Tag: God

God’s Golden Rule Is Universal

I must begin with an apology to the lady who caused me to start this post. I am sorry about how things evolved, yet I am thrilled at a new beginning.  I was looking forward to exploring what could be now I am.

I also appreciate how my spiritual foundation differs from many.  In this post, I will attempt to share what I believe.  

There are four great teachers Lao Tzu, Siddhattha Gotama, Confucius, and finally the King of Kings Jesus. To these four, we must add the Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, and the other great scholars whose words graced the libraries of Alexandra and other great centers of ancient learning.

Their thoughts and ways of looking at life and our surroundings transcend time.

Jesus easily sailed these waters and beyond

Jesus, between age twelve and thirty, I suspect, walked the northern silk route and traveled home along the southern maritime route, searched, and explored all of their thinking.  He probably voyages around Europe with the Phoenicians. 

When he emerged, he taught. 

He was a truly enlightened man. 

He taught us a new way of living together.

He was the conclusion of all of the world’s thinking into one simple rule.  In order to honor the creator God, we must adhere to the Golden Rule. 

The Golden Rule Is How We must Live

Stories told of Jesus established a deep feeling of love for Jesus son of Mary and Joseph a martyr who died on the cross preaching peace and harmony. 

If only those in power had embraced the love, he shared.  Instead, they took control of the image of Jesus and God.

Instead, those in power use his name and their version of his teaching to assure their GREEDY, that one sin, need for wealth and power.  I then must simply remind all of you of what Lord Acton said – “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely” (1887).

Western civilization wants to claim it is superior.  In earlier times the lord God was used to establish the power of the monarch. The hubris of one tribe to claim their Book was better than any other book is where the division across this great planet emanate.

That arrogant better than thou feeling is our greatest sin.

Look at the tower of Babel. We once were one. The people who wrote that passage wrote of our inability to work together.  They blamed God for our human failures.  The story is of us.   Instead, we turn the text around and blame God for our inability to live together in peace.

We could not create a society

Capable of standing up and saying to God.

Father, you can be proud of us

We are one together on earth
Bound together in peace and harmony 
Honoring the one common rule given to all of us by the Creator

My return from a world where chaos ultimately produced the order we see 》 Happened in 2005 while living in Canada.  19 year abroad thinking of coming home.  I stopped drinking; we joined the three-week-old community church in Markham, Ontario. There, I began to study the bible. When I came back to the United States in 2008 and settled for a time on St Simons Island, Georgia, I joined the local community church.  Moving up to Atlanta, I joined with my sister and attending Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. 

Supposedly reborn I tried to learn and listen for God’s words.

Is that not what Jesus told us was our task? 

I was taught that he died on the cross so in his name we would come together as one, both Gentile and Jew?  Instead!

What happened next resulted from several evangelicals better than thou experiences. 

They demand – I see things their way. 

This better-than-thou attitude caused me to run back to the Episcopal church.

Tribalism:

Party, nationalist, MAGA, slave owner, racist, sexist, cults, schools, churches, temples … whatever holds one group together divides us. This is our failure.

We did not listen to those four great teachers

I don’t think the evangelist understands the words of the world of the great Teacher and King Jesus Christ.

We are not listening to Jesus. 
He knew and had learned from
All the many before him 

With this ancient depth, even he has not convinced those now living and those who came before to come together as one family.  He asked us, in the name of the creator, to be the stewards of this planet and friends to any who enters our space. 

This is who we are expected to be

Look at us today.   We have not been true to his teaching. 

Those that follow, including Mohammed, Luther, Calvin, Joseph Smith, Guru Nanak, and so many others, sought to promote their unique way of thinking.  Instead, they ended up creating even more division. 

In 2017 my mother died.  It was late February.  We had just elected a racist President.  Two priests Robert and Tom stood talking as friends.  Of two different disciplines, these men told me the local spiritual leaders met for Lunch – Dinner – Musical … whatever. 

Years later Tom and Allan (Robert’s replacement) along with the local rabbi took a group to Palestine. 

They told me who did not wish to be part of their ecumenical movement.

The Imam did

At the beginning of 2020, living once again in the Golden Isles, I attended three of the churches here on St. Simons.  I listen with great respect to Alan & Tom as they tended to their Presbyterian and Episcopalian flocks.  I also had a chance to experience Catholics sharing their faith.  The feeling of being connected to God is absolutely present in each of these congregations.

