Do we sweat while swimming II

To continue with the thought of life... Do we even really exist. Or, are we just a dream someone is having in another realm. What makes us think and why. I know the scientific explanation and all. Sparks of electric jumping from one receptor to another, bouncing around our brain like a pinball. But, what makes those sparks of electricity different from the ones in your household wires inside the walls. They don't create thought, or do they. Does the lightbulb think about illuminating your den. Does the radio in your car think about the songs and commercials it plays. What makes animals different than machines in the sense of having the ability to think, respond, and react to our environment. Like with the ability to feel, both physically and emotionally, what is the purpose of feeling. It makes sense to feel physically, because it helps keep us out of danger. Don't touch that it's too hot, it will burn you to death. Which for some reason I imagined Wile E. Coyote being burned to a crisp and falling into a pile of ashes like a matchstick while writing that.

 

Or, hey you better find shelter or covering because it's cold as hell out here and you'll freeze. On a side note, how the hell did we come up with the saying "cold as hell", when hell is supposed to be consumed in flames. Side side note, if hell is hot and firey, would heaven be cold and icy. And, hey that's too sharp/unstable/slippery to walk on. I could go on, but I shouldn't.

With, emotional feelings, I don't understand the porpoise of really any of our "feelings". Why do we feel love and hate, envy and greed, depression and grief, happy and sadness, indifference and the need to be accepted. These are just thoughts that pinball in your brain. And, most seem to be a disadvantage to the population of this rock. And they fucking all overlap each other. Take love, lust, greed, envy, and jealousy. Lust is a precursor to love, but also to envy which is a source of greed which leads to jealousy when what you love is in the posesion of someone else. Which leads to hatered of that someone else, leads to sadness of not having what you love and lusted over, leads to indifference eventually. On the other hand if you do acquire what you lusted over and do come to love that thing, you will begin to be happy. Maybe. But, what if that something turns out not to be what you had grown to love and what brought you happiness. Then here comes good old indifference again, which may lead to depression. Also, what if you love this thing and are truly happy, then what is the point of finding something else that you admire. Why are we seemingly programmed to both love and lust two different objects at the same time. Having two cars, horses, motorcycles or any small things like televisions and radios makes sense to me. That way you have a back up incase one fails or dies. But, two homes, how can you have a summer home and a winter home. Seem like neither would really be a home. Having multiples of anything soon gets repetitive and redundant. But, yet we lust whilst we love. At the same time greed and charity can coexist. The greatest philanthropist are the wealthiest for a reason. They're driven to make more money, so they're the ones that have the most to give. The may serve lunch and dinner every day at the local shelter, but can only do that because they can afford to pay someone else to run their companies and make money for them. Not saying that their greed is necessarily bad, just that it's necessary. 

Greed doesn't denote evil. But can. Exactly what is evil. Or good for that matter. Is theft evil. What if it's a poor man that can't afford to feed his child, would you cut off his hands for a loaf of bread and a sack of potatoes. What if he stole your lawnmower to sell for food. Or, crack. Would you castrate a thirty year old man for sleeping with a sixteen year old girl. If she consented. What if the genders were reversed, a thirty year old woman and a sixteen year old boy. Why pat the boy on the back, but send the man to the stocks. What is the definition of murder. Or revenge. When does self defense turn into justice turn into revenge turn into murder. Why is it ok to kill another human only when you're in immediate danger of your life being taken from you. Why is it ok for someone to sucker punch you then run, but not ok for you to track them down and beat their asses. Sure, a short chase is favorably looked upon, but what if you don't see the fucker for a week. 

What if the religious among us are right and there is a God or gods. And, with either a singular god with many names or multiple gods, the results come up the same and we either go to heaven or hell. What is our purpose there. Mainly in Heaven, to what end would we serve in a heaven or a hell or a purgatory. To just exist eternally forever. Even if the space is infinite it's going to get crowded. And, do non-earth aliens go to the same Heaven and Hell. Would we even notice if they do. 

Wake Up America!!!

