Karam Ram on Beyond Religion

The famous atheist Richard Dawkins said that many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense, but September 11th changed all of that. The people who attacked the Twin Towers were men of religion. Religion is often a cause of suspicion, distrust and conflict because religious people don’t always ask critical questions about their faith and can confuse religion and politics and culture together. What may just be cultural becomes invested with religious significance. So is organized religion about God, or is it really about maintaining community and identity? Can being Christadelphian become more important than actually being children of God?

Jesus’s parable of the Pharisee and the publican illustrates the “us and them” attitude and how we can simplistically divide the world into the good guys and the bad guys.  Paul says,

“don’t be wise in your own conceits”

but that’s exactly what the Pharisee does in enumerating his good deeds. He’s saying

“I am deserving of God’s favor because I do all these things,”

and in contrast, all the publican can say is

“God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

Groupthink is a very deeply ingrained human tendency. Societies and communities maintain cohesion through groupthink. Religious communities are susceptible to it when they prioritize their own identity, their privilege at all costs:

“We are special. We have the truth, and because we have the truth, we are in God’s favor.”

The Pharisee in the parable is a very powerful example (as is the case of Al Qaeda and ISIS) of how groupthink enables certain views of the world and attitudes to become normalized, but to anyone outside that group those attitudes are just bizarre or immoral. Jesus’s parable is especially subversive because the Pharisees represented the popular ideas of piety within Judaism but in this case it isn’t the religious man who is right with God, it’s the sinner.

In Jesus’s time groupthink was probably much more powerful because of the Roman occupation. The foundational event for Israel was the Exodus from Egypt, so they could probably more justifiably mobilize religion in favor of their aspirations for liberation. They tried to draw in Jesus by asking whether it was appropriate to pay taxes to Caesar.  Jesus doesn’t criticize the Romans or Herod or Pilot, but Jesus was very critical of people who represented popular ideas of religious piety.  Jesus is trying to bring the Jews back into an authentic relationship with God rather than one that was just based on formalism or rituals.

If religion is just about how we appear to other people, then it’s only ever going to be superficial. Jesus makes the point that the Pharisees cleaned the outside of the platter but not the inside. There is obsession with respectability, with fitting in with the group, which results in hypocrisy. Jesus said in John’s gospel,

“I know you don’t have the love of God in you. You receive honor one from another, how can you receive the honor that comes from God?”

They were the children of those who murdered the prophets. They could celebrate the righteous and the prophets in death, but they couldn’t abide them in real life.

These are really penetrating and cutting criticisms of the way religion is co-opted and abused. We could apply it to our own community.  We may not be the worst offenders – I don’t know any Christadelphians who have flown airplanes into the sides of buildings! – but these words of Jesus have a lot to say about the state of religion today and the way that religion is mobilized as part of identity politics.

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says

“I haven’t come to destroy the Law and the prophets, but I’ve come to fulfill”

because he was aware that the people who were listening to him wouldn’t actually recognize what he was saying. For them, religion was all that the Pharisees represented, temples, rituals, externals.  Jesus was aware that his message stressing a direct relationship with God without all of this other stuff would appear to be unrecognizable. It was beyond their concept of religion because it was about a personal relationship with the Father.

That idea of being the children of God should be important to us in a very personal and powerful way.  Christ made this very clear through his personal communion with the Father. There’s an incident in Matthew’s gospel where the Jews ask Peter

“does your master pay the tax”

and Jesus said to Peter

“what do you think? of whom do the Kings of the earth take tribute from strangers or from children?”

The implication of the question is,

“why are we having to pay this? Are we strangers from God or are we his children?”

The whole point of Jesus’s ministry is to bring us into a real, authentic relationship with God.

For the Jews of Jesus’s day, the one thing that represented God more than anything else was the temple. The temple was impersonal and vast, but that suited everyone because it kept God at a distance. Our challenge is to be up close and personal with God. That’s what Jesus came to do, to break down that wall of partition between us, to tear the veil of the temple. We need to cultivate hearts and minds that are less concerned with the appearance of respectability or groupthink, and more sensitive to the real presence of God in our lives.

To listen to the full interview with Karam and Steve please check out WCF A Little Faith podcasts

For those who think there are no gender neutral people or that there is no reason to change gender

Probably a 35 old female Dutch writer who follows her own path and seems to forget that other people also want to follow their own path which should not have to run like her path.

She doesn’t care what we or others want to tell her. She hates mainstream media, but also the sheep of this world, as well as the rich of this world, but she hates most of all people.

For her

its time to feel weird about everything we can think of. {There is no gender neutral}

and in one of her blogarticles she writes

We want respect for many things, but we do not get respect for many things. {There is no gender neutral}

She perhaps forgets that for receiving respect one also has to give respect. We can understand that there are things in her life that disturb her. But some of those things could perhaps disturb her because she does not understand them or does not know about other matters. It is clear that she has no idea about gender, and therefore asks

First how can you change your gender? Second how can you born gender neutral?

Biological its not possible to born gender neutral, and Biological it can not change during your life from men to woman or vice versa. {There is no gender neutral}

What we note there is a problem that also arises in conservative Christian circles, where it is assumed that in nature nothing can go wrong and that God created man and woman in His likeness and should therefore be “complete”. She seems to forget that there are human beings who are born without a body full of specific male or female elements. Though she seems to understand, some children may not feel happy with their own bodies, we think she still overlooks those who are born with half a male half a female body.  She writes

Children yes some children are uncomfortable in their own body because they are born boy, but are acting like girls. It is even possible to change them! {There is no gender neutral}

But for her, there is no reason for people to change their gender.

i find that heavy shit, and in sort of way i can not accept that. {There is no gender neutral}

For her it seems to be clear that there can be “no in-between”.

You are or boy, or girl, not both or gender neutral. {There is no gender neutral}

If life were that simple, it would also be very easy. But life is not always so black and white. Not every boy feels like a boy or wants to be a boy, the same as every girl in a girl’s body does not always want to be that girl she sees in the mirror. It is very difficult to be both, though it can always also be that one feels a sort of sympathy for both sexes.

If you find yourself happier as a woman, then you have my respect go for it! But you can not change definitions of genders, you are boy or girl, so you dress like a girl but you are still a boy. {There is no gender neutral}

She does not go in into the aspect of changing sex. Because why should a boy who feels he is a girl born in a boy’s body should not be allowed to have this bodily position corrected? And why should a girl who is confronted with her male body not be allowed to have that body reshaped in a female person?

Now these days we have gender neutrality, come on why do we make this word so freaking difficult?

People can not even begin to understand what the definition is of being naked or porno. All lessons by adults to children about sexuality is taboo! We make it for them now days very difficult to understand things. This world is so freaking crazy, that we are far away from being normal. {There is no gender neutral}

It is just making it so difficult for children when neutral nouns are introduced and when people may not be called for what they are and for what they feel. The world would be so much easier if we just could name the things as they are.

In an other blog she writes

In my point of view, children are most important so we have to learn them realistic thoughts, not fairy tails. {8: Children}

Therefore we should not be afraid to speak to children about different feelings human beings can have. And we should not push stereotypes on those children, having girls be in pink and playing with dolls and boys having to be strong and playing with cars.

She agrees we must

Stop over protecting children if you not even can protect your own citizens. {8: Children}

By not showing the world how it is and by telling ‘fairy tales’ about boys and girls in this world, we do not help the child to develop properly. We must have our ears and eyes open to the child and help it in the way how that child wants to develop, even if it is not like we would have preferred it. As such in case a girl talks about her will to become a boy, we should listen to her and talk about that matter. We should give it full serious thought.

She writes

Stop pressure children to perform, stop to steal there youth. Do see lot of over protecting that will not help children in the future, it will be a disaster for the future if you continue lying to your children. Children want to change gender? Then something must be wrong with your kid, you can not change your gender. Its unhappy because this world demands so much off them. The problem is not gender but this world, this capitalistic system. Children can only be happy if you free them form this capitalistic system. Children are not stupid and most of the time smarter then you. {8: Children}

But the inner feeling of a human being has nothing to do with capitalism. We totally would agree that in this world a lot goes wrong because of capitalism, but that is not the cause that boy or girls would want to change gender.

It is a pity that the female blogger looks at people who believe in religion as deeply indoctrinated people. According to her, religious people are living with an unrealistic image that makes their future more difficult than it really is. Though it are religious people who open their mind to those who are different than the mainstream. Real Christians, for example, also do not turn their head away from people who are feeling differently than they or than what society expects from those people. As such they are empathic with those who are confronted with the difficult situation of being born in the wrong body.

The blogwriter says

Generations of people are victims of a story that has circulated on Earth for thousands of years, and it is they who keep the story alive. {Manifest}

But believers in the Elohim Hashem Jehovah are not at all victims, and we even wonder if other religious groups, be they Hindu, Muslim or Jew would be victims. In many religious groups, there are many stories that may have circulated for thousands of years, but that does not make those stories not true nor not valid to build up a secure life. There are enough reasons why to keep stories alive, the same as there are enough reasons why to keep beautiful constructions or monuments preserved for the future.

The lady who hates so much, has a manifest against religion, sexuality, capitalism, communism, the destroying of capitalism, destroying of media, and probably looks forward to the destroying of religion in total, that we only can think she must be very frustrated. She writes

People must understand that religion is the cause of the biggest problems on earth, they must realize that this is serious! Who not accept will be terminated who do accept can learn others to accept. Lets say pure atheism itself will be teaches at schools and everywhere where you can learn. Religion in total forbidden, by all laws international Israel will be disband and prosecuted against crimes to humanity. All former presidents and military of Israel that has killed others will be sent to the death penalty. {Manifest}

She continues her manifesto

In socialism and in communism we share, we share so we can be all the same, we can help always each other with no better human logo then other humans. If we share we have everything we need and everyone can have this. Education, health care, must be free for everyone on this earth no matter the color, no matter the cost, all the same rights. {Manifest}

Totally forgetting that in communism is requested to have respect for each human being, no matter how it looks or feels like. If a person is born without a leg, arm, penis or vagina, in communism that boy or girl should not be excluded and should have the same rights as another person having all those things one expects a boy or girl to have. In communism there is a place for each human being, be it a man, woman or transgender or homo to develop properly and to be a partner in a system to build up together in respect to all other human beings, animals and plants. The female blogwriter seems to forget the important law of equality in communism.

Because her blog does not provide a space to reply to her writings, we thought this matter of equality, gender and religiousness too important to let go of and to have it not responded.

By writing

All people on earth deserve good education and health care no doubts about that! Only non religious people deserve this because religious people they have their God that will heal them. {Manifest}

shows how she misunderstands religion and does not know the God of the Bible at all. She forgets that the God of Israel has given the world in the hands of man, who has now to prove he can tackle it. Clearly, with her writing on the media, she claims to detest, she herself tries to indoctrinate people, like she accused others of indoctrinating through the media.

She then ends her discours:

Children want to change gender? Then something must be wrong with your kid, you can not change your gender. Its unhappy because this world demands so much off them. The problem is not gender but this world, this capitalistic system. Children can only be happy if you free them form this capitalistic system. Children are not stupid and most of the time smarter then you. {Manifest}

The child can effectively be unhappy with ‘its’ body because our society demands too much of it. By not using gender nouns we are not going to solve the problems children may have, because by it we are even going to confuse it more.

Our society must learn to face the fact that not everything can always turn out the way one would like, nor is there a god or God involved when things go wrong. It is people themselves who seek war. It is people themselves who expect patterns from others, in which they are then disgusted when they see those expectations unfulfilled. No form of government is going to bring relief to that anytime soon. It is people who need to change their mindset and be open to the diversity in society, as well as the differences between the sexes of human beings.

It is by not wanting to listen to a child that feels unhappy in its body, one shows the selfishness and the restriction of freedom for a child to go its own way in a world it can feel happy as how she feels and want to go through the world. Denying that right for a child to choose one’s own orientation makes that person who does not grant that child that right an “inhuman” and “callous person”.

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Preceding

Gender, genderless, androgyny, bisexuality, cisgender and transgender

Study says highlighting gender leads to stereotypes

Do the concepts of male and female need to have a formal official definition

Trans extremism, trans ideology, genderless a.o. categories and TERFs

The dilemma of gender neutrality

She/Her – They/Them – Person

The Concept of Gender Neutrality and You

The World of ‘Men’?

Gender Neutrality

Invitation to the news platform that brings a view of the world

Dear Reader,

There is so much news — and too many voices — competing for your attention today.

Do you know that we provide a site where we present news from all over the world and do not mind going deeper into certain facets of facts everyone should know or should receive attention (according to us) .

“Some view on the World”  does just that what the title of the website is called. It wishes to bring a view of world affairs. It wants to be a Journal for you and provides unbiased news and perspective to keep you well-informed and entertained.

In addition to general press reviews, you will be able to find articles that deal with environmental issues and take a closer look at how we, as human beings, must take responsibility, not only ethically and politically, but how we must behave towards other living beings and respect nature. Towards respecting other beings, racial discrimination comes to the fore, but also how we in the West sometimes look strangely at other cultures. We believe that getting to know other cultures and religions better can help to better understand and accept “that otherness of those people”. In today’s society, people do not like to talk about religion, but on “Some View on the World” we certainly do not shy away from that subject, and we even think it is important to talk about God and commandments.

As on this overview site, we believe it is important to let diverse voices have their say. Therefore, at that view of the world, you can find reports from several newspapers and writers from all kinds of directions or different political movements.

Today, we would like to invite you to feast your eyes on that website too, pay it a visit and (who knows) also subscribe to it to receive free daily news in your mailbox.

A warm welcome!

How Many Gods?

The world has a plethora of religions which, in turn, are further subdivided into various breakaway groups or denominations. We have not yet reached the end of the emergence of religious groups. As long as we have not come to the Last Days, there will be divisions in the world, both civil and spiritual.

To remember

• The problem is that they all look at the local area office demiurge in charge of local affairs rather than God
• missing the mark + settling for a god who is domesticated & pasteurized.
• Church needs a complete overhaul, including a massive dose of humility + a leadership that journeys with rather than demanding compliance.

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Preceding

Many opportunities given by God

If the Bible tells us not to lean upon our own understanding, are preachers, and Bible professors, leaning upon the theirs’?

Should church members question preachers about the doctrine that is not in the Holy Bible?

Many looking for the church of the world instead of the Church of God

Christian denominations as pots in the desert

Having to learn and benefit from other Christian denominations

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Additional reading

1. A world with or without religion
2. Where to learn the truth
3. Digging in words, theories and artefacts
4. Religion and believers #1 Lots of groups and forms of belief to be taken interest in
5. Religion and believers #7 Independent and organised form of existence of a religion
6. Approachers of ideas around gods, philosophers and theologians
7. Gates to different belief systems in this world
8. Protestant denominations of the Low Countries and Abraham Kuyper
9. When there is secrecy involved
10. Those willing to tarnish
11. Pastoral discipline and dissent from papal teaching
12. About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated

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Related

1. Variations of Christianity
2. Brand Ambassador or Christ’s Ambassador?
3. Catechesis 101 | Church: Did Jesus intend one Church or many denominations?
4. About the different denominations
5. Christian denominations (sects)
6. Are denominational differences a blot on the church?
7. Denominations Losing Internal Influence
8. Why are there so many splits in the Presbyterian Church? Here’s an Explanation
9. Science vs. Religion
10. Culture warriors just wrecked an old denomination
11. Truth
12. Which Church Would Jesus Choose?
13. Self Deception Part III – Wolves Among Us
14. Do Denominations Divide Us?
15. Does Denominationalism Blind You to the Truth?
16. Simple Difference
17. Religious Population Is Growing
18. A Call for Unity
19. This is Church Unity?
20. What Does It Mean To Be Non-Denominational?

God Beyond Limits

Every religion and every subdivision of those religions purports to reveal God to us, and all of them fail. What they reveal instead are gods, middle managers at best, what the Hebrew scriptures called demiurges. I say this because, quite frankly, we imagine God should be our personal errand boy, taking care of this and that, allowing us to manipulate him into doing our bidding by virtue of our having obeyed some rather penny ante behavioral restrictions. It’s done in the name of explaining how God cares for us, but would any God worthy of the name be a micromanager?

