World Religions

Cali Court Gets One Right Regarding Religion

2008-08-21T18:18:00.000-07:00

Shawn McEvoy

The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog carried this story Tuesday: California Doctors Can’t Refuse Care to Gays on Religious Grounds. Jacob Goldstein writes:

The state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that doctors can't refuse to treat gays and lesbians, even when doing so goes against their religious beliefs.

Guadalupe Benitez said she was denied fertility treatment because she was gay. The rulings in the case went back and forth as it moved through the courts, but the state’s supremes decided yesterday that a California law that bars businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation trumps the doctors’ right to freedom of religion.

"Thank God," I said to myself. Goodness, a lesbian is still a woman, and still has reproductive capabilities, does she not? If I refuse to treat her, am I doing more damage to the body of Christ and the gospel message, and completely missing a chance to treat her with love and kindness, vs. refusing on the grounds that society apparently will crumble if one more child is raised in a non-traditional family? If I'm going to choose a pro-life stance partly on the grounds that none can say with certainty what quality of life a child will have, that no one can know what decisions he or she will make or how the Lord might use them, then I must also allow that the same things can happen in the life of a child raised by a homosexual.

When I read Goldstein's posting, I instantly remembered fellow Crosswalk blogger Michael Craven's August 2007 posting about whether we as The Church should focus more on being evangelical, or missional. His piece began with an example - also from California:

I came across a small but disturbing story that grabbed my attention. A California pediatrician reportedly refused to treat a baby girl because her mother had tattoos. The doctor, whose name I won’t mention, says “his Christian faith has inspired him to enforce certain standards in his medical practice, and that means no tattoos, no body piercings, and no gum chewing.” The article goes on, “After taking one look at Tasha Childress, who has both tattoos and piercings, [the doctor] asked her and her daughter to leave.” The shunned mother, speaking about her daughter, said, “She had to go that entire night with her ear infection with no medicine because he has his policy; it isn’t right.”

This action deeply troubled me and I hope troubles you as well. However, it doesn’t completely surprise me either...

If the ruling of this week was partly brought about because of this calloused doctor's decision, which couldn't have been an isolated issue, then at least I can feel satisfied that the little girl and her mother did not suffer needlessly.

It's disheartening that we need to get this straight, or have courts decide it for us. Christian doctors, one would like to think, would be some of the most compassionate, most educated, most opportunistic among us. Their personalized chances to reveal their faith literally walk through their doors every day. In fairness, Goldstein's posting makes no mention to which religious faith any offending doctors might adhere. For all we know, Jewish, Hindu, and Islamic doctors might be just as unwilling to treat patients who are gay or have other "moral failings" (although... don't we all fail? Haven't we all sinned? Can you imagine if your youthful indiscretions, God forbid, ever came back to haunt you in the form of an STD or other issue, only to be refused treatment?). We're not talking about doctors who might have issue with performing an abortion or assisted suicide or lethal injection. In those cases, lives are being defended. Here, lives are being discarded.

Withholding medical healing in moral judgment is unconscionable when you consider how flawed the idea of withholding spiritual healing / salvation / the gospel is from Joe Sinner... particularly if he walks in your door and asks for it.

Find this article at: http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/mcevoy/11580720/

FACTBOX: Role of religion in U.S. election

2008-08-20T18:15:00.000-07:00

(Reuters) - The race for the White House often comes down to so-called battleground or swing states, where the outcome may hinge on a few crucial votes.

Religion often plays a role in U.S. elections and might again in these states this November in the contest between Republican candidate John McCain and his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Following are some facts, figures and possible scenarios about the main religious groups and their possible political impact.

EVANGELICALS

One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical Protestant, a tradition with a strong focus on the conversion experience and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The movement has become a key conservative base for the Republican Party, energized in part by a shared opposition to abortion rights and gay marriage.

It has become more fractured as some leaders stress a wider biblical agenda that includes tackling global poverty and climate change but polls show most white evangelical Protestants remain firmly in the Republican camp.

The latest poll by the Pew Research Center suggests 68 percent of registered voters among this group support McCain while only around a quarter back Obama.

But Obama's camp will work hard to win the support of younger and more centrist evangelicals in battleground states such as Florida and Colorado.

Evangelicals are heavily though not exclusively concentrated in the South and according to Pew surveys account for over 50 percent of the population in a handful of states such as Oklahoma which is solid Republican territory anyway.

But a wider definition of evangelical that includes blacks and Hispanics shows that closer to 50 percent of the adults of this faith line up with the Republicans and third with the Democrats, according to Pew.

This makes Hispanic evangelicals in swing states such as New Mexico and Colorado a key group that could tilt the balance in their states.

CATHOLICS

Almost one-quarter of U.S. adults are Catholic but their electoral clout is somewhat diluted by their distribution.

According to a June report by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University in Washington, nearly four in 10 U.S. Catholics reside in New York, California and Texas, none of which are closely contested. The first two are solidly Democratic and Texas is Republican.

The report said states "where the Catholic vote could make a real difference are Florida, Ohio and Louisiana."

Catholics had strongly supported Hillary Clinton in her failed bid for the Democratic nomination and a number of polls have shown a fairly close race among Catholics with Obama leading among them nationally by a small margin.

Conservative Catholics tend to line up with evangelicals on issues like abortion but there are also many liberal Catholics in America who like the Democratic Party on economic issues.

MAINLINE PROTESTANT

The "mainline Protestant" traditions including the Episcopal, Methodist and Presbyterian churches. About one in five U.S. adults say they belong to one of these faiths.

White Protestants affiliated with mainline churches are lining up behind McCain, with 50 percent supporting him in the latest Pew poll versus 39 percent for Obama.

Wider surveys which have included black and Hispanic members of these traditions suggest a sharper partisan divide with both parties garnering the support or affection of around 42 percent of the members of these faiths.

JEWS

Surveys and polls consistently show most Jews lean heavily toward the Democratic Party.

But in battleground states such as Florida, where they account for close to 5 percent of the population by some estimates, the McCain camp may well try and woo some with his strong line on the battle with radical Islam.

The Obama camp may try to appeal to the liberal views held by many American Jews.

The Never Ending Battle of Religion and Science

2008-02-28T04:48:00.001-08:00

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Sumaira_Zaheer]Sumaira Zaheer

The relationship between science and religion has been on the rocks ever since the beginning. Religion, whose knowledge is based merely on faith and beliefs in the supernatural things, which are too abstract to put into test to verify their credibility, relies on subjective methods for finding the truth.

Science on the other hand requires countless intricate experiments and laborious efforts of theoreticians to make sense of a data and to prove its credibility. According to science a thing is real unless its existence can be verified by tangible facts, while religion makes us believe in the divine concepts, for which we are too puny to ever understand them properly.

Although many great scholars and scientists say and have proved that when it comes to science and religion to talk about one is to talk about another. That is to say that science and religion are both different ways of finding the same truth. While religion thinks that science is deviating people from God, science works hard to find the proof of God. According to Richard Dawkins, religion makes predictions about the real world while science put them into testable scientific theories.

However, the two have co-existed besides all the differences, though not so peacefully but with mutual consent on both sides, which permitted both of them to carry on their individual missions without meddling into each others affairs. But before this mutual concord, the history of violence regarding religion against science is quite huge and might go back to the time when the first person on earth, for the first time in his and earth's life, might have made his first logical assumption, about the first thing that has been technically observed by him. Anyway let's not go too far, we all might be familiar with the Galileo affair, remember the poor the guy who was charged of felony for supporting the idea that Earth revolves around the sun instead of the vice versa. And after observing the skies with his newly, made-by-himself, telescope, he presented the model of the solar system almost exactly like what we study nowadays, and for that he was sentenced to a lifetime imprisonment by the Catholic Church. And that is not all, when Charles Darwin proposed the Theory of Evolution; he was opposed quite aggressively by various religious tenets for his blasphemous conjecture.

The same attitude was adopted by Islamic religious sects which led Islam's Golden Age of scientific developments during the 8th and 15th century, to its decline. Though many great scholars, physicist and mathematicians worked hard to produce great works of scientific discoveries of the age, controversies and protests were followed by others, who rejected modern science as infiltration of corrupt western thoughts. And according to them to prevent Islam from stagnation was to stick to the Islamic studies.

According to many religious extremists, many attempts of horrendous scientific discoveries were made as a result of infidelity and disbelief in the divine power of the Almighty. But if we look at the history of scientists, we would find them as much devoted to their religion as they were to the science. Galileo was a devote catholic, his strong religious bearing led him to ponder more and more in nature and make numerous remarkable discoveries. Many Muslim scientists, most notably Avveroes, who was among the greatest contributors to the Golden Age of Islamic history was a devoted Muslim scholar.

This is only a fragment of huge backdrop of controversies, conflicts, banishments, imprisonments, accusations and even bloodshed against men of science for the sake of saving religious doctrines from destruction. But it's not only religion which taken the aggressive side against science, its science as well which keeps making doubtful assumptions about probability of God, and rejection of the existence of many principles that form the basis by many religious beliefs.

Even though many scientists are found to be devoted to both religion and science and are struggling hard to bring the two of them together, there are many scientists, when questioned about God, were are found to be non-believers of any kind of religion or God. For them only physical world exists. But the idea of a Godless world is quite frightening even to the non-believers. I can't imagine a world being left to the mercy of human beings, with no God to watch over us and guide us. What would happen to the faith and hopes of millions of people if they were to be told that there is no God and they have been praying, sacrificing, preparing for a better afterlife for nothing?

However, science is nowhere near in proving that. Science can suggest theory of evolution, trace back our ancestors, but can it trace their origin? Science itself says that nothing comes into being on its own accord than how did life first originated? What is the great source of power behind all that if it is not God? There is so much science has yet to discover to make assumptions like these.

Science has also succeeded in creating dents in faiths of numerous people who have respect for both sects. Because the world isn't divided into religious zealots and scientific nerds, what about those people who regard both science and religion equally important. The conflict between these two have led immense amount of confusion among people. They don't know what to believe in because if one proves a thing, the other rejects it.

But it is religion which gives answers when science fails. It fills up gaps which science has left empty. It is faith in the Almighty that helps the poor, the sick and the lonely to find his strength when science fails. While science creates weapons of mass destruction, it is religion which brings hope and peace to people in war. I'm not saying that science is only destructive or religion is only conservative. Both have done great things for the human kind. Faith works wonders everyday in people's lives, bringing them closer, bonding them with love and science make thousands of development each day to make life easier for us.

Science and religion are not contradictory to each other. Their methods may differ but they both struggle to find the same truth that connects us all together and that is, nearness to God.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sumaira_Zaheer http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Never-Ending-Battle-of-Religion-and-Science&id=953581

Rock Spirituality - The Religion of Rock

2008-02-28T04:47:00.004-08:00

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Lacey]Matthew Lacey

Do you sometimes feel as though Rock N' Roll is your religion or spirituality. Is there a philosophy behind being a musician or a Rocker. I feel that there is. As a member of The Rock Warrior Alliance I adhere to the teachings of Rock Spirituality. Rock Spirituality is akin to water. It can change forms any times it needs to yet it is not something different when it changes.

Water in a bath tub takes the shape of the tub yet it is still water. Rock Spirituality has been known to take the form of many different religions and spiritualities. It as a hybrid of truth based on the teachings of love from Christianity, and Compassion and Wisdom from Buddhism. It is known to follow the Tao, It is Zen, and It is one with Allah. It's everything useful about religion and spirituality and a rejection of everything useless.

One of the main questions I get is, "Your different so what you consider useless is something I might find useful." If this is your question than I must say follow your own path. Not everyone can take the Rock Warrior Path. The Rock Warrior Path chooses you. You didn't choose to be born but you were. I didn't choose to be a Rock Warrior but I am. The Rock Warrior knows that being a Rock Warrior is just a title. In Rock Spirituality you choose your own tenets you consider useful as long as no harm is brought to others. The way of The Rock Warrior is not to hurt. Bruce Lee said Jeet Kune Do was not to hurt. Was Bruce Lee a Rock Warrior. You bet he was. He was a Rock Warrior who preferred Martial Arts to be his art.

Rocking and Music are both arts. Art is Art. JKD is only different in form, in space they are all expressions of the individual. JKD was not a set style with a set list of moves that never changed. It was a personal quest to discover what it meant to be free. New moves were added and removed depending on the individual. The Rock Warrior is no different.

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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matthew_Lacey http://EzineArticles.com/?Rock-Spirituality---The-Religion-of-Rock&id=1000405

The Mormon Religion Origin Is Not That Old

2008-02-28T04:47:00.003-08:00

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=George_Kissi]George Kissi

The teachings of the Mormon faith are based on what they refer to as a divine ordination of their founder, Joseph Smith, in the year 1820. This Mormon religion origin is said to have occurred when Smith saw a vision of Christ, who gave him instruction on how to reestablish his true church on earth. According to Smith, Christ told him that Christianity had experienced a great apostasy from his original teachings, and Smith was being entrusted with instructions on how to restore true faith.

The Mormon religion origin is also based on the teaching that Joseph Smith saw these instructions as divinely ordaining him to establish a church according to these instructions. He felt that he was now the successor in a long line of priests that began with Aaron, the brother of Moses. This authority granted him the right to ordain other priests, ministers, and so on. He also felt that he had the authority to dictate rules and guides when it came to one's personal life, teaching that marriage and children were part of God's destiny for his followers. The Mormon religion origins established not just the Mormon Church but also gave its followers an entire manual that they needed to follow for every part of their lives.

While Mormonism claims to be Christian and to follow the teachings of the Bible and of Jesus Christ, Mormon religion origins deeply adhere to those original writings of Joseph Smith, some of which actually conflict with the Bible and with Jesus' own words.

For more information about the Mormon Religion Origin visit http://mormons.georgekissi.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=George_Kissi http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Mormon-Religion-Origin-Is-Not-That-Old&id=972710

The Religion of Bio-Psychiatry

2008-02-28T04:47:00.001-08:00

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Dan_Edmunds]Dan Edmunds

If we examine the term 'psychotherapy' we will see that it literally means the 'healing of the soul'. Much of emotional distress is actually a spiritual problem, where an individual has lost meaning and hope. In today's society, we have lost sight of spiritual values and many have in turn decided to turn to the religion of bio-psychiatry.

Bio-psychiatry has a creed, the creed is that all problems of life are the result of so-called chemical imbalances. Any professional or individual challenging such conception is branded a heretic and subject to sanction.

The psychiatrist is the priest, and in some cases is also looked upon as a messianic figure. As the priest, the psychiatrist defines the Social Law and the infractions thereof.

The religion of bio-psychiatry has its 'sacraments.' The sacrament of initiation occurs at intake, and confirmation occurs when the individual is indoctrinated into the credo of bio-psychiatry and led to believe that their problems lie in 'wiring' problems in their brains.

The religion of psychiatry has absolution. Through their ritual, adults and institutions are able to be completely absolved from taking any responsibility for meeting the real emotional needs of a person or examining how their own actions and choices could have impacted the challenges faced by the individual.

Ordination occurs at the conferring of the Medical Degree and the completion of a residency in psychiatry.

The religion of bio-psychiatry has the 'sacrament' of Matrimony. Bio-Psychiatry is wedded to the pharmaceutical industry, and what a generous dowry the pharmaceutical industry has provided!

The American Psychiatric Association serves as the "Ecumenical Council" to promulgate the creed of bio-psychiatry and to institute the definitions of the Social Law and the infractions thereof.

The Bible of bio-psychiatry is the DSM-IV.

The Deity is the enormous ego of the bio-psychiatrists themselves.

by Dan L. Edmunds, Ed.D.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Edmunds http://EzineArticles.com/?The-Religion-of-Bio-Psychiatry&id=109330

I Do Not Follow Religion Per se - I Follow The Teachings Of The King James Bible As Best I Can

2008-02-28T04:45:00.000-08:00

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Charles_Crosby]Charles Crosby

Now what is wrong with this statement? It looks innocent enough doesn't it?

"I do not follow religion per-se" What does this remark mean? In the Concise Oxford Dictionary it states: per-se - by or in itself; intrinsically. So this person doesn't follow religion essentially or in itself, but there is a 'but' in there somewhere, so what is this person actually saying? This person is saying they do not follow religion because it's essential but rather because they feel a certain loose attachment to it and follow it in a: "well we cannot deny it; the Christian religion exists, so there must be something to it. Otherwise all these people with whom I rub shoulders each Sunday, must be wrong and there is no way that that can be the case - it's been going on for two thousand years." Now, I am not saying this is the definite reasoning behind this persons thoughts but I would wager it's not far off. Aren't you judging this person, I hear you say? No, because as I said there is most definitely a 'but' in this person's statement. If they didn't follow religion - period, that is what they would have said, but they didn't. If they had, there would have been no 'per-se.'

Let's now deal with the next part of this statement and ask the question: Should we follow the teachings of the King James Bible as best we can? Partly yes and definitely no, is the plain and simple answer to this question. I said partly yes to the first part because the King James Bible like all Bibles has errors within its pages. If, therefore, we go blindly believing every word that is written therein we are going to end up in big, big trouble. Not because The King James Holy Bible is not The Word of God, because it is. The problem is not with the Word of God but with the human influences and agendas of the men who have polluted and corrupted The Word of God when translating it, from the Hebrew in the Old Testament and from the Greek in the New Testament. In those original forms there is not much wrong with it, but in its English forms it's a minefield and we have to be very, very careful in how we study and read it.

So, to answer the first part of this question correctly; no, we should not follow the teachings of the King James Bible until we have thoroughly checked it out. This rule of thumb applies even more so to modern translations as they have even more errors than the King James Bible, especially the ESV and NIV Bibles - and surprise, surprise, these are mainstream Christianity's favourites!! To support this, my advice on this problem, there were people in the first century that Paul mentions as excellent examples of how we should behave when studying the Word of God i.e. never take anything on face value:

Acts 17:10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Here we can see that these people were diligent in their searching of the Holy Scriptures to make sure all was correct.

Ok, moving on and back to the original question, where we have this strange remark of "As best we can." What exactly does this mean? Well, basically, it means we are following the teachings of the King James Bible under our own strength; our own abilities; our own effort; our own toil and struggles. This is all about the 'self' not The Lord Jesus Christ. We are doing the best we can, but what if our best is not good enough? Horror of horrors, what if we strive and struggle for the whole of our lives doing the best we can in following the teachings of the King James Bible only to be told by The Lord Jesus Christ, when we stand before Him, "Go away for I do not know you." What kind of shock will that be for this person and people like him/her? He or she is under the delusion that his/her name is written in the book of life, but nothing could be further from the Truth, if they think that salvation is all about them doing the best that they can.

Now, what's so wrong with our doing the best we can? Answer: it's there, right in the middle of that sentence - our doing. Therein lies the problem - he's doing the doing instead of accepting the fact that it's already all been done - for him. The Lord Jesus Christ's sacrifice took care of all the "doing the best we can." Why? Why, because for the very simple reason our best just isn't good enough, nor could it ever be good enough after a million years of striving and struggling to improve ourselves. This doing the best we can business is all blasphemous Old Covenant teaching - salvation by works. Even then, in those times, man doing his best wasn't good enough because animals had to be repetitively slaughtered and offered to God as sacrifices and/or as atonements for their failings when all their good enough-ness slipped or faded like the morning mist, as it always does, and they sinned.

Let's get this straight, if The Lord Jesus Christ thought that our doing our best was good enough then He wouldn't have come to this earth and suffered the degradation of an evil crucifixion and to take all our sins with Him. All of our sins - past, present and future, they have all been dealt with for all of humanity and for all time - once and once only. In turn, His Resurrection gave us the opportunity to be made anew - new people, perfect in The Father's sight. Our doing the best we can has nothing to do with it, it's all meaningless vanity. All our 'doing the best we can' amounts to, is self-improvement and anyone can enter a programme of doing that, even the unsaved. The problem is, all 'our doing' is worthless when we come to the matter of salvation.

This person then went on to say: "You know me, you know I fail, but I know Jesus forgives." Now what's wrong with this remark, because it all sounds so very sincere and Holy doesn't it - but is it? You see, straight away, we can see that this person does not understand Grace and Salvation, this person says "Jesus forgives" but does Jesus forgive? No, Jesus has already forgiven, He forgave mankind utterly and completely nearly two thousand years ago, it was all done there and then. This person thinks, like most of mainstream Christianity, that The Lord's forgiveness of our sins is a never ending on going process, when it is not, it was all done at Calvary - everything! (Please see my article "Is repetitive confession of sins Biblical?)

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

This is the verse that this person does not understand. He/she doesn't understand that the Lord's word's here mean exactly what they say - "It's finished" What was finished - the conquering of death and sin, both things were defeated. Now when we're Born Again we should start living as if they are conquered and defeated, but many do not, they carry on as if The Lord Jesus Christ had never come, just like Old Covenant people, trying to overcome sin under their own strength - sin that has already been defeated and forgiven. This person also admits to repetitive failure stating: "You know me, you know I fail" Of course we fail, that's all part of the human condition. It is because we always fail that The Lord Jesus Christ came in the first place. He came and didn't fail and said: "If you believe in Me and keep on believing in Me you will not fail either, even though in your fleshly bodies you will fail." Now because this person is not under Grace, but under his/her own programme of self-improvement, the self-flagellation kicks in and his or her life is made permanently miserable and wretched by his/her own thought processes. This person is, in other words, held captive and in bondage to a self-imposed regime of salvation by works. This person will probably have learnt all this blasphemous nonsense from a ravening wolf in a pulpit at a 'church' near you. Please take this as a serious warning as your eternal Spiritual welfare depends upon it.

Then we have: "I know that on the day I take my final breath, and stand before the throne of God, my name will appear in the book of life." Here again we can see the mainstream Christian 'teaching' reveal itself. When this person takes his or her final breath they will die just like everyone else. (Please see my articles "When Christians die do they instantly "Go to be with the Lord?"") Furthermore, our names are written in The Book of Life when we are Born Again not when we take our final breath:

Phil 4:3 And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. From this evidence alone we can see how poorly taught this person is.

Finally, we come to the last part of this person's statement which reveals completely his/her deluded state of mind: "I accepted Christ May 6 1992. I also know that in the book of life, a column for what religion does not exist." If this person 'accepted' The Lord Jesus Christ on May 6 1992 then what this person is telling us is, that right from the word go Salvation was dependent upon him/her - it was all dependent upon this person's decision and not God's decision. John 6:44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. We must not underestimate the delusional arrogance encapsulated in this fantastical idea. This idea permeates mainstream Christianity as a whole not just the head of this silly person whom I am using as a living example.

The overall consensus within mainstream Christianity is this: the tail wags the dog - Ok, and don't you forget it! I decide whether or not I'm saved and when, not God. If I choose not to accept Jesus Christ then that's my prerogative, my privilege; who's in charge here anyway; who does this Jesus Christ think He is!!?? Now some of you may laugh at this scenario but make no mistake this is how they think and it is delusional error on a grand scale. Just to round off, we then have a lie and contradiction saying there is a column in the Book of Life which says religion does not exist. Well I have news for this person, there is no such column in The Book of Life because religion is the way of death not life. This person's delusional thinking is complete.

Following Jesus Christ is not religion!!

Charles Crosby.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charles_Crosby http://EzineArticles.com/?I-Do-Not-Follow-Religion-Per-se---I-Follow-The-Teachings-Of-The-King-James-Bible-As-Best-I-Can&id=635751

Religious Diversity Reshapes America

2008-02-27T20:08:00.001-08:00

eFluxMedia

Religious Diversity Reshapes America
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Do You Have A Religious Addiction?

2007-04-05T01:27:00.000-07:00

By Michael Tummillo

I used to be bound by a religious addiction, that is, until the Lord delivered me.

Looking back, I had no mind of my own where all things spiritual were concerned. I was subservient to whatever denomination I was affiliated with, bowing to manmade rules and dogmas both in Protestant and Catholic camps as I moved from one to the other. Though the Scriptures declare that "there is none good but God," I was considered a good soldier, loyal and obedient through and through and very adept at rule-keeping. I was driven by my religious addiction and was much more diligent about serving the church (the denomination anyway), subconsciously trying harder to "be good and be seen" than I was trying to get to know Jesus through His Word, fall in love with Him on a personal level, obey His doctrine and advance His Kingdom.

Frankly, I don't recall that kind of thinking ever entering my mind.

My thoughts of God were more along the lines of "Hope He saw that!" while I adhered to church policies and procedures like a champ. In all honesty, I never knew what Jesus really taught for I rarely cracked the pages of His book (the Bible). I was a "good" kid and the Christian world in which I had immersed myself at the time was generally fine with that as I excelled - at least in comparison to others. I fit in. I was one of their own and was even considered an example to be followed. One minister even called me "a churchman" before the congregation. Talk about stroking my ego...!
Don't get me wrong; good guys are more useful than bad guys and good-deeds-for-the-day actually DO tend to help people. Unfortunately, God's not impressed with our acts of self-righteousness, which are referred to as "filthy rags" in the Book of Isaiah. It's all about the motivation of the heart. Those who hope they're "scoring points" or making amends for past sins by their good works are sadly mistaken.

I was deceived in believing that I was not only impressing others but that God must surely be pleased as well. There were those who mistook my good-guy nature for devout Christianity; including Christian women. I felt accepted and, to my carnal mind, that's all that really mattered. At least, until the day came that I really needed Jesus and The Church and found I was left holding a bag full of nothing but powerless, meaningless, deceptive religion.

THE TRUTH SET WILL SET YOU FREE...WHEN YOU KNOW IT

Jesus taught that knowing the truth will set us free. Problem? In our reluctance to admit that we have any problems at all, we fall into denial, even where our spiritual lives are concerned.

The religious addiction is not so much an addiction to anything in particular as it is paying consistent homage to a demon Spirit of Religion - a literal entity - the very Spirit that drove the self-righteous Pharisees. Sure, it's much more socially acceptable to acknowledge that one has an addiction to religion than it is, say, to pornography or crack cocaine. That's because the human tendency is to judge what's on the outside because we really don't have time to deal with the spiritual and emotional bondages and burdens of individuals. Generally, so long as they show up for services, look good and smell good and sing along, we're OK with "them." They might be living a private Hell but the Church at large is content NOT to believe anything could possibly be wrong with one who is committed to the denomination, follows the rules and does the work of the group or attends services every time the door is open. Such a one is often lauded as a model of the faith.

Those afflicted with a Religious Spirit are often folks who have struggled with "other" addictions during the course of their lives (e.g. alcohol, drugs, sex) or are Adult Children of Alcoholics. Actor and Director Mel Gibson was recently arrested for drunk driving. An interview with Dianne Sawyer was re-run this morning where he admitted how easily he was addicted to almost everything including drugs and alcohol. That's the nature of the beast. Apparently, the transference of one addictive lifestyle for another is fairly common, and when addicts come to faith in Christ, such a transference of spirits often occurs. Such demons can be dealt with and commanded to leave but, sadly, far too few Believers believe that they have that authority...or they don't believe in demons at all (Satan loves that about us).

In many cases, an individual's relationship with God can be stunted by his/her upbringing. Let's face it, we're receptacles, taking in good and bad from day one, then dishing out whatever's been poured in. Some have been raised in a performance mode, jumping through hoops to gain approval from parents or always in competition with siblings. Perhaps they were compared to the kids next door. Likewise, where that person's spiritual life is concerned, they often struggle with trying to constantly gain acceptance or approval - in the eyes of the congregation, church leaders... and ultimately from God Himself. Though this type of misguided behavior can never satisfy, it's all many individuals ever know and it defines the lackluster Christian life of multitudes of pew potatoes from cradle to grave.
Such an addiction serves to attract other demonic characteristics such as self-righteousness, pride, false piety. As the afflicted person carries out his/her religious duties, a subconscious "look at me everybody" attitude gradually creeps in. Oftentimes, that attitude is simply a silent prayer such as, "God, I hope this pleases you" as that individual is never sure how much is enough. Have I prayed long enough? Did God hear that? Am I REALLY going to Heaven? Have I volunteered enough? Did I perform this or that duty often enough to appease the Father? How about the deacons? The religious addict never seems to grasp the fact that all their sins, past, present and future, were forgiven. These people tend to judge others by what they DO and themselves by their good intentions.

The discerning Christian can see Satan's claw prints all over this powerless, goody-goody behavior. Again, it's a deception that far too many have fallen into. I'm not only talking about Christians here. All the religions of the world are ruled by this type of Spirit. He can be found in churches, synagogues, mosques and temples around the globe. Bear in mind that the word "religion" means "return to bondage" according to Webster's Dictionary; Jesus, on the other hand, came to set us free.

GIVE ME A SIGN!

So, what is a religious addiction and how does one know when one has been so afflicted? There are some signposts we can be looking for but one must be brutally honest with one's self-assessment just as an alcoholic must finally admit to his addiction before he can receive and apply the help that's available. Confession, as you may know, means to agree with that which God already knows about us. 1 John 1:9 tells us "If we confess our sins (agree that we DO have a Problem and that Jesus IS the answer) He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

A Religious Spirit will rear its head when confronted with the truth. You can count on stirring up a demonic hornet's nest every time. Often these attacks are quite extreme as in the situations where I have personally been dealt death threats and received hate mail and have been booted of my Internet provider over 20 times, mostly by people who claim to be Christians, in response to my online Christian broadcasts. It's OK to simply disagree - or offer correction where one thinks I made a mistake. But some of these responses were quite excessive. The reason they reported me to AOL, I was told, was defined as "broadcasting objectionable material." I can't help but wonder if they respond the same way to off-color online humor, obscenity and the like.

I knew a converted Jewish woman who claimed that she was receiving extra-biblical revelation from God. Despite the willingness of others in the Body of Christ to offer correction, reproof, teaching, etc., she had little use for any of it so long as God was speaking to her. So much for being part of "The Body." Any "limb" that does its own thing is considered spastic, as I understand it. Most of her faith was based upon Old Testament teachings that suited her own needs. I confronted her on a number of occasions, one day causing her to cry and yell quite emotionally. In time, I helped her find a place to live, found her a job at the local university and even gathered a wardrobe for her as she owned very little. The response? She filed false charges against me. Oddly, her case never made it to court. Actually, she wound up in state jail herself after being convicted of a past crime that finally caught up with her. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

Jesus Christ had little trouble where demons of sickness and the Spirit of Death was concerned but He faced stiff opposition from those controlled by the Religious Spirit. Certainly, they did not know they had given place to such spirits. "Surely we represent the true religion of God," they must have thought. Who would want to be free of that which make them feel important and more righteous than others? For the chief priests and scribes who entertained religious pride and hardness of heart, even Jesus could not guide them to the Father. They had made their choice.

ARE YOU A TRUTH-SEEKER?

A thing is either true or it's a lie. It's that simple. That applies to the case of religious addictions as well. The same Spirit that motivated the Jewish religious leaders to conspire against and kill Jesus are still working today among people who know God. The Bible reveals many clues showing us signs that reveal when the Religious Spirit is present. It's an extensive list of 23 symptoms but, if you'd be interested in seeing what some of those tell-tale signs may be, perhaps as a guide for some self-assessment, simply hit REPLY and type HELP in the SUBJECT Bar. Protestant or Catholic, if this subtle spirit has crept its way into your life, don't delay. Deal with him today and experience the peace that passes all understanding and the unspeakable joy that Scripture promises you!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael's mission is to bring Discipleship and Encouragement to the Body of Christ. Since 1999, he has broadcast nearly six hundred inspirational articles and a dozen booklets on subjects that will interest the thinking Christian, all designed to accelerate the process of spiritual development in God's people.

He is the founder of t.e.a.m. ministries (team1min@aol.com). An Author, Pastoral Counselor and Teacher, his eMail broadcasts, known as "Your Town for Jesus" are reaching millions around the globe WEEKLY. Write team1min@aol.com if you'd like to SUBSCRIBE.

A licensed/ordained minister, a Certified Workplace Chaplain, and a Professional Member of NIBIC, he has ministered in Methodist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Baptist, Disciples of Christ, College and Cowboy churches. He is also a Speaker on the Christian Speaker Network and may be available to speak to your church or Christian group.

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When Caesar Plays God: When the State Oversteps Its Bounds

2007-04-05T01:26:00.004-07:00

By David Ben-Ariel

Why was Jesus crucified? Because His gospel was highly politicized. It had everything to do with GOVERNMENT! God's people would do well to note that fact. His enemies accused Him of sedition. They distorted His Message to make it appear He was out to overthrow the government! (John 19:12). They led the rulers to believe Jesus was a dangerous individual, a real threat to public order and national security (John 11:48). Jesus had to be stopped! Both the political and religious authorities turned on Christ.

Why was Stephen murdered? Should he have just kept his opinions to himself? He blasted the religious establishment for their hypocrisy. Although he spoke the plain truth, they confused the issue by taking his words out of context. He undoubtedly did tell them that Jerusalem was going to fall and the Temple was going to be destroyed - just like Jesus prophesied - if they didn't quickly change course (Acts 6:8-15). He was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (their religious court). They angrily condemned him to die for being so blunt (Acts 7).

I read the Book of Acts, making it much more meaningful and relevant, during my detention in Jerusalem's Russian Compound jail. If you examine the evidence surrounding Paul's frequent arrests and imprisonments, you'll see a pattern of trumped up charges, misunderstandings and misguided zeal. It's a miracle that Paul didn't say "enough is enough" and quit. But God used him to provide for us a very human example, since we expect Jesus to act divine (I Tim. 1:16).

Many in jail proclaim their innocence, but God knows that I was an innocent politico-religious prisoner. The Leftist government in Israel was out to crush their opposition. As a Christian member of the Temple Mount Faithful, I represent all that the secular hate. I've been involved in many televised demonstrations to remind the government of its biblical responsibilities. Whether they listen or not is between them and God.

Living by Faith

The Israeli settlers whom Gerald Flurry (pastor general of the Philadelphia Church of God) once condemned are putting their lives on the line. By living in Eretz Israel (the Land of Israel) they are exercising their faith in God's Word that promises the Holy Land to Israel, not Ishmael. How cowardly for Gerald Flurry to throw rocks at their faith when he sits safe in his comfortable office in democratic America. God help him (and all the other Church leaders) to wake up to this aspect of the Bible of which too many remain ignorant. Thankfully, from subsequent articles in The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine it appears Mr. Flurry's understanding has improved.

God's people won't suffer the prophesied persecution (not that we're seeking it) until we take a PUBLIC STAND on religious matters that have political ramifications, just like Jesus and the apostles and prophets. It's an artificial separation between politics and religion. God's one government has two branches: Church and State (Malachi 4:4-5).

Spiritual issues are fought in the political arena of men's minds (2 Cor. 10:4). Whether we recognize it or not, our Israelite nations are engaged in a cultural war. Unless we join the struggle, promoting the biblical platform that pierces through the mental fog, how can we expect to be in any position to help influence our nation's direction away from the precipice (Rom. 10:14)? God's Church has a superficial understanding when they fail to put God's truth into practice and take political action (James 2:14-17)!

I was detained for a righteous reason. I'm closely associated with those who call for a return to biblical values. We uphold God's Law as our true Constitution. We plead with Judah (and Joseph) to obey God and not men; to put their trust in Him and not fear the UN; to restore the Temple Mount as the Temple Mount. If the Jews fail to listen to this opportunity for restoration, they'll self-destruct, falling apart at the seams. Israel faces the growing threat of a civil war and European intervention!

Warning the Jews

My enemies (if you don't have any, God is your enemy), knowing that I've written that the mosques must go - the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aksa mosques - have falsely accused me of being in a plot to destroy those beautiful abominations! It's the serpent up to his old tricks, telling half-truths and mixing it with outrageous lies. I did tell the GSS (Israel's Secret Police like the former East German Stasi) that I was thankful for the opportunity to clear the air and answer any questions. I didn't want to incriminate myself in any way - and they did try to entrap me - but I also didn't want to deny Christ the opportunity to testify before them (Mark 12:13).

All the while during my six and a half hours of interrogation, I prayed only to speak what God would have me to say; nothing more or less (Luke 20:12-19). I did clearly warn them that the "peace" process is a trap; that it's about to blow up in their faces, and that a German-led Europe is going to wage a new crusade to enforce the Vatican's version of peace. Catholic Europe will backstab and betray both the Arabs and the Jews. They'll push for Jerusalem to become "an international city" (Zech. 14:2), all under the cover of UN Resolution 181.

I maintained that the only explosives that I'm involved with is the bombshell I've written, Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. I continually referred them to it, stating that's where my beliefs are on public record (John 18:20). (Later I gave them a computer disk with my book on it to assist their alleged investigation). I told them I know that Israel won't take God's warning seriously, any more than those Jews who spurned Jabotinsky's efforts to save them from Hitler. (Ze'ev Jabotinksy warned the Jews of Hitler's fury but they thought he was just crying wolf). Nevertheless, God will intervene and save us after our worst time of suffering, and every survivor in Jerusalem will be holy.

