ONLY HUMAN?

ONLY HUMAN?

What a sinful creature man is…why would Jesus want to spend even a single day (much less a lifetime) in such a form?

The Bible makes it clear when it says that “The Word became flesh” to do what? “Dwell among us”.

But why?…why would God choose to send his only begotten son into a form such as man? Could He not have just come down as God himself? Why go through the whole birth to death cycle? Why bother? It sounds almost ridiculous that God Himself would seek such a strange way to “make contact”.

My understanding is based on logic as well as Biblical fact.

God became man because in all creation there is nothing quite as amazing. Even with all of our sin and oddness Man was given something quite precious… a part of Gods own Spirit. It is written that once Adam was made that God “breathed” the spirit of Himself into men. One might well say that a part of God has always been in men.

God is a being of choice and this gift was also given to men. The ability to choose to FOLLOW or NOT FOLLOW!

We know mans response… and today man still chooses SELF over God. Oh, man has reasons and excuses but still insists that God fulfill them rather than submitting to Fulfill Gods needs.

Jesus was a divine spirit sent to indwell a human form and “being tempted in every way”. He came as the final sacrifice but that could have been done without the need for Jesus to live an entire human life. I mean if God had chosen to he is capable of having made it all work ANY WAY HE WANTED TO.

But here is a mystery. Why did he live an entire life of 30 plus years?

Has anyone ever considered that maybe Jesus likes being HUMAN. Maybe He enjoys going through the human experience even though it is filled with many potential hazards. Maybe, as in the story of Pinnochio Jesus wants to just be a “real boy”.

Humans take for granted everything. Science and Rationalism have given rise to the idea that all things are “natural” and therefore not relavant to God. This is wrong as in reality all is SPIRIT. All else is illusion and vain glory.

So perhaps people should stop saying “ONLY HUMAN” and realize what a marvelous thing we all are.. Since even Jesus feels that being human is GOOD!

BE LOVE & BE LOVED!

PROPHECY of the HOPI

Being a student of prophecy I have found great truth and wisdom in the teachings and prophecies of the Native American People.

The Hopi Nation in particular have a list of prophecies which I feel are as relavant as any offered by any other religious belief.

ACCORDING TO HOPI TEACHINGS the world has been "recreated" 4 times (many students of the Bible likewise agree that the current creation was not the first)and it is astounding how accurate they have been.

Here is a brief list of the prophecies and I encourage you to research on your own the history and teachings of the Hopi and other native elders if you find prophecy to be a subject of interest:

"The Fourth World shall end soon, and the Fifth World will begin. This the elders everywhere know. The Signs over many years have been fulfilled, and so few are left.

"This is the First Sign: We were told of the coming of the white-skinned men, like Pahana, but not living like Pahana -- men who took the land that was not theirs and who struck their enemies with thunder. (Guns) "This is the Second Sign: Our lands will see the coming of spinning wheels filled with voices. (Covered wagons) "This is the Third Sign: A strange beast like a buffalo but with great long horns, will overrun the land in large numbers. (Longhorn cattle) "This is the Fourth Sign: The land will be crossed by snakes of iron. (Railroad tracks) "This is the Fifth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed by a giant spider's web. (Power and telephone lines/perhaps even THE INTERNET/World Wide WEB) "This is the Sixth Sign: The land shall be criss-crossed with rivers of stone that make pictures in the sun. (Concrete roads and their mirage-producing effects.) "This is the Seventh Sign: You will hear of the sea turning black, and many living things dying because of it. (Oil spills) "This is the Eighth Sign: You will see many youth, who wear their hair long like our people, come and join the tribal nations, to learn our ways and wisdom. (Hippies) "And this is the Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling-place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. Very soon after this, the ceremonies of the Hopi people will cease. "These are the Signs that great destruction is here: The world shall rock to and fro. The white man will battle people in other lands -- those who possessed the first light of wisdom. There will be many columns of smoke and fire such as the white man has made in the deserts not far from here. Those who stay and live in the places of the Hopi shall be safe. Then there will be much to rebuild. And soon, very soon afterward, Pahana will return. He shall bring with him the dawn of the Fifth World. He shall plant the seeds of his wisdom in our hearts. Even now the seeds are being planted. These shall smooth the way to the Emergence into the Fifth World." I will be providing more information on prophecy from many varied cultures in future blogs. BE LOVE & BE LOVED! JoZ (aka Pahana Bear Wolf)

Do you ALREADY have the "MARK OF THE BEAST"?

