Dear Christians

Christian Faith based on logic.  What a wonderful world.  So if you want to understand God's real position on gay marriage, read this:

you can love God more if you understand what the Bible really says

What it means

She asked: 

What if I was grateful for everything? How would my life change?
What if I told you I was grateful for you? How would your life change?
(These aren't actually meant to be answered, just pondered.)

I said:
I learned the answer to all four just yesterday.

She replied:
(tears)

 

READ THIS NOW

God is working His Will through so many people in the country.

What Would Jesus Do?

Question Answered.

Christian Pastor Announced What He Will Do If His Children Are Gay

Gun Control Revisited

I have recently, through the understand, patience and gentle guidance of a stranger, come to see good gun owners as people who have a need to protect others from harm.

I do not want to take your guns or your concealed carry permits (which are basically the local sheriff's station deputizing you do what you have to do to protect people from harm).

I do, however, need your help getting guns away from crazy people and setting limits on certain things like oh armor piercing bullets cos crazy use them on cops, and um stuff like that.

Can we work on that together?  I would really like to come to an arrangement where Charleston becomes an impossibility because that young man would NOT have been given a gun for his birthday.

And if we could figure out how to stop that from happening again, without jeopardizing your ability to protect me from crazy people, that would so awesomsauce!

Ideas?  Suggestions?  Let the brainstorming begin cos the time has come to stop fighting and start seeking solutions.

I'm tired of fighting.  I'm exhausted and my head hurts and I can't do it anymore.

So can I just ask that everybody calm down and we work on a solution?  and again, I would like to put forth my suggestion that you may keep your handguns and hunting riffles, but anything bigger than that is only available at a licensed shooting range.

And handguns have to be registered to track crazy people who use them for harm, so can you let that one go?  it's not a registration of people to attack.  It's a registration of the responsible members of society who feel the impetus to prepare to be heroes and save others.

But there are crazy people in this world and I would like it if we could keep track of the handguns in this country for no other purpose than to be able to take them away from crazy people.

Is that ok? Modifications to this plan are welcome.

Thank You so much

This blog has a small handful of loyal followers who check for updates routinely and read every post.

I've never had a following before.

Thank you for listening.

you're a quiet bunch, nobody's commented yet, but I know you're there.

And just being heard is marvelous.

cos I'm a writer, and that's our thing, we just want people to listen to us.

I Love People.  I love any expression of God.  I love Muhammad.  And the Dalai Lama.  And Jesus.  And Ganesh. 

I love our belief in something Holy and Divine.

Because even if there isn't a God, feeling God in your soul is wonderful.  We all feel it.  Right here.  Right in that core of our being.  We all know how GOODNESS in the world makes us feel. 

We all know it because when tragedy strikes, we all instinctual run to help however we can.  Earthquakes.  Tsumamis.  Natural tragedy prompt our most generous outpouring of support and solidarity.

And we all feel motivated by goodness to come together in this way time and time again all over the world.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is GOD.

I do not know if God is a Being or just the expression of goodness in the world.

But either way, I feel Him lighting my soul ablaze.

The world is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people when you understand them from all angles and can appreciate the base motivations of fear and love that control all of us and dictate our responses to ideas, ideology, and imagination.

We are created complex, but at the core, we're very simple.

And beautiful.  And human.  And awful.  And hurting.  And struggling.  And trying to love in a world where we feel so much hate from so many people every day.

It happens to all of us.  It happens to those of us with privilege, just not as much and not as deeply.

But everybody runs into someone who is a jerk, male or female.  Jerk's hate everyone and spit on everyone they encounter because they can.

Because they have to.

Because deep down they feel threatened and being a jerk it an attempt to protect themselves.

Evil is fear.  Evil begins with fear.  Serial killers are made not born.  Rapists are made not born.

We do not understand how all of us contribute invisibly to the creation of these evil individuals.

But we all do.

And we don't know it.

But I have a solution.  And it might work. 

But I also have mental illness, so right now I'm waiting for word on whether my solution is genius or crazy.

I'll let you know.

Her: Knowledge is power.
 

Me:  Knowledge is everything. I want to know everything about this world and everyone in it, even the bad people. Because I want to understand God and he made us in his own image so we are all God. and so I want to know everyone so I can know God.

Flash Fiction

Moved today as I am by the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the separation of church and state so that we may live our faith as it feels most natural and righteous to us, I imagine a world where the separation of church and state is not necessary because the only law is LOVE.

Coming To Utopia
"As the world celebrates the official decision in Syria to join the World Congress and accept legal, social, and economic equality with and for all of the people in their country," Bill O'Reilly began, "we invite you to listen to His Holiness, the emissary of God, on this momentous occasion."

The screen showed an old man, in the simple clothing of Christ and Muhammad and per-Christianity Jews, adorned with nothing more than his glasses, standing before a podium in front of the World Congress.

"My fellow divinely created beings," he began in a voice roughened and aged by the many of years of his lifetimes, "Three years ago, the Creator sent me through the Temple in Jerusalem -- that you rebuilt with love, cooperation, and respect -- to welcome you today to this new world of peace," he finished. The old man brought his hands before him in prayer, bowed his head, kissed his thumbs and whispered to the world, "Unbunto." I am because you are.

Through the generations that began with microscopic particles, the world had slowly evolved over millennia, they had evolved into people who did not live the Word, they were the Word. In all faiths, in all lands, in all ways.

From above, the King of Kings, the Creator, the Engineer, the Artist, and the First Love, God Almighty, checked off the third task on his to-do list.

Gun Control

I do not want to take your guns.

I do not hate you for owning them or enjoying them.

I just wanna stop people from shooting other people on purpose or on accident.

