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.

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.

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

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

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.

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...

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.

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...

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.

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.

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...

President Ronald Reagan writes a brief essay on abortion.

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.

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. ...

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!

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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).

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.

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.

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 ...

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.

“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.

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.

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.

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.

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...

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

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

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 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...

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.

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...

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...

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.

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.

The power of Gayatri Mantra is indescribable and beyond words. The definition of Gayatri itself indicates the tremendous power of this prayer: Gayantam traete iti Gayatri or that which saves on chanting. It consists of 24 syllabes. 24 rishis or sages are associated with each syllable. Similarly each syllable is associated with 24 special powers and 24 flowers.

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...

Militant evangelical fundamentalists of whatever religion are dangerous people. They are ignoring what is good about religion. Killing, hurting, destroying, and causing schism is more important to them than the religious message. They deny God. Protestant militant evangelical fundamentalists wear the same stripes as Islamic militant evangelical fundamentalists. Both are willing to violently attack other people. Both are willing to use government to force their religious laws on everyone.

Sin is a transgression of a religious law. This is the lowest level of sin. Sin is a deliberate disobedience. You have to know it is a sin, and do it anyway. You have to choose to sin. I am only concerned with the higher level of religious sin. The higher level of religious sin is that behavior which knowingly and deliberately interferes with God's Plan. It is our duty to follow those laws and rules.

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.

To know God, to know bliss, or ecstasy, is our highest calling while alive. Religion is a way to find and experience personal ecstasy. Organized religion should teach us how to attain ecstasy. Organized religion fails in this duty. It has failed to teach the importance of, and implementation of, the golden rule in our lives. Individuals need to be taught how to attain ecstasy through implementation of the golden rule. You cannot substitue a gift of money for your time.

I was asked to explain again why I don’t believe in Hell. The easiest answer is that I don’t think God needs it. It was likely originally created by human beings as a prop useful in telling a campfire story. It comes to us from a very old creation story from ancient Persia. Originally, Hell was a place of exile. The Persians transmitted it to the Hebrews. From them to us.

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 ...

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?

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.

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.

To be questioned about ones religion is the heart and soul of their very being. To be a Christian is to know why and what you believe. Obtaining knowledge is the center core of Gods word and the opposite of that is ignorance which God despises. This is more of a problem then people of faith realize. How will Christians be able to help others if you don’t know what you believe yourself?

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.

I do not believe Hell exists, except as I will define it later. God doesn’t need Hell. Some people need it, psychologically. Most people don’t need Hell. A few people are well served by Hell. By promoting Hell, they get theirs. Most of what most people “know” about Hell comes to us from imagination and works of non-devinely inspired fiction. Most of what most people “know” about Hell comes to us from imaginary FICTION. Hell does not exist. War does exist. War is Hell.

Survival is God’s only unwritten rule. This is God’s Plan: evolution. Survival of the fittest.
To live the good life calls for literally life saving skills. What does it take to live a “good life”? What does it take to live the “complete life”? The ten answers to these two related questions provides a guidepath for the Ten Best Ways to Live Well. At the end we die.

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.

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...

1. Do whatever it takes to get teens to heaven. Paul wrote that he became all things to all people so that some might be saved (II Corinthians 9:19-23). How well does this relate to your ministry? What could you be doing that might reach more teens in your schools and community?

Ministry has its own set of pressures. We have to worry about what the leaders, parents, and members will think about a program or event. By doing whatever it takes to get teens to heaven, you will...

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,

Even less is known about the years of adulthood between age 19 and 30 for Jesus than His childhood. Almost nothing is known of the childhood of Jesus. No one around Jesus during His childhood, teenaged and young adult years, and adult years until about age thirty apparently thought anything remarkable about Him. Which implies that He was a pretty typical Jewish boy, pre-adult, and adult of His times. Each of these parts of His life merits examination.

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.”

Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount will always be our guide to how we shall be blessed for the way we behave. “God blesses those who realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is given them”, and by this do we know that when we seek God, and through Christ, we ask for his salvation; will God bless us with the fulfillment of his promise to his chosen. Through prophecy did God promises his chosen that a servant will come and bear our sins.

How does a simple idea, a view about the Nature of God, change one’s religion, religious practices, and even such fundamental human ideas as charity? If God is not human. If God has little interest in humans. If God has little interest in human activity, except possibly as a means to an end of His choosing? What then is the importance of prayer, ministers, churches, cathederals, or a heirarchial system of leadership of a religion? Answers: None. Religion is a human invention.

I must say that I was ecstatic to recently read that there is a growing rejection of megachurches. A basic movement away from large indifferent churches. A movement toward home churching. Which is small groups meeting in each other’s homes to worship God together. Praise God! Finally a few have found the relevant Bible quotation which pertains to mini-micro churches: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I.”

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 Flood of Noah is one of the centerpiece arguments for young-earth theology. Because of this, I have been asked what I believe the Flood of Noah was like.

To answer this question, let us first look at what the Flood is not…it is not the event that has been described by the young-earth theorists. There is no possible way the Flood could produce the rock record we see, nor could the flood produce all the coal layers, oil reserves, or chalk layers that we see in the rocks...

In an article by Leonard Brand and James Florence, titled Stratigraphic Distribution of Vertebrate Fossil Footprints Compared with Body Fossils (Footnote 1), the authors do a fascinating study of fossil footprint sites, and correlate them with the distribution of actual fossils. Fossil footprints are not true fossils, and are more correctly identified by the term "trace fossil." True fossils are the actual remains of the animal.

In their comparison, they show that the quan...

The key point for all that we do, is to take personal responsibility for what we do. Despicability does not necessarily make a sin. It might not be a sin against God. God doesn’t demand a lot from you. God doesn’t prohibit a lot to you. What is sin? Especially if God is not going to punish you for your sins? Sin is that which interferes with God’s Plan. God’s Laws are provable and observable. God’s laws are not interpretations by some human.

Creationism is the idea that suddenly God decided to Create Everything, and accomplished the job in one week. Counter that with the the scientific method. It does not rely on trust. Peer review is a world wide open season on every publication of findings and theory. Nothing suggests that God is actively working toward stupidity. Everything suggests that God is actively working toward smartness and intelligence. In 1859, Darwin proposed a theory. The theory has survived for 147 years.

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 ...

Rape is social crime that deserves the severest punishment that can be provided – death. The original concept of ostracism was a death penalty sentence. Today we drive the prisoners insane. We transform them into sexually perverse persons. This cost is simply too expensive for society to bear. A prisoner that is convicted of a violent crime is too dangerous. The convicted should instead be quickly and quietly executed.

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.

God is. The soul is. Death is simply a matter of time, place, and circumstance for all of us. Today is a good day to die. We are the tools of, and for, God’s purpose. Just so with God with a useful tool like a soul. Why should a soul not be used many times for different purposes? Our purpose is to be used by God. Between birth and death, is up to you.
You are God's hammer.

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.

The Antediluvian Calendar in Genesis 5 illustrates the early Black Head Sumerian zodiac that had six astrological signs. Sumerian and Babylonian animal zodiacs stipulate the vernal equinox began the New Year. Mayan Calendar 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-years and 360-day-Tun-years are products of the Decan stars and numbering systems. Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Chinese, Hindu and African people shared a 12-month zodiac. Numerically matching 364-day-Ethiopic-years with 364-year-Ethiopic-cycles demonstrates astrology in ancient religion.

God also does things in small ways. He seems to exert minimal effort. God is persistent. God is patient. God is constantly Creating Hydrogen. He does this by the Force of His Will. When there is enough, God metaphorically “flicks His finger”, a la “moves a butterfly wing”, and creates movement. Movement leads to whirlpools coalescing into balls of gasses in sizes large enough to become stars. God is a minimalist.