That whole ordeal brought my name, and the fact that I've written a book, and that I'm a Sabbath-keeping Christian member of the Temple Mount Faithful, to Israel's attention (Philip. 1:12-14). It also increases my standing in the Jewish community who know I've willing to suffer to help try to save Israel from itself, and that I'm not bitter, but still expect Israeli citizenship. I've proven that I'm not a fair-weather friend. I plan on standing by Judah's side, even when they fall because they've refused to take the necessary actions to insure "Never Again." (Isa. 49:5; I Sam. 12:23).

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer in Ohio and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out Beyond Babylon.

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No God But God - Reza Aslan

2007-04-05T01:26:00.003-07:00

By Paul Davis

"No god but God"

So said Saddam

The butcher of Baghdad

Before being executed

Did he serve God?

Certainly such could be refuted.

Islamic law in Muslim nations has muted

Freedom of religious expression

Shown the heart of Allah

And to the world taught a lesson

Violating many human rights

Troubled many souls with sleepless nights

Permitting the burning and bombing of churches

Continual killing of Jews of Christians

Now Islamic jihadists are killing Americans and Europeans

No god but God

Is a wonderful concept

For all other gods besides Jesus

We should wisely reject

Unlike Reza Aslan does project

Islam is not a religion

Firmly rooted in the prophetic

Jewish and Christian tradition.

The Torah and Bible call Islam

Erroneous and an abomination.

That should be quite obvious

Look around the world at Islam's murderous

Rage of religion, intolerant opinion

Hence it lacks spiritual dominion

For it spreads itself by violence

All other religions Islam meets with defiance

The prophet Muhammad

Is not one worthy of our reliance

This so-called prophet disobeyed his own doctrine

Marrying wives far more than four

More importantly, he fought in many religious wars

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life

Jesus the Savior did not engage in religious strife

Christ gently entreated humanity never killing anyone

Through His exemplary life the hearts of the world He won

Peaceably and graciously welcoming everyone

He even forgave them as to the cross they crucified Him

The religious fanatics crucified God's own Son

He who had for humanity come

To save us from ourselves and sin

To deposit the Holy Spirit to live within

To liberate us from intolerant dead religion

Victoriously Christ arose from the grave

In the power of the resurrection to save

Every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation

To declare good news to all, an emancipation

From every false religious representation

To birth within the heart of man a new creation

That they might seek and know their heavenly Father

Lovingly embrace and accept one another

Tasting and experiencing the goodness of the Spirit

Lifting up their voice happily, that all might hear it

Beyond being cerebral, you can be spiritual

Beyond being religious, you can enjoy revival

Beyond being as Islam - intolerant and violent

You can surpass Islam's spiritual impotence

Bridge the divide and close the gap that does distance

Mankind from its Creator

Humbly kneel and implore

Christ will open religious prison doors

God is not the author of religion

Religion is man's creation

Religion is Satan's chief deception

The blessing of heaven

Intimately know God 24/7

Lift up your eyes

Awake and realize

That Islam is a religion of orphans

They don't know God as Father

Hence they are on edge

Not knowing the comfort of being a son or daughter

Nobody can get to the Father in heaven

But through Christ

For you He gave His life

God is not a killer, He is a life giver

Taste and see the Lord of glory is good

Be filled with the Spirit of truth and live as you should

Not in quarreling and contention

But joyously in divine celebration.

For whosoever calls upon Christ Jesus

Shall be saved

No do's and don'ts need to be made

Believe and receive

Christ will meet your heart's need

On the cross for you He did bleed

Therefore you need not to die for God

Because God in Christ already died for you

Repent of sin and in your heart invite Christ in

There is nothing left to do.

Simply believe and the Spirit of God will magnificently show you.

Fear not! Jesus Christ the captain of the hosts and Prince of Peace

Will give you triumph over tribulation and divine release.

Give God glory in the highest and experience peace on earth

It all begins through Jesus from whom comes spiritual new birth.

For Christ's kingdom is established by His Holy Spirit within

Conquer the heart's of mankind and this war on terror you'll win.

Paul Davis is a FL real estate professional, life coach (relational & professional), worldwide minister, and change master.

Paul is the author of several books including Breakthrough for a Broken Heart; Adultery: 101 Reasons Not to Cheat; Are You Ready for True Love; Stop Lusting & Start Living; Waves of God; Supernatural Fire; Poems that Propel the Planet; and God vs. Religion.

Paul's compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has served in many war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His Dream-Maker Inc. is building dreams, breaking limitations & reviving nations.

Paul's Breakthrough Seminars inspire, revive, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Contact Paul to minister, speak at your event or for life coaching: RevivingNations@yahoo.com, 407-284-1705.

For additional info:
www.DreamMakerMinistries.com
www.CreativeCommunications.TV

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Spiritual Teachers of India

2007-04-05T01:26:00.001-07:00

By Richard Pettinger

Throughout the ages India has been the home of numerous Spiritual Masters and Saints. They have each offered a unique message and inspirational example of how we might aspire to a more illumining life. These saints have shared their wisdom and light in a way to suit the needs of the age and circumstances. However at heart they share a common message which is to “Know Thyself”. This is the supreme goal of yoga and spirituality; to know and realise our sense of divine consciousness.

A selection of India's Great Saints

Sri Krishna. Sri Krishna has been described as the perfect Avatar. Even from his birth he embodied the Supreme Consciousness. To his mother and devoted disciple, Arjuna he showed that in his human body resided the entire universe. During his time with the Gopis of Brindaban, Sri Krishna showed the path of love, devotion and surrender. Sri Krishna also left the immortal legacy of the Bhagavad Gita, which is a transcript of the conversation between Arjuna and Sri Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra. In the Gita Sri Krishna, explained in simple language, how any sincere seeker could realise God; through devoted action and meditation on God.

Lord Buddha. Lord Buddha took incarnation in a time of religious decline. The essential purity of Hinduism and been lost as priests concentrated on outer forms, rituals and sacrifices. Lord Buddha revitalised spirituality in India by teaching how a seeker through right action, right thought and meditation could discover his own spiritual essence within. Lord Buddha was born in palace with all the worldly comforts. However he sacrificed all the pleasures of the world to seek liberation from bondage. After attaining a state of Nirvana Buddha stayed in the world for many years selflessly teaching others how they may seek liberation. Lord Buddha did not explicitly talk about God but he did talk about the infinite peace, light and love that could be experience through meditation and spiritual practise.

Sri Chaitanya. Sri Chaitanya was a Bhakti saint of the Vaishnava tradition. Intoxicated with divine love Sri Chaitanya revitalised the devotional Vaishanvism tradition of Hinduism. As a young man he was a brilliant scholar who was an excellent debater. However in his early 20s he became tired of his worldly pursuits as he gained an ever-increasing realisation of God. Through meditation and devotion to Sri Krishna, Sri Chaitanya became absorbed in the ecstasy of God communion. Sri Chaitanya urged his followers and disciples to ignore the distractions of the world and devote themselves to spiritual practise.

Sri Ramakrishna. Sri Ramakrishna was an uneducated simple village boy who attracted the most learned scholars of Bengal to imbibe his spiritual wisdom and spiritual magnetism. At times people felt his devotion was so intense they mistook it for madness. Sri Ramakrishna was only mad in the sense that he was so absorbed in the divine consciousness that he struggled to act in the world. Sri Ramakrishna was unique because he practised the religious disciplines of different sects and religions. Through his own personal experience he was able to testify that all religions did lead to God. It was his firm belief that all religious paths could lead to the same goal. At the same time he taught that outer rituals were not important. The essences of true religion and spirituality were to love God without reservation. Sri Ramakrishna also taught many notable disciples who spread his message of spirituality and religious tolerance. In particular Swami Vivekananda most powerfully encapsulated his message of religious tolerance at the world parliament of religions in 1893.

Richard Pettinger is a member of Sri Chinmoy Centre and follows the guidance of spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy.

Richard enjoys writing biographies of spiritual figures

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Christian Meditation - The Yoga Alternative

2007-04-05T01:25:00.001-07:00

By Michael Hawkins

Meditation is a way to get in touch with our inner feelings, and Christian meditation is no exception in this regard. Many have discovered the physical techniques of hatha yoga to be beneficial - thus the invention of something called Christian Yoga.

The religious beliefs and practices of yoga go as far back in history as the Upanishads. The word yoga originated from Hindus, it was a religious custom of Hinduism that through the custom of certain disciplines one may achieve liberation from the limitations of the flesh, the deceiving of the senses, and the pitfalls of thought and on that account accomplish fusion with the objective of awareness.

Though developed in the ancient Hindu doctrine, the movements of Christian yoga are so boundless that they can adapt to or be adopted by any culture pattern or esoteric direction.

Countless classes in the U.S. direct the habit of yoga, as a purely physical course of study that home in on poses or asana, and conduct no religious teaching of any kind.

Proponents say that Christian yoga fills a call for good Christians who need the positive health effects of yoga but are put off by the habit's ancient Hindu roots. With this approach to Christian meditation on can combine the wonderful tangible benefits of yoga within the own spiritual beliefs.

The yoga has been known for many years, and was practiced by a selection of the Early Christians during the persecution. The love and spirit that humbled the Early Christians has been passed on to the men and women of today. Christian yoga is about unfolding some of these wonderful possibilities each one includes. It is about possibilities so remarkable that countless early Christians proved to be prepared to die in aid of holding a door open for other people to embrace them. Accept it and be renewed by following the Christian pathway, the Christian yoga.

In the Eastern system of belief though, Christian yoga is not barely an Eastern compilation of positions or breathing techniques. Rather the aspiration is to be ready for an influence that can change and revitalize. Eastern yoga attempts to forget the ego, the Christian direction aims at transforming the person. Christian yoga is pictured clearly in the New Testament in the description of Jesus' life as an allegory. It is a step-by-step way of change and the unravelling of a new life. As Jesus promised, this "heaven", this new consciousness of your essence, is not far away. It is already yours if you have come to know how to find it.

In Western, Christian yoga women have held an noteworthy role in its practice and teachings from it's early days. It's about global cycles of life, of mind and heart.

The critique against it

In spite of its acceptance, Christian yoga has also garnered disapproval.

Several Christians say that Christian yoga is just in disagreement with Christianity, while still articulating that it is not a religion in its own right. Others claim that there does not exist something called Christian yoga because it mixes up two different belief structures. Catholic priests in Mexico City, as an example, instructed their parishioners not to attend Yoga schools seeing as how this activity would come to "other gods and Eastern religion beliefs".

Albeit antagonists have accused that yoga's age-old Hindu traditions are incompatible with Christian faith, adepts mean that the training is a perfect channel for spiritual reflection. As Yoga can help you find positions in which one can meditate comfortably for long periods of time, it should be of interest to any kind of meditative practise.

If one is open enough to embrace the non-religious aspects of Yoga, it should certainly lend itself well to enhance Christian meditation as well.

Michael Hawkins is an active Yoga practitioner. He has written a "book for westerners" about Yoga, where Yoga's relationship to Christian meditation and other religious views is discussed. By reading it you gain valuable insight in what Yoga is, as well as what it isn't.

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Islamists And Their Leftist Enablers

2007-04-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

By Aidan Maconachy

Sometimes I think the wrong people are fighting the so-called "war on terror". I say so-called because to call it a "war" is a bit misleading. The war in Iraq may include elements that identify with Al Qaeda, but much of it is internecine conflict between Iraqi factions, most of whom couldn't care less about a global caliphate or any other visionary schemes hatched by bin Laden and al Zawahiri.

But sticking with the "war on terror" angle for a minute. It's odd in a way that Christian fundamentalists are leading the charge - led by preachers like Pat Robertson, Michael Evans and Franklin Graham.

Fact is, Christian fundamentalists have a good deal in common with their Islamist counterparts. Both Islamists and Christian fundies are people of "the book", have a fondness for scriptural laws and moral prohibitions, male leaders, outsize places of worship, bombastic rhetoric and prophetic utterances. The males among them generally prefer the women to be at home with the kids and have dinner ready at the appointed hour.

Christian fundamentalists are frequently a subject of ridicule dished out by leftists, feminists and other progressive types. However the same crew of detractors is much less willing to raise even a murmur of complaint about the behavior of Muslim radicals.

Ironically enough, a possibly more significant struggle with Islamism is going on in the cities of Europe - not on the streets of Baghdad. The values the Islamists are keen to import, for example sharia law, are inimical to everything Western society stands for and yet you have people like George Galloway making common cause with Islamists, along with other left wing groups. The rationale behind this bizarre alliance-of-convenience in the UK is anti-Blair and anti-establishment thinking at root and it is legitimizing a trend toward Muslim extremism that is on the rise.

According to a recent British survey, 40% of Muslims between the ages of 16 and 24 claim they would rather live under sharia law. This is a more extreme opinion than that of their parents. Among Muslims over the age of 55 the figure is just 17%.

Of the young British Muslims surveyed 36% said that Muslims who convert to another religion should be killed and 75% said they would prefer it if Muslim women chose to wear a veil.

The culture war that is shaping up shouldn't be interpreted as an attack on Islam, so much as a defense of secular values and the vital importance of minimizing the role of religion - all religion - in civil society. The reason it should not be viewed as anti-Islamic is because there are a significant number of Western Muslims who have no sympathy whatever for the veiling of women, let alone the introduction of sharia law. Moreover nowhere in the Quran does it stipulate that women must wear a niqab, the full face veil at the center of a row in UK schools.

Religious women, in Turkey as an example, live perfectly devout lives without resorting to Saudi veiling habits. In many instances the insistence on wearing the niqab in UK schools and work places, is more of a political statement than a religious one. It's a way of expressing militant disapproval about everything from the war in Iraq to the values of Western society.

From a different perspective, the veil is a symbol of separation. It is bound to have a psychological effect on the young woman wearing it - an effect that certainly won't help her to integrate with the school community. The veil announces her religion before she can even introduce herself. It objectifies her as "the Muslim" and serves as a visual reminder that she is "other".

A lot of effort has been expended in the West over the past few decades to break down sexist barriers. Girls are taught to be assertive. They are taught to view themselves as an equal to any boy. They are encouraged to take responsibility for their sexuality and life choices. Significant strides have been made to break down the barriers that traditionally kept females at one remove from their male peers.

It's not unreasonable to require Muslim immigrants to adapt. After all they chose to move to a culture that is for the most part secular. There should be no prohibition on the practice of their religion - simply the entirely reasonable expectation that they don't make the public practice of a religious lifestyle an obstacle to integration.

Aidan Maconachy resides in Ontario, Canada. He has a BA Hons and a BEd. He taught in the UK and Canada, and has been a contributor to a variety of magazines and newspapers over the years. You can visit his blog at http://aidanmaconachyblog.blogspot.com/

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Fact to Fiction: The Brutal Truth about the Practice of Stoning

2007-04-05T01:23:00.002-07:00

By Brooke Sikula

“Like humans void of soul or mind, they jeered and yelled as they went about selecting their most jagged stones.” – David Hearne, excerpt from Hulagu's Web.

Stoning is a brutal and outdated practice that is kept alive only by Muslims under Sharia rule. Although it has been practiced since biblical times, every other culture has systematically ceased the practice in favor of more humane forms of punishment. The torturous sentence leaves the victim in agony. David Hearne, in his book Hulagu's Web, shows us how painful it can be. “Terror ripped through her mind…then suddenly the first stone smashed into her…” (Hulagu's Web, 64) The only solitude the punished has is that they will soon die.

Stoning is typically a punishment for adultery, although it can also be use for cases of incest and other sexual or “moral” crimes. Typically, a stoning victim is first wrapped in cloth and buried up to the waist for men, or up to the chest for females. Then the crowd is to throw stones at the victim. However, it is very important that, “… no stone should be thrown that should kill with the first or second blow, or so small as a pebble to do no injury to the condemned.” (Hulagu's Web, 64) Stoning is a unique form of punishment in that there is no single executioner. The simplistic act of gathering the victim’s peers around him creates killers out of everyone.

Today, stoning is only practiced in Islamic culture in order to maintain the submission of its women and those in the lower cast. Only those impoverished or socially unimportant are punished by stoning. This barbaric act parallels those of the 4th century Theodosius who punished those who did not share his religious views. He ordered all non-Christian temples be destroyed and that all heathens be executed unless they convert. His decree now lives on in the hands of religious Islamic tyrants that now employ the brutal act of stoning. These acts of barbarism and violence far outweigh the moral transgression of those condemned.

Stoning has been in practice since biblical times. In the Old Testament, God is quoted as requiring stoning as a punishment for breaking one of the Ten Commandments, particularly for committing adultery. However, in the New Testament, Jesus is believed to have replaced that type of punishment for a more humane punishment. He is quoted as having challenged, “he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” This is why stoning has slowly been replaced with punishments that require less involvement of ones peers.

As we realize the impact of such a brutal death, we realize that we have no right to take part in killing another when we too have sinned. This imparting of sin on all those who partake in it is the very reason most cultures have abandoned the practice.

We already see a disintegration of the practice of stoning in Islamic culture. Only those under Sharia rule still practice it. In this culture, there is no distinction between religious and governmental law. Religion is governmental law. More information on Islam and Sharia law can be found at http://answering-islam.org.uk/.

Among the countries that still practice stoning are Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates. Other Islamic countries denounce the practice as inhumane and indicate that the Qur’an provides no grounds for such a vicious practice. Those who practice stoning claim that it is demanded by Islam and have gone so far as incorporating it into their countries penal codes.

From these deep rooted laws regarding stoning, there have been a few recent cases of global interest where stoning has been received as a punishment. In December 2004 a woman in Iran was scheduled to be stoned to death after spending five years in prison for committing adultery. She was one of over 100 to be stoned to death in Iran last year alone. In Nigeria, a woman was sentenced to stoning after giving birth to a baby more than nine months after divorcing. To her good fortune, this sentence was overturned. More instances of recent convictions resulting in stoning can be found at http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_adul1.htm. With international efforts to stop stoning, the rulings are being overturned with more frequency, hopefully giving less credibility to Sharia law.

David Hearne shows us a heart-wrenching account of a stoning in his book Hulagu's Web. He shows us that not only does the victim suffer the agony of the stoning, but also her anguish is unfelt by the executioners who relish their license to kill. “A spray of blood and spit now accompanies her cries of pain…The gore pleased [him], and he gleefully watched the proceedings to ensure that no one used a stone of the wrong size.” (Hulagu's Web, 64-65) Through this account we can see that the emotional involvement of crowd creates the wrong message. Instead of invoking fear of being stoned themselves, the crowd comes to enjoy a good stoning and thrives off of it. In this fashion, stoning is no longer a form of punishment, rather a form of entertainment that breeds murderers out of ordinary people.

For those doing the stoning, it is a social event that becomes more of a religious sport than a true act of moral self-righteousness. An actual video of a stoning can be viewed at http://www.iran-e-azad.org/stoning/. The footage taken in Iran illustrates a party like atmosphere of those carrying out the execution. It is reminiscent of the family picnics at the old Wild West hangings or the popularity of people watching the slaughter of gladiators in early Rome.

Like other diabolical methods of torture, stoning has gone out of style as society realized that having others participate in the punishment of another, even a criminal, devalues life. Stoning also creates fear and terrorizes the minds of others. The Guillotine, whipping, pouring acid on someone or gouging their eyes out with iron have all been gleefully practiced over the ages by zealots. Regardless of the how brutal, none of these punishments have stood the test of time. Even those founded in the name of religion have died out because they are cruel and inhumane.

As these diabolical methods have failed, it is important to note one punishment continually in practice: Jail. Imprisonment has been a popular form of punishment because having “…her face pulverized by the stoning,” (Hulagu's Web, 64) seems a little extreme no matter what the crime. Even though so many cultures have migrated towards this type of punishment, it is hard for westerners to understand why Sharia Muslims still sanction a punishment this inhumane.

As stoning is done in the name of Allah, Hearne has his character yelling “God is great.” (Hulagu's Web, 63) The crowd is egged on even more as they become more involved with the stoning. Perhaps the worst part about stoning is that it brings ordinary God fearing people to actually fear life itself. They are put into a perpetual state of fear such as Hearne’s Senator Laforge who imagines her own stoning in a nightmare. (Hulagu's Web, 63) Unable to let the memory go, people in these countries under Sharia rule cower and are plagued with fear of their life ending in such a brutal manner.

Stoning is an act of insanity and must be stopped. That humans should gather around and throw stones with the intent to take another human life is a hideous thought. Though fiction, David Hearne’s book shows us that an individual can be gripped with fear over governmental prosecution. It is the passion shown in his book that gives us cause and hope for change in the world.

For more information on joining the international fight against stoning, visit the following links:

http://www.stopstoningnow.com/

http://www.free-minds.org/stoning.htm

After traveling to over 20 countries, Brooke Sikula has finally settled down in Ventura, CA. She enjoys quilting, home improvement projects and spending time with her husband and 1 year old son. Brooke has a B.A. in History and Spanish and currently works as a freelance writer.

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Herbert W. Armstrong Was Ahead of His Time!

2007-04-05T01:23:00.001-07:00

By David Ben-Ariel

I'm often accosted by some who mindlessly cut and paste a list of Herbert W. Armstrong's "failed prophecies." I respond Herbert Armstrong was ahead of his time and served as an early warning system. What follows is one of these many exchanges:

...is it really enough to dismiss this written record as "being
ahead of his time?"

Yes. Why don't you just be honest and admit you hate Herbert W. Armstrong because he spoke the plain truth that CANNOT be refuted? that your traditional Churchianity is merely baptized paganism the Bible condemns as part of Mystery Babylon? For exposing your SUNday as a pagan counterfeit of the biblical Sabbath; your pagan holidays you've sought with your replacement theology to replace the biblical festivals; that sheeple like you bleat they're born again and don't have a clue what they're talking about, since we're born again at the Resurrection only; that God is not the sadist traditional Christians make Him out to be; that the meek inherit the Earth - not float off to Heaven; that you're not an immortal soul, eternal life is a gift from God; the wicked will be destroyed, ashes under our feet; we can become literal God-beings, members of the Kingdom-Family of God? Why don't you just confess and forsake your sins of murderous hatred against HWA for slaughtering your "sacred cow" and exposing it as religious bull from Babylon?

Haven't I refuted Herbert Armstrong by showing his timing was off?

No. The Apostle Paul also thought Christ would return in his lifetime. He was ahead of his time, as he, like Herbert W. Armstrong, later realized.

The enemies of God and Herbert W. Armstrong can't refute the plain truth of the Bible that anybody can read and see for themselves. That's why they have such a murderous hatred against Christ in him, just like the "religious" violently opposed Jesus for standing up for the TRUTH over their tradition.

May such misguided folks repent of their mob mentality against God's servants, and learn to go against popular error instead and start teaching the plain truth of the Bible (that contradicts their present idolatrous traditions). Otherwise they'll die in their sins and traditional darkness (John 15:22).

...by what criteria did he speak truth?

Mr. Armstrong spoke the plain truth by the criteria of the Bible that counterfeit Christianity has rejected for their own traditions. The Bereans were noble for checking out what Paul said compared to THE BIBLE - not compared to their traditions (Acts 17:11).

...are you denying he said the things I posted?

I said Mr. Armstrong was ahead of his time. The PRINCIPLES of prophecy he spoke of remain absolutely true: a final revival of the unholy Roman Empire is prophesied and the EU is forging ahead with that Frankenstein Monster now.

I'm stating categorically that what you've thrown up against Mr. Armstrong is a DIVERSIONARY TACTIC, a dishonest attempt to discredit him, since you can't refute the black and white of the Bible he taught on the plain points I've made and you know it. Who do you think you're fooling by such pretense? God? Man? Why play your foolish games?

Proof that you're offering lame excuses is because every one of your popular traditional ministers or groups have taught and said worse things that, unlike HWA, aren't even true according to biblical prophecy, such as Russia attacking America (when Mr. Armstrong alone warned it will ultimately be a German-led Europe that attacks us that even some Protestants now agree is true) and yet we never see you get all hot and bothered about them or post against them or call them false prophets. Why your glaring double standard? Perhaps you're too blind to see it yourself, but now that it's been brought to your attention, prayerfully think about it and see this is the plain truth.

"For exposing your SUNday as a pagan counterfeit of the biblical Sabbath; your pagan holidays you've sought with your replacement theology to replace the biblical festivals'" --

I believe Judaizers were addressed by Paul, not by me.

According to your vain traditions and popular error, Paul would be a Judaizer since he kept and taught the biblical Sabbath and festivals, just like Jesus did and will command all nations to keep when He returns and reigns in Jerusalem.

Are you in denial of this plain truth? It says Christ will command both Jews, Israelites and Gentiles, all nations, to keep the Feast of Tabernacles - not pagan Xmas or Easter (should tell you a lot right there!)- when He reigns from Jerusalem with the glorified Saints, then brilliant God-beings. Is Jesus a Judaizer? Rather, your kind are Roman wolves in sheep's clothing with your replacement theology, seeking to demonically replace the Sabbath with pagan Sunday, the biblical festivals with your hollow days of pagan origins that GOD HATES, and you do many other similar things with your idolatrous and tinsel traditions.

"that God is not the sadist traditional Christians make Him out to be; that the meek inherit the Earth - not float off to Heaven;" --
who said anything about floating off? I have specifically said our hope is in the new earth.

Thankfully, you're correct about the New Earth, but your traditional Churchianity teaches folks go to "heaven or hell" when they die, which is a RELIGIOUS LIE. And I see you still misrepresent God as a sadist rather than a loving God who puts the wicked out of their misery, who mercifully destroys them completely in the Lake of Fire and lets them return to dust while the rest become divine.

"that you're not an immortal soul, eternal life is a gift from
God;" --
Yes, a gift already given to all.

Another RELIGIOUS LIE. Why don't you believe the clear teachings of the Scripture rather than Catholic-Babylonian doctrines of demons? Satan said, "You shall surely not die." In other words, you're an immortal soul! Yet God's Word says the soul that sins it shall die, and Revelation speaks of the second death (from which there is never a resurrection), and Jesus spoke about destroying both body and soul in "Hell fire." Why don't you believe Him? God isn't the sadist you counterfeit Christians with your serpentine ministers make Him out to be.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not PERISH (death), but (on the other hand) have everlasting life." Life or death - those are the only two choices. Not life and life. And who would consider it a gift if they had eternal life in torment? You're not even being logical or biblical. "The wages of sin is DEATH, but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23). Life or death, plain and simple. And "no murderer has eternal life dwelling in him" (I John 3:15).

"the wicked will be destroyed, ashes under our feet; we can
become literal God-beings, members of the Kingdom-Family of God? Why don't you just confess and forsake your sins of murderous hatred against HWA for slaughtering your "sacred cow" and exposing it as religious bull from Babylon?" --

I don't believe you ever answered as to why HWA was lying to you
about the Greek language, his sole basis for his beliefs; that it does not concern you......

Why are you still wrestling dishonestly, desperately, with YOUR straw man? I've clearly shown how biblical it is to know and believe and teach we're to become literal God-beings and I don't need to know Greek to read it in the Bible and believe the simplicity that is in Christ.

Why are you so dishonest and trying to squirm around clear statements like "flesh and blood does NOT inherit the Kingdom of God," and "we shall see Him as He is for we shall be like Him," and even as we've born the human image of Adam, so we'll bear the divine image of Christ, the FIRSTBORN OF MANY BRETHREN.

Why don't you believe those clear Scriptures that you're afraid to address and go off on your little tangents, dishonestly? Why don't you let the Truth set you free from your lying traditions? Why resist the Holy Spirit of truth? You should praise God for exposing such darkness to you and be glad to forsake the Babylon you're in enslaved within. Regardless, it's your choice: you can become dust or divine, have eternal life or eternal death. But, like God, I encourage you to CHOOSE LIFE.

David Ben-Ariel, a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, shares a special focus on the Middle East and great interest in Jerusalem, reflected in hard-hitting articles that help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Visit the Herbert W. Armstrong blog.

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Restore Israeli Sovereignty Over the Temple Mount

2007-04-05T01:22:00.002-07:00

By David Ben-Ariel

The Wakf, the militant Muslim authority that oversees Jerusalem's Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site and Islam's alleged third holiest site (following Mecca and Medina) continue to show blatant disregard for Jewish, Christian and biblical history and non-Muslim sensitivities.

Matti Friedman's AP article -- "At Temple Mount Holy Site, What Is Treasure?" -- exposes how the Wakf engaged in unsupervised and illegal gouging of the Temple Mount (the holy site of both Solomon's Temple and Zerubbabel Temple enlarged by Herod that Jesus and the apostles worshipped in), removing tons of its historically rich soil and callously dumping it in the nearby Kidron Valley (that I've walked through many times, climbing the Mount of Olives). Such atrocious acts reveal a serious lack of proper respect for archaeology and other religions and serve as an indictment against the Wakf and the Israeli government for looking the other way.

However, this serious breach of religious respect and tolerance for non-Muslims is nothing new, as a Muslim mob overran the biblical patriarch Joseph's Tomb, site of a synagogue, burnt the Torah scrolls and murdered the rabbi who supervised the site, as well as a Druse officer trying to protect it, and utterly trashed the holy place. And who can forget the Muslim terrorists holed up in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, using the baptismal font as a latrine and abusing the New Testaments there? Not to mention the daily religious discrimination upon the Temple Mount where they illegally forbid Christians and Jews from praying or reading the Bible.

These are the concrete actions of the leaders of the "Palestinian" community, documented actions that are in stark contrast to the virtues they profess to the Western media about religious tolerance and freedom of access to religious sites within "Palestine."

It's past time the
Israeli government act responsibly and change the deplorable status quo upon the Temple Mount, and restore Judaism's holiest site as the Temple Mount, hosting a "a House of Prayer for all peoples" as envisioned by the Prophets.

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.

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Religious Medals

2007-04-05T01:22:00.001-07:00

By Eddie Tobey

Religious medals represent the faith and belief of a person. Medals are usually metal tokens which feature a unique significance. Religious medals characterize the symbols and practices which reflect the belief of a particular religion. Religious medals are common in polytheistic beliefs like Hinduism. Catholics also give special importance to religious medals. The medals are also prevalent in other religious societies such as Buddhism. Religious medals are adopted from the ritual practices of tribes. The use of religious medals resembles the practice of using amulets to defend the evil practices. Some members of the society impart sacredness to these religious medals where as some others consider it only as a souvenir or a commemorative piece. Religious medals have become an integral part of the custom practices in certain societies.

Religious medals reflect the unique practices prevalent in a group. Religious medals of Hinduism usually feature the picture of the deity. The popular medals of Hinduism include Kali, Durga, Sarasvati, Parvati, Krishna, Siva, Ganesh, Hanuman, etc. Some medals feature the holy geometrical figures. Religious medals of Catholics feature the picture of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary and the patron saints. Some of the Catholic medals are issued as memorials of special events or places. The medals usually have the carvings such as "pray for us." Some of the religious medals feature the life and preaching of holy persons.

Religious medals are popular because of the belief that they can impart good fortune to the people who have them. The medals will help to assure the devotion to the god. The people who use the medals trust that the medals will protect them from evil spirits and help to keep the virtues of the life. Apart from the spiritual significance, religious medals have archaeological relevance. These religious, memorial pieces help to provide an idea about the past events. Some of the vintage medals are very costly and are treated as a valuable collection.

Religious medals are popular as jewelry also. They are sometimes custom made in different metals such as gold, silver, bronze, or copper. Religious medals are generally used as pendants. Some use it as bracelets, part of the rosary, etc. Necklaces in the pattern of religious medals are a recent trend in fashion.

Medals provides detailed information on Medals, Custom Medals, Award Medals, Military Medals and more. Medals is affiliated with Baseball Autographs.

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The Death of Christianity

2007-04-05T01:21:00.002-07:00

By Dr Bob Wilkerson

Many believe that Christianity is dead or dying. I disagree with this idea and I believe Christianity is stronger than ever. But, there are those who believe Christianity should die and I disagree with this as well.

Definition of religion: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing A moral code governing the conduct of human affairs. a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.

I read an article on the subject of Christianity dying and I have been pondering the subject for a while. I fully understand why the aversion to using the word "Christianity" can be distasteful and unwarranted but there is no way to crush the movement of Christianity. The word it's self refers to the followers of Jesus the Christ. The word is a biblical term referring, used first in the New Testament, to followers of Jesus the Christ.

I am not ashamed to call myself Christian. If calling myself Christian is religious then I am guilty of being religious. I think that many Christians are afraid of the word because the world associates it use with religion and those who have given Christianity a bad name. And, I too am guilty of failing the cause of Christ. I have failed miserably to walk the traditional Christian walk. I am sinner and I am desperately in need of a savior.

After reading the definition of religion, I would have to say that maybe, as distasteful as it sounds, I might have a few religious bones in my body. I do adhere to specific set of beliefs and I do have ritual observances, such as the Lord's Supper that I partake. I tithe a tenth of my income to the church I attend. I am not a fundamentalist but I do have fundamental beliefs, like, Jesus rose again and by pure “GRACE”. I am reunited with my Father through His son.

I am aware that religious people, actually the Jewish religion, were the focus of Jesus attaches on religion. I believe what Jesus disliked so much about the Jewish religion of His day was the fact that its heart was far from God. Yet, He love them so much He gave His life for the Jew first. God loves the religious people just as much as He loves the non-religious people.

Pride of superiority: I believe if we, Christians, start pointing our fingers at others who failed to hit the mark where will it end. We can access their behavior and realize it is wrong but where have we failed. What sins are we guilty of? What sin is your choice? If you say you have no sin, according to the bible, we call God a liar.

I don't know. I am a Christian; above anything else in this world, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. There is no doubt in my mind Jesus died, rose again, and sits at the right hand of my Father. I depend on Him for my very breath. It is my pray for God to bless all people of all religions, and may they bend their knees now while they have the chance to volunteer.

Dr Bob Wilkerson is founder of Challenger Christian Ministries, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping others recover from life altering circumstances. Dr. Bob is a motivational speaker with true life story of God's power to change any individuals life. If your Church or organization is looking for a dynamic speaker please email him today. challenger7777@gmail.com

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Polygamy, Rape, and Religious Conspiracy

2007-04-05T01:21:00.001-07:00

By Paul Davis

What do polygamy, rape, and religious conspiracy have to do with one another? Meet the Mormon Church and disciple Warren Steed Jeffs who calls himself a prophet and revealer of "God's will." He is a perverter of truth, who like his father the devil, cleverly twists and distorts Scripture to serve His own ends (Psalm 91:10-11; Matthew 4:5-6). Jeffs is a modern day example reminding us that false religious doctrine is a poison pill infecting society.

Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955 in San Francisco, California) is the President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. FLDS is one of a number of sects that broke away from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when the LDS denounced polygamy in 1890. As president of the FLDS Church, Jeffs is considered by faithful members to be a "prophet", "seer", and "revelator of God's will" on behalf of humanity.

Here again is another case in point of how false doctrine leads to perverted living and human rights abuses. Erroneous doctrinal interpretation of Holy Scripture has long time been used by wicked men who pervert the truth to serve their own lusts and commit crimes against humanity.

Nowhere in the Bible does God Almighty endorse polygamy. On the contrary, in the beginning Adam was given one wife in the form of Eve. God did not give to Adam two women. No! It was one wife for one life. Later over time kings and rulers in their own lust took more women for themselves and historically always suffered the consequences for doing so. Their judgment was perverted and leadership misled due to numerous women and a multiplicity of ill formed alliances.

Polygamy is not godly. Trying to legitimize polygamy as a God thing is demonic and deadly. If you don't believe me, read below the life of Warren Jeffs to get one candid and clear picture of the horrific effects of erroneous interpretation of Scripture to gratify one's own lusts at the expense of other human beings.

In May 2006, Warren Jeffs was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution (of state charges). Jeffs was apprehended by Nevada Highway Patrolman Eddie Dutchover on August 28, 2006 just north of Las Vegas during a routine traffic stop. He was immediately charged with evading police custody and several counts of "Accomplice to Rape" for arraigning under age "marriages". There are no state records of a Marriage License being issued in the cases involving 13 and 14 year old girls. He is believed to have had sexual relations with a minor, but neither the State of Arizona nor the State of Utah has brought those specific charges yet

In June 2005, Warren Jeffs was charged with sexual assault on a minor, and with conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor for allegedly arranging, in 2002, a marriage between a 16-year-old girl and a 28-year-old man who was already married.