No, I'm not a gun aficionado.  But I grew up in West Michigan about four hours north of Chicago where the first day of rifle season is a school holiday because so many kids are out hunting it doesn't make sense to hold school.

I don't hate your guns.  I understand their value to you.  I understand they are part of an enjoyable hobby.  I don't think you're crazy.

Ok, if you're totin' machine guns around town, yeah, I think you've gone too far.

But if you just have a gun rack in your basement where you keep the family hunting rifles, I am so cool with you.  If you just want to fire a weapon because the power of it is incredible, I'm not gonna stop you.

I would not vote for a president who wants to take your guns away.  I would absolutely vote for one who wants to put some limits on where and when you can use them.

So, here's my compromise:

YOU CAN SHOOT WHATEVER YOU WANT

at a licensed gun club. You do not own the weapon.  You do not leave with it.  It is locked up every second it is not being rented.  You can fire all the AK-47, 50 caliber whatever stuff you want.

But ONLY at the gun club.

You can keep all of your hunting RIFLES (Please, note: a semi-automatic is not a hunting rifle.  If you think it is, I value your inherent divinity.  I'm sorry we disagree.  I am not judging you; please do not judge me.  I just don't want PEOPLE shot).

I'm not taking your handguns because I know they're important and valuable and provide safety and security to you and your family.

BUT... it's like a car, man, you gotta have a license to use a deadly weapon.  In every state you have to have a hunting permit.  Why are you so upset at the idea of registering your weapon?  You already ARE every time you go hunting.  You gotta register your weapon.  And you've gotta be respectful and responsible of that weapon's ability to take a life.  You've got to teach your children proper gun safety so they know how to behave around a gun.  It's not just about knowing how to shoot; it's about knowing when not to.

You leave a gun unattended near a child we take all of your guns and you never get another one and you are not allowed to use a firing range and we have a national list of these people that is mandatory reporting from every state..


And then you get to go to jail for your failure to adequately protect children from a deadly weapon.

And y'all I am down with friendly fire, ok.  Accidents happen.  But skinhead thugs (and YES I said it) having a shootout that leaves 9 dead?   I don't think NO! is a strong enough word.

Talk.  Discuss.  Share with me and others your thoughts an ideas. Negotiate.  Offer your terms.  I don't care if you comment on my page, as long as I know people are reading it.  But in your own lives, start working towards solutions.  Please, divest yourself of the anger and mistrust that politicians and media (ON BOTH SIDES) like to control.

Forget them.  Let's do this ourselves!

Abortion Part II

Corrections and Explanations

Make abortion legal for every woman until her baby has a heartbeat.  If you go to get an abortion and your child has a heartbeat, you gotta come up with another plan because you cannot have an abortion.

Feminists we're gonna have to give a little.  And please read the whole thing before you freak because if you have a better idea, I'm open to it.  If you have a worse idea, I'm open to it.  This is a suggestion.  I am offering ideas.

You cannot induce a miscarriage (evidence supplied by medical sources and NOT somebody starting gossip because they don't like you).  A profile will come and talk to you in the hospital.  If you've had a legit miscarriage, it's gonna be all over you so don't worry about that at all. 

What I am talking about is the psychological term for a feeling or emotion: affect.

When you have experienced trauma, everyone experiences a similar emotional response.  They use the same words to describe their experiences.  They are either in shock and barely able to respond or they cannot stop crying.  I don't care how strong a woman is you lose a baby you wanted your affect will be right.  And so will Daddy's.

Forensic profilers know how to read your affect.  They know what to look for, they know if something sounds off.  And even if it's not the popular opinion, they are usually right because they study this stuff at Quantico.

It's important that you understand we ARE NOT talking about the insidious evil that is racial profiling. 

We are not talking about oppression and discrimination.

We are talking about the study of behavior.  The science of Criminal Forensic Profiling has been around since the very early 80s.  The first case solved with it was Wayne Williams, who matched the profile so closely that they knew they had him(and they had some fiber evidence, but not very convincing evidence) and they were able to convict him.

Williams murdered black boys in Altanta in 1981.  For months, black boys kept showing up along rivers.  The police were stumped.

They called in the FBI profilers -- they called in the man who *invented* the science.  His first realization was that the murderer was African-American because he moved through black neighborhoods and picked these children off the sidewalk without causing even a tiny little ripple.  Nobody noticed.

Atlanta lost its mind at the suggestion that a black man was murdering black children.

But when they locked up Wayne Williams, the murders STOPPED and have never begun again.

Profiling WORKS.  It is an art and a science; it is not always 100%, but it is based on the science of behavior.  It is a direct descendent of Pavlov's dogs.  It is studying behavior to understand the mind.  It is based on FBI data about the way people who commit this crime behave.  It's based on observation.  It's based on interviews with serial killers and rapists and the most horrible people in the country.  It's based on a career of working with victims.  It's based on first hand observation of how people who have been robbed, raped, beaten behave. 

They have things in common, not just traits or experiences in childhood, but behavior.  Criminals and victims ALL do some of the same things.  Nobody is original.  They know too much about the style and behavior of crime and trauma.  They know how to study affect.  They know what it means when you are more nervous about getting caught than you are devastated about having been raped.  They notice when you're more afraid of getting caught than you are upset that you lost your baby.  People who have lost a child they already loved are grief-stricken.  It's obvious.  It's trauma.  It's horrible.

You're not gonna get tested for anything unless it is not horrible.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Women and men are gonna have to start being freaking careful.  Because if they aren't -- if they get drunk and get pregnant -- they're gonna be in a world of trouble if they miss that 5 week mark.

People are going to have to take responsibility for their sexual behavior.

I'm not saying they're going to stop being promiscuous.  I'm saying we're gonna force everybody to be grow up and behave responsibility when it comes to sexual activity. 

