject the truth more often than not. What religions teach cannot be proven true; therefore, the old saying, "If it is too good to be true, it usually is," is truly exemplified among religions and their teachings, for the purpose of religions is not to serve GOD, but to serve the people who conceived of the religion, and the people who practice them.

Study of the Torah - Tanach of Judaism, the Bibles of Christianity, and the Koran (Quran) of Islam, prove the precepts extracted and practiced by those faiths have caused considerable problems worldwide for thousands of years, and not for just a small segment of any world society. Practicing faithful as claimed by these three religions, is 60 PERCENT (if their figures are honest), of this Earth's population. Judaism, claims more than Seven Thousand years of history, Christians nearly Two Thousand, Muslims nearly Fourteen Hundred, yet, there is no period for one year since 610ad (after Muhammad had his visions) when some of them were not fighting among themselves about something. That is reason enough to question the integrity of all religions, for this argument we leave out the Hindus and Buddhists; they have fought for so long, nobody knows when the first war ended, the last one began, nor the reasons why they fight.

Genesis 9:6 for Jews and Christians, Women 4:92 for Muslims, proves complete severe punishment for anyone, guilty of killing another human unless caused by accident. Are these religions truth? Or did they occur in conscious thoughts by men attempting to enslave humanity using deception then claiming origins as Supreme revelation by our Creator? Theologians of Christianity, outnumber the others by thousands in so many denominations, they become nearly impossible to count: For what purposes do these people work? If words in the holy books are Supreme in origin, why so much study; Muslims honor the scriptures of both the Jews and Christians without dwelling so deeply into precepts; words about that occur in their Koran, yet it seems Jews nor Christians seldom attempt learning about faith of the Muslims. The God of each religion is the same God so why a lifetime of warfare for people in these religions? Questions without answers, decide facts in our human minds; the answers are in your knowledge but reasons to extract it proves folly within human vanity, which causes most people never to challenge personal precepts learned as youth, using integrity with truth is the only way to establish the reasons for, and the purpose for all human life.

The Savior of Christians supposedly came from Judaism: Muhammad, the prophet of Islam learned much about both Judaism, and Christianity; origins of Judaism are deep in the many ancient empires of the cradle of civilization, with facts now well documented. None seemingly work with another, although they worship the same figurative deity identified by name Lord. Christians presume the man that insured their salvation became one with his father; therefore why pray in his name, when teachings of Judaism tell you the Lord will not share His glory with any other god? Is there more than one God? Few people, will accept that more than one God exists for our human race; I do not believe our Creator ever intended humanity to deceive itself about death; that premise came from forces using impure reasoning for a purpose of self believed perfection that delivers proof of hypocrisy as no perfect thing exists except life, which humanity never will create without male and female species. Show me the person, who can grab a handful of nothing, blow air on it and create life: I will bow down to them, and worship them as my God. Until that occurs, I will never accept doctrines, dogmas, or precepts, that originate in the minds of people, as truth about our Creator that nobody will define with reasoning of our pitiful human conceptual bewilderment identified as brains. False pretenses are what religion of today implants in a society so filled with greed, hate, bigotry and hypocrisy; truth is a dirty word; integrity lives in our sewers, and people kill for the sport.

What happened to humanity? You felt it occur, when you honored that call to salvation; the sensations on the back of your neck were evil forces at work since GOD - our Creator is the only One that wants us after we are dead!

Why would an Intelligent Being with the ability to create life, not give existence that never ends without Supreme purposes we can only imagine? Satan, Evil, Devil, it makes no difference what you call it, has no use for dead people, unless they are in fact dead while still living, to bring misery and deceit to others lost in the cause of perverting others. Do you believe our Creator causes the problems in the world? Or do you believe that someone else is doing all the dirty work? Truth is where you find it; few people of any religious faith have it, more religion means additional persecution, which pleases only those lovers of deceit who in the justification for their practices condemn people that reject lies, and live according to truth.

Dualistic principles among Christians honoring precepts of Trinity explain the purpose of that religion; Life and death are reality for humans therefore only the deceivers could imagine the third factor for our Creator. Death is a non-existing reality for our Creator: That Intelligence will not cease to be. GOD owns the keys to create LIFE; therefore, death cannot be known by humans still living within our human form on earth. Only with our death can humans learn the purpose of creation for mortals by becoming one with truth after death; by that, the savior for Christianity could not have possibly been one with the Lord while living as a mortal man. We know not the substance of our Creator, and we cannot possibly know if GOD is gendered, at least that is true for those of us who do not presume to know and understand everything there is to know. All I know is, GOD created earth and all things upon around and within it; if I know that one thing, what else could I possibly learn from any religion? Moreover, what possible benefit could I receive by honoring the false knowledge learned from a religion?

Their precepts of wisdom are not learned, they are inherited and passed through generations without writing them out as words for humanity to change, man changes everything; precepts of GOD, are precepts known only to GOD, thus no human will ever change them because they do not exist as words of a book; even if a person of GOD attempted to write them in a book, they will fail, for reasoning of human origin could not comprehend then cause the recording of the ineffable things known only to GOD.

In other words, people born of the flesh will never reveal the correct path to obtain that conceived as Spiritual Existence while living if following precepts originated in human thought. Only precepts originated from within our Creator can deliver such a Spiritual Existence; those precepts as originated within the conceptual fantasy of so-called religious people cannot be proven. Only the Creator can know the Substance of our Creator, yet deceivers who are nothing but human beings seemingly know the unknowable facts about GOD using reasoning that usually belies their purpose, a purpose that always reveals itself, usually by asking for money to do GODS’ work. Do you honestly believe that GOD needs any help?

By my own hands I cannot do anything but attempt to warn people by writing, enough evidence exists in bibles of Christianity and the Koran of Islam to prove GOD does not intervene in human affairs. We only need to search history to prove one fact; the winners of every war have the most people and the best weapons. The events of December 7, 1941 will coldly remind me of what can occur within the minds of men, predisposed with intent to steal the property of others with force. My uncle and father fought that war; another uncle fought in Korea, nothing good came of them wars. I defy any living human with memories about the horrors of Vietnam to say one good thing about that ordeal. Circumstance brings me to this point, where I must take one of two paths: 1) Face religions in the world and call them LIARS: 2) Quit and watch humanity on earth destroy itself in pursuit of religious nonsense. Option two is not viable for I have three children, and ten grandchildren; therefore, I honestly believe the only way that my grandchildren will have the opportunity to enjoy their time on earth is to prove the truth about all religions before my death.

Can you find GOD Sunday mornings while gathering in some church, sitting on uncomfortable seats? A place where often the clergy person frowns when an innocent new-born baby begins fretting because of discomfort, or an older child begins crying when mother or father disciplined them for something trivial they do every day at home in their normal surroundings? No, only hypocrites believe that GOD visits those places; people go to church for visibility among neighbors, or so peers accept them as righteous individuals; often, attendance at such services is nothing more than a place to display the new car, expensive jewelry, finery in apparel, where nodding heads from excessive drink the night before elicits stares, with condemnation. Have you ever visited church during a time when nobody is there? They are the most pitiful examples of pure cold nakedness that I have ever witnessed, they exist only for hypocrisy, marriages and funerals; wasted expenditures on nothing for ninety percent of the time they sit empty and void of the living creations of GOD.

You can find GOD visiting happy places where children play, where animals and birds go about their daily tasks, where flowers grow not planted by human hands, in quiet meadows with waters from a nearby creek making pleasant sounds of nature without human intervention, while watching the sunrise when earth is coming alive in glorious splendor, or at evening when the day is over as dusk becomes a harbinger of darkness and people take refuge in their homes so light overcomes the night. This is what GOD created, this is where GOD visits, this is where we find our Creator; you cannot find Almighty GOD, in the presence of liars or deceit, on the evening news, in books written by human hands; for GOD turns away from the living dead and leaves them to their devices.

Humans have no rights in death; perfection in life comes to no human, change in precepts occurs for everyone; age will mellow the heart, or cause hardness. Often a very cold reality sets in as people submit their will to material gains without consideration of others, while simultaneously presenting the false front of being something they are not. Few such people have any honest compassion for others who do try to walk upon the pathway of truth, and often condemn them for not believing in a dead man and his father. Doctrines and precepts of human origin have no authority of our Creator, but people willingly submit to idealism of others instead of searching for the truth on their own in places where they can come to know GOD in a one to ONE relationship that moves life beyond something artificial and dead, a life with real meaning. Neutral third-party mediation can prove useful for negotiations among men, yet becomes a lost cause for no pathway exists between living and dead humans; the living have no way of knowing what happens to the dead; people believing they do know are hypocrites, and people who teach such nonsense surely will reap that sown. To know the mindset of GOD proves the people so doing actually believe they do know, when in fact they truly know nothing of GOD at all; moreover, such people seemingly must justify their belief somehow by coaxing other people to join in their folly.

