The Eternal Struggle

[Palehorse]

The Eternal Struggle

Religion has been (and always will be by all appearances) the best known method for building and wielding personal power and wealth known to humankind. This fact was at the very foundation of the canonization process utilized during the "editing" of the Bible, and has always been the basis for the scare tactics utilized by supposed religious leaders throughout history.  From the power hungry High-Priests of the dark/middle-ages, to the Falwells, Bakers, and zealots of today; money and power have always been the objectives. (Book-ended by the voice of God and the Holy Spirit).

Keep in mind that I consider myself somewhat of a Christian; just not a main-stream version that is so common today. (I became such via attrition. Read on). I've always maintained a level of doubt surrounding the resources and methods utilized in assembling the Holy Bible, and my Christian university education added to this doubt. (Imagine that!) I was brought up a southern Baptist by a fire and brimstone mother. Each Sunday she'd literally have to drag me and my siblings down several city blocks on the south side of Chicago, to the local church for our weekly scare tactic/brain washing session. I spent many a night sleepless and worrying myself sick as a lad, utterly convinced I was doomed to the eternal fire pits of hell just because I was looking at the bra section of the Sears catalog.

I was "saved", as they call it, at a very young age; mostly because I felt it was my only chance for avoiding the fire and brimstone lake of fire that the minister assured us every week awaited us if we did not come forward. I made my way to the pulpit when the call was made, crying, babbling, and pleading to avoid the fires of hell and eternal damnation. (As the oldest my siblings followed with me with their own versions of hysteria. We had talked about it many times and they were just as scared as I was). And a few weeks later I was baptized as additional insurance against this terrible fate. But as soon as I was old enough to have a paper route, (I got 3 of them), I made sure it was for the paper that printed a Sunday edition and lollygagged around in bed just long enough each Sunday morning to ensure I'd have to miss church in order to make my deliveries.

I also consider myself a man of science, and when scientific evidence is presented that contradicts the accepted version(s) of information contained within the scripture, I get real interested, real fast, and for my own selfish and personal reasons. I always did very well within the science courses throughout my schooling and into my higher education as well. It's just a subject I happen to love and have rarely, if ever, found boring or tedious.  To tell the truth a lot of it just seemed to come naturally to me, and a lot of the time I took pride in the fact that I grasped a particular theory or methodology so much quicker than my classmates. I've always felt comfortable in science.

During high school the new minister of my mother's church was a pilot and a musician, and since mom knew I had a higher than average interest in both of these things she took it upon herself to create situations wherein I would have to spend time with this minister. It worked for awhile and actually ended up with my receiving a lot of unofficial flying lessons, and engaging in one on one talks with this minister about things concerning music. It also provided me with a discreet window into this minister and his "true" life outside of the church, and to put it politely he talked the talk, but he was way off in the weeds when it came to walking!

If so called believers were to be required to live as Jesus is to have said they should, most of them would be victimized by the zealots amongst them. Fraternization with thieves, whores, drunks, and addicts; how dare they! Yet these are the very things Jesus is supposed to have done.  These are the "lost" souls among humankind, the wayward sheep the Shepard's are to bring back into the fold . . . but there is no money in that, no power to be gained. Most of the ministers I have been around make it a point to engage in activities that do these things; increase the flock, scare the kool aid out of them, and guilt them into tithing until it hurts, and then tithe some more.

They typically live in homes far and above those the average church member are able to provide for themselves; driving a new Cadillac or Town Car and dressing in some of the best suits available to them at deep discount from those members amongst the flock that were purveyors of such things. And the church was and is always in need of major repairs that are going to cost tens of thousands, or a new one is strongly desired by the "Lord". It usually ends up being a mansion of astounding proportions that requires even more tithing to heat and cool once it is built. 

And while my topic here primarily surrounds Christianity and its myopic view of itself and its self serving purpose, I don't want anyone to think it is just Christianity I am having these problems with. Look at the Middle East; killing each other since before the time of Jesus, since before the book was ever conceived of, and still killing each other today; and all over religious differences when you get right down to it. Some sects feeling religious entitlement to certain portions of land, other sects feeling the same way, and in still other sects you will find that killing itself has become a religious right of sorts, with bastardized versions claiming it as the only means of achieving eternal rewards of various types. The whole situation can be summarized with this short phrase: Humankind- killing each other in the name of religion for centuries.  Organized religion was created and exists for one purpose and one purpose only; to allow a select few to accumulate personal wealth and power. In the eternal struggle for control of the masses, there has never been another tool created to achieve such a high measure of success and longevity in this endeavor. It is one of the reasons why it has been so successful.

