| January 18th, 2010 | Are You Doing the Good Part? |
Just compare yourself to these two sisters. Even though they were sisters, Martha and Mary, acted very differently than each other one day when Jesus was with them. Martha was busy serving all of the food while Mary sat by the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:38-42). Martha showed how upset she was at her sister. She basically asked Jesus to tell Mary to get up and help her instead of just sitting there. Jesus told her that she was careful and troubled about many things but only one part was needed and Mary had chosen that good part. Martha How does this affect you? Which one of the sisters are you acting like? Are you acting like Martha did in her hurried work for the Master? Sometimes we can be too busy to even listen to God. It’s really sad but even if you’re doing the work in a church for the Lord, you might miss the most The thing is that Martha did the work but her mind was not where it should have been. She was troubled. She was disturbed. She was stressing and thinking about how much work she was doing -which was more than someone else! She was getting more and more frustrated and She wasn’t really listening to what Jesus was saying even though she was serving Him food! Try it! Talk to someone and while you’re talking to them, have them tell you something. How much did you understand them? Did you understand what they When you’re talking to someone it’s rather difficult to hear them if they start talking to you! It’s possible sometimes to catch part of it -but if doing it in an everyday, normal way it’s even more difficult than during a short test! Prayer Yes, we ask God for a whole lot of things. He promised us a whole lot. It’s a good thing to pray a lot. We’re told in 1Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. That’s praying continually. …But we need to always remember that prayer is a two-way conversation! When you ask Father God for something, always listen for His response! Mary Mary sat and listened to what Jesus said. She wasn’t busy making sure that good food was on the table. She wasn’t mulling over hurts or building up grudges Mary wasn’t talking the whole time while hoping Jesus would yell so that she could hear Him! Mary sat and listened to what Jesus was saying so that she didn’t miss it and could live the way that He was saying… Time Have a time with the Lord so that you can know Him more and more! We spend time with other people so that we can get to know each other. How much more important is it that we spend time with God! How are we really going to get to know Him if we don’t? Read the inspired Word of God. Everything in the Bible accurately tells of Him -what He’s done, is doing, and will do for you. Don’t miss out the better part! Spend time with God and His Word everyday! Feel free to distribute this article if it is kept as is, ncluding the Resource Box at the bottom. Notification of online use is not required but I would appreciate it. Please contact the author prior to use in printed media. -Michelle Jacobson contact@seedministries.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Find out why in this 5-day mini-course! Just send a blank email to: mailto:wordpower@getresponse.com so that you can find out why right away! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 2005, SeedMinistries About the Author Michelle Jacobson is the author and webmaster Get your free taste of BibleLearningPlus eBooks- Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| January 2nd, 2010 | Absolute Truth |
Take God’s Word as an absolute Through the eyes of a fish He argues with his siblings some but they are all He doesn’t know that life outside the bowl is huge Outside the bowl When we know that His word is the truth it makes the God’s Word is the words of truth from outside the Saved It doesn’t matter what we’ve believed before. It We are moved into the kingdom of God. God made things simple for us because He loves us God’s Word Is Absolute It is completely truth. There isn’t part of it that’s a lie. You and I open ourselves up to receive the good stuff that God really When outside the fishbowl we find that God has When we read the inspired, written word of God we In doing this, you and the rest of the planet Earth Get into the Spirit inspired Word of God (the Bible). Feel free to distribute this article if it is kept as is, -Michelle Jacobson Here’s your chance! Find out why your words are so powerful quickly in this 5-day mini-course. Just send a blank email to: wordpower@getresponse.com and you’ll get yours right away! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyright 2005, SeedMinistries About the Author Michelle Jacobson is the author and webmaster at Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| November 10th, 2009 | A House of Prayer for All Peoples? |
On Simchat Torah (Festival of the Rejoicing of the Law/Last Great Day) I went up to the Temple Mount with my Bible to pray. Although I do not usually wear a kippa (skull cap), I took one with me. My first challenge was to pass the guards near the Temple Mount entrance; if they saw me with my Bible they would not let me enter. I silently prayed all the way up to the site where God’s Temple stood twice, and will be rebuilt for a third and final time, that I would be able to go in. I got past the guards. You say Jewish guards prevent Christians and Jews from exercising their religious right to pray on the Temple Mount? That’s right! Only Muslims have unlimited access to Judaism’s most holy site. Only the Koran is permitted within. The Tanach (Jewish Scripture, known to much of the world as the “Old Testament”) and Christian Scriptures (the New Testament) are forbidden. Yet Israel claims to respect the religious rights of all people. Israel has no law against Christians and Jews praying or reading scriptures on the Temple Mount. However, it does have an unwritten agreement with the Wakf (Muslim religious authorities) prohibiting this. No sign is posted, stating: “Warning! Christian and Jewish prayers are forbidden! Bibles not allowed inside by Muslim religious authorities. Proceed with caution!” I do not accept that Moslems have the authority to forbid me from reading appropriate Psalms or the New Testament account of Jesus celebrating the Water Libation Ceremony (Psalms 120-134, John 7:37). My question was, where should I read those passages? I ended up between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa mosque, just to the right of the place where Moslems wash their hands and feet. I was on the other side of the raised platform there, if you face the Mosque of Omar. First, I nervously sat and read. Then I put on my black kippa, stood up and started to read for a few minutes until I became distracted by fears of being attacked by the Moslem guards. I sat down, took off my kippa, and continued to read. Then one of the Wakf guards noticed me and asked what I was reading. I replied, “Yes, it’s my book.” He took it from me and saw that it was a Bible. He demanded to know if I was a