Book of Revelation
Chapter 13, Verse 15-18 in the New Testament:
15: And he (The Anti-Christ) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16: And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18: Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man, and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
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My Dear Ones,

I get questions from some of you regarding “THE MARK OF THE BEAST” and what it is (or might be).

I have very strong opinions about this “Mark” as anyone who values individual privacy and freedom should and even if one has no specific religious belief in such a thing.

Although I do not enforce my opinions on the issue of this prophesied “system of numbering and tracking world citizens” I am of the belief that the “Mark of the Beast” has actually been with us for quite some time in the form (at least in the USA) of the…

SOCIAL SECURITY CARD/NUMBER.

Because of my faith that the SS# is the second incarnation of this mark.

The First being the numeric system designed by IBM to number Hebrews, homosexuals and people deemed as subversives in NAZI Germany..

..Interesting that “Social Security” can be abbreviated as S.S. and it was also the very same two letters used in NAZI Germany for Hitler‘s elite forces…SS is short for Schutzstaffel, which is German for “protective shield”)

I personally avoid use of my own SS# and have now done so for the past 4 years.

I have even considered beginning a National Protest (SS CARD burning) but decided it might be taken as a subversive and violent act …and so.. at least for now.. I have disregarded this idea to retain my freedom for the purpose I serve here.

Not using a Social Security Card/Number immediately causes some difficulties only one who does not use it could possibly understand.

The SS number is demanded to apply for a drivers license, for a loan or home purchase, To obtain medical care, To apply for Insurance, To file for taxation, To obtain employment, To gain public assistance, To open a bank account, etc…etc… The only time I use it is in cases of life threatening situations and even then feel horrible doing so.

Some have argued that it does not qualify because it is to be “implanted” on the forehead and hand.. But allow me to suggest that the Social Security Card/Number DOES comply here when we look at it “symbolically”.

Realize the BOOK OF REVELATION.. Which is where this teaching comes from… is written almost entirely symbolically and therefore any attempt to “literalize” it according to opinion and dogma may be popular and still be wrong. I have before mentioned that John, who wrote the Revelation, clearly reveals by the symbols used that he was a “Kabbalist/Cabalist” .

Thus most of the western attempts to Interpret this mystical text are completely mistranslated due to the use of “westernized coding” being used instead of “Eastern Kabbalist/Cabalist Symbols”.

Thinking in terms of the “Mark” being a “Symbol”, rather than a literal/physical mark should not be all that hard to understand since there is also a mention of a “Mark” being given by God to be placed on HIS PEOPLE and most theologies at least teach that this “God given mark” is figurative in nature.

So how then does the Social Security Card/Number qualify as the Beast’s Mark of Revelation?

Well, lets do a little experiment…

Take your card out and hold it in your right hand..

(Come on… play along and actually do it.).

I’ll wait…..

… O.K… Got it?..

Now turn it over so you can’t see the number and (by memory only) say the number out loud.

Now, you have a physical card IN YOUR RIGHT HAND..

…Right?..

AND you just showed that you have this number in your Memory…

your mind…

…YOUR FOREHEAD!

GET IT???

Since it’s hard to have money, a job, a car, etc. without this card/number (OF A MAN) it certainly does qualify as being close…

… IF NOT “ON THE MARK (Pardon the Pun) ITSELF”.

Now this still has not reached PHASE 3 yet.. but the next phase is already legally enacted and mandated to begin all too soon…

…IT’S CALLED “THE REAL I.D. ACT” and part of this “Act” includes MANDATING ALL U.S. CITIZENS TO COMPLY BY RECEIVING A NEW CARD AND NUMBER.. A NEW “NATIONAL I.D. CARD” you will be REQUIRED TO HAVE AND CARRY AT ALL TIMES!