(and as a side note, as we just learned in Texas, if you do not teach children how to be responsible, they will not know).  Abstinence education fails to tell children that if they do decide they are old enough to make their own decisions, that they need to take these precautions so they avoid all that bad stuff.

Abortion: A COMPROMISE

I don't hate Republicans.  I don't like the extremists of every party.  Luckily, most people hover around the middle.  Maybe a little to the left.  Maybe a little to the right.  Sometimes people on the right agree with people on the left and vice versa.  Because there were Reagan Democrats and Obama Republicans.

When there's someone who's making sense, we all cluster in the middle.  I would vote for Arnold Swartznegger for President.  As Governor of California he has forged a new path: a Progressive Conservative.  He has run his state with the belief:

YES, WE CAN

(meet each other halfway.)

 I wish he could run.  I understand people who want to change the law so he can.  I don't agree with them, but I understand the inclination.

If you can meet me halfway, I will work with you so that both of us get our main priorities met.

I want to start such a discussion here about a very hot-button issue:  Abortion.

Because I have faith in your goodness.  And I have faith that your stand on that issue is what you believe is best for the COUNTRY.

So let me talk to the anti-abortion folks.

First of all, I agree with you.  Abortion is murder.  I don't care about laws.  I don't care about politics.  I don't care about God (in this instance).  I don't care that I a humanist and I care about what happens to women and men when people are denied this option.

Because when I was 17, I had one.  

That morning there was a spark.

That night there was not.

I don't know how else to understand that except as murder.

It was THE WORST THING I EVER DID.

It was THE BEST THING I EVER DID.

(and I remind you I have a mental illness)

It was THE ONLY THING I COULD DO.

I still cry over it.  I don't feel guilty or ashamed anymore because I know I would have killed myself if I'd been forced to carry it to term.  I was so deeply ashamed I couldn't let anyone know how badly I'd messed everything up.  I told my parents; they made the appointment and took me because they understood it was the only way to SAVE MY LIFE.

So, I can't force another woman who DID NOT feel that spark to have a child she doesn't want.

I don't understand and am as OUTRAGED and DISGUSTED as you are with women who act like it's a TEETH CLEANING!  They test my faith as I'm sure they test yours.

So, let's compromise.

I need it to be legal.

You need it not to be.

So let's give each other both of those things.

I don't know when the soul enters the body.  I can't even describe what a soul is.  The closest I come is a quote from the movie "Puff, The Magic Dragon":

The living thing inside of you is that which makes you laugh and cry

 that which makes apples crisp 

and tells you nose to tingle on a cold winter's morning.

I don't know when that happens. 

But even if you don't trust or believe scientists, WE CAN ALL AGREE ON ONE THING:  if your heart ain't beating, YOU ARE NOT ALIVE.

The heartbeat begins around five weeks.

Before that, common medical sense says you are not alive.

Make abortion legal for EVERYBODY for the first 5 weeks.

Give women who have been raped or are suicidal 10 weeks -- because I KNEW I was pregnant, but I couldn't deal with it for a little while because I knew what I had to do and I couldn't face it.

If you're stupid and you get pregnant by accident because you were drunk or FORGOT to take birth control or just MESSED UP and you miss the 5 week cut off:

SUCK IT UP!!!!!!!!!!

Women who miss the five week cut off (or 10 week is she is psychologically traumatized) must be interviewed by an FBI trained Forensic Profile -- because those people can READ a person's language, tone, word choice, body language, micro-expressions -- EVERYTHING.  They KNOW how a rape victim sounds.  They KNOW how a liar moves.  They can walk in the room, look at her for 10 seconds without her having to say a word and KNOW if she's faking it.

The good ones can.  There are detectives like Law and Order: Criminal Intent's Robert Goren.  They don't have all his quirks; they don't have all his knowledge, but they research as much as he does.  They study, they train, they learn because they ARE GOOD at catching bad guys.

You fake a rape story, you are prosecuted for perjury.

And to encourage people to suck it up we are going to make OPEN ADOPTIONS easy, legal and freely available through the non-profits and the state agencies that already exist.  And if we can, if we want a have  babies, we agree to CONSIDER having one and ADOPTING ONE.

Women who physically cannot bear a child without plausibly AND PROBABLY losing their lives, do not have a time limit.  If a pregnancy reaches that point at any time, if that is what has to be done, we let it happen and we allow that mother and that father to mourn in private.

Because that's what I want you to understand about my abortion.  It was a choice, but it FELT like a miscarriage.  And it WAS my fault.  I grieve for my child.  I wonder what zie would have looked like, grown up to be, been interested in.  Could zie write?  Would zie hate mushrooms, too?  Would zie look like her father? (who did not rape me.  I was suicidal because I was mentally ill and I made the worst mistake of my life and I knew it was the worst mistake of my whole life.  I had a High School Principal who was awesome.  He told us, "You are your own BEST FRIEND and your own WORST ENEMY" and the mistakes you make now will live with you forever.

I knew he was right.

And he is.  It still lives with me.

Don't think that a decent woman who makes a mistake and catches it in the 5 week period doesn't feel guilt or shame or sorrow.  A decent human being is sorry she messed up this bad and baby, you don't deserve this, but I have to for so many reasons.  And I love you and it's killing me.

Does that work for everyone?

Please, discuss in the comments.  Remain civil.  Remain polite.  There are real people on the other end of your cable.  This is a difficult issue for all of us.  I need you to agree to stay calm and discuss and control your emotions and be MATURE ADULTS who HAVE FAITH that we are all just trying to do what we believe in the depths of our BEINGS is RIGHT.

It's not about being right or wrong.  Politicians tell you that to keep your fighting so you don't pay attention to the greedy thieving and whoring they're doing.