The reason I say there are thirty-eight thousand gods and counting is that is approximately the number of Protestant denominations of Christianity at the present time. Leaving out other religions and the various catholic denominations for a moment, each of those thirty-eight thousand has their own particular understanding of their…

View original post 555 more words

If the Bible tells us not to lean upon our own understanding, are preachers, and Bible professors, leaning upon the theirs’?

In our world, there are lots of people who consider themselves the only appropriate people to talk about the Bible, because they have studied at the university of theology and/or philosophy. The clergy with their priests and pastors in a variety of denominations all try to convince those coming into their church, that their church is the only true one.

Though we can find lots of denominations in Christendom, of which there are many where the clergy are not exactly behaving like Christ Jesus instructed. In Why there are so many denominations in Christendom we tried to give a short answer to a question many times posed. What is striking about many denominations in Christianity (or better: in Christendom) is that often not much attention is paid to the biblical texts. It is as if the Bible is only a small faits divers within religion.

The absence or minimisation of biblical content means that by paying more attention to human doctrines, more conflicts have also arisen, leading to splits in groups and thus to the emergence of multiple denominations.

So the question may be asked, why is it that the clergy of these denominations do not resort to the Book of Books, which can indeed give them the best information and teachings?

At the question:

If the Bible tells us not to lean upon our own understanding, are preachers, and Bible professors, leaning upon the theirs’?

We think that is the whole problem in Christendom, people leaning upon their own understanding, following more the philosophical and theoretical theologian writings of human beings instead of going by what is written black on white in the Holy Scriptures.

D. Paul Walker, An Elder with many years in the faith, writes

Many reject the teaching of the Bible based on their own faulty belief such as that something is impossible when the Bible says there is nothing impossible for God.

According to Theodore Tsistinas

the understanding of the bible is plain to those who read it with the purpose of not challenging it. That’s why the language has been changed from time to time because people wanted their own opinion to be expressed. The entire bible is the history of the people of God from the Jews to the Christians. There is one god spoken of in the bible. Its people and their personal interpretation that has challenge the understanding spoken very clearly in scripture. But then stupid is what stupid does and the mass of humanity would rather listen to the opinions of men rather that the wisdom of God.

Michael Ballai writes

There’s a certain amount of, hopefully, Biblical understanding that a student of the Bible can readily bring to a given text of scripture or how the Bible explains an appropriate worldview. I know stuff after more than three decades that are bedrock to the Bible and I have no intention of putting my personal two cents in on what God says.I revisit passages regularly and seek to consider them afresh each time because I know there is more in there than I have seen previously. People who are lazy simply deprive themselves of the depth of treasure.God is perfectly ok with how an individual preacher chooses to explain something in their own style as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the message.A preacher is called to cut it straight. It lines up with God’s understanding. The reason we do it is to tell it according to the way God sees it. And that is how God wants to sanctify us in getting us to line up our understanding with Him.

Scott Bissell sees one of the difficulties in what we think is a major issue in many churches, namely when they quote half a verse, or as we would add, take just part of a verse and use it out of context. In case people would check more what is taught at their church with was is written in the Bible, more people would grow closer to a unity of Bible-reading people.We may not forget that the attitude to the Bible is of paramount importance.Robert Hoge reacts to this by writing

Scripture is subject to endless interpretation, some of which is purely tendentious. I recently got a comment from someone who was gushing over the Bible as the greatest collection of symbolism in the world, or something to that effect. My own principle when reading and teaching the Bible comes out of a book I read long ago but no longer own:“When the literal meaning makes sense, seek no other meaning.”Not only does this save a lot of effort, it also ensures that we don’t add or take away anything. Rev. 22:18–19 says,“18 I warn every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if any one adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,19 and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.”For all I’m concerned, these last words of the Bible apply to the whole of the Bible, not just to its last book, Revelation.

That warning may make it very difficult to teachers of the Word of God, preachers and/or pastors, having them to be very careful what they say and how they say it. They always should control if their teaching is in accordance with the teaching of the Bible.For those who read the Scriptures, there is the danger that they got into the trap of their church to which they belong and that they cannot do away of their own indoctrinations or doctrines of their own church. They are so used to think in the same way as their church teaches that it has become very difficult to read the words like they are written in the Bible. For example when there is written in the bible about Jesus “the son of God“, many read “god the son“, which is something totally different from what there is written and from what God said on several occasions when He declared Jesus to be His only begotten beloved son.According Michael Abernathy

most people approach the Scripture with a certain bias. Before they even open their Bible, they have creeds and denominational positions that they force upon a text. On the other hand, most of the preachers I know spend a great deal of time searching the Scripture and praying for God’s enlightenment. Yes, they use their minds to help them understand what God has written. But anyone who says they don’t do that is either lying or deluded.

Matthew Heady likes to extend the above question and asks

Does not everyone, including the questioner “lean” on others? Why restrict the question to just preachers and professors?What the biblical teaching refers to is not facts and conclusions which are known to or drawn from the minds of humans. The biblical teaching refers to how a person is actually informed about the Triune God of the Bible.

Here in his answer already gives a big sign of how he himself fell for the human doctrinal teaching, because in the Bible there is no such information on a Trinity, though there is a clear teaching we may have no other gods than the Divine Creator God, Who is a Singular eternal (= having no birth + no death) all-knowing Spirit Being Who is the Almighty God above all gods.Heady continues

There is nothing a sinful human being with a corrupt (and limited) understanding and reason of all things may do. There is not any thought, word, or action, that will allow a person to recognize the Triune God, they may only realize that a god is, but not the Triune God.

People when willing to give their full attention to the Words of the Bible, shall come to see clear and understand that there is no such thing to worship as a three-headed god. There may be many gods in the world but people should only keep to that Only One True God God of gods of the Bible, Jehovah, Who is the God of Israel.

It is this knowledge of God, revealed in His Word, the Holy Scriptures, that is what a person must “lean” on. Not the thought and practices of humans. They will get us nowhere. Our minds come into play after we are gifted by faith in Christ and are then able to properly understand and explain to others Biblical teaching and practices.

writes Matthew Heady.

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Continues with: Should church members question preachers about the doctrine that is not in the Holy Bible?

Preceding

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

Daring to speak in multicultural environment

Many opportunities given by God

Christian denominations as pots in the desert

Having to learn and benefit from other Christian denominations

Preaching as Public Speaking

Maybe it is About Me

Hitler and Christianity: Some Trends in Interpretation

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Additional reading

1. A world with or without religion
2. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
3. People Seeking for God 2 Human interpretations
4. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
5. Approachers of ideas around gods, philosophers and theologians
6. Digging in words, theories and artefacts
7. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
8. Protestant denominations of the Low Countries and Abraham Kuyper
9. Counterfeit Gospels
10. Ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:26
11. Religious people and painful absence of spring of living water
12. Denominationalism exists because?
13. Why the church keeps losing it’s grounds.
14. Why there are so many denominations in Christendom
15. Tri-union gods and Pagan, Christian, Muslim and Jewish views on the Creator God
16. Reading to grow and to become wise concerning the most important thing in life 1 Times of reading
17. Literalist and non-literalist views
18. From Bibles and other religious writings and those who witness for Jehovah
19. Exceptionalism and Restricting Laws
20. 2013 Lifestyle, religiously and spiritualy
21. Pastoral discipline and dissent from papal teaching
22. Not true or True Catholicism and True Islam
23. Good or bad preacher
24. Many churches
25. Religion and believers #7 Independent and organised form of existence of a religion
26. Looking for a biblically sound church
27. In all circumstances preaching Christ
28. You Are The Truth
29. The Most Appropriate teacher and Scoffers in our contemporary age
30. From those preaching the Gospel and Baptism in Jesus name
31. A Book to trust #1 Background book for debate
32. Challenging claim 1 Whose word
33. Divine revelation mediated by Moshe and other selected people
34. Vital importance of reading and following the Kitvei Hakodesh
35. Reading to grow and to become wise concerning the most important thing in life 1 Times of reading
36. One of the most important Truths
37. Bible Inspired Word of God
38. Everything from the Bible is useful for humans
39. Importance to read the Bible regularly and gain understanding
40. Bible exceptional Book of books where nothing can be taken away or added
41. Bible in the first place #1/3
42. Where to learn the truth
43. Lovers of God, seekers and lovers of truth
44. Engaging the culture without losing the gospel
45. By the closing down of the Association for Biblestudy
46. Challenging claim 4 Inspired by God 3 Self-consistent Word of God
47. Different wineskins
48. Manifests for believers #5 Christian Union
49. The Bible: is it contradictory?
50. Those willing to tarnish
51. Follower of Jesus part of a cult or a Christian
52. Those who call the Christadelphians a cult
53. Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
54. Jeshuaists, Carrying the name of Christ
55. About Three-in-Ten U.S. Adults Are Now Religiously Unaffiliated
56. When there is secrecy involved

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Related

1. The process of non-thinking called faith
2. What is faith and is it the only thing required
3. What Do We Mean by the Word Christian?
4. Variations of Christianity
5. Religious Population Is Growing
6. The Problem with Christianity
7. One Body
8. TRUTH – I believe that God’s greatest disappointment in the Christian Church is our lack of solid unity
9. Catechesis 101 | Church: Did Jesus intend one Church or many denominations?
10. Which Church Would Jesus Choose?
11. A Call for Unity
12. Unity
13. This is Church Unity?
14. Simple Difference
15. About the different denominations
16. Division Among Christians
17. From One Religion To Another
18. Christian denominations (sects)
19. Denominations 2 We are divided on the question of authority
20. Denominations 3 It seems there are some Catholics who feel free to discard the teachings of their Church when they conflict with their lifestyle.
21. Denominations Part 1
22. Denominations Part 2
23. Denominations Part 3.
24. Denominations part 4
25. Denomination’s 5..Jehovah’s Witnesses.
26. The Difference in Denominations
27. Are Different Denominations Okay?
28. Do Denominations Divide Us?
29. Are denominational differences a blot on the church?
30. Does Denominationalism Blind You to the Truth?
31. Denominational ABC’s: Advantages, Burdens and Controls (Part One)
32. Putting Denominational Disagreements in Perspective for the World and the Church
33. Denominational Dialogue
34. Denominations Losing Internal Influence
35. Bethel, the BGC, and the Decline of Denominational Financial Support for Christian Higher Education
36. We’re All Heretics Now
37. Roger Olson on Denominations and Christian Unity
38. Faith/Belief
39. Is religious faith madness?
40. Declining Denominational Support for Evangelical Colleges?
41. Charlottesville and storms
42. thoughts on the death of the Church
43. By What Authority? – A Non-Denominational Response
44. Rethinking Scripture
45. Researching outside of the Bible – is it safe
46. Please don’t call me a Christian
47. There is no other identity needed, Only Christ.
48. Why My Family Is Changing Churches (and Denominations)
49. Are Pastors Lying to You?
50. There are many Trinities!
51. Christianity vs. Catholicism
52. Baptists, Catholics, and the Protestants
53. Are you a “hypenated-Christian”?
54. Embrace diversity by embracing tribalism. It’s okay to be different
55. Being Religious Is Not The Way
56. Deceived
57. Can Christians now remain in the Methodist Church?
58. Why are there so many splits in the Presbyterian Church? Here’s an Explanation
59. Self Deception Part III – Wolves Among Us
60. On the Intersection of Differences and Unity in the Body of Christ
61. Throwing Away The Wrong Thing
62. Christianize Christianity (6)
63. Isolation of the Church
64. My church History (Part 2)
65. Is There Life After Leaving Church?
66. If I Were Starting A Denomination From Scratch
67. Nuanced beliefs
68. Many Christians Are Known for What They Are Against…Unfortunately
69. The Holy Struggle
70. Brand Ambassador or Christ’s Ambassador?
71. Can I attend an InterVarsity Christian Fellowship instead of a church while at college?
72. What Does It Mean To Be Non-Denominational?
73. Am I angry at Christianity?
74. Letter to a Friend (2o3)
75. How to Avoid Being a Lazy, Arrogant Christian
76. After I was lost in sin, I was lost in church…
77. Experiencing More of the Church
78. I Am Not A Denomination – Episode #101
79. Can you find your religious practices in the Bible?
80. How Many Gods?
81. Swiss Cheese Theology
82. Unity (Ephesians 4:1-10)
83. On belongingSo whose right?
84. Warning! Get Out of Her – My People!
85. The American Gospel

Hell in life

”Hell in life is that which we crave without measure
and which never satisfies us.
So religion is the measure of our peace and spirituality is the measure of our longing for it.”

~ Emmauspilger

German original: Die Hölle im Leben

Die Hölle im Leben

Die Hölle im Leben ist das, was wir maßlos ersehnen
und uns niemals befriedet.
So ist Religion das Maß unseres Friedens und Spiritualität das Maß unserer Sehnsucht danach.

~ Emmauspilger

Religion and the essence of devotion

Necessary parts in the daily walk with God

A proud Christ-follower who believes that we are all on a journey in life writes:

Religion is the essence of devotion. Our religious activities are to be an outpouring our our absolute devotion to God. Religion and relationship are necessary parts in the daily walk with God. And in speaking of religion in this way we can get a better glimpse at Christianity in a global sense. There are many traditions throughout Christendom that seem quite strikingly different than what any one of us may be used to, but they are simply unique ways to express the relational devotion we have to God. {The R&R of Christianity}

In the previous two writings, we talked about people who have a very restricted view of what a Christian would or should be. Lots of Christians are convinced that people who do not believe the human doctrine of the Trinity may not or can not call themselves Christian. They forget that the word Christian is made up of “Christ” and the suffix” ian”, denoting a follower of Christ. Then they should come to see and know who Christ is. For non-Trinitarians Christ is the Nazarene Jewish master teacher (or rebbe) Jeshua ben Yosef, Jesus the son of Mary (Miriam) and Joseph, born in Bethlehem. The word Christian gives an indication that it is about a follower of Christ or Kristos, the anointed Messiah. Naturally, it depends on what or whom, one wants to accept as a “follower”.

Christians, Lutherans, Wesleyans, and other followers

Normally a follower is considered to be someone who believes in a particular system of ideas, or who supports a leader who teaches these ideas. In the case of Christians it are people who follow the opinions or teachings of Christ Jesus, in particular, those teachings notated in the Messianic Scriptures (or New Testament: the four gospels and writings of the apostles and the revelation of St. John).

As the world accepts a Lutheran is a follower of Luther or a ‘belonger’ or accessory and supporter of the Lutheran community or Lutheranism, around that what was started by the German theologian and religious reformer who was the catalyst of the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther. When we speak about a Lutheran we think of a person of or relating to the religious doctrines of Martin Luther, or relating to the Protestant denomination adhering to these doctrines. especially the doctrine of Sola fide or justification by faith alone.

According to similar usage, a Christian is a follower or someone who has a strong interest or pays close attention to Jesus Christ and is willing to follow his guidance, command, or leadership. For that guidance of Christ the person must Not follow the rules of other human beings, but can follow the trusted Word like it is notated in the Holy Scriptures.

A Lutheran should follow the writings of Luther, but when we look at the Lutheran Church we can see there are a lot of changes in that church which would not be liked by Luther (take for example the role of the women in that church today.) With Christians we see a similar gross deviation from the teachings of the teacher Jesus of Nazareth.

Jesus leading his followers out of a system of oppression

It should not be forgotten that Jesus came along to lead his followers out of the ungodly Roman system. He also wanted to show to Jews and non-Jews how important it is to come back to the Divine Creator and to worship only One True God instead of the many gods of that time. Jesus was a very devout Jew, who did not worship himself (as several name Christians want us to believe). Jesus remained faithful all his life to the God of Israel, Who is a Singular Eternal Omniscient Supreme Spirit Being. No man can see God, but Jesus wanted everybody to figuratively come to see God and to accept Him as their heavenly Father.