All life begins as a gift that is from GOD; it is a unique gift freely given in a manner that is totally unknown to our parents, and to us despite any circumstance of our birth. Therefore, we as human beings have no options available to us before birth; despite what people believe, each human being is born into circumstance and the reality of mortal life for a purpose unknown to us. One can ask, "Why was I born in the United States," or, "Why was I born in Brazil," or, "Why was I born to into squalor and poverty so great I will face a lifetime of suffering? The truth is, only GOD knows, and I do not presume to know GODS’ purpose. All I do know is – Life is a gift of GOD, and people who do not view all life as "precious" deny that their own life has any value at all. Now, I ask people of a religious persuasion to prove their religion is the answer. If GOD gives the gift of life freely and without prejudice, why was I born in the United States of America of mixed ethnic heritage and can prove Jews, Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Native American religions are all a part of that heritage? Which heritage am I supposed to choose as "my true heritage?" I cannot divide self; furthermore, I am not going to divide self. Am I to accept the teachings of a religion that treated part of my heritage as heathens and murdered them, or am I to accept the teachings of that part of my heritage the murderers murdered? Truth is, I reject the religious heritage of all my families ethnic past. Why? Because none of the religious that my families previously practiced can be true; by that, the only possible answer is, no religion can be what it claims to be. Religion is of the minds of people for GOD gives the gift of life without prejudice to people despite their religious belief.

Separation of people based on nation, creed and race does occur, but only when human precepts dominate the inherited purity of our children, which is caused by the false knowledge ingrained and exhibited by people before children who learn to lie, cheat, and use deceit at early ages by example of ignorant parents raised in a similar manner. Honesty must begin with the first words of human speech and our very survival depends on that fact; telling of lies creates liars, and by example our children learn how to tell lies and deceive people from their parents. Children raised without hearing lying words most usually always solidly develop into adults without deceit, they are successful in life and are the cause of many great changes in society. Such people lived in the past, but in the last four thousand years only a handful of people stand out historically among their peers. Who are those people you ask? Hammurabi – Confucius – Buddha – Gandhi – Albino Luciani

If I win in this battle now begun, the world will become a better place with tolerance for all peoples without religious causes that kill so many humans by acts called Holy War. We can never eliminate greed from our human race; there is a limit to what people will receive in life. Nobody should feel hunger or suffer the pains inflicted by warfare over trivial matters that seemingly always begin with the personal religion and deity of people that accept scripture testimony as undeniably true. By removing mythology and superstition from religions there will be no cause to deliver salvation with death through warfare, then we only have to cure the ills in earth’s many cultures and societies bred by ignorance. Humanity will never enjoy paradise on earth until true peace is achieved worldwide; hence, there is no time to wait for the miracle to happen, we must make that miracle of peace ourselves by ourselves, or Century twenty-one will become the era when evil won by allowing religious lies to defeat the truth of GOD. No, I am not willing to quit without a fight, it is time for all humanity to quit telling lies, and the most deadly of lies come from religions on earth.

Through your grace O' GOD I beseech of you to reveal the path of righteousness opened before my face, for eyes blinded by gloom foreshadow boldness by the wicked within hardness in their hearts. Please, O’ GOD, remove the covers from my eyes, and guide them so I can see, that pathway hidden in deceit. I beg of you to open the closed passages within my ears, that sounds from rushing waters can lead me to life giving water removing thirst for truth found at the narrow gate. Remove the rock of lies that causes all to stumble in darkness of the dead; trim the vines hanging overhead snaring innocent victims by the neck, and strangles them with no escape. Enlighten this pitiful mortal with wisdom; remove the yoke of ignorance, which hinders progress for this lowly wretched man. O' GOD of our human race, teach me knowledge and compassion; fill this heart with enough intrepid fortitude to proclaim your truth without complexity of speech, nor insipid promise of entering your rest. Now I come to you in turmoil knowing that said past now is, is now past said with knowing turmoil is to come and I now beg for your guidance. Alea!

Dear Truth-?,

Thanks for posting, and Welcome!

You message is insightful (though some might think it also 'inciteful') and in my opinion a well thought out thesis on the human struggle to find GOD. As you point out, this has led to more an illusion about the Deity than verifiable reason, which then needs the support of like minded people who cling to their illusion like castaways on a sinking raft, where you either grasp their 'truths' or get pushed off. Hence, there is so much effort, some of it impressively scholarly, to prove one's point of view as right, which in itself becomes contentious. This has led to so much religious strife, still ongoing today. How can those who claim to be most righteous commit the most heinous crimes against their fellow human beings? It is beyond reason. And yet, perhaps reason is not what humans are after when it comes to understanding the deepest mysteries, why we are born, live a life full of hope and struggles, and then ultimately, of necessity, die. Perhaps this is why illusion takes over, because there is no rational way to explain this. To think this has been going on for millennia makes it especially poignant, that humans have struggled so hard to understand and only succeeded in oppressing one another. Sad but true, though it does not necessarily damn religion as such, for much good also came from a belief in a higher order of things, such as charity and compassion.

Looking at religion as a 'necessary' illusion for humankind, there may be another form of 'reason' than what is logical and rational, for it may fall more into the depths of belief and the irrational. Some time back I had written something about the Micro-mind, which was first posted on the Peoples Book 2000, Microdecisions: May-June 1999, and later consolidated into the Themes pages. You might see it at: http://www.humancafe.com/peoplesbook2000.htm
What it says, in effect, is that there is some part of our mind that 'knows' at another level, at that place were micro-decisions are made, decisions so small and frequent that they defy observation and cognizance. It may very well be there, where the world of reason ends and prayer begins, that GOD is perceived as well, that there is a universality to this pursuit of the Deity, of the Creator of All that Is, which we know only subliminally, and therefore often get it wrong when interpreted into our conscious state. The writers of the holy books, of all religions, invariably struggled with what they thought they understood, and then very likely failed in this understanding. So we cannot cast blame on them, when seen this way, for they really were doing the best they knew how. What they did that was damnable, however, was that once they figured out their own 'truth', they then tried to force this on everyone else, calling it 'the word of God', and punishing either with abuse or death all who disobeyed them. This can never be, nor should it ever be. GOD is Everything, and as you point out Everywhere, both what we perceive as good as well as evil, but not the author of these. What our clever intellect has allowed us to do was create for ourselves an Evil force, a Satan or Devil, who allegedly is responsible for such evil deeds, when in fact they are all of our own creation. Evil is what we do to ourselves and each other, nothing to do with GOD, for an Everything Universe is a net zero sum game, neutral in relation to us. Reason, alas, when unreasonable, becomes a double edged sword, where illusion takes the place of reality. As you pointed out, it was men who wrote the holy scriptures, and thus it was men who created a GOD in their own image, rather than the other way around. We are the product of Everything, in all its aspects, both good and bad, beautiful and ghastly. Yet, this said, it is also men (and women) who had seen the more beautiful aspects of Creation, to love one another, to admire and wonder in awe over the beauty of the universe we live in, and to raise our children with the hope that we can have a better world. Will it be better in this world, or the next? I don't know about the next world, but I do believe it will be in this world, when we stop oppressing each other with ideas that contradict what GOD is all about. I think this is an infinite promise, and one of which we should never lose sight.

Ivan

"Why hast Thou forsaken us?"

This cry is universal for all humankind, echoing the cry of Christ on the cross, asking why God had not intervened in all the trials of humanity, both personally and universally, through all time. And yet, should He?

We believe God runs a great universe, down to the smallest detail, of which we are part. If you think of this, it becomes quickly evident that we are individually one person amongst a planet of billions, our Earth and Sun but one star amongst a galaxy of billions, and even the galaxy but one small spiral within a greater cluster, again of numbers we only guess at. God had put all this in motion, same as He had put in motion life for each one of us. When we pray and beseech God's help, or to offer thanks, we are using our mind and soul to access these infinite multitudes. Behind that prayer is already a whole universe of Creation that had brought us to this moment. We are part of this immeasurable Whole, and had been given reason with which to make our choices freely, some good, others less so, in the context of Everything. We are conscious beings. Same as we had been given a soul, a Whoness of who we are, which in itself is a miracle of our being connected to all existence, we had been given a mind to see it mightily. None of us ever were born of a vacuum, but instead are the end product of a long chain of beings, of living parents, of events and circumstances, to now. We are well endowed with all of Life, and all of existence, in each one of us. And with our intelligence we are free to act and be within that greater world of God. This is our legacy, one that betrays that we had never been abandoned, nor forsaken. It had always been in us to do God's will in every breath we take, though we had at times been so confused that we did not do this well, and God seemed absent from us. Why did God not intervene for each one of us? He has, but in creating this great firmament, of which we are only the tiniest part, he gave us the mind with which we access Him, in prayer, in our deeds, in all our thoughts and feelings. There is the Love of God. This is the Joy of our being, of our love, for each other, of the Who we are in God. When we do this with love, no matter the outcome of what others do to us, or we do to ourselves, we are in God, and He with us.

Some two thousand years ago, a child was born that would rise to become a man Jesus who would teach us this message: Love one another. That is the message of the Christ'mass time, when we remember God's Love for each other and say in each breath:

"Joy to the world! Life is Beautiful."

Ivan

MARK OF THE BEAST

People with a warped sense of reality will lie. It is impossible for them not to lie, for this is the brand mark of their ignorance. Truth is what is-- Lies and deceit are their mark of the Beast-- for they are removed from what IS.

Elizar

Cross-posted from the Examined Life Forums: http://examinedlifejournal.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard/topic.cgi?forum=3&topic=5

VIOLENCE ENVY, and "The Passion", as a modern day myth.

