I believe like most people, we get up in the morning and get dressed. For some this is a daily routine instilled in us since we were old enough to dress ourselves. From the very first we are taught how to dress ourselves. First comes this, then that, then our shoes are last. The then that and this may vary among many as to what they start with first, pants, or shirts. But in the end we to get dressed, day in and day out for the rest of our lives.
Did you know that Christ has also taught us to dress ourselves as well. Christ explains that just as we dress ourselves daily, so shall we put on the “Whole Armor of God” as well.

One of the most common questions people ask is: "Why do bad things happen?"

The beginning of "bad things"

Bad things happen, very simply, because we live in a fallen world. Our world has been invaded by sin, and the result of sin is decay and death, both physical and spiritual. Adam and Eve were, in a sense, the "test case" for humanity. Could they live without going after the one thing in the Garden of Eden they were not supposed to have? They could not. They chose to ...

Buddha Dharma, known by many as Buddhism, is also referred to as "the teachings of the awakened one." It revolves around the teachings of Gautama Buddha or Pali Gotama Buddha, an India native from approximate fifth century, before (the) Common (or Christian) Era, and is also referred to as a religion, psychological discipline and a passage of life.

History has it that Buddha was born a prince in Nepal, formerly Lumbini, to a wealthy family. Indulging in a life of luxury, h...

When we read and study the early church in the New Testament we get a social model of the first Christians and the community they strove to create around their faith and teachings of Christ. We learn the difficulties and persecutions of the early Christians not only by the Romans, but the Jewish establishment and temples alike. Needless to say that the disciples to whom Christ instructed, were constantly in fear of reprisal and condemnation of death for following Christ.

Before you drop your jaw in incredulity and call for your spouse to come see what some crazy preacher is espousing lets clarify. The very Star of Bethlehem described in Matthews Gospel will not actually shine again. But another bright light will grace the earth and no one will miss it.

This is a great article about the Old Testament, how it came about, when it was written, its authors.

This article is about how we use words to hurt people. Not giving in to the philosophy of and eye for an eye but rather trying to control what you say.

Life is a mystery. The cosmos is a mystery. What are its boundaries? If it is an expanding universe, where does it expand to? What is beyond it? Read on...

Participation in religious rites is your choice. The symbolism and mystery of the Transmutation is moving. The rite, if performed sincerely, is deeply moving and can be important to the individual. Think clearly about what you are doing in communion. Eating your God? Religious cannibalism is symbolic cannibalism. Participating in an unusual rite makes that rite just that much more memorable and reassuring.

I am really a kid at heart. I love the sights and sounds of Christmas. In fact when I go home to visit my family in Richmond, one of the things we like to do as family is to load up in the car and go on the “tacky house tour”. You know those are the houses that have everything in the yard from E.T. to Superman to Santa Claus. What other time of the year can you see such amazing sights and have the whole world drive up and down your street, tie up traffic for hours, and your n...

God gives us all free will. God does not discriminate against women. Attempts to limit a woman’s ability to exercise her free will to choose an abortion is not a part of God’s Plan. God will tell us all when He changes His Plan. No child should ever come into the world without at least a loving, caring mother. Women instinctively know that they are not fit mothers. I believe these women are right. There should be no limit on a woman’s ability to exercise her free will.

What some people want is a return to indoctrination of religious values. The problem with this in a pluralistic society is, which religion? Prayer has never left schools. Children do pray before tests. Test-taking is a skill. It can be taught, learned, practiced, and be readily applied. Many students don’t even do the simplest of study plans. My Dad was going to help me learn how to learn. I learned that if I spent enough time at it, I could learn.

Immaculate conception was a needful selling point for organized religions for the times. It is not neeeded now. Immaculate conception requires God's active intervention in human affairs. It sounds like a lie backing up an inconsiderate mortal man's belief that women are cattle, good only for bearing children. Despite that all things are possible to God, He is non-interventionist. Interventions do not fit God. The story smells of rationalization and embellishment, human behaviors.