It's about COMPROMISE.  It's about finding a solution we can all live with that gives us an OUT of this massive, angry, hostile social, medical, gendered, sexual problem.

YES WE CAN

WORK TOGETHER TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS

#4 FAITH IN ACTION

http://www.upworthy.com/more-than-44000-people-came-together-to-set-the-guinness-world-record-for-reforestation?c=ufb1

Planting trees as a community of 44,000 people because trees eat carbon dioxide and they're beautiful and peaceful and one of the best things on this planet (right up there with pets and flowers and gardening and good, healthy, FRESH, GORGEOUS PRODUCE).  I have a theory I do want to test scientifically with Mr. deGrasse Tyson.  I want to ask him, because trees to breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen -- if we planted MILLIONS OF THEM on EVERY SINGLE SQUARE INCH WE HAVE AVAILABLE -- could we save the planet from Global Warming and improve the environment and begin again to treat our Spiritual, Chemcial, Source of Life, TRUE MOTHER as we do with our own and our friends with Mother's Day?

And can we turn Earth Day into Mother's Day? (and thereby give something back to the woman who invented it and wanted it to be a feminism celebration between women and regretted starting it when it turned commercial and became about Republican Motherhood (see history))

Can we live our faith to save each other and the Earth...

And ourselves?

LIVING YOUR FAITH

I lived my faith today.

I went out into the world and greeted everyone with a warm smile.  I talked to strangers waiting for the bus.  I talked to the guys working Chipolte.  I talked to a friend.  With everyone I met, everyone who's eyes I caught, I made sure to show them in my expression, in the windows to my soul, in the sound of my voice that I valued and cherished the innate unique value they bring to the world.  I valued the divine in them.

I smiled at a young girl as she walked into the restaurant and she scoffed and gave me this irritated expression and normally that would have upset me, but today, I saw how young she was.  I saw how hard is it to be a teenager.  I saw how much attitude she has to have to survive as a young woman in a patriarchal society where she is constantly interrupted, constantly treated as less than, constantly taught that other women are her enemies, constantly taught that kindness is weakness.

I felt for that child.  A sister of the moon.  A daughter of the divine.  I felt for her because at her tender age, being hard is the only way you know to be strong.

I prayed for her.  I prayed she would come through the next decade unscathed.  I prayed she would learn to know that having a lot of good women in your life -- of all ages -- is one of the best resources you can develop. 

I am not blaming men for anything.  I know that while there are advantages for you, there are also unintended consequences.  Like the fact that if you get divorced if you're LUCKY you'll get joint custody and if you're NOT you are only gonna see your kids FOUR DAYS A MONTH.

That's rough, guys.  I know.  That's hard.  I'm sorry.  I would be willing to work that out with you if you would be willing to work out the equal pay for equal work thing with me.

We can give and take.  Ladies, my fellow feminists, my sisters, we're gonna have to forgive to get anywhere.  We're gonna have to trust the good men -- and there are a lot of them -- in this world.  I know the bad men get all the attention, but the good men are just quietly being loving, wonderful, amazing husbands, fathers, friends, and family to everyone they love.  We don't give them enough support or recognition for that.

We need to.

And no matter how messy the divorce, how painful, how angry; do not deny the father of your children the right to see his babies unless he is violent or abusive or an addict or unloving or intentionally hurtful.  Or if he "forgets" the kid's birthday party, you know?  If he doesn't deserve them -- if he is no longer the man you married -- not to you, but to THEM, if he is NOT a good father, keep those babies safe from him.

But if he is still a good man and the two you just cannot work it out because your lives have taken separate paths, please, let that good man have equal custody of the children you share with him.

Will Smith had a son with a girlfriend when he was a young man.  It didn't work out, and he was very upset with himself because he DID NOT want that to happen.  He didn't want to be THAT black man -- he wanted to be a good husband and a good dad, and he wanted to give his child a loving home with his mom and his dad forever. 

It didn't work out that way.  And soon after, Mr. Smith met the woman of his dreams and said (and I'm paraphrasing because I haven't seen the interview in a while, but this is the jist of what he said) -- because the mother of my child and my wife were so mature, we were able to blend our families.

Don't take your child from a man like that.  Don't take your child from a man who LOVES Mr. Smith's song, "Just The Two of Us."

But I digress...

I walked into the world today living my faith.  I was the change I wanted to see in the world with everyone, and if they did not respond in kind, I tried to understand with compassion rather than judgement.

And because I did, my faith was reciprocated by a stranger who I may or may not ever see again on the bus. 

That is how I changed the world today.

#3 The Notorious RBG

https://www.facebook.com/bluenationreview/photos/a.268624786652737.1073741828.268311603350722/437924616389419/?type=1

#2

I'm tired of this being blamed on a LOVING, BEAUTIFUL higher power -- or the IDEA of a loving beautiful higher power.  I'm tired of people using our Lord, our Goddess, our Spiritual Parent(s), our Prophets and our Saviors as an excuse for hatred.  This is why I started this blog (if the link doesn't work, please let me know)

*disclaimer from previous post applies.  I am not endorsing the facebook page or the organization.  I am endorsing the comment on the photo.  That is all.  And I am endorsing it because I agree with it -- not because of who said it.


https://www.facebook.com/theskepticsguide/photos/a.10150497216386605.426482.16599501604/10153267169676605/?type=1

Faith In Action: Madeline Stuart

Please, note, I am not supporting or promoting the website.  This is about the story.  If you like or don't like the website, that is your choice/option/opinion.  I am not saying either way how I feel about it.  I just want to share a story of the EXACT THINGS I have been talking about on this blog HAPPENING in the world.  This is the first of several of these experiences and stories TODAY!!