What is it about children enjoying being frightened, like at summer camp story telling around a campfire, where the close darkness beyond the firelight looms ominously close as a background for scary tales of ghosts, or monsters? There is something in us that thrills at what frightens us, often released with brave laughter, but which locks onto the fear we feel inside. It is the same with violence, that it is frightening, and yet thrilling somehow, so that we are drawn to it in stories, in games, in film. Most of us do not live with violence daily, yet like some memory of when we had seen it, it captivates us.

Modern films and television programs, as our modern day makers of myth, use this effectively to hook their audience. This seems to be a more powerful phenomenon, the use of violence and brutality, of prodigious displays of blood, in today's entertainment than had been in the past. Since the days of gladiators in Roman arenas, violence as entertainment and sport had drawn large audiences. The heroes often underwent great trials of pain and blood, but the victors were treated with great fame. It is the same today, where in films the show of pain and blood, mixed with some measure of self searching, and then ending in a glory of physical violence, makes for a successful formula to woo audiences. The latest film released, "The Passion of Christ", has proved this formula correct, where there was no mystery as to the ending of the story, but the pain and blood, lots of it, and the suffering of the man, a man of God, drew record box office receipts. The early Christians would have been offended by this display of human suffering, since their gentle shepherd, Jesus, was a holy being, a Son of God, brought to Earth to end such violence. And yet, here two thousand years later, we revel in his violent end. It is an irony of our times that we have such lust for what frightens us intimately, even onto religious themes, where the violence and blood is more important than the message to end suffering, to make a better world, to bring about a Kingdom of God. Are we living in truly twisted times, or are we merely innocents living in a darkness, where the violence is what we secretly yearn for while horrified?

I would call this fear of violence, in a strangely twisted way, a "violence envy". It is the irony of our times that we are drawn to what we are repelled. No one wants violence in their lives, consciously, yet it is obviously something we desire vicariously, if the box receipts are any guide. We envy the suffering, the heroism in overcoming it, and the tragedy of eventual death, in the films we watch, or stories we read. Horror sells, generating great wealth for some. Vicariously it is we who undergo these trials of pain and suffering, and then are cleansed of it when the story is done. We envy the hero, especially since most of our lives are rather unheroic. We wish to share in the courage and strength of the victim of forces beyond his or her making, while simultaneously experience the redemption of having gone through it all, and either lived or died. We are poor in heroism ourselves, and thus relieve this poverty through fictional acts of others. That is our envy, that we could recreate this violence in our lives, this tragic heroism, while in the comfort of our seats at home or in a theatre. Our lives, by and large, are not passionate, so we crave that passion on the silver screen.

The tragedy here is that our lives appear empty to us, so like children frightened around the campfire, we try to enrich this emptiness with fear. But is this not in a large part a result of our social, and personal, immaturity? That we would be so drawn to the violence of the message rather than to the message itself is a fault in us. We had not yet gained sufficient inner strength to rise above the regressive fears, and thus are lost in our inner confusion. Violence wins, everywhere on screen, in television newscasts, in print, in suddenly interrupted programing to watch a police car chase. How pathetic we had become, to put such importance on such base pursuits. Is this the product of our simple minded consumerism as a society? Or had we been abandoned by the great teachings of higher minds, so that we are left holding only the empty shells of vicarious gratifications? This is what violence envy has given us, that we are no longer heroes in our own minds, so must find it in our consumption of violent acts, at a safe distance. Have we become that poor?

I personally think it is only a transitional stage, one like children who are about to enter maturity but are still lost in their prepubescence. We will know we are moving beyond violence envy when the box receipts, or book sales, for violent stories drop off. When we see receipts for positive stories glorifying heroes who succeed in neutralizing violence without violent means, then we will know we had moved one step closer to maturity as conscious human beings. But for now, watch the blood, the pain and suffering, the killings, for they thrill us beyond understanding.

I am not against "The Passion", but merely see it as a full counterswing to what the original message was all about, as Christ taught it. Perhaps on the return swing, we will finally get it right. Rather than fear and violence, that we should love one another, a myth we can live with.

To "love one another", that is a Gospel truth.

Ivan

CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE NAME OF GOD.

What's in a name? When I go hiking with my two dogs, when their minds are intent upon the purpose at hand, and call to one of them by name, "Karu!", he will turn his head in acknowledgement, but not the other, as she continues to trot along. If I say "Gentle", then she will turn her head and Karu ignores me. So, by this simple test, already these dogs know their names, in some way.

The name may be our first awareness of our own consciousness. I doubt that either Karu or Gentle will puzzle on this issue deeply, of "who am I?", but they seem to have some awareness of themselves as opposed to someone else. If we take this self awareness as symptomatic of their self consciousness, a kind of knowing who they are, then by extension their name recognitions are the "who" they are, to themselves as well as to me. Human infants learn their names at an age when they still are unable to say it yet. This kind of consciousness, elementary that it may be, is already evident in sentient beings, though they themselves may not be aware they know it.

This self awareness, whether or not other sentient beings dwell on it the way we humans do, is already a defining characteristic of their consciousness. It may not be necessary for awareness to be aware of its own awareness to be conscious. Rather, a definition of sentient consciousness would be sufficient if they have some feeling in themselves of "who" they are. That, I believe, is a real feeling in living things, that they have a sense of themselves, as opposed to another being. There is something in their minds that allows for this, which may also be responsible for their will to survive, for their fight or flight instincts, for their caring of their young offsprings, and even in their mating and play. Animals, as humans, have a sense of themselves, which in itself is already consciousness. This extends also to facial recognition. What dog will not run to its master first? Identity recognized in this way is itself an acknowledgement of identity, as any animal handler will testify.

By this same filter of reason, we can test for consciousness in many species. Even fish in an aquarium will display this recognition, this knowledge of who the other is. Maybe this is only a recognition of who feeds them, but it is an accurate recognition nevertheless. Curiosity, and play, even humor, had been reported by divers observing many species of marine life, including species below the dolphin and whales and seal categories, right down to the squid and octopus. Animals are not only intelligent, or clever, but they seem to have a deeper sense of awareness. Land animals have the same if not more. Horse riders report a kinship with their animals that borders on anthropomorphism; but that is a projection of ourselves on the other. Anthropomorphism is in itself unjustified, since the other already has an identity of its own, and by projecting our own consciousness on the other, we deny that being's own consciousness. So there is a danger of overstating our own importance when observing animal behavior to the point where we project not only our own humanity on them; but in projecting our own consciousness on them, we then assume theirs is a lesser consciousness of our own making, which it is not. Animals already have their own.

Other species not categorized as sentient beings in the sense vertebrates or mammal are may also display some form of consciousness, or sense of identity, though it is not overtly obvious. For example, in the insect world there seems to be a more collective consciousness at work, where the hive or colony is of greater importance. So each bee, or ant, participates in some biologically predetermined manner towards the well being of the colony. Each participant may not be intimately aware of itself as an individual identity, though if individually threatened it will flee, but the whole colony exists as if it were one identity. The survival of the colony, being paramount, triggers defense mechanisms whenever it is threatened, so that the individual ants or bees will self sacrifice and fight to the death to insure the colony's safety. We do not have a means of finding out what that greater colony identity is, since there is a species barrier here that leaves us unawares. If they have a "name" for themselves, we do not know what that is, nor can we know. Their total mind consciousness is at another level, not secured within their individual spinal columns and brains like ours, but rather in the interlocking parts of the whole body of its participants. So in this way, their "consciousness" and ours are fundamentally different from one another. We have ours locked in our brain, what we call our minds, whereas theirs is spread out over the full body of the colony, of its collective mind. And yet, it would be anthropomorphic of us to deny them their identity, such as it is. Even plants have a relationship with the forest, with each other, and symbiotically with all living things. Even bacteria are interlocked with all of life, not devoid of the whole. Merely, though plants and protozoa and bacteria may have planetformed our world, their consciousness is different from ours.

Step back from this observation and think of the analogy of interlocking parts of the colony as a schematic for how reality works, that all parts of reality are interrelated into progressively larger wholes. These progressive wholes, which can be extended to all of the universal reality around each species, or each living thing, or each inanimate object, are defining patterns of interlocking matter and energy, and physically observable conditions, that stretch indefinitely. For each living thing there is a greater pattern of existence within which it serves, and that greater pattern encompasses the land of continents, the oceans, the planet and atmosphere, and even though we can scarcely imagine it, out into space and solar system and beyond to the galaxies. There is of necessity a complete interlocking interrelatedness of being that affects each and every thing in existence, for this is how the universe is structured. And there is absolutely no escaping it, either in space or time, for each living thing is a descendant of previous living things; and each physical entity is a function of the state of being of all previous physical entities to the present. These are interrelatedness influences that in their defining patterns stretch towards infinity, both in space and time. Nothing exists outside of these wholes of infinite patterns.

We have given a "name" to reality, which goes by all the names with which we identify all observable things; and in its totality, we call it the Universe. However, this may be a condition of the named being called the namers, since in our self awareness of our reality around us, we have assumed that it is our names that we have projected onto all we know. In fact, we are already named in our consciousness, in who we are, by the interlocked interrelatedness of all reality around us. It is from where we came, from that totality, to become the conscious beings we know in ourselves. So our names for things are in fact already an anthropomorphic projection of what we understand, but it neglects to see itself as a product of that same anthropomorphism where we place greater importance on our own intelligence than that of the totalities that had already predefined us, from all time. Though the thought may offend our self sense of identity, we came second. The reality of the Universe was already there.