Here is some information from a web-site devoted to promoting the idea of protesting this new act and If this takes effect prior to “Going Unto Zion” I personally shall file as a “religious objector” and flatly refuse to comply to this new system. I realize that do so might deem me to be a “criminal” yet for my faith I have committed to YHWH/God that I shall “strongly and peaceably protest” and willingly suffer anything and everything that non-compliance to this act might bring …

…I AM NOT A NUMBER.. I AM A HUMAN BEING!
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All U.S. citizens to receive National ID card by 2008

The Real ID Act, passed by Congress and signed by President Bush on May 11, 2005, mandates that all U.S. citizens will receive a National ID card by May of 2008.


Without this National ID, you won't...

Drive your car
Board a plane, train, or bus
Enter any federal building
Open a bank account
Hold a job
If you can’t hold a job or have a bank account, how much buying and selling will you be able to do?


Is the coming National ID the prophesied "mark of the beast"?

There is a prophecy in the Bible that foretells a time when every person will be required to have a mark or a number, without which he or she will not be able to participate in the economy.

The prophecy is 2,000 years old, but it has been impossible for it to come to pass until now. With the invention of the computer and the Internet, this prophecy of buying and selling, using a number, can now be implemented at any time. Has the time for the fulfillment of this prophecy arrived?

LINK: http://www.nonationalid.com/
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Here is an article from LAST Thursday’s Post Dispatch/Jefferson city regarding the theory that the “REAL ID ACT” may be a form of the “MARK OF THE BEAST”:

_________________________________________________________________________________


Is 'mark of the beast' in Real ID Act?

Derek Kravitz
POST-DISPATCHJEFFERSON CITY BUREAU
Thursday, Mar. 22 2007

JEFFERSON CITY — A dire, apocalyptic prophecy in the Bible's Book of Revelation
is getting a new audience: state legislators.

Several evangelical Christian groups say the federal Real ID Act, which will
standardize state drivers licenses and link them to corresponding national ID
numbers by 2009, represents the "mark of the beast," the devilish number 666
that is attached to the godless.

The nearly 2,000-year-old passage is referenced along with the prophetic
locusts, plagues, oceans of blood and rivers of fire found in the Bible. Soon
after, according to scripture, the antichrist takes control of the world and
Jesus Christ returns.

In short, new national ID numbers could spell the beginning of the end, some
Christians believe.

"This is getting treacherously close to prophecy in the scripture," said Irvin
Baxter Jr., founder and president of Endtime Ministries in Dallas.

And some Missouri legislators are listening.

Some Christians interpret verses from the book of Revelation that say humans
will be "marked … so that no one can buy or sell who does not have that mark"
as a prophecy of a global numerical control system to be used by the beast, or
antichrist. The number would be used during the Great Tribulation, which some
Christians believe will precede the second coming of Jesus.

Most religious scholars agree that this beast in Revelation is a metaphor for
the Roman emperor Nero who persecuted Christians and Jews in horrific ways that
were likely to be remembered only a couple of generations later when Revelation
was written.

But some evangelical Christians take the "mark" of Revelation more literally,
and believe that a number-based identification system in the U.S. will
eventually spread throughout the world, only to be used by a global dictator
(the antichrist) who will control international trade with the numbers issued
under the Real ID program.

Their concern, according to Craig Treadwell, Baxter's national radio talk show
co-host, is that anyone marked in such a way during the Great Tribulation "will
be lost for eternity," and won't be raised to heaven after the second coming.

State Rep. Jim Guest, a frequent participant on Baxter's radio show, is
sponsoring a bill that would exempt the state from complying with the federal
law.

The Missouri House overwhelmingly approved Guest's bill last Thursday, 146-4.
It has moved to the Senate for consideration.

Guest, a Republican from King City in northeastern Missouri, said his main
reservation with the program was its potential for "Big Brother-like" abuses.

"We could be tracked by machines everywhere we go," said Guest, referring to
provisions that require "machine-readable" technology in the ID cards. "This
could signal the death of individual freedoms and rights."

But Guest, who has recruited legislators from 35 other states to introduce
legislation opting out of the Real ID Act, said he has received hundreds of
phone calls, e-mails and letters from constituents who are more fearful about
Biblical prophecies coming true if the program goes unchecked.