It doesn’t take a team of scientist and a ten year study to understand the basics of cause and effect. Whether it’s a sociological explanation or a scriptural tenant the same rule along with its associative principles appear as the immutable law of reciprocation.

It was once asked of me by a dear friend in Christ, how to could he reach a spiritual level of maturity that he has seen in other’s. He was speaking of course about the manifestations of the Holy Spirit and the fruits of these gifts that others have received. At the time I was unable to give him a clear and precise answer to his question, except to say that the path to these manifestations is not a easy journey to take. Today's Journeys End takes on many paths to discover the Holy Spirit.

In Roman times, Christianity was a really “tough sell”. The underlying culture was strong. People were happy with the religion they enjoyed. The Christians were part of the Jewish faith, and new recruits were expected to comply with dietary laws and the rite of circumcision. This was a real test of conviction. Circumcision was given up as a severe public relations problem. Christians were being thought of as subversive and a threat to good civil order. A word for is “wishy-washy”.

There are two types of Buddhas. And both seemingly reach a level of enlightenment called Nirvana, the end of suffering (while still alive here on Earth) and acquire some supernatural powers. This is a brief about both types of Buddhas.

In the Pali Canon, a collection of 16 volumes containing12,800 pages of translation about communications about the study of Buddha Dharma’s ideaology / spirituality, the transcripts reference two types of Buddhas. These are Samyaksambuddha o...

We have all heard the old adage that “if its not broken, then don’t fix it”. Well as it may be with today’s quality of products that are very dependable and reliable. However, unlike today’s product reliability which when they do wear out, are easily replaced with a new product often at a cheaper cost then the original. The church that which we are, is not easily replaced by a newer cheaper version. Instead we may need to fix it rather then replace it.

Of all the ways our blessed Lord has given us for healing by faith, the following is the easiest. It must be ministered by the elders of the church. James gave us the instructions for this way of healing in the following Scriptures.

James 5:14-15
14Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

15And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; an...

I don’t think there has ever been a group of people who were more disappointed than the eleven apostles who watched Jesus Christ die on a cross on Cavalry. These eleven men had been with him for three years.

They had staked their whole lives on Him. They had forsaken homes and jobs and families and invested their whole lives in his promises and plan and there they were, standing on that windswept hill outside Jerusalem, watching the man they loved and believed in... die a ...

At this time of year, children all over the world are making wish lists and hoping Santa Claus will stuff their stockings with the latest and greatest toys and gadgets. They think back to the joys of last Christmas when all them dreams came true and they’re waiting with anticipation for Christmas morning to arrive.

But how many children know the story of the first Christmas - the night Jesus was born?

My own children are no exception. My oldest son has a wish list two p...

Nothing about religion is simple. Some leaders of organized religions freely admit their own lack of faith. They have devoted a lot of time to skimming the cream. An organized religion is a formalization of conservatism designed to resist change. Organized religion provides a baby blanket for adults. Hatred and wars approved of by religion is the greatest of failures of organized religion. Organized religion has used “missionary work” as a weapon of mass destruction.

President Ronald Reagan writes a brief essay on abortion.

We're told by Jesus to go out into the whole world and tell others about the Good News?
But just how can we do that?

Here's my top ten suggestions on how to share Christ with a nonbeliever.

1. Look for common interests. WIth most people, it does little good to hit people over the head with a Bible. Instead, talk about common interests, problems, experiences. In other words, build a relationship.

2. Listen more than you talk for the first few minutes. Ask questions. ...

Right to life is a wonderful phrase from a wonderful document . The phrase has been abused. The phrase has been distorted. The phrase has been applied inappropriately to issues not connected to the original intent and meaning. Originally it was propaganda. Now deliberately deceptive politicians are attempting to use the phrase. They apply it to such diverse modern issures as abortion and dying of old age, stem cell research, or living in a brain-dead, vegetative state.

