I really feel that I need to clear up this notion of faith as well. Everywhere you read, and most people you talk to, you get a definition of faith as "believing in what you cannot see", which has also come to mean, "believing in something you don't know exists." As in, faith is just a total shot in the dark, an absolute risk... "blind faith", if you will.
Well, let me just say that "faith", as described above, is not faith. What is described above is called "risk", possibly supported by "hope", at times. And the term "blind faith" is an oxymoron. There is no such thing as "blind faith". There is such a thing as "blind risk".
All of this comes from a misunderstanding of the definition of faith. Probably because there is such a lack of genuine faith, this wrong definition has been fostered. My experiences with God have gone something like this. You see something, or hear something, or experience it in some way, so that you know that it is real, and then later on, at some point when you cannot see it, or hear it, or feel it... but BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER THE REAL EXPERIENCES YOU HAD WITH IT BEFORE, you continue to believe in it. I think that might be faith.
From reading in the Bible though, we see from Jesus' words that real faith is even something more than that. He said if you any just even a tiny itty bitty amount of it, you could move a mountain. From this perspective, the traditional idea of faith is DEFINITELY not it! Wishing and hoping for something you hope is there, or that might be real? How silly is that? No wonder people get disillusioned with religion, when that false idea of it is propagated as the real thing.
So, we see that real faith is actually knowing, just the opposite of the generally accepted definition. And it just drives me up the wall to hear people keep calling that generally accepted definition faith. THAT'S NOT FAITH!
I have "faith" in God because I've seen him, heard him, felt him, seen him do stuff, etc. etc. etc. I am not following anyone blindly.
And he does not expect you to either. Because the whole purpose of "faith", if you will, faith in a God, anyway, is so that you can have a loving relationship with Him. And how could anyone possibly have a realationship with someone that you couldn't see, hear, feel, experience, etc.? That's ridiculous. The purpose of life is love through relationships, especially with Him!
Let's all get back to reality, back to logic, and get out of all the grey areas of mysticism, religion, and doctrinal arguing. Let's hear it for reality and truth!
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
love (again)
Any other goal in life will screw you up. Your main goal in life needs to be love, relationships with god and with people. There is a reason why Jesus said that the most important things we can do are to love god and to love others. It's because if you have any other goal, as your primary goal in life, you will get outa whack, as a human being.
Love is the answer.
The world is so screwed up because people are pursuing all sorts of things besides love. And if anything else comes before it, then you will most likely cease to love when you are presented with the choice between the two.
Love must be your primary goal in life. A relationship with God, and relationships with other people.
Spirituality, personal growth, money, sex, pleasure, music, knowledge, security, you name it... all good things, but none of it is as important as loving relationships.
I know I harp on love a lot, but it's that important. It really is! One only need to take a very short look at the world to see the effects of not loving!
Love is the answer.
The world is so screwed up because people are pursuing all sorts of things besides love. And if anything else comes before it, then you will most likely cease to love when you are presented with the choice between the two.
Love must be your primary goal in life. A relationship with God, and relationships with other people.
Spirituality, personal growth, money, sex, pleasure, music, knowledge, security, you name it... all good things, but none of it is as important as loving relationships.
I know I harp on love a lot, but it's that important. It really is! One only need to take a very short look at the world to see the effects of not loving!
Thursday, October 05, 2006
the world?
Let's talk about this notion of "the world", as used in Christian conversation. Why? Because the notion has been religiousized into a misunderstanding.
When I mention "the world" in that context, I sometimes get responses like this. "Why would you want to leave the world? There's so much beauty and good here." This shows me that they misunderstand the concept.
When we speak of "the world", we are speaking of a system, set up and run by people who do not love. We are speaking about a "world" that uses people and sees them as objects to use to achieve their ends. We are talking about a "world" that sees people as objects, or ways, to make money, instead of seeing people to love. A world that looks at you as a person, and instead of thinking how I can love you and bless you, thinks how I can use you for my advantage. How can I use you to benefit me?