Can anybody tell me what God would ever endorse such behavior, such action, such destruction from its own creation as a means with which to obtain favor? And if there were such a God, who in their right mind would ever want to worship such an entity? What would be the purpose of life in such an obscured reality? Kill or be killed? To what end?

Perhaps my comments are far too dramatic for such a controversial subject I admit; however from my perspective organized religion is an entity manufactured by humanity that has been utilized throughout the ages as a means with which to exercise control of the masses, and provide a platform from which to build personal wealth and power.  Jesus himself, (if the words within the bible are to be believed on some level, and I do hold this much to be true for if humankind cared enough to put the words down there had to have been some kind of purpose to it!), cautioned against this and is alleged to have taken several to task for these very actions; yet look around today and it is worse now than it has ever been. And the perpetrators are the leadership amongst them!

Jesus (and I am repeating myself here I am sorry) consorted with the throw away sector of society, provided them hope, lifted them up, showed them the way of life. How is this being done today? How many homeless persons do you see welcomed within your congregations? How many of the addicted, the down-trodden, the helpless are welcomed within the congregations of organized religion and lifted up by its leadership? Few if any you have to admit. Those rare exceptions of individuals that come to the congregation seeking the way, are patronized and most often serve as fodder for the cannons of gossip and judgment exercised by the leadership and congregations nation-wide. This is the reality of organized religion today; a cliquish group of supposed followers of Jesus that regularly lord it over the have not's, and those who question their methods and ways.

The very nature of humankind is greed, and so often throughout history we have seen the conquered adopt the ways of the conquering. (Native Americans and Christianity for example). Now the religions and leaders of the times back then certainly saw how quickly this man was able to amass a strong following. So why not use this to construct a better means of controlling the peoples and bending them to the will of those who hold the power? Use his teachings and mold them in a way that leads them down the desired path? (Don't think the religious leaders of the times were capable of such acts or thoughts. Think of the high priests of the middles ages and the way in which they controlled the Kings by claiming to receive messages from God telling them the King should blah, blah blah).

I have more admiration for the addicted Johnny come lately to religion that stands in rags on the street corners reciting the scriptures, than I do for the seminary graduating pastors who are in the business of fleecing the congregation of their money for the sole purpose of building their material possessions and power. (I met one of these seminary types at a wedding once at a local church. There were several instances wherein I would have liked to pimp slapped his holier than thou insolent face, and taken him down a few notches. But this would have broken the laws of humankind, and served as an insult toward the house of God; thus I held my opinions and intentions to myself). And I would further speculate that the creator does as well. I can feel it in my soul. And you can hear it in Johnny come lately's voice if you will but listen.

Just look at the "power" the COG wields in the Anderson area; you have to ask yourself, is this what the creator intended for his followers to do? I don't think so, not by a long shot. Where is the love? Where is the lifting up? Where is the supposed imitation of the path of Jesus in all of that? I don't see it, and they cannot see the path for being blinded by the desire for power and wealth! You don't buy that Christian leaders can stop anything? Take a look around in Anderson. Read the news. Do you not see what the COG is doing within this very community, the influence it exerts in city politics and planning decisions? The fact is Christian leadership exerts influence and wields its power every day.

The zealots have been conditioned by society and organized religion to accept these things unquestioningly. (And I do not mean that in a bad way either). I too was amongst you, and believed without question. Education, formal and informal, combined with life experiences have served to open my eyes and create the questions that I and many more have to ask. When presented with a situation such as the "Lost Tomb of Jesus", (more on this later), answers must be demanded and arrived at, and the status quo of unconditional acceptance is unacceptable to me personally.

Humankind has proven throughout history that we cannot be trusted, and I am not about to start changing my line of thinking on this right now. The Bible was authored, edited, and produced by humankind. How are we to accept it as unquestionable truth when it is incomplete and assembled at the hand and will of humankind? A humankind that has proven, and continues to prove each and every day, that it is solely motivated by greed; greed for power and wealth.