What is your purpose when you participate in your religion? What is your purpose when you worship? Do you know what you are doing when you worship? Do you know what you should be doing when you worship? Are you simply worshipping by rote? Going through the motions? Doing “the appearance of religiosity” without feeling, without emotion? Are you connected with what you are doing? It is Sunday so you drove to church in a dazed state. Why? Was it because it is expected of you?

In Part 6, I examine what belief in such events might actually mean. For early Christians, persecution lasted for centuries. It lasted until the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Until then there was no deliverance, no relief from constant tension, terror, anxiety, and deadly fear. Despite hope, deliverance never came. All that was left was pallid hope, and in the meantime there was a constant searching, a desperate searching for “signs” of the Second Coming.

Proper behaviors are those behaviors derived from the evolutionary requirement for success. Ten proper behaviors have been discussed in another article. Proper behaviors are those behaviors derived from the evolutionary requirement for success: survive. We can infer some additional guidelines for proper behavior that follow the first ten.

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

The laws of society are a potpourri of historical remnants. The laws of society are also a tossed salad. God's religious laws are His Natural Laws. God has laws for living things, and the most important of these is the imperative for survival. Free will is the second level of God's laws for living things, as this conforms to His Purpose. Prostitution has been widely encouraged many times by organized religions.

Life on Earth is short. Only your soul is eternal. We humans might have a life span of a century. This tends to cause us to think short term. To never question your perception of your relationship with God is sinful. Giving up the opportunity to be free of organized religious repression is sinful.

Does God exists in all human beings? God gave you free will. God gave you a brain with the ability to think and reason. Know yourself. We need the experience of death. To understand death, you must actually touch the corpse. You must feel the absence of life and soul. You must actually touch the corpse before you can truly value life. This gives you the opportunity to value life.

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 ...

God is dead. The whole idea is and was dumb. The real question is not whether God is dead. The question is, is He alive? Is God alive in any sense in which we humans could quantify? Is God alive in any sense in which we humans could measure? Is God alive in any sense in which we humans could detect? This is likely doubtful. And, in fact, God may be so disinterested in us as individuals of our species that He could make very sure that we could not detect Him. How do we define a Deity?

The story of the Antichrist and the Second Coming of Jesus continues. People will be able to tell when His Appearance is Nigh. The Antichrist (the Bad Guy) will lead off the tale, do his “thing”. He will create havoc and chaos around the world. Then Jesus (the Good Guy) will lead the cavalry charge of the angels ( the rest of the posse) over the hill and save the day. The key in this story is in the creation by the Antichrist of havoc and chaos when he “arrives”.

Most of what we have been told about sin is a lie. The lies stink. They smell like a dead fish. They stink because their purpose is so venal. Only organized religion is served by these stinking lies. The lies do not serve people. The lies serve organized religion. Very little that organized religion calls “sin” is sin. God gives us life and free will. Sin then must negatively impact either life, free will, or God’s Plan.

I'm trying to deal with a particularly difficult kind of "sin". Human beings made it up. Then very skillfully hid the evidence. An ill-defined "miasma of general, just normal human nastiness. It compounds the layered misconceptions about God. It gets your attention, and sets you up for the sale. Why does something that supposedly is so great for the congregation members have to be sold like potato chips, soap flakes, and used cars?

In this Part 7, I will bring this study of the Antichrist, “the Rapture”, and the Second Coming to a close. To believe in the Second Coming also requires a person to believe that one-half of the human race must die (they must hope that they are not a part of that half). These are not good odds. These deaths, an estimated three BILLION people, are just the prelude to, the result of the lead up to, the “last battle”. They hope it will happen in their lifetime.

You must make choices. Your mistakes are as important as correct choices. You learn from both. God will learn from you about both your good choices and your bad choices. The enslaved can make slavery so much work that it becomes too expensive to continue. A dead slave is useless except as a few pounds of organic fertilizer. Organic fertilizer is easy and cheap to gather at stables. All life on Earth is a short term condition. Our unique task is to bring God new knowledge.