In the same way the hive or colony is itself its own consciousness, so is it for all of reality in its infinite interrelatedness an identity for which we have no capacity to understand, to name it. We do not know what "name" reality has for itself, nor can we know it, since there is a gigantic "species" barrier which we cannot jump. It would be to pit our own consciousness against that of a universal totality's consciousness, and the gulf is too great. We have a name for ourselves, but we are unable to give a name to the consciousness of a Universe, except to call by the name of our ancestors, who called it Deity. By whatever name we gave this greater consciousness of the Universe, Dio, God, Allah, Yahweh, Brahma, Love, Life, we had failed to notice that this Name was already giving itself of itself. We have a mind, an identity, a Who, that is shared by all living things sentient, and even shared by the minds of things living in a sentient collective. By naming itself, the Universe gave its name to its living things because they too share in that self identity. Who we are in our self awareness is a product of the collective Totality of an infinite reality that has named itself, in us. Our self awareness, that "who" which so deeply seeks the answers to the riddles of our being, and all being around us, is the name God gave us, a whoness of Who we are. Because our existence and development as a human species had been predefined through all time, and one which connects us inescapably through all the interrelatedness of space, we are of necessity conscious beings only because the Universe is already conscious with us, though this is still something we cannot understand. In each living thing, there is a Name of God.


So what do we do with this knowledge we cannot understand? If the Name of God is the identity in each one of us, the Who we are, right down to the self identity of the simplest living organisms, how can we acknowledge this without giving it our own anthropomorphic definitions? I think we can acknowledge this unbelievable gift we all share by respecting Life. If we can use the word "sacred", then all living things are sacred because they harbor in themselves a sharing of this Universal identity. What distinguishes us from all other living species is that we have the mind to see it at a level they cannot. We can know that all life is precious, whereas they will live their lives as they are designed to do so. It also means that they can kill each other for food, unconscious of what they are doing, and we, on the other hand, cannot. We have an ability to be conscious of this, and thus have the mental capacity to raise ourselves above the unconscious killings much of life is made of. If there is a redeeming factor in our greater intelligence, in our greater self awareness, it is that we can break the cycle of destruction and death by invoking the Name of God. If the Universe is conscious at its greatest Totalities, it is a gift to us that we share in that consciousness individually in ourselves. And to do this, we must step outside the cycles of destruction to which we had always been subjected, and rise above the reprisals given to lesser conscious beings. This means that we must not only love all of life, and each other, but we must forgive those who are less conscious of who they are. This forgiveness, where we break the cycles of death, is then done in the Name of God.

When an animal kills, it does so for executing its survival functions. The same can be said for humans when they kill for food. However, killing in reprisal requires a different kind of consciousness, which is an inherent contradiction of who we are, since our higher awareness should stop us from doing so. So this is the defining mark of a conscious human being, where one kills, and the other does not. The more conscious we become, the less killing there will be. The greater the Name of God is in us, the more understanding and awareness of the sacredness of all life, the more humane will become evident our individual behavior. So we cannot kill unconsciously, if we are conscious beings in the Name of God. Yet, this does not mean we cannot kill, but it does mean that we cannot force another against their will, for they are sacred, and to kill another consciously can only be done by default if there is no other way to preserve the sanctity of another's life. This is an extremely severe demand on us as conscious human beings, for it is a great responsibility demanding tremendous intelligence.

As intelligent cognizant beings, we must find ways to do things together with all living things by their agreement, and repel with force where that agreement is trespassed. That finding of agreements is the ultimate service to humankind, and all living things, for that is the only way we can consciously find our path to being free in terms of who we are. To quote from Camelot, "In service there is freedom." That is our ultimate test of consciousness, in service freely given to others, to preserve not only their freedoms, but our own. And that freedom, of being free from coercions, free from killings, free from deceits and trespass, is to be free in terms of who we are in the interrelatedness of all things. This freedom is the gift of consciousness, and its terrible responsibility, that comes from our Universal identity as human beings: This is Who we are.

Is this the ultimate definition of justice and peace, that we do only by agreements and stop coercions? If we are in our identity conscious beings in the Name of God, then our freedom to do service for all living things, not with harsh rules we impose, but with love, and the spirit of peace, then it is in truth Who we are. May God give us the strength of will and clarity of vision to make it so.

Watch all the faces of the people around you... There is the Name of God.

Ivan Alexander

California, USA

YOU SHALL KNOW THE TRUTH AND IT SHALL SET YOU FREE!

GO TO: http://www.geocities.com/rthorne777

ISLAM IN REFORM OF PEACE

Scholarly voices had said that what Islam needs is a Reformation. This is understood in the manner of Christian reform following Martin Luther, or the Judaic reforms of more recent times. The criticism against Islam is that it is stuck in its traditionalism and thus unable to adapt to more modern times. So Islam is deemed in need of a Reformation.

There had been over the past 150 years a kind of reformation going on within Islam in the form of Baha'ism. This is an Islamic sect that broke away from the traditional teachings by introducing noble and progressive ideas: equality between the sexes, racial equality, universal education, independent investigation of truth, a one world, lasting peace, etc. What separates this kind of reform from the other religions is that it is based on the teachings of a founder who himself, Baha'u'Allah, and with his predecessor, the Bab, teaches he is the return of the Messiah. This would be as if Luther had said he is the return of Jesus, which he did not. So in this very important way, the Baha'i movement, though it introduces a very progressive version of Islam, does not quite fit the need for the internal reform called for by some. This may mean that such reform is still forthcoming, if the world is to know less conflict between Islam and other religions, a lasting peace.

Would a Reformed Islam cast aside the so-called fundamentalist extremists? It would make it more difficult for the likes of Bin Ladden and his cohorts to hijack a religion, which professes peace and compassion in its pure form, for they would find infertile soil for their evil teachings. Though in its lay form, what had been accepted by the common people and their aggressive clerics, Islam today seems to foment more conflict than peace. The innate purpose of religion is to find our way towards God, or Allah, without conflict with one another, Peace. A sense of unity, of hearts and minds, is more desirable than persistent warfare. The contribution a Reformed Islam could make in this direction is to offer teachings that are more like those of the Baha'i, and less like those of Al Qaeda's Taliban. Such a reform from within would be welcomed and championed by the world.

MYTHOLOGY, at the edge of understanding.

Mythology is on the bow wave of our understanding. It is to explain the inexplicable, where we are at the limit of what we can understand. What can be verified with facts and predictable observation is science, otherwise it is on the frontier of our intellectual ability. Mythology shares space with philosophy, in that it is a product of human thought, but not rooted in a hard knowledge of things, since it looks beyond these. In the past, mythology was almost exclusively the domain of religion, to understand God, or our place in the universe, who we are; or cultural beliefs, such as folk wisdom, astrology, or good luck. Otherwise, it was science that evolved from it, to understand real knowledge, what is validated with facts. It is a sinister development, however, in our more modern times that such myth can even intrude into science itself. If science in ancient times did border on mythology, it was usually in magical potions, or alchemical formulations. These things were misunderstood, so that lead was never turned into gold, but they had their applications at the time, and ultimately led to sufficient understanding of mixtures that it led to today's chemistry and bio sciences. In the form of our newest myth, however, there is little to verify it, for it is truly on the edge of our understanding with complex mathematics, though some already think it a science. I suspect it is still myth, however. I am referring to a Relativistic universe in astrophysics, where time is a variable; or the the expanding universe interpreted from observed cosmic redshift from great distances. But in particular the Big Bang (see posts on Does modern physics really need rethinking), which claims all existence sprung out of nothing about 15 billion years ago. Can we ever verify these sufficiently to take them out of the realm of myth and into science? Though there is some crossover to Quantum Theory, useful in understanding atom smashing results in our search for subatomic particles, I suspect that much of what is now believed will be discarded. But like the alchemy that preceded it, there will be some salvageable portions that will fill future needs. When these applications can be verifiable and offer predictable usefulness, they will then cease to be scientific-myths and become real science. One possibility is that today's scientific myths may lead to a new form of energy, for example, though this has not yet happened. And when this happens, or something else new, we will be one step closer to the truth.

Ivan

Truth is silent, silence is truth.

Why does the world let truth be silent, or give truth the silent treatment?

We can't talk about it, not here, or they will hear you -- and kill you.

Ssshhh..

Epistomogically, Science and Religion are both "faith" based.

This was posted for fun, but it may be true?

Ivan

RELIGION: A KABBALAH OF TRUTH?

I always felt close to religion, all religions, in a belief in God, though I had never been totally drawn to common worship, such as seen in temples and churches. To me, religion is a kind of myth, not in the sense that it is fiction, but rather that religion is an embodiment of all human beliefs that had survived through the ages, through millennia, so that they filtered through time what truths we had accumulated from the dawn of humankind. Some of it, truly, is fiction, and only as parables can it be understood, while other things have elements of goodness, of rising above our own fearful ego with a surrender to a greater order of things, a universe of God. In that it is mythical, sometimes paradoxical, at other times mysterious, religion is a kind of Kabbalistic truth, a truth we had accumulated over time. But it may not be the Truth itself, as science has shown us a different path. And still, even science has tended towards a mythology of sorts while scrupulously seeking the Truth, such as the Big Bang, or elements of a universe built upon the Theory of Relativity. How much is fact, and how much paradoxical fancy?

