Things that don't happen

Nobody gets to live forever, at least not in the same form. So what's the point of this life anyway? You might just as well call it the art of dying for all its pertinent directionality; it is, more or less, a philosophical entropy of sorts….we see things happening one way all the time and never the other way and wouldn't it just shock the hell out of us to see the laws of Thermodynamics violated before our very eyes?? To see the coffee in your cup spontaneously cool down and begin to swirl around… to see one end of a spoon heat up while the other cooled off simultaneously or to feel all of the air in a room suddenly rush to one corner and just stay there. All of these non-events do not surprise us in their absence because we have grown accustomed to a certain rigid set of physical rules and so we have at the same time grown apathetic or unobservant of the obvious implication that they must be violated somewhere for them to be upheld here. If you are a true believer in the almighty equal sign, the same one that makes the science of equation analysis possible, you know that someone, somewhere, over the rainbow is breaking all the rules with reckless abandon.

We allege that the same holds true for graphic truisms in mathematical concept. Everything that is described in the upper right hand quadrant is tangible and passes the test of reality and therefore gains our acceptance and yet none of it could ever exist with out the other three quadrants that are not tangible, or at least not tangible to us.Ergo it is the ultimate in conceited intellect that describes itself as the human mind because it is relentlessly rejecting what must be accepted while at the same time conjuring up that which cannot possibly be. When you stop to think about it for a moment it is amazing that we have not yet consumed ourselves with our own fragility, stupidity and ignorance. [but hey give it some time ] Maybe that is, in and of itself, proof that somebody out there somewhere has put up a great cosmic parapet so that we the self be-knighted uber-race don't stumble off the side and plummet into the vast and unsearchable cosmic reaches of our own doom.

As minute a part of the Universe as we are, we must necessarily be reduced to pondering the majestic expanses from the standpoint of philosophy because the actual physical examination of what lays before us in any night sky is not something attainable in terms of our present knowledge and ability. Nothing is more troublesome to the mind of man than limitation therefore we look with passion, we look with curiosity; we look with awe and humility at that which we can only imagine and realize that we will never actually prove. We look with optical machines that have huge glass lenses to bend the light into magnified images, we look with radio receivers that translate cosmic energy pulses into virtual images and we look with our minds into the vast and unreachable searching for the answers that we feel we must have, for the pieces that fit. All the while we hardly notice whilst staring into the face of immeasurable and unfathomable time passage (if indeed time actually does pass) how the biological machinery that houses all of the this burning passion wears down, grows old, and finally succumbs to the ultimate entropy which is order and at the same time oblivion.

Even now, despite our limited ability to reach out and touch some-quasar, the cutting edges of astro-physics have determined that the outer reaches of our Universe are accelerating…ahh well, I never did like the big bang theory anyway and what good is a cosmic egg if it can't be poached? Eh? So here we have a law breaker on our hands. Whereas the center of all physical matter should be exerting a pull on the outer reaches that can be measured in deceleration we see instead that, thermodynamically speaking, energy of immeasurable quantities is being poured into what should already be a system heading for heat death but it is not because it is making gains. Once again we face the ghastly possibility of a non-event in the absence of any plausible explanation for where all of this energy is coming from because if it is coming from somewhere it must be outside the system according to the laws of thermodynamics which state rather emphatically the DeltaU = W+T!!! But no! There is no system outside of the known Universe is there? If there was it would have to exist in any or all of the other three quadrants of mathematical analyisis that are all taboo! Good then, to hell with the equal sign and let 2+2 equal whatever

Good and evil, are there only two sides?

Subject:
Good and evil, are there only two sides?
From:
justoffal
Date:

Sep 30 2005 7:18AM
One of the habits of modern fundamentalist Christianity is the decidedly unchristian penchant to impute evil where and when one's particular religious beliefs indicate that evil exits. Remember now there is a huge difference between Christianity and Christendom, one is the claimed domain of those nations wherein the nominal religion is supposedly dominant, the other is the actual collected teachings of the carpenter's son from Galilee whether you believe him to be the son of God ( I do ) or not. I present to you a background that includes 30 plus years of examining the Bible, Bible history, Bible commentaries, and a variety of Bible translations, this in no way makes me the end all expert on these matters but it does enable me to see a broad spectrum of application that may not yet be readily apparent to those who have only perused these things superficially.The purpose of this examination is to discover just how many pots have kettles for accusers and how the very same scriptures that are considered to be the ultimate source of information for those churches, groups, sects, denominations et cetera, can often contain surprises that most nominal fundamentalists are simply not prepared for.

To enter the subject, lets ask a series of questions beginning with the following: How may a Christian, ( follower of Christ, one who practices Christian principles, adherent to the Christian Greek scriptures ....so on ) identify that which is considered to be good and wholesome according to scripture and that which is considered to be "Evil" and therefore shunned and condemned?? To answer let's turn to one of the more well known an popularly used passages that I am sure none ( Christian and non-Christian alike ) will have any trouble identifying:

Matthew 7:15-2015 "Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep, but are really wolves that will tear you apart. 16 You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You don't pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles. 17 A healthy tree produces good fruit, and an unhealthy tree produces bad fruit. 18 A good tree can't produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can't produce good fruit. 19 So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. 20 Yes, the way to identify a tree or a person is by the kind of fruit that is produced.