[Palehorse]

The Tool

Since the beginning of time religion has struggled for control of the people with those who would lead them; from the healers of prehistoric times to tribal leaders, kings, queens, and presidents, the leaders of every religion have wrestled with them for control. During the times before the emergence of Christ and Christianity, the oracles and fortune tellers / astronomers would utilize naturally occurring and predictable astronomical events as signs to the leaders that something they personally wanted done needed to happen. This same methodology was utilized as a means with which to turn the kings and queens of the world into mere puppets of those with the "secret knowledge" they disguised as the ability to hold counsel with the creator. And they took advantage of it to amass personal wealth and power as a means to increase their station in life.

However, it didn't take too long before some of the leadership back then began to figure things out for themselves, by holding counsel with those who possessed new ideas and theories and educating themselves surrounding these things. The old tricks were not what they used to be and these individuals began to lose their grip on the reins of power; and a new way needed to be identified as a means to save themselves.

Along came Jesus Christ and this new idea of Christianity. Now just suppose for a moment, (and I hope you can free up your mind/thought process for long enough to give this some thought) Jesus was nothing more than a man. A man divinely inspired by the creator even works for me. His thoughts and actions, his words, were so revolutionary for the times in which he lived, (Remember, humanity burned "witches" many centuries later and this was after "civilization" had supposedly took hold of the worlds populations), that he was perceived as a threat, an aberration even, by the people of his time. (Some of them anyway. Remember, he did end up on the cross and died at the hands of the "justice" of the times). Yet, amongst the population he struck a chord with many. Some were inspired to follow him, and humanity being humanity, and writers being writers and taking literary license as they usually do, began writing down some of his actions and recording them in the methods of the times.

No doubt some believed so strongly in the things that this man was doing, that they felt compelled to try to bring the point across within the words they placed to "paper", much like the great novelists of the American Wild West days, exaggerating some points to retain the attention of their readers, and hopefully drive home their intended message; that Jesus was onto something here and his teachings were worth passing onto the generations to come. 

Eventually the powers that were in control deemed this man enough of a threat to trump up some charges against him that would enable them to sentence him to his death, and so it was that it came to pass. Only problem was that by the time they had got around to executing him he had developed quite the following, and to make matters worse those within his inner circle had written letters outlining some of his deeds, and lot of his messages. They found themselves unable to quell the movement, much less control those with the information. (Certainly no one back then could even fathom that later generations would take their tales so literally, certainly to the extreme that some do today. And they certainly never could have imagined that science would one day have the ability to identify remains 2,000 years old and even millions of years old.)

As the years passed on the humanity within them came to the forefront, as those within the movement jousted for control of it; greed. That hunger for wealth and power rose to the top and with it began the scheming against each other. Of course after some time those with allegiances to the leaders of the people had infiltrated the movement and someone decided that all this documentation had to be assembled in one place, in order for everyone to better understand the message this man had for humanity.

Thus came about the effort to assemble the books of the "bible" through the editing of the writings of humanity from the times. What a power play this would have been for them. Determine what goes in, what stays out, and make the messages so subjective as to be able to make them say whatever you wish, thus control the people, the power, the wealth for themselves. The "gospels" are only "gospels" because they were deemed as such by the very individuals who edited and assembled them way back in the day. Do I believe there is some truth / value to be had within them, sure I do. But I do not agree with the subjective interpretations and incomplete record that this whole process of editing has left them to be. It gives me reason to doubt, to question, and that is enough.

From my days spent in a Christian University, it is clear that the bible was assembled from a collection of "letters" written by followers of the Christian faith. Parables, they were written by human beings, assembled by other human beings much later on, and magically these same human beings doing the assembly felt they had the authority to exclude anything they felt wasn't in keeping with their personal ideas of what the Christian faith is supposed to mean.

Each of these "letters were written by key figures within the circle of trust that was maintained by Jesus; including a key woman that history has shown was unfairly ostracized within later society and made out to be a whore. The reason for this is clearly obvious if one reads her letters, for they document a relationship with this man Jesus, painting a portrait of him that opposed the path the religion needed to take in order to render to those who assembled these works the personal wealth and power they desired. Moreover, even portions of those letters authored by those included within the completed text contained large portions of such information, and if they were included it would undermine the whole purpose behind this activity! So in their infinite "wisdom" these men that lived centuries after these authors had died, took it upon themselves to edit out everything that went against what they personally felt was the path this religion and its followers were to follow.

What provided them this right to undertake such a ludicrous action? How could they know or understand the true meaning and intention of the writers so many years later, much less know something more than they did surrounding the subject of said writings? They took it upon themselves to decide for humanity the path of the religion moving forward, because the true purpose of this whole activity was to create the new tool required to seize back the control lost when the leadership of the time became enlightened.

