Anyone who calls themselves a Christian, who then persecutes ANY non-Christian (but most especially heinously, one of the Abrahamic faiths) and who thinks that they are either righteous in God's eyes or going to be "saved" when they die is incredibly deluded and totally in error.
Jesus explicitly forbade the disciples from wishing physical harm upon those who rejected his message, stating that he came to save and not to destroy.
You cannot call yourself a Christian on the one hand and then oppress a non-believer, or a believer of another faith, on the other hand.
I should not even have to explain that murder in the name of killing non-Christians is breaking a Commandment AND an unspeakable abomination, but read this article and you will see why I am posting this DIRE WARNING.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090817/scahill
I have suspected this kind of alleged mindset for quite some time, most particularly after reading the abominable "Left Behind" series with their cartoonish evil foolishness and total dog dirt ignorance about the Muslim faith.
I marvel that God has not struck everyone dead already by now, for the horror that so many have allowed this world to become, a dirt ball of evil and hypocrisy.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Hope my friend wasn't planning on Hughes
I have a friend having a movie made of his life (who isn't these days, I guess?)
Anyway, he's been interviewing producers, directors, whatever... looks like John Hughes is not on the list as of today.
Anyway, he's been interviewing producers, directors, whatever... looks like John Hughes is not on the list as of today.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Reading from the Qur'an regarding afterlife
Surah 7:46-51
46 And between the two there shall be a veil, and on the most elevated places there shall be men who know all by their marks, and they shall call out to the dwellers of the garden: Peace be on you; they shall not have yet entered it, though they hope.
47 And when their eyes shall be turned toward the inmates of the fire, they shall say: Our Lord! place us not with the unjust people.
48 And the dwellers of the most elevated places shall call out to men whom they will recognize by their marks saying: Of no avail were to you your amassings and your behaving haughtily:
49 Are these they about whom you swore that Allah will not bestow mercy on them? Enter the garden; you shall have no fear, nor shall you grieve.
50 And the inmates of the fire shall call out to the dwellers of the garden, saying: Pour on us some water or of that which Allah has given you. They shall say: Surely Allah has prohibited them both to the unbelievers.
51 Who take their religion for an idle sport and a play and this life's world deceives them; so today We forsake them, as they neglected the meeting of this day of theirs and as they denied Our Communications.
[By the way, notice that 7:50 is exactly as Jesus describes those in hell calling for water from those in heaven, in Luke 16:19-31].
[I put 7:51 in bold letting so you will notice that those who are "religious" but treat it as a game or a scripted play will find themselves in hell; it is by far not only the unbelievers in religion who go there, but those who are irreverent and who make a game of faith.]
46 And between the two there shall be a veil, and on the most elevated places there shall be men who know all by their marks, and they shall call out to the dwellers of the garden: Peace be on you; they shall not have yet entered it, though they hope.
47 And when their eyes shall be turned toward the inmates of the fire, they shall say: Our Lord! place us not with the unjust people.
48 And the dwellers of the most elevated places shall call out to men whom they will recognize by their marks saying: Of no avail were to you your amassings and your behaving haughtily:
49 Are these they about whom you swore that Allah will not bestow mercy on them? Enter the garden; you shall have no fear, nor shall you grieve.
50 And the inmates of the fire shall call out to the dwellers of the garden, saying: Pour on us some water or of that which Allah has given you. They shall say: Surely Allah has prohibited them both to the unbelievers.
51 Who take their religion for an idle sport and a play and this life's world deceives them; so today We forsake them, as they neglected the meeting of this day of theirs and as they denied Our Communications.
[By the way, notice that 7:50 is exactly as Jesus describes those in hell calling for water from those in heaven, in Luke 16:19-31].
[I put 7:51 in bold letting so you will notice that those who are "religious" but treat it as a game or a scripted play will find themselves in hell; it is by far not only the unbelievers in religion who go there, but those who are irreverent and who make a game of faith.]
How to get out of deep trouble
Many people have, in their personal lives, their work, or in their "beliefs," have gotten themselves into a lot of trouble, and wonder how to extricate themselves. They also worry about their children, particularly to protect them from making the same mistakes or, as is also true in many cases, how to help extricate the children from the same mistakes the adults had made.
One can receive no better advice for this problem than consulting the first Psalm. Here it is and I will comment on specifics.
Psalm 1
1 Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent,
2 but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade. [Whatever he does prospers.]
4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore in judgment the wicked shall not stand, nor shall sinners, in the assembly of the just.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.
This is one of my favorites psalms, even though it is not full of beautiful song and imagery, even though it is only six lines long, and even though it seems obvious on the surface. It is one of my favorite psalms because I can point to it to advise people who are in serious messes how to get themselves out, in a very practical step by step way. You can also think of this psalm as being like an abstract, a summary of what is in the rest of the psalms. It is also like a prescription for an ailment.
If you and/or your children are enmeshed in a bad situation, here is how to follow the "prescription" of Psalm 1, step by step.
1. "Follow not the counsel of the wicked"- no longer take the advice of the troublemakers and that includes stopping both conversations and also your reading of their writings.
2. "Nor walk in the way of sinners"- no longer emulate any part of the behavior of those who you had been either associating with or looking up toward.
3. "Nor sit(s) in the company of the insolent"-no longer hang around with not only the troublemakers listed above, but also anyone who has a sneering, irreverent attitude toward ANYTHING, since insolence is contagious and a barrier to further development and understanding.
4. "Delight in the law of the Lord"-this means to start to understand how God's unmeasurable love for each human being is the source of all of his instruction, even the "don'ts" that people do not easily understand. So read scripture and other (authentic) religious writings and practice understanding that the source of all the "law" of God is founded in his love for each person.
5. "Meditate on his law day and night"-This does not mean give up your job or your activities and just sit around thinking about God. It means that your awareness of God and his sayings and instructions should be like a constant companion who is valued, not something brought out of the closet only once a week during worship service.
6. "He is like a tree planted near running water"-Recognize that if you are to be a good tree, you need to be near constantly running, new refreshed water. Thus "plant" yourself where you can receive this type of constant encouragement in goodness and renewal. This may mean transferring from a low morals school to one of higher spiritual goodness, for example, as a practical step. This could mean changing jobs or co-workers, so that you are surrounded by those who constantly refresh with positive attitude toward each other and life, and not the negative. New friends who bring constant refreshed goodness into even the small parts of life (like shopping, sports activities, etc) should be cultivated and surround yourself with them, rather than those who recycle the same stale water of depressiveness and negativity.