On July 19, 2006, Britain's Channel 4 ran the documentary The Man with 80 Wives. The program featured presenter Sanjiv Bhattacharya searching for Warren Jeffs, unsuccessfully, in Colorado, Utah and Texas. Filmed before Jeffs was put on the FBI's 10 most wanted list, the documentary features interviews with one of Jeffs's brothers as well as with several excommunicated FLDS members.

In 2003, Under the Banner of Heaven was published, a book written by Jon Krakauer documenting the history of both the LDS church and its spinoff sects, focusing largely on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The book described illegal activity in the (Fundamentalist) Church, mainly polygamy and statutory rape.

The fugitive polygamist sect leader was caught in Las Vegas near the end of August, 2006. Nevada state troopers found one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives, along with wigs, cell phones, laptop computers and more than $54,000 in cash, on a highway north of Las Vegas, authorities said.

Polygamist sect leader Warren Steed Jeffs, 50, is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas, Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said. Jeffs initially gave the troopers an alias before acknowledging who he was, said Steven M. Martinez, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the agency's Las Vegas office.

Jeffs faces charges of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution in Utah and Arizona, sexual conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor and rape as an accomplice, according to the FBI Web site.

He has been called a religious zealot and dangerous extremist by critics and former members of his church. God help Mr. Jeffs to discover the true heart of Jesus, repent for his gross wrongdoing, and reform his theology and lifestyle. Life in prison certainly will put an end to his polygamist and rapist tendencies, while ensuring young girls that he won't be on the streets preying on them as the child molester he is.

The Mormon Church has done much harm in society by the propagation of its polygamist doctrine and concept of heaven, the latter of which they still espouse and hold to in the afterlife. The Mormon's also used to consider black people cursed by God too. Doctrines of devils and a synagogue of Satan the Bible calls the Mormon Church (1 Timothy 4:1-4; Galatians 1:7; Revelation 3:9).

Warren Jeffs is a perfect example of one "full of all subtilty and all mischief, a child of the devil, an enemy of all righteousness, not ceasing to pervert the right ways of the Lord (Acts 13:10). God help him and those he has victimized.

Take heed unto yourself, and be careful concerning what doctrine you believe. Continue in the truth of God's Word (adding nothing to it as the book of Mormon does; and taking nothing away from it as the Jehovah Witnesses do who deny the diety of Christ): for in doing this thou shalt both save yourself, and them that hear you [read 1 Timothy 4:16].

He that walks uprightly walks surely: but he that perverts his ways shall be known (Proverbs 10:9). There shall be like people; like priest (Hosea 4:9). In other words people become like the Pastors and Priests who see over their souls and spiritual life.

Therefore God rewards and punishes you accordingly based on the type of "church" you choose to attend and submit your soul to. Save your soul and stay far away from the Mormon Church and its proselytizers knocking at your door with plastic smiles and phony religious titles.

Paul Davis is author of several books including Adultery: 101 Reasons; Are You Ready for True Love?; and Breakthrough for a Broken Heart a book telling us "How to overcome disappointments and blossom into your dreams!" He is a minister, life coach (relational & professional), dating expert, popular worldwide keynote speaker, creative consultant, mediator, liberator and dream-maker.

Paul's compassion for people & passion to travel has taken him to over 50 countries of the world where he has had a tremendous impact. Paul has served many in war-torn, impoverished and tsunami stricken regions of the earth. His organization Dream-Maker Ministries is building dreams, breaking limitations, and reviving nations.

Paul's Breakthrough Seminars inspire, revive, awaken, impregnate with purpose, impart the fire of desire, catapult people into a new level of self-awareness, facilitate destiny discovery and dream fulfillment.

Paul can be contacted at: RevivingNations@yahoo.com - 407-967-7553 or 407-284-1705.

For additional info: http://www.CreativeCommunications.TV, http://www.DreamMakerMinistries.com

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Landscaping of Hindu Religious Places

2007-04-05T01:20:00.002-07:00

By Ravikumar Uppaluri

Traditionally Hindu tepmples were located either on hills or forests or river banks.In ancient times, the temples were constructed in such locations faraway from human habitations for providing a calm, peaceful and pleasant environment and also for ensuring a close bond between man and nature.Hindu temples are generally associated with trees such as Ficus benghalensis, Ficus Religiosa, Aegle marmelos,Azardirachta indica, Temple tree, Bauhinia spp, etc, Herbs such as Vinca rosea, Nerium spp etc.The gigantic trees like ficus spp and some other trees are closely associated with temples since time immemorial.The mixed fragrance, the flowers and the leaf litter on the ground gives a pleasent experience to a pilgrim or tourist.

But contemperoray gardeners and landscapists fail to appreciate this aspect while attempting gardening at these places, which have become tourist and mass pilgrimage centers in modern times.Most contemporary gardeners design symmetric gardening with huge lawns and tiled floor sorrounding the tree bases.The representation of trees is very poor in comparision to the lawns and plants.

Assymmetry should be the rule while designing landscaping near these temples.The asymmetric garden should have abundant representation of Tree species such as Ficus, Neem, Wood apple,Alexandrian laurel, Jack Fruit, Mango atc spread in a random manner.

The most depressing aspect of modern temples - they do not have space for gardening at all, leaving such, whereever there is enough space for gardening, care should be taken not to tile or concrete the entire floor touching the tree bases! scientifically too the tree base should have enough soil sorrounding it either to water or manure and for aeration.Apart from these the soil sorrounding or that beneath a tree has its own microclimate that supports particular flora and fauna.Let only the footpath be tiled while keeping the floor untiled to the maximum extent possible.

Small patches of herbs like Ocimum, Vinca, Jasmine can be grown for the daily usage of pilgrims needs for praying to the god.Another beautiful attraction to the temple garden can be artificially created pool for growing nelumbium spp which is considered the flower associated with gods.

Lawn grass be selected such that the grass species be tolerant to tree shade,and avoid designing open lawns with few plants..try to intersperse the lawn with trees randomly planted in between.

The asymmetric style and a large representation of trees is ecologically significant as these support and house numerous birds and other organisms.Birds like parrots, cuckoos, woodpecker and occassional monkeys, squirrels all add to a natural feeling and oneness with nature.

Ravikumar Uppaluri hails from Kaikalur (Kaikaluru), Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh State in India.The famous Kolleru bird sancturay, a fresh water lake that attracts birds from as far as siberia, is located near Kaikalur. Having spent the childhhod close to such nature rich areas, a deep interest and love for nature were inculcated right from child hood.Having done masters in agricultural science, This emotional bonding took a scientific and logical enquiry making scientifically and emotionally in sync with the cause of nature.

Visit http://www.geocities.com/uravikumar for knowing about kolleru lake ..

Contact me uravikumar@yahoo.com

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Easter - Its Origins and Relationship to Pagans and Passover

2007-04-05T01:20:00.001-07:00

By Arthur Levine

I’m confused about Easter, how about you? There seems to be much scholarly discourse that links the Christian tradition of Easter to the Jewish tradition of Passover and to certain Pagan rituals and beliefs that came before them. There is even some dispute over the actual date of Christ’s death and resurrection, but the faith that each of us hold in our hearts cannot be in dispute. This I believe.

The name Easter may have first been associated with an ancient Goddess, The Venerable Bede, (672-735). She was the mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe who was known as Eastra.

Many Pagan religions in the Mediterranean area had a major seasonal day of religious celebration following the Spring Equinox. Cybele, the Phrygian fertility goddess had a fictional consort named Attis who was believed to have been born in a virgin birth and to have died and been resurrected each year during the March 22 to March 25th period around 200 B.C. Wherever Christian worship of Jesus and Pagan worship of Attis were active in the same area at around the same time, Christians and Pagans used to quarrel about which of their gods was the true one.

Some religious historians believe that the death and resurrection legends were first associated with Attis many centuries before the birth of Christ. One theory is that they were simply grafted onto stories of Jesus’ in order to make Christian theology more acceptable to Pagans.

My own opinion is that we shouldn’t worry too much about what the experts say. I think its what you feel in your heart and soul that counts at this holy time of year. I think it’s your family traditions, your personal beliefs, and the religious rituals you have grown up with that really matter.

Easter has Judeo-Christian origins. The life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the gospels includes the Christian version of this theme. Good Friday is observed in remembrance of Jesus’ execution by an occupying Roman army, and his burial in a cave. Easter Sunday is the date when a group of his female followers first noticed that the tomb was empty, and concluded that he had been resurrected.
The timing of the Christian celebration of Easter is linked to the Jewish celebration of Passover. The name Passover was derived from the angel of death passing over homes of Jews, which were marked, with the blood of a lamb thus sparing the first born of such homes. Liberal Theologians link Passover to ancient pre-Israelite Pagan rituals practiced by wandering Semitic shepherds in celebration of an agricultural harvest using unleavened bread.

Passover was the most important feast of the Jewish calendar, celebrated around the 22nd of March. The Synoptic gospels of Mark, Mathew, and Luke stated that Jesus’ last supper was a Seder or Passover celebration.

Most Christians believe that Jesus Christ was executed and buried just before the beginning of Passover on Friday evening. A minority believes that the execution occurred on a Wednesday or Thursday. Some liberal Christians have suggested that the early Christian Church arbitrarily selected Passover as the time thus allowing them to link the most important religious days in Judaism and Christianity.

Whatever your personal beliefs are, whatever the actual dates are, don’t let the skeptics amongst us deter you from celebrating your religious beliefs and traditions. Don’t let those of little faith keep you from believing.

Easter is a Christian Festival, which celebrates Christ’s Resurrection. Today eggs are decorated and exchanged with friends and family to commemorate the unification of all God’s children. In ancient times eggs were exchanged to symbolize the continuance of life after death. Early Christianity is thought to have adopted the idea and incorporated it into their Easter celebration. Let the celebration continue.

Please feel free to use this article as long as credit is given to the resource box.

© Copyright Arthur Levine – 2007

Credits and References:

Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance

Author: B.A. Robinson

The Pagan Origins of Easter

The Christian Origins of Easter

Updated 2006 – Mar - 29

Arthur Levine is the author of the Search For God Stories and The Magic of Faith. To read some of the stories that will enable you to discover new evidence of God’s existence and how we got here for yourself, access http://www.faith123.com

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The Religious Impasse of Hatha Yoga and "The New Age Movement"

2007-04-05T01:19:00.002-07:00

By Paul Jerard

Is there a “New Age Movement,” which works toward the infiltration of other religions? Is Hatha Yoga the “scouting party” for the conquest of non-Hindu religions? Does Yogi, or Yogini, imply your religious affiliation? Is Hatha Yoga a religion, and the western public is being duped?

In the west, Yoga has been considered, by some religious fundamentalists, to be an “infiltration” of Hindu philosophy. Religion has always been a volatile subject. Yoga, of any kind, can sometimes cause extreme reactions among religious fundamentalists.

The words, “New Age Movement,” are a very broad term and can refer to any healing method or spiritual belief. It is hard to group Yoga with Wicca, Taoism, Reiki, Druidism, witchcraft, and Harry Potter fans, but somehow we have all been “lumped” together as the New Age Movement.

Although there is no common thread, Yoga practitioners who practice Christian Yoga, are also condemned by religious fundamentalists for being tolerant of eastern philosophy.

Better yet, there are accusations, which claim Hatha Yoga is part of the New Age conspiracy. Some fundamentalists believe that calling a person Yogi, or Yogini, confirms that he or she is a practicing Hindu.

Just recently, I read a statement, where the author claimed, meditation could cause spiritual harm to Christians. Yet, meditation has existed within Christianity since its beginning.

Please take a close look at Psalm 1:2 from the Holy Bible, which states, “But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night.” When you meditate on the word of God, this is a noble act.

Throughout history, meditation has existed for positive reasons. Somehow the fundamentalist concept of what meditation actually is has become strangely misunderstood.

Within Joshua 1:8, it is stated, “Let not the book, of this law, depart from thy mouth: but thou shalt meditate on it day and night, that thou mayst observe and do all things that are written in it: then shalt thou direct thy way, and understand it.”

As Yoga grew in mainstream popularity, Hatha Yoga was easily embraced because most Yoga instructors worked on the mind and body connection only. There is very little mentioned within a typical Hatha Yoga class about Yogic philosophy.

In defense of Yogic philosophy, the Yamas and Niyamas (behavior restraints and ethical guidelines), are sensible guidelines, which can be found in many of the world’s religions and in ethical organizations. Universal concepts such as, telling the truth, avoid stealing, and not harming others, are good ideas.

© Copyright 2006 – Paul Jerard / Aura Publications

Paul Jerard, E-RYT 500, is a co-owner and the director of Yoga teacher training at: Aura Wellness Center, in Attleboro, MA. http://www.riyoga.com He has been a certified Master Yoga teacher since 1995. To receive a Free e-Book: "Yoga in Practice," and a Free Yoga Newsletter, please visit: http://www.yoga-teacher-training.org/index.html

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A Romp Through The Garden Of Eden: And Other Religious Misconceptions

2007-04-05T01:19:00.001-07:00

By Pamela Beers

People are so naïve. Who in their right mind can possibly believe that the earth began with two Hebrew speaking adults and a talking snake? Come on folks get real. And how about Adam who was standing next to a naked woman and was tempted by a piece of fruit. I've been around a long time and I don't know a single man, who given the choice, would choose an apple over a naked woman, unless he was gay. But that refutes the Christian movement's belief that homosexuality is evil.

When it comes to religious beliefs we have all been sold a bill of goods. Someone did a great marketing job as various religious organizations continue to rake in the dough. Their moneymaking schemes are all based on fear and mind control. The mass population has been manipulated into thinking they will go to hell if they don't go to church every Sunday and tithe at least 10% of their annual salary. Many of their fundamental beliefs are dogmatic and inflexible. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

What scares me is the fundamentalist's own fear and control issues as they judge other people. Rather than seeing the good in people, these insecure people prefer looking at a person's dark side. We are not perfect people because we live in an imperfect world. This is what makes us human beings. We work on our imperfections in the hope that some day we will aspire to something greater than the sum total of ourselves.

My pet peeve is people who judge others as evil because of differing religious beliefs. Whatever happened to the first amendment, which clearly states the right to religious choice? Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and Pat Robertson revealed their ignorance when they attacked Islam and declared Allah as a false God. They should have been content to proclaim the truth of their understanding of Christianity.

Allah is simply the Arabic word for God. Fifteen million Christians who live in the Middle East today pray to Allah; people who speak German pray to Gott. Claiming people who worship differently than you, are worshipping a false god is irresponsible. It reveals how woefully uninformed religious leaders can be and how easy it is to become misled and enslaved in inflexible truth claims about God. It is unconscionable for not only prominent leaders; but any self-proclaimed prophet to use the pulpit to fuel ignorance and bigotry.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims are talking about the Same Deity. Jesus is mentioned 93 times in the Qur'an (Arabic)…Koran as we know it. The book is composed of sacred writings and accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Mohammed by Allah through the angel Gabriel. Islam then, is the religious faith of Muslims including belief in Allah as the sole deity and in Mohammed as his prophet. I think it would be interesting if it turned out that Jesus and Mohammed were one and the same.

The sacred text of the Jewish faith is the Torah. The Torah consists of the five books of Moses constituting the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch consists of the first five books of Jewish and Christian scriptures. Christians use various forms of the Bible consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible was written in Hebrew and Greek. There are two dozen contemporary English translations thus pointing to the challenge of communicating the meaning and intent of the original text. If you think about the number of centuries and the amount of people involved in writing both The Old Testament and the New Testament in two different languages, both of which are open to various translations, you have to wonder if any of the decoding is accurate.

I see the abuse of sacred texts all the time. Shakespeare's poignant observation, "Even the devil can cite scripture for his purpose", further elucidates the manipulative exploitation of revered texts for financial gain and mind control in religious groups. The frightening part is that mind control can lead to violent zealotry.

Religions differ in many ways but they converge in teaching both an orientation toward God and transcendence toward compassionate constructive relationships with others in this world. Jesus captured the essence of this in response to a question about the greatest commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets. (Matthew 22:37-40)

Christians who take the Bible literally are either self-deluded or ignorant. Converting others is no one's responsibility, I am responsible for myself. The desire for clarity and guidance in an ever-changing world is what breeds fundamentalists. It is easier to know the truth than to seek it. We grow threw learning, unlearning, and change. The pursuit of religious truth is an ongoing process.

Authentic religion challenges the intellect as people wrestle with the mystery of living (why am I here; what am I supposed to do) and the challenges of living in an imperfect world. Conversely, blind obedience is a sure sign of corrupt religion. Authentic religion encourages questions and reflection at all levels. Doctrinal positions supporting otherwise unethical behavior must always be challenged. Intellectual freedom, personal integrity and common sense are indispensable in authentic religion as well.

Individual human beings are ultimately responsible for their own behavior. What one does during one's time on earth is connected to a larger understanding of existence. We need to be centered on principals of justice, honesty, compassion, and humility.

Copyright © 2006 by Pamela Beers. All rights reserved.

Pamela Beers is a freelance writer. You may visit her website for ideas on writing, marketing, and education. http://www.pamelabeers.com

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Religious Tourism - Jain Temples Of India

2007-04-05T01:18:00.000-07:00

By Michael Russell

The largest Jain temple of India is Adinath Jain Temple located in Ranakpur, near Udaipur, Rajasthan. Built in the 15th century, it is also one of the most beautiful Jain temples. The most remarkable aspect of this temple is the wonderful play of shadow and light on nearly 1,500 pillars. The beauty of the pillars is that each pillar is different from the other in design. The color of the pillars change from gold to pale blue as the sun shifts through the day.

Shri Shatrunjay Tirth is located in Palitana, approximately 280 kilometers from Ahmedabad in Gujarat. This tirth (pilgrimage) is known as the eternal tirth. It has a nearly 216 centimeters high, white-colored and brightly shining idol of Bhagwan Adishvar with a serene and peaceful face and is in the Padmasana (a yoga posture). The Temple has been renovated 16 times. The Temple is a climb of 3950 steps up the Shetrunjaya Hill. Beware, it is no mean feat. Climbing a 3.5 kilometer shadeless stretch in the heat needs some strength; you can neither eat food nor carry it on the way. The descent must begin before evening. There are hundreds of temples on the hill. Some of the temples were built around the 11th century. It must have taken some effort by the non-violent Jain community to perform the mammoth task of clearing the crest of the hill and levelling and fortifying most of the temples, and it took a long time. Till today it is a puzzle as to how the large marble stones were carried to the top when there were no modern machines available. The summit is one of the most revered. Such is the sanctity that climbing the top of the mountain at least once in his lifetime is every Jain's dream.

Dilwara temple is located in Mount Abut, Rajasthan. The world famous marble temples are a group of 5 temples. They have an unbelievable design and accuracy of workmanship. Vimal Vasahi (Shri Adinathji temple), Luna Vasahi (Shri Neminathji temple), Pithalhar (Shri Rishabh Deoji temple), Khartar Vasahi (Shri Parshavnathji temple) and Mahavir Swami (Shri Mahavir Swamiji temple). The shrines were constructed in various centuries. Shri Adinathji and Shri Neminathji temple are built wholly from white marble. Life stories of various Jain Thirthankaras and scenes from Jain and Hindu mythology are depicted in the design of the temples and no design is repeated - a proof of the brilliance of the architects.

Pawapuri Tirth is situated 90 kilometers from Patna in Bihar. It is believed that it is the ultimate and all sin ends here for a devout Jain. Lord Mahavir, the last of the Tirthankars and founder of Jainism, breathed his last at this place and was cremated here around 500 B.C.

Jain temples in Jamnagar are located in the state of Gujarat. Vardhaman Shah's temple, Raisi Shah's Temple, Sheth's Temple and Vasupujya Swami's Temple are the various Jain temples in Jamnagar. Besides these, there are sixteen other temples.

Shri Mahudi Tirth is located in Mehsana district of Gujarat. It has a 53 centimeters high, white-colored idol of Bhagwan Padmaprabh in the Padmasana (a yoga posture). It is believed that this place is 2000 years old. An ancient idol of Ghantakarna Mahavir was installed in the temple here by the Acharyadev Buddhisagarsurisvarji. The idol of Ghantakarna Mahvir is very miraculous. In his previous birth, Ghantakarna Mahavirdev was a Kshatriya king named Tungabhadra. He protected religious people, caste and virtuous women and unmarried girls from robbers. He used a bow and arrows. His idol, therefore, has a bow and an arrow.

Shri Samet Shikhar Tirth is located in Giridih district of Bihar. It has a 92 centimeters high, black-colored idol of Bhagwan Parshvanath (Bhagwan Shamaliya Parshvanath) in the Padmasana posture. It is at 4450 feet above see level. It was known also as Samet Shail, Sametachal and many others. Many Thirthankaras attained salvation here. Since this is a land of penance and salvation of many Thirthankaras, each and every particle of this land is holy. Even the mere touch purifies the human birth and a pilgrimage removes all paap (sin) and grants punya (religious merit).

Rikhabdev Jain Temple is situated 40 kilometers from Udaipur in Rajasthan. It is dedicated to Lord Rikhabdev (aka Kesariyaji), the first Jain Tirthankara. It belongs to the Svetambara sect of the Jainism. A large procession of the Lord proceeds to the temple of Pagliyaji (2 kilometers away) in the month of March/April on the birthday of Lord Rikhabdev. It is also called Kalaji (black) by the tribal people due to the black color of the idol. It is believed that Ravana had carried this idol to Ceylon (presently Sri Lanka) but Lord Rama brought it back after his conquest. Such is the influence of the idol that pilgrims, whose wishes have been granted, smear the idol with kesar (saffron) often equal to the weight of the child born.

Shri Mahavirji Jain Temple is 110 kilometers from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan. It is one of the holiest Jain temples in Rajasthan, situated on the banks of the river Gambhir, built in honor of Lord Mahavir - the 24th Jain saint. This temple is a combination of ancient and modern Jain architecture unlike other ancient Jain temples, which are highly ornamented and richly carved. It is constructed with white sandstone and the spires are visible from all around. Like most Jain temples, this one too is a complex of smaller temples. The biggest draw is the huge statue of Shantinath, which stands 32 feet high. The well-illuminated temple is a splendid sight to view at night. Nakoda Jain Temple is 135 km from Barmer in Rajasthan. The town of Nakoda was built in the 12th or the 13th century on the slope of a hill called Nagar Ki Bhakarian. The biggest and most impressive of the Jain Temples in the town is the Parshvanath Temple. The town of Nakoda has the only other temple of Lord Brahma, the creator of the universe according to the Hindu mythology, besides the one at Pushkar, also in Rajasthan.

Deogarh Jain Temple is 123 km from Jhansi in Deogarh, Madhya Pradesh. Dashavatar Temple is a fine Lord Vishnu temple at Deogarh. It has a terraced basement above the high temple plinth and is adorned with a continuous row of sculptured panels.

Shri Rishbhanchal Tirth is at Vardhmanpuram in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh. It has a 4.5 foot high, white-colored idol of Bhagwan Rishbhnathji in Padmasana posture. It is a large temple and is popular as a center of meditation, yoga and worship. The foundation stone of this temple was laid down by The President of India in 1991. The name of Rishbhanchal is related to Lord Rishabhdevji, the first Tirthankar of Jainism.

Shitalnath Jain Temple is in Calcutta, West Bengal. It was built in 1867. It is dedicated to Sri Shitalnath, whose name literally means the "lord and protector of aquatics".

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Tourism

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Is Alternative Sexuality A Religious Must?

2007-04-05T01:17:00.000-07:00

By Hans Meijer

"Abstinence" in society is a rather rare sexual lifestyle. "Abstinence" among Roman Catholic clergy is the norm and in other forms of Christianity far from uncommon among the clergy. Yet, while all "non-mainstream" forms of sexuality are object of fierce debate (and sometimes even crusade), "abstinence" is not. In fact, it is often praised as a virtue.

This is a strange situation.

While procreation is considered important by Christianity, the actual act (and as such the sex) is reserved for the people. The Christian leadership (or lower, middle and upper management if you prefer more modern terms) is excluded from the act itself, the gift of life and such things as parenthood. All these are considered virtues, yet withheld from the management. Among these, a very rare form of alternative sexuality (not having any) is advocated.

Meaning: if you want to be part of "the management" you have to adhere to an alternative lifestyle. Apparently alternative lifestyles are important. Even better, adhering to a specific alternative lifestyle is an important part of what separates the cattle from the sheep.

Now suppose we turn the table (for arguments' sake) and the alternative lifestyle community would start to condemn and fight "abstinence" with the same vigor as others condemn and fight them. All in all the "alternative lifestyle community" is a huge segment of the worlds' population. If alternative sex would be a binding factor or an important political issue for voters it is not unlikely one third of any government would probably be gay, into BDSM, fetishism and polyamory. Suppose the debate was not about gay marriage, but about these horrible deliberately and wilfully unmarried people? Would that not be strange?

It does not matter if you advocate a religious or evolution-based theory. Both will put procreation in front of everything else. Life is valuable to both. Wether "life" is God-given or the result of a long evolutionary trail - as far as the importance of life is concerned - is actually only a secondary argument. Those into "abstinence" for religious reasons refuse to take part in this - apparently and without question important - process. They wave their option to procreate, so to speak. They have to, otherwise they quite often cannot be part of "the management". This leads to an interesting philosophical question: "Can it be a requirement for your management to not use the God-given ability?"

Fact of the matter is that the alternative lifestyle community will not turn the table. For a very simple reason: they respect other peoples' views and lifestyle choices. So, as far as they are concerned, "abstinence" will never be subject of debate. In fact, they are likely to even join forces with clergy and others, should "abstinence" ever become subject of debate. Simply because the alternative lifestyle community considers it an important personal (human) right to choose your "sexual format" (no I am not going into the "it is not a choice, I was born like this" debate).

The point I want to make is this: if a form of alternative sexuality is a pivotal factor to clergy (and at least among Roman Catholics it is), clergy by definition should adhere to the right to make your own sexual lifestyle choices. Or should they not?

Hans Meijer, a Dutch former journalist and government spokesmen, is the chairman for the Powerotics Foundation. This organisation is dedicated to provide quality information about alternative lifestyles.

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Sumerian 6 Sign Zodiac and Mayan Calendar 360-Day-Tun-Years

2007-04-05T01:14:00.002-07:00

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.

Sumerian 6 Sign Zodiac and Mayan Calendar 360-Day-Tun-Years

The Antediluvian Calendar in Genesis 5 establishes original counting techniques that carry forward to variations of Jewish and Mesoamerican calendar systems. Significant 364-day-Ethiopic-years and the matching corollary term, 364-year-Ethiopic-cycles manifest similar traits. Mayan 52-year Calendar Rounds and Judaic 50-year Jubilee Cycles have nearly identical properties regarding the 360-day midpoint length of year. Discernable differences arise from how the calendars marked four special days in the old year. New Year beginnings and the annual tally within each cycle are a direct result. Many Mesoamerican Calendar variations exist to suggest no firm rules ever did apply. Middle Eastern influences controlling religious Judaism were contributing factors as well. An ancient Babylonian tradition recites the Creation epic on the fourth day of the New Year’s festival. Exactly when and how ancient New Year’s Days increment next year counts within a greater cycle is a contentious subject.

Annual procedures leading to New Year’s Day on the vernal, spring equinox divide a Judaic 360-day midpoint length of year into four equal quarters having 90-days each. The vernal equinox occurs in springtime when the ecliptic intersects the celestial equator. One single day each quarter aligns with each Royal day-star. The four archangel stars conclusively identify as Regulus, Aldebaran, Antares and Fomalhaut. These four archangel stars once signified four cardinal points in the ancient year. Descriptions in the Books of Enoch and elsewhere add these 4-day stars to 360-days every year to create the 364-day-Ethiopic-year. One Royal day-star adds with each of four quarters. Early astronomy and astrology combine long ago. Regulus introduces the summer solstice. Regulus is the heart of the constellation Leo the lion and leader of the four royal stars. Aldebaran is a red giant star and the Eye of Taurus the Bull. Antares is the heart of the Scorpion. Fomalhaut belongs to the Southern Fish, Pisces. According to Enoch, the four day-stars are isolated and especially “not included in the regular computation of the year.”

The Antediluvian Calendar is similar to the classical Mayan Calendar in many respects. A 360-day-Tun-year consists of 18 Uinal periods of 20-days each. The 18 Uinal glyph names reflect an original group of 18 affiliated Mesoamerican tribes. Many Old Testament researchers relate the famous 12 tribes of Israel to 12 astrological signs of the ancient Mesopotamian zodiac. We associate zodiac names with "zoo," because most constellations aptly name animal gods. Familiar names include Leo the lion, Aries the ram, Scorpio the scorpion, Cancer the crab, Pisces the fish, Capricorn the goat and Taurus the bull. God made the heavenly bodies to show us SIGNS that serve to mark calendar time. Since ancient days, humanity has encompassed the pseudo-science of astrology to render interpretations involving motions of the sun, moon, planets and stars. Our intentions here posit archaic spiritual preoccupations against the backdrop of emerging calendar science.

Genesis 1:14-15

“And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. And it was so.”

Mayan worship spread the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year amongst polytheism. Numbered day signs from 1 to 13 associate with animal god names in the Maya glyph language. The ecliptic marks the double-headed serpent path of the Mayan zodiac. According to the Paris codex, Mayan god animals were in position at the time of the vernal equinox in 3113 B.C.E. or the presumed starting date of the Mayan Calendar. Of course, not all 13 constellations in the zodiac were visible together. Only four constellations were viewable while the other nine were below the horizon in the nether underworld. Known parts of the zodiac appear in a manner that compare with other zodiacs. Scorpio equates with the scorpion. Gemini appears related to a pig. Mayan turtle stars form sections of the Gemini and Orion constellations. The ecliptic ends with the rattlesnake tail we call the Pleiades. The Pleiades rest midway between Aries and Taurus. Aries is the Jaguar god, Leo is a frog and finally Scorpion. Dual Mayan Calendar years worked like meshed gears to perform one 52-year Calendar Round that has 18,980-days. Counterpart to the 360-day-Tun-year was the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year. Continuation of religious festivals has preserved beliefs surrounding the zodiacal Tzolken.

The ancient Mesoamerican Tzolken zodiac includes the constellation Ophiuchus according to many archeo-astrologists. Stargazers recognize Ophiuchus as the Serpent Holder 13th sign between Scorpio and Sagittarius. Lunar months favor traditional 12 astrological sign zodiacs in a 360-day format. The 12-month zodiac omits Ophiuchus even though the ecliptic passes through it. The Serpent Holder was the mysterious Grecian god healer Aesculapius, who had the ability to raise the dead and cure the sick. Obscure ties with Sumerian or Babylonian zodiacs entwine Ophiuchus with Creation tales of Tiamut, Enki and Marduk - Jupiter. Ophiuchus is the hidden constellation.

Judaic views about monotheism recognize a single omnipotent God without regard to any other form of idolatry, man made or celestial. Lunar months have always been traditionally important to Jewish Calendar reckoning. Whether three 30-day months culminate in 90-day quarters or as part of Metonic 19-year lunar/solar cycles, sighting the new moon crescent was of paramount importance to Jewish Calendar reckoning. Jewish month names show Sumerian-Babylonian influence. Sumerian and Babylonian calendars also began months according to new moon crescents. Monotheism replaced polytheism for Jewish people living in Mesopotamia.

Sumerian cosmology is responsible for an early set of core beliefs found in the Holy Bible. Sumerians have the distinction of being the earliest inhabitants of the Fertile Crescent region. Beginning 8,000-years B.C.E., Sumerian culture realized a priest-astronomer class, improved agrarian techniques and developed the first sexagesimal (base 60) numbering system. Sumerian language bears affinity to vocabulary and similar concepts found in the ancient tongues of India and Africa. They referred to themselves as “Black Heads.” The name Sudan traces the “Land of the Blacks.” Biblical references may include the famous Kingdom of Kush from Northern Sudan eastward to the Nile River. One other point is worth mentioning. Etymology for the name Adam shows derivation from the Assyrian Adami or man. Some references also indicate Adami was particularly the black headed man. In light of the Ethiopic 364-day-calendar-year and full knowledge that cultural exchanges took place between Northern Africa and Egypt, there is reasonable assurance that Sumerian astrology and astronomy predicates later Babylonian and Egyptian zodiacs. Astrological signs are the ancient mathematical interpretations that measure time. Entire pictures decorated minds and artwork long ago. Astronomical constellations are the modern approach that purely references scientific observation. Many star charts contain line diagrams that signify astrological sign shapes.

The Sumerian year had 12-lunar-months, based upon phases of the moon and just two seasons. Summer began on the vernal spring equinox, lasting 6-months through until the autumnal equinox. Winter was the harvest season and outlined by monthly written characters for hand, seed, grain and cutting. Sighting new moon crescents determined the length of month and intercalary lunar months were necessary to keep the lunar year on track with the solar year. Sumerian, ancient Hindu and later Semitic days began at sundown.

The Sumerian zodiac had only six houses or star groups. Modern astrology includes 12 houses or sky divisions, including the hidden part beneath the horizon, and numbers the position from the east at the time of observation. The first house is rising when the seventh house is setting in the west, so six houses are visible at night. Sumerians spaced their houses some 60-degrees apart or about 60-days during the course of a year instead of today’s 30-day monthly division. Sumerians cast the first spiritual underpinnings that relate astrological positions to governing events in the future. National affairs such as war, drought and a plentiful harvest were the concerns of original astrology. Priests advised the king and other ruling authorities when and how to act in order to appease the gods. The sky heaven “An” had a masculine nature. Earth “Ki” had a feminine nature and together An and Ki bore “Enlil.” Enlil was the god of the air, who ruled over the “lil” wind or atmosphere.

Babylonian astrology-astronomy provides clues we need to study 360-day-Tun-years in more detail and bridge the gap between Mayan and Jewish Calendars. Consider looking at the zodiac on the vernal equinox. Babylonian astronomer priests established a standard set of 18 constellations along and around the ecliptic as early as 2,000 B.C.E. Stars outside the zodiac belt were useful for orientation purposes. Babylonian astronomer priests later divided the year into 12 star constellations. Dawn heliacal risings for each sign were separate by about 30-days. Precision involved erecting fixed sacred pillars called Baals in the Old Testament for observation purposes. Egyptian and early Babylonian zodiacs had 36 Decans or star groups which were separated by about 10-days during the year. Prior to the Roman Julian Calendar, the Romans were using a 10-month calendar with 36-day-months. Eventually 12-months stabilized more or less in their current configuration. Lunar months having 29-days or 30-days became the norm for nomadic people and expanding Greco-Roman culture into larger geographic areas. Mesoamerican Calendars are the exception to strict lunar observation. Fixed ceremonial centers encourage dividing 360-day-Tun-years into 18 Uinals of 20-days each. The Mayan lunar series or supplementary series evidences that moon glyphs tracked phases and cycles. However, the majority of lunar scripts are still unknown.

Babylonian worship divided the starry sky into three different bands around 3,000 B.C.E. The northern band was the Path of Anu. Winter constellations correspond primarily with the Path of Anu. Our latitude limits the stars we see with respect to the Tropic of Capricorn. Extending the equator into space creates a mathematical plane that aligns with the celestial equator. Babylonians replaced the earth-mother Sumerian “Ki” with “Ea.” From eastern to western horizons, the central Path of Ea identifies our modern celestial equator. To the south is the Path of Enlil band. Latitude position again limits the stars seen in the summer sky with respect to the Tropic of Cancer. Calendar months reckon 30-days according to the rule of “three stars each.” Each Decan star was from a different band in the sky. Carved figures often represent sprits for each of the 36 Decan stars. A new Decan star rose about every 10-days. The Decans were mighty, great gods. Decan stars were companions and guides to help the deceased. Some stars bestowed blessings while others were hostile or adverse.

Mesoamerican Calendars distinguish a visible nighttime sky that divides the 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year zodiac into 13 animal constellations. The ecliptic or celestial equator subsequently determines the Tzolken part of the Mayan Calendar. Babylonian and Egyptian zodiacs concentrate upon the entire 36 Decan star array during the year with a “three stars each” notion. Half of 36 Decan stars are the visible 18 Decan stars during 6-months of either winter or summer. The other 18 Decan stars belong to the opposing 6-months and are below the horizon. Again, Sumerians noticed six 60-degree houses that later evolved into the earliest Babylonian 18 astrological signs. By 1,200 B.C.E., Mesoamerican Olmecs concerned themselves with 13 visible astrological signs of a 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year. The 360-day-Tun-year and 365-day-Haab-years are later additions to the Mesoamerican Calendars. The ecliptic pathway eventually replaced the central Path of Ea as reference to divide the Semitic sky by a factor of three. Reducing the Sumerian-Babylonian numbering system from sexagesimal (base 60) to the later Mesoamerican vigesimal (base 20), infers that Mesoamerica 360-day-Tun-years were using 20-degree houses for their astrological signs. Each astrological Uinal continued to have three Decan stars in the tribal Tun schema of 18 Uinals. The Mesoamerican zodiac supplants the 12-house Sumerian-Babylonian zodiac that had three Decan stars each.