Christian or a Jew. When I told him I was a Christian, he asked me why I was wearing a magen David (Star of David). I did not feel obligated to explain that it was a gift from my mother and youngest sister, and told him, “Give back my Bible.” He ordered, “You have to leave now!” Again I said, “Give back my Bible.” When he refused, I demanded its return more loudly. He raised his fist as if to hit me and warned me not to raise my voice. This attracted the attention of some passing tourists, who gathered around us. I told them, “This thief has stolen my Bible!” The Wakf guard told me to leave again and threatened to hit me. He said he would give me back my Bible outside. Since there was no reason for him to confiscate it in the first place, I told him to return it to me then and there and I would go. At this point he radioed an Israeli policeman, who came running. The Israeli handcuffed my right hand, which I raised and showed to the assembled tourists, saying, “This is Israeli democracy!” I asked the Israeli repeatedly, “What law have I broken?” knowing that I had not broken any law, yet was being treated like a common criminal. I am shocked that Jewish police in the Jewish State help maintain Moslem domination of the Temple Mount by suppressing Christian and Jewish religious rights there. Is it the Temple Mount or the Mosque Mount? An Israeli policeman led me away. I told the bewildered tourists, “This is what happens to a Christian or Jew who wants to read the Bible where the holy Temple stood. This is what happens to Christians and Jews who want to pray where our prophets and patriarchs prayed, and where Jesus and his disciples taught.” Why the exclusive religious rights for Moslems? And Israel wants to hand over control of Rachel’s Tomb, Bethlehem and Joseph’s Tomb to Moslem religious authorities?! Are they crazy or what? In the police station at the Western Wall Plaza, the officers wanted to know who else was with me. They were relieved to find that I was alone. (They should have known I was performing a mitzva [religious commandment]). The police said they arrested me for my own protection. I told them they should have arrested the Wakf guard who threatened me! Why not remove, once and for all, the threat of Moslem violence? Why reward Moslem extremists? The police laughed in disbelief when I told them I am a Christian and that my Bible includes the New Testament, which they returned to me. A Druze officer said, “But you must respect other religions.” He remained silent when I asked, “Where was their respect for mine?” I explained that our Biblical goal is to enable everyone to come and pray on the mountain where God’s Temple stood, and in the Temple when it will be rebuilt. It is prophesied to become a “House of Prayer” for all nations. The police told me I could return to the Temple Mount as a tourist - without my Bible. I said that I do not want to go up there only as a “tourist;” I want to pray there. When they asked me how many times I had been up there, I said “a thousand.” They wrote that down in their report. They said I could make a short statement for the record. I said something to this effect: “Is it too much to ask during this 3,000th anniversary of King David’s Jerusalem to peacefully read his inspired words on the Temple Mount?” When I left the police compound, one of the policemen told me I did a good thing. Once outside, I was met by some Jews who saw the incident and congratulated me. I pray that this unfortunate encounter will raise awareness of Israel’s religious discrimination against Christians and Jews. The situation must change. It will when enough people cry “Basta!” (Italian for “enough!”). May the day soon come when Christians, Jews and Moslems can say: “My House shall be called a house of prayer for all Peoples.” (Isaiah 56:7). The Bible says “Moreover, concerning the stranger, who (is) not of Your people Israel, but comes out of a far country for Your Name’s sake. For they shall hear of Your great Name, and of your mighty hand, and of Your outstretched arm, and will come and pray toward this house. Hear you in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calls to You for, that all peoples of the earth may know Your Name, to fear you, as (do) Your people Israel, that they may know that Your Name is called upon this house that I have built.” (I Kings 8:41-43) “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to serve Him and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants - everyone who observes the Sabbath - I will bring them to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” (Isaiah 56:6-7) “And it shall come to pass at the end of days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established at the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and peoples shall flow to it. And many nations shall go, and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths,’ for out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Micah 4:1-2) (This article was published in the Jerusalem-based, Root and Branch Association newsletter, January 1996.) About the Author David Ben-Ariel, an American author who has travelled widely and who has lived throughout Israel, shares a special focus on the Middle East and great interest in Jerusalem, reflected in hard-hitting articles that help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out www.benariel.com Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| February 26th, 2009 | Resurrection Faith (Part 3) |
During His ministry, Jesus often made references to His impending death but the disciples, apparently so consumed with their own agenda for Jesus, missed the meaning of Jesus’ words. Thus, when He was crucified, it caught them totally off guard. They could not comprehend what had happened. They were confused, hurt, utterly discouraged, depressed and defeated. All the Gospels testify to the depressed, unexpectant mood of the disciples after Jesus’ death. The women who went to the tomb prepared to embalm Jesus’ body were obviously expecting Jesus’ body to be there and were thoroughly discombobulated when they discovered He was not there. Two men appeared to them and reminded them that Jesus had risen just as He had foretold. Luke tells us that when the women told the disciples of their experience at the tomb and that Jesus had risen, the disciples thought they were talking foolishness (24:11). Matthew states that on the occasion of Christ’s meeting with His followers in Galilee, they saw Him and some still doubted (18:17). Yet, it is exactly because the disciples did not understand Jesus, confused by His death and not expecting the resurrection that we know that something dramatic and earth shattering had to have taken place to create in them a faith that believed Jesus was alive - resurrection faith. Christians everywhere believe and affirm that what happened was the disciples personal eye witness of the risen Lord. Even though the disciples (and others) did not actually see Jesus rise from the tomb; they did not see His mortal physical body transformed and