That we human beings need this kind of mythic truth, that we need to understand even into those realms we do not understand, is where philosophy steps in, and ultimately for the true mysteries of life, we get religion. To believe is a function of our consciousness, and likely also our unconscious, that fills a very deep need in us. So in this respect, while we are believing we are doing as one with the universe, doing God's Will, we are satisfying this need. Like a drug, we need to believe. However, like any substance, it too can be abused, to where the belief becomes toxic in a sense, and we start killing each other over such beliefs. This is absurdity, and never a truth of any kind, and yet how many will either sacrifice the lives of others, or their own, for this failed toxic belief? So myth becomes poison, and religion deadly. Can this be Truth?

We are the mythmakers, of which the greatest myth of all is that "God said this", as it is written in our holy scriptures. Of course God did not say it, for instead men did. Yet, we cannot live without these myths, without religion, because these are the truths of times gone by that reach into our very soul. When I attend church and see the Eucharist, I am deeply in belief that at that moment something real is happening, that there is a Holy Spirit that reaches down into each one of us in attendance, and that we are bathed in that Light. Can this be proven scientifically? Is it real? It is to me. But we cannot mistake this feeling, this belief, for it being a Truth in the sense that we may now arm ourselves with it to kill, for then it becomes immediately a lie. The Kabbalah of Truth, for all religions, necessitates that we find God through Peace, and not killings. That is Religion.

In any other form, doing God's Will through pain, destruction, oppression, obsession with the devil, making women lesser than men, punishment for errors in belief, harassment, prejudicial feelings towards other human beings, terror, killing... all these are the opposite of Truth and fall into an ugly Kabbalistic error. Such religion, so toxic that we kill, is a horror. Myth is a reality for humankind, but we cannot allow it to become our horror of coercion instead.

Ivan

A transmigration of souls.

I believe when we are born we take on all the souls of all living things preceding us. This means we are the kings and paupers, brilliant musicians and deaf mutes, men and women, geniuses and idiots, saints and brigands, rich and poor, beautiful ugly, happy and sad. We are all of these. When we are born we choose who we are to be in this life, to become the person who will embody all these spirits as one, and thus through our lives choose again, for better or worse, in sickness and health, depending upon our nature, to succeed, to fail, to be great or nobody. This is how we become who we are. There is no innate goodness, nor is there innate evil, because from that sea of infinite souls we choose our actions, to do good or evil. That is our responsibility in this life, one that we will be burdened with as long as we have breath, and ultimately have to surrender when we die. For then we return to that great sea of souls from which we were born, until next time, when we will live.

I have no name. I am alpha and omega with an infinite past and infinite future. I am everyone, forever.

I am.

Here is something that has proved to be a tremendous blessing to me, and I simply wanted to pass it along to be a continued blessing to others. A friend shared it with me.

I purchased this spoken-word CD, "Delayed, but not Denied!", not long ago, and just could not keep it to myself.

You can hear a sample of the CD while visiting: http://www.gejackson.com. Do yourself, and friends a huge favor and listen for yourself. It blessed me. I hope you find this to be true for you also. Spread the word!

POPE JOHN PAUL II

Karol Wojtyla, who became Pope John Paul II, drank deeply of the waters of life. He said: "I come to you, now you come to me". A message to youth, just before his death, but also poignantly timely for all of us. He lived the Will of God, and left a spirit of love and freedom for all in our world. Thus he advanced Christ's teachings of Love with his being. God has received his great human soul.

It is for us the living to continue on his work, however imperfectly, with love and faith and reason, and improve on our world.

Humancafe.com

Mid-East foes reach out in Rome

There is hope. A great man's death brings together enemies. Miracolo.

Strange, that love sometimes takes greater courage than death. I hope it meets with "messenger's" approval that we copy and paste this message here. -Humancafe.

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Quote:

By messenger on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - 10:54 pm:
THE SEVENTH SEAL

Oh martyred sons of Islam, what is your gift to humanity? Where is your art, your science, your medicine, your poetry, your industry? What have you given? Where is your beauty, your peace, your humility? In suicide? To kill yourself in sacrifice, to kill others? What is your gift to Allah? Death?

Oh sons of Islam, look into all the holy books in JudeoChristianIslam teachings, to see the hand of Allah. Make no mistake, you are one religion. Where does God command you to kill? Is Allah not All Merciful? Then why are the writings fouled with rage, tales of wars, killings, stonings, harsh punishment by the hand of man? Who wrote this? Go through the texts and remove all the writings of man. Remove all the fears, the hysteria, hatred of your enemies, the vengefulness, all written by cowering fearful men. Read only the truth, the true words of God. You will find truth where it is written with kindness, with courage, humility, goodness, love, togetherness, wisdom, bringing all into unity and peace. Those are the words guided by the hand of God, those are true. Only true words of love and courage must you believe. Allah never said to kill the innocent. To kill the naive, the confused, the mentally deficient, who do not understand the Word of God, those are sins. When you kill yourself, you are killing the innocent.

Oh daughters of Islam, stand up for your right to be equal with men. Teach them from birth how their greatness is your greatness, together as one. You are not their slaves, as they are not slaves to other men. You are servants only to the greatest Love. There is no other way, for your equality as women means freedom for all humanity. Teach them the courage to respect women, to love them, to serve them, so they too can be in freedom, as you serve them. Then serve all humanity in that spirit, love your children, as equal men and women.

Oh sons and daughters of humanity, what are your gifts? Where is your beauty, your poetry, your love? Are these not the greatest gifts to Allah, to God, of the one great universal religion? It was said to Love one another. Can you not do this? Can you not find the beautiful harmonies of your soul? Do not give them the detritus of your lowly fears. Satan does not rule here. Rather give them the power of truth. Rise above your hatreds, your killings, your angers and deceits, for they are all horrors to God. You will still be forgiven in the Pure Love of Paradise, but your soul will cry in horror for what you had done, tears that will fill the seas of eternity. Is this what you wish for? To cry forever in the future Love of God? Would it not be better to seek that Love here, in this world, to be forgiven while you live?

Seek your true beauty in this world. Give love, find love, be love, for all humanity and all living things. To love one another is the greatest self sacrifice you can make, as your one true gift to God. Give your best for Allah, not your death, but your true inner love. If you are Jew, Christian, or Muslim, or followers of any of the great teachings, live true. You are the finest wine of Life. Be true. We are all in the universal Seventh Seal of peace, in humility on this Earth together.


In peace, a lowly messenger

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For those that oppose terror, terrorists, greed and hatred there is often a high price to pay.

I offer the following information from the Associated Press for consideration by the members and visitors of this board about the forces of religion, science and technology that are loose in the world today...and what men and women like the messenger face...

In KANDAHAR, Afghanistan today...Gunmen killed a Muslim cleric in Southern Afghanistan, a week after he led a call for people not to support Taliban rebels....Fayaz led a meeting a week ago in Kandahar of about 500 clerics from across Afghanistan that condemned the Taliban and called on people to support the government.

At the time, he said Taliban insurgents were killing innocent civilians, while the government was trying to rebuild the country and bring peace.

While working as a teacher of military tactics in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia I saw with my own eyes the increasing discontent of the Saudi peoples with the status quo and a desire for freedom, progess and access to science technology, literature, the internet and a sharing of culture and values...

Unfortunately while I was there I could see that as the older generations, both Saudi and American, left the job due to contract downsizing, pay reductions and effort to maximize profit and bonuses for upper management the rapport established between us and our Saudi counter-parts began to degrade as a less skilled, educated and tolerant breed of worker replaced us...this occured on both sides...with younger ideolistic less experienced workers coming in who had no understanding of Islam or Christianity or in many cases their own religion...

It used to be that prior to 9/11 we had experienced men and women in the Middle East who understood the forces of religion and culture that pervaded the region...we could even as civilized men and women discuss the teachings of the Koran and the Bible...over tea without having to fear being shot or killed for making statements about love compassion and respect for each others cultures or beliefs....

Having had 20 plus years of experiences as a military officer and intelligence analyst I was very concerned over this because I could see where it was leading, to violence and swing to terrorism as people denied a mechanism for peaceful change turned to the alternative...unfortunately I was not in a position to do anything about it and left the contract to pursue other employment options...when I attempted to alert the appropriate authorities to the danger I saw, the message fell on deaf ears and subsequently the compound in Saudi Arabia I worked at was bombed and much damage and loss of life ensued...to the end of my days I will regret not having done more to avert a tragic incident...to those that I alerted to the problem in Saudi Arabia they will have to spend the rest of their days living with the guilt that they did nothing to protect innocent lives...because it involved too much paper-work...and so the incident and a creidble alert to a potential threat to both innocent people based upon decades of intelligence experience was swept under the rug...

To the other members of this board and visitors to the site...It is prudent to stop now and then and think about the danger that some people live with on a daily basis for thinking or speaking out against a system...or trying to bring change or do good.....