Babylonian and Egyptian 360-day-calendar-years are equal to 36 Decan stars multiplied by 10-days each (Eqn. 1). The 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year results from 13 Tzolken sacred zodiac signs of 20-days each (Eqn. 2). The Mayan Calendar 360-day-Tun-year answers for 18 Uinals multiplied by 20-days each (Eqn. 3). Compared with Semitic cosmology, the Mayan moon goddess seems like the Venus Ishtar goddess of rebirth and fertility. As the moon goddess moved through 13 sacred signs and 18 star groups coincident with 18 tribes, she held the fertility profile of a “Rabbit in the Moon.”

Mesoamerican cultures may have alternatively adapted the Babylonian Eighteen Stars Path of the Moon to the ecliptic that marks apparent motions of the sun and moon. The Greek zodiac 2,000-years ago borrowed 12 astrological sign names from 12 astronomical constellations. Greco-Roman zodiacs consistently lay along the ecliptic. Concordance with the Egyptian zodiac has shown the ecliptic was a focus for astral worship. Today, there are several different permutations of the zodiac and personal horoscopes are an outgrowth resource once reserved for kings and leaders.

Equations

Semitic 360-day-calendar-year

1. 36 Decan stars x 10-days = 360-day-midpoint length of year

Mayan 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year, 13 animal gods relate with 13 Zodiac Constellations

2. 13-animal gods x 20-days = 260-day-Tzolken-sacred-year

Mayan 360-day-Tun-year, 18 Uinals relate with Early Babylonian 18 Zodiac Constellations

3. 18 Uinals 20-days = 360-day-Tun-year

Are you a pastor, educator or a student of the Holy Bible? Timeemits.com seeks anointed people to review and contribute to the Ages of Adam ministry. Ancient lunar/solar calendars like the Jewish and Mayan calendars provide the background to understanding early time. Ancient calendars of the Holy Bible use differences between the moon and sun, numerical matching and a 364-day calendar year to describe X-number of days that match with X-number of years. Ages of Adam is a free read at http://www.timeemits.com

Clark Nelson is webmaster for http://www.timeemits.com and author of Ages of Adam and sequel, Holy of Holies. Contact article@timeemits.com for more information. © Copyright 2006 Clark Nelson and timeemits.com All Rights Reserved.

Antediluvian, Genesis, Sumerian, zodiac, astrology, signs, house, Decan, stars, Babylon, Egypt, Hindu

The 'Old Religion'

2007-04-05T01:14:00.001-07:00

The early Christian roots and the 'Brotherhood of Iesa' is really not a threatening thing for anyone who believes in Christ. It is an affirmational sharing that enhances ALL! Another perspective came my way via Wicca, and the husband and wife team who wrote the book A Witches' Bible. The Farrars (Janet and Stewart) from 1981 address the different names that can be used for the spirits or dimensional energies. Some of the groups or 'cults' use the names from Norse or Egyptian cultures, but any true student knows that the names do not limit the true nature; the names are just man's way of representing these forces. They say on page 14:

"All this is reflected in the fact that it is the Greater Sabbats which have Gaelic names. Of the various forms which witches use, we have chosen the Irish Gaelic ones, for personal and historical reasons - personal because we live in Ireland, where these forms have living meaning; historical, because Ireland was the only Celtic country never to be absorbed by the Roman Empire, and so it is in Ireland's mythology and in her ancient language that the lineaments of the Old Religion can often be most clearly discerned. Even the Celtic Church remained stubbornly independent of the Vatican for many centuries. There is a tiny Russian Orthodox community in Ireland based on exiles from Russia; interestingly, 'it has attracted quite a number of Irish converts, some of whom regard it as the Irish Church which existed before the arrival of St. Patrick {Who personally burned over 150 books that we must remember were hand written - the Sumerian and Mayan duplicating methods were not being used at these times throughout most of the world.} to the years following Henry's invasion and the establishments of the links with Rome. (Sunday Press, Dublin 12th March 1978)."

The Qabala was probably not the only ancient verbal tradition that the even older church of Keltic 'travelers' spread in their mission of 'Brotherhood' and MacDari who writes a lot about this does not mention the Qabala. He after all is a Mason/Rosicrucian and they too, like to lay claim to knowledge as their own. The Qabala is involved in the knowledge of many roots of the 'source' that Jesus studied. These include but are not limited to: alchemy (metallurgy was more correctly Joseph's trade), the Tao, Gnosticism and pagan beliefs such as shamans and maybe Buddhism or Hinduism. Being as his forefather Solomon sent ships throughout the whole spherical world and returned with much knowledge there is good reason to assume he might even have studied Mayan which some say his last words were written in (and not Aramaic), perhaps I should say spoken in. There is a legend I find hard to believe that Jesus went to Mayan lands after he was brought down from the cross. It is more likely he went there before his mission in Israel (Iesa-real) began. This definitely would have been possible as the Bat Creek stones show many Judeans escaping Roman persecution came to the Americas and recent archaeology acknowledges the Romans came to this verdant paradise then too.

Before Christ and certainly by his time the social morays and prejudices against women were already massive. Even though (St?) Augustine was the interpreter of Genesis as proof of women being the harbingers of sin - 'original?' in a later time. Wicca says it is 25,000 years old and some of their leaders who I have talked with at length confirm that they draw their knowledge from Druidry. These Kelts never saw a need to resort to force and insecurity or fear to have their sexual needs met in their families. They respected their equal mates and knew that they had been or would be women in other incarnations of the multi-dimensional soul as time passed.

When the Jewish people were deprived of their homeland and dispersed during the 'Diaspora' they were suffering massive repulsive programs of discrimination by Catholic and later offshoots such as Martin Luther created. His words are ridiculous to an extreme seldom seen in the venomous annals of Roman inspired hatred. It is interesting to note that Vlad the Impaler of Dracula fame was a Catholic paid agent who salted wells and blamed the Jews among other heinous acts. At his time in the middle Ages the Rabbis created a book called the Zohar and thought to correct the treatment they had given women, a little. Perhaps like self-serving prayer, these men thought the treatment the Jews were receiving at the hands of the Flagellants etc., could be abated by a minor re- deification of women. I am not belittling the positive cultural impact the creation of the 'Matronit' brought about, but I am saying they did not go far enough. To talk about the horrors of religious behavior in academic terms sometimes seems to absolve one from the real and utterly disgusting aspects of these hypocrites - pursuing power! I must remind myself every time I think of religion that women are being genitally disfigured and forced into unloving arranged marriages or what amounts to prostitution without pay or concubinage.

Many scholars think the degradation of the Jewish scholarship during this period led to the use of a watered down version of the Qabala that was called the Kaballah. Assuredly many of the blessings I have spoken of earlier are often experienced by serious practitioners of these arts included in the Qabala. Healings and exorcisms are well within the potential of every man and woman on this small planet hurtling at ever faster velocity through space. The Tree of Life which is central to Kaballah is very powerful meditational 'stuff'! The next quote is from Gersholm Sholem, who I think gave a paper at the Eranos Conferences on the 'Golem' or 'dybbyk' and gargoyles, that are animate forms of prior inanimate matter. He says:

"Kaballah is a unique phenomena, and should not be considered to be identical with what is known as 'mysticism'. It is mysticism in fact; but at the same time it is both esotericism and theosophy. In what sense it may be called mysticism depends on the definition of the term, a matter of dispute among scholars. If the term is restricted to the profound yearning for direct communion with God through annihilation of individuality (bittul ha-yesh in hassidic terminology), then only a few manifestations of Kaballah can be designated as such, because few kaballists sought this goal, let alone formulated it openly as their final aim. However, Kaballah may be considered mysticism insofar as it seeks an apprehension of God and creation whose intrinsic elements are beyond the grasp of the intellect, although this is seldom explicitly belittled or rejected by the kaballists." {The intellect or Hod.}

About the Author

Author of Diverse Druids
Columnist for The ES Press Magazine
Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

A Look at the World of Christian Online Dating

2007-04-05T01:13:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for that special woman who you want to grow old with? Anyone who has tried discovers that finding someone to share your life with requires a lot of time and sacrifice. And if you are indeed a lonely bachelor whos looking for someone special, chances are youve probably heard of, or tried online dating. But have you heard about Christian online dating? Yes, in todays wacky world even religion can merge with technology.

You know how hard it is to find that special someone these days. There are moments that you feel that youve finally found that special person but in the end it becomes clear that youre not meant for each other. Fortunately, the Internet can give you a hand in your quest for finding the love of your life. If youre a believer, someone that appreciates women who are pious, and God-fearing, then Christian Online dating will really help you. Finding women who share your faith can be difficult in these modern times, more so if you live in rural areas.

Your PC is a convenient tool that can help you find you dream partner. Just check out Christian dating online and you will surely be on your way in finding that special woman that you can share your life and faith with. You can post a profile of yourself and whatever interests you may have. This way eligible Christian women can learn about you and your interests. It can save you from spending time and money looking for someone who is right for you. Wouldnt it be great to meet possible partners who enjoy the same activities without having to spend precious time and money?

Alright then, are you willing to try your luck in cyberspace to find your soul mate? Its the time to see what Christian online dating can offer. No other way is more effective in allowing you to encounter so many varieties of people at once, and on the privacy of your home. With Christian online dating the woman of your dreams may just be one click away. Its the most economical, convenient, modern, and effective way of finding your life time companion.

About the Author

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning spirituality. Get more information by visiting Christian Online Dating

“End-Times” and the “Other” Bible

2007-04-05T01:12:00.002-07:00

The Kolbrin is a substantial Biblical-era wisdom text of immense value to comparative religion scholars, space threat researchers and philosophers. It s an anthology of ancient wisdom books written by several anonymous authors. The first books of this prophetic text were started shortly after the completion of Hebrew Torah (Old Testament) and largely completed, as the first books of Christian Bible (New Testament) were first being penned.

Can you imagine Biblical “End-Times” prophecies happening in your lifetime? Does thinking about disasters like the three days of darkness and the Wormwood predictions trouble you when you’re alone in the still of the night? If so, the “End-times” knowledge in a Bible-era wisdom text called The Kolbrin offers hope through new insights. Parts of it were written in the very days when Jesus walked the Earth, and it echoes the warnings of the Bible, that we could be in the “End-Times!”

Unlike the rare and arcane texts used by Bible researchers, The Kolbrin offers a familiar way to understand Bible prophecy. Written with families in mind, it offers simple “you-were-there” style accounts of many of the disasters also mentioned in the Bible. As a historical text, it covers the period between Exodus and the last additions to the New Testament.

WRITTEN IN BIBLICAL TIMES TO EXPLAIN THE END TIMES

Within its 548 pages, The Kolbrin offers a profound collection of prophecies and creation stories. Published by Your Own World Books in both print and ebook editions, it is now available at Amazon.com and other popular Internet bookseller sites.

By reading and sharing this ancient text with others, you will deepen your understanding of the Nature of God because of the way it complements the Bible. While God used the Bible to chronicle the growth of a Nation, The Kolbrin chronicles the lives of those who loved Him, and in a manner that reaches deep into the soul of the reader.

From ancient times and different lands, the Bible and The Kolbrin contributors describe many of the same accounts. Focused on individual impact, The Kolbrin’s authors make you feel the gritty darkness against your skin, hear locusts swarming in to destroy your crops, and then leave you to watch your livestock whither and die before you.The Kolbrin also offers ancient stories that could have been excluded from the Bible during its first translations centuries ago. These ancient stories reveal new “End-Times” perspectives with breathtaking clarity. You’ll read about “End-Times” harbingers such as the giant “sky-monsters” (meteors) that battled in the heavens above until God cut them apart and threw them down upon the Earth.

ANCIENT WARNINGS OF MODERN THREATS

According to The Kolbrin, these “sky-monsters,” precede and accompany the “The Destroyer,” a massive object in a long-period orbit around our sun. What does it look like? They warn us it will “burns redly” as it enters the core of our system.Mentioned profusely in the texts, the prophecy is clear. The “Destroyer” will return after The Kolbrin is revealed to humanity – but could the ancients be wrong? Not likely. Our sun is more violent now than ever before in recorded history, and our planet is warming, as are the other major bodies in our system. Perhaps these are harbingers of the “Destroyer,” as well.

While The Kolbrin offers somber warnings, it also offers hope. According to the ancients, the "Destroyer" is attended by “heralds” that can wreak havoc upon the Earth, or help humanity to grow in wisdom, and thereby, closer to God.

SHARE THE KOLBRIN WITH OTHERS TODAY

With the future of humanity at stake, the need for the common man to access the wisdom of The Kolbrin is paramount. The Kolbrin Citation System is designed specially for this purpose. Available only with Your Own World Books print and ebook editions, it speeds collaborative studies with a Bible-intuitive design. Optimized for popular ebook formats, it quickly leads readers to passages of interest in ways that were unimaginable to the original authors.

If the ancients are correct, the return of the “Destroyer” will happen in the near future. This makes the “End-Times” warnings of The Kolbrin a matter of urgency. For those with the foresight to prepare, it opens a doorway to ancient knowledge stretching back to the very days when Jesus walked the Earth.For those on a limited budget, the publisher offers a special low-cost edition in the Mobipocket format. Also, most local libraries will acquire a copy of the print version upon request.

The Kolbrin: Your Own World Books, First EditionLearn More:
http://yowbooks.com/html/kolbrin.html

Free Samples:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/kolbrin

Marshall Masters, The Kolbrin Citation System
http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/marshall.masters

Janice Manning, Editor
http://dx.doi.org/10.1572/janice.manning

About the Author

Marshall Masters is an author, publisher, Internet radio host, and former CNN science features news producer. His titles include Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru, Gold Fever, Indigo–E.T. Connection, and Orange Blossom. He also developed the Kolbrin Citation System to help encourage collaborative analysis of The Kolbrin, a Biblical-era document, published in both print and electronic versions.

HolisticJunction.com's Featured School of the Week: American Institute of Holistic Theology

2007-04-05T01:12:00.001-07:00

At first glance, you may not quite comprehend the meaning of holistic theology, but for prospective students who are inclined to an education in metaphysics and holistic health, the American Institute of Holistic Theology (AIHT) offers a multitude of enlightening, academic opportunities. Answering the question, “Why choose AIHT? Because AIHT offers you the possibility of real-world service…Dreams are manifested here, and yours could be next…At AIHT, dreams can become actuality,” the American Institute of Holistic Theology’s mission is to help you to “make a change in your life…and in the world.”

With student enrollment from all walks of life and all corners of the world, the American Institute of Holistic Theology was established in 1991, and has afforded comprehensive and revealing studies in holistic theology, metaphysics, holistic healing ministries, and other paranormal fields to the public for nearly two decades. As an institute of higher learning, the American Institute of Holistic Theology is a member of several esteemed health and educational associations, in addition to be being accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, and licensed by the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education.

If you’re interested in achieving your Doctor of Divinity or Philosophy, or a Bachelor’s or Master’s of Science in Metaphysics, the American Institute of Holistic Theology provides not only these in-depth courses of study, but also Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Holistic Health and Holistic Ministries.

Students participating in one of several unique courses of study at the American Institute of Holistic Theology can learn exciting ways to help patients by becoming a holistic health practitioner. Depending on the type of degree you are pursuing, AIHT offers classes in holistic care ethics and legal issues, stress management, aromatherapy, reflexology, prayer; light, music, vision and color therapies, nutrition, herbology, natural health care, and macrobiotics.

For students who are leaning more toward the theological aspect of learning, the American Institute of Holistic Theology also extends in-depth courses in general Theology, Shamanic journeys, transpersonal psychology, crystal and gemstone healing, advanced herbology, homeopathy, Ayurveda, even Business Management.

Though holistic studies range in course duration and tuition, the greatest attribute of AIHT is the fact that all educational studies can be completed at home, at your own pace. Because you save time, hassle and money in travel, the American Institute of Holistic Theology is an excellent academic portal to meet your educational needs.

HolisticJunction.com salutes the American Institute of Holistic Theology and applauds its quality standards in being an educational pioneer in holistic health and theology.

If you would like more information about AIHT, please visit American Institute of Holistic Theology today.

Featured School of the Week: American Institute of Holistic Theology

The CollegeBound Network

NOTICE: Article(s) may be republished free of charge to relevant websites, as long as Copyright and Author Resource Box are included, and ALL Hyperlinks REMAIN intact and active,

About the Author

Resource Box: CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd - Freelance Writer and Web Consultant for HolisticJunction.com - part of the CollegeBound Network, an interactive media company specializing in recruitment lead generation solutions for colleges, universities, and career schools.

Holistic Theology Studies

2007-04-05T01:11:00.000-07:00

Individuals, who wish to explore metaphysics, may find that holistic theology studies are the way to go. Many alternative education schools that offer holistic theology studies commonly extend certificate and degree programs in a variety of associated subjects.

Find Holistic Theology Studies in the United States and Canada. Individuals, who wish to explore metaphysics, may find that holistic theology studies are the way to go. Many alternative education schools that offer holistic theology studies commonly extend certificate and degree programs in a variety of associated subjects. For example, students enrolled in holistic theology studies will discover that they may be able to attain their Bachelor and Masters of Science, in addition to Doctor in Philosophy.

Generally, courses covered in holistic theology studies may include unique classes in dream interpretation, chakra therapy, prayer and meditation, macrobiotics, spiritual and emotional development, spiritual healing, hypnosis, nutrition, breath work, Reiki and other innovative topics of study. In addition to typical holistic theology studies, students will gain skills and knowledge in basic business practice and management to further their professional outlook.

Students who participate in holistic theology studies will learn how to explore the logic, ethics, morals; and the homeostatic balance of mind, body and spirit. And if persons are seeking to gain better self discipline, holistic theology studies help individuals to achieve that discipline through holistic philosophies and principles.

Professional prospects for students who have completed in-depth holistic theology studies include careers in life coaching, personal training, and spiritual counseling; among others.

To learn more about holistic theology studies, or if you are interested in finding a school that offers holistic theology studies, feel free to peruse our healing arts schools' directory today at Holistic Junction.

Find your dream job! Let education within fast-growing industries like massage therapy, cosmetology, acupuncture, oriental medicine, Reiki, and others get you started! Explore career school programs near you.

Holistic Theology Studies

The CollegeBound Network

NOTICE: Article(s) may be republished free of charge to relevant websites, as long as Copyright and Author Resource Box are included; and ALL Hyperlinks REMAIN intact and active.

About the Author

CarolAnn Bailey-Lloyd - Freelance Writer and Web Consultant for HolisticJunction.com, in association with CollegeSurfing.com - Educational Resources for Healing Arts Schools, Holistic Theology Studies, and other Alternative Healing Schools.

Martin Luther’s theology

2007-04-05T01:10:00.000-07:00

Martin Luther, a teacher, preacher, priest and theologian, was, in my opinion, one of the most outstanding people in European history. He produced a great impact on the further development of Christian religion and European philosophy as well. He also contributed to the critical regard at a traditional holy Catholic Church which was considered to be an infallible representative of the almighty God. So, what did he do then? Actually, being a priest, to a certain extent by occasion, since in 1505 when a lightening stroke near to him and he promised to St. Anne to become a monk, as he stayed alive, I think that was one of the reasons why he was on the one hand so devout and on the other hand very critical in relation to the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther got a doctorate and began to teach theology but he didn’t accept the papal policy and theology. He was shocked by the corruption within the Catholic Church and widely criticized the efficacy of indulgences particularly in his “95 Theses”. As a result he was condemned and excommunicated but still he continued to develop his theological ideas. He denounced the authority of the Catholic Church and estimated that the only religious authority was the Bible and individual reason. His view on theology, bible and Christian religion in general was quite different from that of the Catholic Church. He found a new sense of the righteousness of God which he understood not as active righteousness, that is adjudged by God on the basis of humans works, but as passive righteousness that is received from God who makes sinners just. In short, he believed that salvation is a gift of God`s grace, received by faith in God`s promise to forgive sins for the sake of Christ`s death. Such views influenced his translation of the Bible and his criticism of Hebrew, James, Jude and Revelation. Thus, his life and work helped to develop new, alternative ideas concerning Christian theology and in further prospective his views served as the basis for Protestant movements in Europe and made people more critical to the Roman Catholic Church. It also contributed to the German Peasant Rebellion which, however, wasn`t supported by M. Luther. So, Martin Luther is a prominent figure whose role and ideas had to be thoroughly analyzed.

The Renaissance in Italy in 1400-1600

Italy is a country where the Renaissance actually began and it dates back to the late 13^th c. but the shift from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance became the most evident in the 14^th c. this period is characterized by a rapid development of arts, science and culture. The cultural center of Europe was Florence, a beautiful Italian city where many famous artists lived and worked as well as many travelers and explorers of new lands did, since Genoa is a native city of Christopher Columbus. During 14-16^th centuries artists as well as scientists focus their attention on the real world around them. They began to apply to the history, particularly to the ancient culture of Greece and Rome. They studied works of arts of ancient artists that certainly broadened their horizons. Actually, there was a trend to experiment and innovation in the art which was reinforced by growing wealth of cities that helped support artists. This trend was widely realized in all arts. For example, in painting Giotto di Bondone, a Florentine painter, based his art on the observation of the real world, his partisans led by Masaccio used scientific principles to solve the problem of perspective and invented new techniques for representing light and shade. So the list may be continued and I think it would be enough to name a few but the most outstanding artists that, in my opinion, shaped the culture of that epoch, they are: Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael Sanzio, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Danatello and many others. But not only artists the audience itself had changed: people became more demanding, they wanted more variety and vividness. So such cultural and socio-economical changes led to the necessity to explore not only new forms in the art but new lands as well because since feudal relations were replaced by bourgeois it forced people to seek for new prospects for enrichment that could be provided by exploration and further colonization of new lands but such explorations became possible only due to the growing level of education and acquaintance with works of ancient artists, particularly writers and philosophers and general growth of European culture.

About the Author

Max is a senior writer at Custom Essay Writing Service. He is an experienced custom essays writer and will be glad to share his experience of custom essay writing with you.

The Fate of the State of Israel

2007-04-05T01:09:00.000-07:00

Zionism started off as a counter-revolution. It presented itself as an alternative to both orthodox religion and to assimilation in the age of European "Enlightenment". But it was soon hijacked by East European Jews who espoused a pernicious type of Stalinism and virulent anti-Arab racism.

The Anti-Israeli:

The State of Israel is likely to end as did the seven previous stabs at Jewish statehood - in total annihilation. And for the same reasons: conflicts between secular and religious Jews and a racist-colonialist pattern of deplorable behavior. The UN has noted this recidivist misconduct in numerous resolutions and when it justly compared Zionism to racism.

The Jewish Response:

Zionism is undoubtedly a typical 19th century national movement, promoting the interests of an ethnically-homogeneous nation. But it is not and never has been a racist movement. Zionists of all stripes never believed in the inherent inferiority or malevolence or impurity of any group of people (however arbitrarily defined or capriciously delimited) just because of their common origin or habitation. The State of Israel is not exclusionary. There are a million Israelis who are Arabs, both Christians and Muslims.

It is true, though, that Jews have a special standing in Israel. The Law of Return grants them immediate citizenship. Because of obvious conflicts of interest, Arabs cannot serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Consequently, they don't enjoy the special benefits conferred on war veterans and ex-soldiers.

Regrettably, it is also true that Arabs are discriminated against and hated by many Israelis, though rarely as a matter of official policy. These are the bitter fruits of the ongoing conflict. Budget priorities are also heavily skewed in favor of schools and infrastructure in Jewish municipalities. A lot remains to be done.

The Anti-Israeli:

The Jewish Response:

East European Jews were no doubt more nationalistic and etatist than the West European visionaries who gave birth to Zionism. But, again, they were not racist. On the very contrary. Their socialist roots called for close collaboration and integration of all the ethnicities and nationalities in Israel/Palestine.

The Anti-Israeli:

The "Status Quo" promulgated by Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, confined institutionalized religion to matters of civil law and to communal issues. All affairs of state became the exclusive domain of the secular-leftist nomenclature and its attendant bureaucratic apparatus.

All this changed after the Six Days War in 1967 and, even more so, after the Yom Kippur War. Militant Messianic Jews with radical fundamentalist religious ideologies sought to eradicate the distinction between state and synagogue. They propounded a political agenda, thus invading the traditionally secular turf, to the great consternation of their compatriots.

This schism is unlikely to heal and will be further exacerbated by the inevitable need to confront harsh demographic and geopolitical realities. No matter how much occupied territory Israel gives up and how many ersatz Jews it imports from East Europe, the Palestinians are likely to become a majority within the next 50 years.

Israel will sooner or later face the need to choose whether to institute a policy of strict and racist apartheid - or shrink into an indefensible (though majority Jewish) enclave. The fanatics of the religious right are likely to enthusiastically opt for the first alternative. All the rest of the Jews in Israel are bound to recoil. Civil war will then become unavoidable and with it the demise of yet another short-lived Jewish polity.

The Jewish Response:

Israel is, indeed, faced with the unpalatable choice and demographic realities described above. But don't bet on civil war and total annihilation just yet. There are numerous other political solutions - for instance, a confederacy of two national states, or one state with two nations. But, I agree, this is a serious problem further compounded by Palestinian demands for the right to return to their ancestral territories, now firmly within the Jewish State, even in its pre-1967 borders.

With regards to the hijacking of the national agenda by right-wing, religious fundamentalist Jewish militants - as the recent pullout from Gaza and some of the West Bank proves conclusively, Israelis are pragmatists. The influence of Messianic groups on Israeli decision-making is blown out of proportion. They are an increasingly isolated - though vocal and sometimes violent - minority.

The Anti-Israeli:

Israel could, perhaps, have survived, had it not committed a second mortal sin by transforming itself into an outpost and beacon of Western (first British-French, then American) neo-colonialism. As the representative of the oppressors, it was forced to resort to an official policy of unceasing war crimes and repeated grave violations of human and civil rights.

The Jewish Response:

Israel aligned itself with successive colonial powers in the region because it felt it had no choice, surrounded and outnumbered as it was by hostile, trigger-happy, and heavily armed neighbors. Israel did miss, though, quite a few chances to make peace, however intermittent and hesitant, with its erstwhile enemies. It is also true that it committed itself to a policy of settlements and oppression within the occupied territories which inevitably gave rise to grave and repeated violations on international law. Overlording another people had a corrosive corrupting influence on Israeli society.

The Anti-Israeli:

The Arabs, who first welcomed the Jewish settlers and the economic opportunities they represented, turned against the new emigrants when they learned of their agenda of occupation, displacement, and ethnic cleansing. Israel became a pivot of destabilization in the Middle East, embroiled in conflicts and wars too numerous to count. Unscrupulous and corrupt Arab rulers used its existence and the menace it reified as a pretext to avoid democratization, transparency, and accountability.

The Jewish Response:

With the exception of the 1919 Faisal-Weitzman declaration, Arabs never really welcomed the Jews. Attacks on Jewish outposts and settlers started as early as 1921 and never ceased. The wars in 1948 and in 1967 were initiated or provoked by the Arab states. It is true, though, that Israel unwisely leveraged its victories to oppress the Palestinians and for territorial gains, sometimes in cahoots with much despised colonial powers, such as Britain and France in 1956.

The Anti-Israeli:

This volatile mixture of ideological racism, Messianic empire-building, malignant theocracy much resented by the vast majority of secular Jews, and alignment with all entities anti-Arab and anti-Muslim will doom the Jewish country. In the long run, the real inheritors and proprietors of the Middle East are its long-term inhabitants, the Arabs. A strong army is not a guarantee of longevity - see the examples of the USSR and Yugoslavia.

Even now, it is not too late. Israel can transform itself into an important and benevolent regional player by embracing its Arab neighbors and by championing the causes of economic and scientific development, integration, and opposition to outside interference in the region's internal affairs. The Arabs, exhausted by decades of conflict and backwardness, are likely to heave a collective sigh of relief and embrace Israel - reluctantly at first and more warmly as it proves itself a reliable ally and friend.

Israel's demographic problem is more difficult to resolve. It requires Israel to renounce its exclusive racist and theocratic nature. Israel must suppress, by force if need be, the lunatic fringe of militant religious fanatics that has been haunting its politics in the last three decades. And it must extend a welcoming hand to its Arab citizens by legislating and enforcing a set of Civil Rights Laws.

The Jewish Response:

Whether this Jewish state is doomed or not, time will tell. Peace with our Arab neighbors and equal treatment of our Arab citizens should be our two over-riding strategic priorities. The Jewish State cannot continue to live by the sword, lest it perishes by it.

If the will is there it can be done. The alternative is too horrible to contemplate.

About the Author

Sam Vaknin ( http://samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, and eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He is the the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.

The Taxation of Religion

2007-04-05T01:08:00.000-07:00

Why should an atheist pay more taxes so that a church which he despises should pay no taxes? That's a fair question. How can the apologists for the church exemption answer it?
-- E. Haldeman-Julius, The Church Is A Burden, Not A Benefit, In Social Life

It has been a historically valid argument that churches never contributed to society, but have had the habit of leaching off of it. For all the morals they purport to have given us, whether it was the infamous and treacherous silence during the Jewish Holocaust, or the embers they supplied to the millions of human burnings, the church has done nothing but suck at the sweetness that honest humans have labored to created. The thoughtfulness of our nation's creators gave us the freedom from having to support these churches. Unfortunately, some framers of the states decided to form state constitutions that authorized one religion over another. It cannot be expected that all humans shall follow the road to freedom all at the same time.

While it happens to be true that the church cannot receive tax money, the are allowed the exemption of paying taxes -- which one might accurately say is the same thing. If the collective running of the society of money requires so much tax money, exempting one or two parties only means that the others are required to pay more, are required to work more to maintain the same degree of luxury, while the exempt parties are allowed more luxury with the same amount of work, or the same amount of luxury with less work.

This dissertation is not about the deceit and villany that the church has provided humanity with. It is not an attack on the ideals that preachers claim that they are guardians of. It is not an assault on the principles which are part of Christian doctrine, or any religious doctrine for that matter. The bitter irony that religion is a source of spirituality as much as it is of hate and violence, the thousands of books which have been sacrificed to flames by the heads of the church, the cloak pastors have placed over the eyes of their churchgoers in order to turn them in to sheep -- all of this I have elsewhere written at length. This essay is not about the past crimes of a heartless regime. It is about the present policy that our civilization has enacted: that is to say, the tax-exempt status that churches and other religious organizations currently are allowed.

The first argument that must be considered is this: what church proceeds are going to be used for. The church apologists argue that the funds the church receives by donation are used for charitable purposes, that these churches improve their communities and help people better their lives. I cannot say that this is always wrong, but no honest person can say that it is always true. Yes, the churches do use their funding to create some community things. In most cases, before one can use these community activities, one must be a member of the faith, not using alcohol or drugs, and must be Heterosexual. The home of the scripture that reads: "Love thy enemy" is inhabited by a priest, a pastor, and a preacher whose words speak: "Jew, Muslim, and Hindu, begone. Those who intoxicate and indulge, whether to make their lives easier or to discover sublime and revered truths, begone. Men who lust after men and women who pine after women, these satanic abominations, begone."

The churches are private organizations. If it is their will to exclude the teaching of Evolution from their sunday school, it is allowed. If they also wish to teach children that women are inferior to men, that the Bible is a good book and must be obeyed when it reads: "Women are to be silent," then it is taught. As a private organization, they are allowed these liberties and freedoms. If a church be so bold and daring as to refuse admittance of black people to their ceremonies, they are allowed this right. Universities of our era, or so-called "institutions of learning," have passed rules that disallow blacks and whites from courtship -- a ruling that predates at least three decades of progressive and humanizing reform. If churches wanted to donate some of their excess income to these universities, there would be no way to stop them. If they wanted to focus and centralize the income, by preaching against secular schools and supporting racism in the classroom, and by donating only to those places which promise to oppress blacks, then that is their right, as a private organization.

The church knows no end to cruelty, and this is not an indictment against the church. It is a fact that has been recognized, year after year, person by person. However, it must be accepted and understood that when it comes to the funding of the church, we will find some of the most merciless and brutal acts that arrise out of our own human frailties. Perhaps we will find a church that refuses the rights of blacks to even enter or use their charity money. Churches were once the divine guardians of the institution of slavery. Today, they do nothing to stop the slave traffic that continues to flourish, the wretched one by the name of Capitalism. Today, the churches have done little to nothing to foster the ideals of acceptance, tolerance, understanding, open-mindedness, for the sole sake that to preach these ideals is to deny the divinity of the Bible -- to admit that the cruelty inherent in those pages came from the heart of man, not the mouth of god.

As history has shown us, the church may potentially do anything. They may make charity, but deny Homosexuals. They may give service, but deny African Americans. To other religions, they preach intolerance and bitterness, encouraging an aura of misunderstanding -- the embers to violence, cruelty, and brutality. Then, I ask the question again: why are the churches exempt from taxation? The taxes of the people that are collected to ensure a smooth-running society are used in a variety of ways: they build schools and teach children, they help run social programs such as welfare and food stamps, and they lend foreign aid to countries in dire poverty. When the church has gains, it may build schools, but they might teach children racism, or intolerance, or sexism, or the idea that Evolution is an evil, underground conspiracy, or a number of ridiculous and heartless things. The church might run a charity, but they might just refuse admittance by Homosexuals, members of certain races or religions, or people who dress differently. And, the church might donate some of its income to other charities, but they might refuse charity to any hospital that performs abortions. Yes, we have seen the churches do all of these things. There is no doubt to these questions. There is no conjecture in my theory. The church has burdened the society of men with bigotry and prejudice, making us fight each other when we could have been learning new ways of love, affection, and happiness.

When churches are exempt from taxes, an apologist will often say: "It is because the money of the churches goes to the same causes as taxes: to help the general order of society, with charities, schools, and the like." But, by understanding our current social situation, and the one of the past millenium, it is not difficult to see how wrong such an apology is. Churches must be taxed, so that their income can be fairly used and not employed to create racism and poverty. The same must apply to any religious organization. I am not arguing that churches cannot do the incredible things that they already do, at least legally. Ethics is another question. I am only arguing that, as private organizations that are allowed to such activity, they must be legitimately required to pay taxes. The churches have their own interests, just as businesses have their interests of maintaining a profit and cutting back on cost. Just as a business is required to pay taxes, so should a church. The difference is non-existent.

Men and women who profess to believe in a god, a goddess, or a multiple of them, are exercising their rights as living creatures. I can never argue against a person's right to believe what they will, to share what they believe, to practice their religion or philosophy in an attempt to satisfy the burnings of their heart. So long as a person's actions do not offend the sweetness of justice, the only argument I can offer him might be one on the logical errors of what he believes. And even then, I will not say a word about what he has the right to believe or practice. Ultimately, what is real or not real is something for each of us to decide. As a person who highly values Freethought and the independence of spirit, I will always find myself combating religion, not unlike any other revolutionary who fights ignorance or superstition. Among the great contradictions of religion, there is the question on the thoughts of god. When a religious follower tells you their ideas of what god believes, you will be hearing a speech about what this religious follower believes -- so it follows a person who believes in god and "knows" what god thinks will rarely disagree with god. And, so we have it today, with millions of religions, each thinking that god thinks something different. In actuality, what god believes is just what their religious followers believe. After all, if god believed in something different than the religious follower, why would they continue believing something false? Even with this logic, there remains a slew of religions out there. They have their right to exist and preach, as much as I have my right to criticize and think.

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Death And Rights In Christianity

2007-04-05T01:07:00.002-07:00

What happens to a person at death in Christian religion?

Either the gate to life with God or to eternal separation from Him. The Christians believe that through the sacrifice that Jesus Christ termed the Son of God, we can be saved. If we accept Jesus Christ as our savior and try to live without sin, then when we pass on we are to live in Heaven with God for all of Eternity as a reward for having been a good child of God. Since we are still always guilty of sin, then we must strive to ask Gods Forgiveness anPublishd continue to try to achieve a sinless state. For those who do not follow the path of God, then they will forever be condemned to damnation within Hell. It is, however, taught that we can always ask for forgiveness and be given that forgiveness up until the very last moment of breath. How is it possible to know anything at all? God has spoken! He communicates with man through both general and special revelation (the Word and Jesus Christ). The Word being the Holy Bible, consisting of the Old and New Testament, which is the Book by which Christians live by and learn of Gods Commandments for us to know what we must do to live within Gods Grace just as His Son, Jesus Christ, did in the New Testament, then so should we. How do we know what is right and wrong? Based on the character of God as good. He sets absolute standards of morality. Again the Ten Commandments are the prime example with which God has given us the directions to know what is right and wrong and what to do and what not to do. We are given teachings from infancy of what is right and wrong and we learn to depend upon those teachings to guide us in the right directions. It becomes so deeply ingrained within us that our own conscience will plague us if we do not choose the right thing over the wrong thing. By Christian world view, God is absolute.