There was not only the Roman oppressor; there were also the priests, Pharisees and Sadducees, who wanted to have power over the people. Like many theologians today, they too wanted to make Scriptures more complicated than they really are. Jesus explained the scrolls and showed how people have to live more to the spirit of the letter, than to the interpretation of those temple workers. Jesus also preached an alternative form of government, speaking of a jurisdiction outside the Roman state, based on the perfect law of freedom, outside the tyranny of men who would rule over their brothers and neighbours. He first chose Jewish people who believed in One Singular God, (the God of the Jews), the God of Abraham, Who is One and not two or three. A real Jew never would agree with the Trinity. At first, the people who joined the Jewish sect (or group) the Way, were all Jehudiem or Jews who did not betray their Jewish faith. It was only later when goyim or people from other nations, cultures and other faiths started joining the group of followers of Christ, problems raised under the Jewish community, of which many did not want non-Jews in their ranks and in their synagogues or prayer houses.

First-century Christians

The Way to God

Jesus always said people had not to thank him but God. He always said he was less than God, but that he was the way for people to come to God and the way to life, and that people should believe in him and be in union with him, like he is in union with God.

“I am the door; by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (Joh 10:9 KJ21)

“But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works, that ye may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”” (Joh 10:38 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto him, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” (Joh 14:6 KJ21)

“9 Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself; but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.”

“12  Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth in Me, the works that I do he shall do also; and greater works than these shall he do, because I go unto My Father. 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.”

“15  “If ye love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever” 17 even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him. But ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

“18  “I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also. 20 At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He that hath My commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me; and he that loveth Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him.”” (Joh 14:9-21 KJ21)

“that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” (Joh 17:21 KJ21)

“by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Ro 5:2 KJ21)

“for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph 2:18 KJ21)

“by a new and living Way, which He hath consecrated for us through the veil (that is to say, His flesh),” (Heb 10:20 KJ21)

Following teachings based on Jesus his teachings

In the first century of this common era, more and more people came to follow the apostles their teachings, which were based on those of their master teacher Jeshua (Jesus Christ). They all agreed with the teachings of Jesus and became unified, forming the early Christian church with a system of charity, hope and respect for the rights of each other, requiring that each person would love their neighbour as themselves in a system of mutual, not governmental support.
Those joining the movement of The Way did agree to those Jewish teachings of Jesus and his apostles. For them, it was also clear that Jesus was showing a way to untangle people from the captivity of the social contracts they had made with the state of Rome and Judea, and the tribute and obligations they had become snared by. He proclaimed to call no man “Father”, as they called their Roman benefactors, but stated that the One Who made them alive is their Father Who is in heaven. The perfect law of freedom indicated that man’s unalienable rights stemmed from God and nature, and not governments of men. This was a system of anarchy, by strict definition, without the complex system of tribute that led to the decadence and decline of society, and the corruptible force of the state to back it up.

Not believing in a different God than the Jews

The early Christian church was not persecuted for their belief in a different God or a Kingdom in Heaven, but for their opting out of the mutual taxation system and seeking to live apart from the kings and overlords, the gods many, who demanded their tribute.

Path to walk

For those early followers of Christ it was important to give worship to the same God Jesus worshipped and to leave all those other gods at the side, non touched and not glorified. For them, it was clear that all glory belonged to God. They knew they had not to bow down in front of graven images, and always had to keep their soul diligently, all the time loving Jehovah as their God of gods, and not somebody else. It was also clear they, like God’s People (the Jews), had to walk in God His ways and not following human traditions which were not according to God’s Will,  for they had to keep Jehovah God His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances. Their devotion should fully be for Jehovah God and not for any other god, be it the Caesar, Baal, Apollo, Zeus or any other.  Those who were drawn away, and came to worship other gods, and came to serve them, were turning aside from the way which Jesus and his God have commanded mankind. Though God warned already in the past that the world would turn away from God and shall have false worship. He warned that evil will befall mankind in the latter days; because they will do that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger through the work of their hands.

“”Only take heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life; but teach them to thy sons and thy sons’ sons,” (De 4:9 KJ21)

“16 in that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply; and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. 17 But if thine heart turn away so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,” (De 30:16-17 KJ21)

“For I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days, because ye will do evil in the sight of the LORD to provoke Him to anger through the work of your hands.”” (De 31:29 KJ21)

“For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” (Ps 96:5 KJ21)

“He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul, but he that despiseth His ways shall die.” (Pr 19:16 KJ21)

“Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God.” (1Co 7:19 KJ21)

A God demanding exclusive devotion

Today we see how lots of people have made or taken themselves other gods than the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Even from those who call themselves “Christian” there are many who bow down in front to graven images or kisses books and pictures as a sign of their devotion. They should know that Jehovah God requires exclusive devotion.

“But I had pity for Mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went.” (Eze 36:21 KJ21)

“”Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD: Now will I bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for My holy name” (Eze 39:25 KJ21)

“God is jealous, and the LORD avengeth; the LORD avengeth and is furious. The LORD will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies.” (Na 1:2 KJ21)

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I, the LORD thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me,” (Ex 20:5 KJ21)

“For thou shalt worship no other god; for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God,” (Ex 34:14 KJ21)

“For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.” (De 4:24 KJ21)

“And Joshua said unto the people, “Ye cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins:” (Jos 24:19 KJ21)

“And further, my son, by these words be admonished: of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness to the flesh.” (Ec 12:12 KJ21)

“For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription: ‘To the Unknown God’. Whom therefore ye worship in ignorance, Him I declare unto you.” (Ac 17:23 KJ21)

The God greater than Jesus

Jesus not able to do anything without God

Jesus, his talmidim and the apostle Paul declared The God Who is greater than Jesus and without Him Jesus could not do anything.

“Then answered Jesus and said unto them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He seeth the Father do; for what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” (Joh 5:19 KJ21)

“Ye have heard how I said unto you, ‘I go away and come again unto you.’ If ye loved Me, ye would rejoice because I said, ‘I go unto the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.” (Joh 14:28 KJ21)

Jesus submissive to his God

Jesus his disciples also knew and wanted others to know that even their master was submissive to God and also submitted to Him whom he beheld as the only True God.

“5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in the fashion of a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death—even the death of the cross.” (Php 2:5-8 KJ21)

“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.” (1Co 11:3 KJ21)

“And when all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son Himself also be subject unto Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” (1Co 15:28 KJ21)

The churches and gods of man

But today many have several gods, like “material possession” (Mammon) or find themselves under slothful tribute to an emperor and a system that is not for their benefit. For many, their eye and worship is on material goods or on people who can gloriously show off their acquired wealth. Many covet their neighbour’s goods in a vain pursuit of “free” health care, education, welfare, unemployment benefits, social security and government protection. They have traded their inalienable God-given rights through social contracts both implied and explicit. Their churches are not ordained by God, but are corporations granted status by the state. Many want even bigger churches and want to spread hate for those churches which do not want to align with them. In many of those main churches they denounce the followers of whom they consider an anarchist, because for them Jesus is God and all who contradict that are not just contradictors but objectionable individuals. Those Trinitarians do not want to see that real followers of Christ have to be like Christ, united with Jesus and be one with him the same way as Jesus is one with God.

God in Christians

For real followers of Christ, there is the belief that God is in all of them, and that they have to attract others to come also under Christ, to become children of God.

“3 Know ye not that as many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, so we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this: that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. 7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Ro 6:3-7 KJ21)

“And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” (1Co 15:49 KJ21)

“But because of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who from God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption,” (1Co 1:30 KJ21)

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2Co 5:17 KJ21)

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.” (Ga 6:15 KJ21)

United in Christ serving the God of Christ

Those in Christ should be united and serve the same God Jesus served. They should fully be devoted to Jehovah God, having no other gods than Him. Real Christians are those willing to have only One God and to study His Word, His ordinances so that they too can do God’s Will, like Jesus did not his own will but did the Will of his heavenly Father and asked his followers also to do the Will of his heavenly Father, Jehovah God. In case Jesus is God he naturally would always have done his own will and then he was all the time misleading people and praying to himself.

Jesus not knowing many who call themself Christian

Several people, calling themselves Christian forget that at the end times, when they would be coming in front of Christ, there could be a possibility that Jesus shall say not to know them, because they did not do the Will of his Father. To call oneself Christian or to become part of the Body of Christ one has to do the Will of God and be as a brother or sister of Christ Jesus and those following him.

“But the field, when it goeth out in the jubilee, shall be holy unto the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest’s.” (Le 27:21 KJ21)

“And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven. This sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.” (Ec 1:13 KJ21)

“”Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven.” (Mt 7:21 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of My Father who is in Heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother.”” (Mt 12:50 KJ21)

“And He went a little farther, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”” (Mt 26:39 KJ21)

“He went away again the second time and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup may not pass away from Me, unless I drink it, Thy will be done.”” (Mt 26:42 KJ21)

“For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.”” (Mr 3:35 KJ21)

“And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible unto Thee. Take away this cup from Me; nevertheless not what I will, but what Thou wilt.”” (Mr 14:36 KJ21)

“And that servant, who knew his lord’s will and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.” (Lu 12:47 KJ21)

“saying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.”” (Lu 22:42 KJ21)

“Jesus said unto them, “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to finish His work.” (Joh 4:34 KJ21)

“38 For I came down from Heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me. 39 And this is the Father’s will who hath sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the Last Day. 40 And this is the will of Him that sent Me: that every one who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day.”” (Joh 6:38-40 KJ21)

“but bade them farewell, saying, “I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you, if God wills.” And he sailed from Ephesus.” (Ac 18:21 KJ21)

“Take them and purify thyself with them, and bear their charges with them, that they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things of which they have been informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.” (Ac 21:24 KJ21)

Picking and choosing like a kid

Lots of people who call themselves “Christian” not at all follow the teachings of Jesus and pick and choose texts from Sriptures how it soots them best.

But you don’t pay attention to that do you my little lambs? No, you pick and choose like a kid going through a candy store deciding what to spend his quarters on. You choose what fits your sick sense of morality, and then toss the rest like it never existed. The fact that you become utter hypocrites apparently doesn’t bother you. Neither does the fact that it doesn’t fit my morality. But you care just as much about my definition of morality as I do yours. The only difference between us, is I’m not forcing you to try to live by my morality. {Of Christianity and Modern Morality}

rightly remarks someone who calls himself The Bastards 2013 (Where The Bastards come to share the word!) He, like lots of atheists saw how a bunch of Evangelical pastors were laying hands on Donald Trump in the White House and how one prominent evangelical leader immediately tweeted out the image with the caption:

“President Trump is bringing God back to America.” {In God We Obfuscate}

This “Bastards 2013” also wrote:

You talk about love and tolerance and yet your actions speak of hate and seclusion. You talk about America needing to find it’s moral center and returning to respecting one another and finding joys in the diversity of America. Then you back a man who is none of those. Donald Trump is your reflecting God. He is the face of your fake bullshit religion and from this day forth you will be forever known as the frauds and charlatans you are. Your speeches about god and love will be laughed at and ignored. Your attempts to say that this is Christianity will be endlessly mocked by those of us who know better. More importantly, when your god falls, and his presidency is nothing but a pile of ashes, you will have nowhere to run. Your sins will be laid bare and the scarlet letter of hypocrisy will be forever tattoed onto your forehead. While you preach the word of a megalomaniac, he is busy mocking Puerto Ricans as they struggle to survive after back to back hurricanes. As you attempt to speak about love and kindness (which you know nothing about) your god calls black men who are peacefully protesting inequality “Sons of bitches” and “traitors.” Meanwhile he speaks in front of a group of neo nazis and homophobes and says “It’s so nice to be around friends. So many friends.” You are the lowest form of human. ISIS is evil and should be eradicated, but at least they own who they are. They make no false speeches about love and acceptance when they don’t believe in it. They don’t shake the hands of the people while silently prepping to stab them in the back. You are nothing but low level talentless snake oil salesmen. You prey upon those who have been stricken desperate by your shitty unethical policies. You sell them a cure and make them believe that you and only you can help them. Then you sit back in your six homes, watching the peasants stumble around trying to find some sort of relief. {The Reflecting God}

This shows how careful Christians have to be with their actions, because by their words and deeds others shall make a portrait of them, often thinking all Christians are “so”. Often Trinitarians show to be very intolerant and often take very awful actions against those who do not want to accept their Trinity.

Traditions of man

Throughout the ages, mankind had several gods and had celebrations for them. The Roman Catholic Church willing to capture as many heathen as they could, integrated many heathen festivals in their system. Christmas and Easter are the two most important ones still celebrated by the majority of Christians.

Lots of human traditions entered the life of those who call themselves Christian, though not many of them seem to wonder if they would be all right in the Eyes of God. That way Christendom became totally different from first-century Christianity.

A Religion of a relationship

Bringing a “Thought from a Pilgrim of Truth”, Perry Tripp, a father, husband, and a pastor writes

There is another thing that tends to happen when someone views Christianity as a relationship rather than a religion. The terms of the relationship begin to get a bit blurry. God and King, Master and Lord, get discarded for the much easier to handle Friend. When God becomes solely our friend, we lose the fear of the LORD, and our relationship with Him becomes unbiblical. Again, this is where religious devotion comes in. We are His servants, His children even. We must remember that God has been and will always be great, higher and holier than we are. {The R&R of Christianity}

Christianity should be a religion of a relationship with Jesus Christ and with Christ his God, Jehovah the God above all kings and gods, but also about the relationship with others and other things (human beings, nature – plants and animals).

Fear God

Many who have made Jesus as their god have lost the fear of God or fear for God. Our religion should be an expression of that fear for God. In the end it will be Him that preserves the faithful, and plentifully shall reward him that deals proudly with the Truth, having the courage to speak out and show the world That Only One True God, the God of the kings David, Solomon and Christ. Strangely enough Trinitarians are giving the word Christian an othe meaning than then “ian” to the “Christ” would suggest. They do not see the fundamentals connected to being a Christian, nor the need to know about the God of Christ, Who is the God of the Bible. Those Trinitarians minimalise the act of Christ and do not value Jesus his act of submission to God and his complete sacrifice for humanity. Strangely enough many who call themselves Christian but worship a three-headed god dare to say, like the pharmacy student Teni:

God wanted His people to stand out from the people around them.
…
The bible makes us understand that God Almighty the creator of the whole universe is the One and Only true God. That means, every other god, is actually non-existent and made up by people’s imagination and craftiness. {4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian}

though they do not believe in that Only One True God.

Bringing honour to the Only Right God

Bringing honour to such false gods is at the same time dishonouring God and misusing God’s Name and God’s Title. those who call themselves Christian should witness to the goodness of God in a world that has ceased to acknowledge His existence, let alone His sovereignty over the Cosmos. It was God’s son, Jesus who gave his followers an assignment to tell those around them about the Divine Creator and His promises, the good news of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom of God.

Those calling themselves Christian, should as followers of Jesus Christ, not only keep to his teachings, but follow the example of Christ, being servants of God, Jesus and others, and this even to their own peril. We should have a friendship realtionship with Christ as our brotherbut we are not to consider ourselves as equals with God, in the same way Jesus never considered himself equal with God. We owe only Jesus his God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah, all of our devotion and allegiance.