The messenger walks with god and faces dangers most of us can not even imagin

Sobering thoughts Edward, but we cannot live in fear of the 'evil ones' out there, nor the 'stupid ones' who so misuse the teachings of the world's great teachers that they find a way to pervert it into hate and destruction. Sometimes, I'd just rather be in Tahiti, where the people are lovely and kind.

Having said that, I remember when traveling through the great desert of Sudan, on my way to Egypt, how I was under the protection of a government official, who was also a mullah. Sudan has a strict Sharia law. He was always courteous and actually took steps to make my trip easier. Later while in Egypt, at a village near Kom Ombo, I came across an 'internet cafe', so stopped in to chat with a few young Egyptians there, who were very happy to meet with an American and his European wife. While the interenet PCs were under lock and key, we never got to see our emails, we did learn that the young men were eager for change, to make a better future for their country and themselves.

That may be the key, that the future belongs to new generations, and they may as well redeem their elders by turning away from madness and embrace the future with sanity instead. There may not be as much war in the future as we fear, and even those the likes of 'Messenger' may turn out right, God willing, Insh'Allah. The monsters 'under the bed' are real, but more for them then for us. All we could do is not to threaten them, but rather to let them find their own way, and support those who see a brighter future in all the ways we can.

Let us pray for better times in those troubled parts of the world, where the innocent are killed for teaching peace. From among them will rise real leaders who will see the beauty of their Faith for what it is meant to be: Peace and Compassion.

Ivan

I concur with you on that assessment Ivan,

The problem I see is that the world of Islam is like a forest full of kindling and whomever is the first to ignite the minds of the younger generation of Islam is the one that will have a lasting effect....I fear that in that regard we have lost the battle to Osama...and now what we are doing is trying to light a series of backfires to deny him fuel for his fire....perhaps we can make a bit of a diference here by opening and maintaining a line of communication with the minds of Islam...in some small measure offering them an alternative to the teachings of Osama.....

My Best Ed

PROJECTING THE DEVIL?

Are we projecting the devil into existence? Sometimes I think the devil is us, that it is only what we do to ourselves. We can be cruel, deceitful, mean, hurtful, suspicious, and intimately destructive to others, and ourselves. Our violence is legend. Out of all the wonderful things we can do, we are also equally capable of horrors. Our history is replete with both.

In some distance recesses of our past we invented a devil. Or should I say in religious terms, the Devil? But there is no such thing, no such personage, anymore than exists a personal God. We projected both into our psyche, to convince ourselves that the external forces affecting us daily are not of our own doing, but they are due to gods, or ultimately when consolidated into world geo-Deic religions, one God. Because we somehow decided that God is only Good, we had to find the opposite Bad, or Evil. So we created a Devil. But this projection of our own psyche into reality has no basis other than what we are able to do to ourselves, both good and bad. God is Everything, the All that Is of the universe, and so of necessity God is evil too. But we are not talking about accidental evils, such as natural disasters or diseases, but Evil in a sense that some spiritual force exists out there to capture us, and make us do bad things.

This self created devil is an error, one that has persisted through the eons, because there is no such force. Whatever we do in our thoughts and deeds is us. We choose our actions, our beliefs, and our consequences of what those actions and beliefs will be. Our ancestors saw evil spirits everywhere, which now we look back upon as superstition. But we still cannot see ourselves as projecting the same in only another form, a religious clinging to an evil power that has the ability to confuse us, to make us do evil things. No, no such force makes us do it. We do it ourselves, for myriads of reasons, that we want to self destruct and destroy others. That is the evil in us, the ability to do harm. The Devil, even if we could conjure such a malevolent spiritual force, does not exist independently of us, but totally our projection onto reality of our own failings. So when religious teachers, preachers and priests and imams, tell us that we are in danger of being possessed by the devil, they are only projecting their own fears and misunderstandings of what we are all about, and what reality is about. By accusing another of being under the spell of the devil, they are accusing wrongly based on these fears, so humanity suffers once again, one more ability to do harm, now in God's name. And that is the greatest sin.

There is no devil other than the harm we do. There is no magical mystical, malevolently spiritual force that makes us act in devilish ways. All we do and think is who we are, and how we choose that being. To choose unconsciously in malevolent ways is not the devil, but merely a lack of awareness inside ourselves. It is this lack that often leads to fear, to unhappiness, to suspicions, and to want to project on others, and even all reality, that lack in ourselves. So those who accuse anyone of being in with the Devil, whether ordinary people or religious zealots, are merely accusing themselves of their own failures in life. The Devil is us.

Ivan

HAS MODERN ISLAM GONE BAD?

(This is a cross-post from The Examined Life Journal Discussion Forums, in answer to Dr. Pepper's quote:)

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Quote:

The dangerous thing about Islam is not that it enshrines the desire to change the world into an Islam-dominated world: the dangerous thing is how this desire to change the world is institutionalized with the double prongs of

1) violent Jihad in a context of a stark division of Mankind into Believer and Infidel and of the World into the two realms of the Dar-al-Harb (the "house" of War) and the Dar-al-Islam (the "house" of Islam)

2) an Absolute Truth given directly and unchangeably by God directly concerning the object of the desire and the means to effect it...

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"Sacred Books of The East" -1880- ed. by F. Max Muller, interpretations of ancient Eastern religious texts, Oxford.

THE QUR'AN

In his introduction, E.H. Palmer gives an excellent overview of the history and essence of what is Islam. This was written long before today's contentious conflict between East and Western philosophies, of Islam with other religions, and more in the spirit of pure scholarship. I listed some of the more interesting paragraphs below. Unfortunately, two years after the publication of these scholarly translations of ancient Eastern texts, Edward Henry Palmer, while on a goodwill mission, was lured into ambush and murdered in Egypt by Arab robbers.

From the introduction, interesting points on Mohammed:

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Quote:

Mohammed believed that he was sent as an apostle to both men and ginns, and Surah LXXII contains an allusion to a vision in which he beheld a multitude of the ginns bowing in adoration and listening to the message which man had disdainfully refused.
...
The belief in Allah himself was little more than a reminiscence, and as he had no priesthood, and was not the patron of any particular tribe, his supremacy was merely nominal.
...
Mohammed was a man of middle height, but of commanding presence; rather thin, but with broad shoulders and a wide chest; a massive head, a frank oval face with a clear complexion, restless black eyes, long heavy eyelashes, a prominent aquiline nose, white teeth, and full thick beard as the principle features of the verbal portraits historians have drawn of him.
He was a man of highly nervous organization, thoughtful, restless, inclined to melancholy, and possessing an extreme sensibility, being unable to endure the slightest unpleasant odour or the least physical pain.
Simple in his habits, kind and corteous in his demeanour, and agreeable in conversation, he gained many over to his side, as much by charm of his manners as by the doctrine which he preached.
Mohammed had already reached his fortieth year when the first revelations came to him. They were the almost natural outcome of his mode of life and habit of thought, and especially of his physical condition. From youth upwards he had suffered from a nervous disorder which tradition calls epilepsy, but the symptoms of which more closely resemble certain hysterical phenomena well known and diagnosed in the present time, and which are almost always accompanied with hallucinations, abnormal exercise of the mental functions, and not unfrequently with a certain amount of deception, both voluntary and otherwise.
...
Persons afflicted with epileptic or hysterical symptoms were supposed by the Arabs, as by so many other nations, to be possessed, and we find the constant complaint in the Qur'an that he was regarded as such by his fellow-citizens. Poetic frenzy was evidently recognized by them as nearly akin to demoniacal possession, and of this charge, too, the prophet frequently endeavours to clear himself. His habit of fasting and watching throughout the night would and no doubt did increase his tendency to mental excitement and visionary hallucinations.
The celebrated 'night journey' or 'ascent into heaven,' which many of the Muslims allow to have been merely a dream, was doubtless the result of one of these fits of mental exaltation. It must be remembered, however, that to an Eastern mind the reducing it to a dream by no means detracts either from its reality or its authority, dreams being supposed to be direct revelations from God; see the story of Joseph, Chapter XII, and the same as recorded in the Old Testament.
...
One of the greatest blots on El Islam is that it keeps the women in a state of degradation, and therefore effectually prevents the progress of any race professing the religion. For this Mohammed is only so far responsible that he accepted without question the prevalent opinion of his time, which was not in favour of allowing too great freedom to women, so that when he had ameliorated their condition by modifying the unjust laws of divorce, by enjoyning kindness and equity upon his followers in the treatment of their wives, and by sternly repressing the barbarous custom of female infanticide, he thought, no doubt, that had done enough for them. Similarly he provided for the better and kinder treatment of slaves, but it could never enter his mind that slavery was in itself a wrong or impolitic institution. The real fault lies in the unrealistic nature of the religion: in his desire to shield it from change and to prevent his followers from 'dividing into sects,' the founder has made it impossible for Islam to throw off certain customs and restrictions which, however convenient and even necessary to the Arabs of the time, became grievous and unsuitable for other nations at distant periods and in distant lands. The institution of the 'Hagg pilgrimage, for example, was an admirable one for consolidating the Arab tribes, but it is burdensome and useless to the Muslim communities now that they extended over nearly half the civilized world.
...
Mohammed speaks with a living voice, his vivid word-painting brings at once before the mind the scene he describes or conjures up, we can picture his very attitude when, having finished some marvelously told story of the days yore, uttered some awful denunciation, or given some glorious promise, he pauses suddenly and says, with bitter disappointment, "These are the true stories, and there is no god but God; and yet ye turn aside!"