This, by the way, is called lust. Here is another term that has been so religiousized that people don't know whaat it really means. Most people think it is talking about sex. Lust has nothing to do with sex. Lust is simply this--the desire to benefit myself at your expense. Whether it be financially, spiritually, by making you the butt of my jokes in public, whatever... lust is all about me using you to benefit myself. Which is the exact opposite of love, which will always benefit you at my expense. Love says that I will do what is best for you no matter how it affects me. So, lust can be applied to sex, but it is not a sexual term. And when we talk about the "world", we are talking about a world that runs primarily on lust, and not love. In any and every arena.
We are talking about a world that fosters irresponsibility and enslaves you while it's at it. A world that says, "you need to be taken care of, and we will do that for you. Because you are unable to think for yourself, to take responsibility for yourself, to help yourself, to show initiative, to love your neighbor as yourself, to stand up for yourself, to fight for yourself, to risk, to fail and take responsibility for those failures, to meet your own needs and the needs of your community... therefore we must do it all for you. Oh, and by the way, you are now our slave, and must abide by our extensive list of rules. Because you are not fit to be free."
A "world" that advocates subduing peoples and their cultures in the name of "conversion". A world that preaches about the "love of God" while conquering, enslaving, and controlling you, taking away your homeland by force. A world that takes the most beautiful thing in all of creation, the Father's (God's) love, and uses it in word to justify conquering you, justify enslaving you, justify taking you away from your home and land, justify taking your land and home away from you, pushing you aside so that it can take everything that it wants for it's own selfish gain. All in the name of "God". A world that preaches God but denies him in their every action. For if they really knew him, they would be loving people. Benefitting them at their own expense. Maybe our country won't get any richer, and maybe our borders will not expand, but HEY! We'll be loving people! AND THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT! LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EXPANDING OUR BORDERS. LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN US GETTING RICHER. LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING. GOD WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU PERIOD. HE CANNOT DO OTHERWISE. And those who preach him will do the same, or will at least be trying.
This "world" is the exact opposite of the "kingdom of God", in which He loves you, sets you free, and encourages responsibility. Here we encounter yet another term that has been religiousized to almost death. The kingdom of God. People think of "the kingdom of God" as an archaic term for some religious people's destination when they die and go to sing and play harps on some cloud somewhere. No. The "kingdom of God" is simply THE OPPOSITE SYSTEM of what is happening so much right now in the world. It is not a place, it is a different reality. Whether there is really a place called heaven, that's another discussion. I think there is, but I don't think we're going to live there when we die. I think we are going to live here, on planet earth, but with a different "kingdom", a different reality in place. One in which love is the primary, motivating factor of everybody and everything. There will still be risk, and danger, and flowers, and trees, and birds, and all the things that make life worth living, there just won't be any more lust, and me using you for my gain, and slavery, and irresponsibility, etc. etc. All the things that make life crappy. Risk, and danger, and even pain, are not the things that are wrong with the world. These are natural elements of living. It's me using you, and pimps using women for their own selfish gain, and people using other people to make money, and people seeing other people as merely objects to use for their advantage, and people enslaving other people because they do not love them, but wish only to use them to enrich themselves, and systems that lull you to sleep by promising to take care of you all the while encouraging and fostering irresponsibility in you so that they can enslave you and control you... But there is most certainly a different reality, a different way of running things, a different way of living, that has been termed, in the past, "the kingdom of God," that may be better termed, to take it out of religiousization, God's reality. And in this reality, love is the only "rule", if you can even call it that. And what is at the heart of love? Love says that I will always benefit you at my expense. Love sees you as an invaluable being. One who is so invaluable, that I will subject all of my circumstances to your value. If I cannot have something, because you stand in my way, then I will not have it! Love always does what is right for the other person. Love wants to see you grow, and flourish, and be all that you can be. Because love always sets you free. Love never ever ever quits on you. Ever.