rise as immortal and spiritual and they do not make this claim. But, what they do claim is that they did see Him after He had risen. And it is because they saw Him as the risen Christ that their lives were changed; so much so that they were willing to sacrifice their lives in His name and for His sake. The apostle Paul hangs the entire corpus of Christian truth and eschatological hope on the factuality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some disbelievers in the resurrection suggest the plausibility of one being able to doubt the historical actuality of the resurrection and still believe in God as the creator and sustainer of the world. However, Paul fiercefully maintains that if Jesus in not raised, we are misrepresenting God; in fact, the entire Bible is misrepresenting God. If Jesus is not raised: - Redemptive history ends in a cul-de-sac. Without the living Jesus Christ, the Christian faith would have been destroyed by the crucifixion and in the return of the apostles to the synagogue and to Judaism all of His teachings would have been buried under the rubble of oblivion. But as people witnessed the resurrection, something happened to them. Something happened to create a faith so strong that men and women were willing to devote their lives to preaching Christ Jesus, by any means necessary and whatever the personal cost. Peter, who denied Him three times, stood outside the upper room preaching Christ boldly. James, the skeptic, assumed a position of leadership in the Jerusalem church. He was transformed from a non-believer to a believer. Nicodemus who approached Jesus at midnight desiring to know what he must do to be saved, now proclaims, “This must have been the Son of God.” Thomas, who refused to believe unless he saw Jesus for himself, after seeing Him cried out, “My Lord and my God.” Lives were and are changed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus stepped forth from the grave, leaving the grave clothes behind. He stepped out in new life, in new strength, and in new power. Christian believers accept the Biblical witness to the resurrection, not because of logical proof; not because of historical reasoning but because of an inner testimony of the gospel. Our faith is not in history - but in God who acts in history. The Christian faith is resurrection faith.  Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available in July. Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| February 26th, 2009 | Fiction Meets Spirituality and Science |
Fiction Meets Spirituality and Science Author Interview with Kevin D. McMahon, Garments of Skin: A Genomic Apocalypse, Book 1 by Lisa M. Hendey Kevin McMahon is first and foremost a teacher, family man, and a deeply spiritual person. In his spare time, he has written and published two books. Kevin’s writing came to my attention when I heard him speak recently at a writing conference. Although his topic related to the process of print-on-demand publishing, it was the fascinating subject matter of his novel Garments of Skin: A Genomic Apocalypse, Book 1 that caught and held my attention. Garments of Skin tackles timely technological issues, weaving ethics and science into a book that is at once instructional and entertaining. Scientifically-challenged readers like me need not shy away from the book due to the inclusion of the word “genomic” in the title. McMahon’s teaching skills and fantastic creativity make this book highly readable. In our world, advances in reproductive and medical technology continue at a lightening pace. This makes McMahon’s book relevant to today’s ethical dilemmas and pose pressing questions about what the future may hold. Kevin McMahon shared the following thoughts with me on his book and the writing and publication process. Q: Please tell our readers a bit about yourself and your family. I met my wife, Janice, while we were both attending an Evangelical church. We have two daughters, Megan and Breanna. Megan is currently in college and plans on becoming a high school English teacher. Breanna is at the school where I teach, Reseda Science Magnet. About ten years ago my wife and I left our Evangelical church and started attending a local Catholic church. A few years after that we converted to Orthodoxy and now attend Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Northridge, California. Q: Please briefly describe the plot of Garments of Skin. The book is a little bit like Frankenstein in that Shelly was attempting to write about the potential consequences of the hubris of human nature as it manifest itself in science. My book, of course, is an updated version of this Promethian tale in that it deals with what happens when man attempts to take the divine fire of life from the heavens, or as I state it in Biblical terms, when he breaks through the fiery sword guards the Tree of Life. So I approach the whole issue of the stem-cell debate a little differently, that is, I move beyond the ethical debate into the ontological side of things. Just as the sin of Adam and Eve had an ontological consequence on human nature I am suggesting that the application of embryonic stem-cells may alter the very nature of humanity. To explain this I employ the Eastern Christian (Orthodox) theology of the garments of skin. I should add though, that unlike Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which ends in fear and despair my book focuses on hope and redemption. Q: What prompts a high school science teacher to take on the task of writing a religious thriller? From where did the idea for this book originate? As a science teacher in public school I deal with a default setting that tends to not consider the moral content of scientific progress, or if consideration is given, more often than not, students and colleagues tend to take a utilitarian approach. What I have found however, is a surprising degree of openness when I have discussed with students and fellow teachers issues such as stem-cell research from a thoughtful, Christian perspective. But it takes time to develop persuasive arguments and often people don’t have the time, or want to think that hard or long about a subject. As a result I thought that perhaps such people could be persuaded if they were offered the information in an entertaining manner. Consequently, this book was written not for the “choir” but for a secular audience and thus far I have had more nonreligious people reading the book and giving me favorable reviews of it than even religious folk. I am gratified by this but I believe a religious audience would also enjoy and benefit my Genomic Apocalypse series. Now as for where I get my ideas–that is almost a mystery to me. I might have to refer you to the Muses or to the writings of the Orthodox philosopher, Nicholi Berdyaev, who spoke of dipping into the deep nothingness of our own hearts to create, like God, ex nihilo, that is, from nothing. I guess this is just a fancy way of saying, I really don’t know where the ideas come from. Q: What kind of research did you undertake in writing this book? There