"Some people are genuinely worried about it," said Guest, who called himself a
practicing Methodist. "These are people who believe that a national ID number
symbolizes something religiously evil."

Baxter's Endtime Ministries has distributed thousands of copies of its monthly
magazine and brochures to legislators in an attempt to "explain the prophecies
of the Bible in light of current events."

The federal program was enacted after government officials learned that most of
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorists had obtained fake drivers licenses. The law sets
state licensing rules, essentially making it harder to obtain a card
fraudulently.

The Department of Homeland Security says the cards would help boost national
security by requiring their use to board airplanes and enter federal buildings.

"This is a known vulnerability. It was recommended by a bipartisan 9/11
commission and mandated by Congress. Shame on us if we don't heed the lessons
of Sept. 11," said department spokesman Russ Knocke.

But some states have balked at the law, which they say lacks adequate funding
and clear language for compliance.

Legislators in Arkansas and Georgia have offered resolutions to strike it down,
and Maine recently passed a nonbinding resolution refusing to go along with the
federal program.

But regarding Real ID, Biblical scripture is getting misconstrued, said Frank
A. Flinn, an adjunct professor of religious studies at Washington University.

The Book of Revelation is so full of symbolism that nearly anything can be read
from it, Flinn said. At one time or another, Jewish bankers, President John F.
Kennedy, communists, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein have all been said to
bear the "mark," Flinn said.

Still, sinners and nonsinners alike are lining up to take a swipe at the new
federal driver's license program.

Amish, Mennonite and some Muslim groups are objecting to mandates that require
their photo to be taken. And some domestic violence groups oppose the use of
addresses on the cards, for fear that abusive spouses might compromise the
system.

Tim Townsend of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

dkravitz@post-dispatch.com | 573-635-6178
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You, of course may disagree that this has anything to do with the prophetic mark. Disagreement, however, will not change prophecy unless one is willing to take action to dissuade implementation of this system of turning each person into a number to be overseen and tracked by whoever happens to gain the authority to do so,

For those who would like more insight regarding the belief that the 2nd Stage of the Mark is the SS System please feel free to check out the following website:

http://www.wealth4freedom.com/Mark_of_the_beast/toc.htm
Including this thesis here does not imply that I agree with all aspects of the information presented by it’s author but it does provide some thought-provoking information worthy of your consideration.

It also includes methods to avoid using the SS# and still hold a job and survive. Realize that those who use it’s methodology may pay a hefty price for doing so and so please do not attempt to discontinue use of your SS# unless you absolutely understand the ramifications of doing so and are fully compelled and willing to suffer them.

IT IS NOT EZ …and for some who live on Social Security the cost of “refusal” may be too high for them to bare. Those who do would be forced into hardship and poverty and would have to find alternative income sources… Therefore nothing presented here is intended to make one feel compelled to do anything but consider what is happening and seek the will of GOD!

BE NOT AFRAID!
BE WISE & KNOWING!
BE LOVE & BE LOVED!

WHAT’S UP WITH HAGEE?

Before I begin this blog entry please take a look at the video.

Now realize I am very liberal and try not to judge others… but sometimes I become discouraged when I myself live a simple life refusing to sell products or ask for donations…

…YET I see people like the Popular (and wealthy) television evangelist JOHN HAGEE who seems to have no problem selling his books to and accepting donations from others who often live well below his economic position.

(Also note that he and I have differences since Hagee readily admits being a “Christian ZionIST” ..see previous posts re: Zionism)

After researching his beliefs and programs it would be very easy to slam him.. But rather than do that please allow me to show you something and I will let you decide on your own what to think.