7. "The wicked...are like chaff which the wind drives away"-To explain the image, when one harvests wheat for making bread, the outer layer must be removed from the grain, and this paper thin coating is called the chaff. Wind (from hand held fans) is one way that people in Bible times separated the heavy good grain on the ground from the light chaff which blows away and is discarded. So goodness is "heavy weight" while the wicked are "light weight," even though it may not seem that way because of the power of the assets and persuasiveness of the wicked. Thus this advice means to start withdrawing any assets you have invested in the wicked, whether it be actual assets (money and time) or virtual assets (the attention that you pay to them and their messages). When you withdraw your money, your time and your attention from supporting the wicked, you move your assets to the good and "lighten" the wicked, so they can be blown away, by removing their base of operation. So do not donate your money or time to "causes" that the wicked advocate (even those that are supposed or even legitimate charities) because your good intended donations keep the wicked weighed down in place. As you pull away you and your children's involvement with even "good" activities that the wicked pursue, you will start to lighten the anchor of the wicked, and they will more easily topple when it is their time.
8. "The Lord watches over the way of the just"-You must remember EVERY DAY and also teach your children that God knows absolutely everything you have ever thought, to say nothing of what you have actually done, whether in secret or open, whether openly aggressive or passively aggressive: God knows ALL of it, even before you do it. It is important that your children and YOU understand that, because that will give you the knowledge and strength to pull away from wickedness NOW and not "later." God's knowledge is not delayed.
9. "But the way of the wicked vanishes"-When support for wickedness is withdrawn, it vanishes. Think of all the evil people who have existed in history whose names don't even exist in history books, etc. Life is good and forward looking, and if left alone, wickedness dries up on the vine, blows away, and vanishes for good. HOWEVER, humans have a temptation, which is to do "research" and record the deeds of the wicked (and write "suspense" fiction novels about wicked people, both real and fictional) which hinders the natural drying up and disappearing of evil. You must wean yourself and your children away from documentation, either fictional or non fiction, of wickedness. Stop producing such works and stop consuming them.
Now, more about point 9. I'm not an old party pooper who is trying to censor. I enjoy a good murder mystery novel, such as by Agatha Christie, as much as anyone. But it is the dosage that is the problem. Normal human beings living during normal times are not supposed to be immersed in the constant awareness, study and entertainment that are created based on wickedness! It's like the debate about TV. In a normal life, unless there is war, most humans never saw except maybe once in their life the criminal killing of a human. Yet within a few years after TV was developed children have seen dozens of killings, both real and imagined, a DAY on TV. It is a matter of dosage, whether in reality or entertainment.
Understand that humans have short memories for a reason: that is part of God's plan to allow wickedness to dry up on the vine and blow away in the wind. People hinder their own health and God's plan when they chase the evil "chaff" in the wind, capture it, put it on film or laminate it, so that people can be "entertained" or "never forget" or "learn about history." You must wean your children-and your selves-away from contemplation of the works, either fictional or real, of wickedness, so that in the natural cycle of things they dry up and vanish. Water yourselves with the constant flow of goodness (or at least reality based normalcy!) Do not chase after or feed the works of the wicked, and let them vanish as their support does. Do not succumb to the hubris and temptation (like Saruman in the "Lord of the Rings") of "studying" or, worse, as people do today, are "entertained" by rehashing and recycling wicked deeds in the past, the present news, and certainly not the flood of "entertainment." It is like judicious salt, once in a while, sure, read such a book or produce such a movie, but in the way it is now, the wheat is trampled underfoot while the chaff is glorified, put on digital or other media, and floods the lungs and the air of everyone who is trying to follow the way of good, but is saturated by echoes of wickedness.
I hope that this helps! It will if you just do it!
One can receive no better advice for this problem than consulting the first Psalm. Here it is and I will comment on specifics.
Psalm 1
1 Happy the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent,
2 but delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season and whose leaves never fade. [Whatever he does prospers.]
4 Not so the wicked, not so; they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore in judgment the wicked shall not stand, nor shall sinners, in the assembly of the just.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.
This is one of my favorites psalms, even though it is not full of beautiful song and imagery, even though it is only six lines long, and even though it seems obvious on the surface. It is one of my favorite psalms because I can point to it to advise people who are in serious messes how to get themselves out, in a very practical step by step way. You can also think of this psalm as being like an abstract, a summary of what is in the rest of the psalms. It is also like a prescription for an ailment.
If you and/or your children are enmeshed in a bad situation, here is how to follow the "prescription" of Psalm 1, step by step.
1. "Follow not the counsel of the wicked"- no longer take the advice of the troublemakers and that includes stopping both conversations and also your reading of their writings.
2. "Nor walk in the way of sinners"- no longer emulate any part of the behavior of those who you had been either associating with or looking up toward.
3. "Nor sit(s) in the company of the insolent"-no longer hang around with not only the troublemakers listed above, but also anyone who has a sneering, irreverent attitude toward ANYTHING, since insolence is contagious and a barrier to further development and understanding.
4. "Delight in the law of the Lord"-this means to start to understand how God's unmeasurable love for each human being is the source of all of his instruction, even the "don'ts" that people do not easily understand. So read scripture and other (authentic) religious writings and practice understanding that the source of all the "law" of God is founded in his love for each person.
5. "Meditate on his law day and night"-This does not mean give up your job or your activities and just sit around thinking about God. It means that your awareness of God and his sayings and instructions should be like a constant companion who is valued, not something brought out of the closet only once a week during worship service.
6. "He is like a tree planted near running water"-Recognize that if you are to be a good tree, you need to be near constantly running, new refreshed water. Thus "plant" yourself where you can receive this type of constant encouragement in goodness and renewal. This may mean transferring from a low morals school to one of higher spiritual goodness, for example, as a practical step. This could mean changing jobs or co-workers, so that you are surrounded by those who constantly refresh with positive attitude toward each other and life, and not the negative. New friends who bring constant refreshed goodness into even the small parts of life (like shopping, sports activities, etc) should be cultivated and surround yourself with them, rather than those who recycle the same stale water of depressiveness and negativity.
