Greater Works

"I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to the Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:12-14 

definition of rationalization

The devil made me do it

Sometime ago I read of some Christians who blamed the inquisition on St Paul for saying that he condemned an "unbudged" soul to burn in hell since he did not respond to Paul's attempts to convert him. I estimate now as I recall, my impression was it was a group of a hundred or so.

Seems to me those who carried out the acts of the inquisition should be those to be blamed. This is an example if the ability to blame anyone in sight for their own the devil made me do it guilt. I suspect there were "underlying" motives satisfied here.

Either some thing or no thing

 Process of elimination

Any view that does not believe in God is by definition forcing adherents to believe in themselves instead. This is the only free will power choice they have, which is to say this view believes in nothing out of something. Meanwhile something, all that God has already spoken into Existence continues, and remains on display.

Pulpit talk pompous gibberish

No offense!

One preacher I heard declare only those with a soul will be in heaven, as I have already recently said. So that left out the little boy who asked if his dog will be with him in heaven. No dog? Not much of a heaven for that little boy, not only for him, but for the rest of us as well. 

Having a soul will not get anyone in heaven. Only grace gets one in heaven, if they accept it. If the little boy wants his dog in heaven then if he himself is in heaven, then his dog will be in heaven. 

What kind of a heaven would it be for that for the little boy, without his dog? Is he to watch the lion lay down with the ram without his dog alongside? This is an example of doctrinaire-like nonsense coming from many solitary confinement pulpits in just my narrow lifetime. 

No wonder believers are shrinking, with so many churches churning out baby atheists as young as fourteen without any awareness of the basics of Christianity. This might be the prime reason why. 

The teachers were the pupils, now they are teaching, teaching the younger pupils how to make earrings out of buttons. I have my perfect attendance pins to boast it. 😒

Creation vs evolution

Evolution Cannot Create

Creation can Evolve 

Evolution is an action verb and creation is the subject that evolves. Evolution by itself can only evolve from something. We are therefore left with nothing from evolution, by itself alone, to evolve. 

So what evolves from that which is created? Since everything seen comes from the unseen we are forced to assume evolution comes from an unseen force so that it is a seen in action, as it evolves and continues to evolve. 

If someone cannot understand the unseen spirit from which everything seen comes, they are left with an evolution from which evolved from nothing. What was first to evolve? The chicken? Then how did the egg get here? Sounds like the big bang all over again telling me that standing water is nothing, only the steam bubbles that arise from the seen water was the first to exist.

For my part I am convinced I can to reason better than that. So this is where my thinking carried me. Evolution exists and also evolves but how did it come to exist in the first place? It exists because it was created in the first place by the unseen Spirit. 

Placed in Our Hearts from our Beginning

God is, like a massive group epiphany everyone in every state of evolvement agrees. God is a spirit, as the Holy Spirit. The Spirit personified is God who, naturally, created us like Himself. Everything God creates I am convinced, He has provided free will in order the created can evolve. By simple observation we can see animals to be animals would be continuing to evolve so they must have free will. Why? So they can evolve in order to survive and prosper. 

Problem with Grammar?

The seen is seen evolving

I myself was taught to diagram my sentences in the fourth grade. So I've always wondered what the problem was between creation the subject and the subject creation evolving. That is how verbized subjects do things. As I first read Genesis, many years ago now, I thought the Bible gave a better and more complete description of evolution than the truncated incomplete evolutionist view. Otherwise? So where is the controversy?

definition of Reincarnation

Over and over and over

Key word is same

Reincarnation is the repetitive  birth of the same soul in a different body. The definition of insanity is similar. Insanity is the repetition of the same event and expecting a different result.

"Same" is our operative word here, in both instances. Repetition soon degenerates, into not only insanity, but is a vital thread in any definition of full blown hell. 

Resurrection 

Resurrection has no connection to repetitiveness in any manifestation. It is a single, one time event for all time. Resurrection has no connection to birth, the connection is to death. Resurrection was a final sacrifice for our freedom from sin. There is no rational justification for comparing of either one of them in the same sentence. 

Persuasion in the pulpit

Whiffle Waffling Wafflers

Trip the Light Fantastic 

If anyone makes me think they are in any way giving me the credit for their seeing the light in any matter, they are actually giving me the responsibility for their own decisionless decisions. 

It is a responsibility that is not theirs to give. It is their own and not mine in any manner. I cannot persuade anyone, everyone persuades themselves. And they should take good credit for it, for themselves.

 I have learned that talking, like a puff of wind,  is not effective if one wants to advocate a position anyway. It is just a release for the talker. It usually hardens them into a incompletely thought out decision.  

It also is not a decision for anyone who agrees in a group. But they, there as well, will also refuse responsibility for a group decision. Often this after every cruel and disgusting position they find themselves were a part, all of course, in hind sight. 

Writing opinions down is more lasting, than talking. Writing your opinions down is harder than explaining them vocally. Writing objectifies my thinking, potentially permanent, like working an idea out in my own mind, only better. 