http://www.boredpanda.com/down-syndrome-model-madeline-stuart-australia/

The Power of My Faith

A few years ago, I lost my car because it needed repairs I couldn't afford, which was okay with me because I'm not a very good driver anyway and it scares me to drive.  Plus,  I love riding the bus because I always meet the best people.  First of all, I went to an appointment today and found out I got the days wrong -- my appointment is next week.  No problem, I went to the bus stop and waited.  I have to take two buses to get home and I got off the first bus and had to cross the street for the second bus.  There was a woman in a wheelchair who got of the first bus at the same time, so I asked if she needed to cross the street and when she said yes, I told her I had pushed the crosswalk button.  When we crossed the street, to wait for the second bus, there was a crossing guard for the schoolkids on the corner.  It's a cold day today -- it's like October in May -- perfect weather for me but she has MS and the cold is very hard for her.  She asked the crossing guard to help her fish her gloves out of one of the bags on her wheelchair.  When she came up to the bus stop where I was, I told her I would have absolutely helped her with that. 

She said she hadn't asked because 1. she didn't realize I was taking the bus and 2. she didn't want to impose.  And I told her, "No no no, every religion, every spirituality is based on the faith of service to each other.  I will absolutely help anyone who needs it if I can -- that's my faith."

When we got on the bus, we were sitting across from each other so we continued to talk.  I have a psychological disability.  I have a disability bus pass.  Yes, I take medication.  Do not let the fact that I am mentally ill concern you because 1. I know how to manage my symptoms 2. I am the least violent person I know and 3.  Mental illness just means that you have an altered perception of reality not induced by an external substance.  That's all it means.  I don't see the world the way other people do, but then again, do we ever agree about what happens?  I am unique in my perspective, but so are you, so is everybody.  We all notice different things. The difference between me and you is that I require medication to function.  Not unlike someone who has a chronic illness like diabetes requires medication to function.  That's all it is.  Okay?

My medication makes me sensitive to heat and sunlight.  And I live in an area of the US where it routinely drops below 20 F in the winter and often to temps of -25F.  There are times I cannot leave my home because it is either too hot or too cold to wait for the bus.

This woman, this wonderful, gracious, grateful human being who despite her illness is still thriving and loving and helping others and kind and generous and just AWESOME, told me that because I have a disability and my psychiatrist can certify that my medication makes me sensitive to the weather in summer and they know how cold is it in winter, the bus company in my town, which IS AMAZING AND SHOULD BE IN EVERY TOWN no matter how big or small, and I wish I could tell you their name, but I cannot endorse anything on this blog, but believe me, done right public transportation is FABULOUS, if I fill out the paperwork, I will qualify for paratransit.  Paratransit picks you up at your door and drives you to the door of wherever you want to go -- doctor's appointments, the mall, the movies, a concert -- ANYTHING.

This is radically beneficial to me and I found out about it because I struck up a kind, generous, gregarious conversation with a stranger, whose value I recognized as inherent; because treated her with warmth and compassion, she reciprocated.

This is the power of my faith.

Religion and Science

I don't understand the problems some people have with religion and science. Science, to me, is about uncovering the mysteries God built into the design the universe, this planet, and ourselves. Through science, we know God.

Some people believe this all a happy accident. The Big Bang that started the universe (which wasn't actually an explosion, but more like a balloon filling with air) means that our planet happened to get lucky and have all the right stuff for the creation of life.

I don't think so.

If you look at the construction of this planet, I think it's clear there is a design. The structure and function of the bodies of the creatures on the Earth (ours included) is a design. Evolution may happen randomly, but the idea of evolution -- the idea that only the strongest survive -- that's not an accident, that's engineering for the success of life. The fact that scientists over the millennia have resolved mystery after mystery with math, that's what computer geeks would call the "programming code" God used to write the blueprint for the universe. Tech is math. Facebook is an algorithm that determines what ads show up on your newsfeed, what stories show up in your Trending Topics. It's math. It's all math.

For those of you who are offended at the idea that we come from monkeys, relax. We don't. We share common ancestors with apes and monkeys. Those common ancestors we share are like the base of tree. It branched off in two different directions. One branch became man; the other, going in a completely different direction, became monkeys. The ancestors we came from were neither. They were before man, before apes and monkeys.

And no, the Bible doesn't say any of this, and for good reason.  No, that reason is not that the Bible wasn't divinely inspired or written. If you believe God wrote the Bible, I have no complaint with that. But how do you explain to quantum physics to someone whose math doesn't go beyond the third grade?  How do you explain evolution to someone who only understands reproductive biology in agricultural terms (at the time the Old Testament was written, people believed the man's "seed" was the whole baby and women were just the fertile soil where a man planted his seed)?  How do you explain genetics to people who just learned how to start a fire?

 How do you, as a higher being, explain to people what they are not capable of imagining?

Well, you simplify. Instead of evolution and quantum physics, you talk about two people who started the human race. Because you want people to understand the world was created to be a paradise, you talk about the Garden. Because you want people to understand the world is dangerous and you have to be careful even in paradise, you talk about the snake.

Nevertheless, the simplified version does not negate science. It's just that we've grown beyond the simple stories. We need facts, now. We have trig, calculus, and geometry. While we still aren't fluent, we can speak the language of math much better.

We need Priests, Imams, and Holy people to teach us the wisdom of these books, but we need scientists to teach us the Divine design with which God created the universe.

I personally DO want to see the blueprint of the universe -- even if I won't understand it (which I won't because again my math stops at fractions) -- because even the little parts we know of the blueprint now are spectacular and grand. I marvel at how well everything fits together, how our bodies can heal themselves, how love turns into a new life, how a big volcano erupting in the Pacific makes it snow in July in New York City (which if I recall correctly has happened twice in modern history).