The names of God can be Any thing. Every God is a center of a faith. There were rites, celebrations, dances, ceremonies, prayers, and sacrifices. Believers loved their God. Believers possibly feared their God. Believers made sacrifices to their God. Believers made masks, headdresses, and costumes. Believers prayed to their God. God in every human religion I’ve studied is the trickster, the “way”, and the “bringer of light”. We humans assign attributes to God. We become limiters of God.

The book and dvd “The Secret” has become popular with people I work with lately. I viewed the dvd and was disappointed to find out that it really is no secret. I’ve been hearing this stuff most of my life. Maybe it is because I was raised as a Christian.

Yes, there is certainly truth to it. There are “spiritual” laws in place in the universe, just like there are physical laws such as gravity. I like to call them Laws of Faith. “The Secret” calls them Laws of Attraction. It...

This is a reflection paper on Repentance according to the Scriptures of Islam, Christianity and Judaism as examined by the works of the following: (1) Cox, Ch. 1 “Repentance and Forgiveness: Christian Perspective” in Repentance: A Comparative Perspective p. 21-30; (2) Neusner, Ch.4 “Repentance in Judaism” in Repentance: A Comparative Perspective p.60-75, and; (3)Ayoub, Ch. 6 “Repentance in Islam Tradition in Repentance: A Comparative Perspective p.96-121.

Like many of you, I have heard about and wondered about "The Rapture" of Christ's faithful followers. Many believe that this day will come after certain events have taken place, some believe not at all in our lifetime.

this sees praise as essentially a form of prayer which must find expression in a christian's life. Considers aspects of praise and the battle against evil and praise as a right which god expects.

My kids love a good Easter egg hunt. And, I’ll admit, I love to give them one. I get such joy out of stuffing the eggs, hiding them, then standing by (and maybe video-taping) as my kids go traipsing through the house, searching for the eggs with their initials on them (I’ve got to make it fair by giving them each the same number of eggs to find!). It’s especially fun to see one of them get so close to an egg but not quite see it. Sometimes I even have to play the “hot and col...

In this text you can read a highly effective, systematic and structured process to achieve your goals. You will be shown how you can use a NLP technique to make your spiritual development effective.

Any priesthood group, or ministry has at least six similarites to organized crime. They have a similarity of purpose: to gather social status, power, and your money. They use a similar plan of organizational structure. There's the similarity of actions in terms of the use of targets of opportunity. Similarity of behaviors: using fear and extortion to get what they want. As for similarity of style: look at their life styles. Lastly, look at the results: the huge flow of funds.

Prior to 1948, Israel last existed as an independent nation in 606 B.C. when the first captives of Israel were taken by Nebuchadnezzar. The destruction of Israel at the hands of the Babylonians was completed in 587 B.C. with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. For 70 biblical years (approximately 69 years on the Gregorian calendar), the Jewish people were held as captives in Babylon. In 537 B.C., the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon and issued a decree for the Je...

"Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" - because they said, "He has an unclean spirit." (Mark 3:28-30)

"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be ...

God isn’t enough? Just add Jesus. That isn’t enough? Add The Holy Spirit. That isn’t enough? Anthropomorphize God. Add confusion, muddle details, and make exorbitant claims. Adding more and more is not simplification to add to understanding. What concerns might God have, is the real question. Since God is bigger than Man, His concerns have to be bigger as well. Since He has a Plan. God's concerns might be: How is My Plan working? Do I need to make any changes in the Plan?

To commit suicide is, at least, arrogant. God may decide you have not learned enough. God might well send you right back to try life again. Laws against suicide are based on politics. We force people into death by cop, or faked "accidents". In today's crowded world, we do not need the extra people. It makes sense to have a quiet, honorable way out without a sanity test.

Sin is the lack of being personally responsible for your own life, religious practices, choice of religion, and ministry. This kills your ever having original independent new thoughts, ideas, concepts, and actions. You must connect directly with God. How you choose to personally seek God is your choice. Organized religion will seek in every way possible to stop you. Your personal mystical experience is a direct challenge to the the priesthood.