In his book In Defense of Israel (2007), beginning in the section called "The Jews did not Reject Jesus as Messiah" (p. 132) John Hagee attempts to prove that Jesus Christ did not come "to be Messiah to the Jews." His denial of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah) cannot be overlooked as a mere "slip of his pen" because he repeated his assertion "seven ways from Sunday" as seen in this sample of seven quotes from his book:

If God intended for Jesus to be the Messiah of Israel, why didn't he authorize Jesus to use supernatural signs to prove he was God's Messiah, just as Moses had done? (p. 137)

Jesus refused to produce a sign ... because it was not the Father's will, nor his, to be Messiah. (p 138)

If Jesus wanted to be Messiah, why did he repeatedly tell his disciples and followers to "tell no one" about his supernatural accomplishments? (p. 139)
The Jews were not rejecting Jesus as Messiah; it was Jesus who was refusing to be the Messiah to the Jews. (p. 140)

They wanted him to be their Messiah, but he flatly refused. (p. 141)

He refused to be their Messiah, choosing instead to be the Savior of the world (p. 143)

Jesus rejected to the last detail the role of Messiah in word or deed. (p. 145)


YET… In his official Web-Site HAGEE’s very first statement in the section on “BELIEFS” it reads THUS:

The Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God. We believe in His substitutionary death for all men, His resurrection, and His eventual return to judge the world.

Um?.. Is it just me or is there a real problem here?

Should this man live in a huge mansion, have a yearly income of over $1MIL and have an extensive impact on so many followers when he cannot seem to keep his testimony consistent (or could there be a rational explanation?) ???

I am curious what other people think of this.

I am not looking for anyone to become hateful or begin preaching here why their view is correct and Hagee’s is not.. What I wish to know is should we trust someone who obviously does not maintain a consistent testimony (or is it inconsistent?).

If anyone who reads this supports Hagee I am interested in how one might resolve what appears to me to be a rather blatant discrepancy.

I frankly do not care which side he takes because all men are free to believe whatever they wish and others are free to follow them.. But I sure wish he would take a real position because “double-mindedness” bothers me more than either view and if nothing else Double-mindedness is condemned more harshly than most other biblical sins.

So, debate and discuss and I shall be very interested to hear educated comments.. Again do not speak anything you do not provide support for and please resist all temptation to attack Hagee personally.. All unverifiable or overtly hateful comments will be removed.

Thank You!

BE LOVE & BE LOVED!

Where is the JOY?

My Dear Friends,

As a lover of YHWH (God) and humanity I spend a great deal of time in prayer and study regarding God’s will and purpose for his creation .

Yet as I GOOGLE all around the internet seeking people who have TRUTH I am confronted mostly with dry and caustic prose written by well meaning people who frankly have a great deal of knowledge but lack the essential element that makes one desire God… JOY!

I am not surprised.. But rather dismayed by the bulk of what most people consider “God’s Will”.

So many articles and websites seem devoted NOT to the perpetuation of Joy and Love.. But rather have a focus on how “man is EVIL” and how if people don’t immediately “accept Jesus as Lord” they “will be tossed into an eternal lake of fire where they will suffer endless torture ETERNALLY“.

If I were not who I am I would simply turn and run away from such a theology because if this is the focus then the “God of Love” is nothing more than a hateful, jealous, mean-spirited egomaniac and such a God would deserve no worship… this version of YHWH is the most popular but the wide-path never leads to truth.

God is Light. God is Peace. God is Mercy. God is LOVE!

So then why are so many people so afraid of God that they turn to a faith out of FEAR rather than Joy?

Does God hold a “gun” called “Hell” to peoples heads and tell them then that if they do not accept His “love” that he will place them in the spiritual equivalent of a torture chamber with no hope of reprieve?

I think NOT!

I have written before about “Hell” so I will not address this subject now.. But rather wish to look at why it is that so much “religion” is seemingly joyless.

Joy makes a person happy and filled with hope.

Joy can make one feel almost drunk with enthusiasm.

Joy contains no dread , fear or threats.

JOY IS WHAT MAN DESIRES WHEN THEY SEEK LOVE.. And if GOD IS LOVE than this God wishes that mankind would be filled to the brim with JOY… but frankly most religious websites seem more filled with dread, fear, hate and “pity of the UNSAVED”.

When I seek truth I look for one thing “Does it contain Joy and LOVE?”.. anything else simply cannot be from God since a “God of LOVE” can contain nothing but LOVE.

But why then do so many preach a message in which God is wrathful and filled with hate toward those who will not follow him? Perhaps it’s because these teachings are perpetuated by “followers” who came to God because of “guilt and fear” and since they live in this terror they think that this is God’s desire that man should be terrified by God.