7. "The wicked...are like chaff which the wind drives away"-To explain the image, when one harvests wheat for making bread, the outer layer must be removed from the grain, and this paper thin coating is called the chaff. Wind (from hand held fans) is one way that people in Bible times separated the heavy good grain on the ground from the light chaff which blows away and is discarded. So goodness is "heavy weight" while the wicked are "light weight," even though it may not seem that way because of the power of the assets and persuasiveness of the wicked. Thus this advice means to start withdrawing any assets you have invested in the wicked, whether it be actual assets (money and time) or virtual assets (the attention that you pay to them and their messages). When you withdraw your money, your time and your attention from supporting the wicked, you move your assets to the good and "lighten" the wicked, so they can be blown away, by removing their base of operation. So do not donate your money or time to "causes" that the wicked advocate (even those that are supposed or even legitimate charities) because your good intended donations keep the wicked weighed down in place. As you pull away you and your children's involvement with even "good" activities that the wicked pursue, you will start to lighten the anchor of the wicked, and they will more easily topple when it is their time.
8. "The Lord watches over the way of the just"-You must remember EVERY DAY and also teach your children that God knows absolutely everything you have ever thought, to say nothing of what you have actually done, whether in secret or open, whether openly aggressive or passively aggressive: God knows ALL of it, even before you do it. It is important that your children and YOU understand that, because that will give you the knowledge and strength to pull away from wickedness NOW and not "later." God's knowledge is not delayed.
9. "But the way of the wicked vanishes"-When support for wickedness is withdrawn, it vanishes. Think of all the evil people who have existed in history whose names don't even exist in history books, etc. Life is good and forward looking, and if left alone, wickedness dries up on the vine, blows away, and vanishes for good. HOWEVER, humans have a temptation, which is to do "research" and record the deeds of the wicked (and write "suspense" fiction novels about wicked people, both real and fictional) which hinders the natural drying up and disappearing of evil. You must wean yourself and your children away from documentation, either fictional or non fiction, of wickedness. Stop producing such works and stop consuming them.
Now, more about point 9. I'm not an old party pooper who is trying to censor. I enjoy a good murder mystery novel, such as by Agatha Christie, as much as anyone. But it is the dosage that is the problem. Normal human beings living during normal times are not supposed to be immersed in the constant awareness, study and entertainment that are created based on wickedness! It's like the debate about TV. In a normal life, unless there is war, most humans never saw except maybe once in their life the criminal killing of a human. Yet within a few years after TV was developed children have seen dozens of killings, both real and imagined, a DAY on TV. It is a matter of dosage, whether in reality or entertainment.
Understand that humans have short memories for a reason: that is part of God's plan to allow wickedness to dry up on the vine and blow away in the wind. People hinder their own health and God's plan when they chase the evil "chaff" in the wind, capture it, put it on film or laminate it, so that people can be "entertained" or "never forget" or "learn about history." You must wean your children-and your selves-away from contemplation of the works, either fictional or real, of wickedness, so that in the natural cycle of things they dry up and vanish. Water yourselves with the constant flow of goodness (or at least reality based normalcy!) Do not chase after or feed the works of the wicked, and let them vanish as their support does. Do not succumb to the hubris and temptation (like Saruman in the "Lord of the Rings") of "studying" or, worse, as people do today, are "entertained" by rehashing and recycling wicked deeds in the past, the present news, and certainly not the flood of "entertainment." It is like judicious salt, once in a while, sure, read such a book or produce such a movie, but in the way it is now, the wheat is trampled underfoot while the chaff is glorified, put on digital or other media, and floods the lungs and the air of everyone who is trying to follow the way of good, but is saturated by echoes of wickedness.
I hope that this helps! It will if you just do it!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
How to use logic when understanding God
I demonstrated several blog postings ago that Jesus himself phrased some of his teachings in order for those who listened to him (and later, through the Gospel, read what he said) to understand and follow along with his statements through the use of human logic. Faith is great and the foundation of understanding God, but God also expects humans to use their brains and to be logical and intellectual about what he says and does. While listening to one of my favorite radio talk shows, mention was made of how God created humans in his image, as stated in the Book of Genesis. I realized that this would be a great example for me to demonstrate two uses of logic, in the form of deductive reasoning, that God is utilizing in explaining himself in scripture.
The first example is really obvious and demonstrates how you are using deductive reasoning to understand the scriptures when you read them, without even realizing it. Consider how we all know that angels were created by God before God created humans, even though that is not stated per se in the Bible. There are two kinds of people, those who trust their deductive reasoning, without even knowing they are using it, and those who don't trust their deductive reasoning, and therefore miss the point, think that there's some conspiracy or 'secret' information, or who simply fail to grasp facts when they are offered in that format. This is why the first example is very helpful to look at.
Genesis 1:1-13 describes how God created, in this order: light, darkness, day, night, heaven and then the earth. Heaven is not described at all, while earth is described (it has dry land, it has seas, it has vegetation produced from seeds, trees bear fruit according to their specific type of seed).
So our first fact, our first premise, is that heaven is created before the earth.
We have details about the life forms on earth, but nothing is said about life forms in heaven.
However, after God continues in his great creation, where he now creates the lights in the earth's sky, and the animals that live on earth, God now says:
Genesis 1:26 God said, "Let us make mankind in our image and likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the wild animals and every creature that crawls on the earth."
Notice that God uses the word "us." Those who read the scripture with both faith and logic understand that God is referring to the angels who dwell in heaven with him when he says "us." Just because God does not detail anything about heaven, either its structure or its inhabitants, does not mean heaven is empty or that "us" means multiple gods, aliens, etc. God talks to humans in simple to understand truth. It is important to hear and receive what he says accordingly.
So the faithful are expected to use their brains, which is articulated through this simple logic.
1. Heaven is created before the earth.
2. Angels live with God in heaven, while humans live on earth.
3. Therefore angels were created before humans.
When you have an obviously accurate conclusion based on sound deductive reasoning, as demonstrated in this example, one still feels better when one "tests" the results of one's deduction with further confirming scripture.
Genesis 1:27 God created man in his image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.
Now you can draw a second conclusion based on deductive reasoning.
1. God created Heaven.
2. Angels live in heaven with God.
3. God is speaking to other beings, known as "us."
4. Since humans have not yet been created, "us" refers to God and the angels.
5. God suggests making humans "in our image and likeness."
6. We can conclude that angels and God share the same or similar "image" and "likeness."
7. God created the angels.
8. We can conclude that God created angels in the sharing of God's image and likeness.
Again, those with simple faith and sound logic draw these conclusions based on deduction without even realizing it. This is because God gives all humans everything they need to know and understand him and what he is saying. People are not supposed to be combinations of Einstein and paranoid/rocket scientist/conspiracy theorists!