What will God do for us? Nothing. Why should He? What does He do for the other species? Why should you expect to get any better answer to your fears and prayers than does a deer fearing a wolf and praying that he isn't seen or smelled? Don’t expect so much of God. How do we get God’s attention? Do nothing. Don't waste your time or effort. You can’t get His attention. He isn’t listening. God didn’t set up this experiment in such a way that He had to monitor it all the time.

How does God make the Universe work? It is called physics and chemistry, and He created it. The smartest ones of us can be challenged and study it. Learn from it. To learn of God. To know God. Knowledge of God is not found by spending time on your knees. Knowledge of God is found by scientific study of God’s Universe. How does God make His created life on Earth work? It is called evolution and He created it so the smartest ones of us could be challenged and study it. Learn from it.

As Christian parents, one of the most important duties that we have is to teach our children about the Lord. This is an awesome responsibility. It can also seem like an overwhelming responsibility. But Praise God - our Heavenly Father, in His infinite wisdom has built four teachable moments into our day that can help us to share His word with our children in bite-sized, manageable chunks.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 says: “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your...

Trying to find the origins and history of what is known today as “political correctness would prove trying to the fairest minded researcher. The best anyone may be able to determine about it with any certainty is that it is a system of checks and balances whose very premise hangs in mid air.

Intelligence has changed things. We now have better medicine. We live longer, far longer. Raising children takes a lot more time, and money for every child. We cannot afford to have as many children. To do so in today's world is not a good survival plan. Birth control is an necessity for most families. Birth control is a choice of free will and is up to the individual. If God didn’t want birth control to exist, He would not have given us the intelligence to figure out how to make it work

In the common wisdom of the day Christianity is just another religion among many in our world. A careful examination will prove otherwise and the reasons why this is true are what define true faith in Christ from mere religious practice.

This is a true story of beings and energies, and the passage after death into greater light. Some of it is metaphor, but the overall principles of ascendance are not. The character of the ancient one has a place in the hierarchy of light, and the blessings offered and help given to the departed are very real.

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At the edge of the Garden of Eden, at a place not far from where the wilderness meets the cultivated landscape of fruit trees and flowers, stands ...

The issues of faith and morality have been put on the back burner as America approaches the end of the primary races. As in dozens of races before the economy, healthcare and education have pushed to the top of the issues and has been the subject of every major candidate’s rhetoric.

If you do not have it within you to question yourself. If all you want is comfort. If all you want is to be left alone in your unconsidered beliefs. If for you, the Bible is the actual words of God, and must be taken literally. If you don’t understand the word version, at the top, where it says, The King James version of the Bible, then stop. If you don’t want to be disturbed. Stop reading this material now. My plan is to disturb you, deeply and profoundly. Celibacy is cowardice.

Prayer without introspection, careful thought, work, and preparation is worthless to you and God. Prayer without action is worthless to you and God. Prayer makes us feel better as it functions as a form of therapy. Prayer, by itself, will not satisfy long term physical needs like the needs for water, food, or sleep. Like a good parent, God will not respond to your whining. Get off the couch of life and do something!

As with the first Sunday of Lent, it is the time for the Right of Sending and the Rite of Election for members of the RCIA programs throughout the country. If you attend mass on this Sunday you may see people at the front of your church. They may be using words like Candidate and Catechumen. The RCIA program is the program where adults wishing to become Catholic join to gain education on the church. They learn about the sacraments and how they differ from their previous churc...

“What does the word of God tells us on how to be a better Pastor (Elder)? Of course the answer is simple, in the Bible, the word of God. However, for sake of not requiring us to re-read the entire bible, I have narrowed it down to a manageable level. Now the bible in its entirety is a manual which we should use every day of our ministry as a Pastor. It is there that we find many of the answers we need in our Pastoral work. This article will give us 2 lessons on the role of a Pastor.