 

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Preceding

Not About The Name Of The Godhead Of Jesus

Rhetoric and Biblical Truth

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

Religions and Mainliners

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Additional reading

1. People are turning their back on Christianity
2. Blindness in the Christian world
3. Not liking your Christians
4. Not all christians are followers of a Greco-Roman culture
5. Christian in Christendom or in Christianity
6. Christianity is a love affair
7. To be chained by love for another one
8. Many forgot how Christ should be our anchor and our focus
9. Jesus and God
10. Only one God
11. A Father Who begat a son
12. Jahushua, Joshua, Jeshua or Jesus an Immanuel or God with us an incarnated God or a human being?
13. The sent one from God
14. Knowing Jesus Rabboni
15. Jesus son of God or God the son
16. Jesus son of God
17. Jesus Christ the Messiah
18. Seeing Jesus
19. Focussing on oneness with Jesus like Jesus is one with God
20. Reasons that Jesus is Not God
21. God son king and his subjects
22. Not saying Jeshua is God
23. Sayings of Jesus, what to believe and being or not of the devil
24. Jesus begotten Son of God #19 Compromising fact
25. On the Nature of Christ
26. The Son can do nothing of his own accord
27. The son of man given authority by God
28. The Nazarene master teacher learning people how they should behave
29. Doctrine of Christ
30. One Mediator
31. Commandements of Christ
32. Statutes given unto us
33. Relationship with God, Jesus and each other
34. Memorizing wonderfully – Additional verses: Psalm 34 Tasting and blessing Jehovah God
35. Extra verses to remember by the reading of Psalm 45 A Great name to Praise God
36. Not words of any organisation should bind you, but the Word of God
37. A learning process for each of us
38. Paul’s warning about false stories and his call to quit touching the unclean thing
39. Matthew 15 Calvin’s view
40. Matthew 20 It is never too late
41. Matthew 20 Are you willing to work for Jesus?
42. Matthew 25 Jesus ministry drawing to its dramatic conclusion and warning to be ready
43. A strange thing might happen when you come under Christ
44. As brothers and sisters showing that you are followers of the real Jesus or being a Jeshuaist sharing responsibilities
45. Demanding signs or denying yourself
46. Attitude of a Christian
47. As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude
48. A heart full of love is a fundamental requirement
49. Christianity without the Trinity
50. Doubting and going astray
51. Main churches losing population share
52. How do trinitarians equate divine nature
53. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
54. Thought for today November the 6th: Indifference
55. Is it a Jewish or a Christian faith
56. Religious imagery used by pop artists
57. Avoiding friction and distraction in the body of Christ
58. Today’s thought “Fools despise wisdom” (March 23)
59. False opposite true worship which exalts the God of Israel
60. How should we worship God? #14 True worship
61. In a time when we must remain in our place
62. Memorizing wonderfully 18 Proverbs – Fear of God, Wisdom and instruction
63. Symptom of tzara’at a white spot on the flesh
64. Today’s thought “Folly and Wickedness of Men” (January 06)
65. Today’s thought “Sound an alarm for the day of Jehovah that comes” (November 19)

 

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Further related

1. Pouring Into Others (comeawake.org)
2. Being Christian
3. Being Christian Takes Practice
4. Being Christian On Day One
5. What Does It Mean to be a True Christian?
6. Being A Cultural Christian Is Not Enough
7. The Quiet in the Land
8. Martin Luther’s Seal
9. Today in Church History Erasmus Loaded the Reformation Cannon
10. ROFLMAO — what would Luther’s 95 Theses sound like in an corporate office email memo to all staff?
11. Swedish Lutherans: Synodical and congregational minutes on baptism and membership in the 1850s
12. A Bonhoeffer moment and a barstool conversation between Luther, Bonhoeffer and a Finnish theologian — links and quotes for future reference
13. Lutheran Women and Their Impact on History
14. Luther an’ Me‘
15. Dear Church’: A tapestry of discipleship and a call for white folks to ‘do good white folk work’ to help dismantle racism
16. Progressive Christianity
17. Check Yourself, Christian
18. Unchurched
19. Come To Me To Have Life
20. Sheep and Goats, Faith and Mercy
21. Reformation 2020. The Righteousness of God at the Present Time
22. It Matters
23. Commitment to Christ Means Commitment to His Church (Blogs Revisited)
24. What the Coronavirus Reveals about Protestant Piety
25. Lutherans vs. Coronavirus
26. Attitude is Everything
27. Is the Trinity scriptural – or is it pagan nonsense
28. Fully God and Fully Man
29. December 11,2020: Finding the “O’s” in God’s message
    Satan’s Lie: You Can Become God
30. Is Jesus God? – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green
31. Proof that the disciples did not preach the trinity!
32. How the Trinity Debate has Influenced Our Reading
33. A Trinitarian Christian claims he can explain the trinity…guess what happens next?
34. Mohammed Hijab vs David Wood, Tawheed vs Trinity
35. Is Jesus God? Debate between Pastor Stanley Sjoberg and Sheikh Ahmed Deedat
36. Trinity vs Tawheed, Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 1)
37. Trinity vs Tawheed – Adnan Rashid vs Samuel Green (Part 2)
38. Of Christianity and Modern Morality
39. 4 Mmisconceptions that need to be cleared about being a christian
40. Matthew 20:26
41. Psalm 56 – Fear and Trust
42. Heaven, work, and duty
43. The Church – Body of Christ
44. Funhouse God
45. Our Heavenly Home 
46. Listening While White: Respecting the Image of God in People of Color
47. Deepening our Faith: 2nd Sunday of Advent 2020
48. He is Faithful
49. Catholicism – a False religion based on idolatry man made doctrines pagan traditions
50. Completing the great commission
51. Where is wisdom found?
52. the high cost of not trusting God
53. Above the voice of men
54. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid
55. Fear of God – Temor de Dios
56. The Fear of God
57. Fear Brings Contentment
58. Pleasing and Not Pleasing People for the Glory of God
59. You´ve overcome

Diversity and Equality

Andrew McFarland Campbell

Diversity and equality are two things that we hear about a lot today. Both are terms that most of us probably understand, but they are curiously hard terms to define. An organisation can be said to be diverse if it has a wide range of different viewpoints on a particular issue represented among its members, or it can be diverse if it has a wide range of people who are members. For example, an organisation could be politically diverse if some of its members were politically right-wing, some were politically left-wing, and some were politically middle-of-the-road. An organisation could be racially diverse if it contained people who came from a wide range of different races.

An organisation can be said to have equality on a particular issue if an individual’s beliefs or attributes on that issue do not affect the individual’s standing within the organisation. An organisation has political equality…

View original post 633 more words

So-called own sacred values under threat

The last few years we have seen populist politicians becoming more popular and getting a stronger following who wanted to cause a fuss here and there. Often they want to have their people believe their nation was great but got damaged by the many immigrants. They say the immigrant population weakens the country and brings democracy in danger.

On the other side there is also a contemporary myth that European societies used to be homogenous. Europe has always been a blanket of a lot of diversity. Always it has been a mixture of all sorts of people and cultures. Throughout the ages we could find a battlefield in the Low Countries. Lots of pieces of land changed hands many times, once belonging to the Romans, than to the Germans, the Austrians, the French, the Dutch. Even the languages and religion changed more than once.

Threat to the security and stability of the nation

Today we can find lots of people who say the land belongs to them and others bring their Judaeo-Christian values in danger. Though many of those crying about their values, do not have any of such juedo christian values at all. The 2016 Islamist fundamentalist attacks showed clearly how far countries as France wanted to go putting liberty of thought, freedom of expression and clothing at the side. France and Belgium so secularised took measures which went totally against real democratic rules and humanitarian freedom.

Big problem in Europe today is that lots of people do not worship God any more and do not keep to the essential commandments of God and as such do not mind not telling the truth, not loving the other, not taking care of others their goods or of nature, they even enjoy being better than the other wanting to have more than they have. For many, hatred and envy are the order of the day. We notice that hatred under Christians is nothing new any more. In the previously Chrisitan countries, we also come to see more hatred against religions in general, many thinking religion is the cause of all the problems. In West Europe we find many that much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism have become No God Zones.

The last few years we also could see that several countries did not mind to take up again very discriminatory laws.  We could see that even in the so-called most free country of Europe: France; and also in the so-called most progressive liberal country Denmark where they even went so far to go for Nazi-laws.

Too many people do forget our world evolved to a world where lots of people go from one place to another and influence each other. There are already many influencers on the net who cross many country borders and bring people to change their normal and consumption habits, plus eating and clothing customs.

Best examples which show how it is going wrong at the moment, are the United States of America, Brazil, Hungary and Hong Kong. The States takes the cake by having a president who goes in against everything the founders of that State stood for. That country was built on the aspiring hopes of people who came from all sorts of countries, all sorts of cultures and different religious denominations. The land is created or grown by a mixture of peoples. In the few years the 45th president of the U.S.A. ruled he managed to destroy a lot what was build up in the previous decades and created a lot of division between the inhabitants of those states which should be unified.

Instead of all trying to come to one unified Europe we do find more and more people going against the tendency for unification. Several politicians want to create such hammock in the country people get fed up with politics and start wanting to do their own thing in the way they want to do it.

A few years ago there was the beginning of fear created by Islamist fundamentalists. Now an other fear was added. This time it is not the clash between Islam and the West, but the power of a virus, which destroys our free way of life as well. Religious conflict was the norm in the old so-called homogenous Europe. Often the Roman Catholics were the killers to be afraid of. They had a terror regime that forced everyone to Catholicism. The people having most to fear then were the ones who worshipped the Only One True God and not Christ. Many brethren and sisters in the faith had to hide their faith or even had to hide in less easy to reach regions.

The English philosopher John Locke put it, ‘to a foreign prince’, the Pope, whose values were incompatible with those of liberal democracies, and who posed a threat to the security and stability of the nation.

At one point in European history we have two centuries where Jews were seen even more of a threat to European identity, values and ways of being, so much so that they became victims of the world’s greatest genocide. Today many forget that the treatment of Jews as the ‘Other’ was not confined to Germany. It was a central theme in most European nations, from the Dreyfus affair in France to Britain’s first immigration law, the 1905 Aliens Act, designed principally to stem the flow into the country of European Jews. And up in the North lots of Jews got burned in their homes by Russian attacks against them.

In all cases we see that governments and people want to find a victim, someone or some people to point with the finger, to cast them as the cause of all misery.

In the previous centuries high society also looked downwards to the working class. The working class and the rural poor were seen by many as racial distinct.
The French aristocratic anti-egalitarian diplomat, writer, ethnologist, and social thinker Arthur de Gobineau, in his Essai sur l’inégalité des races humaines, 4 vol. (1853–55; Essay on the Inequality of Human Races), remarked already that

‘Every social order represents a racial variety’.

Arthur de Gobineau, French diplomat, writer, ethnologist, and social thinker whose theory of racial determinism had an enormous influence upon the subsequent development of racist theories and practices in western Europe.

In the Essai Gobineau asserted the superiority of the white race over others and labeled the “Aryans”—i.e., the Germanic peoples—as representing the summit of civilization. That idea is not killed yet. Also today in Europe as well as in the United States we do find people who cling to that idea, that the fate of civilizations is determined by racial composition, that white and in particular Aryan societies flourish as long as they remain free of black, brown and yellow strains, and that the more a civilization’s racial character is diluted through miscegenation, the more likely it is to lose its vitality and creativity and sink into corruption and immorality.Donald Trump does find this enough reason to make sure everyone comes to understand that, and that it are the white federal troops which are the ones who can and should have everything in control.

Gobineau insisted that

‘We imagine that we are one nation, but we are two nations on the same land’,

each a distinctive race with

‘perpetually contradictory spirits’.

The Christian socialist Phillipe Buchez, giving a talk to the Medico-Psychological Society of Paris in 1857, wondered how it could happen that

 ‘within a population such as ours, races may form – not merely one but several races – so miserable, inferior and bastardised that they may be classed below the most inferior savage races, for their inferiority is sometimes beyond cure.’

The races that he was talking of were not, of course, from Africa or Asia, but the working class and the rural poor. In this century some reflect similar words now also referring to those who work on the fields (seasonal workers) and those who do the jobs the ‘nationals’ do not want to do.

Gobineau’s writings were quickly praised by white supremacist, pro-slavery Americans like surgeon, anthropologis and slaveowner Josiah C. Nott and the Swiss American propagandist for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, Henry Hotze, who translated his book into English. They omitted around 1,000 pages of the original book, including those parts that negatively described Americans as a racially mixed population.

In the 19th century in many countries, the poor were

‘a race of whom we know nothing, whose lives are of quite different complexion from ours, persons with whom we have no point of contact.’

explained an article on working-class life in East London in The Saturday Review, a well-read liberal magazine of the era.

‘Distinctions and separations, like those of English classes’,

the article concluded,

‘which always endure, which last from the cradle to the grave, which prevent anything like association or companionship… offer a very fair parallel to the separation of the slaves from the whites.’

Just before the pandemic struck our regions there were already enough signs we were evolving back to a segregation position of modern slaves, the working class.

With the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, we will have to be very careful that politicians and CEOs do not take advantage of this situation in order to corner the workers and exploit them even more because of the emerging economic crisis.

In the States, we see already how the president got so many people to believe that we should ignore this virus or Chinese disease and should all go back at work making our economy great again. For him, the economy comes first. Human lives are not so important and when they are black or brown they are even less important. For him as for some in Europe as well there should not be Corona restrictions, because they go against our liberty. All such matters to protect the health of people undermine the economy and therefore (according to them) should be annulled. Inc ase there are people dying from Covid-19 they should be considered as just ‘accidents de parcours’.

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Preceding

Tribes Redux

Trans-ability and Identity and Political correctness

Seeds from the world creating division and separation from God

Denmark votes in favour for a Discriminatory Nazi law

American Christians have to think twice before going to vote

Tolerance Ends When There Is No Tolerance Shown Towards Us

Francis Fukuyama and ‘The End of History?’

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Additional reading

1. Belgium, Belgicae and the fertile floodland
2. Disturbing language inbalance
3. Catholicism, Anabaptism and Crisis of Christianity
4. Morality, values and Developing right choices
5. Subcutaneous power for humanity 2 1950-2010 Post war generations
6. 2014 Religion
7. Europe and much-vaunted bastions of multiculturalism becoming No God Zones
8. 2016 in review Politics #1 Year of dissonance
9. Negative views of immigrants, Muslims and Jews
10. Migrants to the West #5
11. Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #1 Christian Reform
12. President Trump shall have to recognise that Immigrant Workers Are Vital to the U.S.A.
13. Secularism in France becoming dangerous for freedom of religion
14. Christians, secularism, morals and values
15. Being Christian in Western Europe at the beginning of the 21st century #2
16. Need to Embrace People Where They Are
17. 500 Years of Reformation Divisions Have Lost Much of Their Potency
18. American Christianity no longer resembles its Founder
19. What Steve Bannon really wants
20. Is Europe going to become a dictatorial bastion
21. Challenges of the Post-Pandemic period

the Soup will not be eaten as hot as it is served

“Are they really bringing people to workplaces to give them a better life?”

It was known or said that even if Jews were converted to the Christian faith, they remained “different” because of their bloodline. It was also known that many were jealous for the lifestyle and family feeling which could  be found in the Klal Yisrael or Jewish communities. Many goyim found the Jews separated themselves from the society, but they did not often see it were goyim who themselves gave enough reason not to mix too much with them.

Samuel Morgenstern was one of those shopkeepers who was one of the most loyal buyers of Hitler’s paintings in Vienna, by which Hitler could receive enough money not to be a tramp. Naturally there were also rumours Hitler could not stand Jews because he got a disease from regularly going to some ‘Jewish harlots’.

Portrait of Karl Lueger (ca. 1900), mayor of Vienna. He used anti-Semitism as a political strategy. Collection: Austrian National Library / painter: Alois Delug. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Rights: Public Domain

Mein Kampf, (German: “My Struggle”) political manifesto written by Adolf Hitler. It was his only complete book and became the bible of National Socialism (Nazism) in Germany’s Third Reich. It was published in two volumes in 1925 and 1927, and an abridged edition appeared in 1930. By 1939 it had sold 5,200,000 copies and had been translated into 11 languages.

It perhaps were not just rumours that the politician, co-founder and leader of the Austrian Christian Social Party, and mayor of Vienna Karl Lueger (1844-1910), used anti-Semitism as a political strategy, and that he was also praised as “the greatest German mayor of all time” by Adolf Hitler (In Mein Kampf) who did not mind following his ideas.