About the Author

Kate Gardens is a custom essay writing expert writer and UK customers support consultant at Customessays.co.uk. Get more details for coursework , dissertation and find more tips for dissertation.

The Benefits of Islam – From a Christian’s Perspective

2007-04-05T01:07:00.001-07:00

Every religion, Islam included, has its positives and negatives

Eight years ago, I was on a transit at Heathrow Airport when I entered a bookshop and saw a rack of Middle Eastern novels written by Western authors. The covers all portrayed veiled women running away from an abusive husband, father or brother. Women I’d never knew personally, not at home in America or in my birth country of Iraq. Although I realize they exist everywhere.

I came home looking for stories that portrayed the healthier part of the Arab world. They were hardly any out there. More recently, I found books (six including my two) that do portray the type of Arabic women I’m more familiar with, which range from beautiful and sensuous to hideous and gaudy. Unfortunately, those few are not enough to change the general perception people have of that religion, or region.

Why is it important that perceptions change? Because for humans to survive, diversity and peace must have a home. Because at the rate that Islam is growing many religious futurists estimate that by 2200 Islam will become the most popular religion in the world. Because when perceptions change non-Middle Eastern and non-Islamic people will be able to distinguish between the small percentage of handicapped minds that give themselves permission to kill in the name of God, and the rest – who peacefully and happily hold onto the teachings of the Quran, as my family peacefully and happily still holds onto the Aramaic language.

The most interesting aspect of Islam is that, unlike other religions, it is not named after its founder or the community and nation of its birth. Islam is an attributive title that signifies submission to God, Creator of the Universe. Whosoever possesses this attribute, may he or she belong to any race, community, country or clan is a Muslim. This includes the sun, moon, earth and stars – since matter, energy and life all obey God’s laws and grow and change and live and die in accordance with those laws.

Islam teaches that all humans are innocent by birth and become sinful only when they consciously commit a sin. Sins are generally three types:

1. Those against God, by denying Him.

2. Against brotherhood

3. And against humanity.

What is the framework of the Muslim life? It’s the five pillars, which are:

1. Having faith or belief in the Oneness of God

2. Praying five times a day – directly to God since there’s no hierarchical authority in Islam.

3. Giving alms to the needy. Muhammad said: ‘Charity is a necessity for every Muslim’

4. Purifying oneself through fasting. It’s done mostly for health purposes. But also, by cutting oneself off from worldly comforts, a fasting person gains true sympathy with those who go hungry as well as growth in one’s spiritual life.

5. Making the pilgrimage to Mecca – if physically and financially able to do so.

There are also the articles of Islamic faith, in which Muhammad asked people to believe in the following:

1. Faith in the Unity of God

2. Belief in God’s angels

3. Faith in all the Books of God

4. Faith in all of God’s Prophets, from Adam to Muhammad, including Abraham, Moses and Jesus

5. Belief in Life after Death

Many people are surprised to find out that over 1400 years ago Islamic Law guaranteed rights to women that women in Europe and America only obtained in the 1900s. According to Islamic Law women have the right to:

own property, operate a business and receive equal pay for equal work
have total control of their wealth
marry whom they want
keep their own name when married
inherit property
have their marriage dissolved in the case of neglect or mistreatment

One problem people have with Islam is polygamy, which is a pre-Islamic practice. Islam actually put restrictions on the unrestricted polygamy of the Arabs of the time, and put many laws in place to protect the wellbeing of women, like ending the pagan Arab practice of killing their baby daughters when they were born.

Another problem people have is with the term Jihad, which many equate to holy war. But really, it’s an internal, personal struggle towards the attainment of a noble goal.

While the subject of Islam for me is inevitable, because I was born amongst it just like my nieces and nephews were born amongst America, one day it will be inevitable for everyone. Plus Judaism, Christianity and Islam are so closely related, all descending from Abraham, that there’s no reason for their followers not to get more familiar with each other, and ultimately – maybe, maybe, maybe – get along.

About the Author

Weam Namou was born as a minority Christian in Baghdad, Iraq, and came to America at age ten. She is the author of The Feminine Art and The Mismatched Braid.

Same Sex Marriages And Religion

2007-04-05T01:06:00.002-07:00

Different religions may have the same attitudes to same sex marriages and this attitude may be called one and the same word, prohibition.

Islam has strictly prohibited all kinds of same sex marriages. As per the Quran 7:80-1 "And Lot! (Remember) when he said unto his folk: Will ye commit abomination such as no creature ever did before you? Lo! ye come with lust unto men instead of women. Nay, but ye are wanton folk." Hence, no form of same sex marriage is allowed in Islam and it is considered a sin. Despite the wide variations between different Christian denominations, which often specifically include different views of sexuality, it is possible to draw a general picture of the underlying views and Biblical doctrines. The basis of many Christian views comes from the idea that human sexuality was created by God with the twin purposes of procreation and intimacy bringing a sexually active couple into a close emotional and spiritual relationship through the close physical relationship. As such, it should be restricted to a monogamous, lifelong relationship between a man and a woman: marriage. Marriage is a commitment to a close and lasting relationship and a basis on which to build a stable family. Because of the emphasis on the procreative function of sex, relationships and specific acts that do not lead to conception are frowned upon or expressly forbidden in some denominations. Though most Christian denominations now accept contraception within marriage, no Christian denomination permitted it before 1930. According to most Christian teachings, engaging in homosexual acts is considered sinful. There are, however, individual Christian churches and denominations that are open and affirming of homosexuality. Liberated Christians points out that the ancient teachings against premarital and extramarital sex were misread throughout previous centuries. According to this faith, the New Testament does not prohibit unmarried sexual activities. There are two viewpoints about same sex marriages in Christianity with some churches in favor of and some against it.

About the Author

Kate Gardens is a custom essay writing expert writer and UK customers support consultant at Customessays.co.uk. Get more details for assignments, custom essays and find more tips for research essays.

Kant And Religion

2007-04-05T01:06:00.001-07:00

The Kantian philosophy and his proof of existing God has been still arguing among philosophers and scholars.

Kant had divided reality into radically distinct opposites of subjectivity and objectivity. The thinking subject may observe the world and study physical objects, but he will never get to an understanding of what the object is apart from human conception. All logical formulations to understand an object become themselves extensions of the observing subject; the subject merely finds that the harder he tries, the more he ends up investigating not the object itself, but his own conscious constructions of the object. The object as it is in-itself forever remains outside the realm of human knowledge and speculation. In other words, subjectivity and objectivity are essentially divorced, and can never be united.

Kant took this idea in many directions, particularly in the field of faith and morals. Kant argued that God as an object can never be known. Any argument for the proof of God would have to be drawn both from predicates not inherently contained in the idea of God, and principles established prior to sense experience—collectively, what Kant called synthetic and a priori judgments. Kant dismantled Anselm’s ontological proof, arguing that existence is not a predicate, and that positing pure existence does not ensure the actual existence of the object with any necessity. However, this opened the way to fuller freedom of the individual. Kant not only denied that any logical proof of God was possible, but he went further and asserted that no logical proof should be possible; if the human will is truly free and unfettered, than belief in God should never be a compulsion of logic. Quite interestingly, the father of modern rationalism held that faith in God could only be a free, a-rational movement of the will.

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The article was produced by the writer of masterpapers.com.Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term paper. Get some useful tips for essay writing and custom term paper.

Popularity of Celtic Spirituality

2007-04-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

Celts are an ancient tribe that inhabited most part of the Northern Europe between 800 BCE and 400 CE. Their unique culture has always attracted attention of people. Especially interesting and popular is Celtic diversity - Celtic spirituality. Celtic religion is appreciated and honoured by all Christians: Catholic and Protestant. They are interested in different sides of this religion but it goes without saying that Celtic culture should be observed and analysed.

Celtic spirituality has some distinguishing features, one of them is its diversity: it combines polytheistic and monotheistic features, earthy rituals and transcendental mysticism. The appearance of Celtic spirituality is dated back to first mythological mentions. Second feature of Celtic spirituality is its natural character, ties with earth. The Celtic spirituality is contained in sky, earth, sun, and sea - in all nature. Celts believed in sanctity of nature and tried to take care of it. The third thing is mystical and relational directivity. Celtic diversity comes more from experience than from theological dogmas. Celts are looking for the religious origins in their hearts and souls; they don't accept philosophical substantiation of the belief.

Celts see the necessity of collaboration between people and the earth, people and the spirits of nature and the Holy Spirit that is the head of all living creatures and is beyond all names. Celts believe in existence of many gods and angels and image them as living beings, not just abstract creations. According to the Celtic understanding of the world, these divine beings can communicate with people in their own mystical way.

Another interesting thing about the Celts is their love to poetry, beauty and creativity. Celtic diversity, which combines mysticism, love of nature and comes from the relational spirituality, is in natural harmony with beauty and poetry. The development of Celtic culture is the way of unique, rich culture. Every religious and philosophical doctrine can find familiar features just to itself but the understanding of Celtic culture needs neutrality and objective sensation. Celtic culture can be compared with a magnificent tree with a lot of branches. These branches got their further development and now have become common values.

The pre-Christian world was the world of Celts, who worshiped nature. To the Celtic outlook, the land was the main goddess, the rivers were her helpers and they enriched the earth. Celts used to live in forests, where they were close to the nature and could learn the language of trees and wisdom of animals. With the appearance of Christianity ancient Celts didn't disturb their close ties with nature, they connected their love to nature with the main principles of Christianity. Celtic monks lived in deep forests and wrote their religious works for the gifts of nature. The most important thing was to understand the divine origin of all things and god's existence in nature. Celts saw life as a constantly changing circulation of life and death. Everything moved in a spiral and nature's observation gave a possibility to find mechanism of development of the world. Nowadays we have practically completely lost the awareness of spiral development and it's difficult to gain an understanding of the world.

Life of Celts is an integration of spirit, community and nature, and these concepts were a single whole and couldn't exist separately that can be scarcely imagined in our modern society. The returning to these Celtic dogmas can help us understand who we are.

Celtic Christians strongly believed in Holy Trinity. By the Celtic outlook the world is created by the main god who surrounds the entire world with his two arms of love: the left arm is the spirit and the right one is Christ. Christ is the supreme example of human life. Being close to the Christ means the understanding and getting of supreme and eternal love and wisdom. Early Celtic Christians didn't go to church they preferred worshipping in small communities and sharing their food, money, work with the representatives of this small group. They saw Christ in their neighbour and shared everything with him.

Celts had a lot of traditions and cults that were directly connected with nature, animals and different gods and spirits. Every family had special rites aimed to protect all the members of the family from evil spirits. Feasts and banquets were one of the components of ritual including special food and atmosphere. During a feast a minstrel usually sang songs about deeds of famous warriors. After the minstrel's songs his listeners began to boast of their own brave deeds. As they all had drunk too much, they began quarreling and fighting and even some men could be killed. Early Celtic spirituality is characterised by animal divinity. Even now we can find statues of horses, bears, birds created by the Celts. Only later with the influence of Mediterranean culture it took anthropomorphic element. Not all animals were thought sacred and this explains specific sensitive attitude to horses and cattle.

Celtic hierarchy of Gods combined Christianity and Greek religion and at the same time developed its own peculiarities. Cernunnos is the god that is responsible for money and grain and is correlated with variety of both domestic and wild animals. There are also such Celtic gods as Jupiter Taranis, Sulis Minerva, Lenus Mars, Rosmerta, Mercury, Epona and other. Celts were polytheistic, so believed in many gods. They thought gods to be inhabitants of the thickest and darkest parts of the forest. Such plants as mistletoe and oak-tree were considered sacred. There is a big group of historians that think that the Celts were headed by a class of priests called Druids. Stonehenge was the temple of Druids. Druids' way of worshiping was rather cruel and proposed sacrifices of human beings to get god's pardon. The Druids put the men in huge baskets and burned them in the presence of people. But this historical opinion isn't still improved or disapproved.

So, to sum up, Celtic spirituality is characterised by love of nature, art and poetry; relationship between saints and gods; respect for Mary and the importance of Liturgy; union of secular and sacred; the power of abbots; monasteries; ancient calendar system for celebrating Easter; closeness between natural and supernatural; importance of family and kinship. Celtic historical motherland is Ireland and territories around it. The isolation of Ireland didn't allow spreading Roman authority on it. Monasteries were the places of holly atmosphere and looked just like big tribal villages inhabited by all people: monks, slaves, freemen, usual men and women and priesthood. These people used to be representatives from the one clan of relatives. Some monasteries were situated in isolated places and others were just the crossroads of main towns.

Celts also made invaluable deposit in the development and making of the educational system. They took part in the spreading of the literacy among Ireland and other Celtic lands and reservation of dogmas of learning during "dark ages".

Celtic liturgy started its existence in ancient times and included components that are eternal and won't lose its actuality with the further development of the society. Their main themes are monasticism, closeness between God and nature, importance of the family and kinship, storytelling, love and respect of the Mother of the god, peace and justice, hospitality and education. Irish monks are still famous for their inestimable work as educators of Europe.

Many modern seasonal festivals have Celtic origin. From a lot of sources we can find information about assemblies of Druids but exact dates are not given. The building of the Imperial temple at Lugdunum was probably dedicated to the feast of Lugh. The lack of dates makes it difficult to determine the origin of some traditions and feats that are rooted in the Celtic culture.

The invention of the Coligny Calendar is the oldest inscription in Celtic language and gives us the flavour of the development of Celtic civilisation. It was invented between first century BCE and first century CE and contains reconciliation between two years. According to this calendar the year is divided in 12 months with 29-30 days each. Every two years the 13th month has to be added. By this calendar ancient Celts hold their feasts and every five years had a great sacrifice. It was the first attempt to lock in the changes of constant motion of nature and so of time. This calendar became the foundation of the modern one.

Votive offerings are a kind of Celtic worshipping that helps us to dive deeper in Celtic outlook and understand reasons and motives of these ceremonies. Workers and artificers were fastened to big temples and produced special holy souvenirs and mass-produced offerings. They were usually made from wood, later from clay and metal. The most popular and common offerings were coins. Special tiny coins were invented that could be used just for offerings. For example, there were coins devoted to the Goddess and were her properties. The number of these coins is high and they can be find practically in every Celtic temple during diggings. The next votive offerings were personal jewellery, such as rings, bracelets, earrings, pins, and necklaces. Sometimes special rites of "killing" the personal spirit of these things were hold before the sacred deposition. Even now we don't know the exact purposes of this rite.

Another type of offerings was creation of anatomical models and representation of diseases on the statues of ancient Celtic gods. For example, Seguana, Goddess of the River Seine was depicted with models of eyes, limbs, heads and internal organs. Sometimes particular diseases that had pilgrims were reflected on the statues these pilgrims worshiped. Celtic spirituality is not just a form of ancient religion, even now it has a lot of followers and is very popular. The number of sources, which refer to Celtic civilisation is great and you can find practically everything you want to know. The rebirth of Celtic culture is growing stronger and there are a lot of groups practising Celtic religion. One of the most popular religious groups, Neo-Pagan Druids of Ar n'Draiocht Fein takes the basis of the Celtic religion and combines them with main features of Indo-European cultures. Another groups such as "Celtic Wicca", "Celtic Magic" and others try to render Celtic culture. Such popularity is explained by relevant and eternal principles of this religion.

Sometimes modern follows can have nothing familiar with Celtic spirituality except of names of the gods. The best method of finding your place among numerous religions is to follow the summons of your voice. You choice can be based on knowledge about different religions and but it's important to make own you conscious choice. Just basis on your own experience can lead you to all mysteries and wonders of religious world. Following ancient kind of religion, for example Celtic one, is a very important and meaningful choice. You should research and understand Celtic worldview.

All the religions are good and unique. I think that religion is very personal choice and it should be made individually. The religious freedom is guaranteed by the Constitutional law and can't be limited or neglected. The main aim of the Church is to unite people, to bring peace to the earth. It's very painful for me that sometimes exactly religion is the reason of wars and conflicts. I have a strong determination that religion mustn't judge the representatives of other confessions. Celtic religion gained its popularity among people because of its generality and eternity. It advocates main principles of humanity: love and respect for family and kin; love of nature, poetry and other kinds of art. Celtic spirituality assumes communication with god and spirits that are closely connected with nature. It combines natural and supernatural and pictures the god as a supreme human being with perfect intelligence and power.

The esoteric traditions of Celtic spirituality allow us develop our inner capacities and contact many resources for healing and wisdom. We may develop a relationship with Brigit, who used to be a goddess of the abundant earth and life-giving sun, later a Christian saint; or Morgan of the Isle of Avalon, known for her skills in herbal medicine. Celtic spirituality is the way to open supernatural powers for those who believe in this.

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Why I Cannot Be A Christian

2007-04-05T01:04:00.002-07:00

"Religion is based, I think, primarily and mainly upon fear... fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand." -- Bertrand Russell

Russell wrote this, in 1927, in his most wonderful essay, "Why I Am Not A Christian." Although the content of this essay is similar, it is slightly different. Russell answered why he was not a Christian. In this essay, I will answer why I cannot be a Christian. The practices of Christianity and its adherents have always been appalling to humane thinkers. To this extent, myself a Humanitarian, I will explain that I cannot be a Christian. The reason is not so much the lack of physical proof, or the failure for Christians to produce a single argument, or the hundreds of absurdities or contradictions in the Bible -- although such components have played their role in my coming to Atheism -- the reason that I cannot be a Christian is the same reason why I am a Humanitarian.

Slavery is an institution that has long been protected by the Church. The chains of the slave were given the blessings of the clergy and the agonies of the slave were given no weight, no consideration. The blistering skin of a beaten slave held no sympathy with the Christian slave owner. It was a trifle, something to be unconcerned with. With this horrible foundation of the Holy Bible -- a book that may be fit for governing the behavior of barbarians -- with the acceptance of the supremacy of the church and its scripture -- with these things, the world had ushered in a new age of chaos, inhumanity, and brutality that has yet to be paralleled. Ephesians 6:5, "Slaves, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ." Colossians 3:22, "Slaves, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God." Titus 2:9, "Exhort slaves to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things." Exodus 21:20-21, "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." Leviticus 19:20, "And whosoever rape woman, that is a slave, married to a husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free." These are the brutalities and the cruelties of the Bible, both the Old Testament and the New. I cannot give assent to these barbarous creeds of religion -- what humane man can? If there is a humane man that exists, one thing can be said of his religious opinion: he detests the abomination called religion and holds the church in deepest hatred; or, if a religious man is at all humane, one explanation exists: the reason why a religious man is humane is not because he is at all religious, in fact, quite the opposite; a religious man may be humane but solely for the sake that he ignores and neglects the very brutal doctrines of his religion, giving them no credit.

African men have been turned into slaves by the Christian church. Its dogma and cruelty spreading to even further lands, like a plague. The minds of these Christian slave owners were just as immune to reason as they were to affection. They did not live their lives as thinkers, nor as Humanitarians. They were but one and the same thing: heartless and mindless, cruel and unthinking -- this is the state of Christianity and its adherents.

What, now, can be said of women, those who have only attained their right to property within a century ago? Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who had worked her entire life so that she and her children may enjoy the same rights as men, did not accept the Christian superstition. To quote her, "Through theological superstitions, woman finds her most grievous bondage.... Among the clergy we find our most violent enemies, those most opposed to any change in woman's position." [Views of Religion, by Rufus K. Noyes, (Boston: L. K. Washburn, 1906).] In Matthew 5:32, Jesus says it is permissible for divorce when the wife commits adultery, but makes no mention of any punishment towards a man for committing adultery. (In fact, a true thinker would question the very institution of this abomination called marriage!) Romans 1:27 states that the "natural use" of women is for sex. 1 Corinthians 11:3 states, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Colossians 3:8, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." 1 Timothy 2:11-12, "Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." 1 Peter, 3:1, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives." The Bible has confirmed again and again that it detests females. This sentiment was expressed clearly in the Dark Ages when clergymen took up the task of persecuting any obscure woman, by calling her "witch!" Hundreds of thousands of women were burned at the stake, all for the excuse of this superstitious claim, this bigoted belief that women were inferior, were undeserving of affection, were to be submissive, were not capable. This ethic still preseveres in the Roman Catholic Church today, as women are still not allowed to lead a church as the Bible commands! The Protestants who have thrown off the chains of the triumphant beast -- the Catholic Church -- have allowed their female members to lead churches and congregations. The reason why they have developed into moral, upstanding individuals is not because they followed the Bible, but because they outrightly denied its precepts!

"The parasite of woman is the priest." -- Robert Green Ingersoll, from Men, Women, and Gods, by Helen H. Gardner. The churches have been executing and killing witches for centuries. They have committed more cruelties than those without heart, have debauched more beauty than a tyrant could ever possibly destroy -- they have been living daemons on this planet, spreading fear and hate, fostering prejudice and bigotry. It has been the long-surviving code of Christianity that nothing is to be questioned, and that such questioning is blasphemy, deserving of death. A scientist or philosopher, when asked a question concerning their theory, will answer as best and as simply as they can, sometimes even compassionately. A clergyman, depending on the era, when asked a question, will either kill you are disallow you from his church. So it goes with its moral creed -- those who have questioned the submission of women, those who have defiantly upheld the rights of those the church has been so determined to oppress, these men and women -- heroes in the hearts of Humanitarians -- have been outcast. Little is written of Thomas Paine or Robert Green Ingesoll or Charles Bradlaugh or Giordano Bruno -- yet all of these men have been lovers of life, soldiers in the army of compassion, merciful, kind, revering, affectionate; they have been the men who offered aid in time of need, the men who offered undying passion to the cause that stirred their heart. Pat Robertson of Christian Coalition has said, "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." [Pat Robertson, fundraising letter, 1992.] Exodus 20:29 states, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, ... nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's." As it goes with cruel and vicious doctrines, monogamy married to religion, women are treated as property. This practice is called marriage and it is sanctioned by the Bible. In Deuteronomy 22:23-34, it states that a rape victim is to be murdered. It provides the reasoning that she did not scream out loud enough. This is but an unspeakable cruelty.

There are numerous reasons for rejecting the Bible. If someone were to ask me why I do not believe the Bible, I could give one of these simple answers: "Because I believe that all humans deserve to be treated equally, and that slavery is an abomination." -- "Because I believe that women are not supposed to be submisse, and that all people, despite gender, deserve equal consideration." -- "Because I am opposed to rape, and feel that a rape victim should not be consumed in fire for being raped." Or, an extremely simplified version, "I disbelieve the Bible because it has condoned every brutality and every heartless action over the centuries of time. It has been the burden of superstition on the minds of men, just as it has been the burden of bigotry on the hearts of men. It has turned cities into chaotic witchhunts where women were sought out to be burned. Women and slaves were denied any rights, and everyone was denied the right to think. When men were denied the right to think for themselves, when women were denied all of their rights, and when slaves were abundant, it was under this state of affairs that the church flourished greatly."

If men have been turned into slaves, women into servants, then it can only be imagined the church's creed towards children. Proverbs 13:24, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." Proverbs 22:15, "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." Proverbs 19:18, "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." Proverbs 23:13, "Do not withold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rid, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death." The god of the Bible, also, was a tyrrant who practiced brutality to children just as much as he preached it. In 2 Kings 2:24, god sends two bears to maul 42 children to pieces. For what justifiable reason does he excuse this action? The children had poked fun of a prophet. This god, who the Christians speak so highly of, responded by sending bears to dash children to pieces. The worst nightmares that could plague the world have their root in religion. Robert Green Ingersoll, as much as he hated religion, he held a deeper passion for holding affection to children. Unlike the barbaric code of the Bible that promotes the beating of children, Ingersoll said, "Let us have liberty -- Just a little. Call me infidel, call me atheist, call me what you will, I intend so to treat my children, that they can come to my grave and truthfully say: 'He who sleeps here never gave us a moment of pain. From his lips, now dust, never came to us an unkind word.'" ["The Liberty of All," by Ingersoll, 1877.] What has Ingersoll said of Christians? In the same speech, he declared, "Do you know that I have seen some people who acted as though they thought that when the Savior said 'Suffer little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven,' he had a raw-hide under his mantle, and made that remark simply to get the children within striking distance?" Ingersoll detests Christian morality as it is the debasement of the ethic of compassion, and he detests the beating of children because it is the epitome of brutality...

When your child commits a wrong, take it in your arms; let it feel your heart beat against its heart; let the child know that you really and truly and sincerely love it. Yet some Christians, good Christians, when a child commits a fault, drive it from the door and say: "Never do you darken this house again." Think of that! And then these same people will get down on their knees and ask God to take care of the child they have driven from home. I will never ask God to take care of my children unless I am doing my level best in that same direction. ["The Liberty of All," by Ingersoll, 1877.]

In a letter to me, several reverends told me the following when I told them how I held hatred for Child Abuse, "However, as you see the Lord declares that we as parents are to chastise our Children, however, we are not to beat them or punish them unrighteousley or unworthily, but rather with the admonition of the Lord!" There are Christians to this very day who are so brutal and heartless that they will advocate the beating of children! The justification given is that we are not to do so "unrighteousley or unworthily," but with the "admonition of the Lord." These religionists who beat their children, who hold that our offspring are without rights, are cowards and fools -- they are as much malicious as they are without mind. The justification of the Bible has allowed them to commit such brutalities as Child Abuse. To these reverends who sent me this mail, I responded as follows...

If a person beats their child to a pulp in the name of Christ or in the name of unavailng brutality, the difference is quite small. When a person acts with Christ to beat their child, they are both heartless and ignorant. When a person acts without Christ to beat their child, they are simply heartless. To Christianity, as I have stated, it has a long history of heartlessness, but also of brutalities and cruelties. To beat a child, though, is but one of the most deplorable things imaginable. Who can take a small child, its body nimble and fragile, and continually strike them, until their eyes are drowning in tears, until their body swells with redness? With what kind of ignorance can a person fill a new body with suffering, fill a new mind with torment? That is to say, how can person detest affection and love unfeeling viciousness? You have answered quite clearly: with Christ.

To the human race, Christianity has been a plague. Minds have been infected with dogma. As the hearts of men filled with devotion for Christ, they bloodied their weapons and committed great injustices. The enemies of freedom have debauched every liberty and have made it a crime to think. Conscience escaped and was traded for piety -- god was loved more than this world, Jesus held in higher reverence than justice, the Bible embraced more than truth, and religion as a whole was more important than affection. If it is true that Christianity has destroyed the loves of humanity, what has it done to those who are not humans? Take a look at the current plight of society! If an individual is not born with the privilege of a human body, they are abused, beaten, and consumed. The difference between a human being and a cow is quite small -- it is but the body. One walks on four legs while the other on two, one walks upright and the other does not. The important similarity between the two cannot be argued: both are conscious beings, both are equally capable of suffering, and both can feel. This point cannot be argued by any reliable scientist. It has been the creed for ages that if a man was born with a different skin color, he is to be condemned to a life of toil and hardship in slavery. It is still the current creed, however, that if a person is born without a human body, their lives are to be condemned to the dinner plate! This is the current state of affairs and people will justify their diet of creatures by pointing to the Bible, as though the Bible has defended justice for eternity. All animals, despite race, species, gender, or sexuality, are but conscious beings, all capable of feeling pain and suffering, joy and desire. It is for this reason, that they are conscious, that I refuse to take part in their suffering, that I refuse to contribute to an industry bent on unrelenting abuse. Of the rights of animals, Humphry D. Primatt has said...

If, in brutal shape, we had been endued with the same degree of reason and reflection which we now enjoy; and other beings, in human shape, should take upon them to torment, abuse, and barbarously ill-treat us, because we were not made in their shape; the injustice and cruelty of their behaviour to us would be self-evident; and we should naturally infer that, whether we walk upon two legs or four; whether our heads are prone or erect; whether we are naked or covered with hair; whether we have tails or no tails, horn or no horns, long ears or round ears; or, whether we bray like an ass, speak like a man, whistle like a bird, or are mute as a fish-Nature never intended these distinctions as foundations for right of tyranny and oppression. [A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals. By Humphry Primatt, D.D. London, 1776. Quoted in Animals' Rights Considered In Relation To Social Progress, by Henry S. Salt, chapter 8, 1894.]

Romans 14:2, "For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs." In Genesis, god gave dominion over animals, women, children, and slaves to man. It was only this century that slavery is truly being eliminated. Some may point to the Civil War, but African slavery was simply replaced with another type of slavery: Capitalism. The rights of women, too, have only been awarded this century, as well, just as the rights of ethnic minorities have only been truly recognized this century. There are still many advocates who will beat their children scornfully because of some religious excuse, but the days of Child Abuse are nearing their ends, with only Conservatives and religionists to mourn the loss of their right to brutality. But where is the end of the exploitation of animals? As long as they are restricted to the plate, as long as the church blesses the meat dinner, all in the excuse of religion, injustice and hypocrisy will forever been in the hearts of these men. It is by the excuse of religion, among other excuses, that men will consume their fellow creatures. Who could ever conceive of the idea of this, of taking an axe or bludgeon to an animal that can think of them, and then slaughtering the creature for the sake of consuming it, when we have a plethora of plants that are incapable of sensation? Only under the brutal, vengeful code of Christianity could such brutalities take place, and -- as I have said numerous times before -- I cannot adhere to Christianity, as I will never adhere to the code of brutality. To quote Henry Stephens Salt...

But, it may be argued, vague sympathy with the lower animals is one thing, and a definite recognition of their 'rights' is another; what reason is there to suppose that we shall advance from the former phase to the latter? Just this; that every great liberating movement has proceeded exactly on these lines. Oppression and cruelty are invariably founded on a lack of imaginative sympathy; the tyrant or tormentor can have no true sense of kinship with the victim of his injustice. When once the sense of affinity is awakened, the knell of tyranny is sounded, and the ultimate concession of 'rights' is simply a matter of time. The present condition of the more highly organized domestic animals is in many ways very analogious to that of the negro slaves of a hundred years ago: look back, and you will find in their case precisely the same exclusion from the common pale of humanity; the same hypocritical fallacies, to justify that exclusion; and, as a consequence, the same deliberate stubborn denial of their social 'rights.' Look back-for it is well to do so-and then look forward, and the moral can hardly be mistaken. [Animals' Rights Considered In Relation To Social Progress, by Henry S. Salt, chapter 1, 1894.]

Henry Louis Mencken, the well acclaimed Rationalist and journalist, once said, "If, after I depart this vale, you ever remember me and have thought to please my ghost, forgive some sinner and wink your eye at some homely girl." ["Epitaph", Smart Set, 1921 Dec, p. 33.] If Jesus Christ were to have made a request on how his soul were to be remember, it easily could have been, "Persecute those who are different, do not think for yourself, and always be filled with a passionate hate for those who bother nobody else." To quote Thomas Paine, "Those who preach this doctrine of loving their enemies, are in general the greatest persecutors, and they act consistently by so doing; for the doctrine is hypocritical, and it is natural that hypocrisy should act the reverse of what it preaches." [The Age of Reason, part II, chapter 3.] Christianity has been the justification of every cruelty and every brutality to plague the face of this planet. It is only human nature for a few individuals to try and persecute others for the sake of profit or sadism, but it is only a cruel and bigoted superstition for Christianity to justify those who take pleasure in persecution. Anyone who studies the Bible is bound to come to the conclusion that it is a mere absurdity, fit for small minds who cannot explain the Universe scientifically. But anyone who studies the history of those who have upheld the Bible will find something more vicious: the brutalities committed by Christians for the sake of what scripture denoted. As I have stated, I am a Humanitarian and I follow humane principles. It is for this reason, the reason that I am a Humanitarian, that I could not possibly follow the brutal, ignorant, and malicious code of the Bible.

An Answer to my Critics:

It appears that a particular writer named "Outsider" has made some comments upon my articles that I shall now address...

>>"Punkerslut, punkerslut, punkerslut, punkerslut. WOW, well I'm going to try to start out positive. What you wrote was well thought out, well written, and well formulated, perfectly logical. Now I ask you, why the hell would you have the desire to write something like that?"

Some of us have a deep-rooted inclination to seek out truth and to understand the Universe for what it is. Those who are mentally cattle and need the shepard of the Church will forever been in the abyss of ignorance. I would choose to live truthfully -- with compassion in one hand and affection in the other -- than to live at all.

>>"You have to realize that yes there is scientific basis for most things, but somewhere faith has to come into play. There are well documented occurrences in which things have happened that cannot, and never will be explained by science. Therefore at some level you have to let faith play a part in living."

And so it goes, one notable radio personality today has said, "Religion exists in the cracks." What he meant was that, today, there are only a few small things which people do not understand that they attribute to faith. Outsider, you have made thet statement that there are "well documented occurrences in which things have happened that cannot," -- yet you fail to produce a single, solitary piece of evidence of this. Furthermore, I doubt 100% that you could prove that something happened that could not. Are there witnesses of a married bachelor, or a square circle, or a live corpse? Have you seen any of these things? Do any of them exist? Certainly not. The fact that you point to your obscure, unnoted "well documented occurrences" is ridiculous.

>>"You read the entire thing and say, 'What the hell was that all about' Chances are, its going to give indifferent people a better justification for their laziness in coming to terms with what the believe, and people with faith already know they can't explain some things, that's why they have faith."

Faith has served those who do not know the truth for thousands of years. The Catholic Church, still embracing this foolish notion that one can know truth without evidence, is but an institution promoting ignorance and foolishness.

>>"Lets just put it this way, everything you quoted with the exception of the last excerpt is from the Old Testament."

The last quote was Jesus Christ claiming that he claim to fulfill the Old Testament's laws.

>>"In case you didn't know that's the Written Law of Jews."

And, as Matthew 5:17 states, Jesus Christ agreed with the law of the Old Testament.

>>"That is not to say that we as Christians do not base our religion partly on the Old Testament, for Judaism is the progenitor of Christianity. Do not chastise Christians for the writing of the Pentateuch. (The Pentateuch are the first 5 books of the Old Testament Genisis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers, written thousdands of years before Christianity came to be)

I am not chastising Christians for writing the Pentateuch -- rather, I am criticizing the Bible, Christianity, and it's adherents for claiming to BELIEVE the Pentateuch.

>>"You took one excerpt from Christian doctrine which was Matthew 5:17 in which he said to commit no such crime but he only sought to clarify his message which was to read what the prophets wrote and take their general message and apply it to living."

Matthew 5:19 states, "Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Whether or not it was to clarify his message, or to take the message of the prophets, or to apply it to living, it all comes down to the same thing: Jesus Christ condoned rape (Deuteronomy 22:28-29), murder (Exodus 22:18; Exodus 22:20; Exodus 31:14-15, Exodus 35:2; Leviticus 20:9; Leviticus 20:10; Leviticus 24:16; Deuteronomy 22:20-21), among other cruelties, as he claimed that we should follow the commands of the Old Testament. If we do not, we will be "called least in the kingdom of heaven." Even so, in this previous essay, I include numerous verses from the New Testament where brutality is encouraged.

>>"You know, it would be one thing if you honestly searched for answers to coalesce the beliefs that are your faith, but all you do is try to undermine Christianity. If you did any pertanent research you would know that what you wrote about was not Christian Morality. By taking the writings of the Old Testament and trying to pass them off as the laws of Christianity you have proved just how ignorant you are."

I have quoted the Bible, the religious scripture of Christianity. The Old Testament is the foundation of the New, and the only reason why the New Testament has any merit is based on the Old Testament. From these books, the Old Testament condoning numerous brutalities and the New Testament confirming the laws of the Old Testament, I had constructed a rough sketch of Christian morality, as it is based in the Bible. How this is not Christian morality, it must escape the unbelievable genius of Outsider.

>>"Lets put it this way, I don't like you punkerslut, your name is retarded, you are an ignoramus and I encourage anyone who reads this to read up on what punkerslut says, because he's preaching fallacies."

Religionists have rarely ever been the friends of infidels. But unlike two hundred years ago, I can speak as I wish without being burned to a crisp, as not only your dogmatic Bible preaches, but as your heartless and brutal ancestors practised.

Dedication

This essay is dedicated to two people. The first is Jawbreaker Savior, a warm, kind, intelligent, affectionate, beautiful person.

The second is Giordano Bruno, Rationalist, who was burned at the stake in 1600 by the Catholic Church -- THE TRIUMPHANT BEAST!! When given his sentence of death by his inquisitors, he responded, "Perhaps it is you who give me my sentence with more fear than I receive it." Percival Bysshe Shelley may have been speaking of Giordano Bruno when he wrote this...

'I was an infant when my mother went

To see an atheist burned. She took me there.