My ideas do work themselves out, sort of like climbing a ladder, I tend, by writing, not to fall behind into the sea of forgetfulness. But as opinions evolve and progress I date them since that is my thinking as of that date. My opinions are alive and as I grow they could grow. 

As one becomes older we should be able to change our minds instantly when we find we are wrong. Each dated idea is frozen in time while I myself move flexibly on, either the same or differently. It is a characteristic of the seen opinion that it can, and often enough does, change. When my seen time is over, I only hope my unseen will be happy with the previously seen. 

My third great quote, I stole

"The truth cannot be told by those who know." 

This was said by Jesse Livermore. He participated in stock trading pools, now illegal I strongly believe, prior to the great crash that ushered in FDR. 

I adapted it just as it is however, because it spoke to me on a larger plateau. I think it wonderful since it fulfills one of my deep convictions. No one can tell anyone the truth except themselves. Everyone persuades themselves, particularly when they try to persuade others. 

Every time we expand our awareness of the truth, we find the truth is more illusive than we ever conceived,  always keeping just ahead of ourselves. 

This is just another reason we all constantly proceed with faith and without proof. Proof can only be achieved to our own individual satisfactions. It cannot be achieved by any freestanding independent proof itself. This is largely because all things seen came from the unseen, which is to say everything in the seen is registered from many different "projectives". 

The seen is always changing while the unseen is unchanging. This is why I believe Jesus could say if you kill-wish someone in your heart, you are guilty of murder already. This is teaching, a teaching about the inside of the cup, our spirit.

Like the wind

If one does not understand the spirit, then the truth cannot be told to them since they cannot see it spiritually, or otherwise understand where the truth comes from, or where it goes. 

My second favorite quote I own

 "Which man is worse off? The one who tells a lie or the one who believes it?" Because I cannot control what anyone says I never think about that.

I am not really moved by anyone telling a lie about me, but I take strong exception anyone knowing me would believe it. Am I taking an offense? Maybe so, but I suddenly know I do not really have a good reason to trust them further. Definitely disappointed particularly at the my loss. But silently, under my hat, not woundedly so. Stronger? Absolutely! 

I love a good quote

.....no matter that so many great quotes are each credited to literally thousands of different people.

The first personally original quote that simply jackboxed out of me was during a friendly but excited discussion among relatives as a teenager.

"Only offensive people take offense."

It was suggested that my remarks were assuming an offense against a cousin. I chipped back that no, he would not be offended because only offensive people take offense. Did not think about, it was suddenly just there. 

Since then I've came to love it, and repeat it often as I possibly can. Who knows? Maybe I heard it before and could not remember it? Always seemed unlikely to me because it reflects an outlook I was born with since I can recall much earlier, in the fourth grade, a childhood acquaintance saying to me that, don't you know I am calling your mother a dog? To which I responded, so what? your saying it does not make it so. 

I always wondered why anyone could become so animated by anyone else just saying such and so. Honor? How did anyone assume they had control of my respect? I do not need anyone's respect. I respect myself.  I never felt responsible for what others said, about me or not about me. I am not going to waste time denying speech I do not seek to control, cannot control, or more likely never even hear.

But, forgetting all that, quotes are wonderful because they are so brief, so concise, and the best ones so darned true. The more words one employs explaining anything is just so much accumulation of muddy water. It specifically means to me that one is not clear of what they are talking about. 

By virtue of taking an offense, 

Exposes ones' offensiveness

Taking an offense indicates a weakening, having taken it. It advertises ones' resulting vulnerability. Like anger, it tells everyone they are wounded. This highlights them as a perfectly clear target for attack. The sense of blood in the air tells all rivals, instinctive among males, this weakened state is a good time to strike. 😋

The sweet chariot

Flying Low

My spirit is clearly seen flying quite low lately. Reading in Ecclesiastes can do that for one I suppose with everything reflected as meaningless. But while toil is meaningless, the writer does say our only hope for meaning comes in enjoying our toil. First glance seems to me dangerously close to a logical pattycake. But, he says the toil is meaningless while the enjoyment of it is another thing.

If the seen is beautiful
what about the unseen?

However the best verse in this book for my attention is found in the early going. It confirms my suspicion that God has placed eternity in our hearts. I am taken by this, since it is universally good to exist, by definition. This contrasts with the observation of the writer of Ecclesiastes that it is better to never have been born. There is much grief in wisdom, also my underline. As recently mentioned, I have been captured by the idea that merely the passage of time itself, good or bad, is intrinsically sad.    

Phony Sermon Redux

No blinkies for  

second pulpit talk

I witnessed this sermon. I've heard it twice. Once, and then a second time, around fifty years later, by a different pastor. Same thing in a reworked format, sad as sad any emotion can be, but in it, no mention of Jesus Christ whatever. Then like a cold shower, inexplicably,  an invitation to give your heart to Jesus. 

The first was to children, as the 11th and 12th grades were ushered out of the chapel, so they could freely vent I guess. The second, much later, was to comfortably advanced retired people. The first sermon was well responded to by the children, but the oldsters, about to enter the glorious gold mansions, never blinked an eye.