I stayed away from most people during the pandemic, especially those rude people who would not wear a mask and do not want to accept the free vaccine and become part of the herd immune society.

May 2021 

A lovely woman asked the question of my spiritual beliefs. 

before she adamantly professed her beliefs
I was at peace with My spiritual foundation
Now that she has reentered my life
I have a new appreciation of the value of community
and the necessity to change the way we treat each other

This student’s essay tells it well.

https://www.albany.edu/faculty/miesing/teaching/assess/hell.html

In my many reading, this essay has caused me to want everyone to remember one thing.  

The question the student causes me to ask each of you. 

Is it true? 

Because I don’t believe as you, I am destined to hell?

Each time I reread the student’s essay, I find the humor and feel the deeply thought words.  I then wish all could accept this simple thought. 

When it comes to spirituality, everyone is right. No one is wrong.  None of us can truly understand the mysteries of the unknown. 

None of us has the ability
To understand and see the creator

 

Power and Intellect so Immense
Capable of Creating Universes

In my search, I found the Tao, The Way!

While cycling one beautiful afternoon along the Chattahoochee, I listened to one particular way of interpreting the Tao.

After listening to the full series, the Trinity became nothing more than an element of the mythology used to help people find a common purpose.

For me, our purpose should be to find union with all.  People should not insist we all believe in the Jesus described in the Nicene Creed.  Instead,

We could all agree

Jesus Is

The Greatest Spiritual Teacher

a King of Kings

a divine individual

Many tell me I must give God my full and undivided attention.  They tell me he will fill my mind with heavenly wisdom and knowledge. 

They tell me – he has plans for me.

They tell me they see and hear greatness in my ideas. Can it be true?

Is God calling and asking me to step up

Reach higher and prepare to do more than I can imagine?

My therapist believes I have a calling.   Others cause me to fear the burden God wants to place on my shoulders. The woman who caused me to write told me she heard greatness in my ideas. 

Sometimes even I wonder if I am destined and here for a reason

In 1976 I grasped hardware, software & networks achieving the equivalent of a 4-year master’s in computer sciences. 1982, while replacing the back pages of the WSJ with computer screens, I saw how marginal satisfaction is not a human instinct and was confronted with trying to grapple with the advantages and disadvantages of socialism and capitalism.  1986 off to Europe for 15 years.

1991, I moved into senior management and saw the world through the eyes of Mastercard and Visa. I helped them grow while focusing on securing the world of payments and heralding in eCommerce.

Big data, identity, and cryptography take me into today.

The fourth industrial revolution is underway; it calls us to embrace machine learning, natural language interfaces, 3D printing, and the internet of things.

How God fits in begs the question of why God would put Putin and Trump in power. Why would income inequality be so raw and health a profit center?  Those waving the Trump and MAGA flags worry me. Their supremacist attitude solidifies for me one thing.  Tribalism is our greatest sin.

Has he put me here to address the real issue!

Stop believing in the absolute truth of One book. Instead, we need to collectively believe in the one creator who taught the four or more ancient scholars the truth. They all have one common message.

It is time to listen and embrace
The Golden Rule.

If this is my destiny, I need help. I need the OMI cheerleader.  Moreover, I need to meet men and women of faith who have experienced a truth and have grown to see the truth. 

Together we can build and promote
We need to embrace The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule

Click Me
Click Me

Genesis evolution creation and the power of God

Created back when at least before  April 2008

https://andreae.com/category/personal-thoughts/spiritual-thoughts/

Time has a way of allowing thought to evolve and I saw that I needed to rethink mis-guided thoughts when attempting to find logic in creation.  Then as Hesus the Movie came into focus I now see Torah as a distortion of history.

Again with the Middle East once again at war, The Lie settled into my frame as my understanding of space and the beginning unfolded.

What is written below is from me when I was seeking to believe in the myth and lore of the Christian and therefore Jewish religion.

Continue reading “Genesis evolution creation and the power of God”

We are all Kings of the World

Jesus the King of the World for 18 years wandered this earth. As our teacher he stands before us with one truth. Love each other. In so doing you love and honor God.

Matthew 25:40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,* you did it to me.’ 

No one is chosen

How can any tribe claim to be chosen?  When so many other cultures and tribes emerged in other parts of the globe.  Each grew up with an understanding of the unimaginable Creator. God, by whatever name.

This elemental craving to be better than another goes back to the emergence of language. When we learned to communicate with together we began to wonder: how or why?