---

Bahá'í Faith and World Religions

The Seal of Prophecy may yet come on the Last of Days, or had come, or will not come? Who knows about religions, what they believe, or what can be believed?

I recently saw a comment from a member of the Republican party regarding the nomination of a under qualified person to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Her qualifications were that she was a friend of President Bush and niece of General Myers the retired Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the DOD. She is also maried to Secretary Chertoff's current chief of staff.

When you see this you have to ask yourself how far the Repulicans have regressed in terms of corruption and nepotism. Building a network of friends and family ties to dominate the government rather than stressing the need for competance.

I spoke to a very influencial member of the Methodist Church who told me that the current opinion of the church on President Bush is that he has moved away from the teachings of Christ and has become an elitist. I was also welcomed by the Methodist Church and recieved as sermon on the persecution of David by Saul

Food for thought.

Ed Chesky

Why the War on Terror is NOT against Islam.

Now, as this thread will no doubt not even be Archived for a day, but blown away into virtual reality like some sand mandala with Delete, I wish to address what I said in its opening remarks. For the record, I think it important to state uncategorically why this thread, started by me, is not against Islam per se, but against a badly interpreted version of it serving the evil agenda of some men. These men led badly, twisted to their own purpose, the noble teachings of their self professed Prophet of God, Mohammed, who proclaimed in every first salutation:

"In the name of the merciful and compassionate God."

---

Quote:

For this cause have we prescribed to the children of Israel that whoso kills a soul, unless it

p. 102

be for another soul or for violence in the land, it is as though he had killed men altogether; but whoso saves one, it is as though he saved men altogether.

Our apostles came to them with manifest signs; then, verily, many of them did after that commit excesses in the earth.

The reward of those who make war against God and His Apostle, and strive after violence in the earth, is only that they shall be slaughtered or crucified, or their hands cut off and their feet on alternate sides, or that they shall be banished from the land;--that is a disgrace for them in this world, and for them in the next is mighty woe; save for those who repent before ye have them in your power, for know ye that God is forgiving, merciful.

---

1. God spares them natural disaster? Well, we know that disasters happen to people worldwide fairly equally. BTW, you'll see here what Qur'an says on Earthquakes, Ch. 99; but you'll note there is no mention of the Indian subcontinent's subsuction plate colliding with the Eurasian plate. So natural disasters are not a valid test for Islamic exclusivity. God loves all people equally.

2. Success in fighting hunger and poverty? God has not been kind there either, as the non-Islamic countries fair better then their own; hence they flock in large numbers to Europe and America. God feeds all people, without exclusiveness.

3. Intellectual prowess in science and technology? God rewards those who are most wise, employ the best reason; success has gone more to non-Islamic scientists than their own. Regardless of Islam's past "history of science", God rewards reason in all peoples without favoring any.

4. The Arts of humanity? God favors all the peoples of the world equally, not an exclusively Islamic domain. God loves beauty for all people, equally.

5. Helpfulness to others? God helps those who help themselves, rewarded for hard work, careful planning, diligence, all equally for all peoples. There is no exclusivity for any one people over another. But the real test is our helpfulness to others: Islamic scholars would be hard pressed to show that the world of Islam is more helpful to others than non-Islam. God loves everyone when they help others, equally.

6. Loving the Earth, saving animals and plants of endangered species, caring for the environment? God does not show any favor for the Islamic world there either. All Life is created equal.

7. Human rights, empowered by a philosophy of freedom? God has not favored the Islamic world with this either. All men are created equal.

A very good posting Ivan,

I was considering the issue of the contradictions in the Koran and had a bit of revelation regarding it. The Prophet, blessed be his name, relied on many around him to record what he said.

I suspect that like most humans when given the chance these scribes inserted into the text words of man that promoted their own view of the universe not God's. This view was colored by their culture, which was not unlike that of the Jews. Islamic letter writters have been doing this since the beginning of their culture when they were paid to write letters for the illiterate.

I suspect that the greats of Islam recognize this and weave their way through the Koran by seperating the truth of it from that added by man. By referencing it back to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the disciples they have they Cryptological Key to unlock the love of god in the Koran, which should have, in my opinion, been another book of the Universal Catholic Bible.

By attacking Islam arrogent men and women forget the death and destruction that plauged Christinity as we argued over the correct text of the Bible and why we have so many different versions of the Bible out in the World.

I also suspect that true Islamics know this and will one day have the courage like the Christians did in publishing a common Bible that contains footnotes and analysis of what was said in the context of historical truth. In order to allow the Islamic world the same opportunity to study the Koran the same way true Christians study the Bible, by understanding the forces of history that were behind the words and that the words of God stand out from the words of man in the Bible as the truth.

My Best Ed

Postscript: Salman Rushdie tentatively addressed this issue in a work of fiction and we know what happened to him. Forces in Islam like Osama and the Iranians move immediately to crush any move to address the issues of the Koran I discussed above.

Food for though as I sit here looking at a pair of plastic TWA wings I picked up the day after PANAM 103 exploded over Lockerbee. One day I will go there to pay my respects. All of us intelligence personnel that skipped the flight eventually go there. A battlefield of the Cold War that few understand.

My Best Ed

In the face of the coming Huricane Wilma I took a walk on the ancient green where I saw the tree that had what appeared to be a figure of Jesus Christ contained in its bark on the trunk.

I asked the question why the storm, why god would allow it. In my mind I felt a loving good and benign presence looking on this planet from infinity. I then looked up and saw a cloud formation in the shape of a demon with brow ridge and skeleton face and jaw. This stayed a few moments and was replaced with a figure that looked like the image of god in the Sisteen Chapel bestowing life on Adam. This was then replaced with a form that looked like Jesus Christ on the cross arms out ribs protruding.

I came in and opened the Bible and it opened to the section of Saint Paul that dealt with him comfronting the magician and false concelor to the King named that called himself Bar Jesus that lead the kingdom to ruin.

I had earlier walked through an ancient grave yard and stood before a ancient grave of a woman that had a pentagram incribed on it above her name.

I suspect that this storm will not behave in a classic way

Was it just my imagination or something else.

Who knows for sure.

Ed Chesky

As we move further into global climate change the doomsday predictions have started. I have included a link that discusses the worldwide surge in doomsday predictions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9731623/

I have also included a link to a website that discusses the Taipang Rebellion which was preceded by a host of natural disasters that afflicted China in the mid 1800's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion

The Taiping rebellion was one of the most costly wars in terms of human lives lost to have been fought. 20 million died.

The parallel between Osama and his egyption doctor and the Taiping Rebellion is quite striking when you compare it to the leader of the Taiping Rebellion and the christian religous teacher that taught him the Bible.

I come from a family of artists, poets, warriors and mathmeticians with a ability to visualize things and see paterns in events and data.

This liniage can be tracked back reliably for well over a thousand years in terms of celtic history.

The way I see the world is different than most. Hence my views on the need for the seperation of Church and state and the danger of mixing the two as the current administration has done.

Ed Chesky

Postscript

How did you know that Wilma would weaken and woble?

I studied the issue went out and looked at the clouds the effect of the wind on the trees the moisture content of the ground the clarity of the air its smell taste and amount of water vapor and tied it to the data I was getting from the satellights and NOAA as well as the effects of terrain and weather on clouds.

Hence How I could read Wilma. At an intuitive level I processed the data and put it into a religous context.

Saddam can do the dame thing from his cell and so can Osama

Ed Chesky

On St Paul,

The ancient mystics, king and queens and magicians of old could do the same thing that I can do. When St. Paul faced bar Jesus it changed the ancient world because this was something different than what the ancient mystics, priests and magicians could do that bowed to the Kings and Queens and Pharo in ancient days.

In university I had a Islamic Student at the beginning of my studies come up to me and say that, "We have our own religous warriors too."

Data and patern anaylsis confirmed with regards to Islamic militants penetrating the college campuses and viewing this website.

I also had a man pass me data on the President's and Putins schedule weeks ahead of it. Penetration of the inner circle of Putin and Bush's cabinets confirmed.

Some one once called me stupid and layed me off form the intelligence services.

I and my network have been very busy lately defusing crisis that Bush created, we and the churches are starting to get real tired of it.

Ed Chesky

On a side note,

The secret service and Putin and Bush now know with the agent in the White House that was passing data to the Philipines what its like to be outed and be hung out to dry by a traitor, like the CIA agent whose identity leak is being probed. The same thing happened to me with regards to the plane at Lockerbee.

The schedules of the two most powerful men in the world were being traded on slips of paper in the street by ex CIA, Military Intelligence and KGB officers. This puts them at risk of assination like the attempt on Bush in Eastern Europe with the hand grenade. If I had his schedule passed to me on the street don't you think its being passed around the Globe. Having been through and servived a conspiricy to assinate me and a number of other Intelligence Officers I have some experience in these types of matters.