Got this video e-mailed to me, and after watching it I kinda woke up a little myself. I knew about some of what he talks about, but not all of it. Nor, did I quite grasp the depth of religion in the founding and basic fabric of our great nation that is The United States Of America.

Now that you may have watched it. I am a firm believer in God in whatever name you want to give him, wether it be God, Allah, Zeus, Ra, Gaia, etc... And, I truly believe that ANY man, woman, or child should be able to pray to the god of their choosing and should be able to worship their chosen god however they want. If you want to kneel and pray, sing in tounges, chant, rub parsley into your belly, or whatever. You should be able to do those things. But, you should NOT have the right nor ability to opress someone else from worshiping their god their way just because they don't believe the way you do. And, I'm also against missionary work. Now, I don't have a problem with them going down and teaching them about God, but they should be willing to learn about the tribes current God, and let the tribesmen make their own choice about which they want to believe. But, a good portion of missionaries infiltrate an area, and basically force the population to convert to some form of Christianity or they won't leave, and then they never do. It's really a modern politically correct incarnation of The Crusades. No they're not going in with swords drawn, but they do jump the lines with the same fevor. Also, if I just happen to be at a baseball game and I want to bow my head and say a little prayer for The Redhawks, or Pirates... If you have a problem with it... Then Fuck You!!!

Now, that that little rant is over... An Official Bible of The United States of America... Yea, I kinda like that idea... One that was printed and recommended as the Official Sutdy Bible for Schools??? Also, Church in the Congressional Building??? What has this counrty come to? Are they not sensitive to other religions???  WTH? All I have to say, is "Yea, we're sensitive. But, this country wasn't founded on Islam or Buddism? Columbus didn't have The Qur'an on the Santa Maria. Washington didn't have one crossing the Deleware. Do you think that Thomas Jefferson swore in with his right hand on The Torah? I don not believe they did. But, I have nothig against Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, or any non Christian religion. But, this country was founded on Christianity, and it is getting over run by other religions in the way that we can not pratice our own religion in private much less public without someone rasisng a big stink over it, but if I say I'm praying to Allah, Ra, or meditating because of my Buddhist or Hindu beliefs, people back away like I have a bomb strapped to by back. It's getting to be another form of reverse racism. People are trying so hard to not be sexist, racist, or religionist, that they are in fact showing their ignorance toward it and in turn their fear and hatred of the same. I also, have no problem with you sitting beside me at afore mentioned baseball game and hearing you pray to your chosen god. For all I know you're wrong and I'm right, but in the same breath I could be on the fast track to hell. And for the so called Atheists out there, fuck off, if it wasn't for religion and the God you so hate, you wouldn't have a USA to live in nor an anti-religion to not worship. And, in my personal point of view Atheism is just as much a religion as the rest of them, in the fact that you hold rituials and have belifes just as all the major world religions do. You put just as much effort into being an Atheist as a preacher puts into his Sunday Sermons throughout the week.

And, just for a little learning for ya here's a nice quote.

"Those who believe and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians...and who believe in God and the last day and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve." 

Can you guess the book it is from??? Scroll down when you give up..........
















The Qur'an, 2:62

I notice that there is no place for open comments or posts on your site, is that because you want to filter out what is said. And, place comments on your site out of context, just like you do when you take a Bible verse out of context when you remove it from the rest of the chapter and book? By the way, when I am finished with this little note, I will copy and paste it to my blog for the world to see. Now, although you do have the right to free speech, and to peaceably assemble. Would you be in favor of a group of people protesting your pastors funeral? Or your funeral for that matter? While picketing a funeral, there is no such thing as a respectable distance. And, as far a s God's judgment goes, it is not your to pass, nor your place to punish. Jesus wasn't even given that right. Yes, he threw a fit or two, most notably in the market, but wasn't allowed to be the judge and/or jury for us humans. If you want to follow in the works of Jesus, I'll happily build a nice cross for all of you. It says in The Bible, that God will bring about the Judgment. Not, God will have some small extremists do it for him. And, yes that is exactly what you are, extremists. You are spouting the same garble as The al-Qaeda, Communists, and Nazis. We are Gods most righteous, and we must rid the world of the impure.
As a Christian I have no duty to allow myself to be cheated, but I have the duty to be a fighter for truth and justice.
-Adolf Hitler
I believe today that my conduct is in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator.
Adolf Hitler
Now, as far as I know you haven't gone to the point of killing, yet. But, Hitler and Stalin did start out killing millions either. You need to thin before you act. Would I want this done to me, and would God or Jesus do this himself?