These two questions get more complicated when we wonder how those lights appear in the night sky or why the rain does not soak the earth.

Yet up against the Mediterranean this band of escaped Egyptian slaves claim lands from the inhabitants.

A long time ago out of Northeastern Africa Homosapien emerged.

Homo sapien an interesting evolution of the primate. They settled in tribal communities. Evolved and seeking shelter, food source, drinking water, and sanitation together.

A new world order seems to be the next step in man and woman’s evolution. Division twin tribes, cultures, people and religion create animosity. It is this animosity built on fear often times we we must address as we evolve.

Where would I live if both ice caps melted and all glaciers disappeared. How much water did you put on the Earth? Somewhere on what will become Eastern seaboard is where Philip wants to build, I’m home.

The next question, when does it matter. If I think of myself 2050 I would be 96. If I think beyond, 21 sounds like a good number.

Spirituality and Religion

Long ago, the idea of religion led me to understand we could control the masses through their indoctrination by a few. When speaking to someone of their religious beliefs, they remind us that if we put our faith in Jesus or the Almighty, they call God, all will be right with the world. They point to the ever after and the chance to live in heaven. They argue we live in a sinful world, and it is man’s sin that brings upon us the challenges many of us have faced. Some talk of reincarnation this thing called soul, nirvana has some future we cannot know.

On the other side of the discussion, there is spirituality, that inner sense of understanding. Some would argue our spirituality comes from our religious beliefs. Others would suggest it is better to have a spiritual foundation not based on religion but your inner sense of self. This inner sense of self begs the question,

“Who Am I.”

History repeats itself. Throughout time charismatic leaders have been able to grab hold of the hearts and minds of the masses. These charismatic individuals have led their followers in either positive or negative ways.

The question really should be who is in control. Is it the charismatic leader, or are there others who sit in the darkness operating as puppet masters responsible for the strife and misery inflicted upon many as these few enrich themselves?

Why do we humans ignore the instruction of the ages

John 23:1 Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD. Woe to the shepherds {officials, kings, priests governors} who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD. 3 Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any be missing, says the LORD.

When I read this passage of today’s liturgy, I was drawn to think of the Shepperd as those responsible for leading and the sheep those who are led. If the shepherds seek to control Kajol and threaten the sheep with taxes, racist jargon or lies wind up with a tribe bent to the will of these malicious leaders who seek to profit from the efforts of others.

One is then drawn to ponder the colonial instincts of various nations to subjugate others to their will.

Tribalism, nationalism, and racism are all driven by greed, and a belief one is better than another.

God of Israel

Who is this God of one place. It is not the God of my imagination. The God of my imagination extends far beyond Israel, extends to all mankind.

God is a spirit who does not care how we worship. God only seeks the memory of the grace of God, the story of those who spoke boldly of each of our responsibility to love and do for others as we would expect to be loved. The doing is the key to our social engagement.

Generational poverty this is the bane of our society. This division between those that are brought up with and those brought up without. How do those without escape poverty. What hand reaches out across the abyss to help those without.

Or is it capitalism without a thought for society. The innovation capitalism and the effort of those who can is significantly better than the concept of a society managed by the few for the many. When there is nothing unique to be gained for our effort, the desire to do our best is lost. The flaw of capitalism is when wealth and power become the aims. It is this concentration of wealth and power which takes from the many to benefit the few.

We must find a method to merge the good of capitalism with the warmth and humanity of socialism. We must help the powerful to appreciate their role to help the many. We need to find a way to share wealth while assuring the individual desire to innovate and strive to create, Shepard’s and be good stewards.

Nature, the resources and the spirit within society and this earth are here to be employed, conserved and cherished. When greed wants for me and my pride assumes I am better than you then we lose and society slips into conflict within itself and with its neighbors.

Easter thought. John 20:1-18

Surprises. Oh how surprises impact one and each of us. Who is Mary to Jesus? Does this event demonstrate how our bodies can go into a stasis, dead to most – alive in truth.

Gracious in a spacious place -there the truth can be found.

How is it that Mary and Jesus are ever so personally and ever so intimately entangled. Who is this person named Mary?

The Teacher. A teacher who touched billions over thousands of years. One who came, learned and shared. Here to led us into the wilderness. Here to bring us out into the light.

We still have not fully embraced the gift of love he shared with us. We have not recognized the truth is in the love he asked each of us to have for one another.