So we now know based on scripture and deductive reasoning that angels were created before human beings, and that angels were the first to share with God his image and likeness. God now suggests to the angels that God, when he creates humans, likewise creates them to share in the image and likeness now enjoyed by God and the angels.
By the way, the Qur'an spells out that the audience during God's creation of human beings is, indeed, the angels of heaven, who are already in existence before human beings are created.
Now we can use deductive reasoning to understand something a bit deeper about God, which is what exactly God means by humans sharing his image and likeness? It's not difficult to believe that angels, in their heavenly forms, share the luminous wonder, and often awe inspiring to the point of terror, magnificence and power in form of God, who is all light and glory. But how do mundane flesh based human beings "share" God's image and likeness? Here is how we can use some logic and deductive reasoning to understand this.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it."
1. God's first orders to humans, therefore, are to be fruitful and multiply.
2. God gave these first orders immediately after his act of creation.
3. Therefore we can conclude that God considers humans to be the most in his likeness when they are being fruitful and multiplying.
Someone might raise, logically, two concerns. One is, "Hey, if angels are in his likeness, does that mean they procreate?" Angels do procreate, but not biologically. Angels procreate the Word of God, the Will of God, and praise of God. In the scripture we see that angels procreate by spreading the word when commissioned by God among humans (such as the Annunciation) AND they continually procreate in service of God when they continually sing and shout His praise in heaven. So humans are expected to procreate biologically to be consistent with the likeness of God, while angels procreate the Will of God to be consistent with the likeness of God.
The second concern might be that God is endorsing that humans be like him in being creators? Nope, that is a very clearly stated prohibition, when Adam and Eve are thrown out of the Garden of Eden and humans are told not to try to seek God's Knowledge. But here in this scripture you can understand the difference. Genesis explains that seeds create trees, and trees create fruit that is natural to them (fruit is their offspring). Thus it is obvious that God is telling humans to yield their own fruit-human children-by being "fruitful" and "multiplying," not being creators themselves, which is strictly forbidden in the telling of the temptation and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
Revelation 4:8 ...And they do not rest day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is coming.
Many joke, good heartedly, that heaven must get boring if one is just playing the harp and singing for all eternity! On the serious side, you must understand that the continual praise of God by the angels is their way of procreating His Word and His Will, and the saved humans who join them in heaven are now part of this work and this bliss.
Now, how can we use deductive reasoning in the scriptures to better understand how humans can share the same "image" as God, who is known to be awesome, blinding light that cannot be viewed by humans? Here is one way to understand it from the one who saw God's image close-up, the man who was Moses.
Exodus 33:18-23
Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name 'Lord'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. Here," continued the Lord, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face is not to be seen."
What do we learn about something that God and humans share in their image? Both God and humans have a "front" and a "back." Humans have a biological front (where their sensory organs are concentrated on one side, such as eyes, ears, mouth and ease of touching and reach) while God has a spiritual "front," which represents the full force of his focus, which, as God explains, no human can endure and remain alive. However, Moses is given the grace and strength by God to be able to view the "back" of God, which is not biological, but, rather, the lesssening of God's full force of attention. So God has a "front" and a "back," which are not at all biological in format or in limitations to his ability to be uniformly everywhere and all powerful in all "directions" but, as humans mirror, the fullness of his attention and focus "front" being like the concentration of human sensory organs, and a deflected and less force of focus and attention being like God's "back" as he passes by Moses.
Notice that, however, God gives Moses an extra gift, an extraordinary grace, which no human has ever experienced in addition to the singular allowing to Moses alone of his viewing God in his glory: God pronounces his Name for Moses. Think of this as hearing God's voice pronouncing his Name of all Power as a small amount of what would have been his full front viewing presence of his full glory, which Moses nor no human could survive! Thus God allows Moses to see him the only way he can, which is his back in passing, but also with hearing God speak his name from His "front."
1. God shares his image with angels and humans.
2. Moses is the only human to see God in his full glory on earth.
3. God explains that he has a front and a back.
4. Therefore we understand that a key component of the shared image of God and humans is that there is a "side" that has full sensory focus and the other "side" which has less sensory focus.
Again, remember in God's case this is not a lack in any way regarding either his powers or how he "looks" but, rather, God creates his "front" when he presents himself in full glory, and God presents his "back" when he withholds some of his glory so that Moses can endure being in his presence.
The presence and image of God is so powerful that even when Moses stands in front of the Lord as he appears as the cloud, and not his full glory, Moses's "skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord" Exodus 34:29. The face is on the "front" and so powerful is the presence of God that when Moses faces even the cloud of God, each time his face is made radiant by God's image. So we can further deduce from scripture that the ability to be radiant is another shared image between God and humans, except that again, as with the front and back, God is always radiant, while humans can become radiant only in God's presence.
I guess, thinking back about how God, has a "front" and a "back" (again, please keep in mind that these are not biologically but, rather, how God radiates the fullness of his glory and focus, or veils it) that, just to have a little whimsy and humor here, the fish the most like God must be the flounder!
I hope that you have found this helpful.
The first example is really obvious and demonstrates how you are using deductive reasoning to understand the scriptures when you read them, without even realizing it. Consider how we all know that angels were created by God before God created humans, even though that is not stated per se in the Bible. There are two kinds of people, those who trust their deductive reasoning, without even knowing they are using it, and those who don't trust their deductive reasoning, and therefore miss the point, think that there's some conspiracy or 'secret' information, or who simply fail to grasp facts when they are offered in that format. This is why the first example is very helpful to look at.
Genesis 1:1-13 describes how God created, in this order: light, darkness, day, night, heaven and then the earth. Heaven is not described at all, while earth is described (it has dry land, it has seas, it has vegetation produced from seeds, trees bear fruit according to their specific type of seed).
So our first fact, our first premise, is that heaven is created before the earth.
We have details about the life forms on earth, but nothing is said about life forms in heaven.
However, after God continues in his great creation, where he now creates the lights in the earth's sky, and the animals that live on earth, God now says:
Genesis 1:26 God said, "Let us make mankind in our image and likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the cattle, over all the wild animals and every creature that crawls on the earth."
Notice that God uses the word "us." Those who read the scripture with both faith and logic understand that God is referring to the angels who dwell in heaven with him when he says "us." Just because God does not detail anything about heaven, either its structure or its inhabitants, does not mean heaven is empty or that "us" means multiple gods, aliens, etc. God talks to humans in simple to understand truth. It is important to hear and receive what he says accordingly.