The dark-robed priests were met around the pile;

The multitude was gazing silently;

And as the culprit passed with dauntless mien,

Tempered disdain in his unaltering eye,

Mixed with a quiet smile, shone calmly forth;

The thirsty fire crept round his manly limbs;

His resolute eyes were scorched to blindness soon;

His death-pang rent my heart! the insensate mob

Uttered a cry of triumph, and I wept.

"Weep not, child!" cried my mother, "for that man

Has said, There is no God."' [Queen Mab, section VII, lines 1 to 14]

George W. Foote was a notable historian who wrote about the deaths of infidels. In one of his books, he describes the death of Bruno...

THIS glorious martyr of Freethought did not die in a quiet chamber, tended by loving hands. He was literally 'butchered to make a Roman holiday.' When the assassins of 'the bloody faith' kindled the fire which burnt out his splendid life, he was no decrepit man, nor had the finger of Death touched his cheek with a pallid hue. The blood coursed actively through his veins, and a dauntless spirit shone in his noble eyes.

[...]

The Venetian Council transferred him to Rome, where be languished for seven years in a pestiferous dungeon, and was repeatedly tortured, according to the hellish code of the Inquisition. At length, on February 10th, 1600, he was led out to the Church of Santa Maria, and sentenced to be burnt alive, or, as the Holy Church hypocritically phrased it, to be punished 'as mercifully as possible, and without effusion of blood' Haughtily raising his bead, he exclaimed: 'You are more afraid to pronounce my sentence than I to receive it.' He was allowed a week's grace for recantation, but without avail; and on the 17th [20th] of February, 1600, he was burnt to death on the Field of Flowers. To the last he was brave and defiant; he contemptuously pushed aside the crucifix they presented him to kiss; and, as one of his enemies said, he died without a plaint or a groan.

Such heroism stirs the blood more than the sound of a trumpet. Bruno stood at the stake in solitary and awful grandeur. There was not a friendly face in the vast crowd around him. It was one man against the world. Surely the knight of Liberty, the champion of Freethought, who lived such a life and died such a death, without hope of reward on earth or in heaven, sustained only by his indomitable manhood, is worthy to be accounted the supreme martyr of all time. He towers above the less disinterested martyrs of Faith like a colossus; the proudest of them might walk under him without bending. [Infidel Death-beds, by GW Foote and AD McLaren.]

I have already written at length on Giordano Bruno and his legacy as a Freethinker. But it is important that we do not forget those men who were defiant to the Church, who endeavored to destroy her power and to deliver the rights to the people. Men who cannot think for themselves are only shells of real men, some of them cowards of thought, some of them traitors of thought -- but the Catholic Church, this infamous collective of murderers and religious bandits, has tightened the noose around the neck of Freethought as much as it could. When Giordano Bruno broke free of this noose, of this mental tyranny, he was scorched to death. His life, like a candle had been blown out. Giordano Bruno died and the Catholic Church rejoiced. In 1600, the 20th of February, humanity was defeated by piety, and cruelty had overcome mercy.

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For Life,

Punkerslut

About the Author

Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His website www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for "subversive activities," and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.

Religion and Science

2007-04-05T01:04:00.001-07:00

There are many kinds of narratives and organizing principles. Science is driven by evidence gathered in experiments, and by the falsification of extant theories and their replacement with newer, asymptotically truer, ones. Other systems - religion, nationalism, paranoid ideation, or art - are based on personal experiences (faith, inspiration, paranoia, etc.).

Experiential narratives can and do interact with evidential narratives and vice versa.

For instance: belief in God inspires some scientists who regard science as a method to "peek at God's cards" and to get closer to Him. Another example: the pursuit of scientific endeavors enhances one's national pride and is motivated by it. Science is often corrupted in order to support nationalistic and racist claims.

The basic units of all narratives are known by their effects on the environment. God, in this sense, is no different from electrons, quarks, and black holes. All four constructs cannot be directly observed, but the fact of their existence is derived from their effects.

Granted, God's effects are discernible only in the social and psychological (or psychopathological) realms. But this observed constraint doesn't render Him less "real". The hypothesized existence of God parsimoniously explains a myriad ostensibly unrelated phenomena and, therefore, conforms to the rules governing the formulation of scientific theories.

The locus of God's hypothesized existence is, clearly and exclusively, in the minds of believers. But this again does not make Him less real. The contents of our minds are as real as anything "out there". Actually, the very distinction between epistemology and ontology is blurred.

But is God's existence "true" - or is He just a figment of our neediness and imagination?

Truth is the measure of the ability of our models to describe phenomena and predict them. God's existence (in people's minds) succeeds to do both. For instance, assuming that God exists allows us to predict many of the behaviors of people who profess to believe in Him. The existence of God is, therefore, undoubtedly true (in this formal and strict sense).

But does God exist outside people's minds? Is He an objective entity, independent of what people may or may not think about Him? After all, if all sentient beings were to perish in a horrible calamity, the Sun would still be there, revolving as it has done from time immemorial.

If all sentient beings were to perish in a horrible calamity, would God still exist? If all sentient beings, including all humans, stop believing that there is God - would He survive this renunciation? Does God "out there" inspire the belief in God in religious folks' minds?

Known things are independent of the existence of observers (although the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics disputes this). Believed things are dependent on the existence of believers.

We know that the Sun exists. We don't know that God exists. We believe that God exists - but we don't and cannot know it, in the scientific sense of the word.

We can design experiments to falsify (prove wrong) the existence of electrons, quarks, and black holes (and, thus, if all these experiments fail, prove that electrons, quarks, and black holes exist). We can also design experiments to prove that electrons, quarks, and black holes exist.

But we cannot design even one experiment to falsify the existence of a God who is outside the minds of believers (and, thus, if the experiment fails, prove that God exists "out there"). Additionally, we cannot design even one experiment to prove that God exists outside the minds of believers.

What about the "argument from design"? The universe is so complex and diverse that surely it entails the existence of a supreme intelligence, the world's designer and creator, known by some as "God". On the other hand, the world's richness and variety can be fully accounted for using modern scientific theories such as evolution and the big bang. There is no need to introduce God into the equations.

Still, it is possible that God is responsible for it all. The problem is that we cannot design even one experiment to falsify this theory, that God created the Universe (and, thus, if the experiment fails, prove that God is, indeed, the world's originator). Additionally, we cannot design even one experiment to prove that God created the world.

We can, however, design numerous experiments to falsify the scientific theories that explain the creation of the Universe (and, thus, if these experiments fail, lend these theories substantial support). We can also design experiments to prove the scientific theories that explain the creation of the Universe.

It does not mean that these theories are absolutely true and immutable. They are not. Our current scientific theories are partly true and are bound to change with new knowledge gained by experimentation. Our current scientific theories will be replaced by newer, truer theories. But any and all future scientific theories will be falsifiable and testable.

Knowledge and belief are like oil and water. They don't mix. Knowledge doesn't lead to belief and belief does not yield knowledge. Belief can yield conviction or strongly-felt opinions. But belief cannot result in knowledge.

Still, both known things and believed things exist. The former exist "out there" and the latter "in our minds" and only there. But they are no less real for that.

About the Author

From Jihads History In Africa

2007-04-05T01:03:00.002-07:00

Jihad is considered to be part of Islam religion, however it has its own independent canons which were developed throughout its history.Jihad is considered to be part of Islam religion, however it has its own independent canons which were developed throughout its history.

The jihads in Hausaland had a multitude of long term results as well as some immediate consequences. One was that it changed Islam from a tolerated minority religion, to which rulers subscribed when it suited them, into the official state ideology. That is, the set of beliefs and attitudes according to which rulers expected the people to conduct their lives.

The highest political office in Hausaland was now open to the “ulama”, whereas previously these had been the preserve of ancient dynastic families. It therefore fulfilled a persistent demand that was heard as far back as the days of the Sanhaja “ulama” in Timbuktu during the time of Sunni Ali and which was repeated in the Senegambia.

The Muslim Fulani had a long tradition of Islamic literacy. This created in them a sentiment of Islamic universalism, a feeling that the whole Islamic world was one, and any divergence from the central pattern laid down in the Sunna, the “tradition” of the prophet was intolerable. As a result of their literacy, the Muslim Fulani developed links with Egypt and Mecca and these links put them in touch with the new movements of thought that were sweeping the Islamic world of their day . These Muslim Fulani’s were to prove a key component to the success of the 1804 jihads in Hausaland.

Yet another consequence of the jihad, was that it replaced the decentralized collection of separate Habe kingdoms with a centralized structure of Islamic emirates united by common allegiance to the caliphal centre in Sokoto. It thus created a large new area of Dar-al-Islam in a political as well as a religious sense.

About the Author

The article was produced by the writer of masterpapers.com.Sharon White is a senior writer and writers consultant at term paper. Get some useful tips for essay writing and custom term paper. .

The Da Vinci Code and Organized Religion

2007-04-05T01:03:00.001-07:00

Ron Howard's new movie "The Da Vinci Code" has created a lot of controversy in many religious circles. Does it really question our faith in God or our faith in organized religion?

Recently the movie "The Da Vinci Code" based on Dan Brown's book of the same name was released. There seems to be a fear that this work of fiction could sway the beliefs of many from that of traditional Christian teachings. Here is what I think.

I was raised a Catholic, but now I'm not even a Christian. What changed my belief was not because of some author writing a convincing book, nor was it because of a movie like Martin Scorsese's film "The Last Temptation of Jesus Christ." I lost my faith by simply reading and analyzing accepted scriptures.

All forms of Christianity originated from the early Catholic Church. Because of politics, Christianity split up in to different sects, but they all seem to have the same basic belief that Christ was the son of God and that he died for our sins.

The part about him dying for our sins is what I don't quite understand. According to Christian doctrine everyone is born with "original sin" because Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. And because of our "original sin" we needed a "redeemer" to save us. Hence, God sent his only begotten son to die for our sins and save us. Doesn't this all sound like a children's fairy tale?Why did Adam sin in the first place? When God created him, he gave him a "free will" and because of this "free will" Adam made the decision to sin and was held responsible for his action. But wait a minute; we all know that different people handle temptation in different ways. When looking at a beautiful woman, a young man with raging hormones is more likely to succumb to her advances than another less hormonal and more scholarly man who would examine the pros and cons of being with her. And if the man was created gay, a beautiful woman presents little or no temptation to him.

If God is able to know all things and do all things, all he had to do was tweak Adam's "free will" so that he couldn't have succumbed to the temptation of the forbidden fruit. Why should God blame Adam for not listening to him, when he created him to act that way? It wasn't Adam's fault that God didn't give him enough will power to resist the temptation He put before him. The "original sin" is actually God's own fault. Consequently, we did not need to be "redeemed" and there was no reason for Christ to die. If Christ was God and He suffered so brutally and died for some unnecessary reason, then the Christian God must be a masochist.

When I was in grammar school, I was an altar boy. One of the prayers we would say was to pound on our hearts three times and say the words "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa," which when translated meant "Through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." I was just an innocent kid then, what could I have possibly done that was considered a grievous fault? Is it because God is like a "corporate alien" manager who always shifts the blame for his mistakes on to his employees? He made a flawed creation and blamed his creation for the flaw. None of this seems to make sense.

The Church itself was another reason I was driven from Christianity. One of Christianity's biggest spokesperson is the Catholic Church. This is the organization that, in the time of the Inquisition, burned scientists at the stake even when they were later proven to be right. This is the organization that Hitler admired in his book "Mein Kampf". This is the organization where American bishops covered up the actions of child abusing priests. Why would the true God ever want to be associated with such a group? For that matter, many of the world's religions that claim to know so much about God are really so heavily flawed in their dealings with man. How could they ever be God's representatives?I think that people believe in irrational religious ideas only because they look upon their churches as insurance policies for the hereafter. They don't want to take a chance on going to hell, and their priests use religious rules and "faith" to guarantee a pleasant afterlife.

Although I don't believe that Christ was God, I certainly admire his role as one of history's greatest philosophers. Christ questioned the Jewish religious establishment of his time. He actually criticized the sadistic God of the Old Testament and preached love and tolerance of everyone, and that could have given the religious leaders of the time enough reason to have him crucified. Believing he was married to Mary Magdalene, as suggested by "The Da Vinci Code," does not alter his philosophy. If anything, being married and raising a family would have given him a better look into the minds of the majority of his followers. I think, the main effect of "The Da Vinci Code" phenomenon, is to show us how intolerant some religious organizations are. They label the book and movie as "heresy". They boycott movie theaters. They forbid their followers to read the book or see the movie. This type of intolerance from religious groups extends to other areas as well. Why else can't Sunnis, Shiites, and Kurds coexist peacefully in Iraq? Why can't the Jews and Palestinians live together in their territories?When a religion tries to tell you that you can't read a book or see a movie, it is really insulting your intelligence. If you're really comfortable with your faith then someone else's beliefs will not affect you in any way. If you begin to question your beliefs, maybe it's because they're not right for you in the first place.

Leonardo Da Vinci, being a great scholar and scientist, probably hated the policies of the Catholic Church during his time. He could have had access to forbidden scriptures but was not able to speak out. His way of expressing such dangerous ideas could have been by placing hidden messages in his paintings. Unless more of his works are discovered, I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

About the Author

George Lunt is someone who feels the world is getting too corporate. His writings relate the individual's struggle with big government and big corporations. His website is http://www.corporate-aliens.com. This article is © George Lunt. All usage of this article must include a citation to the author and a link to corporate-aliens.com.

Superultramodern Religion ( SR )

2007-04-05T01:02:00.000-07:00

Superultramodern Religion ( SR ) is a component of Superultramodern Science (SS). In particular, it is an application of SS [mainly the NSTP (Non - Spatial Thinking Process) theory] to religious viewpoints.

SR states that the religious viewpoints (say, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.) are flawed on their physical (or, so called, metaphysical) side. The prophets (say Jesus Christ, Mohammad) could be superhuman, in the sense of being able to modulate the spatial illusion, but their theories / advocacies on the nature or physical of reality were quite probably wrong / false (as many flaws could be demonstrated, e.g. eternal creating something, immovable and flat earth theories, etc.). The true structure and mechanism of the universe is in accordance with the NSTP theory which produces states of consciousness or feelings as if Jesus, for example, controlling winds, curing diseases, etc., to people, including Jesus (assuming others are conscious like me : where all conscious entities / beings are mere groups of feelings or states of consciousness).

This could be simplified with an analogy. Suppose in 2005 A.D. we cannot drive cars. However, our science is so developed that we can easily invent an appropriate theory on the internal mechanism of the car. Now we find a car used in 0 B.C. and a book, say Bible, describing a person very skillful in driving cars, with a theory on the internal mechanism of the car. We do not at all agree with the theory invented in 0 B.C. as it has many simple logical / conceptual problems. So we infer that the person very skillful in driving the car was (probably) wrong on how the car actually works (i.e. its internal mechanism) , whereas we are (probably) right on its mechanism but are not skillful enough to drive the car.

About the Author

Father of Superultramodern Science (SS)

Did You Inherit Your Religion?

2007-04-05T01:00:00.000-07:00

The vast majority of people in the world automatically and unquestioningly inherit their religion from their parents. For something as important as religion, why are we so reluctant to shop around?

One Saturday morning I was sipping my coffee and reading the newspaper when the doorbell rang. This was an unusual occurrence as we lived in a somewhat isolated log cabin in the mountains outside Denver. At the door stood two attractive college-age girls who wanted to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah’s Witness.

Normally I would politely say, “No thanks” and return to my paper, but that morning I decided to engage with them. After hearing their initial pitch, I asked one of them, “Are your parents Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

“Our whole family is,” she replied.

“Do you think religion is an important thing for people to have in their lives?”

“Very,” she replied, and I agreed.

“How many other religions have you studied and investigated?”

“None.”

“Is a car an important thing in your life?” I asked.

“Well, yes, but not as important as religion.”

Again I agreed. “What kind of car do you drive?”

“A Toyota.”

“Is that what your parents drive?”

“No.”

“Why not?” I inquired.

“Because I like Toyotas better.” She was starting to get impatient but politely continued to humor me.

“How do you know?”

“Because I like the way my Toyota looks and drives, plus it was inexpensive and gets good gas mileage.”

I nodded toward my Toyota sitting in the driveway and agreed. “How did you know that about your car when you bought it?”

“I test drove different cars and talked to my friends about their cars.” she said, increasingly exasperated.

“So you checked out lots of different cars before deciding on your Toyota,” I gently summarized, “but your religion, which is much more important, you inherited from your parents without knowing anything about the alternatives?”

“Yeah,” she replied rather sheepishly, catching my drift.

“I’ll tell you what,” I said. “Spend the next five years investigating and studying the other great religions of the world and then if you still want to talk to me about becoming a Jehovah’s Witness, we’ll talk.”

The girls, realizing they had a hopeless case on their hands, thanked me for my time and left.

The vast majority of people worldwide inherit their religion—one of the most important things in their lives—unquestioningly from their parents, without ever investigating the alternatives. Religion is invaluable in that it provides moral codes for societies to live by. Yet they can also be devisive--many people are convince their religion is the only way to God, believe that other religions are heresy, and some will fight and die for it. Did you inherit your religion?

About the Author

John Penberthy is the author of To Bee or Not to Bee, A book for beings who feel there’s more to life than just making honey, an illustrated, inspirational allegory—fun yet deep—about the spiritual journey of a worker bee entrenched in the mindless tedium of life in a honeybee colony. See the unique and creative 60 second audio-visual flash Preview at www.ToBeeBook.com/preview.html Make sure your speakers are on.

Don't Tell Me I Can't Say Merry Christmas

2007-04-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

By David Hallstrom | On February 12, 2006 |

I am a Christian. I believe in Christ, not because I have any proof that Christ is the son of God, but because I want to believe. I believe that the teachings that are ascribed to Christ would, if everyone followed them to the best of their ability, make this a far better world.
by: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

I am a Christian. I believe in Christ, not because I have any proof that Christ is the son of God, but because I want to believe. I believe that the teachings that are ascribed to Christ would, if everyone followed them to the best of their ability, make this a far better world. I further believe that this country, The United States Of America, is the greatest country in the world and it is so in part because it has tried to base it's morals and ethics on and has tried to follow Christian ethics. I am not, however, a bible thumping Christian, an evangelistic Christian or even a regular church going Christian. I am not trying to convert the world or even my neighbors to Christianity. I don't care if a person is a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim, an Atheist, etc. as long as the person is a good person and cares about other people.

Just don't tell me that I can't celebrate Christmas, don't tell me that I can't say merry Christmas, don't tell me that a Christmas tree is a "holiday" tree, don't tell me that December 25 is no longer Christmas Day but is instead now a no name holiday, dont tell me that if I say merry Christmas other people will be insulted, don't tell me that my children can't have a Christmas pagent in school because other children may feel insulted or left out (School is not and can not always be all inclusive for everyone, otherwise there would be no chess club because not every child plays chess, no sports teams because not every child plays or even likes sports, no drama club because not every child wants to act, no memorial day because not every child want's to honor our fallen soldiers, no labor day because not every child wants to honor unions, no Thanksgiving because not every child wants to give thanks, no pledge of allegiance because not every child wants to honor this country, etc.). This is not a country of worker bees or ants, we are a country of individuals with different backgrounds and different beliefs. The majority of the people in this country are, however, Christians and the majority of the people in this country weather you like it or not do celebrate Christmas.

According to the U.S Government under United States Code section 5-6103, December 25 is a legal holiday and that legal holiday is named Christmas. Most states also denote December 25 as "Christmas". We all know that Christ was not actually born on December 25 but that is the date that this government and the majority of Christian churches have chosen to use. Additionally, not all people who celebrate Christmas believe in Christ, many people celebrate it as just a holiday that happens to be called Christmas. I've been to numerous Christmas parties where many of the guests were not Christians. No one ever called them Holiday parties and as far as I know no one was ever upset that the party was called a Christmas party.

I'm not insulted if someone wishes me happy Chanukah or happy Kwanza so why should anyone be insulted if I say merry Christmas. It seems to me that the only people that complain about Christmas are certain Atheists and the people that have designated themselves as "political correctness police". Well. in this country you people have the right to state your thoughts but please stop trying to force your way of thinking on everyone else. Leave us alone. Get your own holiday, leave us ours.

I celebrate Christmas and I would probably celebrate Christmas even if I didn't believe in Christ. After all it's a wonderful holiday, it wishes peace on earth and good will towards all mankind (What other holiday makes that wish.). If you are so insecure in your religion or lack of religion that you feel threatened by my celebration of Christmas then I feel sorry for you. I would also tell you to go jump off a very high bridge into very deep water (Sorry, but I told you that I was not a really good Christian. People that try to push their beliefs on me really irk me.). If you don't want to celebrate Christmas, don't. Just don't tell those of us that do want to that we can't.

Lastly, leave our schools alone. If you don't want your children to participate in a christmas pagent then tell them not to participate. Contrary to what you think the other kids will not tease or make fun of them. When I was in elementary school I was an atheist and no one ever made fun of me for not believing in Christ and I never felt left out by not joining in as a charecter in a Christmas play. Of course, even though I was an atheist I still believed, at least for a while, in Santa Clause, I still enjoyed recieving Christmas gifts, I still enjoyed listening to Christmas carolers and I still thought a lighted Christmas tree was beautiful. In fact I thought Christmas time was the best time of the year and I was happy to say merry Christmas. However, maybe I just wasn't as insecure or as intolarent as you are.

By the way, even though I was an atheist, my family was Protestant and even though they were Protestant we belonged to the local Jewish Community Center and none of us ever felt left out or put upon when most of them celebrated the Jewish holidays. In fact, it was during those years that I developed my high respect for the Jewish people and their religious laws.

Merry Christmas everyone -- and Happy New Year!!!

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About The Author

David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers and the internet public.

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Do You Live A McDonald's "McChurchianity" Type of Life?

2007-04-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

By By Authors | On October 31, 2006 |

Live life in the power of the finished work of the cross of Christ! Allow God to finish the good work he has begun in you! The gospel is the power of God in you that enables you to live life better by accident than you ever could on purpose!

This allows us to see and live in the reality in God’s kingdom: “As Jesus is, so are WE in this world” (I John 4:17).
Do you live a McDonald’s type of Christianity? If you do, perhaps you even attend “McChurchianity.” A lot of Christians live this way. Let me explain. In the corporate business world, McDonalds has revolutionized the fast-food industry, and they’ve done it with four business dynamics: (1) quality, (2) service, (3) value, and (4) cleanliness. Any McDonalds you go into will have these four things working together.

This is also how some folks live Christianity! (1) They want to be a quality Christian, by doing things ‘by the book,’ (2) they try to provide some service in the church, (3) they want to be of value by giving money, and (4) they want to be clean in word and thought and deed. They want to look good. They want to impress God and other people. They want to ‘shine,’ and show themselves to be good Christians.

It’s not bad to do good! But this McDonalds illustration shows how we often confuse doing good with living in unity with God. This happens if our focus is not on the gospel of Jesus. If we are not gospel-focused, then our focus is us, someone else, or something else. The Bible says our focus should be on God, and all he has done — not on our McDonalds style of Christianity: quality, service, value, and cleanliness. “McChurchianity” isn’t REAL Christianity.

We should do good rather than bad, but this isn’t divine revelation. It’s just common sense. But our quality, service, value, and cleanliness does not define Christianity. The gospel says Christianity isn’t giving our best; rather it is receiving God’s best. It is not trying to be more like God.

That’s the same sin Eve was seduced by in the Garden of Eden. We’re seduced by the same sin when we try to live a type of McDonalds McChurchianity. If our goal is to be more like God, then we’re just living in the power of the fall. Like Eve, we are living with our eyes on us — on how we can be better. This is living a good life, and it is noble, but it’s not true Christianity. It is simply living a good, religious life.

Living in the gospel means we receive all the good things God has to give us (I Cor 2:12). Like manna, we should receive God’s good things every day. Then we simply share what we have been given with others. As Christians, all that any of us have that is worth anything at all, is the presence of God in us. Everything else is flesh. Gospel life is living in God, and then imparting his presence to others.

16-17). The gospel enables us to live life as God intends, and allows him finish the good work he has begun in us.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gospel Snapshots is a short Monday and Friday newsletter written by Roger and Eileen Himes of Castle Rock, Colorado USA.To subscribe: GospelSnapshots@Royal-Responder.comPersonal Email: GospelSnapshots@aol.comOur website is: http://www.ThePracticalGospel.com

`I'm Not A Christian, But I Play One On Sunday'

2007-04-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

By By Author | On October 23, 2006 |

That conclusion is simply this: all who say they are going to Heaven are not actually on the right path, going in the right direction. Most, of course, have the best intentions, but good intentions don't make up for going in the wrong direction.

After more than three decades of church ministry, I have come to one unsettling conclusion. Actually, I've come to more than one conclusion, but this one is the most depressing.

That conclusion is simply this: all who say they are going to Heaven are not actually on the right path, going in the right direction. Most, of course, have the best intentions, but good intentions don't make up for going in the wrong direction.

Our government insists advertisers adhere to what they call "truth in advertising." I would like to insist on something I call "truth in testimony." By that, I mean what people say about themselves should be the truth. If this could ever be enacted by Congress, some people will have to say, "I'm not a Christian, but I play one on Sunday."

I've always thought of it this way, if you're not a Christian on Saturday night, you're not a Christian on Sunday morning, which may be the ultimate test. Christianity is not a time-sensitive lifestyle turned on Sunday morning and expiring by nightfall.

Christianity is not like St. Patrick's Day, where for that one day everyone is Irish. Also, Christianity is not like a part-time job you take to make ends meet.

For example, take a guy who was in my office one day last month. I never saw him before and didn't know him from Adam. He saw our church, he said, as he was driving by and thought he would stop in and visit. "You have a real nice church here, reverend," he praised.

As soon as I saw him, I knew what he was after. His job was to see how much of my money and the church's money he could put into his pocket. My job, of course, was to make his job impossible.

I've played this game before and, not bragging, I've become rather good at it. Not that I have not lost my share of games, for I have. But after losing hundreds of dollars to scoundrels, I've learned how to play the game.

The key to winning is never letting your guard down, and more importantly, never allow your opponent to suck you into his sympathy scam. One man actually brought with him a little girl he pawned off as his daughter.

Looking into her big brown eyes my hand automatically went to my wallet. I'm sorry to say I lost that one and later found out the little girl was not his daughter.

This man in my office, let's call him "Ralph," had a different scheme. He was trying to impress me with how good a Christian he really was. Although he may not have been a good Christian, he sure knew how to tell a good line. All along, he was trying to impress me that he really knew God.

I could tell Ralph knew God about as well as I knew the President of the United States. It was then an idea hit me.

While he talked to me, I was trying to figure out how I could convince him that he really didn't know God. Sure, he knew a lot of things about God and could quote a bushel full of Bible verses as though that would impress me. Entrance into heaven is not contingent upon impressing some preacher.

I knew Ralph really did not know God personally. My problem was to persuade him of that fact.

It's almost like someone who smokes cigarettes trying to convince someone who doesn't smoke that they don't smoke. The smoker does not smell the smoke but the non-smoker smells it right away. Similarly, I can readily tell when someone doesn't know God personally.

As we were talking, an idea came to mind. Ralph was sitting across my desk from me and between us was my telephone. So I said to Ralph, "Do you know the President of the United States?"

Ralph looked at me a little perplexed with this question out of the blue and said, "Sure, I do. It's George W. Bush."

"Great," I said pushing the telephone towards him, "use my telephone and call him for me."

He laughed and pushed the telephone back.

Thrusting the phone back toward him I said, "You do know the President of the United States, don't you?"

He laughed a nervous little chuckle. "The president of the United States is George W. Bush." Then he shoved the phone back toward me.

"You know him?" I persisted. As he nodded in the affirmative, a worried look embraced his face. I could see he didn't quite understand what I was getting at.

"Ralph," I explained, "you may know who the President of the United States is and you may know a lot about him. But you don't know George W. Bush enough to call him on the phone."

People who say they know God only know things about God. People who say they know Jesus Christ only know things about him. If you don't know God enough to reach Him when you need Him, you don't know Him at all.

I like the Apostle Paul's testimony. He said, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;" (Philippians 3:10 KJV.)

A friend of mine has a favorite saying that he likes to quote; "Either Jesus is Lord of all or he is not Lord at all." That about sums up the whole matter.

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Rev. James L. Snyder.

Reverend Snyder is currently ministering at the "Family of God Fellowship" in Ocala, Florida. More of his articles are available for reprint at his website: http://www.godspenman.com/ Rev. Snyder is available as a guest speaker. He writes a weekly column and is the author of "You Can Always Tell a Pastor; But Not Very Much " available at: http://www.jamessnyderministries.com/

School Prayer, Right Or Wrong

2007-04-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

By David Hallstrom | On February 12, 2006

In the Bill Of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution, titled "Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression" states the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press
by: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

In the Bill Of Rights, the First Amendment to the Constitution, titled "Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression" states the following: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.".

Now, I am not an attorney nor am I a legal scholar, and I realize that the courts have interpreted the foregoing in numerous ways, however, I also realize that how the Amendment is interpreted depends on which judge is sitting on the bench at the time a case is heard and just because a person is a judge does not mean that that person is infallible and it does not mean that that person does not have his or her own agenda. Judges are, after all, still human.

In my opinion, having organized prayer in school is not "an establishment of religion", but is instead the carrying out of the will of the majority of the people in this nation. I further believe that to forbid school prayer is "prohibiting the free exercise thereof". It is also "abridging the freedom of speech" of the majority. This nation is supposed to be a Republican Democracy where the will of the majority of it's citizens is supposed to rule. As far as I can determin, the majority of the citizens in this country believe in prayer, of one type or another, and only a small minority, comprised of certain athiests, far left politicians, "Hollywood celebrities", etc., are against prayer. To allow this small minority to override the will of the majority is wrong. To allow this small, very loud, very activist, very well financed minority to take away the right of the 'silent' majority, to pray as they wish, is to allow them to corrupt our system and to take away freedom of religion from our citizens. I realize that our citizens can still pray at home and in church, however, public schools are paid for with public tax dollars, and as long as the majority of tax payers want school prayer then they should have school prayer.

When a teacher leads a class in prayer, no one is forced to pray. Some people claim that when a child does not join in the praying, that child may be embarrassed or ridiculed by the teacher or other students, therefore they claim that class prayer is harmful. I disagree. No good teacher would criticize a student for not praying. If a teacher does so then that teacher should be reprimanded or dismissed because that teacher is not worthy of being a teacher. If some students ridicule a non praying student then those students have not been taught properly about the rights of others and should be corrected. For my own reasons, I never prayed during class prayer and no one ever said anything to me. I was never ridiculed or critcized. I knew others that did not pray and to the best of my knowledge they never had any problems, except that some of their parents embarrassed them by complaining to the school. It seems that while the non praying students did not mind school prayer, their parents did.

The majority of Americans find hope and comfort in prayer. To deny them the right to pray because a small minority does not approve, is just plain wrong. I realize that in a small number of cases some children do have problems with school prayer, but to deny the large majority of students the hope and comfort of starting their school day off with a prayer is to stomp on their rights. To deny the majority their religious freedom goes against what this country stands for.

One of the most important things about attending school is that children learn how to deal with other people. All kinds of things go on in school that affect or bother various students. They can not and should not be protected from everthing that they don't like. Some children are embarrassed by going to physical education class, should we then take physical education off the curriculum? Some children are bothered by certain things taught in history class, should we then take history off the curriculum? Some children are embarrassed because they are not good at math, should we then take math off the curriculum? If we took everything off the curriculum that might embarrass or bother a student there would no longer be any schools. If we protected the students from everthing that bothered them then they would not learn how to cope with problems and would not be able to function as adults.

In my opinion, forbidding school prayer is just another case of 'political correctness' gone overboard.

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David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers and the internet public. For more lifestyle information see http://lifestyle.resourcesforattorneys.com, the Lifestyle directory from Resources For Attorneys.

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Confucianism Essay

2007-04-04T14:15:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to overvalue the influence of the Confucianism to the development of Chinese culture, politics arts and history. Scientists still doubt and can’t define the exact meaning of the teaching. Some place it to religion; others place it to moral ethics, third to political science.

It’s hard to overvalue the influence of the Confucianism to the development of Chinese culture, politics arts and history. Scientists still doubt and can’t define the exact meaning of the teaching. Some place it to religion; others place it to moral ethics, third to political science. There are others who try to follow it without vain reflections and they state it works for them. I think all of them are right in their own way as the Confucian teaching is a harmonious mixture of ethics, esthetics, politics, religion and humanism.

Kung-fu-tsu (we know him under his Westernized name – Confucius) was born in 551 B.C. into a middle class family. From the very childhood he was devoted to learning and fond of many subjects. He mastered six arts – ritual, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy and arithmetic – the basic set for the noble youth of those times. Even being very young he was interested in public service. When grown up, Confucius went traveling state by state to study the way of life and customs of people of the different provinces.

He was born in difficult for his country times. China of the Eastern Zhou dynasty (that is the time he lived) was split into a number of small states which were at war with each other. These wars weakened the country, made a lot of harm to its people and devastated its lands. This was a time of moral chaos when moral values were rejected, crime and disobeying flourished and ruined the society from inside. The difference between poor and rich class was overwhelming and lead to a great contradictory in the society. There was a great need in a social theory which would reunite the country and Chinese nation and make it powerful and mighty union. A lot of theories were proposed at those times but Confucius’ one turned to be the most successful one and won a great supremacy during the ruling of the Han dynasty.

During his life Confucius accomplished several books. He didn’t write them himself and they were written by his successors from his words. “The Confucius Analects” is the most famous of them. It’s a book of quotes and sayings of the master on the social, ethical and moral topics.

The life of China during the Zhou dynasty can seem something distanced and uninteresting to the modern people but if to make a deep survey of the situation, we will see that problems people faced then are repeated in the most of modern societies and have same roots as they did in the times of Confucius. If to think we can state that the decline of moral values, the growth of crime rate and a big gap between rich and poor classes of the society we face now sound very alike with the problems of the ancient China. History repeats itself. This simple truth was discovered by Confucius many centuries ago. “Study the past and you would define the future.” – states he in his book. (Confucius, The Confucian Analects, p.18). And he followed his own advice. He studied a lot of great leaders of the past and a lot of successful reigning systems before he produced the one of his own. Confucius believed that the divine order is reflected in the order human beings present on the earth. He believed that our ancestors understood this order better than we did as they didn’t lose the connection with the ultimate source and understood the union of the earth and heaven better than his contemporaries.

He set ancient people as an example and the past model or reigning considered being the best one.

He specialized not only in the orderly arrangement of society and relationship between people but in self-perfection and self-development, humanism and moral rectitude as the ultimate goals of every person. The concepts of jen and li are often considered to be the main concepts of Confucianism. Each of these concepts has a lot of shades of meaning and covers almost all the teaching. The concept of jen includes goodness, benevolence, humanity and kindness. These are the qualities of the personality which define the level of its development and differentiate it from non-human beings. For Confucius these qualities make the basis of moral rectitude. The more developed the qualities mentioned above are, the more developed the personality is according to the teaching of Confucius. If put in the basis of human relationship, these qualities provide genuine and open communication and both sides get profit of it. Humanity, kindness, goodness, etc. do not depend of the race or social status and can be born or developed during the lifetime. Since jen is a sense of humanity, developed towards others it increases the self-esteem of the individual himself. Confucius can not imagine right attitude to others without the right attitude to yourself. “Respect yourself and others will respect you.” (Confucius, The Confucian Analects, p.73) addresses he his followers to underline one more time the importance of right self-esteem. Some scientists state that “The Golden Rule” of human interaction mentioned in many scripts and by many authors was first formulated by Confucius in his teaching. It sounds like “Do not do to others what you would not like them to do to you.”(Confucius, The Confucian Analects, p. 45). Confucius states that following this rule would stop wars and conflicts and bring harmony and peace to the life of the country in general and its citizens in particular.

Another important component of the teaching presented by Confucius is so called Lee concept and it describes the principle of order, gain, and benefit. Lee gives concrete guide to human action and stresses on the importance of the obeying the order. He defines two aspects of order. First is a common order, rules and customs incarnated through the relationship between people in the society. This set of rules in not written anywhere and it is connected to the moral system of the individual and defined by jen. Another aspect of lee (order) principle is realized through the social order or the general ordering of life. Confucius paid a lot of attention to the principle of yi (righteousness) as one of the means to achieve high moral level. Yi helps the person to recognize bad and good things. It’s an internal controller which gives the person the ability to make right judgments about the people and situations and to react accordingly. Confucius stated that truth can be hidden sometimes and most common reaction to the situation is not always the best one and the possession of yi principle helps to define the true nature of things. Right understanding generates the right behavior which is described in another aspect of yi – the moral disposition to do good. The concept of “good” is defined by the higher wisdom and can not be understood by ordinary human but can be felt as a sense of internal righteousness. Hsiao (filial piety) is a concept described in great detail by Confucius and very peculiar not only to Confucianism, but for the whole Chinese culture and moral tradition. This is the concept of obedience and respect which was considered the greatest of virtues. Hsiao concept had several levels same as most of the other ones. It includes the obedience of the son to the parents, obedience to family, friends, society, and mankind. Historically parents had a very big influence on the life of their children and had very much authority in the family.