God is. He exists. God is a living God. God is not human. God is sexless. God is strange. God is incomprehensible. God is mysterious and not easily understood. God acts in strange ways. God acts in incomprehensible ways. Yet God is a living God. The most distant living animal from humans is an arthropod. An insect, or a spider might therefore fill the requirements for a symbol for God. Other symbols are possible, and are the choice of the individual.

I was recently reminded of the scripture that speaks about being fearfully and wonderfully made by God (Psalm 139:14). What did the author mean as he was writing this Psalm? What experience would provoke him to us the works fearfully and wonderfully? I could not help but to think about all my fellow gay brothers and sisters who need to here this message. Not that it is limited to a certain group, but for me, I feel that my location in which I sense God’s calling is within ...

If someone tells you that he knows what God looks like, run away as fast as possible. We humans seem to desire above all else to have an image of God. Our imagination is limitless. Many things have been chosen, or created, as images of God. Here is one of the more unusual choices. The spider. It turns out that this choice is not a new one at all. In its own way, the choice is logical, if not very heart warming.

This is reflection paper on David Burrell’s “Creation” at the Campbridge Companion to Classical Islamic Theology, and Colin Gunton essay “The Doctrine of Creation” at the Campbridge Companion to Christian Doctrine. Both writings are referring about what the Qur’an and Bible says about Creation.

Fifty years ago, I started living a lie, a lie that was perpetrated by professionals who believed what they said. They said that I would never mature to become a functional adult. My parents, based on this information passed on that lie and when I reached an age where I too, could believe that lie, I did. The lie was that I was retarded both physically and mentally as a result of an illness at 18 months of infancy. I believed that lie, I lived that lie and I dreaded that lie.

Fundraisers are an excellent way to your help your school or church earn the extra money it needs. There is a variety of different school fundraising ideas and church fundraising ideas that can help earn extra money for sports equipment, field trips or even books and Bibles. With all of the fundraisers available, it is important to find one that is unique and will be a big hit in the community.

Long considered as the bastion of feudalism, Catholicism and religion always seem to be untouchable. It was often dangerous to remark something against it because individuals who do so were often declared as heretics. As a result, religion's potential as a social force and power has always been limited to spirituality. Its potential to develop societal beliefs, norms, and influence on political paradigm shifts had been obscured by its more obvious function. But new researches...

In writing any article about religion you run the risk of people not agreeing with you or the risk of offending people. Does that mean we should not write about religion? Absolutely not.

Should we worry that people might be offended? No. We should not go out of our way to offend people, but as long as you write your true beliefs, then you are doing what is in your heart and should share that with others.

For many churches, Christianity and religion have become instituti...

Unlike the bridges man builds to cross natural barriers going back and forth, the spiritual bridges we make are meant to be burnt once we cross them forsaking our sinful life. If we do not burn them behind us, we can find ourselves crossing these bridges back and forth over and over again returning to sin. God's Words, Christ the Shepherd, the Holy Spirit, and prayer, are the multi-tools we need to build our bridges in our Spiritual and Personal life so that we may overcome our barriers (sin).

What is our journey of faith and how do we get the true understanding of how faith works in our lives? How do we structure and build upon faith as we take our journey through life?

False religious leaders will try to tell you what to think and do. False religious leaders will will hold out their hands expecting you to place your money in their hands. This is how you will know them. Observe them with open eyes and a closed mouth. Keep the lock on your wallet firmly closed and the key in another pair of pants. They are the wolf in sheep’s clothing. Associate with leaders of organized religion only warily, as a newborn lamb lying down among starving wolves.

There are many different Christian denominations but all preach the same essential messages about God: that he became man, that he grants power to his own people and that he lives among them and, through his Holy Spirit, actually within them. No other religion can claim these mind-bending truths.

The arrival of a new level of spiritual awareness can be as gentle as a slight breeze, in fact, almost beneath the level of our noticing. It can come as a perception of what is not, rather than what is. For example, a pain in the heart that has been there for a long time can suddenly feel like it is off in the distance. Or a sense of anxiety that has traveled with us for a long time can suddenly be missing. The absence of what has been can be a signal, as much as anything ...