So the faithful are expected to use their brains, which is articulated through this simple logic.
1. Heaven is created before the earth.
2. Angels live with God in heaven, while humans live on earth.
3. Therefore angels were created before humans.
When you have an obviously accurate conclusion based on sound deductive reasoning, as demonstrated in this example, one still feels better when one "tests" the results of one's deduction with further confirming scripture.
Genesis 1:27 God created man in his image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.
Now you can draw a second conclusion based on deductive reasoning.
1. God created Heaven.
2. Angels live in heaven with God.
3. God is speaking to other beings, known as "us."
4. Since humans have not yet been created, "us" refers to God and the angels.
5. God suggests making humans "in our image and likeness."
6. We can conclude that angels and God share the same or similar "image" and "likeness."
7. God created the angels.
8. We can conclude that God created angels in the sharing of God's image and likeness.
Again, those with simple faith and sound logic draw these conclusions based on deduction without even realizing it. This is because God gives all humans everything they need to know and understand him and what he is saying. People are not supposed to be combinations of Einstein and paranoid/rocket scientist/conspiracy theorists!
So we now know based on scripture and deductive reasoning that angels were created before human beings, and that angels were the first to share with God his image and likeness. God now suggests to the angels that God, when he creates humans, likewise creates them to share in the image and likeness now enjoyed by God and the angels.
By the way, the Qur'an spells out that the audience during God's creation of human beings is, indeed, the angels of heaven, who are already in existence before human beings are created.
Now we can use deductive reasoning to understand something a bit deeper about God, which is what exactly God means by humans sharing his image and likeness? It's not difficult to believe that angels, in their heavenly forms, share the luminous wonder, and often awe inspiring to the point of terror, magnificence and power in form of God, who is all light and glory. But how do mundane flesh based human beings "share" God's image and likeness? Here is how we can use some logic and deductive reasoning to understand this.
Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it."
1. God's first orders to humans, therefore, are to be fruitful and multiply.
2. God gave these first orders immediately after his act of creation.
3. Therefore we can conclude that God considers humans to be the most in his likeness when they are being fruitful and multiplying.
Someone might raise, logically, two concerns. One is, "Hey, if angels are in his likeness, does that mean they procreate?" Angels do procreate, but not biologically. Angels procreate the Word of God, the Will of God, and praise of God. In the scripture we see that angels procreate by spreading the word when commissioned by God among humans (such as the Annunciation) AND they continually procreate in service of God when they continually sing and shout His praise in heaven. So humans are expected to procreate biologically to be consistent with the likeness of God, while angels procreate the Will of God to be consistent with the likeness of God.
The second concern might be that God is endorsing that humans be like him in being creators? Nope, that is a very clearly stated prohibition, when Adam and Eve are thrown out of the Garden of Eden and humans are told not to try to seek God's Knowledge. But here in this scripture you can understand the difference. Genesis explains that seeds create trees, and trees create fruit that is natural to them (fruit is their offspring). Thus it is obvious that God is telling humans to yield their own fruit-human children-by being "fruitful" and "multiplying," not being creators themselves, which is strictly forbidden in the telling of the temptation and expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
Revelation 4:8 ...And they do not rest day and night, saying Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God almighty, who was, and who is, and who is coming.
Many joke, good heartedly, that heaven must get boring if one is just playing the harp and singing for all eternity! On the serious side, you must understand that the continual praise of God by the angels is their way of procreating His Word and His Will, and the saved humans who join them in heaven are now part of this work and this bliss.
Now, how can we use deductive reasoning in the scriptures to better understand how humans can share the same "image" as God, who is known to be awesome, blinding light that cannot be viewed by humans? Here is one way to understand it from the one who saw God's image close-up, the man who was Moses.
Exodus 33:18-23
Then Moses said, "Do let me see your glory!" He answered, "I will make all my beauty pass before you, and in your presence I will pronounce my name 'Lord'; I who show favors to whom I will, I who grant mercy to whom I will. But my face you cannot see, for no man sees me and still lives. Here," continued the Lord, "is a place near me where you shall station yourself on the rock. When my glory passes I will set you in the hollow of the rock and will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand, so that you may see my back; but my face is not to be seen."
What do we learn about something that God and humans share in their image? Both God and humans have a "front" and a "back." Humans have a biological front (where their sensory organs are concentrated on one side, such as eyes, ears, mouth and ease of touching and reach) while God has a spiritual "front," which represents the full force of his focus, which, as God explains, no human can endure and remain alive. However, Moses is given the grace and strength by God to be able to view the "back" of God, which is not biological, but, rather, the lesssening of God's full force of attention. So God has a "front" and a "back," which are not at all biological in format or in limitations to his ability to be uniformly everywhere and all powerful in all "directions" but, as humans mirror, the fullness of his attention and focus "front" being like the concentration of human sensory organs, and a deflected and less force of focus and attention being like God's "back" as he passes by Moses.
Notice that, however, God gives Moses an extra gift, an extraordinary grace, which no human has ever experienced in addition to the singular allowing to Moses alone of his viewing God in his glory: God pronounces his Name for Moses. Think of this as hearing God's voice pronouncing his Name of all Power as a small amount of what would have been his full front viewing presence of his full glory, which Moses nor no human could survive! Thus God allows Moses to see him the only way he can, which is his back in passing, but also with hearing God speak his name from His "front."
1. God shares his image with angels and humans.
2. Moses is the only human to see God in his full glory on earth.
3. God explains that he has a front and a back.
4. Therefore we understand that a key component of the shared image of God and humans is that there is a "side" that has full sensory focus and the other "side" which has less sensory focus.
Again, remember in God's case this is not a lack in any way regarding either his powers or how he "looks" but, rather, God creates his "front" when he presents himself in full glory, and God presents his "back" when he withholds some of his glory so that Moses can endure being in his presence.
The presence and image of God is so powerful that even when Moses stands in front of the Lord as he appears as the cloud, and not his full glory, Moses's "skin of his face had become radiant while he conversed with the Lord" Exodus 34:29. The face is on the "front" and so powerful is the presence of God that when Moses faces even the cloud of God, each time his face is made radiant by God's image. So we can further deduce from scripture that the ability to be radiant is another shared image between God and humans, except that again, as with the front and back, God is always radiant, while humans can become radiant only in God's presence.