Therefore, there would be no slavery, no manipulation, no deception, no using people, no people controlling other people. Everyone is free. Everyone is free and living in love. Everyone is responsible for themselves, therefore there is no need for laws to follow. There are not a bunch of rules and regulations to follow because when you are loving, they are unnecessary, since love fulfills the law. Every single rule, or law, has at it's heart, the primary purpose of bringing about love, causing people to return to love. (Note-obviously not all laws do this--I mean what is the base intent that laws were meant for in the first place.) The concept of laws is only for the purpose of love. And laws only EVER came about because people ceased to love, and therefore had to be reminded.
And people say there's no such thing as sin. Or a "kingdom of God." People are retarded.
IT'S NOT A RELIGION. IT'S A REALITY THAT NEEDS TO BE EMBRACED BEFORE WE ALL SUFFOCATE FROM EVIL. AND IT'S ABOUT LOVE, SO STOP BEING AFRAID OF IT, OR HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS LOVE! Contrary to and regardless of EVERYTHING you have ever heard to the contrary. He is love. I know because I know him. I didn't learn it out of a book, I didn't go to seminary where they taught it to me. I know because I've met him, and everything he's ever done to me, for me, with me, told me, has WITHOUT FAIL BEEN LOVING, AND GOOD, AND KIND, FOR MY BENEFIT, AND TO SET ME FREE. I CAN CHRONICLE THE ENTIRE THING FOR YOU, IF YOU WISH.
I digress. The "world" sucks. I don't like it. I do want to escape from it. Don't you??
When I mention "the world" in that context, I sometimes get responses like this. "Why would you want to leave the world? There's so much beauty and good here." This shows me that they misunderstand the concept.
When we speak of "the world", we are speaking of a system, set up and run by people who do not love. We are speaking about a "world" that uses people and sees them as objects to use to achieve their ends. We are talking about a "world" that sees people as objects, or ways, to make money, instead of seeing people to love. A world that looks at you as a person, and instead of thinking how I can love you and bless you, thinks how I can use you for my advantage. How can I use you to benefit me?
This, by the way, is called lust. Here is another term that has been so religiousized that people don't know whaat it really means. Most people think it is talking about sex. Lust has nothing to do with sex. Lust is simply this--the desire to benefit myself at your expense. Whether it be financially, spiritually, by making you the butt of my jokes in public, whatever... lust is all about me using you to benefit myself. Which is the exact opposite of love, which will always benefit you at my expense. Love says that I will do what is best for you no matter how it affects me. So, lust can be applied to sex, but it is not a sexual term. And when we talk about the "world", we are talking about a world that runs primarily on lust, and not love. In any and every arena.
We are talking about a world that fosters irresponsibility and enslaves you while it's at it. A world that says, "you need to be taken care of, and we will do that for you. Because you are unable to think for yourself, to take responsibility for yourself, to help yourself, to show initiative, to love your neighbor as yourself, to stand up for yourself, to fight for yourself, to risk, to fail and take responsibility for those failures, to meet your own needs and the needs of your community... therefore we must do it all for you. Oh, and by the way, you are now our slave, and must abide by our extensive list of rules. Because you are not fit to be free."
A "world" that advocates subduing peoples and their cultures in the name of "conversion". A world that preaches about the "love of God" while conquering, enslaving, and controlling you, taking away your homeland by force. A world that takes the most beautiful thing in all of creation, the Father's (God's) love, and uses it in word to justify conquering you, justify enslaving you, justify taking you away from your home and land, justify taking your land and home away from you, pushing you aside so that it can take everything that it wants for it's own selfish gain. All in the name of "God". A world that preaches God but denies him in their every action. For if they really knew him, they would be loving people. Benefitting them at their own expense. Maybe our country won't get any richer, and maybe our borders will not expand, but HEY! We'll be loving people! AND THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT! LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EXPANDING OUR BORDERS. LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN US GETTING RICHER. LOVE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING. GOD WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU PERIOD. HE CANNOT DO OTHERWISE. And those who preach him will do the same, or will at least be trying.