Dr. Pete Sulack, a chiropractic doctor, out of Knoxville Tennessee will begin airing a new kind of Christian program starting May 1, 2008. The programs purpose will be to show anyone and everyone how to help others and serve God regardless of age, education, background, training or anything else.

Fulfilling the Law as given us in Scripture regarding what Jesus told his followers to do, basic of which is Love Thy Neighbor as paramount to how we should conduct ourselves as Christians and our relationship between God, Christ, and ourselves.

I just read the horrific news. Abortion ban passed in South Dakota. Are there any good people left in South Dakota? If there are, let us help them leave. Let us begin by encouraging them to move somewhere else. Let us begin by encouraging every woman in the state to simply leave and not return. These characters have spent way too much time alone out in the grasslands with the sheep and cows. These characters have spent way too much time with their heads deep in the whiskey barrel.

Moses was an Egyptian. Moses was afraid. He was an un-typical Israelite. Moses did not understand God’s Plan and message. Moses had lived most of his life in a highly artificial environment, that of the royal court of Egypt. He had not lived the life of a common citizen of Egypt, much less that life which was the lot of the Israelite slaves. Some things you cannot learn, except by living and growing up in a culture. Moses' understanding would always be affected by his upbringing.

When it comes to your preacher are you checking his accuracy and ignoring his attitude? A degree is not a device to authenticate everything that is said by a theologian or minister.

As Christians, one of the first rites I believe every born-again believer should observe, either at the moment of being saved in the Lord or sometime shortly thereafter, is to be baptized with water. You can either be baptized with water at the moment you are receiving your gift of eternal salvation from the Lord or you can be baptized with water at a later date.

Jesus is definitely telling us that He wants water baptism to be included as a part of the salvation experience...

Don’t be an obnoxious Christian

Just because you face opposition and hatred or prejudice, don't automatically think that it's because you are a Christian.

You may be disliked simply because you are not very likable.

It's true. Being arrogant, having spiritual pride, being a snob and looking down your nose at those "worldly" neighbors or co-workers is NOT Christ-like behavior.

If you act like that, and a lot of Christians do, no wonder people don't like you.

So ...

The presence of shame is a reflection of one thing more than any other – the loss of connection with the deeper layers of self so that one's self-perception becomes based on something less real rather than on something that is more real.

Shame is an expression of disconnection from the soul. It is an experience of that disconnection. For even if mistakes have been made or behaviors exhibited that were less than what we would presently wish, these behaviors and mistakes d...

Dr. Kurt Grady challenges the notion that pharmacists must violate their oath and conscience to dispense the "morning-after" emergency conception pill.

If the individual has free will, he cannot be controlled or be given limits. The concepts are contradictory and opposites. God therefore cannot dictate the actions of humans. Commandments from God are opposite to His purpose. A set of commandments is antithetical to God’s purpose. A set of ten commandments is a human concept, based on fear, and belief in the secrets and powers of numerology. It is Moses’ fault. Confronting the presence of God is not an every day experience.

It has often been assumed that the 12 Steps are original ideas brought to humanity through the thought and speech of Bill Wilson. The fact that Wilson attributes them to Rev. Sam Shoemaker has never stopped the membership of A.A. or other 12 Steps from "idolizing" Bill Wilson's role in revolutionizing addiction recovery in the 20th Century.

The Sam Shoemaker Connection

The idea for the 12 Steps came to Bill Wilson early in in his religious self discovery. In 1933 Bill W...

The origins of the Tarot deck and its associated interpretive meanings may never be known with empirical certainty. However, one school of thought subscribed to by Kabbalistic occultists is that the Tarot deck stems from Jewish mysticism.

Some occultists even go as far as to say it was an abstract code developed by Kabbalah masters to embody their thoughts and ideas, in an allegorical format. But before we delve into the nuances of the relationship between tarot cards and...