All the virtues mentioned formed the concept of the gentlemen very important for Confucius’ teaching. Gentleman is an incarnation of all the virtues and moral rectitude such as humanity, kindness, obedience to the higher will, roughhouses and wisdom. It’s an ideal everybody must strive to achieve and Confucius strove to himself. Fulfilling all the concepts and rituals of Confucianism could take the whole life but it’s common for oriental people who concentrate on the process, but not the result. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” (Confucius, The Confucian Analects, p. 45). The concept of the gentlemen as an ideal man can not be separated from the concept of an ideal ruler of the country. Confucius couldn’t image a good ruler who would keep the country in peace and order and bring wealth and prosperity to its citizens not being a gentleman. Grateful citizens would provide obedience and respect to the ruler fulfilling the principles of filial piety, righteousness and goodness. This was the model of the society and human relationship presented by Confucius.

We can not give less than due do to Confucian ideas of humanity, sacrifices for the sake of common good and order very uncommon and ever revolutionary for the times he lived. Same as we can not deny that some of the ideas of this ancient teaching could be very helpful to the modern political leaders and just ordinary people in everyday life.

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The Evidence that God Exists

2007-04-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

By By Authors | On October 31, 2006

the Holy Inquisition selected with extreme care the freest and boldest men in order to burn or imprison them. In Spain alone some of the best men- those who doubted and questioned, and without doubting there can be no progress- were eliminated during three centuries at the rate of a thousand a year. The evil which the Catholic Church has thus effected is incalculable...

"-- Charles Darwin, "The Descent of Man," 1871, chapter 5 The religious concept has always baffled me. In our science, all facts are demonstrable and observable by third parties. When the first diamond was discovered, I imagine that the explorer claimed that it was sparkling and beautiful. The others, too, who discovered the diamond and reported back information on it all said the same thing. Whenever a description of a foreign idea or object came to a native people, it was either confirmed or disconfirmed based on the findings of others who explored the same area. There was a conformity in the basis of opinion; all of these people are reporting back the same information, sometimes adding a little or sometimes clarifying an older part, so it is determined that they were generally all touching the same thing. When it comes to religion, however, individuals will venture forward to the what they believe is the spiritual realm, and when they come back with descriptions of what they have seen, there is absolutely no conformity of opinion.

Some of the people who experienced the supernatural claim that Jesus Christ is the one god, and even in this religion, there are hundreds of different sects that believe in different characters of their god; the Gospel of Thomas, for instance, speaks of Christ as a Vegetarian, while in the other gospels, he makes fish for men to eat. There are some who had the religious experience and claimed that it was Yahweh, the vengeful and cruel god of the Torah, the Jewish holy book, who is the only supernatural being; and even for this group, there are different varieties, with orthodox, contemporary, and reformed churches. There are some who made their voyage in to the unknown and came back with tales not of gods, but of millions of spirits, inhabiting every object and animating all life. Others come back to us with news about rebirth or reincarnation. The wiser poet philosophers have suggested that god was real at one point, however, he has since killed himself. Some come back with stories of many gods, each one representing a different theme of society, or with each god representing a protector of different groups, like the god of thieves. Others tell us about spirits that represent each animals, while others have spirits that represent each season, and others still for spirits that represent omens or foreshadowing of the future. We can only comprehend truth when it is based on what we understand from others and how we relate their knowledge to our own experiences. In all sciences, the results are demonstrable, observable, and applicable. Religion has produced only an endless variety of insanities, each one usually accompanied by an inquisition, prejudices, crusades, bigotry, witch hunts, ostracism, intolerance, corruption, or an endless sort of social maladies.

There seems to be such an enormous amount of willingness and hope on part of the believers of religion to prove it to those who would doubt it. Many of the faithful today will make their oppositions to the tactics of the Inquisition known. But, the Inquisition, like the witch-hunts, the holocaust, the crusades, or the endless amount of factions and sects battling each other, all of these things are representative of one true and undeniable attribute of religion: these people so strongly believe in their unseen creators, that they will sacrifice their life and those of others around them to satisfy what they believe is their divine duty. There is a great faith in all of these people; and its ultimate manifestation is usually coercive and oppressive. For those who are ambitious in the eyes of their god, it is rarely enough just to believe. There is that strong spirit in them to spread their gospel and to demonize anyone who would cast doubt on it. Their attention leaves the realm of the supernatural and becomes refocused on the non-believers.

It is rare to see a minister, a clergy member, or anyone affiliated with a strong religious organization that is not resentful of those who doubt their faith. It is not enough to just say that there are other people in this world who don't believe. They need to quote the Bible's famous passage, "And the fool sayeth in his heart, 'there is no god. '" (Psalms 14: 1. ) In days past, they would send such "miserable folk" to their death upon the flames. Why is it that religious fundamentalism breeds such a cruel, unfeeling, and unthinking attitude towards our fellow human beings? Christian evangelical today are hardly defenders of personal liberty or civil rights. Many of them are opposed to abortion, drug use, masturbation, homosexuality, all sexuality in general, interesting art, progressive music (jazz or rock and roll), alternative and non-western religious views, and adult-rated film or art. For a group of people who claimed to have found ultimate peace through their lord and savior, they seem quite concerned with what other people are doing in the privacy of their own homes. Until Protestantism broke the vile chains of the Catholic Church, the common believer was even under the impression that they could have no direct communication with god -- such a connection could only be ordained and filtered through a registered priest.

Where is all of this hate coming from? It is when these people, these who believe only they have found all the answers, those who believe that there is never a reason to doubt -- it is when these people start to manipulate the systems of education, politics, and economy, that society becomes a machine of madness and chaos. Religious groups have animosity for the non-believers for one reason and one reason only. To believe that there are other people in this world, who have read your scripture, and thought that it was worth little more than the paper it was printed on, to believe this is a threat to anyone's faith. When someone has dedicated their lives to a faith, have attached all emotional feeling to the existence of this unseen master, when such a person feels that their faith is threatened, they will always react strongly, thoughtlessly, and finally, coercively. "How is it possible that someone could know what I know about this religion, and then not fully dedicate their lives to its spread?" This becomes the thought of the fundamentalist at the sight of non-believers.

The fundamentalist, never shy to seek a simple answer to a complicated question, will often times play it off as their devil controlling the living. It is impossible for them to believe that person could make an informed and knowledgeable decision to doubt. They must believe, on the other hand, that it is the will of Satan, or Beezlebub, manipulating the minds of men and women from his realm in the underkingdom, cackling as he captures another soul away from the one true god(s). This is where their inherent coercion and violence comes from. In building their fires, in adding fuel to embers, in forbidding and banning books, in their attempts to emblemize their master of the universe in every public forum -- in all of these cunning attempts to proselytize and punish the wicked non-believers, Fundamentalists forget that they're dealing with other human beings. If there is a true spiritual force of this world seeking out justice for all, then it is only the most natural and evident of ideas that such a being would want every human being to have the right to believe and speak as they wish, without being forced to live in the non-peaceful environment of a religious fundamentalism-controlled society.

That all of this coercion is necessary for religion to exist should startle some of those doubts in the believers. Universally, god seems to be defined as an all-powerful and all-knowing being, a character truly fitting of being called master of the universe. And yet, the fact that he exists isn't the most natural occurrence to the average human being. One might think that, with such a description, it wouldn't take much to believe in the lord. Few wise men doubted the existence of the world's oceans, or were skeptical of its tall and unflinching mountains, or laughed at the descriptions of jungles teeming with life of every sort. All of these impressive and unbelievable things didn't require an Inquisition, nor did they require witch hunts, nor did they require the control and observation of the day-to-day lives of others, "to root out those who would doubt our faith. " But, when it comes to god, the one thing these religious fundamentalists claim to be the most assured of, they will employ the rack, tax-exempt status for church property, and legislation that allows teacher-led prayer in public schools. When it comes to something so obvious and apparent, why should anyone find it necessary to employ such cruel and coercive methods in defending their religion? Because, for the most part, those who profess to believe in these religions doubt them the most, as such faiths will quickly and easily prove to be empty, hollow, and meaningless. The religious believer becomes threatened by someone who taps in to what they've already felt deep down inside, to those doubts that have terrified them on an inner level.

Humane thinkers will have difficulty digesting any religious ideas. The greatest contradiction of religion is that it seeks to prove the undeniably powerful nature of whatever spiritual force they may happen to believe in. And this becomes the greatest irony when they inflict endless misery and pain on those around them, all under the discretion of "that which feels and knows most. " How could anyone imagine their savior of peace smiling and laughing when his followers succeed in hurting other human beings? To a rational thinker, it is unthinkable, but to a fundamentalist, there is no other way to believe.www.punkerslut.comFor Life,Punkerslut

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Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His websitehttp://www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for "subversive activities," and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.

Jesus and the Gnostic Cathars

2007-04-04T14:13:00.000-07:00

By By Author | On March 9, 2006

These are some of the highlights of a connected story of Milesian/Phocaean/ Phoenician architects who allow 'his'-story to confuse the masses. It is still going on and we must try to change it.
These are some of the highlights of a connected story of Milesian/Phocaean/ Phoenician architects who allow 'his'-story to confuse the masses. It is still going on and we must try to change it. There was a better time if one is concerned for freedom and ethics, and there is no Malthusian 'one pie' to worry about. Creative potential can develop new pies!

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ALPHABET COMPARISONS: A key to the greatest heresy of the ages.

TIME-LINE OF CONTROVERSIAL POINTS:

INTRODUCTION:

-the Dead Sea Scrolls say there are two spirits - 'truth and error' -the Britannica 'Ogham' cover-up is disgusting and as wrong as the Scale of Nature -the bounty on the heads of Druids

CHAPTER ONE: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE SEXES:

-prostitution for the temple was required of women but why not men -"Together our voices accumulate the power to topple the systems that condone violence, incest and rape." - The Courage to Heal by Bass & Davis -"If your parents refused to tell you about sex because of their religious beliefs...that is religious sexual abuse." - Fr. Leo Booth -The cover-up or poor scholarship of Byblos, on the Persian Gulf which was a Phoenician base to help the Sumerians become civilized, and where the Egyptians bought ocean-going ships in 2900 BC according to the World Book -Psychoanalysis by 'experts' on the 'Confessions' of St. Augustine which brought us the 'Original Sin' or 'women are the harbingers' of his own evil -Priestly interpreters of the soul within that connects us all are into making sheep for their flock rather than empowering humanity. -The Qaballa or Verbal Tradition which formed part of Jesus' learning. -'Love and Living' by Thomas Merton displays the truth of Mayan beauty.

CHAPTER TWO: MOSES, MIRIAM AND THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS:

-Mariae is the sister of Moses who 'discussed the problem of the whitening of the stone in a few days.' (Stone = The alchemical Great Work) - Rabbi Silver gives insight to the lengths those in need of sheep will go to defend their position and keep their 'flock' ignorant. -". .Thoth-Hermes and Imhotep-Asklepiosâ€¦ these two cults and elements in the two Moses stories" have 'numerous similarities'- Rabbis agree -The Old Testament of Augustine who merely interpreted Genesis (falsely) was written by a woman ('The Book of 'J"). -There was no such word as Essene. A debate on derivations provides some interesting connections from Bible and Dead Sea scholars. -"For the Essenes we have only what was said about them by outsiders writing in a different language and for people who knew nothing at all about them." -'The Dead Sea Scrolls' by Millar Burrows -Jesus and his father were wise 'arch-tectons' in the Septuagint which is the Greek Bible once thought to be the first Bible, not poor carpenters. -Hyam Maccoby, 'a leading Talmudic scholar' says "Paul alone created a new religion through his vision of Jesus as a divine Savior who died to save humanity."â€¦ taken "from Gnosticism and the mystery cults." -"Jesus' threat to the Temple was not subversive... of Jewish religion, but it was a real threat to the quisling regime of the High Priest. (Appointed by Rome)â€¦ rather it was the Jews who were framed by the Gospels."

CHAPTER THREE: THE 'TUATHA De DANAAN' & THE RED-HEADED LEAGUE OF MEGALITH BUILDERS:

-"The sacred books of 'the subject peoples had a special place in this systematic project of collection and translation, because religion was, for those who wished to rule them, a kind of gateway to their souls.â€ (2) -"â€¦ the bearded white gods South America's shadowy legends say brought knowledge and culture to Andean tribes.â€ (3) -Ogham as a sign language and Huna as a spiritual enhancement language like chanting. -Homer's 'DNN' are the original settlers of Greece and the De Danaan are the 'Ogygia' or 'ancient ones' of Keltic colonizing culture. -"Some scholars now feel that the early Hebrew Bible shows an enormous amount of influence from Canaanite and Phoenician sources...Through the Bible the entire civilized world has fallen heir to Phoenician literary art.â€ (6) -"The group that emerged by the time Dido arrived was culturally diverse, ruggedly independent and, as Herodotus has emphasized, often given to animistic religious practices, which means simply that they may have venerated natural phenomenaâ€¦" -'Carthage' by top scholars, on the Berbers. -Velikovsky supported by Einstein comments on the top Egyptologist Sir Flinders-Petrie - "This script was known in Egypt for a thousand years for a thousand years; it was never used to write down an Egyptian textâ€¦" -Barry Fell from 'America BC.'-"The rise and fall of Celtic sea power has been strangely neglected by most historians and archaeologists as to prompt much skepticism when first I began to report Celtic inscription in America. 'I can't say I've ever heard that the Celts were seafarers,' was a typical comment." - watch the movie 'Spartacus' and see him talk to Keltic sea captains [Seleucids] who controlled the Mediterranean.-Mystery Hill, N.H. -"Simon Magus himself was of the race of the Gaedhils of Erinn.â€ A Celtic Reader' -"Iberian or Megalithic people of Britain introduced the immigrant Celts to the Druidic religion." -in 2600 BC, the Beaker People came to Britain and they are Kelts from Old Danube or Hallstatt. -CHART - Phoenician Brotherhood - Enterprises and Colonies.

CHAPTER FOUR: POSSIBILITY-THINKING AND SOUTH AMERICA!:

-"Colombia's outstanding archaeological remains occur along the Atlantic coasts of Santa Maria. Here were found abundant evidences of a sprawling public works' system, cities and ceremonial centers, paved roads, efficient irrigation and sophisticated agricultural practicesâ€¦ resemblesâ€¦ Hal Saflieni, in Maltaâ€¦" Ancient American, Vol. 5. -Aristotle's 'Strange Things Heard' says the Carthaginians didn't allow people to go to America anymore in order to keep their population?

-Necho II of Egypt engages Phoenicians to travel for two years for him. We later show books that identify this time and the place they went in South America. -Cyprus and the importance of mining led to an original Mt. Olympus. -Recent report of l.5MM old 'well made wooden throwing spears' should make archaeologists swallow hard as they try to maintain our ignorant cave man heritage with spears from just 20,000 years ago(Asimov). From an unrelated article in Scientific American by linguists. -Mayan knives from pre-Columbian times were better than iron and made from meteorites - Mircae Eliadeâ€™s 'The Forge and the Crucible'. -Solid state chemistry and Don Robins the top dog in a science being used that relate to the lattices that encode information in stone.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE GODS OF THE ORIGINAL MT. OLYMPUS:

-"Geophysiologists warn that if the planet does function like a body, the Earth may have the equivalent of vital organs and vulnerable points." (l) British atmospheric scientist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis are able to see what 'representational deities' were all about. -ILLUSTRATION: THE TREE OF YGGDRASIL - Cosmic Fire (Bel) and Cosmic Ice are in the Aristotelian concept borrowed from Shamans and they are in the sephirah of the Hassidic 'Tree of Life', which Jesus studied. -Heraclitus "conceded the existence of an over-riding, all-encompassing unity, in which the apparently contradictory opposites are all linked to one another, in a single, regular, cohesive system of balanced, harmonious measure and just order."- the 'Logos', the 'I Ching' and Miletus. -Men and women both can live in harmony with this order according to Heraclitus who Michael Grant (top classical scholar) says: "This inertia, resulting in a total non-recognition of the truth (shared by anti-feministsâ€¦ had learned about many things which had failed, however to bring them real understanding.â€ -Tacitus - "So obscure are the greatest events; as some take for granted any hearsay, whatever its source, others turn truth into falsehood, and both errors find encouragement with posterity." -Rennes le Chateau = Jesus in PLAID swaddling clothes, â€œTau - (Hebrew) St. Anthony's cross; a T-shaped cross patterned after the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet meaning the end of the world..." -"Essentially the Sea Peoples theory was a convenient and plausible invention of the 19th century, designed (largely by historian Gasten Maspero) to fit very limited facts.â€ (14) -Lies about Pyramids as tombs for 'freaky' Pharaohs are debunked. The almost intact Keltic ship on the Giza plateau has a 40 Ton displacement and is not a funerary barge, with sails to go a few hundred yards. -Druidic 'Cabiri' and the Cauldron of Ceridwen = Cosmic Egg and shamans -ILLUSTRATION: THE 'TRAVELERS' - 6,000,000 years of man and how the ethnic and cultural growth seems likely to have occurred with a conservative archaeologic perspective included.

CHAPTER SIX: BRUTUS, BRITAIN AND THE GOTHS:

-Quintus Fabius Pictor led Livy to try to make sense of a myth that has truthful roots in the 'Aeneid' of Virgil and the 'Iliad' of Homer. Both are shown support in true history and from the Phocaean/Milesian roots of Ireland. A consistent picture emerges with real historical and aristocratic families who became forced to accept EMPIRE when Brutus failed to maintain the Republic. -1800 BC. brought the (carbon-dated) Nuraghe of Barumini, Sardinia as Jacquetta Hawkes talks about the "'tombe di giganti' in which the inhabitants of the nuraghi buried their dead." and "It is difficult to avoid the terms of medieval castle architecture in describing the nuraghi." There are over 6500 on Sardinia. -"Picti is invariably translated = â€˜Redshanksâ€™,â€ epithets become history. -Crete had the royal house of Mallia and was the origin or related to the Milesians when we know the code of Ogham and its use of vowels and doubling or reversing of letters.

CHAPTER SEVEN: SPIRITUALITY WAS NOT 'OCCULT' (HIDDEN):

-Mircae Eliade says: "There appears to be an unbroken continuity of folklore traditions, Taoism and alchemy: The Taoist alchemist is the successor of the hunter of medicinal remedies, who, from time immemorial, went off into the mountains with a calabash to collect magic seeds and plants." Yet character assassins employed by the hegemony say alchemists are hermits who sought only gold for avaricious needs. -The Hubbell photos of the center of the universe bring us proof of energy coming through from other universes and much more that mystics have known. -The cover-up of Da Vinci's alchemy and how he saw the 'bicycle' is exposed in-depth though scholars avoid it. -These concepts are not in conflict and do not need to create stress or threaten anyone in search of truth. The 'Zen' of the moment is not designed to promote ignorance and lack of concern for our collective history or our soulful potential. -â€œThe 'Bardo Thodol' ('Liberation by Hearing, on the After-Death Plane') is among the sacred books of the world, unique. As an epitomized exposition of the cardinal doctrines of the 'MahÃ¤yÃ¤na' School of Buddhism, it is of very great importance, religiously, philosophically, and historically. As a treatise based essentially upon the Occult Sciences of the 'Yoga'â€¦" (15) -We know the War department contractors are working on Pyramid technologies and yet it isn't being exposed to the general public. -Ossianic legends of pre-Egyptian culture who founded Egypt are explored. -Dark Matter is not the regulating force causing the increasing outward velocity of the universe. Tesla's non-force 'info-packets' and Bearden's energy from vacuums are related to the 'one-dimensional harmonic force'. -The 'Triads of Bardism' 'enlighten the darkness'. -Pythagoras knew the truth of the Sphinx but has been portrayed a 'fool'.

CHAPTER EIGHT: BEL-IG-ERANT 'Brothers' - GOTHS & ARYANS!

-'Cleopatra' - "This book is about them, but it is also about politics - sexual, racial and constitutional - and about morality, neurosis and desire. Above all it is about propaganda and the persuasive powerâ€¦â€ (1) -Jack Kerouac's 'Some of the Dharmas' brings us 'The Cause of Sorrow'. -"Meanwhile, in early 1985, researchers at the University of Colorado announced that they had discovered a lost city in Northern Peru. The name? Gran Pajaten! How many times can you discover a city, especially one discussed in tourist guides?â€ -Savoy -"The magnitude of the Gran Vilaya ruins, consisting of over 80 interconnected city-type layouts composed of some 23,950 structures to date,." (1985 in South America) Is this where the Ostrogoths went after Italy as the 'Chronicle of Akakor' says was the case in 570 AD.? -Hitler was an indolent scatophagist and pawn who would have gladly kept England and America strong, if they had only given to him what they gave to the criminal genius Stalin. In fact he would have wanted less than Poland and the other 50,000,000 Eastern Europeans who feared the same treatment the 32,000,000 Ukrainians were already getting from Stalin. -The 'Grail' legends as a useful managers tool and coded study of the Merovingian dynasty of Benjaminites who are not Israeli and wish to revenge themself on those Tribes they tried to help.

CHAPTER NINE: JESUS CHRIST!!

-Those who call him Messiah are righter than they know. -Mishnaic Law of the Judean teachers would not have allowed Jesus to be a teacher (rabbi) without having a wife. -"the archetypal Roman shouldered the White Man's Burden, the arduous but fabulously profitable task of governing those whom, despite all evidence to the contrary, the Romans judged incapable of governing themselves." (Lucy Hughes-Hallett from 'Cleopatra') -Jesus and His Curricula Vitae: -Joseph of Arimathaea - Another Phoenician! -"The excavations of Thomas W. Jacobsen at the Franchithi Cave on the Bay of Argos... by 13,000 - 11,000 B.C. and that the cultivation of hybrid grains, the domestication of animals, and organized community tuna hunts had already begun." (Britannica) Yet there are those who say we couldn't travel the ocean when obsidian had to be brought from a distance, at this time. They like to intimate we couldn't travel the oceans for a reason when they say (NY Public Library's Chronicles) the earliest recorded sea travel was in 2600 BC to Lebanon. -What entitles unproductive half-witted inbred psychopomps and sadists to lounge around making deals to improve their power over people? The Divine Right of KINGS?!?!

CHAPTER TEN: FROM THE TEMPLARS TO TEMUJIN:

-Blood was a vital psychic or spiritual and ritualistic ingredient that communion is based upon according to Gardner and those who still do the Star Fire Ceremony with Crowley's 'blood of the moon' or female hormone -'To drink like a Templar' became a commonâ€¦ Sir Walter Scott portrays them as bullies... not established to protect pilgrims." -Genghis Khan was a gifted 'smith' and listener who learned a lot that his progeny built upon; and did unto others before they did unto him. -Marco Polo was a 'slaver' who worked with Catholic cowards whose need for concubines and slaves was enough to allow the Mongols to conquer a recently Christianized Russia. Greek Fire was available to them. -"According to the Supreme Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, there were thirty-nine men and women on the High Council of the Brotherhood, who sat at the Temple of Karnak in Luxor. (2) A branch of this Order became more generally known as the Egyptian Therapeutae, who in Heliopolis and Judaea, were identified as the Essenes. (3)â€¦Jesus was later initiated..." -Illustration; The Pyramid Propaganda:

EPILOGUE: THE GREATEST HISTORIANS!

-Bernard Mandeville brings us the Fable of the Bees which Childeric, Napoleon and the Sarmoung Brotherhood of the esoteric secret groups including the Merovingians (and the Melchizedek Mormons) use as a main symbol. He says 'Virtue is just a pretence which man has invented for his own advantage.' -Fukayama deals with Plato and Hegel, though appropriately notes the real master philosophy of politics - 'Machiavelli was the founder of modern political philosophy, who believed that man could become the master of his own earthly house if he took his cues not from the way men ought to live, but the way they actually live.' - Fukayama the social engineer, would have us believe there is little chance of another 'Holocaust' (in 1992 he wrote this, before the Rwanda genocide) or 'communist resurgence' and placates the American public with a plethora of half-truths. The Durants document the true nature of continuing cycles and 'Dark Ages' brought about by class and economic or power re-adjustments. - The Popeâ€™s 1995 encyclical spoke of a worldwide culture of death.

Author of Diverse Druids Columnist for The ES Press Magazine Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Baird

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Should Atheism Be Defended?

2007-04-04T14:11:00.000-07:00

Dedication

I would like to dedicate this article to all of my friends. To Jawbreaker Savior, for her warmth and thoughtfulness. To Ooglie, for her kindness and affection. To Beast of Atheism, Liz, Ely, and all those who have helped me. And to everyone who helped makehttp://www.Punkerslut.com a reality.
Introduction

Should Atheism be defended? This is a question that every inquisitive skeptic has asked themselves. After all, if there is no god - or no proof of a god - then should this claim be defended? The zealots who wage holy wars, slaughter men, women, and children, can at least point to the omnibenevolence of a god of sorts to excuse their actions. The clergy who indoctrinate children and ban literature will be sure to state that it is for ultimate divinity that their actions are committed. And even religious figures feel the need to persecute minorities because anybody who believes differently does not feel the warmth of their god. These figures, characters, who have molded history in their own way can all claim to have found their beliefs on the belief in an almighty god. However, to those of us who cannot make such a claim, what can we say is the motive of our actions? And to those of us who defend Atheism, what can be said of those motives?

It is an intriguing question. The religious crusader will say that he is filled with the glory and rage of god, forcing him to do the will of his master. The impious thinker, however, cannot claim such a moving force that initiates his actions. It can easily be seen why some men and women may be so unrelenting when it comes to spreading their gospel. They are inspired by the divine, by the ultimate powers that govern the mechanics of the Universe. However, to those who are unholy and irreligious - those of us who find no value or inspiration in any scripture - we cannot claim to be filled with such awe and amazement. We can only claimed to be moved by the far inferior force of reason. To those of us who defend reason and rationalism, those of us who feel that there is an undeniable power in logic, there is nothing to fill us with inspiration that is divine. The same force that motivates the theologian does not motivate the philosopher. If this is true, then to why would a philosopher feel a desire to destroy the construct of faith? Why would the philosopher feel the need to debunk the power of religion? Should Atheism be defended?

Of the Benefits of Religion

One particularly interesting question when it comes to arguing the value of belief over nonbelief, is the question of reform. Over centuries, we have seen that there has been an obvious change in the attitudes of men from different cultures. There has been praise and hate for slavery, reward and punishment for murder. Different ages and different generations brought with them different ideals, all incorporating what they believed into the framework of government and society. There have been times when people questioned the rights of women and there have been times when people questioned the virtues of mercy and tolerance. Reform is perhaps one of the greatest questions when deciding if we wish to stand amidst the camp of belief or nonbelief. Has the church - has religion and its followers - befriended the cause for reform? Or have those who befriended reform been typically of an irreligious background?

Religion has been the base of abominations. It has destroyed lives, blighted futures, and tortured the innocent. In its greatness and power, it has gone unquestion as it killed relentlessly and its power went undoubted as it celebrated on the graves of its victims. There has been no institution so universally responsible for so much when it comes to suffering and destruction. The cultures relinquished, the hopes smothered, and the joys crushed -- the tender moments torn to pieces, the affectionate touches demolished, the brightening emotions desolated -- the memes and ideas propogated that taught men and women to be cruel to each other, to love vice, to hold vengeance against those who believe otherwise -- these ideas can be drawn back to the solitary source of religion. Happiness was sacrificed so that the church could become massive. Mercy was traded for vice; sympathy swapped for cruelty; and charity immolated for viciousness. These all done so that religion and its leaders may grow in power and wealth. There is nothing so debaucherous of compassion and humility than this overgrown vestige of greed and cruelty.

The inclinations of man have run the gamut from natural compassion to corrupt hatred. It was the purpose of the church, the synagogue, the mosque, the temple, the shrine, the baslica, to exploit the superstitions and bigotry of the common man so as to benefit itself. The prejudices of the common man was condoned, as well as fostered and promoted, when it came to the teachings of organized religion. Hate and religion went hand in hand. There was no kinship of all living creatures, no love of each other. When religion exploits the masses, by embracing a bigotted hate of the people and enforcing it, by theft, by murder, by whatever foul and ruinous means, it becomes destructive of happiness. Religion permeates the world with fear, plants the seeds of destruction, and clamps down on independent thought. Reformers who have stood up to say that slavery, or inequality of women, or the rights of children, have always been denounced by traditional religion. Those who oppose cruel and vicious atrocities have always been the target religious oppression. Reform and infidelity are parallel. Orthodoxy endeavors to destroy both institutions.

In all rational considerations, it is best to fear the man who claims that god is behind him. It is not that this godly man will be more merciless or malicious with the accompaniament of religion. It is that when a man follows what he believes god tells him, and nothing else, he is ignorant of reason and oblivious to logic. There is no evidence that you could use to convince him otherwise of his convictions. We are often told by the clergy and the other religious officials of our time that without religion, this world would tear itself to pieces. There would be no common code of ethics nor would there be any morality -- there would be no purpose to act good and no motive to behave kindly. However, rarely do leaders of religion see the errors of their ancestors. And even more rarer still is when they proclaim the errors of their religion. In this deep and dark insidious way, the ecclesiastical leaders have kept their followers ignorant and blind, incapable of making choices for themselves, and reliant upon the church to guide them.

What the scholars and historians of all centuries have failed to recognize is that religion puts a monopoly on morality. Within its borders, religion evicts reason and evidence. Once this is done, there are no ethics based on rational or comprehendible reasons. If an individual is inspired by god that all individuals of a particular race are inferior and ought to be punished, then they will believe that. Any argument that a philosopher can conjure up will be rendered useless. If a churchman agrees with slavery because his god agrees with slavery, what can we say to him? Can we avail to his sense of compassion, or perhaps his faculty of reasoning? We may simply and logically explain to him that every conscious being is fuly capable of feeling suffering as he is, and therefore none ought to be in the chains of slavery. But what good would this explanation do? The religious churchman can always fall back on the argument of the divine. It has long been conceived within religion that reason is inferior to faith. If the faith commands slavery and the rational demands emancipation, then the faithful will remain slavers and rationalists will remain abolitionists. When religion condones cruelty and barbarity clamps down on opposition, progress has come to a standstill and compassion has been traded for faith. It has been with triumphant leaps and bounds that reason has smashed through the cage of religion, delivering some poor victim from the vindictive, torturous ways of faith.

"Therefore, I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. By fighting off the Jews, I am doing the Lord's work." [Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler.] The words of Adolf Hitler are etched on to history. He did what he did because he believed that faith was stronger than reason -- that blind acceptance of intuition and dogma held more value than open investigation with reason and logic. I do not believe that it was religion alone that convinced Hitler that the existence of Jews harmed Christ. It has also been his natural bigotry of being born in a Europe that was highly anti-semitic for over hundreds of years -- which of course is the result of Christian thought. Perhaps, though, Hitler found appeal in the institutions of prejudice of his time. When he was young, he was like the others of his class: patriotic and pious. He was like everyone else, as he shared on the same prejudices and the same bigoted fears. Like his comrades, he was also deeply religious. Christianity cannot be entirely blamed for the way Hitler developed. The point I am trying to make, is that by using religion as an argument for your side -- or by declaring that god is on your side and not on the side of your enemies -- an individual then becomes distant to reason and irreconcilable with logic. In can be said, in this respect, that religion is the origin of unsolvable conflicts. Compare science to religion. Science is not based on any unworldly power. It is based on natural observation and analysis. One can argue with evidence. There is no arrogant or haughty claim about how the ruler of the Universe feels about these subjects. It is pure reason-based claims. Religion, on the other hand, is unable of finding any objective truth. There have been thousands of religions all through the ages, and as men educated themselves they found themselves less in appeal to such old superstitions. The fact, though, remains: by using religion to defend your philosophical position -- particularly one which includes the murdering of millions of beings -- you inevitably make an inscrutinizable and unquestionable position, because rarely would anyone believing in a higher power desire to question those who call themselves prophets.

Many conflicts are the result of religion. The Crusades, for example, shed an insurmountable amount of blood. Jerusalem, the target of the Crusades as well as other wars, has been the bloodiest city on the planet for the last two thousand years -- many of the battles resulting from religious conflict. Muslims have a similar concept yet it is called the Jihad. This idea of slaughtering without caprice, killing and maiming with thoughts of your master, can undoubtedly be found to have originated amongst the most religiously-minded. Pope Urban II, at the Council of Clermont in France in 1095, made it quite clear his position -- or "god's position" -- on the topic of a crusade...

For the Turks, a Persian people, have attacked them, as many of you already know, and have advanced as far into Roman territory as that part of the Mediterranean which is called the Arm of Saint George. They have seized more and more of the lands of the Christians, have already defeated them in seven times as many battles, killed or captured many people, have destroyed churches, and have devastated the kingdom of God. If you allow them to continue much longer they will conquer God's faithful people much more extensively.

Wherefore with earnest prayer I, not I, but God exhorts you as heralds of Christ to repeatedly urge men of all ranks whatsoever, knights as well as foot-soldiers, rich and poor, to hasten to exterminate this vile race from our lands and to aid the Christian inhabitants in time.

I address those present; I proclaim it to those absent; moreover Christ commands it. For all those going thither there will be remission of sins if they come to the end of this fettered life while marching by land, crossing by sea or in fighting the pagans. This I grant to all who go, through the power vested in me by God.

[...]

Let those who have been hirelings for a few pieces of silver now attain an eternal reward. [Council of Clermont, France, 27 November 1095, By Pope Urban II. From: Fulcher of Chartres, A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem: 1095-1127, Book I, Chapter III, translation: Frances Rita Ryan, 1969.]

From reading this speech given by a vicious person, it can easily be seen that they were not a friend of mankind, nor were they a friend of reform. They provoked perhaps the bloodiest wars in history. Of what institution, of what belief, of what foundation can all this mass murder be blamed? Religion. With its foul motives and unconscionable behavior, it has allowed the most horrendous and vindictive behavior all over the centuries. Pope Urban II was not the first to condone such a massacre. In 1154, Pope Eugene III called another crusade, "We, moreover, providing with paternal solicitude for your tranquillity and for the destitution of that same church, do grant and confirm by the authority conceded to us of God, to those who by the promptings of devotion do decide to undertake and to carry through so holy and so necessary a work and labour, that remission of sins which our aforesaid predecessor pope Urban did institute" [Summons to A Crusade, Dec 1, 1154, by Eugene III. Given at Vetralle on the Calends of December. From: Doeberl, Monumenta Germania Selecta, Vol 4, p. 40, trans in Ernest F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, (London: George Bell and Sons, 1910), pp. 333-336.] In 1215, Pope Innocent III made a declaration for a crusade...

To those that refuse, moreover, if any by chance shall be so ungrateful to our Lord God, they (the clergy) shall firmly protest on behalf of the apostolic see, that they shall know that for this they are about to answer to us, at the final day of a strict investigation, before the tremendous Judgment. First considering, however, with what conscience, or with what security they will be able to confess in the presence of Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God, into whose hands the Father gave all things, if they shall refuse in this matter, as if it were properly their own, to serve Him who was crucified for sinners; by whose gift they live, by whose benefit they are sustained, nay, more, by whose blood they are redeemed. [Given at the Lateran, on the nineteenth day before the Calends of January (Dec 14th) in the eighteenth year of out pontificate. Trans in Ernest F. Henderson, Select Historical Documents of the Middle Ages, (London: George Bell and Sons, 1910), pp. 337-344.]

It is a cruel confession to have been responsible for the murder of others because of their creed -- but to what level of inhumanity does the bar rise when you ardently condemn those who do not join in your sickly pleasures? Nothing has been no statement in human history that was so degenerative. Any individual who finds virtue in the murder of masses is nothing short of a brutalitarian. These men, religious leaders who promoted one of the bloodiest movements - and proudly - that history has to offer, were each an ignoramous without the sympathy to understand the plight of the "infidels." There are numerous eye witness accounts of the Crusades...

Many fled to the roof of the temple of Solomon, and were shot with arrows, so that they fell to the ground dead. In this temple almost ten thousand were killed. Indeed, if you had been there you would have seen our feet colored to our ankles with the blood of the slain. But what more shall I relate? None of them were left alive; neither women nor children were spared.