This "world" is the exact opposite of the "kingdom of God", in which He loves you, sets you free, and encourages responsibility. Here we encounter yet another term that has been religiousized to almost death. The kingdom of God. People think of "the kingdom of God" as an archaic term for some religious people's destination when they die and go to sing and play harps on some cloud somewhere. No. The "kingdom of God" is simply THE OPPOSITE SYSTEM of what is happening so much right now in the world. It is not a place, it is a different reality. Whether there is really a place called heaven, that's another discussion. I think there is, but I don't think we're going to live there when we die. I think we are going to live here, on planet earth, but with a different "kingdom", a different reality in place. One in which love is the primary, motivating factor of everybody and everything. There will still be risk, and danger, and flowers, and trees, and birds, and all the things that make life worth living, there just won't be any more lust, and me using you for my gain, and slavery, and irresponsibility, etc. etc. All the things that make life crappy. Risk, and danger, and even pain, are not the things that are wrong with the world. These are natural elements of living. It's me using you, and pimps using women for their own selfish gain, and people using other people to make money, and people seeing other people as merely objects to use for their advantage, and people enslaving other people because they do not love them, but wish only to use them to enrich themselves, and systems that lull you to sleep by promising to take care of you all the while encouraging and fostering irresponsibility in you so that they can enslave you and control you... But there is most certainly a different reality, a different way of running things, a different way of living, that has been termed, in the past, "the kingdom of God," that may be better termed, to take it out of religiousization, God's reality. And in this reality, love is the only "rule", if you can even call it that. And what is at the heart of love? Love says that I will always benefit you at my expense. Love sees you as an invaluable being. One who is so invaluable, that I will subject all of my circumstances to your value. If I cannot have something, because you stand in my way, then I will not have it! Love always does what is right for the other person. Love wants to see you grow, and flourish, and be all that you can be. Because love always sets you free. Love never ever ever quits on you. Ever.
Therefore, there would be no slavery, no manipulation, no deception, no using people, no people controlling other people. Everyone is free. Everyone is free and living in love. Everyone is responsible for themselves, therefore there is no need for laws to follow. There are not a bunch of rules and regulations to follow because when you are loving, they are unnecessary, since love fulfills the law. Every single rule, or law, has at it's heart, the primary purpose of bringing about love, causing people to return to love. (Note-obviously not all laws do this--I mean what is the base intent that laws were meant for in the first place.) The concept of laws is only for the purpose of love. And laws only EVER came about because people ceased to love, and therefore had to be reminded.
And people say there's no such thing as sin. Or a "kingdom of God." People are retarded.
IT'S NOT A RELIGION. IT'S A REALITY THAT NEEDS TO BE EMBRACED BEFORE WE ALL SUFFOCATE FROM EVIL. AND IT'S ABOUT LOVE, SO STOP BEING AFRAID OF IT, OR HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOD IS LOVE! Contrary to and regardless of EVERYTHING you have ever heard to the contrary. He is love. I know because I know him. I didn't learn it out of a book, I didn't go to seminary where they taught it to me. I know because I've met him, and everything he's ever done to me, for me, with me, told me, has WITHOUT FAIL BEEN LOVING, AND GOOD, AND KIND, FOR MY BENEFIT, AND TO SET ME FREE. I CAN CHRONICLE THE ENTIRE THING FOR YOU, IF YOU WISH.
I digress. The "world" sucks. I don't like it. I do want to escape from it. Don't you??
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
it's all about love
Life is about love. I know we've all heard that before, and it's a little trite to say it, but it's true. It really is all about love. The meaning of life and the purpose of being alive is love.