The prejudices about the role of the Jews in the Great War were incorrect, but as with many rumours, it spread like a virus. Many Germans did not want to believe how more than one hundred thousand German and Austrian Jews had fought for their homeland, one of them being Otto Frank, the German-born merchant best known as the father of Anne Frank, who witnessed the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

In the 1920ies our family members could already hear how our brethren were compared with germs. It was as if our people had been infecting generations for ages. That Hitler never thought his people were not strong enough to live according to the wishes of their god or according to the mitzvot of the Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Lots of our friends could not believe that those who said they were “Christian” and as such would, or should, be following the Nazarene Jewish rabbi who preached brotherly love, could do such atrocious things, as others told about them. Perhaps it was to set up Jehudiem against Christians, so that the goyim had all the reason to tell

religion is the cause of war.

The words spread that Hitler said that you cannot fight a disease without destroying the person who caused it, and as such according to him, the influence of the Jews would never disappear without removing the perpetrator, the Jude, from the midst of the Arian race.

Radical ideas paved the way for the mass murder of the Jews in the 1940s, but not many of the Bnei Yisroel or Chosen People of God wanted to believe the rumours at first.

In many families, like ours, it was the saying

“the Soup will not be eaten as hot as it is served”.

They heard about plans which would be taken, but they seemed so unbelievable that they could not be true or would have been exaggerated, as by a circling fire. Others were not so much at ease, and warned

“to be aware of a silent dog and still water”.

Should we look askance at him? Now we can easily say they had much better looked at him out of the tail of their eyes. By not believing the many rumours, lots were woken up with a start, when it was too late.

For a long time, many wondered if it was within the odds, whilst others said

“He is not likely to go.”

Others wanted to be a friend to all, forgetting that then they would be a friend to none. Many debates about what went on in Germany and Austria could bring lots of talks after the children were sent to bed. For sure that what was to be spoken about was not for children’s ears.

It was, and is still, known that there was and is, an existing prejudice that Jews associate with financial power and monetary gain. Many are also convinced Jews are “foefelaars“, who make their pile on the poor white people. Lots of Jews may be looked at as a ramay / nokhel, a fiddler or cheater whilst there was no oysnarn at all.

White movement propaganda poster from the Russian Civil War era (1919), a caricature of Leon Trotsky, who was viewed as a symbol of Jewish Bolshevism.

In many countries people also looked at the Jehudi as the originators or conspirators and spreaders of communism. The vast majority of the communist leaders at that time were Jewish. However, it is only a small part of the Jews that were communists, and what a lot of people did not see is that several Jews were promoting or aiming for social equality, this being considered by many liberals and capitalists a danger for the economy and consumption gain. During the war with the Soviet Union, from 1941 on, it will be the idea of the ‘Jewish communism’ (sometimes also called Marxian-communism or meant to be Jewish Bolshevism, also Judeo–Bolshevism) with terrible consequences. The population and the prisoners of war being brutally treated by the Germans.

When Hitler got into power rumours got stronger, but still many did not want to believe what went around. Others were smart enough to be at the safe site by sending their beloved far away from Germany and Austria. Some thought they would be safe in Holland, but how they were mistaken. Having gone to Holland luckily several managed to cross the channel and find a safe haven in the United Kingdom, but the others got taken and deported.

At the Schalkland, in the “Klein-Brabant” region, less than 25 kilometres from the centre of Brussels and 19 kilometres from Antwerp, to the south of the Dendermonde highway (Mechelen – Dendermonde) was build the “Willebroeck Fort” as a fortified defence to protect the port and city of Antwerp, which by Royal Order dated 12 January 1907 rechristened the fort “Breendonck Fort”. On september 20th 1940 Sturmbannführer Philip Schmitt brought his first victims to Breendonk. The Fort officially became the Auffanglager Breendonk, a transit camp; a major centre for the Sicherheitspolizei-Sicherheitsdienst (SIPO/SD), the german political police.

Words spread that in Breendonk the kaze-the mats were to be removed from the earth in which they were covered. Three or four men had to push a railway carriage that was loaded with the earth. It was not the best marterial the prisoners had to use. Of these vehicles, the wheels were worn out, having to be pushed on worn-out rails, so that a person would have more than it is possible. Was it a rumour or was it true that the SS guards, with their weapons beated on the upper arms, the backs of the heads of the unfortunate ones until the latter were exhausted, but also fell dead?

Former working site at the camp of Breendonk. The regime set up here by the Nazis hardly differed from that of an official concentration camp. The undernourishment and the forced labour wore down the body and mind. The ever-present physical cruelty sometimes caused the death of prisoners. Initially, the camp was only guarded by a few German SS and a detachment of the Wehrmacht. In September 1941, the Wachtgruppe of the SD arrived as back up. This time, these were no longer German SS but mainly Flemings.

Some of the prisoners were to be buried up to the neck, after they were first on a ferocious manner, beaten. The S, S. jailers were there, then settled for the pitiful earth at the face of them. The game lasted sometimes for 1 or 2 hours, and when the victims were about to die, they did not stop to punch and to death. During the singing of the song of Breendonk, the text of which these words were placed on the grave:

” Wir werden nie mehr Breendonk vergessen, das Paradies-tier Juden…’.”

Sturmbannführer (majoor) Schmitt had created and placed a pulley on the ceiling in a folterbunker (torture bunker or blockhouse) of the camp, to make, that the victim’s hands at the back tied up would be drawn to the ceiling.

After that, it was a pizzle of the shot, he was then beaten with a bullepees (bullenpees: baton between a whip and a stick made from dried penis of a bull). When the hoist was released, the unfortunate person fell on two angular boards. Kachelpoken or stove pokers were glowed for immediate use,… because the Jews were not worth the bullet. They had to be sent to death during work and by torture.

When the words rang true for most of the Jews still living in the region, it was too late to find a safe place for their children and for themselves.

After the camps in Belgium or Holland as “Musselmen” (completely emaciated) thousands were deported to Germany to find an end to their unbearable suffering, either of starvation, giving up, or in the gas chambers.

The remaining Jews in Belgium were unable to follow the course of events that their fellow believers underwent elsewhere. Their own concerns were too overwhelming for this and contact with neighbouring countries was too incomplete. The seeping job tidings were considered exaggerated …

Commissioned by the notorious member of Heinrich Himmler’s SS, the Nazi paramilitary corps, Adolf Eichmann, the Sicherheits polizei in Berlin, wrote the following urgent letter, in which the word “Secret” is not missing (22 June 1942):

“From mid-July and early August this year, special trains of 1,000 people each day are planned, first of all about 40,000 Jews from the occupied French territory,
Send 40,000 Jews from the Netherlands and 10,000 Jews from Belgium to employment in the Auschwitz camp.
“The circle of persons to be included extends primarily to Jews who are skilled in work, insofar as they do not live in mixed marriages and do not have the nationality of the British Empire, of the U.S.A., of Mexico, from the enemy states, from Central and South America, as well as from the neutral and related states.

“I may request willing access and assume that there are no objections to these measures on the part of the foreign office either.
Commissioned get. Eichman “

On 12 July 1942 the last restriction on freedom before the local raids started was put visible on billboards. From the onward Jews were no longer allowed to visit cinemas, theatres, sports grounds or public institutions. In the trams they were only allowed to stand on the front platform of the trailer.

Such regulations still did not unbalance many of the Jewish diluted community. According to many the German measures only wanted to deprive the Jews of public pleasures … (Few will then have immediately known that the first nocturnal masses in Paris on Friday July 17, 1942 raffle had taken place.)

Pennant for Organisation Todt

Woman with Ostarbeiter OT badge at Auschwitz

The second Jewish labour team was also confidently leaving the civil and military engineering organisation “Organization Todt” to Charleville-Mèzières (18 July), until on July 22 the second deception beared its bitter fruit.(It was the day that the memorial of the destruction of the Temple took place in Jerusalem in the evening – Tischa be’af – -). Jews were arrested without any excuse! When that day the trains from Brussels and Antwerp stopped at Mechelen as usual, Feldgendarmen were on the platform. All the Jews, both men and women, were taken out. The same happened at the Antwerp and Brussels North terminus stations. (The Brussels-North-South connection did not yet exist.) Their freedom had ended. Some went to Breendonk. Most were sent to the 18^th century Dossin barracks, where between 1942 and 1944, 25,484 Jews, 352 Roma and Sinti were deported. Just over 5% returned from Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Kazerne Dossin, Goswin de Stassartstraat 153, B. 2800 Mechelen, where in the old barracks, visitors will find a memorial, which commemorates countless people who stayed there in despair and fear and who died later in unspeakable circumstances.

From the onward the Jews throughout Belgium were being seized by panic. Being an ode alone was therefore sufficient here to be arrested … The Jewish Council was powerless … followed by a reaction of partial sobering among the Jewish population. They forged new flight plans that were kept secret even from close acquaintances.
The panic mood was tempered after a few days. When  people received mail from the internees in Mechelen it all looked not as bad as the rumours went around.

They are not nearly as bad there … Fruits are missing … They may receive packages …

Faces from those who lost their life after being brought to the Dosin Kazerne in Mechelen

These days we remember all those who lost their life in a struggle to survive in a hatefull world.

Let us not forget how politicians can use disinformation and propaganda to mislead many and to create unwanted scapegoats.
We also may not let ourselves be fooled this time that it would not be as bad today with what was happening in the 1930ies. There are people who say

That can never repeat again

but after the Great War all people agreed also that such a horror should never take place again. Only a few years later the world found itself again in such time or terror.

This time let us be more careful, notice the signs of people bringing others on the wrong path, and react wisely to those who want us to believe we are ridiculous seeing ghosts or bad things in what are just jokes or carnavalesc activities.

 

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Preceding

Remembrance and freedom in the Netherlands – Dodenherdenking and Bevrijdingsdag

Niet te negeren gebeurtenissen rond Joden in België

The danger of having less than 25 000 Jews in Belgium

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Additional reading

1. The Great War changed everything
2. Reformed Churches Muzzled but Protest at Barmen
3. 2019 was #4 a Year of much deceit in Belgium and the rest of Europe
4. Signs of the times – “An object of scorn and ridicule”

No religion mentioned in the Torah for non-Jews

It is not because there is no religion mentioned in the Torah for goyim or non-Jews that they should not have a religion or should not have to come to the Elohim. It is also not so that when people call themselves Christian and would go regularly to mass or to a church service that they are serving God or being recognised as His children.

In Christendom we can find lots of people who have an other god than the one of Abraham, though the divine Creator is very clear Who He is and what He wants from His people. Also Abraham did very well know Who the Most High God was.

Looking at the many churches in Christendom we can see that several churches altered the Torah and that the main church is breaking one of the laws in the Torah itself. Several people who come to study the Bible become angry when they see how their churches fooled them. It is a pity that they than abandon the faith in God. Some of them are then trying to find their way in Judaism. A few do not lose their faith in Christ and find their way in Christianity, becoming a member of one of the several non-trinitarian groups or churches.

It is wrong to think that those in the main churches

only have what the church has given them, altered scriptures and mistranslations. {I Hope They Get It}

Every human being is able to hear the Word of God. Wherever he lives there is some way to hear God’s Word. Those living in the industrialised countries have no excuse at all. For them there are enough means to get in touch with the Word of God. They have the printed material, like Bible books, other books and brochures, but also electronic devices where they can find several applications presenting the Word of God.

Questioning what we really believe is the only way to ever know what we really believe and why. {I Hope They Get It}

and that is what each individual has to do: searching himself what is the truth of God.

It is totally wrong to think that there would not be churches telling the biblical Truth. Luckily we can find many churches all over the world which proclaim God’s Word. It is not because the main

church says a lot of things that don’t line up with His word. {I Hope They Get It}

that we should say

No, the New Testament is not His word. There is no place in it where it says that He is speaking. {I Hope They Get It}

In the Greek writings or Brit Chadashah we are told about the one who is sent by God and authorised to speak in His name. As such the Messianic writings are a continuation of the Hebrew writings, bringing hope for those who are not of the Judaic faith. Because also for the non-Jews the way to the restored relationship with God is opened. This thanks to the ransom offering of Jeshua, the sent one from God.

The writer William Bouker may have become very frustrated by his old church, which makes it a pity he now concluded that the work delivered by Jesus and his apostles would not be from God. Pity also that he thinks

All through the Torah and the Prophets, it tells us that G-d is speaking and to whom He is speaking. No Christian writing can make this claim. {I Hope They Get It}

He seems to forget that the Torah and Prophets are part of the Christian writings too.

There is no need for a middleman. That is one of the lies of the church. {I Hope They Get It}

writes Mr. Bouker who with ‘Convert Corner’ is

attempting to provide more than just proof that the Christian religion is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. {About Convert Corner}

He is a former Christian

who is currently going through an Orthodox conversion to Judaism.  {About Convert Corner}

and spent years believing what he was told to believe by preachers and teachers instead of going to research the Bible for himself. Clinging to church doctrines no wonder he feels that he

had very little knowledge of the G-d of Israel. {About Convert Corner}

He seems to forget that the God of Israel wants a good relationship with all His creatures and by means of sending His only begotten beloved son made it possible that all can be saved from the curse of sin. But naturally each person has to decide himself or herself what way to go. The sent one from God, Jeshua, (Jesus Christ) shows the way to God. By him non-Jews also can come into the restored relationship with God. For goyim or gentiles there is also a way to have a religion which can be accepted by the God of Abraham.

Need to reject an archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible and animosity against other believers

In Belgium and France we see a growing hatred against lovers of the One and Only One True God, the Elohim Hashem Jehovah. Several Jews have been attacked physically or were made afraid by all kinds of threats or intimidations. That made many of our brethren and sisters leave for Israel. In France Jehovah’s Witnesses, Bible Students and Christadelphians are prohibited to proclaim the Good News or the Gospel of the Kingdom in public, for example by speaking to people on the street or by billing leaflets. In several regions people look down at Muslims or show their hate, giving the impression that they must be all so terrible or be believers of the faith IS promotes.

The Netherlands for years already had their very conservative Calvinist groups, but the last 30 years they were joined by other radical Christians. Many of those follow the Bible literally and can’t read in between the lines nor showing understanding Hebrew thinking or Hebrew way of talk.

As a college professor, the writer of Help from Heaven looks at this world and sees how we have come to a period people want to have eye-flaps, but also finds that the present youngsters could perhaps be more interested in and learning from stories that illustrated the teachings he was bringing but also about the teaching the Holy Scriptures wants to bring to mankind.

Is it

Archaic, bygone, ancient, passe, primitive, old. {Bonkers away blog: daily-prompt: Archaic}

that makes us not fitting in this world any more, giving us the impression it is becoming less accepting, more limited of views, less free thinking, more prudent, less receptive to other opinions. We clearly feel how youngsters today look more hostile to different thinking people, otherwise believers and to those who belong to a different culture.

Also certain communities are guilty of bringing limitations to free thinking. We even do not have to go far. In our own regions we have very conservative Jews who want to have the children over protected and also want them to believe in literal Biblical interpretation, holding fast on a six day creation and as such with their thought on the same line as the growing group of Christian Creationists. You may call it a response to modern evolutionary theory, which explains the emergence and diversity of life without recourse to the doctrine of God or any other divine power. Mainstream scientists generally rejecting creationism may find several believers in God joining them too, but worse is to see how by the growing pressure of certain religious groups trying to get diversion or war between other religious groups, we can see many more people getting fed up with religion and putting it aside.