[...]

This may seem strange to you. Our squires and poorer footmen discovered a trick of the Muslims, for they learned that they could find a gold coin in the stomachs and intestines of the dead Muslims, who had swallowed them. Thus, after several days they burned a great heap of dead bodies, that they might more easily get the precious metal from the ashes. [The Capture of Jerusalm, 1099, by Fulk of Chartres, chapter 27-28. Edited for clarity. ("Byzant" changed to "gold coin" and "Saracen" changed to "Muslim.")]

However, when the hour approached on which our Lord Jesus Christ deigned to suffer on the Cross for us, our knights began to fight bravely in one of the towers--namely, the party with Duke Godfrey and his brother, Count Eustace. One of our knights, named Lethold, clambered up the wall of the city, and no sooner had he ascended than the defenders fled from the walls and through the city. Our men followed, killing and slaying even to the Temple of Solomon, where the slaughter was so great that our men waded in blood up to their ankles....

[...]

The battle raged throughout the day, so that the Temple was covered with their blood. When the pagans had been overcome, our men seized great numbers, both men and women, either killing them or keeping them captive, as they wished. On the roof of the Temple a great number of pagans of both sexes had assembled, and these were taken under the protection of Tancred and Gaston of Beert. Afterward, the army scattered throughout the city and took possession of the gold and silver, the horses and mules, and the houses filled with goods of all kinds.

Later, all of our people went to the Sepulchre of our Lord, rejoicing and weeping for joy, and they rendered up the offering that they owed. In the morning, some of our men cautiously ascended to the roof of the Temple and attacked the Muslims, both men and women, beheading them with naked swords; the remainder sought death by jumping down into the temple.

[...]

Among those who entered [Jerusalem] first were Tancred and the Duke of Lorraine, and the amount of blood that they shed on that day is incredible. All ascended after them, and the Muslims now began to suffer.

[...]

Some of our men (and this was more merciful) cut off the heads of their enemies; others shot them with arrows, so that they fell from the towers; others tortured them longer by casting them into the flames. Piles of heads, hands, and feet were to be seen in the streets of the city. It was necessary to pick one's way over the bodies of men and horses. But these were small matters compared to what happened at the Temple of Solomon, a place where religious services are ordinarily chanted. What happened there? If I tell the truth, it will exceed your powers of belief. So let it suffice to say this much, at least, that in the Temple and porch of Solomon, men rode in blood up to their knees and bridle reins. Indeed, it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers, since it had suffered so long from their blasphemies. The city was filled with corpses and blood.

[...]

Now that the city was taken, it was well worth all our previous labors and hardships to see the devotion of the pilgrims at the Holy Sepulchre. How they rejoiced and exulted and sang a new song to the Lord! For their hearts offered prayers of praise to God, victorious and triumphant, which cannot be told in words. A new day, new joy, new and perpetual gladness, the consummation of our labor and devotion, drew forth from all new words and new songs. This day, I say, will be famous in all future ages, for it turned our labors and sorrows into joy and exultation; this day, I say, marks the justification of all Christianity, the humiliation of paganism, and the renewal of our faith. "This is the day which the Lord hath made, let us rejoice and be glad in it," for on this day the Lord revealed Himself to His people and blessed them. [A.C. Krey. The First Crusade: The Accounts of Eye-witnesses and Participants. (Princeton: 1921), pp. 256-262. "Saracen" changed to "Muslim" for clarity.]

Were these men Atheists? Were they fluent in the works of Epicurus? Did they consider Democritus to be a hero? Were they Materialists, holding account natural causes for natural phenomenon? The answer is a resounding no. They were Christians, full of pride in their religion and committing such actions at the command of Christianity. They were only fluent in what the preachers taught them and what the Popes told them. They held Christ to be their only hero. These men, incredibly superstitious and heartless, were vicious and relentless. They attacked the Jews on account of religion. Had religion been eradicated by the ancients, such a conflict would not have arisen. If only these men had the mind to reason, such bloodshed would have been spared. Instead of focusing on religious quarrels - unsolvable quarrels - they could have focused on endeavoring to make each other's lives better, to promote creativity, to become more affectionate of each other. But their primary goal was not sympathy. At the command of religion, they beheaded, they slayed, they murdered, they raped, they pillaged. Even so, these Christians were made cruel by their religion. What can be said of the Jews who defended Jerusalem? One observer noted, "Yet because of the many troubles and the fasts which they had observed they had no strength to stand up against the enemy." [The Crusaders in Mainz, May 27, 1096, Soloman bar Samson.] Their religious rituals had made them weak. They were unable to fight off the crusaders. The Jews were afraid of Christians raising their children, so when realizing that they were outnumbered and weak, they slaughtered each other. One eyewitness claims...

The women there girded their loins with strength and slew their sons and their daughters and then themselves. Many men, too, plucked up courage and killed their wives, their sons, their infants. The tender and delicate mother slaughtered the babe she had played with, all of them, men and women arose and slaughtered one another. The maidens and the young brides and grooms looked out of the Windows and in a loud voice cried: "Look and see, O our God, what we do for the sanctification of Thy great name in order not to exchange you for a hanged and crucified one...." [The Crusaders in Mainz, May 27, 1096, Soloman bar Samson.]

In the name of religion, these Jews fasted, made themselves weak, and then were unable to battle the onslaught of the crusaders. Once the crusaders had taken their city, they slaughtered each other with great propensity. Those who were unable to kill themselves were given aid from family and friends. In the name of their god, they were unwilling to accept another religion. They sacrificed their own lives and killed their children just so that they would not have to trade one mental illness for another. The Crusades certainly were not the only instance of a religious war. In fact, Italian city-states once organized a revolt against Rome. In response, unspeakable atrocities were committed...

When Italian city-states organized and revolted against Rome in 1375, Robert of Geneva hired a mercenary band to reconquer the area for papal control: Swearing clemency by a solemn oath on his cardinal's hat, Cardinal Robert persuaded the men of Cessna to lay down their arms, and won their confidence by asking for 50 hostages and immediately releasing them as evidence of good will. Then summoning his mercenaries... he ordered a general massacre 'to exercise justice.' ... For three days and nights beginning February 3, 1377, while the city gates were closed, the soldiers slaughtered. 'All the squares were full of dead.' Trying to escape, hundreds drowned in the moats, thrust back by relentless swords. Women were seized for rape, ransom was placed on children, plunder succeeded the killing, works of art were ruined, handicrafts laid waste, 'and what could not be carried away, they burned, made unfit for use or spilled upon the ground.' The toll of the dead was between 2,500-5,000. [A Distant Mirror, by Tuchman, pages 321-322.]

For the sake of god, these men pillaged, destroyed, and raped. They were indiscriminate in their cruel and atrocious actions, leaving even children with the severest scars that life had to offer. It was this ignorance for the value of life that emboddied itself in religious this -- this licentious and irretrievable sentiment instilled in the hearts of religious zealots that worth cannot be found in humanity. From going to church, they learned to disrespect natural inclinations of kindness, to adhere to all aggressive motives, to throw off any coming to affection. Virtue was hated and vice loved. The religious man only understood two things: that he was going to heaven as long as he believed, and that his aggressions against others of another faith were acceptable -- they were even promoted by the one who granted him eternal life. In the hearts and minds of the crusaders and religionists lied these two beliefs, side by side as they made perfect kindling for the most barbaric, unfeeling, and brutal behavior that the world would ever see.

Violence is a currency in religion. It has manifested itself into the sects, the denominations, the cults, the religions, the varied forms of insanity. If you find any institution where the mental faculties are disregarded to the mental illnesses, you are bound to find unsolvable conflicts abound. Even beyond that, you are bound to find a collective of degenerative individuals who would relish in their work as violent beings.

Human history in all ages is red with blood, and bitter with hate, and stained with cruelties; but not since Biblical times have these features been without a limit of some kind. Even the Church, which is credited with having spilt more innocent blood, since the beginning of its supremacy, than all the political wars put together have spilt, has observed a limit. A sort of limit. But you notice that when the Lord God of Heaven and Earth, adored Father of Man, goes to war, there is no limit. He is totally without mercy -- he, who is called the Fountain of Mercy. He slays, slays, slays! All the men, all the beasts, all the boys, all the babies; also all the women and all the girls, except those that have not been deflowered.

He makes no distinction between innocent and guilty. The babies were innocent, the beasts were innocent, many of the men, many of the women, many of the boys, many of the girls were innocent, yet they had to suffer with the guilty. What the insane Father required was blood and misery; he was indifferent as to who furnished it.

The heaviest punishment of all was meted out to persons who could not by any possibility have deserved so horrible a fate -- the 32,000 virgins. Their naked privacies were probed, to make sure that they still possessed the hymen unruptured; after this humiliation they were sent away from the land that had been their home, to be sold into slavery; the worst of slaveries and the shamefulest, the slavery of prostitution; bed-slavery, to excite lust, and satisfy it with their bodies; slavery to any buyer, be he gentleman or be he a coarse and filthy ruffian.[Letters from the Earth, Letter 11.]

[...]

In August 1572... in Paris and elsewhere in France... it was Christian against Christian. The Roman Catholics, by previous concert, sprang a surprise upon the unprepared and unsuspecting Protestants, and butchered them by the thousands -- both sexes and all ages. This was the memorable St. Bartholomew's Day. At Rome the Pope and the Church gave public thanks to God when the happy news came. During several centuries, hundreds of heretics were burned at the stake every year because their religious opinions were not satisfactory to the Roman Church... ["The Damned Human Race," subsection: "The Lowest Animal," by Mark Twain.]

Religion, being the origin of unsolvable conflict, has destroyed more cultures and lives than possibly any other institution. It has infected minds with hate and dogma. It has given individuals permission to cause suffering, rewarding them even. It has made some men so bigoted and hateful that would kill themselves, only so that they can die knowing happily that they caused suffering to someone of another faith. It is this mentality, this religiousness, which has caused the holy wars that plagued the face of the earth. Even Albert Gore understands this...

Jefferson knew history. He could look back on centuries of religious war in Europe: on massacre, burning, rape, pillage, and hatreds that tore nations apart and soaked the earth in blood. He knew from history and human nature how easy it is to arouse mass, murderous passion when religious demagogues cry that God wills it.... My mother's people, the Lafons, were French Huguenots, driven out of their homeland because of their religious faith, Protestantism. They found a new home in America...

We have had narrow escapes. Americans are human beings, subject to the same temptations and the same pride and the same fears that affilct people of all nations. Puritans in Boston hanged Quakers in a grim public ceremony on the limbs of the Great Elm on Boston Common. Baptists under Roger Williams had to flee Massachusetts.... Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter Day Saints, the Mormons, was murdered by a mob.... Anti-Semitism is a stain on our history. For many decades, Jews could not buy houses in some parts of town. They were banned from many organizations.... Their innocent children suffered the thousand daily humiliations that prejudice could heap upon them, and suffer still....

Even as we celebrate our religious liberty today, killing in the name of religion goes on all around the world. At this moment, the Muslims of Sarajevo are being shelled by artillery from the supposedly Christian Serbs in the mountains above the helpless city. The peaceful, inoffensive adherents of the Baha'i faith in Iran are imprisoned and murdered by the Iranian government. Their crime? The Baha'is beileve in the spiritual unity of mankind. Saddam Hussein carries on a campaign of terror against the Shi'ite Muslims in his Iraq. Muslim fundamentalists in Egypt machine gun tourists. Hindus and Muslims in the Indian subcontinent are at each other's throats. Northern Ireland blazes with gunfire between opposing sides who claim to worship the same Christ.... Throughout history, religious wars have always been the most brutal and cruel and merciless. [Vice President Albert Gore, speaking at a Religious Freedom Day ceremony in Richmond on January 14, 1994, in a building designed by Thomas Jefferson.]

The wars and conflicts caused by religion are innumerable. The world has been plagued with this disease called religion since mankind could explain a natural effect with a supernatural cause. Why would men be so inclined as to try and slaughter their fellow kin? Why would mercy, affection, and kindness be evicted from the hearts of men, replaced with tyranny, hypocrisy, and corruption? Religion. It made men into monsters, unfeeling and smiling at the aid of torture. Brutal and relentless, religionists all over the world have always sought out targets to persecute, have always looked for victims to make their lives more miserable, have always endeavored to do the will of their god. In the name of divinity, for whatever the spirits demanded, the priests and popes paid: with lives, happiness, hope. When a religion embarks with causing suffering as goal, the first thing that has been lost is justice.

It has been stipulated in modern times by particular Christians that Satanists and other anti-Christians abuse and sacrifice children. These reports circulate primarily Christian newspapers. As far as the truth is concerned - which it is not of concern to these Christians - Christianity has caused more suffering on this planet than Satanism ever could imagine. In the name of Christianity, however, more child abuse has ocurred than in the name of any other religion. One criminal investigator noted, "The fact is that far more crime and child abuse has been committed by zealots in the name of God, Jesus and Mohammed than has ever been committed in the name of Satan. Many people don't like that statement, but few can argue with it." [Kenneth V. Lanning, Supervisory Special Agent at the Behavioral Science Instruction and Research Unit of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Quote from the October 1989 issue of the professional journal, The Police Chief.] Carl Sagan notes on several incidents of excessive child abuse...

(1) Mya Obasi, a Louisiana schoolteacher, was -- she and her sisters believed after consultation with a hoodoo practitioner -- possessed by demons. Her nephew's nightmares were part of the evidence. So they left for Dallas, abandoned their five children, and the sisters then gouged out Ms. Obasi's eyes. At the trial, she defended her sisters. They were trying to help her, she said. But hoodoo is not devil-worship; it is a cross between Catholicism and African-Haitian nativist religion. (2) Parents beat their child to death because she would not embrace their brand of Christianity. (3) A child molestor justifies his acts by reading the Bible to his victims. (4) A 14-year-old boy has his eyeball plucked from his head in an exorcism ceremony. His assailant is not a satanist, but a Protestant fundamentalist minister engaged in religious pursuits. (5) A woman thinks her 12-year-old son is possessed by the devil. After an incestuous relationship with him, she decapitates him. But there is no satanic ritual content to the "possession." [The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, pages 160-161.]

Numerous atrocities, all in the name of the unseen, have been committed. However, Christianity is not the only one to blame when it comes to child abuse. The Hare Krishnas also fail to see value in humaneness. They can be noted and remembered for their taste for abuse and their enjoyment of suffering. The following allegations by certain of their followers are being held against them...

* Children forced to sleep in unheated rooms

* Forced to walk great distances in cold without coats or shoes

* Deprived of medical care for malaria, hepatitis and broken bones

* Scrubbed with steel wool until they bled

* Moved to schools in different states without parental consent [Friday, 8 February, 2002, 18:19 GMT, "Krishnas to file for bankruptcy," B. B. C. News]

These are only recent ways that the religious have demonstrated their lack of humanity. There have been situations all throughout history where the church and religion has failed to show affection for mankind at all. Ingersoll recounts one incident of church cruelty...

The worst religion of the world was the Presbyterianism of Scotland as it existed in the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Kirk had all the faults of the Church of Rome without a redeeming feature. The Kirk hated music, painting, statuary, and architecture. Anything touched with humanity -- with the dimples of joy -- was detested and accursed. God was to be feared -- not loved.

Life was a long battle with the Devil. Every desire was of Satan. Happiness was a snare, and human love was wicked, weak and vain. The Presbyterian priest of Scotland was as cruel, bigoted and heartless as the familiar of the Inquisition.

One case will tell it all;

In the beginning of this, the nineteenth century, a boy seventeen years of age, Thomas Aikenhead, was indicted and tried at Edinburgh for blasphemy. He had denied the inspiration of the Bible. He had on several occasions, when cold, jocularly wished himself in hell that he might get warm. The poor, frightened boy recanted -- begged for mercy; but he was found guilty, hanged, thrown in a hole at the foot of the scaffold, and his weeping mother vainly begged that his bruised and bleeding body might be given to her.

This one case, multiplied again and again, gives you the condition of Scotland... ["On Diderot," by Robert Green Ingersoll.]

In this regard, does any educated person believe that religion and Humanitarianism walk hand in hand? Absolutely not. Religion's sole enemy is Humanitarianism. If you wish to make a man irreligious, there is nothing so impacting that you can do than to make him humane. To teach him to disregard the religious dogmas which made his ancestors barbaric savages, unconscionable brutes, is to make him realize that there is nothing so destructive of affectionate and compassionate behavior than the superstition and bigotry of religion. To this point, I have discussed the numerous abominations that religion has so generously handed to mankind. In the day they were committed, in the minds of the culprits, they were not crimes but acts of virtue. They thought they were only guilty of piety, which - in a sense - they were. But they were guilty of much more than that. The crusaders neglected their faculties of reason and compassion. They were attracted to the ideas which inflicted countless horror into the hearts of the defenseless. With plain sight, it is easy enough to see that what these men did was horrible. There have been times, however, when the methods of the church and religion were rarely questioned.

Christians were not always the one in the majority. The religious majority always seemed to be oppressive, no matter what form it took on. Tertullian, the early Christian church father noted of the oppressive Romans, "But go zealously on, good presidents, you will stand higher with the people if you sacrifice the Christians at their wish, kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us to dust; your injustice is the proof that we are innocent." [The Apology, by Tertullian.] Once Christianity came to power, though, it slaughtered mercilessly without even slight caprice. Of the Pope, one said, "...he wished to compel us to recognize the Pope's primacy among all prelates and to commemorate his name in public prayers, under pain of death against those who refuse." [Inquisition and Liberty, by G.G. Coulton, (Gloucester, MA: Peter Smith, 1969) page 165.]

An age-old institution of brutality and greed is that of slavery. And no other collective than that of the religious has been the first to defend it. "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." This is how Colossians 3:22 reads. 1 Peter 2:18 reads as follows, "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh." Ephesians 6:5, "Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ." Numerous passages throughout the Bible sanction slavery. This degrading institution, where men and woman may be sold and bought - their desires and wishes, their fears and passions, meaning nothing to those who own them - this slavery, which scripture has proven itself fond of, is a solitary beacon of cruelty and inhumaneness. To those who endeavor to enrich themselves by putting others through this torturous system, they can be described as monsters unfeeling of any sympathy. It is obvious, though, that scripture sanctions slavery -- this is nothing new. However, in the midst of ignorance surrounding religion, if you wish to destroy this inhumane institution, you are battling against god himself. The god of Christianity, having allowed slavery, is a right vicious being indeed. There is no arguing against that. There have been those who have detested slavery and were religious. However, their arguments made them look absurd and ridiculous, and their ignorance was seething in utmost quantities. William Patton was a pastor in the 1800's who published several sermons against slavery. To quote one of them...

At first sight, it might appear preposterous, to denounce the Bible on the ground that it sanctions slaveholding, when the Old Testament contains this explicit condemnation of it,

"He that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death [Exodus 21:16," and "Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbors service without wages, and giveth him not for his work [Jeremiah 22:13]"; when also the New Testament exhibits such words of rebuke as these: "Behold the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which you kept back by fraud, crieth; and the cries of them who have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabbaoth [James 5:4]." "The law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons [I Timothy 1:9-10]." [Slavery, the Bible, Infidelity: Pro-slavery Interpretations of the Bible: Productive of Infidelity, by William W. Patton.]

The first verse Patton quoted stated it was unlawful to enslave another, but shortly after it states, "If a man beats his male or female slave with a rod and the slave dies as a direct result, he must be punished, but he is not to be punished if the slave gets up after a day or two, since the slave is his property." (Exodus 21:20-21) The second verse stated that it was unrighteous to not pay people for their labor. The third verse didn't even state that it was an atrocity to slaves -- it simply stated that laborers who were kept back through fraud existed. The fourth verse finally says that the law is only made for murderers, non-believers, and slavers. The ignorance of the Bible and religion is the fault of Patton. It is important that we note this, the fact that a pastor -- a man supposedly of god -- is unfamiliar with the very book that is the foundation of his religion. Blinded by piety, there is no realistic effort for reform. When this pastor cannot see that the Bible condones slavery, what hope can there be for abolition? Even reading this text, you will find that he is by far much more concerned with people being Christian than slaves being freed -- he mocks infidelity, calling it productive of ruinous vice.

1 Timothy 6:1 reads, "All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered." Frederick Douglass, a runaway slave and political genius, once said, "I prayed for twenty years, but received no answer until I prayed with my legs." [Views of Religion (Boston: L. K. Washburn, 1906), by Rufus K. Noyes.] The Popes and priests of the world have been ruthless and unfeeling monsters ever to exist. In accordance with this state of affairs, they have harnessed slavery whole heartedly. Joseph McCabe recalls one incident with the Pope...

Pope Gregory, my Catholic friend, was the greatest slave-owner in the world in the sixth century. Announcing that the end of the world was to come in 600 A.D., he kindly allowed land-owners and slave-owners to hand over their property to the Church -- God would not damn the Church for its wealth -- and enter monasteries. The Papacy soon had an income from land, of about two million dollars a year; a stupendous sum in those impoverished days. Enormous numbers of slaves tilled the eighteen hundred square miles of the Church's property. [The Story Of Religious Controversy, by Joseph McCabe, Chapter XIX, "the Gospel and the Slave."]

The Pope was clever and cunning, but deceitful to unthinkable ends. In his power, he announced that the world would end in 600 A.D.. Religion held its common position: to advance towards brutal, superstitious goals. With the end of the world approaching, the Pope collected slaves and funds. The Bishop of London, Edmund Gibson, argued that Christianity gives the Native inhabitants of land freedom while putting them in shackles so that they may die working: "The Freedom which Christianity gives, is a Freedom from the Bondage of Sin and Satan, and from the Dominion of Men's Lusts and Passions and inordinate Desires; but as to their otward Condition, whatever that was before, whether bond or free, their being baptised, and becoming Christians, makes no manner of Change in it." [The Arrogance of Faith, by Forrest Wood, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990) page 119.] Any sane man would choose the "Bondage of Sin and Satan" compared to being the slave of a Christian. Saint John Chrysostom said, "The slave should be resigned to his lot, in obeying his master he is obeying God..." [Cathedral and Crusade, by Henri Daniel-Rops, (New York: E.P.Dutton & Company, Inc., 1957) page 263.] In the City of God, Saint Augustine wrote, "...slavery is now penal in character and planned by that law which commands the preservation of the natural order and forbids distrubance." [Adam, Eve and the Serpent, by Elaine Pagels (New York: Random House, 1988) page 114.] Carl Sagan describes the situation of slavery in early America...

The slaves had drummed into them, from plantation to pulpit alike, from courthouse to statehouse, the notion that they were hereditary inferiors, that God intended them for their misery. The Holy Bible, as countless passages confirmed, condoned slavery. In these ways the "peculiar institution" maintained itself despite its monstrous nature--something even its practitioners must have glimpsed. [The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, page 355.]

It is commonly believed that the most massive and suffering-filled slavery of all times was that of African slavery. This may very well be true, but we should also observe the other injustices of this vile institution. Missionaries have been a long-time member of the world's religions. They have been haughty ignoramouses, destroying lands and cultures in their pursuit of religious zealotry. The clergy told them that god would reward them for every soul they captured. The king told them that they would be rewarded for every land they tamed. With these worldy and spiritual benefits at hand, the missionary stopped at nothing to spread his religion -- no cry of pain too close, no expression of agony too much, no destruction ever enough. Of these unfeeling men, Charles Dickens has said, "Missionaries ... are perfect nuisances, and leave every place worse than they found it." [Charles Dickens, quoted be Jack Lindsay in Charles Dickens: A Biographical and Critical Study (New York: Philosophical Library, 1950), p. 39.] No figure in history as stood so solitary as a beacon of destruction, an omen that your culture would cease to exist -- an omen that everything you cherished will be taken and destroyed, nothing has been so astonishingly vicious as the missionary.

It was the Christopher Columbus's aim to "convert the heathen Indians to our Holy faith." ["Columbus Saga Sinking Fast," by Hugh A. Mulligan (Associated Press, March 8, 1992).] In his own words, Columbus described how he himself "took [his] pleasure" with a native woman after whipping her "soundly" with a piece of rope. ["War of words over Columbus rages on," by Jon Margolis, The Sunday Denver Post, July 28, 1991, page 7.] By 1570, the Inquisition had established an independent tribunal in Peru and in the city of Mexico -- it was described as for the purpose of "freeing the land, which had become contaminated by Jews and heretics." [The Spanish Inquisition, by Cecil Roth (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1964) page 210.] Natives who did not convert were burned at the stake and by the early seventeenth century, the Christians had claimed no less than 3,800 lives -- a small, near insignificant token compared to the amount of lives that have been claimed in the name of the holiest god. [The Spanish Inquisition, by Plaidy, page 165; The Spanish Inquisition, by Roth, page 221.] The Jesuit Antonio Vieira (even though he was imprisoned once for his work on behalf of Native Americans and substituting African humans as slaves), he believed that runaway slaves were guilty of sin and worthy of excommunication. [Catholicism Between Luther and Voltaire, by Delumeau, page 88.]

The term "witchhunt" today means an unjust and unfair search and accusation based on mere association or nonconformity. Only a few hundred years ago, the witchhunts were the most vindictive and brutal series of murders and tortures that took place all over Europe. Behind every judge was the smiling face of hypcrisy, behind every prosecutor the contemptuous fist of tyranny, and behind every king the dogma and superstition which promoted the witchhunts. The victims were not at all guilty of anything wrong -- they had been different, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, they may have been too ugly, or too beautiful. There is only one thing that they are guilty of: being within the proximity of barbarians who would cut the throats of their fellow kin at the whim of suspicion that they were a witch. Superstition grabbed the minds of men and forced them to bow to the authority of brutality -- kings demanded it, priests demanded it, the papacy demanded it. Everywhere that superstition and bigotry graced you can find the ill-kempt dogmas of Christianity and cruelty. The church claimed it wished to do what the lord had commanded. The church filled the world with fear; it made men tremble at the power of things unseen -- it engrossed itself in the chaos, greed, cruelty, and barbaric behavior, all in the name of the divine. Carl Sagan attempts to explain the witchhunts...

The witch mania is shameful. How could we do it? How could we be so ignorant about ourselves and our weaknesses? How could it have happened in the most "advanced," the most "civilized," nations then on Earth? Why was it resolutely supported by conservatives, monarchists, and religious fundamentalists? Why opposed by liberals, Quakers and followers of the Enlightenment? If we're absolutely sure that our beliefs are right, and those of others wrong; that we are motivated by good, and others by evil; that the King of the Universe speaks to us, and not to adherents of very different faiths; that it is wicked to challenge conventional doctrines or to ask searching questions; that our main job is to believe and obey--then the witch mania will recur in its infinite variations down to the time of the last man. [The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, page 413.]

Veronika Zerritsch (1741-1754) was executed for witchcraft in Bavaria. She was only 13. When Joe Vikin read of her, he wrote...

Your execution ordained

by clerics who feared women,

hated beauty, envied youth,

mistrusted laughter:

Those men were made eunuchs

by their beliefs, destroyers of

what they could not possess.

Veronika, your memory will live,

while decent humanity will

curse the men who caused your death. [Who's Who In Hell, entry for "Zerritsch, Veronika.]

Over 250,000 men and women were executed from the witchhunts. [Resources: THE BOOK OF DAYS, W. J. Bethancourt III (unpublished ms.); CHRONICLE OF THE WORLD, Jerome Burne; Ecam, 1990; A NATURAL HISTORY OF UNNATURAL THINGS, Daniel Cohen; McCall, 1971; NEVER ON A BROOMSTICK, Frank Donovan; Bell, 1971; A HISTORY OF SECRET SOCIETIES, Arkhon Daraul; Citadel, 1962; THE WEAKER VESSEL, Antonia Fraser, Borzoi, 1984; EXTRAORDINARY POPULAR DELUSIONS AND THE MADNESS OF CROWDS, Charles MacKay; L.C.Page, 1932, (orig. pub. 1841); THE HISTORY OF MAGIC AND THE OCCULT, Kurt Seligmann; Harmony Books, 1975; THE GEOGRAPHY OF WITCHCRAFT, Montague Summers, University Books, 1965; TREASURY OF WITCHCRAFT, Harry E. Wedeck; Philosophical Library, 1961; SOUNDINGS IN SATANISM, pp 46-54. ISBN 0 264 64627 4.] In November, 1925, a police officer at Uttenheim, Germany, shot a witch he thought was turning into a werewolf. [Ibidum.] The last suspected witch to be executed was beheaded in Saudi Arabia in 1997. [Ibidum.] The witchhunts can be described as perhaps the most awful series of murders, executions, and tortures to come across the continent of Europe.

Along with the burnings and executions of witches, Christianity has naturally held a zealous contempt of women. This can easily be seen in the book of Genesis when women are blamed for the toils and sufferings of man. 1 Corinthians 11:3 reads, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 reads, "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." Ephesians 5:22-24 reads, "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing." Colossians 3:18 reads "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord." 1 Peter 3:1 reads, "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands." It can easily be seen in the scripture that god is not fond of women.

"As to the church, my friend, I am sick of it. The spectacle presented by the indecent squabbles of priests of most denominations, and by the exemplary unfairness and rancor with wich they conduct their differences ... utterly repel me." - Charles Dickens. [Charles Dickens, letter to William de Cerjat, 1864.] Pope Paul VI explained in 1977 why women were not allowed to become priestesses, "because our Lord was a man." [The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler, (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987) pages 131-132.] Pat Robertson, head of the Christian Coalition, has said, "NOW [National Organization for Women] is saying that in order to be a woman, you've got to be a lesbian." [Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 12/3/97] In a fundraising letter, he wrote, "The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians." [Pat Robertson, fundraising letter, 1992] Another enlightening quote from this man of accomplishment is, "I know this is painful for the ladies to hear, but if you get married, you have accepted the headship of a man, your husband. Christ is the head of the household and the husband is the head of the wife, and that's the way it is, period." [Pat Robertson, "The 700 Club," 1/8/92] It's no wonder that Margaret Sanger's motto for her Feminist newsletter was, "No Gods No Masters." [Motto of The Woman Rebel.] There are others who woud be quick to oppress the rights of women. John Brockhoeft once wrote...

I'm a very narrow-minded, intolerant, reactionary, Bible-thumping fundamentalist... a zealot and fanatic... The reason the United States was once a great nation, besides being blessed by God, is because she was founded on truth, justice, and narrow-mindedness. [From a Cincinnati pro-life newsletter; quoted from The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, page 429.]

Religion has never been the friend of science, so it should be no suprise that it does not raise intelligent, curious, inquisitive minds. Randall Terry once spoke to a congregation...

"Let a wave of intolerance wash over you... Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation... We are called by God to conquer this country... We don't want pluralism." [Told to a congregation in August 1993; quote from The Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan, page 429.]

There are numerous other causes that religion has been decidedly quick to destroy. According to Leviticus 18:22, Homosexual acts are an abomination to God. According to Leviticus 20: 13, Homosexuals must be executed. Romans 14:2 reads, "For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs." God gave the rights of women, children, and slaves to white Christians. With such a cruel and heartless manner, the Christians would treat these individuals horrenodusly. "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him." (Proverbs 13:24) "Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15) "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to his death." (Proverbs 19:18) "Do not withold discipline from a child; if you punish him with the rid, he will not die. Punish him with the rod and save his soul from death." (Proverbs 23:13) The Bible promotes the idea of beating children -- a rather heartless and cruel doctrine. In Genesis 1:29, god stated that he created animalia so that man may suffice his needs and cravings. The theologian Paley refuses to give any rights to non-humans on account of the fact that scripture affords them no sympathy. For centuries, other Christians believed this, but to them, they afforded no rights to women, children, or non-whites. Rene Descartes denied the idea that African humans had souls -- he stated that they were even incapable of feeling pain or suffering. Paley defends his position of refusing rights to animals...

"A right to the flesh of animals. Some excuse seems necessary for the pain and loss which we occasion to animals by restraining them of their liberty, mutilating their bodies, and at last putting an end to their lives for our pleasure or convenience. The reasons alleged in vindication of this practice are the following: that the several species of animals being created to prey upon one another affords a kind of analogy to prove that the human species were intended to feed upon them.... Upon which reason I would observe that the analogy contended for is extremely lame, since animals have no power to support life by any other means, and since we have, for the whole human species might subsist entirely upon fruit, pulse, herbs, and roots, as many tribes of Hindus actually do.... It seems to me that it would be difficult to defend this right by any arguments which the light and order of Nature afford, and that we are beholden for it to the permission recorded in Scripture. [Quote from Animals' Rights, by Henry Stephens Salt, firsted printed 1892.]

Robert Green Ingersoll detested the child abuse that the Bible was so enthralled with. Ingersoll would have rather offered a touch of affection than that stinging pain of the Bible to his children. To quote him...

...what shall I say of children; of the little children in alleys and sub-cellars; the little children who turn pale when they hear their father's footsteps; little children who run away when they only hear their names called by the lips of a mother; little children -- the children of poverty, the children of crime, the children of brutality, wherever they are -- flotsam and jetsam upon the wild, mad sea of life -- my heart goes out to them, one and all.

[...]

Yet some Christians, good Christians, when a child commits a fault, drive it from the door and say: "Never do you darken this house again." Think of that! And then these same people will get down on their knees and ask God to take care of the child they have driven from home. I will never ask God to take care of my children unless I am doing my level best in that same direction.

[...]

I despise that way of going through this world. Let us have liberty -- Just a little. Call me infidel, call me atheist, call me what you will, I intend so to treat my children, that they can come to my grave and truthfully say: "He who sleeps here never gave us a moment of pain. From his lips, now dust, never came to us an unkind word." ["The Liberty of All," by Robert Green Ingersoll, section "The Liberty of Children," 1877.]

There have been many who pointed to a source of the primary evils in this world. Some blamed government. Some blamed easy access to weapons. But nay, there has been no force so unavailingly brutal and relentlessly cold than that of Faith-based religion. The whole of holy wars, of inquisitory councils, of systematic oppression, of condoned slavery, of promoted ignorance, of numerous atrocities, can be drawn back to the single, responsible source of religion. It was not the cold hard steel of a sword, nor was it the heirarchal construct of political parties that made men cruel and vicious. It was the idea that god desired cruelty, and men believed 'so he shall have it,' -- under this justification of religion and beneath the flag of maliciousness, religious zealots would cover the face of the Earth, spreading their tyranny and enslaving those who would profit them. No institution has caused so much devastation in an alarmingly small amount of time as this vindictive, debaucherous thing we call religion.

In the midst of this religious fury, of men slaughtering infants and raping women for the cause of their god, an utmost contempt has been reserved for the Atheist infidels. Those who have no god to kill for, no god demanding to pillage, have been treated with the least respect and the highest degree of suspicion, if not outright desecration of character. John Locke once wrote...

"Those are not at all to be tolerated who deny the being of a God. Promises, covenants, and oaths, which are the bonds of human society, can have no hold upon an atheist." [John Locke, "A Letter Concerning Toleration," 1689 as printed in The Founders' Constitution, Volume 5 (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1987) 69.]

Because of the fact that Atheists do not slaughter enough for their religion, that we do not pillage, rape, and hold ransom in the name of the almighty, we are to be denied social bonds of human society. Because we do not beat our children to death for not embracing our ideas, because we do not invade foreign lands in the name of godlessness and slaughter, because we do not hold superstition and bigotry hand in hand, we are given no credibility. Locke may very well have said, "The man who will be more likely to thrust his sword into your stomach as far as possible for his god is more to uphold his deals -- the man who has no god to kill for, no bigotries to be exploited, no prejudices to offend, is unreliable and social bonds cannot have hold upon these intolerable men." Ingersoll remarks on the crimes of the church against the infidel...

"But the church is as unforgiving as ever, and still wonders why any Infidel should be wicked enough to endeavor to destroy her power. I will tell the church why. You have imprisoned the human mind; you have been the enemy of liberty; you have burned us at the stake -- wasted us upon slow fires -- torn our flesh with iron; you have covered us with chains -- treated us as outcasts; you have filled the world with fear; you have taken our wives and children from our arms; you have confiscated our property; you have denied us the right to testify in courts of justice; you have branded us with infamy; you have torn out our tongues; you have refused us burial. In the name of your religion, you have robbed us of every right; and after having inflicted upon us every evil that can be inflicted in this world, you have fallen upon your knees, and with clasped hands implored your God to torment us forever." [Robert Green Ingersoll, Orator and Freethinker, from On Thomas Paine, by Robert Green Ingersoll, 1870.]

If there

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Punkerslut (or Andy Carloff) has been writing essays and poetry on social issues which have caught his attention for several years. His website www.punkerslut.com provides a complete list of all of these writings. His life experience includes homelessness, squating in New Orleans and LA, dropping out of high school, getting expelled from college for "subversive activities," and a myriad of other revolutionary actions.