I marvel at the intricacy, at the attention to detail, at the endless nuances in shade, color, light, beauty. I luxuriate in awe over all of God's creations (except spiders, who I would rather just not see, but who I do understand serve a valuable purpose). With each new scientific discovery, we should again and again be amazed at the power and glory of God's magnificence.

For me, there is no debate, no competition between God and science. We need the books to understand God's love. W need the science to explain God's perfect design of the universe.

Two sides, same coin.

Interfaith Cooperation

Whenever there is a natural disaster -- Nepal, Haiti, and Thailand -- we put our differences aside and help each other, regardless of color, cultural differences or religion.  Why do we only do that in times of crisis?

Most people of faith will agree there is only one God, but many paths.  My path may differ from yours; I may choose a different religion, but we still believe in the same God. 

Whether you see that being as vengeful or loving decides whether you will live in anger or peace.  I choose to disregard the vengeful God of the Old Testament.  I choose to disregard the strict rules and mercilessness of that God's anger.  I choose instead to believe in people, in faith, in our commonality, in a God who gave us all we needed to create a world of harmony and still works through prayer and meditation to bring us to this path.  While I am neither blind nor stupid, I believe most people are born with an even mix of good and evil.  The special amongst us were born with more good; the monsters, more evil, but most of us lie somewhere in between these two extremes.

I am not the best person in the world; yet, like you, I am not the worst either.  I have bad moods.  I can be disrespectful.  I get angry.  I, too, lose sight of the beauty and wonder in this world, shocked as I always am by the anger, violence, and intentional pain we cause each other. 

For this reason, I avoid the news.  Articles about Boko Haram' cruelty or the Taliban's latest attack, or my own country's refusal to solve international political problems with compassion send me into a depressive funk for days or even weeks.  I am upset by news that even today we spend more time trying win for our own gain than we do trying to make sure everybody wins.

That life is a group effort seems clear to me.  We are connected by faith in the same God, by biology in the same human bodies, by psychology through the same emotions.  We are connected by the web of life.  We are connected by cause and effect.  We are connected through tech. 

At this point in history, we are globally connected to each other in multiple ways.

Therefore, it makes no sense to me that we should not fight with each other over the rules of one religion versus another.  I believe there are more good people than bad, but somehow the bad people always seem to be in charge.  Our leaders -- political, religious, business, etc -- rarely seem to be interested in anything but power and money.

The love of money is the root of all evil, because the love of money usually accompanies the love power, and the will to use both against the weakest members of our human family.

Yet, because there are more of us than there are them -- regardless of how much money any individuals have, regardless of their faith, regardless of their power -- our voices are strong, our actions even stronger.

If we bound together as people who share so much in common with each other, and put aside all of our differences, we could change the world.  We could force our leaders to work together for the greater good.  We could follow the path illuminated before us by God, and truly create One World.

I jokingly have a theory that God's ultimate goal in creating the universe was to bring all beings -- those on this planet and those yet to be discovered in space -- to a point of peace because God is a creator, an engineer, and a director, who is trying to make the God Cut of Star Trek.  (I do not mean to be disrespectful of God.  I just think It likes a good joke.  For proof of that, have you SEEN the platypus?)

God wants not only peace, but free exchange, mutual cooperation, respect and love to flow between all of us, connecting every being in Its' light.

I do not like people who believe in a vengeful God, those who make bombastic statements and vote in favor of cruel laws aiming to do nothing but harm.  I do not like violence, no matter whether it is physical, emotional, or economic.  Moreover, I especially do not like it when those responsible for these cruelties claim the Divine has ordained their actions and their hatred.

I refuse to believe in a God who wants the world they are creating.  I firmly believe those who do these things and those who support them are messing up the God Cut of Star Trek.

But how to fix it?  How do you bring love to a heart that is full of hate?  How do you heal centuries of violence?

I struggle often with the question.  I have no answers.  I only know that we start with forgiveness.  We start by recognizing the Divine in each other.  And, no, atheists, you do not have to have any faith at all to recognize another person's inherent value.

We start by holding precious every form of life on this planet.  We start with communication.  We start by sharing our cultures, our stories, our traditions, and our beliefs -- not to argue about differences -- but to enlighten, engage, and embrace every person we encounter in the warmth of joy, understanding, kindness and compassion.

This is my prayer, today and everyday.

Finally, because I believe in living my words, I start by apologizing to Pamela Geller.  Though many share my anger at her beliefs and her actions, I recognize her hate for those of the Islamic faith comes from fear.  Most hate does.  I want to assure her that the belief in One God, recognition of the Divine in all Its' forms, and trust that most people are not mostly evil, can heal.  I offer her my apologies and my forgiveness.  I ask God to help her forgive and to make her feel safe in a world with people of other religions.

Amen.

A Challenge: Let's Meet God Halfway

I've had a very bad ten days or so.

Friends being cruel, family problems, stress so bad I've had migraines every day.

It's tempting to reach out to God, to pray and beg for things to change.  It's tempting to hand responsibility for my life, my choices, and those of others over to God.

Most faiths preach that's exactly what I should do.

Yet, I believe that God wants us to solve our own problems.  I'm not saying prayer isn't beneficial; countless people have been helped from the wisdom in religious books and from spending as much time as they could praying for guidance. 

Yogis meditate.  Most people of the big the big four religions (Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Christian) pray.  People of faith all over the world say practicing regularly brings you comforting peace, soothing relief, and mindfulness about our actions and our choices.

I do not encourage any particular form of moments of silence.  That is neither my purpose nor my point.

My point is, simply, that after your moments with God or the Universe or whomever, it is important to take the peace you have found and form your decisions from that place.  It is important to meet God halfway.