were three areas of research that this book required. Obviously there is the science part–the stem-cell business. That part wasn’t too difficult given that I have degrees in biological sciences. Then there were the theological and philosophical aspects of the story. I read numerous books on these topics, again mostly Eastern Orthodox theology. Finally, I researched geo-political topics as the type of biotechnological breakthrough I wrote about would inevitably have enormous consequences world-wide. Q: How does your faith impact your writing? Did you ever consider writing this book without the religious element? My faith is so interwoven with who I am I cannot even imagine how I could write a book without it slipping in someway–although perhaps I could slip it in more subtly. Maybe someday I will. For me, I try to express my Christian faith in all I do–I see little difference between my life at Church, my life at home with my family, my life as a public school teacher, or as a writer. Q: Do you resemble any of the characters in this book? Do any of them have a basis in real people you know? Goodness, I suspect that the people in my book are either better or worse than I am–I’m probably somewhere between a Maria and an Obermann! Do any of the characters resemble people I’ve known? I think so. My first years as a teacher was in East Los Angeles–I’ve known a few Maria’s: very bright, attractive young ladies who were drawn into gang life and who were sometimes extracted by the help of others, like the math teacher who helped get Maria out of the barrio. I’ve also known a few McIntyre’s–great men of God who always stood firm in the face of adversity. It seems to me that technological advances have greatly complicated medical and technological ethics questions. What forecast do you have for these types of advances and how can Christians and ethicists keep pace and respond to our changing world? As far as the first part of your question, I started writing this book around 1998 and I have since then witnessed about half of what I have written about already come to pass. If I were to play the prophet I would say that it is inevitable that almost everything in the book, technologically, will happen. I am sure some people will find that hard to believe but just wait–it will happen within our life-time. Now as far as what Christians need to do–first, they must know their faith. They must be grounded in their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. This becomes the touchstone upon which they can deduce the answers to all ethical dilemmas. Of course, I would suggest they buy my book–they’ll get the information they need and will enjoy learning it at the same time! Q: I know that you took a non-traditional path toward the publication of this book. What advice do you have for authors who have a desire to share their message in book format but may not be finding success in publication? Frankly, I never really sought a traditional path. I am a full time teacher–that’s my real job; writing is a hobby. I didn’t want to go through the expense, hassle, and the emotional roller-coaster associated with trying to get my book published in a “traditional” manner. Also, my topic is so “hot off the press” so-to-speak that I wanted my ideas out there quickly. I thought this would be a good way to do it. Finally, I think you will find that more and more authors are going to turn to print-on-demand and other “nontraditional” means of publication. My advice for those who want to go the way I did is that you should find someone to help you edit your book because most big publishing houses will work with you on that whereas if you publish yourself you are on your own. Secondly, be prepared for the long haul when it comes to getting your book out there and known. You have to be aggressive and push the book in people’s faces. I find that the most difficult part of the whole process. Q: What is the key to successfully completing a work of fiction? How did you overcome obstacles that came up along your writing path? First of all, I think you need to know where you want to go, what’s the end game of the story. Then let the end draw you. Along the way your characters are drawn to this end, and as they are drawn to whatever the end is for them they need to change authentically– they must be real, believable, and interesting people. I think most readers want to read about interesting people and how they respond and change to circumstances. And in this sense, the story line is secondary to the characters. Readers like to identify with characters and wonder what they would do under similar circumstances. The biggest obstacles I faced were either being tired (since I had to write late in the evening) and feeling that my head was a block of wood (ie, not feeling very creative). To this I would recommend–write any way. You can edit it or throw it out altogether, but you can’t edit or throw out nothing so if you fancy yourself a writer you have to write even when you don’t feel like it or feel particularly creative. Q: Do you have any future writing projects? Yes, I have already written and published Book II of the Genomic Apocalypse series, The Daughter of Abraham. I need to start working on Book III, but I started writing a book on theology and epistemology. I hope to have that done in a year so that I can get to Book III. Q: Are there any additional thoughts or comments you’d like to share? Yes, I like to thank you for taking the time to read my book and ask me these probing questions. Finally, if any of your readers would like to reach me they can contact me at kevindmcmahon@yahoo.com For more information on Garments of Skin visit http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1413474241/catholicmomcom Lisa M. Hendey is a mother of two sons, webmaster of numerous web sites, including http://www.catholicmom.com and http://www.christiancoloring.com, and an avid reader of Catholic literature. Visit her at http://www.lisahendey.com for more information. Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| February 11th, 2009 | Swimming Upstream |