Certain people want to to overwrite history and think they can make for it a better picture that covers the archaic marks and portray a new picture. They have the impression the strokes that they shall strike this time shall be much stronger and sharper just like the person they have become in the journey of their life … {“Life is like an Old Sketch”}

The article “The Racist Bible” brings a view of the recent problems our world is facing. There is written:

We live with such an archaic interpretation of the Bible. People interpreted the Bible in different ways 100 years ago, 500 years ago, and 1500 years ago. We need to know why those interpretations came into being. Once we do, we can see how it is hurting us. Only then can we move on to a powerful Biblical interpretation, one that is vibrant and appeals to the modern non-Christian. {The Racist Bible}

In several of the Jeshuaists their articles they try to bring a view how the ancient Hebrews saw the beginning of the world and how the Adonai handled the rebellion of man. We can see how by the years ‘Church‘ made use to bend words or twist interpretations to get people under the spell or in their ban. Several religious groups love to have control over their flock and found it most appropriate to do that with fearmongering and with hard language (sometimes even going so far to use abusive language or enormity). Scaring people or trying to intimidate them has become more popular these days. We can find certain preachers (like Mr. Dave Norris) happy to present all sorts of lies about other religious groups than their own church, (for Mr Norris: the Bible Church), which must be the only one true church every one should have to become a member, because otherwise they shall have to burn in hell for ever. Strangely enough in several articles he attacks groups which say we are saved but still have to do works.  He then claims (like Mr. Cross Roman)  we do not have to do any works any more because we are saved by Christ his blood. Norris also knows about the problems of human tradition and writes

All this is ridiculous and pits Apostolic Authority against scripture. Judaism regards the Torah or the first five books of the Bible highly but not quite as high as the Talmud which is Jewish tradition. Tradition can be classified as a philosophy written by men. Whether you believe it or not the Bible was not written by men per se but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Christadelphians and Bible students also follow their own traditions which supersedes the word of God and each Congregation of those bodies believe differently as there is no uniform Doctrine. Just like in the Book of Judges when everyone did what was right in their own eyes yes. I follow the word of God and place very little impetus on tradition. {Precious Spiritual Children- 2}

He tells others lies about the Belgian Biblestudents and Christadelphians, so called claiming Jesus would return a certain day or year (what they certainly do not)  but he himself writes that the Jewish people will accept a guaranteed peace covenant secured by the countries of the now 80% Islamic Roman Empire.

Norris on return of Christ + Jews+ Islamic world + doctrine of imminence+end-time prophesies

Some preachers, because they believe the world shall come to an end, try to call others false prophets and try their believers to belief that those groups would have prophesied such dates for the end of the world, whilst those groups, like the Belgian Bible Students and the Christadelphians already have spend many articles saying that we should be careful with people claiming that Jesus would return on such or such a day, because even Jesus did not know it and we also can not know the exact day of the return of Jesus. But for sure we may be sure that the world shall not come to an end, not because the Belgian Bible students and the Christadelphians belief so , but because that is just the biblical truth and God’s promise  to our Patriarch Abraham, that we may look forward to a big state of united people under God’s King his reign her on earth and in heaven.

Lots of present teachers attacking Jews, Non-Trinitarian Christians and Muslims do have much self-esteem and though they seem to recognise it as part of the possible signs of the end-times do not see the beam in their own eyes but blame the splinters in someone else’s skin, claiming that at all dates setters fail to do is to rely on the words of the scripture which they only are able to do, them being able to see how fast Satan is working to cause chaos and evil, deceiving this world (like Mr. Norris is doing), because all others are “kindergartners” or “have no brains” (Norris his words).

The kettle blames the pot that it looks black but does not see the beam in its own eyes while it complains about the splinters in someone else’s skin. Mr. Dave Norris blaming others to tell and warn about end-times sings, but giving himself also some recognition to those signs in his series over the The End Times (namely part 4)

It might look honourable when people try to talk about that nice prospect of their Messiah coming back. But then they would have to follow the footsteps of that Nazarene master teacher Jeshua, Jesus Christ, who preached peace and not war, like they are doing. So many preachers may be happy with the contemporary technology making it very easy to bring the Word of God all over the nations. To our regret we also find lots of people finding in it a tool to spit their gal and to do everything to have their poisonous words to obscure all reality and decency.

Internet evangelism is how the nations will have an opportunity to hear and receive the Good News. No longer can one person reach only as many as he knows or comes into contact with. Today one person, right out of the comfort of his home, can reach millions of people in places he has never been and most likely, never will go. One person can invest a little time, without investing thousands of dollars in travel expenses, and can do much more, plant more seeds, and encourage more brethren than if he were to board a plane and go somewhere. {Today’s “Roman Road” – the Internet}

But at the same time we can see how one person can manage to bring all sorts of writings on the different denominations which exist in the world of religion, to break them. He even attacks the people of God and let his readers believe that we give more attention to human teachings and traditions than to the Torah.

Dave Norris of the Bible Church on Jews + Talmud + Rabbinical teaching

Mr Dave Norris of an American bible Church wanting his readers and all people in the world to believe the Jews are using the goyim as their slaves and would find raping women and killing whites ok, clearly wanting to create hatred against the Jewish people (Picture from The Shocking Jewish Talmud Revealed)

Concerning founders Mr. Norris has shown, about other denominations too, he also has a strange view, him believing it were the Hebrews who founded Judaism, though it was the Most Almighty Elohim Who has chosen us as His people and promised us by the seed of Abraham a great nation.

He also seems to forget one of the main points of a monotheist religion, which according to him our ancestors would have created. In Judaism part 101-1 he mentions the essence of a monotheist religion, namely worshipping only One True God above all gods, whilst he is a worshipper not of “One and Unique” God, but of the trinity and as such worships three gods: a God the Father, god the son and god the Holy Spirit, and by doing so should fall under the polytheists. When he considers the Hebrew religion as the mother religion of his religion, we would like to ask him why he went so far away from his mother and betrayed her?

Judaism – Jews chosen by God practising and teaching monotheism

For Mr. Norris it seems to be clear that all those who preach peace between Jews, Christians, Muslims and non believers are oxymorons.

Mr Dave Norris finds all those who want to live in peace together and accept the other religious groups “biblical oxymoron” finding they falter between two opinions following Baal considering that (according to him) God and Baal are oxymorons as is this question of the agreement the temple of God has with idols. (Though he himself belongs to a church with several idols or gods.) (picture of his article: The Coexist Movement- 2)

Like he does not seem to see the many differences between the Bible students he also does not seem to know much about the different forms of Judaism, only mentioning three.

Dave Norris limited vision on Jewish groups

Though people like him are being followed by many as if they are the gurus of truth.

Perhaps he, living in the United States, feels united with the many creationists and conservative and fundamentalist Christians. Him also for the whites, thinking Jews love to kill them, can find  confirmation in the writing of the professor who writes

In fact, it was not until Luther that people started taking the Bible more literally. The Creationist movement, though, including the world-wide flood didn’t really take root until the southerners of 1850+ started promoting it. Thus, we had a racist theology demand that their interpretation was the only one. Many were convinced to write on it, without referring to slavery. Slowly the arguments strengthened, until many who are not racist accept the arguments. This, though has saddled us with a theology that contradicts science. Now, we have to invent miracles that are not mentioned in the Bible to fit this theology. For example, a single flood doesn’t leave layers, it jumbles up everything.  {The Racist Bible}

For the professor it might be clear that certain Western Christians have perhaps taken a too restricted look at the Scriptures and perhaps in their thought that the King James Bible is the only true Bible, many Americans even thinking those Hebrews, like Abraham, Isaiah and Jesus all had English Names and as such find, it can not be that the rebbe his name is Jeshua or that God is called Jehovah.

Perhaps it is getting time that people from the West Northern hemisphere start looking at the Bible with other eyes. They also should start questioning their attitude to Jews, real Christians, Muslims, other and non-believers. If they want to win souls or if they want to convert people, loving to see them as members of their Christian faith, it will certainly come down not to follow the way of preachers like Dave Norris serves his community of the Bible Church, because I think he is at the moment getting more people away from faith and religion than getting them in his group or into becoming a Christian. The way we see many Christians act against other Christians and how there is a growing number of Christians reacting cruel against other faith groups or pushing others not to believe in the existence of dinosaurs or that the earth is flat and that NASA would be fooling us about the round earth, it is understandable why so many Christians are leaving the Christian Faith.

We need to reject the archaic, racist inspired interpretation of the Bible. We need to look at it afresh. The interpretation I suggested is not necessarily right, but is a reasonable alternative. Right now, because we are stuck with the racist inspired creationism, we are losing Christians when they go to High School and college and study science. They see how the two conflict, and are rejecting the Bible in great numbers. If we study the Bible fresh, we will see that there are literal interpretations that do not conflict with science, and we can then focus on talking about Jesus without people saying, “I don’t believe that stuff. It is just an archaic myth that science has shown to be wrong.” {The Racist Bible}

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Preceding

Confrontation by people telling lies to force others to avoid the targetted groups

The written, the spoken, and the audible a part of the soul and a blessing to humanity but also the trigger to those who love Crusades and the Inquisition

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Additional reading

1. Dave Norris and his writings on the Belgian Bible Students
2. Trusting present youngsters who are not necessary evil
3. Overprotection and making youngsters drifting away
4. The way of looking at the Scriptures and the people in this world
5. Knife-trust in democratic sore back
6. Pushing people in a corner danger for indoctrination and loss of democratic values

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Related

1. The Watchtower Belgian Biblestudents
2. Belgian Biblestudent Deception- 1
3. Comfort Zone Gospel
4. Jonah; Wake Up
5. The Missing Piece to Salvation
6. Saved From What?
7. Selling Jesus
8. Think About It…
9. Entering the Trail to True Freedom
10. Main Reason to Share the Gospel
11. Evangelism as a lifestyle
12. How to Overcome Fear of Sharing the Gospel – The Story of the Waldensians
13. Forgetting that the Gospel is Good News, Romans 1:7
14. Salty Agape
15. Communicating the Wondrous Truth of God’s Love and Mercy
16. Eschatology for beginners (part 1)
17. The Return of Yeshua Ben Joseph, also known as Jesus – by New Dimension – 12-23-17
18. Exit Strategy End Times: “Unforgiveness and the Band Aid of agreement.” “
19. This is NOT the Time to be SILENT
20. Eastern Lightning | The Awakening of a Deceived Spirit (Part 2)
21. Keep Racing!
22. How to Teach About the Second Coming
23. Today’s “Roman Road” – the Internet
24. The Antichrist in the Holy Place Church
25. The Historical Lesson Historians Need to Learn
26. Scoffers
27. Why Is Christ’s Return Not Widely Taught?
28. The Beginning and the Ending
29. Seven Reasons For Six Day Creation
30. The Creationism
31. Elmore Fundamentalism, Part 1: Matter
32. More on Evolution: From the Mail Room, by Fred Reed
33. Is There Biological Evidence of Life’s Recent Creation? – Part I
34. Scientists Identify a Key Cognitive Error that Could Explain Why People Believe in Creationism and Conspiracy Theories
35. Why Evolution is True Review
36. Teleogical views predict not just creationism, but conspiracy theories
37. A Creationist Surprise
38. Is Creationism racist?
39. God and Science
40. Eric Hedin, prohibited from teaching intelligent design at Ball State, retires and moves to a Christian university
41. Claim of creationism taught in school linked to National
42. School response on creationism, claims evolution ‘controversies’
43. School response on creationism, claims evolution ‘controversies’ — Your NZ
44. Origin Story: A Big History of Everything
45. There IS Purpose!
46. Your Mythology is not Science
47. Where Were You Radicalized?
48. The Ends of the World
49. Civil Debate? Catcall? Or Creationist Ruse?
50. Faith abates reason at Edmonton’s first Flat-Earth International Conference
51. #1: Inexplicable Species and the Theory of Evolution
52. Evolutionary psychology: The naturalistic and agency fallacies
53. A creationist makes the dumbest criticism of evolution ever
54. Noah’s ark: the most ridiculed story in the Bible
55. Tel Aviv’s new natural history museum (built to look like Noah’s Ark) deliberately omits mentioning evolution
56. Why Do the Fundamentalists Love Tracey Ullman Now?
57. InfightingNon-Physical Fighting 2
58. Sikh Radicalisation in Britain
59. Waitress Denied Tip for ‘not loving Jesus’
60. Christian-hating transgender VT gubernatorial candidate DUPED by satire site: ‘Some evangelists just crazy!’
61. The Nashville Statement (A Plain Language Translation)
62. Love and Hate

Solve the Right Problem

To remember

• Define problem right = you’re halfway to a solution.
• Define problem wrong = you’ll probably never solve it => You’ll waste all your time looking for a solution that doesn’t exist.
• Flip side of defining the problem wrong = what computer programmers call GIGO: “Garbage in, garbage out.” >>> If assumptions are wrong = if your logic is flawless =your conclusions will be wrong.
• social problems < base assumptions on optimism rather than realism => go straight from errors in their premises to errors in their conclusions.
• When you start with incorrect information but make mistakes in thinking, then you might get the correct answer just by blind luck. (it does happen)
• Why are the great monotheistic faiths – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – chronically unable to fulfill their own self-professed goal of creating individuals infused with moral sensitivity and societies governed by the highest ethical standards? = seems to define problem incorrectly, based on an incorrect assumption about what religion can accomplish.
• Judaism taught world about universal moral law under God, improving societies and people from ancient times to the present day.
• Christianity added emphasis on individual conscience + individual rights, helping to develop Western ideals of freedom and personal dignity.
• Islam = great improvement on earlier practices in the region where it developed, giving at least some rights to women + , in the medieval era, fostering a high civilization to which Jews contributed.
• << cannot do = make all individuals + societies ethical all the time, + can’t do it because it’s impossible.
• => limitation imposed by human nature, + fact people are not all alike
• problem > message must be simple, clear, consistent, + realistic + achievable + allow occasional failures, providing a way to recover from them and get back on the right track.
• solution = to talk to majority in the middle

The Thousand-Year View

My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal:

Define the problem right, and you’re halfway to a solution.

Define the problem wrong, and you’ll probably never solve it. You’ll waste all your time looking for a solution that doesn’t exist. That applies in every area of life, such as religion, relationships, science, and social problems. The best movie mystery of 2008 turned on mis-identifying the problem to be solved.

The flip side of defining the problem wrong is what computer programmers call GIGO: “Garbage in, garbage out.” If your assumptions are wrong, then even if your logic is flawless, your conclusions will be wrong. Garbage in, garbage out.

Ironically, it’s the best and brightest people who are most susceptible to GIGO errors when they think about social problems.

Their kind hearts make them want to believe the most optimistic things, so they often base their assumptions on optimism rather…

View original post 540 more words

A look at On Science & Religion

Science discovers and defines what has been observed. On the basis of such research, theories are devised to explain the facts, and ‘laws’ developed to identify commonly occurring activity. These ‘laws’ are accepted as true and factual until proved false, at which time new ‘laws’ are devised. Science works from observable facts to generate knowledge and understanding.

16th-century Painting of the Triumph of Christian religion by Tommaso Laureti in the Room of Constantine of the Raphael Rooms, Vaticano. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Religion, on the other hand, is belief in and worship of a God or gods. It demands ‘faith’ in the message and in the messenger. Religion does not exist in a vacuum; it is built upon the accumulated wisdom and knowledge of others. The Christian religion is built upon acceptance of literature that describes the life of its founder, Jesus Christ, his moral teaching and the social, historical context of his life and work. While external evidence can help to evidence the validity of religion, religion does not depend on external evidence to prove or disprove its critical statements.

 

…

Science is an extremely helpful activity, providing many of the benefits of our modern world. We should respect the findings of such research and be grateful for it. If scientific understanding helps to enrich our sense of awe at the amazing universe or assists us in understanding the complexities of a microscopic world, then so be it. But let us not put scientific research in opposition to Bible teaching; the two are fundamentally different. Science may help us to understand the Bible but I doubt whether it works the other way round!

> Please continue reading at: On Science & Religion

Related articles

• Faith In God
• What is a cult?
• Contemporary Christianity in Nigeria and inherent challenges
• Once Saved, Forever Saved?

Ideas about Religiosity

From the Old French religiosete (late 14th century)  and directly from Late Latin religiositas “religiousness,” from religiosus we got religiosity. In 1795 it came only 0.02% as used word. In 1947 it reached 0.1% and got a peak in 1944-45 from 0.17-021%to decline again until 1959 when it reached a deeper point again of 0.12%. From then onwards it got more used, with a frequency of 0.3% in 1978 and climbing to 0.44 in 1996. In2005 it got a boost and was used 0.62%. After a little dip it got again to 0.74% in 2008.

You can wonder if the word became more popular because the time was so bad that people sought more answers and where looking for meaning in their life, but in a time when more people were religious in a way which seemed exaggerated and insincere.