Jesus, the one among a handful who has finally and ultimately shared the truth these few tried so hard to share with us.

The others who shared with other parts of the ancient world tried to help us understand the mysteries of life, the value of meditation and the glory of God. The one God who created all, sees all, knows all.

Faith, What is Faith

Faith, what is faith? Is faith the belief in the words in a book. Is it the acceptance of cultural norms or is it an understanding of the unimaginable power, majesty, timelessness and infinity reality of that which we call The Almighty, Tian, Shandgi, God, the Tao, Buddha and a hundred other names? Is it one identifiable entity or is it a spirit form. Is it singular or as some believe a collection of forces personalized to make them understandable?

Clearly this God is an unimaginably power, one we cannot even begin to understand!

For me, faith is accepting I can never appreciate that which is so infinite as to be beyond knowledge. It is to accept how each one of us builds our own understanding of that which we cannot conceive.

When we human kind claim to know; be it as a tribe, a society, a civilization or a religion. It is at this moment we create division. These human constructs become the imprinted beliefs we give our children. As these tribes grow larger, they seek to expand. To expand they come in contact with others different than their own.

In this difference springs animosity. In this animosity emerges fear. From fear comes the temptation to be right. Being right means those who do not believe and think as the tribe does must be wrong. If the tribe is wrong, then, surely they should be vanquished.

War and violence. Man again man is the greatest of sins. We in all faiths are taught to embrace our enemy, to encourage discourse, to share in the joy and happiness of others and most importantly to love each other as we seek to love ourselves. Be it the Christian youth ministry or the religious textbooks of other religions – love and respect for humankind is what is taught everywhere. It is this one requirement, common to so many, we most often ignore.

How can we find the common bond to heal the hurt, fix the wrong, right the balance and discover the peace; we so all desire?

And what of

When we think back to history, we in the western world are brought up on the history of the Bible and the righteous position of the Jewish people. We are taught little of the growth and beliefs of the other regions of the ancient world. Egypt, Greece and Roman are seen as part of this history. The Persian empire is the enemy and that which is to the north and off to the east are known as trading alliances, maybe not people like those of biblical, Greek or Roman times.

One day a son is born into this culture. Pure of spirit and oh so wise capable of understanding much at the tender age of twelve. Already traveled, one can only imagine he continued to travel, to learn to embrace and to bring light to all he met. To imagine he traveled to the far reaches of the spice routes is so imaginable.

John 1

The Word Became Flesh

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life,* and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.*

In these words we learn of a teacher who will return. John his cousin, who did not travel east, instead shared beliefs and the letters he had receiving from this learned man. John’s childhood friend who traveled through and around all of the civilizations of ancient times.

Finally the thoughts and teaching from these other ancient lands and people would be merged together with the thoughts of Jesus’ original faith. A new loving and more holistic system of belief could rise binding all of human kind into one chosen people. One group of people not distinct from the other. All loved by the creator.

For some the idea all are equal is not easily, especially still, to accept. This is the great message we should have and must learn. This learned man moved around teaching, performing get things and creating a following embracing all.

The First Commandment

28 One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”32 Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’; 33 and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question.

This is the greatest teaching to love one another, not to create divisions and ferment hate. Embrace each as you wish to be embraced is the true learning we must all learn.

The Pledge Of Allegiance

Recently I was drawn to learn about the American Pledge of Allegiance and found this timeline expressing the changes that occurred to the pledge as this nation evolved.

From Wikipedia

The Pledge of Allegiance, as it exists in its current form, was composed in August 1892 by Francis Bellamy (1855–1931), who was a Baptist minister, a Christian socialist,[12][13] and the cousin of socialist Utopian novelist Edward Bellamy (1850–1898).  There did exist a previous version created by Captain George T. Balch, a veteran of the Civil War, who later became auditor of the New York Board of Education. Balch’s pledge, which existed contemporaneously with the Bellamy version until the 1923 National Flag Conference, read:

We give our heads and hearts to God and our country; one country, one language, one flag!

1892 (first version)[1]

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

1892 to 1923 (early revision by Bellamy)[2]

“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

1923 to 1924[3]

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

1924 to 1954[3]

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

1954 (current version, per 4 U.S.C. §4)[4]

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

The only absolute truth is God is all and in all

“Beware that no one leads you astray.” This biblical statement belies the reality of the perspective of one is only a perspective. The truth is the sum of all and the simplicity in the teaching of many not a few.

There is more faith in honest doubt than all the truths people will profess.

God sent – inspired – Jesus, to share with us the need to love each other and to recognize that God is in each and everyone of us.

We must remember God is everything. God is not a body, God is the body and we are simply part of the body.

God touches all, in a manner consistent with where they were and are, at and in their time of life.

The Good and Evil

Sunday, these two text were sent to me, to us when speaking to the two ministers at Church that morning.

Tell Ashly. Pls what a selfish person I am.

Tell Brian. What a selfish person I am.

Am I the selfish person or, are we all selfish? Each to themselves!, Each focused on their own interests! I like the author of these messages accept my selfishness and can only pray to become more selfless. Clearly a struggle in this world and country we live in today

That morning, we studied John 11:32-44 and discussed how the resulting reaction to the miracle demonstrates the division which existed then and still today.

Why is there evil in this world? As I consider God and Satan and I think of the difference between those that see God as part of each of us and those that see God as someone above us, I wonder.

I read a bit from Carl Jung and heard someone speak of how Saints are selfless and have overcome the selfishness of the EGO.

Infinite truth – In this universe, the only thing which does not change, while everything else is, is “Light”.

From Nothing is there Something

Recently I was reading a blog and ran into an interesting statement

“In the beginning, there was nothing, and there was something.”

The blog goes on to talk about the binary construct or what we know as the world of computers.  Three basic concepts are the foundation of all that a computer can do:

The most basic logic functions are the NOT, AND and OR gates.

IF something is FALSE, then it is NOT TRUE.
IF some OR another value is TRUE, the result is TRUE.
IF some AND another value is TRUE, the result is TRUE.

I immediately reflected back on a course in the Apologetics and remember the lecturer speaking the idea that SOMETHING cannot come from NOTHING.  Somewhere between these two discussions is a rift.  In that simple statement “In the Beginning” we immediately are drawn to think of the BEGINNING and the unimaginable be it “The Almighty” – “The Creator” – “God”.  For the apologetic his argument is that something, our universe cannot emerge from the nothingness of nothing.  There was something before call it the creator.  Like the Big Bang what was before it? a previous universe that had collapsed into a Black hole.

We then think about Binary logic.  It is built on the idea there is either nothing A Zero or there is Something A One.

There is something inherently missing from this

 

 

Sunday, thinking of being in the boat in a storm

Listening to Brian our minister speak of today’s reading, he speaks of the challenge of the storm, we today, are surrounded by a storm set alight by division, fear and the confusion of what next.

Brian speaks of the love within. That love that rests inside each of us. He spoke if how we are turning away from religion.

This led me to ponder the demise of the gentle spirit Jesus tried to instill and restore in each of us. This thought often takes my heart to remembering how Jesus condensed the ten commandments down to two.

“The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

We have lost sight of this need to respect each other. We are torn apart by our differences. We are intolerant and believe we know better. We are divided as to our fiscal and social responsibilities.

The Lords and Masters who stand over us, insight dissension, foster racial attitudes, lie, and corrupt. Comedians, newscasters, authors and pundits make fun of the situation we are in.

Yet the sting of reality persists.

False Prophets and False Profits

Last night, 11 September 2009, I watched hours of material on 9/11. 

 

I saw the planes as the flaming arrow of the False Prophet. 

 

I saw the two towers as the symbol of the moral decay of the False Profit. 

 

Both clashed in a period of 102 minutes we will long remember.

 

The terrorist is acknowledged and the false prophet stands accused. 

 

Yet the False Profit continues to bring harm to many and shame to those of us who seek to know God and the work Jesus’ expects of us.

 

When will the False Prophet “Profit” finally be recognized as the work of the devil?

It is one thing to allow them protection under the law it is another to marry them

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28marriage.html?th&emc=th

A Quiet Day in Iowa as Same-Sex Couples Line Up to Marry

New york Times 28 July 2009

It is one thing to offer same sex couples rights and protections under the law, call it common-law.  It is another thing to allow them to Marry; which is a religiuously rooted event that should adhere to the laws God so long ago defined and have worked so well for so many years.

Same Sex couples are people and we should love them as we love our nieghbor, YET!

In God We Trust

More Atheists Shout It From the Rooftops

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN Published: April 26, 2009 New York Times

Not often am I driven to comment on other people opinions, especially when it has to do with Religion.  Yes, I am happy to discuss my own beliefs and to shoot from the Rooftops – there is a creator and God did come down to earth in the form of a man to lead us into the light.