This is a direct copy of a letter I wrote to Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas
I hate to put a link to their website on my page, because it will direct more people to it. But, this group is no better than the Nazis, Communists, or the al-Qaeda. And, I think people need to be aware of what they're doing, they're protesting funerals of our fallen soldiers, and other citizens. They don't seem to have any real agenda or plan as to who they're going to protest. They just say it's because we're evil and sin in Gods eyes, so they must protest. I think their church should be protested every Sunday, if that's when they even do their services. I implore you to check their site out, and get offended as I did. This is a mockery of the Christian faith, no matter which one you practice, from Catholic, to Protestant, to Judaism, to how ever you want to worship God.

Westboro Baptist Church
3701 West 12th Street
Topeka, KS 66604-1730
(785) 273-0325
http://www.godhatesfags.com/

Sunday Sermon 1-30-2011

Luke 10 KJV

 ¹After these things the LORD appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.
 ²Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.
 ³Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.
 ⁴Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.
 ⁵And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.
 ⁶And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.
 ⁷And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.
 ⁸And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:
 ⁹And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
 ¹⁰But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,
 ¹¹Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.
 ¹²But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.
 ¹³Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
 ¹⁴But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.
 ¹⁵And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell.
 ¹⁶He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.
 ¹⁷And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
 ¹⁸And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
 ¹⁹Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
 ²⁰Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
 ²¹In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.
 ²²All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.
 ²³And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see:
 ²⁴For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
 ²⁵And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
 ²⁶He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
 ²⁷And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
 ²⁸And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
 ²⁹But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
 ³⁰And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
 ³¹And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
 ³²And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
 ³³But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
 ³⁴And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
 ³⁵And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
 ³⁶Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
 ³⁷And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
 ³⁸Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
 ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
 ⁴⁰But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
 ⁴¹And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
 ⁴²But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

This one pretty well speaks for it's self. And, helps to show one of the things I don't like about organized religion, church, and learned preachers. Is that when they preach they take a book:chapter:verse and use it solitary with no reference to any of the rest of the chapter or book. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about, I came across this passage while doing research on the fall of Satan and Luke 10:18,
 ¹⁸And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven., was referenced as Jesus' account of his witness to the fall of Satan. And, yup I'd say I'd have to agree, until I read the rest of the chapter. This verse is in the middle of a chapter that (to me) talks about how you should treat your fellow man, and work for what you have. It starts by talking about how little labour was made for what was had, and goes on to talk about how you should be humble and have faith in God. And, even the context of the verse can be changed with a simple comma... And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Now, that says I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning falls from the heavens... And he said unto them, I beheld Satan, as lightning fall from heaven. Now, this gives it a whole new meaning, I saw Satan (bright and with much power) like lightning fall (does) from heaven. This is why when I'm in church and a Bible verse is referenced, I always read the whole chapter the verse is in.

There was also references to Ezekiel 28 & Isaiah 14 but in reference these two seem to be talking about the kings of the time. Also, Revelation 12 was referenced, to me this is a reference to the great war after the Resurrection, and as far as I know that hasn't happened yet.

This little quest was inspired by a quote by Mark Twain that I read a few years back. "But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest?"

"How can you pray for your neighbour, who's lost a child, out loud. When you can't pray for the one who has been damned the worst and longest, Satan, in silence?"  - Jeff C.