God himself is a sucker for love. Just like we are. Everyone is a sucker for love. Everyone likes to be loved and responds well to being loved. This includes Him. He has made us in his image, and we were born to be loved. So was he. This is why he created us, so that he would have someone to love and someone to be loved by. It's not about a religion. It is about love. It is about having a relationship with Him so that there can be love. So that he can love you and you can love Him. And when you are loved by his perfect, never failing love, you will want to love others the same way. This is the way it is supposed to be.
The entire purpose of christianity, at it's core, boils down to love. He loves you, you in return love him, and all that love transfers outward to other people. This is what all of the teaching and ministry and everything boils down to. Relationships so that we can love.
Everything that God does is out of his love. He cannot do otherwise, because He IS love. So everything that he does is out of his love. And if anything is not done in love, then it is not of God.
God Knowing you and you Knowing God. This is what life is about.
God himself is a sucker for love. Just like we are. Everyone is a sucker for love. Everyone likes to be loved and responds well to being loved. This includes Him. He has made us in his image, and we were born to be loved. So was he. This is why he created us, so that he would have someone to love and someone to be loved by. It's not about a religion. It is about love. It is about having a relationship with Him so that there can be love. So that he can love you and you can love Him. And when you are loved by his perfect, never failing love, you will want to love others the same way. This is the way it is supposed to be.
The entire purpose of christianity, at it's core, boils down to love. He loves you, you in return love him, and all that love transfers outward to other people. This is what all of the teaching and ministry and everything boils down to. Relationships so that we can love.
Everything that God does is out of his love. He cannot do otherwise, because He IS love. So everything that he does is out of his love. And if anything is not done in love, then it is not of God.
God Knowing you and you Knowing God. This is what life is about.
Monday, October 02, 2006
freedom
Freedom. Who wants it? Most people will tell you that they do. But most people do not pursue it by their lifestyle. Most people pursue security. And the two are like oil and water. They don't mix.
If you will be free, this means that you will be responsible for yourself, and therefore not under the control of anyone else. This opens you up to all kinds of risk, and danger.
If you will be secure, you will be, of necessity, under the control of the one, or the entity, who provides you with that security. This is the only way they can guarantee your security. If you will not subject yourself to them and their rules, then they will not provide you with security, you will become free, and then you will face risk and danger.
This is why a lot of people do not really want freedom. Because it is too scary. There are no guarantees, there is no security, and it could all be lost at any time. But you will be free!
And now, for all those who know of my belief in God, and are thinking what a hypocrite I am, I present the following.
You have the wrong idea about him. Gotten from other sources who have the wrong ideas about him.
When you get to know Him, you find out that He is love. His main purpose and goal is to love you. And love always sets you free. Therefore when you are loved by God you will be set absolutely free.
See, God's primary purpose in your life is to love you. To be your friend. This is why he created human beings. For love. And love will always set you free. This is what love does.
The purpose of life is relationship. The purpose of life is love. Pursue to Know the one who is love, and pursue to love people. Security is the wrong goal!
If you will be free, this means that you will be responsible for yourself, and therefore not under the control of anyone else. This opens you up to all kinds of risk, and danger.
If you will be secure, you will be, of necessity, under the control of the one, or the entity, who provides you with that security. This is the only way they can guarantee your security. If you will not subject yourself to them and their rules, then they will not provide you with security, you will become free, and then you will face risk and danger.
This is why a lot of people do not really want freedom. Because it is too scary. There are no guarantees, there is no security, and it could all be lost at any time. But you will be free!
And now, for all those who know of my belief in God, and are thinking what a hypocrite I am, I present the following.
You have the wrong idea about him. Gotten from other sources who have the wrong ideas about him.
When you get to know Him, you find out that He is love. His main purpose and goal is to love you. And love always sets you free. Therefore when you are loved by God you will be set absolutely free.
See, God's primary purpose in your life is to love you. To be your friend. This is why he created human beings. For love. And love will always set you free. This is what love does.
The purpose of life is relationship. The purpose of life is love. Pursue to Know the one who is love, and pursue to love people. Security is the wrong goal!
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