I see signs.  A few months ago, during a period of intense heartbreak, I told God I needed help.  I needed something to point the way.  I need a light at the end of the tunnel.  A little while later, it arrived.  God, the Universe, or, if you believe, happenstance, gave me the sign I needed.

The signs are tricky.  They are sometimes hard to catch if you're not paying attention.  Sometimes we blow them off as coincidence.  Sometimes we blow them off because the signs we see are in opposition to our beliefs.

Faith in God, in any form, requires accepting there are answers; there is guidance.  It requires trusting that you have a place in the world, a purpose.  It requires listening, seeing and believing the signs coming to you, without hesitation. 

Being a person of faith, and an agnostic, I do not know if there is a God at all, but I believe in neither mistakes nor accidents.  I believe the way is shown to us, the answers come; we figure it out. 

It requires patience to wait until we reach a point when the signs become obvious.  It requires courage to follow through.

Meeting God halfway is not an easy task.  Following the signs you see, especially when they seem in opposition to your beliefs, takes heart.  You must be brave.  You must believe in faith and act on it. 

If you ask God for an answer, you need to be prepared to follow the path, no matter where it leads, no matter what you have to sacrifice.

I have faith in people, in our connection, in our brave attempts to create a world of peace and light.  Except for the small-minded and immature, who cannot see beyond themselves or their rigid beliefs, I think everyone is trying to create a better world for themselves and their children.

Not knowing if there is a God is rational.  Having faith, of any kind, is to believe in what Abraham Lincoln called, "the better angels of our nature," whether it is rational or not.

There are many conflicts in my life, in every one's life, in the world. I pray that God will guide all of us through them.  Yet, I know to do so, he requires my cooperation.  And yours.

If we are to ever bring about a world of harmony, we must put aside our differences, as many religious leaders and prophets have advised, and have the strength, the heart and will to collectively meet God, and each other, halfway.

Quote

On the frontline -- in humanitarian crises, in wars overseas, and around some kitchen tables here at home -- I'd seen that peace is more than the absence of war, and that a good life entails more than the absence of suffering. A good peace, a solid peace, a peace in which communities can flourish, can only be built when we ask ourselves and each other to be more than just good, and better than just strong. And a good life, a meaningful life, a life in which we can enjoy the world and live with purpose, can only be built if we do more than live for ourselves.

-- Eric Greitens, The Heart and The Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian, the Making of a Navy Seal

This man, in the first chapter of this book, has perfectly summed up my beliefs.  We need not have faith to serve others, to fight for them, to protect them from harm and to insure they are able to care for themselves.  Life is a cooperative game. We share one planet.  We share the world's first successful democratic republic.  We share Abraham Lincoln and the military genius of General Lee.

Our differences should not divide us, but cause us to devote ourselves ever more to compromised solutions that give each of us the right to our priorities.

Because:


As you go,
I go,
We go.

We stand together, as a family, community, nation and world.  Failure to do so -- now, just as during the Civil War -- means we fall alone.

There are a number of problems in the world, in this country and in every community.  Winning for the sake of power is not a solution.  For peace, for justice, for the sake of humanity and the continuation of humankind far into the future, power must be shared, and shared equally.  This is the world Jesus tried to bring to fruition.  This is how we create A True World of Faith.

Quick Question

Uber conservatives:  How can you believe in a wrathful God when The Book says right there in black and white that WRATH is one of the seven deadly sins?  How can you believe God is a sinner?!

Full Disclosure

I am not a Christian, nor a Muslim, nor Jewish, nor Hindi, Pagan,Wiccan or Atheist.

I am an agnostic.

No one has proof that God exist.  No one has proof that there isn't one.

I do not know. 

What I do know is that while atheists may be right (that there is no God as we have imagined such a Being to be) that does not rule out the fact that we cannot imagine what we cannot imagine.  It may be that there IS a God, but that Being is beyond our imagination.

If there is such a Being, I believe IT (and I use a non-gendered pronoun because The Bible clearly states that God made us in its own image and we are undoubtedly male, female and everywhere in between, so God is all people, of all sexes, genders, races and faiths).  Anyway, if there is a Creator, It is clearly not only a painter, but an engineer.  The world of physics, biology, chemistry, and really science in general, is understood through the language of math.  We only know what we know about the world through mathematical equations.  Math is spoken in every country; indeed it is the ONLY international language.  Math, then, is the language of God (which is kind of depressing for me because I'm horrible at math and, therefore, cannot read, write or speak the language of God, much as I may like to).

If such a Being exists, It has divinely created the universe with solid mathematical principles.  God is a scientist.  And despite what those on the right would have you believe, most scientists are devoutly invested in the existence of God because they see evidence of It in their own work, everyday.

Yet, believing in God is not necessary to live a decent life.  You can be a good person AND an atheist or an agnostic.

I talk a lot about religious books of faith, but I ascribe none greater than any other.  They all contain beautiful words, important lessons, and The Essential Truth.

That Truth is that we are here to love and care for life in all its forms:  Our fellow human beings, animals, the planet we live on, and any life that may exist in the Universe.

I do not judge others by their faith or their sins, I judge them only by their kindness, compassion, love, willingness to understand and bring peace to those in conflict.

I am agnostic, but I do believe in what Abraham Lincoln called, "the better angels of our nature."  I believe in goodness.  I believe in the inherent, inalienable value of all living beings.  I believe in equality -- across the board, for all, regardless of whether they live like me or agree with me. 

But while I do not know if there is a Heavenly Being, I hope so.  A Higher Power who loves everybody without conflict, without reservation, regardless of faith or sin would be wonderful.

And it is this Being I aim to emulate.

The Bible and Homosexuality

For those of you who believe The Bible outlaws homosexuality:

YOU ARE READING THE BIBLE WRONG!