I guess, thinking back about how God, has a "front" and a "back" (again, please keep in mind that these are not biologically but, rather, how God radiates the fullness of his glory and focus, or veils it) that, just to have a little whimsy and humor here, the fish the most like God must be the flounder!
I hope that you have found this helpful.
"Bible meaning" behind "Cash for clunkers?"
This is almost too stupid to point out, but part of witnessing one's faith is to point out the total insanity embraced and advocated by those of heretical beliefs, and how cult "thinking" has infested normal life. So here goes with another incredible example.
There's this USA program where cash toward a new fuel efficient car is given to car owners who turn in their old cars ("clunkers") that are less fuel efficient. The engines of the old clunkers are then destroyed. Huge quantities have been collected and destroyed, and Congress seeks to allocate more money for more clunkers being turned in and wrecked.
Um, you do realize that the usual background nutjob mandarins who are behind much of the left AND right wing insanity that has controlled this country for many years is doing this to "fulfill Biblical prophecy?" These total heretic nutjob jerks think that this "symbolizes" and thus "fulfills" the many "horses" that are supposed to be killed in battle before Jesus Returns. Yes, these maniacs for a long time have not only dared to declare they "know" what the Bible "means" by such passages, but they also think they were "born" to "determine" when and how to "fulfill" those prophecies.
So these maniacs behind the government programs and officials pull the strings and plant ideas so that they can "check off" their "list of Biblical prophecies to fulfill" so they can then "declare" that Jesus is returning, the rapture will soon occur, blah blah blah.
Let me remind you what a severe heresy this is by repeating that Jesus himself said he did not know when he would return and the world would end: Jesus stated that ONLY GOD knows that. How in the world can these irresponsible sickos think that THEY know "it's time" and thus "assign" "timing" and "meaning" to events they initiate themselves, and declare those are fulfillment of God's prophesies?
Oh Lord, I cannot tell you how far over the edge so many millions have gone... and how severely God will punish ALL who have been involved in these unbelievable manipulations and heresy.
There's this USA program where cash toward a new fuel efficient car is given to car owners who turn in their old cars ("clunkers") that are less fuel efficient. The engines of the old clunkers are then destroyed. Huge quantities have been collected and destroyed, and Congress seeks to allocate more money for more clunkers being turned in and wrecked.
Um, you do realize that the usual background nutjob mandarins who are behind much of the left AND right wing insanity that has controlled this country for many years is doing this to "fulfill Biblical prophecy?" These total heretic nutjob jerks think that this "symbolizes" and thus "fulfills" the many "horses" that are supposed to be killed in battle before Jesus Returns. Yes, these maniacs for a long time have not only dared to declare they "know" what the Bible "means" by such passages, but they also think they were "born" to "determine" when and how to "fulfill" those prophecies.
So these maniacs behind the government programs and officials pull the strings and plant ideas so that they can "check off" their "list of Biblical prophecies to fulfill" so they can then "declare" that Jesus is returning, the rapture will soon occur, blah blah blah.
Let me remind you what a severe heresy this is by repeating that Jesus himself said he did not know when he would return and the world would end: Jesus stated that ONLY GOD knows that. How in the world can these irresponsible sickos think that THEY know "it's time" and thus "assign" "timing" and "meaning" to events they initiate themselves, and declare those are fulfillment of God's prophesies?
Oh Lord, I cannot tell you how far over the edge so many millions have gone... and how severely God will punish ALL who have been involved in these unbelievable manipulations and heresy.
Monday, August 3, 2009
More about faith and reasoning: an analogy
Hi to all, especially to the young people who read my blog, and I am truly flattered that many of you do so and find it helpful.
I was going to write about Jesus Christ, an activity which gives me pure delight, but first I thought of a really helpful analogy regarding the important topic of understanding God, and also telling the difference between reality and imagination, freedom of choice and manipulation or fatalism. So here's the analogy and you'll understand my overall point as we develop each scenario.
Suppose that there is an athlete, a man or a woman, about to compete in a race, either on foot in track and field, or in swimming. This person would be running or swimming against let's say five or six other competitors.
The person is confident but has some anxiety regarding the outcome of the race, and so seeks some extraordinary assistance.
In scenario one he or she visits their priest or pastor, wondering if he or she can get some divine intervention or, at the very least, if the priest can tell if God's "on his or her side" in this race. The priest or pastor (if he is reputable and good with God, of course) explains that there is no way that he can determine this on the petitioner's behalf, but to assure him or her that God loves him or her no matter what, and wants what is best for him or her. The person may be a bit disappointed, especially when the priest or pastor goes on to talk about the importance of not sinning, and of living a good life. "*Sheesh* the person thinks, what has that got to do with this race? I'm not a bad person."
In scenario two he or she decides to visit someone he or she has heard is "psychic." You probably think that I'm going to bash psychics here, but I am not. I want you to assume that the person is a genuinely intuitive person who has very accurate hunches, some of them based on ESP, so they are "legitimate." The person ponders the question and tells the questioner that he or she is certain that the competitor will complete the race successfully, but in second place. The competitor is disappointed that he or she will not win in first place, but second place is definitely acceptible for this particular race. He or she leaves satisfied.
In scenario three he or she decides to visit Uncle Vinnie who is "connected." He or she wants to really be sure that he or she will either win or obtain second place. Uncle Vinnie promises to do what he can. He reports back that he was able to "convince" all of the other competitors to not run as hard as they would normally, except for one, and that is the one who holds the record for that race and is the greatest of the competitors anyways. So Uncle Vinnie figures that at least this person will get second place, since the honest guy or gal is going to run or swim hard and get probably first place, but all the other competitors will swim or run a tad slower, thus allowing the competitor to obtain second place.
In scenario four both the competitor has done ALL THREE scenarios at the same time! Ha, this is one paranoid person. He or she went to the priest, then went to the psychic, and THEN went to Uncle Vinnie. It is virtually certain that the person will at least achieve second place.
So..... the scene shifts to heaven, where God is watching the race along with several of the angels. One angel asks, "How is he or she going to do?" God sighs and says, "He or she would have had second place solid if only he or she hadn't messed up their own head with all this manipulation. Watch and see."
The race is run and the leader (the honest guy) has an off day, maybe he had too much Chinese food the night before and he doesn't run a great race, but our competitor doesn't notice, since he's already mentally programmed to expect the lead guy to run really great. So our competitor guy or gal is mentally programmed by his or her own actions to expect second place, so he or she doesn't notice that the leader is not pushing the pace as he would have normally!