Bush built a machine to destroy his critics and push an extreme agenda....it is opposed by a number of people, much like those that opposed Kennedy

Bush has many enemies some of which, like in the plot to kill Hittler tried to pull me into their game as they did Albert Speer. As I told them I tell everyone that reads this website I am neutral on this subject, except for being anti-Bush and Pro United States. But if I was the secret service, I would be looking around the White House and trying to figure out which one betrayed the President.

Ed Chesky

Many times as I sit here locked out the military industrial research complex like many others before me I think of men like Oppenhiemer, Mandela and a host of others.

From a cell in South Africa Mandela brought down a government, from a University Chair Oppenhiemer revolutionized physics. Often as I look on the White House I think of St. Paul and his trials and facing of Bar Jesus. For a White House that makes much of religion I post the following:

And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain a sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus:

Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.

Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the a Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,

And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou achild• of the devil, thou be enemy of all crighteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou ashalt• be bblind•, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou a shalt• be blind•, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

Sometimes in political scandels such as the Rove Controversy the bible records previous situations to teach us that somethings never change

As side note like Mandela and Osama and Saddam I use coded language in conversations to get information passed around. Old CIA techniques. This website serves as a point of discussion and is read around the Globe by highly skilled scientists and researchers. Case in point at the University after discussing Bar Jesus we had a discussion about night blindness and the need for Vitamin A and its affect on vision and causing temporary blindness.

Test confirmed of coded message traffic based on the bible and a website just like Al Qeauda does

My Best

Ed Chesky

With regards to Islam,

The Koran contains much contradictory information as many have said. The children of Islam have a prophecy of a Mahadi, who will come and face the Daj the Islamic anti-christ.

The Mahadi is a widely held belief in Islam and I suspect the Children of Islam look for the day when he will come. Given the nature of the Koran I suspect the Mahadi will have to exercise the book of contradictory information, in effect exercising the demon of Islam if he is to be successful. To do this he will have to achieve something never seen before in Islam and the forces allied against him will be tremendous.

When, where and if such a figure will arrise is, I suspect, the central question facing Islam today.

There was much fear that Osama would claim the title of Mahadi, like one individual did in Sudan in the late 1800's but that has passed.

One can only hope that a true Mahadi will rise and reconcile Islam with Christianity before its to late for Islam but my sense is that is something that will never happen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imam_Mahdi

Ed Chesky

WHAT IF ISLAM REFORMED? What would it look like, philosophically?

(As cross-posted on the Examined Life Philosophy Discussion: "War on Terror-2, or Pacifying Islam".)

I can only offer my thoughts here, a purely hypothetical idea, of what may possibly issue from Islam's Reform. But this is only one man's idea, and it is not up to me to suggest that this is how it will be, since I do not know the future. And if such Reform was to take place, it would have to come entirely from within Islam, and not from outside, as myself. I only offer this as an idea, in all humility and respect.


If we were to identify God as Everything, that in His (and Her, axiomatic) infinity is both Good and Evil, and if Man (and Woman) were given a mind with which to choose one from the other, that we are endowed with reason and a free will, then doing God's will means that it is for us to separate the two. Of our own free will, we choose. This means that all teachings about God, and from God, are of necessity both sublime and pure, as well as evil and mean. So there is both a True teaching given to the highest achievements of humankind, as well as one mysterious and Kabbalistic given to the darker side of our being human. And if God created us in His image, then both sides reside is us.

What does this mean for a possible future Reformed Islam? This is the great opportunity, to consciously separate the two, the Good from the Evil, and in so doing, to catapult the religion far into the future, as perhaps the most desirable teaching available to Man. To do this, in my mind, would require that there be a separation of God's Word into its True form, as well as its Kabbalistic form, so that all the teachings that elevate humanity in its goodness, in its highest ideals, and in its ability to coexist with one another through tolerance, and love, would be set to one side; while all the teachings that coerce, that force human beings against their will, against their agreement, against the reality of Who they are as created by God in His image, these are the other darker side. Each human being is sublime as an entity of God, created in His image, and thus sacred. But not each human being is aware, nor will make choices in life that are conscious of this. So it is up to the teachings to split in two where God's Word is sublime and beautiful, and where God's word is dark and fallen. This will be the filter of human reason, and human love, that will separate the two halves of infinity into the duality of Truth and Evil.

How to do this? It will take the finest minds, the most elevated and conscious minds of humanity (within Islam) to find the distinction between the two. And that distinction can be cut like with a knife, in the way Alexander of legend solved the riddle of the Gordian knot, by slicing through it with his sword. But the sword here is conscious reason, conscious choice of Good over Evil, and a choice of finding agreement for all humanity as opposed to forcing it into coercion. In the holy book of the Qur'an exists side by side both. And what these minds must do is take a fine comb through the writings to create two parallel worlds, that of Good and that of Evil. It should be expected that the Good will be smaller in size than the Evil, but that is because we as humanity are still young. And in this cutting the knife will fall on Jihad: on the good side will be the 'greater' Jihad, where between each human being and God is the dialogue to bring him (and her) closer to the Truth of God's Will; on the Evil side the knife will fall on the 'lesser' Jihad, the war on human beings which negates their beauty in God. This comb will pass through all the writings, including the suras and the hadith. The first will be the True and Pure Islam, that propels humanity forward into a glorious, beautiful, and peaceful future; while the latter will be remembered as where humanity came from. These will be the two halves, and it will be for each human being to choose, as is their God given right, of their own free will.

What will this mean for Reformed Islam? It means that rather than drawing forth men and women to the dark side of God, they will be drawn in vast numbers to the light as never before, because the purity of God's Love will be identified, as the New Jihad. While on the other side, the old Jihad will be drawn only for those who cannot see the light of God, who are obscured by darkness, and fallen. It is the same Qur'an, not changed one word; but it is now in two parts. While humanity will gravitate to the Good, as clearly revealed, there will be those who are drawn into the Evil side, which will be fertile ground for the Jad. Do not think this will be easy, for there will be much argument, for the side of Evil will need its expression. But if humanity chooses peace, because we consciously believe in our planet as at One, then it will be World Peace. This is Who we are, as beautiful and shining human beings. Yet, this is also where human faith in God will be tested most, because there will always be those who need to coerce, to abuse and harm, to kill. But if God hears our calling for the chosen Good, then it will be delivered, and the Good in God's Love for humanity will win. Why? Because each one of us will act, consciously, to make it so. For this we must have faith. How each human being answers in his and her faith will be the future of God's vision for the planet. Will the planet evolve as a conscious world of agreement between humanity, or will it fall back into coercions instead? That is the great unknown, and that unknown rests with our prayers, and our faith in God. The New Islam can be this vehicle, this lens, through which the light will pass into the world, and from that light the world will choose freely. It will be a philosophical choice, open to all humanity. If we are truly conscious as human beings, we will choose rightly.

Nothing is discarded of the old Qur'an, but it is newly defined as the two halves of God. Though none of this may ever happen, in my mind's eye, I see this as a possibility of how Islam, as Peace and submission to God's Love, can become. I can see a golden opportunity for humankind to evolve into full consciousness. And if this path is taken, then Islam will act as a great magnet for humanity in ways never imagined. The New Islam becomes a shining beacon of light for all, and all religions, for the true path to Peace on Earth. Can it happen, will it happen? I leave that to God. My idea is not a vision of prophecy, nor the future, but merely one man's idea of how it can be done, and no more. And if it does happen, then the world will be a very different place a thousand years from now. Will the Jad win? No.

* * * * * * *

Let it be known that I am not a religious man, I believe in the prophets as human beings like us all, and am more of an 'agnostic' in today's religions, though I love them all. But I truly wholeheartedly believe in God. That is my faith. I love every human being I meet, even those who are confused, and sometimes clearly undeserving. And yet, I see my fellow man from a distance, as each one a separate and sacred being, a separate universe, though through our love for one another we are united. The Universe is a very big place, a very great and spectacular place. Here on Earth, within God's Love for the whole world, and all its living beings, I am glad to be alive. Of my own free will, I am who I am. This is my sacred trust. I believe with certitude in the One true God for each human being, in each one of us: "I am Who I am."

Hey Truth?

I find the question mark to be very appropriate. Just surfing through the web and I came by your passage titled Gospel of Truth? posted on Sunday, November 23, 2003 - 09:42. So many words, and such conviction... So I skimmed down the paragraphs.... Soon I caught the sentence: "We only need to search history to prove one fact; the winners of every war have the most people and the best weapons."

Excuse me, but part of that statement is NOT a fact, because history has numerous examples of wars being won by people who were outnumbered and had fewer weapons. You might also pause to consider whether, for the winning side who is not outnumbered or underequipped, whether being able to field many many and many troops who know how to use them and will for a long period of time involves any underlying spiritual source or divine purpose. Sure, as you say, war is terrible, as life itself can be sometimes, that has nothing to do with why they are won or lost, in fact, a discusion of it seems to just get in the way of a discussion of wars, like a discussion of all the feelings experienced by a sick person gets in the way of a discussion of how to live in a way to avoid sickness... but you may be surprised to know and you would very definitely be surprised to learn that war's terrible aspects usually have no effect on the strength of the spiritual beliefs of those who are in them.

The part of the statement that is true is that you need to search history.

I quit reading your passage after that.