In the 2010 the word became again more popular to denote the way people were either going to be or not be religious. Having to face times where more people are not so much interested in the existence of a supernatural ruling power, a divine Creator and a controller of the universe, the act of those people became also more in the picture and part of debate. This also because many impeach that religion is the base of the many problems we do face today. Lots of people accuse the religious people of creating a situation of hatred between people. The non-religious people inculpate the believers of the different religious or faith groups this world counts, and that are many.

religions in Europe, map en. See File:Europe religion map.png for details. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When we talk about religion we look at one or an other of the various systems of faith and worship based on such belief. As such we are often confronted with the great religions of the world, being Christendom and Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. the persons belonging to one or another religion we do expect to be bounded to the organisations of that religion and to have a religious life according to the rules of that religion.

When we talk about the religiosity today we think of the manner a person has an awakened sense of the elements we encounter in life. This may be concerning a higher unseen controlling power or powers, with the emotion and morality connected therewith. {Chambers 20th Century dictionary, 1972-1977, p.128,1141} In the 1977 reprint of the Chambers dictionary is still looked at religiosity as some bigotry or blind or excessive zeal, especially in religious matters.

Appropriate to or in accordance with the principles of a religion a person might be religious. In Christianity of or relating to a way of life dedicated to religion by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and defined by a monastic rule. {Collins English Dictionary}

When we talk about the religiosity of some one we think about his religious life or how he is spiritual, holy, sacred, divine, theological, righteous, sectarian, sanctified, doctrinal, devotional, scriptural, devout, believing, godly, committed, practising, faithful, pious, God-fearing, reverent, pure, churchgoing, conscientious, exact, rigid, rigorous, meticulous, scrupulous, fastidious, unerring, unswerving, punctilious. {Collins English Dictionary}

The religious person is some one who is taken by religiosity and beliefs in and worships something or someone, mostly a superhuman controlling power or powers, esp. a personal god or God or gods. The person who is religious wants to come to a religious act or have some religious activity, spending time to religiosity or giving time for his belief or practice, forming part of his or her thought about or worship of a divine being.

he has strong religious convictions

both men were deeply religious, intelligent, and moralistic. {The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English, 2009}

Today when we talk about religiosity and a religious person, not many are going to think straight ahead of

belonging or relating to a monastic order or other group of people who are united by their practice of religion: religious houses were built on ancient pagan sites. {The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English, 2009}

but are going to think more about the way people are treated or regarded with a devotion and scrupulousness appropriate to worship

I have a religious aversion to reading manuals. {The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English, 2009}

The religiosity may take on all sorts of forms, going from the simple worship – the activity of worshipping, to veneration, cultism, also going into the extreme, becoming excessive or irrational devotion to some activity; “made a fetish of cleanliness” or to become a devotion to the doctrine or a cult or to the practices of a cult.

Religiosity mostly has to do with devotion or love, passion, affection, intensity, attachment, zeal, fondness, fervour, adoration, ardour, earnestness, dedication, commitment, loyalty, allegiance, fidelity, adherence, constancy, and faithfulness. It can be seen in the way people act or worship and bring prayers, religious observance, church service, prayer meeting, matins, vespers, divine office.

In its broadest sense today religiosity can be seen as a comprehensive sociological term used to refer to the numerous aspects of religious activity, dedication, and belief (or religious doctrine)

The Gallup Religiosity Index, 2015. (dark color indicates religious, light nonreligious)

Some like to divide religiosity in six dimensions, others from four to twelve components, based on the understanding that there are at least three components to religious behaviour: knowing (cognition in the mind), feeling (affect to the spirit), and doing (behaviour of the body). Though sociologists have differed over the exact number of components of religiosity.

What can be found in lots of studies is when written by atheists the believer is looked at as a stupid person who believes in things unseen. For the reason such a person accepting what is written in the Bible lots of such researchers do find that they can not be very intellectual because many strong believers do not want to accept certain scientific findings. We can assure you that there are also very intelligent people, scientists, medics, lawyers etc. who are very religious.

Also is known that many do not want to show their religiosity in public and today many are even afraid to show their religiosity to others at all, or dare not to bring up religious matters in public but also not between their own friends or in the family.

For the reason to bring religiosity more in the open the Message Board or Internet Forum Christadelphian has been created in August 2016 on the American Yuku servers of Crowdgather, Inc.. By creating such forum the public has the opportunity to bring up questions and members are allowed to edit or delete their own posts. The posts, when there are more, will be contained in threads, where they appear as blocks one after another. The first post starting the thread; this may be called the TS (thread starter) or OP (original post). Posts that follow in the thread are meant to continue discussion about that post, or respond to other replies. The Christadelphian makers of the board are aware that it is not uncommon for discussions to be derailed, but they do want to give it a chance.

At the place Christadelpian where many people may exchange ideas easily hopefully many will bring forth some good subjects also. To start off the following opening articles can be found

1. Welcome to Christadelphian
2. Places of interest to get more knowledge about God
3. Places of interest to get more knowledge about God
4. Christadelphian a Christian
5. A god, The God and gods
6. How do you look at religion
7. What or which god are you looking at and going for and who or what do you want to worship
8. Christianity and Religiosity in Europe

 

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Preceding articles

Searching for fulfillment and meaning through own efforts, facing unsatisfaction and depression

Laboring in the Vineyard or Sitting on the Hillside with Jonah?

 

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Also related

1. A world with or without religion
2. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
3. Being Religious and Spiritual 2 Religiosity and spiritual life
4. Being Religious and Spiritual 5 Gnostic influences
5. Being Religious and Spiritual 3 Philosophers, Avicennism and the spiritual
6. Being Religious and Spiritual 7 Transcendence to become one
7. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
8. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
9. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality
10. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
11. Points to remember of philosophy versus spirituality and religion
12. Science, belief, denial and visibility 2
13. Worship and worshipping
14. a Place to discuss religious matters and Christadelphianism
15. Religious matters
16. Religious people and painful absence of spring of living water
17. Christianity and Religiosity in Europe
18. New Christadelphian forum
19. Finding God amid all the religious externals
20. Problems attracting and maintaining worshippers
21. Heaven and hell still high on the believers list showing a religion gender gap
22. Structuur -structure
23. A visible organisation on earth

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Further reading

1. Religion
2. Religion and ceremonies
3. Ethics and Morals – the Ten Commandments
4. Politics is a funny game.
5. For the little gods’ sake…
6. Consciousness continues to amaze and elude
7. Weather or not.
8. Success
9. Religious matters
10. What comes next?
11. Young immigrants to Canada passionate about spirituality: Todd
12. the primitive as reaction, pt. 2
13. Science doesn’t know it all. Neither does Religion.
14. Cara Wall Scheffler: What anthropology can tell us about the origins of religious behaviour
15. Religious experience: William James + criticisms from Russell
16. Religious experience: Otto and the numinous
17. Religious experience: Ayer
18. Experiencing God
19. Belief in moralistic gods makes people generous—towards coreligionists
20. On Certainty
21. Stop Saying “I Feel Like …” to Spiritualize Your Desires
22. Go Ahead and Ask God for Something Really Small
23. How I Hear God’s Voice

+++

Related articles

• Head-counting the Christians
• Diversity Is More Than a Buzzword
• India saw religiously motivated killings in 2015: US
• Number Of Atheists Decreasing In India
• Do we need religious education in schools?
• 2015 Report on International Religious Freedom – China: Macau
• Is Islam a Religion?
• The Psychology of Ideology and Religion
• Religious Freedom in a Multicultural World
• Looking for writers for two Lifestyle Magazines

Why are we killing?

Ngobesing Romanus dreams to inspire humanity. According to himself as the CEO of Radio Evangelium Bamenda and member of the Adivsory Board of African Dream, he does it with a passion. He believes his works have positively impacted millions of people around the world. So lets hope he can inspire others to bring out the best in themselves and realize their dreams.

For him

The world is in trouble;

How shall we come out of it?

I fear for the world;

Unless something is done.

How do you see it?

and he wonders what we do.

We see wicked acts
Everyday in the world;
Innocent people suffer and die;
People’s hearts are full of evil;
This evil is expressed in evil acts;
Many do to others as they like none
To do to them;
What do we do to make the world
An excellent place for all?
My proposal:
Every day avoid evil and do good;
Call on others in one way or other
To do good and avoid evil.
Do you have some ideas,
Of what we can do,
To make the world an excellent place?
Why not share?
{What do we do?}

Like us and other Bloggers for peace, he knows the challenges and is only setting the ball rolling;

lighting the candle; hopeful that candle by candle the whole world shall one day be filled by light.

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Preceding articles:

Reflections on the Great War #1 100 years on

Reflections on the Great War #2

Too Young To Fight?

Remembrance isn’t only about those who fought, but also those who refused

In Flanders Fields II – a new poem in response to the original

Lessons of the Somme

The Somme (1916) Working Class Holocaust

July 4, 1916 – Battle of the Somme greeted with ‘the greatest enthusiasm’

Gwalia military cemetery

Truth

A poem for #Somme100 

Remembering the Somme 100 years on

The War to end all wars

++

Additional reading

1. All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting… George Orwell
2. Parade’s End and Saint Flora Castle
3. 1914 – 2014 preparations
4. 11 November, a day to remember #1 Until Industrialisation
5. 11 November, a day to remember #2 From the Industrialisation
6. Mons 2014 remembering the Great War
7. Liège 2014 remembering the Great War
8. August 4, 1914 to be remembered
9. Honouring hundreds of thousands of victims of the brutal Somme battle
10. Ulster Tower ceremony for the Irish at the Somme battle
11. Aftermath
12. Juncker warns for possible new war

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Further reading

1. Why Do People Kill People?
2. Playing God
3. Blood Red
4. Understanding. The Killing of Society
5. Sad Sunday.
6. Someone Kills
7. Japan man arrested for killing father with chopstick
8. We are better than this
9. Killing of British MP Jo Cox: What we know so far
10. England grieves killed administrator, EU submission crusade suspended
11. Massacre
12. Gaffney: Jihad in Orlando
13. Within Seconds.
14. Orlando
15. Thoughts On Orlando
16. President Obama On Orlando Mass Shooting: ‘This Was An Attack On All Of Us’
17. a tragedy in Orlando
18. The Orlando shooter was employed by a British security firm, and its shares are tanking
19. This is Love
20. A Letter to the People Using the Orlando Shooting to Promote Bigotry: You Will Never Win
21. Tragedy in America
22. Understanding Why
23. ‘I Miss My Old Life’: Christian Fleeing ISIS attack narrates ordeal
24. Thousands in Okinawa Demand U.S. Military Leave Japan After Killing
25. When You Think You’re Having A Bad Day Then You Watch The News
26. An Extremist View on Gun Control Policy.
27. Impunity
28. Qawwal Amjad Sabri shot dead in Karachi
29. A cricket lover, sufi singer Amjad Sabri shot dead
30. While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, June 23 edition
31. British MP murder suspect to be tried in November
32. The American Left and Terror
33. petition: India’s ‘Lust for Killing’ Wildlife Needs to Stop
34. Population Control: The Fetus, Fuck the Fetus!
35. What Makes This Okay?
36. Skydda Sierra Leones hundar mot brutal avlivning
37. The Summer of ’76
38. Scotus Abortion Clinic Ruling
39. 100 Degrees (Chicago)
40. Morality, pragmatism and killing
41. Justice for Shark Killed for Photo Opportunity
42. Tigers

A charter for a truly free world and why we need it

Dear readers, for those who are new, we like to repeat our aims and about the idea behind our sharing.

Sharing Writings and linking

This website wants to bring an overview of interesting articles which were published on the worldwide internet and present some additional views on how we could come to a better world. Up until now we also wanted to bring additional literature in sight of our readers. For that reason we have, up until a few days ago, included several links into the articles, which opened automatically in a new window. But somehow WordPress changed the way to include url links and made it more difficult or time consuming, not allowing the enclosure feature to remember the previous used url codes and having each link to be separately indicated to open in a new window, instead of remembering it for all links on that page. This means we always have to look again for certain links and have to do much more work to include them. This makes writing our articles even more time consuming. For that reason we regret from a few days ago we did not include so many links any more and from today onwards you shall have to chose how to open the link. Until we do not find a solution to keep the fill in for the links remembering what we filled in previously, we shall have to limit such linking to tags and other articles than those of the particular website (in this instance From Guestwriter).

Secondly, we also received regularly complaints from people that we linked to their website or article and had to undo such links or write a letter first explaining why we included that link and asking what they wanted we did with it. Though most agreed then to have the link staying on the article, we had lost lots of energy writing back and controlling everything.
For that reason we are going to refer less to outside articles, but still use Zemanta for presenting some articles, but this time we are going to choose more those sites we do know and for other sites we are not always going to read them all, before placing the Zemanta link, and will withdraw them directly when a complaint or request for “why linking” is presented to us. (Simple as that.)

Now you know also why one or an other site shall be linked to more than others. Those who would also liked to be linked to, can always ask us to examine their website and to follow their writings, so that we can may have a choice out of their articles as well.

Authors sharing their writings

Concerning the writers on this platform, we still wait for more writers willing to share their ideas. Many who we have contacted wanted money to write or to help this site evolve.

We are very limited in funds and as such can not pay our staff. We also believe not everything has to be arranged by money. A money-free future is perhaps not possible, but lots of things could and should be done without money in the back of the head.

We still can do with people writing about the history of way of living, to show us how our lifestyle changed by the years of technological evolution. We also would love to find an author who want to talk about nature and show the world the beauty of it and/or can let our readers now what is important to look at at a certain moment in the year. (Parks to visit, special exhibitions, etc.)

A political and economical analyst is also welcome.

Because of our interest how human beings should try to make the best out of living with each other, we also could use some more writers who talk about keeping the family healthy, spiritually and health wise. Talks about marriage, brining up children are more than welcome.

Not everything for money

All That Money Wants (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are convinced there are many benefits for not having everything in return for money. Most reasonable people will have no trouble accepting a money-free where people want to share with each other out of brotherly love. That will give better quality of life for all, less inequality, poverty, crime, greed, corruption, pollution and waste; greater health, education, trust, respect, awareness, sustainability, community values, technological advances, etc. Most people want these things, but are they convinced of the feasibility. How is a moneyless society possible?

I am convinced that there is a misconception about the need of money.

Imagining a world without money usually raises the following objections immediately, each of which is linked to a particular lifelong held belief (in brackets):

1. You need to have exchange (You can’t get something for nothing)
2. No-one would do anything (money motivates people)
3. People would take advantage (greed is human nature)
4. I will lose everything I have (fear of loss, ownership)
5. Chaos and violence would ensue (society requires control)
6. Society would stagnate or regress (markets fuel progress)

The good news is that all of these objections can be overturned quite easily using just plain common sense and basic observations.

Something for something or nothing for something

I do agree that most people want something for something else. For generations we people are brought up with that idea. Even worse, often people consider somebody not right in his head when he just wants to do something, not requiring anything in the place. Naturally we all need something to eat and we need a roof above our head, whilst we can not all have the same skill. Not everybody has enough competence to do the things he need. So we often are for many things dependent on others.

I am a believer in the Divine Creator and I am convinced He created all beings in His image and with the idea that all creatures are there for some good reason and to complement each other. Rabbi Jeshua, better known today as Jesus, reminded his listeners to look at the birds who have no money but manage to have their food and everything they need to live.
The master teacher and the prophets of God asked the people to look at nature where we can see what man came to call “symbiosys“. Everywhere in the creation of the Most High where man did not interfere there is balance. We can see that in nature two species benefit each other (the bee taking nectar while helping the plant to pollinate is the most obvious example), but there is no intentional transaction taking place. Both species are ignorant of the desires of the other. Some look at it as purely an accident of evolution that has caused both species to survive and flourish. In nature we can find many plants or animals which make use of each other, but not really demanding a return as such, and most of all not being repaid by something we can compare with money. We invented that idea of intentional exchanges as an essential ingredient to life or to community, to cope with scarcity in more primitive times, and with more complex needs.