The others in the field had promised not to run as hard as normal (to Uncle Vinnie) but they can't grind to a halt and look obvious, so even their slowed down pace is enough for some of them to pass the presumed leader! Again, our competitor doesn't notice that the Uncle Vinnie members HAVE to run at least a sincere looking race or their cheating would be obvious. So one of these guys actually ends up in the lead, while the presumed leader sinks to second place. THEN one of the other Uncle Vinnie guys gets tempted, going "Oh, wow, I promised to run or swim slow when I thought I didn't have a chance against the leader, but now I see he is sick and off the pace for that or some other reason, and I can actually contend for the lead!" So THIS guy now starts really racing against the other Uncle Vinnie guy who has to run better than he expected to do since he doesn't want to look like he's throwing the race. So two Uncle Vinnie guys start really vying for the lead, while presumed lead guy battles for third place. Our competitor dork, who had assumed the race would go a certain way, is just too slow to pick up the cues of how the race dynamics shifted until it is too late.
First place: Uncle Vinnie guy who realized halfway through the race that the presumed leader is in trouble and he could actually win by pouring it on all out the second half.
Second place: Uncle Vinnie guy who was worried that if he ran too slow he'd look like he was cheating (throwing the race) so when presumed lead guy faded he had to pick up his pace to not look like he was cheating.
Third place: Presumed lead guy who even though he ate too much Chinese food the night before is a real competitor and manages to pull out a respectable finish in third.
Fourth place: Our stupid competitor who tried to manipulate a finish that he or she would have had if only he didn't mess with everyone's heads, most especially his own, instead of running a natural race!
Now, here's what you need to understand. God didn't lift a finger one way or the other, but of course he knows ALL that not only does happen but "could have" happened, if humans made different choices. So God can attest to the angels that this competitor would have come in second place naturally, but because he or she tried to manipulate the outcome, they changed the competitive strategies and dynamics in his or her own head AND the rest of the field, and was competitively unprepared to respond to the changed dynamics of the race.
Suppose a thousand years ago God was chatting with some human working in the potato fields. In the course of chatting, God could say, "How does my all knowing work? Well, for example, I know that some person will run a race a thousand years from now, and would have, based on his or her skills and the circumstances of the race, etc. come in second place, but I know, since I am all knowing, that this guy or gal won't just let the race develop, and will consult psychics, "connected" acquaintances, etc before the race, and as a result, he or she will not run the alert race he or she would have run. Thus this person will end up in fourth place because the presumed lead guy will have some cramps because he ate too much Chinese food." God could then go on to describe how many atoms of gas cause the cramps and how long each atom was in existence, and where they are going next, until the end of time, etc and so forth!
Moral: The more artificial and manipulative people are in their life, in both the large things and the day to day matters, the less they are able to achieve good, or seize genuine opportunity, because they have programmed their own minds to one and only one scenario, and are no longer alert to the changing dynamics of reality around them.
God does not change the outcome: God knows the outcome.
People change their own outcomes, for the worse, in two ways, illustrated here. One is that they bum themselves out by assuming certain things that are not true are true, and that false assumptions are true or, even more subtly, real assumptions stay real forever, which they do not. For example, he or she assumed the Uncle Vinnie guys would throw the race, without having it occur to him or her that changing circumstances (the lead racer being off pace) changes even "commitments" that were made. One guy had to run faster so it would not be obvious that he was throwing the race, while the other guy ran faster once he realized that beyond his hopes he could actually come in first and beat the presumed leader. So even "commitments" change due to circumstances changing, I mean, um, duh, that's reality. If you are driving your car to a location and a tree has fallen and blocked the road, you take another path, you don't drive your car into the tree since "that's your plan." Duh!
The second problem is that people who are overly manipulative narrow their opportunities for better results because they simply are not alert and watching for the unexpected goodness anyway! This guy or gal, by manipulating, never thought of the possibility that the leader might have stomach cramps and not run a great race. He or she was too busy thinking of their second place "guarantee." So he or she is slow to notice during the race that 1) the lead guy is off 2) one of the Vinnie guys has to run faster or he will be identified as throwing the race and 3) another Vinnie guy recognizes that he can win a race he did not expect to win because the lead guy is off. By the time our competitor guy or gal opens their eyes and actually LOOKs at what is really and ACTUALLY happening, they've messed up their own opportunity.
I hope that you have found this thought provoking and helpful! Remember, the more you try to ensure certain things, the more you risk missing the "out of the box" opportunities (including those that do, on occasion, are answers to prayers), since you just are not watching for them with an open and sincere mind.
God explains to the angels, "Sure, the guy or gal would have come in second, that ESP person was right. But that second place finish would have been to not the presumed leader, but to one of the slower guys who had his chance to pull forward and run the race of a lifetime because the leader was off. Because our competitor guy or gal made assumptions that were cast in concrete, in their own mind (lead guy will win, others will throw the race), our competitor guy or gal missed their own chance, running a too slow race, since they assumed they are just running the script. The second place finish relied on the guy or gal running an awesome race from start to finish!"
I was going to write about Jesus Christ, an activity which gives me pure delight, but first I thought of a really helpful analogy regarding the important topic of understanding God, and also telling the difference between reality and imagination, freedom of choice and manipulation or fatalism. So here's the analogy and you'll understand my overall point as we develop each scenario.
Suppose that there is an athlete, a man or a woman, about to compete in a race, either on foot in track and field, or in swimming. This person would be running or swimming against let's say five or six other competitors.
The person is confident but has some anxiety regarding the outcome of the race, and so seeks some extraordinary assistance.
In scenario one he or she visits their priest or pastor, wondering if he or she can get some divine intervention or, at the very least, if the priest can tell if God's "on his or her side" in this race. The priest or pastor (if he is reputable and good with God, of course) explains that there is no way that he can determine this on the petitioner's behalf, but to assure him or her that God loves him or her no matter what, and wants what is best for him or her. The person may be a bit disappointed, especially when the priest or pastor goes on to talk about the importance of not sinning, and of living a good life. "*Sheesh* the person thinks, what has that got to do with this race? I'm not a bad person."
In scenario two he or she decides to visit someone he or she has heard is "psychic." You probably think that I'm going to bash psychics here, but I am not. I want you to assume that the person is a genuinely intuitive person who has very accurate hunches, some of them based on ESP, so they are "legitimate." The person ponders the question and tells the questioner that he or she is certain that the competitor will complete the race successfully, but in second place. The competitor is disappointed that he or she will not win in first place, but second place is definitely acceptible for this particular race. He or she leaves satisfied.