The book was assembled to purposely be vague and subjective in interpretation, to allow those who obtain positions of power within the church to wield power over the flock, to bend them to their will, and to allow them to accumulate personal wealth and power over the masses. As it has been utilized throughout history and continues to be. So certainly when empirical evidence is discovered there will be no limit to what can and will be done to obscure it; for it threatens their livelihood!

Throughout the subsequent centuries the leadership of Christianity has waffled upon interpretation of passages, providing explanations that best served their purpose at each time the questions arose; in each instance taking the stance that they are only passing along that which God has provided only to them, by speaking only to them. Placing themselves above all others amongst them and in the position to control and decide what is right and what is wrong.  After all, does not the book clearly document the divine power provided to a man by God, and since it is God he can provide this same power to those chosen by him for eternity!

It is no wonder then that all these centuries later humankind struggles to understand why it is so contradictory, and just how it is that a man can sit down and write a set of letters on the very same subject matter, but have the continuity broken up by the fact that others much later adjudicate certain portions of that writing as incorrect.  How can a man be divinely inspired one moment but not so in the next? Human greed is the answer. To exclude "letters" that document the fact that this same man married, that he had children, and when he was crucified his body was secreted away by those who loved him most, to be later laid to rest within a family tomb, only serve to further cast doubt upon the whole business.

Is it any more of a wonder that centuries after the completion of this book, when physical evidence providing empirical proof that a key foundational element of this book is wrong, is categorically denied and dismissed after a decade of it being hidden away from the world?

[flybananas]

OH MY GOSH

we are struggling with similar issues.  good grief.  what's happened to the teachings of Christ?

why were certain works considered heresy and others not. 

so much studying to do, so little time.   

have you read any of the reluctant-messenger website?

[hammondjam]

I thought this would fit nicely into this thread.

On Oct. 21, 2010, at the Oklahoma City Civic Center, The Church of the IV Majesties(formerly The Church of Satan) will conduct an exorcism of the "right handed deities that make up Christianity, Islam and Judaism. The public is invited according to James Hale, the church's Lord High Master to show that many stereotypes and fears about Satanism are false. I know from perusing the different Satanic churches that they feel that the aforementioned religions present a bigger danger to humans than Satanists do. They also are trying to erase the memory of the showboating style of deceased Church of Satan leader Anton Lavey who preferred to keep the church wrapped in mystery and speculation.

Of course, the group has received bomb threats and been shot at because of their beliefs in the most radical Christian area of the United States, the Bible Belt. They plan to go ahead in an effort to show that they aren't baby killers or animal abusers. I might just go to see if they're any different from other Satanists that I've read about and known.   :8):

[Whoo]

Hey Jam, you can borrow my copy of Alister Crowley's "777 and Other Qabalistic Writings" if you go.  That way, if attendees see it under your arm the group won't think you're an INTERLOPER, bwaaaa haaaa haaa!!! ;D

[hammondjam]

Hey Jam, you can borrow my copy of Alister Crowley's "777 and Other Qabalistic Writings" if you go.  That way, if attendees see it under your arm the group won't think you're an INTERLOPER, bwaaaa haaaa haaa!!! ;D

I'll probably have to form my beard into a goatee and buy a black shirt and pants too. Gotta look the part! I wonder how much a set of demonic red contacts cost these days?  ::O: ::D:

Haven't read Crowley in a long time. Strange dude, for sure! Many of the women on my mom's side of the family had a lot of such reading material. Being a little Catholic kid, I had to keep a tight lip at school about what went on when the girls all got together for a "reading".   :-X :8):

[Palehorse]

You are forgetting that if the God of human creation is false, then so is his Nemesis - Satan! 

[hammondjam]

You possibly misunderstand my intentions. If I go to this thing, it will be for people watching, not for a new deity to worship.  ::;:

I find it interesting that members of a religion that are supposed to love the enemy of their god will resort to shooting at and threatening other physical harm toward these Satanists.

[Palehorse]

Wear your kevlar!

[hammondjam]

Good idea! I was pretty good at dodging bullets and other dangers in my youth on the southside of OKC but THAT was a long time ago!   ::;: ::D:

[Palehorse]

Alrighty then!  ::D:

[Terry]

Religion & Politics:

The 2 may stay distant, but they are inseparable  ::;: