Religion versus Belief

There is an intellectual game going on. The game is one where "religion" and "faith" are redefined as "belief". I have discussed this before. The freedom in the Constitution is a freedom of religion, not of belief. We are currently seeing an attack on religion, not by stopping it but instead by saying any belief can be a "religion". It is a backdoor way of undermining your freedoms.

Religion requires a belief in the afterlife. The freedom was guaranteed because people will die for their religion knowing that there is something greater to come. The freedom was guaranteed so that people would know that they could live in America and have the right to practice what they believed so dearly.

The Pilgrims came to America to practice their religion, they were willing to die to come here, they gave up everything they had. Now we are downgrading this type of faith to belief. A young lady in North Carolina was told that she could not have a nose piercing while in school, she said it violated her religion. She belongs to a "church" that believes body modification is an expression of self, they believe in no Deity, no God. This is not a religion.

Every belief is not a religion. I have no problem with saying that the girl is acting on her freedom of expression; but, they chose to call it a religion and that is simply a lie. Atheism is not a religion, it is a belief. The founding fathers knew the difference and that is why they talked about freedom of speech and expression.

It is the most cynical thing in the world to classify all beliefs as religious, it shows a true disregard for peoples faiths. Faith and religion are based on worship not like. Faith is not belief, the word used in the bible for faith means to rest your whole weight on, to risk everything for it. The same word used for faith in the old testament is used to describe leaning on a walking stick. It is about a faith that you rely on and act on, a trust that cannot be denied. I doubt this girl has faith in the nose piercing.

Father Damien was a priest who moved to a leper colony to help them when nobody else would. He contracted the disease and died. That man had faith. To compare some child who wants to wear a nose ring to Father Damien or someone who is truly living their faith is disgusting to me. It takes away from what people have done for real faith.

I disagree with her school telling her that she cannot have a piercing, that is a violation of her freedom of speech and of body. She is forced to go to school (and I have discussed this before), because the state requires her to go to school (a restriction on her rights in and of itself) it should be limited in what it can require of her in other ways. She has not violated societies laws.

There will be some who will attempt to compare the restriction on her body piercing to the outlawing of burqas in France, they are not the same and I have already discussed the burqas. Both are an attempt to obfuscate and confuse the real issues. In France it is about her religion and the media discussion is about clothing, in the United States the issue is about clothing and the media wishes to discuss religion.

Our ability to define words, to use them with precision denies the ability to make good judgements. The truth is that most people will read the article and take sides not based on what the Constitution meant; but, instead it will be based on how it effects them or how they feel about burqas or piercings. If we willing chip away at the constitution by ignoring it's intent we have no law.

Choices

There is a "scientist" who wrote a book called "The God Delusion". He is incredibly arrogant and dismissive of people who do not agree with him. I have met many people like him in the last few years. I watched a video of him talking and just had to laugh.

In the same way that the gnostic beliefs have just been repackaged, the slavery of atheism has not changed. If people choose to be non-believers or agnostics or Luciferian or anything else, it is their choice. I can even deal with a Solipsist. But, the arguments are still tired.

I have heard the argument that if there was a loving God then the world would be a place of non-stop joy and happiness. This is one of the most childish answers. Growth involves pain, always does, always forces us out of our comfort zone. Beyond that, it assumes all sort of silly things about the nature of existence.

I have also heard the argument that there are all these religions that cannot agree and therefore how can any of them be correct. How does that apply to any other belief, it isn't used for politics or business.

Another frequent comment is how more people have been killed for religion than anything else; besides being bad math it is irrelevant. If one counts how many people were killed by the Chinese Communists, the Russian Communists, the Cambodian Communists and the Nazis, I assure you atheists have killed far more. Still, it doesn't prove anything about God, it proves something about how cruel we can be regardless of the things we say we believe. The argument basically comes down to whoever killed the most people has the wrong idea about eternity.

One can neither prove nor disprove God with science alone. Quantum physics definitely brings into question our beliefs in science. It shows that our "scientific laws" contradict themselves; but, it does not prove God. I believe the proof of God is inside us, it is our self awareness, our ability to have emotions. There is no scientific explanation for that. They try, oh how they try, but they prove nothing.

You exist, you know this and nothing they say can tell you that you do not exist as a self aware being. Free will does exist and all the nonsense that we are told cannot change that, the truth is inside of you. The attempts to compare us to worms and trees and rocks are meaningless, the simplest answer is the best, you exist and you know it, you have meaning and experience this life.

So why are people adamant on "proving" that we are not important, that our lives are not meaningful and that we should just seek out pleasure? Why do they ask us to ask us to act like lower animals when we can be so much more?

When I was in High School I smoked pot. I decided to quit before college. It irritated my friends, they kept trying to get me to smoke with them. It was if they felt my choice not to smoke was an attack on their choice to smoke. By the way, I am not Bill Clinton, I inhaled and got high more than once. If Bill Clinton had been arrested for having pot, would the courts have let him off for saying he did not inhale? He continued to keep pot illegal, sort of a double standard.

If I believe that the ten commandments are really just ideals and that they don't need to be followed, I might not like it if you say that they do need to be followed. The purpose behind all atheist arguments are that they want to do what they want to do and do not wish to have a moral judgement placed on them. This is even the belief of pederasts. Child molesters say that all love is good and we should not judge them.

Whether one believes in the big bang theory or creationism, neither can be proved by science. We were not there. If science cannot prove either than we must turn to philosophy and scientists do not like that. Logic rather than an ability to duplicate. Stephen Hawkins said he could prove that everything came from nothing using science alone, good, follow the scientific rules and duplicate it. Oooooops.

If Mr Hawkins did duplicate it, would he be a God? Would he be a God to the new universe? Why do we want to be God rather than ourselves, is it so that we don't have to follow the rules and can just live off the cookies we create. Club Med religions, no growth just cookies.

God either is or is not, what is interesting is our reasons for believing or not. I was agnostic, I researched all religions. I also researched atheism. I dismissed atheism as any good philosophy student would. You cannot prove something does not exist that has not been experienced BY YOU. That is science 101.

There was a man who was a UFO investigator, he wasn't interested in UFOs as much as he was interested in the UFO societies culture, their reasons for believing. I am sort of like him. I don't care what you believe as much as I am interested in the reasons you believe something.

I believe in God. I believe I have a personal relationship with him. That is not why I believe in God. Every belief we hold should be held against a light, the light should ask why we believe. I shall say why I believe.

I heard a man talk once about the resurrection. He said there were only so many choices:

1. Jesus never existed and there were no apostles. This is a tough one because Paul was a Roman citizen and he and other Christians died at the hands of the Romans. Paul existed, Peter existed, Mathew existed, Mark existed, Luke existed, John existed. Many of Jesus followers died and their deaths were recorded by the Romans and the Jews.

2. Jesus existed but did not die on the cross. This is a problem also. We are asked to believe that thousands of people who lived in Jesus' time and saw him die, professed his resurrection to the Romans knowing they would be tossed to death by lions and tigers and bears, oh my. I don't think I want to die for something I know didn't happen.

Jesus is a historical problem. While I was an agnostic, my major was History. There are rules to writing about history. Assumptions are made based on rules. History is also a science. The conclusions we draw from it are social science; but, archeology and geology are sciences. Denying that Jesus existed is really bad science.

Now, here is scientific problem. The Ethiopians have an ark, they say it is the ark of the covenant. If they bring it out and it is carbon dated to have been from the time of Moses, will that prove God? My answer is no; but, what an annoying historical fact it will make. We will have to accept that the Hebrews did in fact carry around an Ark of the Covenant from the time they said that God commanded them to.

If such a thing were to occur, would atheists become at least agnostic and examine the implications. They would not because in the end it is the implications that they fear. What they fear is that there is wrong and right, that we have a duty to each other and consequences for our decisions, that free will has a price tag. That is the real fear. The fear is that free will has a price tag and that the price tag is consequences for being selfish.

The real argument is not over science, it is over responsibility for our deeds. We know we are not perfect. Some choose to believe that they will never be held accountable for their imperfection. Some choose to believe that they are perfect. And some choose to believe that there is no price tag for the things we do in this life. I believe there is a God and I believe there is a price tag. I have sinned and I have done wrong, I believe the price tag can be guilt or pain, I prefer the truth of guilt, it changes us and we seek to be less guilty.

With the type of thinking that I see in the world, I am surprised that we do not have a national "Adulterers Pride Day". I am surprised we do not have a pride day for every sin, perhaps someday we will. Someone talked to me today about two of my posts, one was serious and the other was about my post on Legs. He pointed out a woman with nice legs and rubbed his the way I described in my post. It was very funny. I admitted, I like nice legs, nice shapely legs, smooth legs and soft legs.

I have lusted after many women. I cannot lie, I am a man and I like the look of women. It is true that I have not taken advantage of them; but, I like the way they look and smell and feel. Two thumbs up to there being women in the world. I actually feel guilty for lusting after the lovely little creatures. Not because they would be offended; because I fall short of perfection. Perfection would be loving only one and her loving only you. Anything that falls short of perfection is sin. That is what the word means. We hate not being perfect.

We are imperfect, not because we are bad, we are not imperfect because we are not all powerful, we are imperfect because we are not all knowing. The perfection of God is in his lovingness, it is in his concern for others, his concern for us and his willingness for us to choose our own way. If you love something, let it go, if it is yours it will return.

I will tell the truth, I have been asked to write books on many things, it is not going to happen. I write the blog because it is quick. I can get out thoughts and don't have to do all the filthy work of proving everything and notating. I can do it and do it for a living, I just want to be free of the requirements sometimes, I like my free will also. Problem with free will is that you are responsible for what you do with it.

My Car is Mad at Me

My car was getting cranky and I knew. It is 8,000 miles past service and the brakes needed to be fixed. As a consequence, the car is in the shop and I am stuck at home. Pout. I am also suffering from allergies. Great day. LOL.

Being stuck at home I was reading the news. One site I visit occasionally is called "Above Top Secret". They post about different things and bring up odd news stories. The site is fairly well moderated and some of the posters make a real effort to study up on what they write. A new thread is about whether or not Misogyny is ruining the male female relationships.

As I mentioned a young friend of mine is getting married. I have also said that I plan to marry again someday, I believe in marriage. The first thing about the thread I read was that everybody that posted believed that the male female relationships are not going well, nobody disagreed about that point. That in and of itself is horrifying.

So what is ruining relationships? I believe it is selfishness. People were raised and society told them that they have to look out for themselves first and they do. It is the search for personal pleasure rather than team work. It is not just relationships that suffer because of this, it is everything. We see it in our work places, we see it in politics, we see it everywhere.

When I got married, my wife told me that we should always put ourselves first. I disagreed, I said we should always put the kids first. She had been raised differently that I. People do not wish to have children in the west because they do not wish to have personal freedom impinged upon, selfishness.

How have we come to such a situation, it is not natural? We are designed and wired to have and love children. Our biology is designed for it, our greatest pleasure is in the sexual act. You can talk all you want about overpopulation, that is not the issue, people no longer wish to have children. Having children forces you to be less selfish.

You cannot love if you think of yourself first. You may think it is love; but, it is not. Love is putting another persons happiness before your own. Love is not a feeling, it is not lust, it is a way of thinking. It is the opposite of worrying about what you get out of a relationship. It is worrying about what you bring to the relationship. It is about both people feeling fortunate to be with the other.

I Have Nothing to Say

I just have nothing to say lately. It isn't quite writers block. It is more like I just don't have anything on my mind. I am not accustomed to this. I do apologize. My mind is unaccustomed be being blank. I am always thinking about some scenario or something going on in the world. I think my mind is taking a vacation.

I used to wonder what it would like to be normal. On the one hand you are accepted by a broader range of people. On the other hand, you are normal. I am not anti-normal, some people with Aspergers are, they have nasty little names for normal people. That makes them as bad as the people who mistreated them. They do not understand how hard we can be on people.

I used to wonder if being normal would make everything easier, possibly even bearable. In the end I decided I just want to be me and see where that goes. Oh, I had some good news, a wonderful young man who used to be my assistant (read babysitter, confidant, bodyguard and friend) is getting married. I could not be happier. I have watched this young man become a force to be reckoned with.

I have many people who have wanted really bad to be my assistant, to learn from me. I am not bragging, it is just what it is. I don't let people just be my assistant. I pity anyone who is my personal assistant, it is a bad job. I am not mean to anyone who works for me, I am not very demanding per se. But, my personal assistant I expect one thing from, they must be ready, willing and able to do whatever needs to be done. I don't care what it is or how hard it is and they are not allowed to cheat. No skipping a step and attempting to hide it.

When he came to work for me I told him that he could never lie again and that he needed to needed to be as good in bed with his partner as he was at work. ROFL. I really told him that. He assured me that he took care of business. I have spent many wonderful hours with his fiance and him and I believe he has done me proud, he is like a son to me.

I have three daughters and as bad as they can be, I would not trade them for the world. They are mine and I love them. I never felt a need to have a boy, happy with what I got. I trust God on such things; but, it is nice to have young men look up to me. I cannot tell you what a honor it is to have young men ask my advice on personal matters.

As men we are apt to not ask advice, to try and show that we have all the answers. I have young men ask me romance advice. Pretty good for 50. I listen to the stories that young men tell me, stories about seeing their mothers beat, I see their controlled anger and pain. I listen to the stories of young men who just want to get a job and have a wife. This is the hardest time in history for young men. No roll models, no job future and yet they still have all of that young man energy and enthusiasm.

There is a reason young men do stupid things on motorcycles and skate boards and with chili peppers. They have all this strength and energy and it has to be shown. As young men we have a need to show that we are tougher and more fearless than the other guys. We do not do the stupid stuff for girls, we do it for each other. It also reinforces that we can be trusted in a hard situation.

When a man loves a woman, truly loves her, he will do anything to protect her. It is a shame that we have destroyed that type of love. All a man needs is to have a woman look up at him as if he was the answer to fear in her life. There is nothing greater for a man's ego then to have a woman feel safe because he is with her, that trust is the greatest aphrodisiac.

Earlier today, after I found out about my friends wedding, I was sitting with three young men and one young lady in my garage. We were just chit chatting and I mentioned how my friend was getting married. I then told them about what advice I had given my friend for staging their wedding night. Not sexual advice, setting a mood, knowing what she would be thinking. Two of the young men really seemed to be taking notes. How nice that young men want to know how to romance young women.

My ex taught me one thing, women decide what they will wear and what the situation will be when they are going to hurt a man. I thank her for knowing this, the opposite should be true of men. We should think in advance about how we will treat a lady and then we are capable of romance. Romance is making the effort to think of the little things rather than just trying to figure out how to take off a young ladies panties.

Romance is the spice of life. I dated a woman for a year and we never kissed. The first move should always be by the woman. The idea is to let her decide so that she knows she is safe. Women should run relationships because men are stronger. It is just a fact. If you love someone you want to feel safe.

One of the young men I know, and I have mentioned him once before, is a very big and physically intimidating man, he is also very gentle. If I hit him, he would not hit me back. I would never hit him, I like him. If you grew up, as a woman, seeing your mother beat up what would expect from life? My father was a wonderful man, USMC and more. I never saw my father lift his hand to my mother, I never lifted my hand to my ex, my brother never lifted his had to his wife and my brother in law never lifted his hand to my sister. Men never lift their hands to women. If you can prove you are tough by snorting wasubi, you can keep your FXXXing hands off of women.

Again, another rambling post. Sorry. I have no respect for any man who lifts his hands to a woman, use the door and leave. If we are stronger we must earn the right to our strength and that is by love and restraint. Be well.

Preparing for Changes

I am a creature of habit in many ways. I like to have a stable base and then change things; but, I don't like my base to be unstable. For the past five or six years my base has been unstable. Now it is time to make a new base and I feel anxious.

Interrupted again. I wrote my intro hours ago. I cannot finish what I began. I suck. Be well.

Where are you being led?

The 9/11 mosque versus burning Koran garbage was just too obvious, meant to inflame people. The question is where are you being led. The answer in this article is to only listen to the official explanation. Respect their AUTHORITY. What a crock of garbage. The vast majority of Christians do not agree with burning anyone's bible and the vast majority of Muslims don't want to have a mosque at "ground zero". The vast majority of people want to have a simple life, love a spouse, raise their kids and not get brutally murdered or tortured. Isn't that how you feel?

No Post

I just have nothing to say. I know it is 9/11 I can't really add anything to that.