Swimming Upstream “I am alone and I am searching Hungering for answers in my time I am balanced at the brink of wisdom I’m impatient to receive a sign I move forward with my senses open Imperfection it be my crime In humility I will listen We’re all swimming to the other side . . .” >From “Swimming to the Other Side” by Pat Humphries, © 1992 Moving Forward Music May be heard on the Faerie Goddess CD, Elaine Silver vocals Used with permission. I have been a practicing witch for more than thirty years, and up until very recently, I had believed that I had a fair understanding of my religion. I was wrong. Most of the world’s religions today are “faith-based,” meaning that they require a belief in an intangible deity or principle from their adherents. In contrast, most Pagan religions tend to be experiential in nature. As a wonderful acquaintance of mine likes to say, “‘Works for me’ has a rather special meaning for witches.” He’s right. My own particular Pagan faith (and there are many), which happens to be Wicca, relies very heavily on observation of the world we live in. Our deities are male and female because we observe that it takes male and female to create life in nature. Most of our practices center around the changing seasons, the waxing and waning moon, changes in our own consciousness - all things we can see and taste and feel around us. That being said, it is truly amazing how easily we can ignore what we see and know. Wicca was at one time an honest attempt to recreate the ancient religion of northern European tribes, a religion which was practiced for something on the order of 25,000 years. It isn’t a perfect reconstruction, of course. Too much has been lost. But what we do know has astonishing similarities to other faiths all across the world. My fellow witches will probably want to burn me at the stake for saying this, but we have strong similarities even to Christianity. Like Christianity, Wiccans are splintered into many sects. All Wiccan sects acknowledge a Goddess and a God. All Wiccan sects revere the Goddess. The treatment of the God, however, can vary all the way from equality with the Goddess to little more than a cosmic sperm donor. The latter sort of sect often appeals to women who have been bruised by a society shaped by 5,000 years of brutal patriarchy and patriarchal religions that only permit female spirituality behind the walls of a convent. Feminine sexuality and motherhood are not permitted to those with a Christian spiritual calling. “There were those who came to power Through domination They were bonded in their worship Of a dead man on a cross They sought control Of the common people By demanding allegiance To the Church of Rome “And the Pope he commenced The Inquisition It was a war against the women Whose power he feared In this holocaust In this age of evil Nine million European women they died . . .” >From “The Burning Times” by Charlie Murphey © 1991 Bal Music, LTD May be heard on the Faerie Goddess CD, Elaine Silver vocals Used with permission. Small wonder that many women can find no spiritual home in Christianity! Wiccan practices are based on the “Wheel of the Year,” with four major festivals on fixed dates, four lesser festivals at the solstices and equinoxes, and sometimes minor festivals centering around phases of the moon. During this spiritual year, the Goddess changes but does not die. Our God weds the Goddess at Litha (summer solstice, on or about June 21st), then casts Himself into the fire at Lugnasagh (August 1st) to ensure the fruitfulness of the land for his pregnant wife. He is crowned King of the Dead at Samhain (October 31st) and is born again into the world as the infant Sun God born to the Goddess at Yule (the winter solstice - on or about December 21st). Sounds similar to Christianity, doesn’t it? The concept of a God who sacrifices Himself for the world He loves and is born again? The concept is also common to Persian Mithras and to many other faiths. This is not coincidence. Nor is it coincidence that the rebirth of the God takes place at the winter solstice. With time, intermarriage, and cultural exchanges - not to mention the constant and often bloody Christian efforts to convert and “save” the “heathen” (heathen means person of the heath, or country person) - the lines between a great many religions have become increasingly blurred. Trying to learn the truth can become a puzzle of sorts, searching for points in common. Of course, historical “TRUTH” in capital letters doesn’t mean a great deal to Wiccans, which is one of the sources of Christian discomfort with us. For Wiccans, the only meaningful cosmic truth is one which works. Anything which makes us better human beings is “truth.” The rest is meaningless. We don’t have to believe. We aren’t about faith. We seek out spiritual practices which help us to grow and develop, and we tend to experiment spiritually and ritually far more than our Christian brothers and sisters. Most Christian sects actually discourage such experimentation, and some even forbid it, which is another reason why we are shunned and feared. Wiccans are secure in the knowledge that we have however long it takes for us to achieve spiritual enlightenment. We are not limited to one lifetime, which is why the word “salvation” has a tendency to make a Wiccan chuckle. We have no need of it, nor ever will, as we are not now and never were lost. Our view of time is quite different. But as a result of the backlash against patriarchy, much of the best of our religion is often forgotten or ignored. I propose that this has been a mistake. I initially found my way into Wicca as a teenaged rape survivor, and the sect I found my way into at the time was of the “cosmic sperm donor” variety. All of the emphasis was on the feminine. In all honesty, it was what I needed at the time, and it helped me to heal. It didn’t take long, however, for me to realize that my rejection of the masculine was just as wrong and unfair as Christianity’s rejection of the feminine. So I “converted” to another sect, as it were, and I remain there to this day. It is a sect in which men and women celebrate side by side. and physical sex has been restored to the joyful activity it should always have been. “Balance” is a basic tenet of wisdom. Nevertheless, I was fooling myself. All of these years, I feared masculinity, or ignored it, or detested it, or enjoyed it on a purely physical level - but I never honestly tried to understand it or to cherish it in myself. We are all of us part male and part female, and we need to understand both sides of our natures to achieve our fullest potential. The popular image (if your name isn’t Bob Barr) of a practicing witch is that of a tree hugger. We tend to be conservationists, even to the point of being more than a bit impractical about it, and we are almost invariably animal lovers. We are nurturers. We cherish all life. I’m up to my backside in spoiled animals myself, having four cats and a four-month old German Shepherd pup that have my heart firmly in thrall. I couldn’t change that if I wanted to, and I certainly don’t want to. That is the feminine aspect of my deity, and I am proud and delighted to be a woman right down to my toenails. But that isn’t all that I am. I am also Homo sapiens, proud descendant of thousands of generations of hunter-gatherer tribesmen. We need to remind ourselves that Wicca was the religion of an extremely robust hunter-gatherer culture. Humans have been hunter-gathers for 99.9% of our history, and many of the world’s ills today can be traced to our efforts to change that. As an animal lover, I have always abhorred hunting, but much of that feeling comes from being a city girl. The hunters I knew for most of my life, including one unlamented ex-husband, bought six or eight cases of beer every year, drove out to a deer lease where they got drunk out of their minds and shot up the woods, and a very, very few stayed sober enough to hit something besides each other and came home with a grisly trophy