The evolutionary model is enjoying the limelight only because it has gained a momentum that is hard to put the brakes on. Anyone who dares to think for themselves may not only put the brakes on but may indeed want to just abandon the vehicle altogether. Here’s why

Ever wondered why God chose to come down from heaven as a man? There are four reasons.

I am a strong believer in the separation of church and state. Living in the US, I find too often many pastors and religious leaders over step this established boundary. When I recently came across the word, theofascism, I knew exactly what it meant due to my theology training and from being a history fanatic. So what does it mean professor in training? Theofascism is a religious ideology that requires absolute allegiance to a particular brand of theology or religion interpret...

A tenet is a belief or truth that is held by an individual or group, principals that guide them through life setting a standard of beliefs to which they hold as truth undeniable. Gods word for man has always been a tenet of truths undeniable by those who model their life after these tenets. In Part I we explore six of these tenets.

For those faithful readers, you have read what I have said about “What went wrong with Christ’s Church” and “How to Fix a Broken Church”? This text will share with you my vision for “Tomorrow’s Church, Today’s Hope”, a vision that I feel is inspired by God. We must believe that God always wants us to reach our fullest potential as faithful believers and follower’s of Christ. The church which is “Us” being the true church of God, asked by God to fellowship together as a community of Churches.

A small tin container sits on a table in my aunt's living room. In the tin are several folded and worn newspaper clippings. The fragile nature of the clippings bespeaks their age and the many times they have been unfolded, read, re-folded and returned to the tin.

I no longer remember how I came to open the tin and read the clippings. But I will never forget how I felt when I read them. They tell a story that has helped me better understand what the prophets mean when they ...

Evil much more commonly results from deliberately hurtful actions by people. It is their actions that matter. It is the job of society to punish these persons for their hurtful actions. Society is not being protected to do its job safely. That job is to develop the economy and allow the safe rearing of children. Today’s prisons seem to be more like advanced training camps for stronger, smarter, criminals. Much of crime has become a free enterprise, high profit, non-taxed economic system.

As we have discussed in part I, a tenet is a belief or truth that is held by an individual or group, principals that guide them through life setting a standard of beliefs to which they hold as truth undeniable. The Old testament has been a historical book covering the centuries of a people from the beginning of time. A people who followed God faithfully, and of a people who failed to live up to God’s tenets. Part 2 devles into the New Testament tenets.

This next reason is not going to be a very popular reason for many Christians - but it is a very powerful reason nonetheless - and it is all for our own good and for own benefit. The second main reason God will allow all of His own to have different kinds of adversities, trials and tribulations come our way in this life is for our own sanctification in Him.

Per the article we have titled "Sanctification," God's ultimate and highest aim for all of us is our sanctification i...

Growing up, he had always thought that if he didn’t become a doctor what he would love to be is a writer, and so in the cottage in his private room he started writing a novel. After the first two chapters he was talking to one of the neighbor farmers and the neighbor farmer was thrilled.It was the first time in his life he had ever met a writer.Well, of course he was a doctor, but at the moment he was writing, and the farmer was excited about this fact, the fact that this par...

The race of human beings is meaningless to God. God does not care if you, or the whole human race lives or dies. This may be the ultimate test of intelligence. Humanity will only survive as long as it is useful to God. We are testing the efficacy of intelligence and technology and tool using. The next time, it might be another type of test. Another species will get a chance to be in God’s tool box. Cockroaches are very tough and successful. God will choose the winner through the evolutio

What do we look for when entering a place of worship? Many might say we are seeking a relationship with God, and you would be right on one level of our exploration into our spirituality with God. However, God is everywhere, therefore, any relationship we seek with God can be done anywhere we desire to commune with God. So what role does the house of worship play in our lives if we can relate to God regardless where we are. Fellowship is important for both the seeker and the believer.

Our daily lives are filled with multiple choices that determine what we do.