 

When the New York Times has such a headline I cannot resist wondering what these people believe and how they can be so sure that they are right and there is no God. 

 

Once I was an agnostic.  I was willing to wonder if he existed.  Bottom line I was not willing to totally deny his existence. 

 

In my quest to understand, I took the time to read the bible, read various authors discussions looking at the question from both sides of the table and eventually came to realize no matter how deep we go in exploring our Universe and how knowledgeable we become about the subatomic particles and the structure of DNA, we always seem to find that there is still more to learn and that we come to a point where when we turn the next page in our scientific exploration, there are still mysteries out there that with all of our science we cannot explain.

 

Chaos, so many believe that out of disorder will come order; well, when I look to the microcosm and I look out to the universe what astounds me is the beauty, the majesty and the order of it all.  Only an artist could create the Star Nebula, only a composer could compose the symphony of sounds we hear deep in the words at night, only a master craftsman could form such a beautiful universe and build our planet.

 

What concerns me even more is that without what God taught us through Moses, who first wrote down the ten commandments; and then when  Jesus  condensed these down to two very simple one – love god and love your neighbor then what?.  If we do not believe in God then we are also saying we do not accept that we all must live to a common set of moral standards.  Anarchy would rein and the evil would overpower those that have the sense to figure out what God  is said to have taught us.

 

Darwin wrote of evolution.  Yet he did not say that all things emerged from the ooze.  He simply postulated that species could evolve.  With evolution as an understood reality I looked to the first chapter of Genesis and came to accept three things.  First the day that is written is not our day.  How could it be, the earth did not have day and night until the fourth day?  The day that is described in Genesis is not our daysbut God’s day. 

In a previous post I spoke to these seven days described in Genesis and found that even evolution is of Gods making.  Only someone with his power could set in motion the mechanisms that would allow a bird to evolve and embrace its environment.

 

Finally, I accept and want everyone to have a voice.  What I would also hope is that their voice is what it is.  That it is the voice of a minority.  Let them speal and be heard, let the majority ultimately decide.  let us all remember that we are taught to love our neighbor therefore we must and will love everyone and help them to live with their beliefs in peace as long as they respect the peace.

 

All I suggest is that the Athiest study history, that they truly understand and listen to the greatest of scientists and are open to change.  Stephen Hawkins, probably one of the greatest thinkers of our time recognized that even though he identified that “This Universe” emerged from the “Big Bang” he knew that without a creator, someone to have caused the light. that explosion of matter and energy, could not have been and without someone to establish the constants and help the dust to form planets.  Without his intervention there would still be an expanding universe of dust. energy and nothingness.

 

When the Atheist can finally explain everything then and only then will they are able to say there is not God.  Until then as long as we cannot move from that which Newton found, to those principles that Einstein understood, to the new learns that our great scientists reveal then there is only one plausible answer.  Our universe, the cosmos and all that we known, don’t know and will never understand are God’s work.

Letter to President Obama

Sir my thoughts for your consideration,

I envision a country that is a global leader, that inspires strong work ethics.  I wish to live in a country that does not dole out money to those that claim need only those that are in need. 

Morality

Our constitution, the oath of office and our money all reminds us that we trust in God.  So therefore we must respect his laws and embrace the standards he has set for us.  I agree in a separation of Church (the organization) and State (the government).  What I do not agree is that this statement leads us to a secular state that does not respect moralities long established and given as commandments by God.

Healthcare

I believe in improving our health care system so that it is affordable and not a place for profiteering.  I am amazed at how expensive our health care system is and wonder why countries like Belgium, Canada, United Kingdom and Switzerland have equal care (not always timely for elective surgery) at a much low price per capita.  I see insurance companies and big business profiting from a health care systems that should be about cost plus services and not revenue and enormous profits.  I believe that the doctors should be responsible to administer the system while at the same time held accountable for the costs of the system.

Defense

I believe in a strong defense and think that we should have a civilian militia, but not guns in the hands of anyone who wants to go out and buy machines of mass destruction.  I am not sure where I stand on Iraq, North Korea, Islamic fundamentalism and other places where democracy is abused and people in power abuse the people they are suppose to serve.  I do not know if we are the global police force but I know we must play a strategic role. 

Globalization

I believe that the world is not one country, it is many states that must share in our planets resources and more importantly must protect our planet for our children and theirs.  We cannot thrive while others wither.  We cannot take advantage for our own benefit or we destroy what is God’s gift to man (and woman).