1. Because the New Testament of Jesus Christ replaced the Old Testament (and Jesus said nothing about homosexuality, and yes, he would have been aware of it, so if he'd had anything against it, he would've said so)

and

2. You are misreading the Old Testament anyway.

Because the fact that the Old Testament was written 3,000 to 4,000 years ago automatically means it is an historical document.  I have a Master's degree in History, so I know a thing or two about reading historical documents.

With every historical document, you must know the context in which the work was produced if you are to truly understand its meaning to the people for whom it was written.

The Old Testament was written at the beginning of civilization to teach men how to be civilized.  This was of utmost importance because, at the time, the survival of civilization, AND the survival of the human race were not guaranteed.

So, the writers of the Old Testament (whether you believe they were divinely inspired or not) were not interested in the morality of any sexual act.

They were interested in bringing more people into the world every year than they lost through disease, accident or murder.

The fact is not only was homosexuality a sin, so was every non-reproductive release of semen:  nocturnal emissions, oral sex, even bestiality.  Yet, despite the modern interpretation, none of these things was "abhorrent to God."  They were simple sins that required no more than a cleansing in Holy water.  Every home at the time was built with a small, stone pool, which was blessed by a rabbi, for just this reason.

What the writer's of the Old Testament *actually meant* and how the men of the time interpreted their words, was thus:

When every woman in your household (your wife, your daughters-in law, your slaves and servants) is pregnant or nursing, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, until then MAKE BABIES!

And p.s. after doing whatever you want, please, dunk yourself in this here pool of Holy water.

So, if you want to be historically and Biblically accurate about homosexuality, here's what we'll do:  we'll get a local rabbi to bless the municipal water supply.  Then, whenever ANY man releases semen for any other reason than to make a baby, all he will have to do is take a shower to absolve himself of the sin.

That's it.

That is the solution to the so-called "problem" of homosexuality. 

Anybody who tells you otherwise has not accurately read The Bible.

An Open Letter To Pamela Geller

You were warned that the Muhammad "cartoon contest" you had planned would likely cause a violent response.  You proceeded anyway, not because you were dissuaded by the warning, but because you were hoping to incite violence to justify your own hatred.

In doing so, you not only violated the law of man, you violated the law of God.

I have read the Bible cover to cover, so I know beyond question that Christ was a peaceful, loving man who preached compassion, kindness and understanding for even the worst "savages" and sinners in the world.

You do not.

You, therefore, are not a Christian because you do not follow Christ's teachings.

That you would use the Lord Almighty to justify your hatred, cruelty, and evil is disgusting.  God, as Christ and Muhammad both made clear, is a loving, Holy Being.

You are not.

Every non-insane Christian I have ever met has carefully and poignantly explained that the New Testament of Jesus Christ REPLACES the Old Testament.  You are not a Christian because you are preaching in your words and your actions, the Old Testament: a vengeful God, full of wrath who smites those who refuses to follow his Word.

Truth be known, if that is the God you believe in then you should be in fear for your immortal soul.  You have violated the preaching's of Jesus Christ.  You have used a loving God to spread your own hatred through the world.  You are abhorrent to any decent person of faith, to Jesus Christ, to Muhammad, and to God Himself.

I have also read the Koran cover to cover.  I have, in fact, read every religious text I was able to get my hands on because I was searching for Truth.  Truth knows no religion, no group, no division of people, no arbitrary boundaries in land.

In all of those books, I found one essential truth of the Lord:  we are to love each other and care for one another as our loving, One True God does for us.

That you have the unmitigated gall to compare yourself to Rosa Parks -- who was a follower of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., himself a man like Jesus who changed the world through peace -- is as offensive as it is evil.  You have used the intentional instigation of violence to spread your message, which is the exact opposite of what the Civil Rights Movement was about, and the exact opposite of what Rosa Parks and Dr. King professed in both their words and actions.

To a true person of any faith, you are evil incarnate.  You bring nothing to this world but hatred and disgust and in comparing yourself to a brave woman who peacefully resisted oppression, you appalled even a host on Fox News.

You are not oppressed by anyone, not the media, not Islam, nothing.  That the media refused to promote your evil event is not oppression.  Calling it oppression is laughingly ridiculous.  The media did not want anything to do with your event because, as we can all clearly see, the purpose of your event was to incite violence and spread hatred, and no media outlet wants to be legally responsible for your criminal actions.  The fact of the matter is you are the fundamentalist equivalent to the members of ISIS.  There is no more Christianity in your words and actions than there is Islam in ISIS. 

Those of true faith, with true belief in a benevolent higher being, whether they call him God or Allah, see through your flimsy disguise and recognize you as the enemy of said Being.

If I were you, I would be opening the Bible (or the Koran) and carefully studying the messages and lessons therein because, as is true for all criminals, true faith -- based in love and kindness -- is the only way you will find redemption.

Do not think for one second that your hatred is divine nor that your actions have the approval of God.  You are a stain on God's divine plan to bring love, compassion and mercy to humankind, and a sinner far worse than any you would smite with your own hand.

A true warrior for God is a warrior for peace and mercy.  A person of true faith knows and believes that even the worst sinner deserves compassion.  Jesus ate with the worst hated sinners of his day.  He regularly broke bread with whores and thieves, and thus, proved compassion for people, especially those rich with sin, is more important than passing judgment on them. 

You are not a soldier for God.

You are soldier for the Devil, and as evil as he is.

Yet, as Christ teaches compassion, I will pray the loving God Almighty opens your shriveled, hard, walnut of a heart with the love and light of His whole being so that you may know the error of your ways and diligently apply yourself to healing the harm you have caused Muslims and Christians all over the world, African-Americans, and the innocent man directly wounded by the hatred of your actions.