We could choose to spend our time learning about the advances that science has made in discerning what is happening with our oceans and glaciers as a result of global warming; or in the prediction of weather patterns; or in the discovery of genetic coding for a variety of diseases; or in the expanding view of space that lies beyond our own galaxy.

We could learn another language, since most Am...

Lent is the period of 40 days of fasting that is preceding Easter. Often this 40 day period is paralleled with the story of Jesus being in the desert for 40 days being tempted by the devil. (Matthew 4:1-11). And this is the reading for the first Sunday of Lent to remind us of that parallel. Other famous 40s that Lent mimics are Noah and how it rained for a period of 40 days. The Israelites were enslaved for 40 years prior to Moses leading them out of captivity. Moses and the ...

Shortly after the attack of the World Trade Towers on September 11, 2001 President George Bush said that whoever was responsible for the attack had awakened a sleeping giant. Between the liberal left and a citizenry busy with a million distractions and a Old Roman Empire like preoccupation with opulence, indulgence, concupiscence and vulgarity…did America hit the snooze button and go back to sleep?

The New Testament makes up about one-third of the Bible. It deals with God completing the things that He had promised in the Old Testament. The Bible, which consists of both the Old Testaments and the New, is the story of God at work in the history of mankind to bring about redemption.

Now isn’t that a strange question to ask? But think about it for a moment, assuming that most of my readers are up on their knowledge about God in general and the science of social work. Could it be possible that God is the father of social work. I mean what is social work but a “generic term applied to the various organized methods for promoting human welfare through the prevention and relief of suffering.”

We humans seem to desire above all else to have an image of God. Our imagination is limitless. Many animals have been chosen as images of God. This happened all over the world. It is still happening today. We just use the images differently. We use these animal symbols because they help us identify with the teams, or products, or Gods.

The Romans were tolerant of and protected all religions. What the Romans frowned upon was civil unrest and rioting. Christians were persecuted by Rome and across the Empire. This strongly suggests that Christians had become involved in, or had promoted, civil unrest. The various sects of Judaism may have fought in the streets of Rome against each other! Roman methods of justice were quick, reliable, and consistent. It kept criminals few in number and cautious. Martyrdom was not unknown,

How could such a statement be true? How could the creator of all things not really care about His creation?

As a blanket, catch-all statement, it is only partially true. God cares that you recognize Him as the creator. What I’m referring to is the “how” of creation.

As Christians, we all have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us, convicting us of sin. If our thoughts about the length of creation are not correct, then why hasn't the Holy Spirit convicted us of thi...

The only reason we remain on earth is to serve god.

Ever wondered why, once you became a Christian, God has left you here? Why he hasn’t taken you to heaven?

The reason is clear. The Bible tells us we are left here for a reason. Knowing where we are going, knowing of our divine-set appointment in heaven, we are meantime to do God’s work down here.

Consider the story of a Christian woman named Rebecca O’Connor. When she first saw the horrific images of the 2005 Asian ...

The resurrection of Jesus is the foundation of the Christian faith. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he declares: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” Two verses later he repeats himself: “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile,” Paul says again.

The resurrection of Jesus is challenged today on evidentiary grounds. Therefore, to be fair, the evidence should be judged like any other historical event. ...

What is religious sin, especially if God is not going to punish you for your sins? Why can’t “sin” be as simple as God’s eventual disappointment at the results you have created of your life? God does not reject you, or throw away your soul when you are a disappointment to Him. If you waste your time, you can never get it back. Why should you waste even a single hour of a single day of your life?

While the battle between dictators and democracy, modernism and barbarity, the present and the past rages who among us is listening to the voices of women? Half the population of the world are women and now many of them are being heard on Islam as never before. Isn’t it about time?

In a world full of sacred texts and differing opinions, how do you know which one is correct? And it doesn’t just stop there with choosing the correct sacred text. You can have one sacred text and hundreds of interpretations on how it is supposed to be followed, let alone all the other sacred texts.

So, which text is right and how is it really supposed to be followed? Well, this article has nothing to do with that question. Instead, it deals with something that is almost ...