The interesting feature of this particular passage that often completely escapes the notice of those who like to refer to it is that it is not talking about Christians as opposed to pagans, no...not at all. The subject here is the differentiation between those who claim Christianity and those who actually practice it, so what we have here is an expose of sorts, a method of deciphering between those who talk the talk from those who actually walk the walk. The above mentioned quote is a major tenet of most nominal Christian denominations and yet it is hardly ever discussed beyond the simple mention of it as an object lesson in children's bible story books. We today however will take it a bit further. Notice that Christ not only indicated that there would be false Christians, but that their end would be described as what is widely accepted as the symbol of eternal destruction throughout both the Hebrew and Greek scriptures, " Thrown into the fire". Following on that thought, we now need to determine what the "Good Fruits" are and what the "Fruits of evil" are considered to be; Again we turn to what most practicing Christians would consider to be the Ultimate authority ...the Holy Writ. While time and space do not permit an extensive treatment of this subject, we can certainly point to at least one of the pertinent issues specifically. One that always comes readily to mind is the assertion that true Christians are not violent people. When we say violence we need to look at all aspects of the word...at Physical, emotional, intended, at home, with neighbors, with other nations. To be Christ-like, an imitator of Christ, we need to examine not only what he said but also how he lived his life. So we ask, can a true Christian bear arms as a soldier in war?? We do recall that on one occasion Jesus took a rope whip in hand to clean the money changers out of the temple ( Jewish money changers by the way ) as they were making a mockery of the temple sacrifices by skimming usurious rates from those who were forced to buy sacrificial animals in the strictly controlled currency of the domain, so that if they arrived from any great distances with foreign currencies, they had to exchange that currency to make the temple purchases....( does this method sound familiar at all, it should)

As a unmistakable mark of what he stood for, this is one time mentioned in the gospels where an angry Christ actually became physical with those who he considered to be practicers of evil, so we can see that obviously, for all imitators of Christ, there is a time and place for action. But when and where? We are not left to our own devices on this matter as there are numerous accounts and passages that we may glean a general direction from:

......Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 51 One of the men with Jesus pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest's servant. 52 "Put away your sword," Jesus told him. "Those who use the sword will be killed by the sword

Clearly Peter's actions here at this moment were not in harmony with the expressed will of his teacher, instead he was instructed to be passive and told that this was not a test of physical strength but of fortitude and principle.At the finale of his earthly ministry and just prior to his ascension, Christ's instructions to his followers was clear and they did not include any references to violence.... Observe:

Jesus came and told his disciples, "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age"

This activity certainly does not mesh with anything that might include physical violence such as the taking up of arms by Christians ( which is a popular habit in modern Christendom) or the participation in any of the political wars that might involve the nations such Christians may live in. Remember that Christ refused to become involved in politics: John Chapter 6....

13 There were only five barley loaves to start with, but twelve baskets were filled with the pieces of bread the people did not eat! 14 When the people saw this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, "Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!"15 Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him king, so he went higher into the hills alone. 16

He could certainly have taken a political office and mustered up a huge army of ready soldiers...instead his position on worldly matters both for himself and his followers was as follows: John Chapter 17

11 Now I am departing the world; I am leaving them behind and coming to you. Holy Father, keep them and care for them – all those you have given me – so that they will be united just as we are. 12 During my time here, I have kept them safe. I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold. 13 "And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not. 15 I'm not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They are not part of this world any more than I am.From the Epistles we have more fruits of Chritianity: Rom. Chap. 12

14 If people persecute you because you are a Christian, don't curse them; pray that God will bless them. 15 When others are happy, be happy with them. If they are sad, share their sorrow. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don't try to act important, but enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do your part to live in peace with everyone, as much as possible. 19 Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, "I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it," says the Lord.

The above passages more or less Put the idea of taking up arms in a political war in the rotten fruitages department of the original parable about the good fruits and the rotten fruits of those claiming to be Christian. This then, in the strict sense of a hard line on good and evil as a two sided issue with clear lines of demarcation would make the majority of those who claim to be practicing Christians today hypocrites and Christians in name only. While I do not necessarily accept this as fact, it is demonstrably true using the very same scriptures that hard line fundamentalists like to use when identifying those things so named evil by them. As if this was not enough the Christmas Holiday widely celebrated by nominal christians the world over is nothing more than a pagan rite of the Saturnalia and never once mentioned as a celebration in the Bible. Even more flagrant is the Easter Holiday which is a blatant fertility rite... we could go on rather extensively about these things. Could it be then that the issue of good and evil is a bit more complex, somewhat harder to see than just the simple categories and tag names we might place on them.... Christian or not?

I leave the conclusion to you, the reader.