I know I've touched on this before, but I think it needs repeated. But, this time in a different way. I'm not going to repeat the Mark Twain quote from when I talked about forgiveness, you can look it up if you want to. But, I got to thinking about this during service this morning. And, I wonder how this prayer request would be taken by the Church. Would they think to themselves that he does need a prayer for him, or would they shout blasphemy? How would you feel to be asked to pray for the worst of the sinners? Would you pray for God's revered angel? Even though he has fallen? You will find sympathy in your heart for a confessed murder. Some will find sympathy in their hearts for a child molester, or someone who steals candy from a little five year old girl. Although I have no sympathy for anyone who sins, I do not try to judge them. That is not my place. But, I know there have been prayers sent to Anton LeVey, Charles Manson, and Jeffrey Dahmer. And, people will shout out against the Devil as the reason these people do what they have done, but none will pray for Satan. Why? Wouldn't it make things much easier if he asked God for forgiveness and was saved by the Lord God? Just like you or me? If he causes us to wander then if he is saved, and becomes an angel once again, then shouldn't temptation be completely removed from the Earth? If he is what causes bad things to happen, and he becomes holy once again? What would that do for... Everything?

Just some brain nuggets for your mind to chew on for a while.
And, I have my own thoughts of what or who Satan may actually be to/for God, but I'll save that for another day.

The First Sunday Of The New Year

Now, I'm not a preacher or anything of the sort, but I know what The Holy Bible says. And, I'm not going to preach on it, nor will I ever preach on it. I will however, post some verses and my thoughts on them. But, not today, today you get my view of religion and what it means to me and what my beliefs are.

There are quite a few things I find wrong with the religions of the world. But, they all boil down to two things, interpretation and hatred. All of the worlds religions are based on basically the same stories, myths and tales. Christians just use the stories in The Bible as the basis of their religion. Even within the Christian religions they have many interpretations of what it means. And, it can not be agreed upon as to what any of it truly means. Even within the Ten Commandments, some say they should be taken literally, some say "Well what it's really saying is...". I'm sorry people but you can't have it both ways, it's either literal or it's up for interpretation. Take the seventh commandment for example, it states "Thou shalt not kill." (Exodus 20:13 KJV). Yup I quoted it. But, that doesn't say "Thou shalt not kill, unless....." It plainly states that you shouldn't kill anybody, which seems to me to be a direct statement, not open for interpretation. Yet we do, "Oh this guy killed a bus load of Jerry's Kids, with a couple Nuns and a Preacher driving, FRY HIM!!!" Well, would that really be the case? Now, I can hear you now the whole eye for an eye thing. Now here's the deal on that, most modern Christian religions, base their beliefs on the New Testament, and say the Old Testament is irrelevant. Now, if you know you're Bible or check it to see Exodus is the Second Book of the Old Testament. More trying to have it both ways. What most religions do is take The Bible and work out what is written there to fit their beliefs or what they want for themselves. Now I could take any religion and do some serious research into it and give you examples of what I'm talking about, but I'm not getting into how doctrine contradicts verse, or how each religion thinks the others are going to hell because they don't believe as we do. There are parts of The Bible that are left for interpretation, for no other reason than that they're vague in what it says. Take the eye for an eye passage contained in Exodus 21 it doesn't say how the eye should be paid, but that an eye should be PAID not taken. In fact the first verse of Exodus 21 is "Now these are the judgments which thou shalt set before them." This says JUDGMENTS. Now that says to me, that if you take my eye I am not to take yours, but the judgment shall be put upon you that yours be taken from you, not by me though.

This brings up another point on religion, judgment. I've heard a many preacher say you shouldn't judge anybody, but their religion itself judges, and they judge by preaching that if you don't follow our beliefs you will go to hell. So in a nut shell, you either take things as they're written in The Bible, or just throw it out.

The Ten Commandments
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2020&version=KJV

The Judgments
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=exodus%2021&version=KJV

How much do you sin.

Yea, I know it's Monday. This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but I wasn't done with it, so I posted today's post yesterday.

How much do you sin? Do you sin more than your neighbour? More than me? Is it less of a sin because you don't do it as much, or as often? Or is stealing 5 bucks better that ten, or a few million? Is killing a Nun worse than a vagrant?