Freedom of Religion

Religion is a power force that is out of control.  Some of those with Islam as their faith wish to rid the world of those that do not share their beliefs.  Is Christianity any better, do we forget the atrocities of history.  I believe that we must insist that we the people respect God’s Ten Commandments and most importantly the two that Jesus taught us.  Love God and Love your neighbor.

Due process

I believe that the process of government (driven by big money, lobbyist and special interest groups) does not represent the will of the people.  We live in an age of technology, where we can us the Internet to put issues in front of the people and ask them to vote.  if we reflect on the definition of democracy we must remember that it is by the people not simply their representatives.  We should reflect on what democracy could become given the Internet and telecommunications.  We should think more about referendums, much like Switzerland does. 

Our republican form of government, I do not mean the party, is not a democracy; we are a republic that claims to be a democracy.  We should strive to exploit technology to create a true democracy. 

What see is that our republican government has flaws and does not have safe guards to assure us that our leaders vote the wishes of the majority.  Instead they fall into the trap of voting with those that can afford to buy their favor.

Greed and corruption

I think Wall Street is run by people that are only interested in lining their pockets through greed with Gold.  Salaries and risks need to be managed in a way that makes sure they seek to represent the interest of all the stakeholders and not just the interests of the speculators and sometimes shareholders.  Derivatives and the instruments of mathematics have created a trading environment designed to make those that can play the game rich, at the expense of the people who believe that others will look after their interests.

The environment

I believe that we are not offering the world a good example of how to be proper stewards of our planet and the biosphere we live in.  How can we expect others to cut back on carbon emissions and other diabolical chemicals pouring into the atmosphere, oceans, rivers and land if we sit and consume 25% of the world’s resources and represent less than 6% or the global populations?  How can we think that others will not follow our example and do what we should do if we don’t do it ourselves?  We must lead by example.  We must suffer the pain of finding ways to conserve energy, reduce pollution and clean up the environment before we complain about what China and others are doing as they race to catch up.

Taxes

I believe that we are over taxed and under served.  Too much goes to special interest groups.  If the people can see that their money is well spent and they benefit from the spending then we are willing to pay for the services rendered but if money is spent to help foolish people then we ponder why must pay. 

Land Use

I give two examples.  The Mississippi flood plain, will flood it is natural and the way the environment works.  If we let people build in these areas then the rest of us should not have to rescue them they must suffer for their own mistakes?  Now I do not wish to sound too callous, how were they to know that every hundred years the flood plain will be covered in water?  Well then Government should study and provide the zoning restrictions designed to make sure land is used intelligently.  The other is the fires and mud slides in California these will happen it is the way of nature.  We should not permit people to build in these, although beautiful, areas and then expect the government to come to their rescue.  If we want to live in places that are going to be destroyed by acts of nature then we should be held responsible for our own decisions and not expect the people to come to our rescue.  This being said we must be prepared since there will always be something we cannot control, like a meteor striking the planet or Yellowstone turning into a volcano.  But then we do know that these things can and ultimately will happen. 

So, yes prepare, but also insist the wer plan at the individual level, and shift our attitude – expect not from the government.  We must take responsibility for your own decisions and risks.

The Champagne Class of Income

Our economy is out of control when so much wealth can be concentrated in the hands of so few.  What did they do that affords them the right to amass wealth beyond belief.  If they do let them live a great life but make sure we tax them or demand that they invest in charities and good works.

Corporate Growth

We must maintain an attitude that is about keeping and bringing job to the United States.  It must be rational and not subsidies.  Farm subsidies do not assure a balance on a global scale.  Yes we must be self sufficient but when we create mountains of unused produce simply to make sure the farmer makes a lot of money something is wrong.  If we price food so that people cannot afford to eat then we are messing up the planet.  There is enough food to feed the world but it is not priced to feed the world.  Stop subsidizing what is not rational and once again lead the way.  Europe will follow if we lead and then food will be available for the poor in Africa and Asia.  As to corporations they must stop thinking about the next three months and the value of their shares.  They must remember their responsibility as stewards and focus on stakeholder value not shareholder value.  A country without employment is a country without consumption.

My request

I see a need for radical change that must be the will of the people.  Your job, as president, is to figure out what we want (the majority) and then lead us to achieve.  In the end, government is for the people.  Unless it can serve then it is not of the people.