to hang on the wall. The vast majority didn’t even know what venison tasted like, and would be honestly horrified at the idea of trying to cook it. City hunters, and their lack of respect for life, appalled me - and they still do. Hunting horrified me so much as a teenager that I even tried earnestly to become a vegetarian, and damned nearly killed myself with malnutrition in the process. I held a sneaking suspicion that vegetarianism was the only truly decent way to live, and eating meat from the supermarket was a dirty little secret addiction. I don’t have that luxury anymore. Wicca is about observation, and my body dropped some pretty major observations on me - with the weight of a good-sized anvil - about four years ago. Chief among them was that if I kept eating agricultural products - namely sugars and starches - I was going to die. Cut and dried. Eating meat was no longer a matter of choice. Wicca is about observation. My only choice to restore my health was to accept some pretty unpalatable observations, beginning with the fact that I am a carnivore. And so are you, if you are Homo sapiens. You cannot escape it, and you have not evolved beyond it. The very worst thing that ever happened to your health was the development of agriculture. Unless you were actually engaged in the back-breaking labors of planting and/or harvest, you became sedentary, because crops tie you to one place. And if you are honest enough to hold your diet to your beliefs, you almost certainly eat foods that range from the merely very bad for you to the outright poisonous. And no, I am not joking. Most legumes are quite dangerous if not handled properly, yet they are touted by medical science as being the most “healthy” source of protein! In addition, higher brain development requires the longer chain proteins available only from a meat diet. ADHD was almost unknown to our hunter-gatherer ancestors. You say you do eat meat? Really? Abhorring hunting while going to the store to buy your steaks is just about the ultimate in self-deception. I no longer have the luxury of self-deception. I couldn’t resolve this conflict for myself and achieve any personal comfort level at all until I moved to the country and met a different kind of hunter - the hunter who hunts for meat, and prunes the cherished herd with care. A real hunter kills quickly and cleanly. His enjoys testing his abilities in the woods and pitting his intelligence against that of his prey, but he takes no pleasure in cruelty. Naturally, he enjoys the fruits of the hunt, often feeding his family for weeks or months on the meat. If he takes a trophy, it is secondary in importance to the meat unless the prey was at least as dangerous as man. Such a hunter often has more respect for the life he harvests than many who claim to have never harmed a housefly or a spider, and I count several such as my close and respected friends today. Still doubtful? Are you Wiccan? Have you ever listened - really listened - to the drums? Can you honestly tell me that your heart does not pound, that you cannot feel the rush of blood in your veins echoing the running of the King Stag with the Horned Hunter close on his heels? If you are a man, do you know the wild joy of testing yourself against the most difficult thing you can imagine - and winning? If you are a woman, have you never tasted the tenderness and violence of a man who wore his antlers with pride? Have any of you, man or woman, held that big, heavy rifle in your hands and taken astonished pride in actually hitting that little bitty target that seemed so many miles away? When the God stretches out His hand to you, do you join in the dance? The God has as much place in our lives as the Goddess. The wild woods, the rampant sexuality, the playfulness and the courage are all woven into His dance. We dance with Him when we fly, when we skydive or scuba dive, when we race cars and boats - and yes, when we hunt. If we leave the dance behind, we also leave behind that which makes us human. To do it, we must give up courage, and we must give up joy. If we do that, we might as well be dead. Wicca is about attuning oneself to the rhythms of nature. Wicca is about reaching way down deep in our genetic heritage and finding the courage to become what we truly are, what our loving Creators always meant for us to be. Wicca is about tasting the full measure of what life has to offer. There can be no compromise here. Anything less is swimming upstream against Nature, back-breaking, heartbreaking and ultimately doomed to failure. My decision to taste the hunt was not an easy one, but it is made. I am eagerly waiting for the first freeze this year. Two of my most trusted friends have promised to take me on a wild pig hunt (I hate venison, and I love pork). I know I am a good shot, but I have never killed anything more sentient than a paper target. I honestly don’t know if I will have the strength or courage to pull that trigger, which is why I am grateful for their backup - as I do know that wild pig is very, very dangerous. But if I can work up my courage enough to do it, that pork will taste better than any other meat I have ever eaten. I will have earned it with my own skill and my own courage. My mouth is already watering, just thinking about it. What are you having for dinner tonight? “When we get there we’ll discover All of the gifts we’ve been given to share Have been with us since life’s beginning And we never noticed they were there We can balance at the brink of wisdom Never recognizing that we’ve arrived Loving spirits will live together We’re all swimming to the other side . . .” >From “Swimming to the Other Side” by Pat Humphries © 1992 Moving Forward Music May be heard on the Faerie Goddess CD, Elaine Silver vocals Used with permission. Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| February 11th, 2009 | How to Leverage Your Fund Raising Ideas |
Learn how to easily optimize your fund raising ideas — whether for school fund raising, church fund raising, charity work, non profit organizations, or business - that require minimal effort but produce maximum monetary rewards. Leverage is a fairly simple concept. According to Webster, leverage “…provides an increased means to accomplish some purpose…” Applied to fund raising ideas, leverage provides an increased resource that optimally maximizes fund raising efforts, consequently optimally maximizing the desired financial revenue. Let’s use a typical school fund raising idea as an example. The school decides to use a company to provide candy bars for their annual fund raising event. The company then provides the school, who, in turn, provides the students with candy bars to sell. Students lug their boxes of candy bars home and then sell them to family, friends, and neighbors. On a set date, the school expends time and resources to collect monies from the students’ efforts, and awards prizes to those producing the most sales. Once the school fund raising event is over, the school forwards to the company a portion of their acquired monies from