In scenario three he or she decides to visit Uncle Vinnie who is "connected." He or she wants to really be sure that he or she will either win or obtain second place. Uncle Vinnie promises to do what he can. He reports back that he was able to "convince" all of the other competitors to not run as hard as they would normally, except for one, and that is the one who holds the record for that race and is the greatest of the competitors anyways. So Uncle Vinnie figures that at least this person will get second place, since the honest guy or gal is going to run or swim hard and get probably first place, but all the other competitors will swim or run a tad slower, thus allowing the competitor to obtain second place.
In scenario four both the competitor has done ALL THREE scenarios at the same time! Ha, this is one paranoid person. He or she went to the priest, then went to the psychic, and THEN went to Uncle Vinnie. It is virtually certain that the person will at least achieve second place.
So..... the scene shifts to heaven, where God is watching the race along with several of the angels. One angel asks, "How is he or she going to do?" God sighs and says, "He or she would have had second place solid if only he or she hadn't messed up their own head with all this manipulation. Watch and see."
The race is run and the leader (the honest guy) has an off day, maybe he had too much Chinese food the night before and he doesn't run a great race, but our competitor doesn't notice, since he's already mentally programmed to expect the lead guy to run really great. So our competitor guy or gal is mentally programmed by his or her own actions to expect second place, so he or she doesn't notice that the leader is not pushing the pace as he would have normally!
The others in the field had promised not to run as hard as normal (to Uncle Vinnie) but they can't grind to a halt and look obvious, so even their slowed down pace is enough for some of them to pass the presumed leader! Again, our competitor doesn't notice that the Uncle Vinnie members HAVE to run at least a sincere looking race or their cheating would be obvious. So one of these guys actually ends up in the lead, while the presumed leader sinks to second place. THEN one of the other Uncle Vinnie guys gets tempted, going "Oh, wow, I promised to run or swim slow when I thought I didn't have a chance against the leader, but now I see he is sick and off the pace for that or some other reason, and I can actually contend for the lead!" So THIS guy now starts really racing against the other Uncle Vinnie guy who has to run better than he expected to do since he doesn't want to look like he's throwing the race. So two Uncle Vinnie guys start really vying for the lead, while presumed lead guy battles for third place. Our competitor dork, who had assumed the race would go a certain way, is just too slow to pick up the cues of how the race dynamics shifted until it is too late.
First place: Uncle Vinnie guy who realized halfway through the race that the presumed leader is in trouble and he could actually win by pouring it on all out the second half.
Second place: Uncle Vinnie guy who was worried that if he ran too slow he'd look like he was cheating (throwing the race) so when presumed lead guy faded he had to pick up his pace to not look like he was cheating.
Third place: Presumed lead guy who even though he ate too much Chinese food the night before is a real competitor and manages to pull out a respectable finish in third.
Fourth place: Our stupid competitor who tried to manipulate a finish that he or she would have had if only he didn't mess with everyone's heads, most especially his own, instead of running a natural race!
Now, here's what you need to understand. God didn't lift a finger one way or the other, but of course he knows ALL that not only does happen but "could have" happened, if humans made different choices. So God can attest to the angels that this competitor would have come in second place naturally, but because he or she tried to manipulate the outcome, they changed the competitive strategies and dynamics in his or her own head AND the rest of the field, and was competitively unprepared to respond to the changed dynamics of the race.
Suppose a thousand years ago God was chatting with some human working in the potato fields. In the course of chatting, God could say, "How does my all knowing work? Well, for example, I know that some person will run a race a thousand years from now, and would have, based on his or her skills and the circumstances of the race, etc. come in second place, but I know, since I am all knowing, that this guy or gal won't just let the race develop, and will consult psychics, "connected" acquaintances, etc before the race, and as a result, he or she will not run the alert race he or she would have run. Thus this person will end up in fourth place because the presumed lead guy will have some cramps because he ate too much Chinese food." God could then go on to describe how many atoms of gas cause the cramps and how long each atom was in existence, and where they are going next, until the end of time, etc and so forth!
Moral: The more artificial and manipulative people are in their life, in both the large things and the day to day matters, the less they are able to achieve good, or seize genuine opportunity, because they have programmed their own minds to one and only one scenario, and are no longer alert to the changing dynamics of reality around them.
God does not change the outcome: God knows the outcome.
People change their own outcomes, for the worse, in two ways, illustrated here. One is that they bum themselves out by assuming certain things that are not true are true, and that false assumptions are true or, even more subtly, real assumptions stay real forever, which they do not. For example, he or she assumed the Uncle Vinnie guys would throw the race, without having it occur to him or her that changing circumstances (the lead racer being off pace) changes even "commitments" that were made. One guy had to run faster so it would not be obvious that he was throwing the race, while the other guy ran faster once he realized that beyond his hopes he could actually come in first and beat the presumed leader. So even "commitments" change due to circumstances changing, I mean, um, duh, that's reality. If you are driving your car to a location and a tree has fallen and blocked the road, you take another path, you don't drive your car into the tree since "that's your plan." Duh!
The second problem is that people who are overly manipulative narrow their opportunities for better results because they simply are not alert and watching for the unexpected goodness anyway! This guy or gal, by manipulating, never thought of the possibility that the leader might have stomach cramps and not run a great race. He or she was too busy thinking of their second place "guarantee." So he or she is slow to notice during the race that 1) the lead guy is off 2) one of the Vinnie guys has to run faster or he will be identified as throwing the race and 3) another Vinnie guy recognizes that he can win a race he did not expect to win because the lead guy is off. By the time our competitor guy or gal opens their eyes and actually LOOKs at what is really and ACTUALLY happening, they've messed up their own opportunity.
I hope that you have found this thought provoking and helpful! Remember, the more you try to ensure certain things, the more you risk missing the "out of the box" opportunities (including those that do, on occasion, are answers to prayers), since you just are not watching for them with an open and sincere mind.
God explains to the angels, "Sure, the guy or gal would have come in second, that ESP person was right. But that second place finish would have been to not the presumed leader, but to one of the slower guys who had his chance to pull forward and run the race of a lifetime because the leader was off. Because our competitor guy or gal made assumptions that were cast in concrete, in their own mind (lead guy will win, others will throw the race), our competitor guy or gal missed their own chance, running a too slow race, since they assumed they are just running the script. The second place finish relied on the guy or gal running an awesome race from start to finish!"
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