It says in the Bible that all sin is the same, and the punishment is the same. From lying to murder to taking the Lords name in vain. All sin is the same in the eyes of the Lord. The book of James explains this pretty well.


From Biblegateway.com
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1&version=NIV

Forgiveness and prayer.

But who prays for Satan? Who in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most, our one fellow and brother who most needed a friend yet had not a single one, the one sinner among us all who had the highest and clearest right to every Christian's daily and nightly prayers, for the plain and unassailable reason that his was the first and greatest need, he being among sinners the supremest? - Mark Twain

It is preached in the Bible to be able to forgive is above all you can to to gain favor with the Lord. Forgive without expectation, without reward and you shall be saved. You ask for forgiveness for your sins and you shall be forgiven and granted eternal life in Heaven with the Lord. You are to pray for people less fortunate than you. Pray for people that need to find the light, the path, the way, the Word of God. Pray for your enemies, forgive your enemies, harbor no hate towards any soul. This is what it says in the Bible, forgive those who have sinned against you and you will be forgiven by God.

Who do you pray for, who do you need to forgive today, tomorrow? I have forgiven all who have done me wrong, and I hold no ill will toward them, eventhough I'd just as soon not have them in my life, or have cut them out of it completely. But, I wish them the best in their lives and adventures.

Most of all, I pray for the one who needs salvation most, Satan. I pray that he will ask the Lord for forgiveness for his sins. And, that he will accept the Lord as his Savior. And, I say, If you can not pray for Satan to ask forgivness, then you need to pray for yourself. I pray for you.   

It's Sunday. So....

We are gathered here today in search of the Lord, God and Jesus Christ. Do you accept Jesus Christ as your savior?

It's Sunday, so I thought I'd start with something pastoral. Now, I'm not here to preach, but I am going to tell you how I see it. All my information, and beliefs are based on what I've read in and know from the Bible. I have read other manuscripts, and continue to do so to get a better better picture of my life.
I believe in God and worship him, but I don't belong to any one religion. I don't believe any one religion is supreme over the others. I believe that the God I worship reins over all religions, eventhough he's known by different names. Who are you or I to say that God, Allah, Budda, Krishna, Yu Huang, or let us go back a year or two, even Zeus, Ra, Gaia, Juno, or any others you may mention, are not one in the same? It states in the Bible, Genesis 11;1-9, That we were all one people and spoke one language and worked together. We started a temple in Bablyonia to reach the Heavens. And, that God came down and confused our language so that we may not communicate easily. And, so we scattered over the earth. Humm, that's pretty damn interesting to me.

Religion; 1) The belief in and worship of a God or other superhuman agency. 2) A particular system of these beliefs.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/


Genesis Chapter 11 verses 1-9 NCV

 At this time the whole world spoke one language, and everyone used the same words. As people moved from the east, they found a plain in the land of Bablyonia and settled there.
 They said to each other, "Let's make bricks and bake them to make them hard." so they used bricks instead of stones, and tar instead of mortar. Then they said to each other, "Let's build a city and a tower for ourselves, whose top will reach high into the sky. We will become famous. Then we will not be scattered over all the earth."
 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the people had built. the Lord said, "Now, these people are united, all speaking the same language. This is only the beginning of what they will do. They will be able to do anything they want. Come let us go down and confuse their language so they will not be able to understand each other."
 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. The place is called Babel since that is where the Lord confused the launguage of the whole world. So the Lord caused them to speread out from there over the whole world.

9/11

Thinking about what happened nine years ago today, and all the good people who risked their lives to save the lives of others. Not thinking about what could happen to themselves in the wreckage. Those are some true heros, and I personnally thank them for their commitment to serving our nation and our freedom.

While thinking about the attacks, I started to wonder why we hate others for what boils down to a basic difference of opinion. A lot of wars have broke out over religious differences. Even when the two religions worship the same God they have different opinions of how said God should be worshiped and what is right and wrong. What makes one sect of a given religion more right than the other? And, who's to say that even with different names that all the Gods are not the same entity, just known by different names? The underlying basis of all religions is the same, doing right by your fellow man and your God.