sales, however, no further income from that project is expected or received by the school. The company providing the candy, however, has employed a form of leverage to promote their sales by utilizing the school’s and students’ time and efforts. The company has also doubled their leverage, as the school will probably return the following year to host another school fund raising event. The company may even triple their leverage when the school recommends this fund raising idea to other schools. Note: The school, unfortunately, has not experienced leverage with their fund raising idea, although the school and the students have expended a lot more time and work than the company did. How can a school, charity, non profit organization, church, or business implement leverage in their fund raising ideas or efforts? And more importantly, how can they optimally maximize their leverage? The goal would be to develop a fund raising idea that provides not only immediate income, but also residual income. Not only will the time and effort expended in the fund raising project be maximized, but the financial rewards will be maximized as well. How can that be done? Well, you will need to think “outside the box” with your fund raising ideas. Here are a few tips: Find a product or service that every household uses or will use on a daily basis. Avoid products that require inventory Search the Internet or brainstorm for products or services that provide residual (continuous or self perpetuating) income for your time and effort. Closely examine the compensation plans offered with these products or services. Here’s a little tip on compensation plans - the bottom line to your desired financial rewards: Look for compensation plans offering payouts to your organization by incorporating these three areas: weekly payout monthly residual (continuous) payout annual bonuses Compensation plans that combine these three areas are quite often easily identified in plans that include a simple “binary” system. A binary provides you an opportunity to exponentially maximize your efforts and payouts (leverage), especially if the binary goes to infinity vertically. Note: In order for a binary not to be considered a “pyramid”, it must offer a product or service beyond “qualifying” for the compensation plan. A compensation plan with a 2 x 2 binary, simply means that once you agree to join and promote a product or service, only 2 others (one known as your “left leg” and the other known as your “right leg”) are needed to establish your binary when they purchase the product or service directly from you. Quite often, your 2 customers for the service or product are used to “qualify” you in order to receive monetary compensation. Of course, these 2 individuals now provide what is known as the beginning of a “downline” for the product or service you have selected for fund raising. Your “downline” increases as the two legs on each of your customers becomes filled, and the two legs from each of their customers fills and increases, and so on. The grand daddy of binary systems is the 2 x 2 “no flush” binary. This simply means there is no limit to the amount of customers that can be placed under your right leg or left leg, and therefore no limit to the amount of monetary compensation. Typically this implies that there is absolutely no limit to the number of customers in your downline’s customers either. Super leverage! Extraordinary leverage is achieved when discovering a binary as suggested above that also incorporates spillover from your upline (those above you in the binary) - the combination of which exponentially increases your monetary compensation. Generally, these types of binary systems subscribe to a 1/3 - 2/3 rule, wherein you maintain control of positioning which side the customers will fall in your downline, e.g., 1/3 under your left leg, and 2/3 under your right leg, or vice versa. The Bottom Line: To optimally leverage not only your time and effort, but exponentially leverage your monetary compensation, you only need a fund raising idea that is based on these two simple precepts: A product or service used by every household on a daily basis, or will be used on a daily basis A product or service that hosts a compensation plan using a 2 x 2 no flush binary which incorporates 3 income streams: weekly, monthly residual, and annual payouts Want a simple recommendation for a product and service that will be used daily in every household whose compensation plan includes weekly, monthly residual, and annual payouts for your fund raising event? Visit: http://www.free-pc-phone.com **Attn Ezine editors / Site owners ** Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above. Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| January 23rd, 2009 | Hell-”And Others Save With Fear” |
Hell.”And others save with fear.” Hell and the hereafter. The season for forgiveness is almost over, the times of the gentiles is almost fulfilled, the reign of the non-Jew is almost finished. Sense the fall of Israel, the gentiles have ruled this world in its manner, making, laws and judgments according to their limited knowledge of God and His word. Leaning upon their own understanding. The times of the gentiles has been a time of wars and rumors of wars, a time of desiese and unholyness, a time of changeing the truth of Gods word into a lie, a misconception, a time of false religions and doctrine, and all of this in the name of freedom of religion. If you’ve noticed, in the times after the Bible had been written, very little has been heard of Israel and its people, untill the reistablishment of the Jewish nation. Now every where you turn, Israel has been in the spotlight. So what’s next for the gentiles? Judgment after ones death. For death waits for no-one, its inevitable and unrelenting. Believing in God and Christ is an individual matter but just believing in God is not enough for ones salvation. Paul stated that; He held to the doctrine that we are justified by faith; James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. No one forces you to believe, no one forces you to worship, but remember that no-one forces God to forgive. Isaiah, Daniel, and many others in scripture, believed in Hell. Many also believed in Hell, who do not believe in God. In scripture, Hell, is symbolized as a Pit. Isa 14:15-22; Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell( Inferno region, pit, neither region, perdition) to the sides of the pit(Cavern, Whole). They that see thee shall narrowly(In a narrow manner, not allowing for exceptions.) look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?” Speech in Hell is documented by scripture, showing feelings of, pain, suffering, regret and dis-allusion-ment. All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house. But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned. Prepare slaughter for his children(Armageddon)(The un-believers, the Lost) for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.( This statement proves that the Earth shall be rebuilt and be inhabited by others that will be forced to worship the True God.) (Zec 14:17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.) For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the Lord. (All men shall die, no one shall be spared, there shall be wailing, greaving and gnashing of teeth, the Lord shall be triumphant over all.) Isa 13:11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance(Overbearing, haughty, pride, domineering, snobbish.) of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. Isa 13:8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Eze 32:23 Whose graves are set in the sides of the pit, and her company is round about her grave: all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which caused terror in the land of the living. Isa 38:18 For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. Luk 16:23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Luke 16:24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Job.10:21-22, Isa.14:9. The following circumstances are related of it in this parable: That they will “know” that they are there is certain; but we are not to suppose that they will be so near together as to be seen, or as to make conversation possible. These circumstances mean that there will be “a separation,” and that the wicked in hell will be conscious that the righteous, though on earth they were poor or despised, will be in heaven. Heaven and hell will be far from each other, and it will be no small part of the misery of the one that it is far and forever removed from the other.(Unquote.) Ref.; The suffering Mat.13:42, Mat.13:50, Mat.22:12, Mat.22:13, Mat.24:51, Mat.25:30; Luk.13:28; 2Pe.2:4, 2Pe.2:17; Jud.1:13. No Escape from Hell, Luk.12:59; Psa.50:22; Mat.25:46; Joh.3:36; 2Th.1:9; Rev.20:10, Rev.22:11  Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries. A.R.Smith Sermons International. http://www.ourchurch.com/a/arsmithsermons Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| January 14th, 2009 | It’s Not About Me… Or You, Either! |
In his book The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren tells us clearly that life here is not about “us” but about God. Have you ever heard people ask, “Why does God allow suffering?” or “I can’t believe that if there is a God that He’d be so cruel.” My personal favorite is “Why did God do this to me? I deserve better!” Hey, make no mistake about it–Mother Teresa was considered by many to be a very good person. She cared for the poor, totally changed her life, lived in poverty–you name it. In fact, we could all pretty much agree that Mother Teresa was “better than all of us” on the “good” scale. Yet Mother Teresa knew that she needed grace. Y’see, if Mother Teresa is better than you or me, and Mother Teresa needed grace, what does that say about you and me? God doesn’t “have it out for you” and He’s not trying to make our lives hard. The “why” may not be answered until we get to heaven! But I know this much… God did not create us so that He could serve us. Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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| January 4th, 2009 | The Temple of Love Unites Christianity Islam and Judaism Under God of Mount Sinai |
In case you hadn’t noticed because you were too busy watching Michael Jackson moonwalk on the roof of his car, or dangling his new baby upside down off the top balcony of the Paris Hilton, the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian people are currently engaged in a World War against each other. The Muslim 911 was the first shot. In retaliation the President of the United States announced that he was launching a Crusade. As every Muslim person knows, the Crusades were a thousand years ago when the Pope marched his Christian Army across Europe, massacring every Jew in their way, until they stood knee deep in Muslim blood in Jerusalem, reclaiming the Holy Land. So far the President of the United States has conquered Afghanistan and Iraq, and is now threatening Syria and Iran. Meanwhile the President of Iran is leading hundreds of thousands of Muslims through the streets of Iran chanting, “Death to America, Death to Israel”, and threatening to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth. We are now escalating rapidly into the Apocalypse, the sudden violent end of life on Earth forever. As every scientist on Earth knows, Nuclear World War 3 will have exactly zero survivors. So, what do we do now? Well, the obvious answer is that the Muslim Christian and Jewish people make Peace among themselves. The Temple of Love goes further. It actually unites Christianity Islam Judaism and Everyone else by tying us together with our common threads and resolving all of our differences. If you want to write a pop song, like the King of Pop, first compose a few catchy melodies for your verse, bridge, and chorus. Then liberally sprinkle in these lyrics: “Love, Fly, Set me Free, Love, Love, Love, Love, Fly High, Set me Free, Love, Love, and Love.” Then get Madonna, aka Esther to sing it. Love her. If you want to write a Gospel song, then follow part “A” above, then liberally sprinkle in these lyrics: “God, Lord, God, Lord, I love you, Love, God, Love, You are my Love, my Lord, my God.” What we seem to have on Earth today is an overabundance of Pop and Gospel songs, and Hatred, and an intense lack of Love among the 3 children of God of Mount Sinai, aka Jesus, Allah, and Elohim. Lets fix that now before we vaporize all of our I Pods. Imagine a picture in your mind, or draw it: At the top of this picture there is a group of people who all believe in God. Underneath picture a group of people who all also believe that there is only One God, God of Mount Sinai, who handed the 10 commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai 3,200 years ago. Underneath there is a group of people who all also believe that the 10 commandments, laws, rules of their God of Mount are the Divine Constitution of the Universe. Now, draw a line under that last group. What do we have? Voila! We have every Christian, every Muslim, and every Jew on Earth today, 3 billion people, in the same group, members of a brand new Religion of God of Mount Sinai, The Temple of Love, aka The Temple of 10ve, 10vers, suddenly loving each other! So, what is dividing us? Well, underneath the line you drew in your pictures, place your 3 Holy Bibles, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Koran, each commanding you all to massacre each other. So what do we do with them? Well, using your common sense the answer is obvious - we set them aside to survive. This was all the plan of the Jewish born Rabbi, the Messiah of Christianity and Islam, Jesus Christ, upon his return, not to mention the plan of your God of Mount Sinai, through every single Biblical Prophet. It is written and so it is. See for yourself what is really written, in an entertaining and educational format, with Biblical citations, at The Temple of Love, http://www.thetempleoflove.com Posted in House Of Religion | Comments Off
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