Motivation by money not the best motivation

Serious Money (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The money / value system that we humans operate in has its origins in more primitive times, but which has now made us hell-bent on keeping score and accounting for everything in a numerical sense, and at the expense of common sense and sustainability. It is true that people are motivated by money, and that the communist system failed because of people being too egocentric and not willing to work together for a communal idea, building up a society where everybody could live on the same terms and being considered of equal value. We love to have a hierarchical system and I do agree somebody who is just lazy and does not want to co-operate in the system can not have the same advantages as somebody who works hard.

But like in nature those animals not having money, we as humans also do not nervelessly need a currency to provide payment, which proved not always to bring that luck hoped for.

We all have look at “Money” as a handy tool or a commodity accepted by general consent as a medium of economic exchange. In industrialized nations, portion of the national money supply, consisting of bank notes and government-issued paper money and coins, provides a value or currency. Everybody expects everything  to be “prized” and  expresses the value of things in currencies or in money. In the so called “third world” or among less developed societies, we can see that currency encompasses a wide diversity of items (e.g., livestock, stone carvings, tobacco) used as exchange media as well as signs of value or wealth.

Human motivators Better values

We should come to see and understand that there are much better values than money. Think about the many other human motivators:

• the desire to love and be loved, to meet people, to have children, to help others, to improve ourselves and our surroundings, to look good, to feel good, to learn, to challenge ourselves, to express ourselves, to innovate, to demonstrate our skills, etc.
  Every person alive is motivated by these desires to some degree. Because, after survival, these desires are what give our lives value and meaning.

Nature doesn’t keep score and why should we put everything in figures and balance it out to get even? Do you find it normal that people would seek exchange in their families or in their circles of friends? So why do we seek exchange in others? Among our loved ones, loving people shall tend to help each other out when they can and no-one will keep score.

Permitting exchanges between people having prices

Trying to get everything for yourself is not a natural instinct but a created attitude which can be transformed back to the innocent position we have a s a toddler. At the beginning of life the human being only asks and takes what it needs. Greed is not a basic element of human nature – it is even a deformed desire to stockpile something what the person may consider scarce and which he need to live, or a wrong attitude having come into the personality by the envy looking at others and comparing to others.

Like a squirrel collecting nuts, some may find greed makes good sense – because we don’t know what the future will bring. In a monetary world, the greatest scarcity is money itself, so it makes sense to accumulate it, and, since there is no upper limit to the money and property you can have, there’s no reason to stop accumulating it.

Map of the global distribution of economic and physical water scarcity as of 2006

Price systems may be considered the result of scarcity but for the first time in history, we have the technology to eradicate scarcity (or paucity) and to create an abundance of necessities for all humans on Earth with minimal physical effort. Primarily by coordinating the decisions of consumers, producers, and owners of productive resources people have taken refuge with their monetary system. Prices have become an acceptable expression of the consensus on the values of different things, and every society that permits exchanges between people has prices. Because prices are expressed in terms of a widely acceptable commodity, they permit a ready comparison of the comparative values of various commodities.

Machines to do the work of man

Normally we have enough technology to make work light for man. For lots of jobs the machines could do the work for man. What is going wrong today is that certain people, who do not do much work, can earn more than 300% than those who do the dirty work. And that is too much inequality. Such a difference should not exist. This way not having people being rightly paid according to what they do or which responsibility they take at a reasonable reward, prevents a nice way of living for everybody, as it intrinsically requires scarcity to perpetuate itself.

Ownership

Throughout history mankind has tried out several systems which all failed in a certain way. I as a Christian am convinced no human system can bring the right solution, but until the return of the Messiah we have to find ways to make life as smooth as possible and to have the creation in balance, not demanding too much of nature and not destroying so many things around us, which we have in loan and do not own. And there is the difficulty of it all, too many people think they “Own” and want to possess more. It is their fear of loosing what they “own” which makes them behave this way and often makes them blind for the way others (other humans, animals and plants) have to live.

The whole notion of ownership should be revised altogether.

We all need privacy and a certain amount of exclusivity, right?

Who wants to share their toothbrush, or have strangers walking around their home, for example?

Our normalised belief tells us that we define who uses what through something called ‘ownership’. Our laws define and protect ownership, with the threat of punishment to those who disobey (ie. stealing).

But where does this concept of ownership came from in the first place? Did we own nothing before someone wrote the law?

Given in loan

We think we own something and that the earth is ours. Believers in God do know that it is a gift from the Divine Creator and that we have received this earth in loan. It is not ours, it is God’s.

Growing up we make things our own. We create our personality. Growing up we collect certain things we consider our own. But we should know that once we die, the breath of life goes out of us, and we shall be nothing any-more with those treasures we collected. We can’t take those treasures with us in our grave, to an other life. It shall be of no purpose in our death. We shall just decay and become dust like many of those goods also shall become dust.

The point is that most things in the community belonged to no-one. Whatever items within the community that were not morally or logically entitled to anyone were used and shared by all.

So without ownership, what stops people from stealing? What actually stops people from stealing from each other is that it is anti-social, disrespectful and invasive, and people who do so are liable to become deeply unpopular. This social incentive for certain behaviour is far stronger than any rule could ever be, as it is dictated by how we feel about ourselves and our position in society. Yet we commonly mistake the rule of law as being the only thing that governs this behaviour.

Crimes, violence and Respect, privacy and exclusivity

Value for Money (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If we understand that respect, privacy and exclusivity are, in fact, already hard-wired into our social psyche – not dictated by external controlling forces – then we can begin to move beyond the traditional inefficient limits of ownership and with it, any fear of loss.

Throughout history we can see that it was the desire of power and the greed of certain people that brought misery to others. The last few moths I encountered many who said religion is the base of violence. When they would look closer at what really happened in history they would see that most criminal acts where done by non-religious people for political reasons and on second place or by people who used a religion as an excuse for their war of conquest. Today we see this by ISIS who present a similar war as the crusaders and do the same atrocities as the inquisitors a few centuries ago. Their killing had a duration of more than one century, whilst ISIS is only busy for a few years. Their terror is as abominable as the terror other terrorists bring. They bring fear and terror in the hope increasing their power. But most crime and violence is driven by desperation through lack of basic requirements for living, ie. theft, armed robbery, burglary, etc. and by having a low moral. Almost all other crimes can be seen as the secondary effects of poor upbringing. ie. where parents are poor, over-worked, unemployed, frustrated, depressed or disillusioned, etc. – all factors that can contribute to an unstable and unloving environment for children, who may later turn to crime as a result of low self esteem or maladjustment.

No incentive for crime

When you succeed into taking away the inequality and create a world where everyone will have free access to good food, housing, education and technology, it still won’t be perfect or eliminate all crime, but if everyone has a good quality of life and free access, then crime will have little or no incentive.

Driven by passion

In our commercialised society we are so used that everything is valued by a currency and money. The economists or entrepreneurs look at the system we are used to and cite economic incentive and competition as good for progress. Have you ever wondered with what they compared their luxurious system? Might it not be that because they start of with a false key that they come to false conclusions?

Are we really to believe that all innovators, inventors and artists will down tools the moment someone calls time on money? Obviously not, since we all know so many creative people that never achieve financial success, it shows us that they are not driven by money, but rather by their passions and desire to innovate.

Sharing people

I would love to call onto people to come to think about sharing more.

Often I do meet people who are very much afraid of a sharing system and think we can not do without money, though they themself use lots of tools without paying for them.  We can find lots of people who are using Open Source Applications, which they take it for granted they can use them because everybody is using them. Often they do not see other large scale innovative projects which are becoming the optimum means of production without a monetary incentive.

Lots of people behind the screens try to invent things which can be used by others, and use themselves things others created. Lots of people do forget that many computer programs like Linux, Chrome and Android have been developed freely by enthusiasts in their spare time,. It ware those people who were willing to spend their precious free time to create something for the good of the whole community and not just for themselves or to gain lots of money. The computer industry has led the way on this, but of course, there is no reason why ‘open source thinking’ cannot be applied in agriculture, crafts, construction or education, etc.

Difficult to get people to share something which they consider of their own

The big problem we are facing today is that there has been created a generation of people who mainly think about themselves. Their ego comes on the first place and they look for gaining as much as they can for their own, often at the cost of others.

In the past the economical factor, being of wealthy parents of a having a privileged background was the creating facility for equanimity or for daring taking risks. Comfortable upbringing, access to good food and education, often provided the luxury of time – not labouring for their keep – but spending it on developing their ideas and skills instead. But we also find lots of creative minds who had no financial security, though created masterpieces.

Having money does not mean being smarter. If society can work better without money, then all potential young Einsteins and Mozarts will have the optimal opportunity to exercise and advance their talents.

If we create a society where talents are recognised and stimulated and people can receive equal opportunities, so much more can come off the ground.

Why not believing in a a moneyless future?

You can see that money does not bring that happiness many people hoped for. It is not a bad tool to be used in exchange for things, but we should not put all our hopes on it.

We should go back to the natives. We best dare to look at those living in the Amazon or other not yet by capitalism spoiled places. We too can learn from populations where money is not the key factor to order their way of living.

We should also come to understand that in our society we do have so many things we do not need or do not need any-more. Why not giving that stuff away that is filling your cupboards? If you have certain talents, why not sharing them with others and letting them also enjoy them?

In case a moneyless future seems something interesting to think about or when you like the idea, why not join “a movement of believers”?

Please have a look at the underneath brief introduction to the charter for a truly free world.

You are invited to show your support by reading and signing The Free World Charter.

Thank you.

***

***

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Preceding articles

Being ‘broke’ a state of mind

Luxury

Your position about materialistic desires having conquered the world

Learning that stuff is just stuff

Material wealth, Submission and Heaven on earth

Summermonths and consumerism

Less for more

Less… is still enough

Looking on what is going on and not being of it

Misleading world, stress, technique, superficiality, past, future and positivism

The Existence of Evil

Spring playing hide and seek

How to Find the Meaning of Life and Reach a State of Peace

Why “Selfishness” Doesn’t Properly Mean Being Shortsighted and Harmful to Others

Hoarding Relationships and Things

Forward ever backwards never!

Watch out

Stop and Think

A bird’s eye and reflecting from within

We all have to have dreams

Material gain to honour God

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Additional reading:

1. How we think shows through in how we act
2. Greed more common than generosity
3. Capitalism
4. A look at materialism
5. The business of this life
6. Angry at the greedy state
7. Intellectual servility a curse of mankind
8. Detroit, A city not to be understood
9. Catherine Ashton on the EU annual report on human rights
10. Time to consider how to care for our common home
11. Increasing wealth gap of immense proportions in the Capitalist World
12. Democratic downfall
13. Welfare state and Poverty in Flanders #6 Transport factor of immobilising financial growth
14. A dangerous way of censorship
15. Internet absurdities
16. Changing screens
17. Looking for Free Blogs and blogging
18. Subcutaneous power for humanity 5 Loneliness, Virtual and real friends
19. Inequality, Injustice, Sustainability and the Free World Charter
20. Mortal Soul and Mortal Psyche #5 Mortality of man and mortality of the spirit
21. Forbidden Fruit in the Midst of the Garden 3
22. Forbidden Fruit in the Midst of the Garden 4
23. The Question is this…
24. True riches
25. Count your blessings
26. Sow and harvests in the garden of your heart
27. Bearing fruit
28. Good to make sure that you haven’t lost the things money can’t buy
29. The 2014 year coming to its end
30. 2015 the year of ISIS
31. Coming closer to the end of 2015 and the end for Donald Trump as presidential candidate
32. In a world which knows no peace sharing blessed hope
33. 30 things to start doing for yourself – #6 is vital.
34. If we, in our prosperity, neglect religious instruction and authority

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Related articles

• #2 Stopping to remember how lucky we are to be here right now
• Solutions to Common Issues While Coding in WordPress
• Mitigating extension vulnerabilities in template-based applications
• WordPress Gremlins
• The cynosure of all things
• Environmental artists prepare to draw attention to endangered species by painting railway arches in Tower Hamlets
• Is It Wrong to Ask for Money in Exchange for Content?
• Your Turn
• 2 Timothy 3:1-5
• Self-worth

7 Ways To Become A Better Christian

Having the Spring-cleaning it is also not bad to do some Spring cleaning in the heart and mind.

Coming closer to the days for which the Bible warns, looking forward to be able to cope in harder times to come, we should work on it to become a better Christian and to get others into the faith. Attracting others to the right faith can only be done by giving a good example and by a good knowledge of the Right Faith and sharing the Truth.

In the knowledge that religion is a man-made thing we should take care to be grounded on Biblical teaching, liberated from all those human doctrines, which only are a burden to the fulfilment of our religious ways of living.

Lets make sure that more people can hear the Word of God and come to see “Who is who” and get to understand that there is only One True God (Jehovah) and only one mediator between God and man (Jeshua = Jesus Christ, the Messiah).

 

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Preceding

Get the lenses out to getting closer again

Happy First Day of Spring: Spring Cleaning!

Something Needs to Change!

The works we have to do according to James

Your Future

+++

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Reggz Magazine

There are a myriad of ways in which one can become a
better Christian. Outlined below are some ways to attain a better relationship with God.

1. Devote every second of your life to Him and His
ways.

2. Keep your trust in the Lord.

3. Read the Bible day and night, as stated by
Joshua chapter 1 verses 8.

4. Understand that there is no such thing as a ‘utopian society’. Thus, as Christians, we are soldiers of God and should preach the word to those who have fallen behind.

5. Do not be a sanctimonious Christian. We are all humans. We all sin. We are far from flawless. If you become a sanctimonious Christian, there is a possibility that you will turn people away from God rather than towards Him.

6. Have faith not in religion, for it is man-made. It is a tool employed by humans to…

View original post 184 more words

What we do

Man worships many things and often uses their religion to do what they want for themselves, having more power and control.

Temple of Hephaestus, a Doric Greek temple in Athens with the original entrance facing east, 449 BC (western face depicted). (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bombs bringing fire and giving the attackers the mythological divinity of fire. They might think to become reborn and having their virgins around them but like Hephaestus, protector of blacksmiths, the Japanese Kojin, which protects the hearths and symbolizes the violence of the elements placed at the service of humanity they will not remembered for long but disappear in oblivion having become dust like their victims who died at this cowardly attack.

But for the living there is light and hands which reach to each other, showing unity which overcomes all sorrow and shows those who try to kill our values that humanity goes on looking forward aiming for a democratic place where many people of all sorts of races, cultures and religions can live together in peace.

Light up a little flame, and make others think, is what many love to do and which gives a sign to those outside who think they can hurt us. >  just think + wonder + ask questions, and maybe read up some author or historical character, or read a new book, or argue, or get angry, and light another flame…  One hopes to make think – and to keep thinking, even in the midst of all the terrible things.

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I significati simbolici associati al fuoco sono numerosi, positivi e negativi: rinnovamento, purificazione, immortalità, iniziazione, sacrificio, forgiatura, distruzione… basta pensare al mito della Fenice che brucia e rinasce dalle proprie ceneri, a Prometeo che ruba il fuoco agli dei per emancipare almeno un po’ l’umanità, alle fiamme che custodiscono il sonno della valkiria disobbediente, alla colonna di fuoco che guida Mosè e i suoi nell’Esodo, al fuoco inestinguibile di Vesta, alle fiamme della dannazione eterna. {Fuoco!}

Bandiera rosso e nera con tre fiammelle gialle al centro (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Read also

Fuoco!

Che Cosa Stiamo Facendo

A darker and stranger place

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• Ancient Secret Knowledge
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Scribblings

I’ve posted something very similar on my Italian blog, yesterday, but I want to do it again here, because…

Well, because terrible things keep happening, and everything seems to indicate that they will keep happening for Heaven knows how long. I was musing about it yesterday, and thinking how small, how inadequate it feels in such moments to sit down and write of history, and theatre, and books…

Then I found on Karavansara a quote of Charles De Lint’s, saying how writers keep shining little lights in the gathering darkness.

And I thought: yes, this is it. This is what I want to do too. Light up a little flame, and hope it will make readers think. Not to make them think something in particular – that readers can agree or disagree with what they read is a given… just think. And wonder, and ask questions, and maybe…

View original post 79 more words