Is it not written that we are to “love our enemies”?

If this is true why then does not God follow His own admonition? The fact is.. HE DOES, but you would never see that if all you see is fear and dread.

God LOVES the world or His Son would not have come to it.

God seeks people who wish to live in peace and joy and tolerant love one for another.

God wants that men should accept and follow His Will not by fear that they will eternally be damned if they do not and any who teach this are teaching an “Anti-God/Anti-Christ” that fits their version of God but whom is NOT the God I speak of or worship.

My God is about LOVE and He seeks only those who willingly Follow Him because they too seek real and passionate Love and JOY.

It is written that in the End of Days men would follow a “doctrine of devils” created by men and that this “delusion” would be allowed because of the hardness of human hearts.

This “dogmatic threatening legalistic” path was called the “wide-path that leads to destruction”.. THUS this delusion actually means “the popular path that leads to hell” and frankly such a path contains only fear and dread. Those who follow it only came to God because they feared that God would torture them if they did not and then they perpetuate this path by teaching it to the teachers of the people in seminaries and bible colleges.

In discussion with one person who disagreed with me they asked “Do you then claim you have greater knowledge than those who have spent years training in the major theological universities? And I said “No, I claim that those who train in theological universities are simply being taught a dogma or doctrine specific to that schools “religious ideals”… so they may have what is called ’knowledge’ but if a man is taught wrongly then the knowledge they have is not from God teaching the spirit.. But from Men teaching the brain.”

The brain, being physical, is capable of error but the Spirit is what we are supposed to be using to learn the will of God.

It is written “The letter killeth.. but the Spirit brings life” and this means that those who place their faith only in books (letters) and the philosophies of men (religions) lack in what God really seeks ..which are those who use their own Spirit to learn.

If you believe in God out of TERROR you are not following truth.. For only once you have and project Love and Joy are you really living in truth.

BE JOYFUL you who “fear not” and LIVE ONLY IN PEACE & LOVE for your spirit even now lives in the “kingdom of YHWH”.

If you trust the power of YHWH then let HIM instruct those whom He wishes to know of Him and stop calling people “sinners” and telling them to be “terrified” by God.

Begin then simply accepting and LOVING the “SINNERS“…for even those who are forgiven are still one of them and there are no “brownie points” for how many you convince to follow your specific ideals, truths or religions…

…Only LOVE is valued by the God of LOVE and all else is speculation, opinion and vanity.

Where there is no JOY there is no LOVE and where there is no LOVE God cannot be present.

BE LOVE & BE LOVED!

Kissing Hanks A** (Note: contains some offensive language)

“KISSING HANK’S A**”


My Dear Friends,

I have many different kinds of friends and I LOVE THEM ALL.

Some people think that because I am spiritual that somehow this means I’m a “tight-ass” and guess what? I AM NOT. In fact, I am not easily offended by much at all.

Some time ago I got the following “parable-like” story from some friends who run a site called “The Rational Response Squad”… These guys are hardcore atheists who are as busy doing their work as anybody who ever knocked on your door with a free magazine or offer to study the Bible. I actually was interviewed by them for their 10th internet radio show and they have since gone on to be involved in such activities as “The War on Christmas”, “The You-Tube Deny the Holy Spirit project” and now are putting together an “Atheist Blood Drive”.

I may not agree with them but I do admire their persistence.

Anyway, the story is sort of a round-about way of putting down religious belief and it actually is kind of funny because I agree that much of “religion” can oft-times look a bit like this story.

I felt led to use the same style of humor to provide an answer…which is the “Memo” following the story. I feel those who can read into the metaphor will enjoy this.. Maybe even those who can’t might at least get the idea ..or at the VERY LEAST find it entertaining and amusing. _________________________________________________________________________________ HERE IS THE ORIGINAL “SCRIPT”

Kissing Hanks Ass...

This morning there was a knock at my door.

When I answered the door I found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple.

The man spoke first:

John: "Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."

Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."

Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"

John: "If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."

Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"

John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."

Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."

Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"

Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."

John: "Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."

Me: "Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"

Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."

Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"

John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."

Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"

Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."

Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"

John: "My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."

Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"

John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."

Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"

Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."

Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"

John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"

Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."

John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit out of you."

Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."

Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."

Me: "Then how do you kiss His ass?"

John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."

Me: "Who's Karl?"

Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."

Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"

John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."From the Desk of Karl
1. Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
2. Use alcohol in moderation.
3. Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
4. Eat right.
5. Hank dictated this list Himself.
6. The moon is made of green cheese.
7. Everything Hank says is right.
8. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
9. Don't use alcohol.
10. Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
11. Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.

Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."

Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."

Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."

John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."

Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"

Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."

Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"

Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."

Me: "How do you figure that?"

Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"

Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."

John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."

Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."

John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."

Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."

Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."

Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."

John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"

Me: "We do?"

Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so." Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"

John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."

Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"

Mary: She blushes.

John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."

Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"

John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."

Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"

Mary: She looks positively stricken.

John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"

Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"

Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears.” I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."

John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."

Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."

Mary: She faints.

John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater." With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off. ___________________________________________________________________

So, I have quickly penned the following as so of a metaphoric answer: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

FROM THE DESK OF HANK'S SON...BILL
TO: ASS-KISSERS EVERYWHERE
RE: MISUNDERSTANDING'S OF MY DAD'S MESSAGE

There seems to be some misunderstands concerning my Father's agreement .

Karl (although well meaning) is a bit hard of hearing and made a quite a few mistakes regarding what my Father instructed him to convey regarding his offer.

My Father attempted to contact Karl a long time ago to clarify these misunderstandings but Karl had already rewritten and distributed the list and others had likewise done so to the point where people simply assumed the list contained no errors.

I am hoping by way of this memo to make clear what the truth is concerning the offer and reasoning for some of the instructions which may appear to be contradictory or odd.

I only hope that Karl can make the changes but there are several other people who appear to have taken both my Father and Karl's name and claimed to be the authority.. so I will do my best but Dave, for example, is not likely to change his ways since he added the extra line "Send Dave your extra money" even though that was never authorized by Dad. Here is the Current List that Karl messed up and the revisions applicable:

1. Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town. (My Father never actually stated that people had to "kiss his ass".. He actually just said "please respect me and I will help you when you move“.. But Karl sort of rewrote it and made it sound more ominous.. But Karl likely thought this would get more attention).

2. Use alcohol in moderation. (At least he got this one right.. well, kind of, Basically Karl was a bit tipsy when Dad called him and this was actually a message directed to him specifically.. the actual rule was meant to read "Be moderate in all things... Excess can harm people and is ill advised)

3. Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you. (My Dad dislikes all forms of violence and so how Karl messed this one up confuses him... The actual Third rule was "Seek peaceful Unity with all people"... I Guess Karl really needs to consider the moderation thing).

4. Eat right. (Well he got this right.. but should have also added "and get plenty of rest and exercise“.. dad is fairly health conscious because he really cares about people.)

5. Hank dictated this list Himself. (I think Karl was writing a thought here because this is a bit redundant... Yes, My Father did dictate some words to Karl.. But he wrote down a much longer list than my Father intended.. I suppose he just wanted to et people know where it came from.. Alcohol does weird things.)

6. The moon is made of green cheese. (As I said Alcohol does strange things.. I think Karl just wrote down something he imagined here because even IF the moon were made of GREEN CHEESE does it even seem logical to make it part of this list... Perhaps Karl needs a 12-step program... I might even suggest adding a 13th one..LOL)

7. Everything Hank says is right. (TRUE, But too many people are taking Karl's message and assuming every word of it came from Dad. My Dad's phone number is available to everyone.. but so few ever call Him.. Rather they run off to Doug, Harry, Ted or DAVE and assume that they speak fot My Dad when THEY DO NOT.. Many of them have added their own name along side my Dad's here and that's just not cool at all.)

8. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom. (This was intended to be a part of 3 but Karl decided to make it a separate entry... He also forgot to include "Brush your teeth after every meal" but frankly is just intended to keep everyone "healthy".)

9. Don't use alcohol. (This was a personal Command to "Drunk Karl" and the reason he told Karl this should be obvious.. Why My Dad trusted Karl to do this is beyond me except I suppose Karl was the only one willing.. So ya gotta use what's willing and available.. at least he tried.)

10. Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments. (Actually Dad advised Karl to not eat wieners at all and said to him only because at the time there was a” food poisoning" problem and no longer applies as it once did.. Oh Karl.. Please stop drinking, buy a hearing aid and take dictation without adding your own crap..(sigh))

11. Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you. (Again, Dad does not intend to harm anyone.. He is actually philanthropic and trying to help when people move.. Dad honor's HIS promises and intends to pay the million dollars to any who move out of town.. But old Karl added the kicking part himself.. I mean really, I know my Dad and he wouldn't harm anyone. Many people kick the shit out of themselves and claim my Dad did it.. I guess that is why many believe this myth)

Well, I hope this helps clear up some of the miscommunication.. But I tend to doubt it because there are so many people who don't even believe me when I say I am His Son.. They have even figured out ways to cash in on this miscommunication and everyone thinks they know my Father better than I do.

Oh well, I have done my task and have told you all the truth but I cannot force you to believe what you do or don't wish to believe. Dad plans on making a visit soon to clear this all up personally. I mean, HE REALLY LOVES EVERYBODY and SO DO I! Thank You! Bill (Son of Hank) BE LOVE & BE LOVED!

WAS JESUS MARRIED (and does it matter) - Reprint from "The Bleeping Harald"

RePublished from The Bleeping Herald (http://www.bleepingherald.com/)
The Gods of Men, Part III
Hatred of the Way God Made Us: Jesus and Mary Magdalene
by Miceal Ledwith

The biggest difficulty that has to be faced in speaking about the relationship of Jesus to women, much less to discuss whether there is or was a messianic bloodline, is that the topic is taboo. To even raise the question is often considered impious, disrespectful or sacrilegious because in the tradition of Christian teaching sexuality has become defiled.

Just after What the Bleep came out, I was interviewed by a religious magazine that took some pride in considering itself at the cutting edge of left wing radical Christian thought. The interviewer asked me at the end of our session, “But don’t you think that if Jesus was married it would interfere with his divinity?” I was tempted to say “No more than being a man would interfere with it,” but instead I thought it more to the point to ask, “On what disastrous estimate of womanhood does your question rest?”

The Church in its early years steadfastly proclaimed that the uniqueness of Jesus consisted in the fact that he was fully divine, but also fully human. Despite that, through most of Christian history since then the true humanity of Jesus seems to have become an acute embarrassment to most Christians. In fact you begin to suspect that what really plagues Christianity is a distortion caused by nothing less than a hatred of the way God made us.

For that reason the idea of a Savior who was married will never rest easy in the traditional Christian mind, irrespective of what historical evidence or lack of it there may be, for the matter has long since had much more to do with prejudice than with history.

I have watched several distinguished biblical scholars being asked on television if there was any evidence in the New Testament that Jesus was married, and the answer has almost always been that there is none.

If you believe it is as easy for us to read and understand the New Testament as it is to read and understand the morning newspaper, then you would probably have to concede that this is so. But the Bible, even the New Testament, comes out of a time and culture that is as far removed from us today as it is possible to imagine. Its techniques of communication have little in common with the techniques of the New York Times or The Washington Post. It is far more close to the techniques used by fiction writers of genius in our own day, such as JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, or Jonathan Swift in former times.

Nowhere does the New Testament state in words that Jesus was married, nor would I expect it to, given the context out of which the New Testament came. Neither does the New Testament tell us whether he cried as a child, or laughed with his companions around the campfire during their three years of wandering the countryside around the Lake of Galilee . Are we then to assume from that fact that humor and laughter are sinful, or are we to assume something different entirely? Or have we forgotten that allegories, images, symbols, and allusions communicate much more deeply than words?

In the New Testament you can read a letter by the brother of Jesus, Jude Thomas. He warned that certain trends among the very early Christians were causing them to lose sight of the original message about Jesus. They were introducing novel elements into the message which were not there originally. These people believed they were exalting Jesus; in fact they were betraying both what he was and what he came to do. “These dreams revile the flesh, scorn lordship and revile glorious beings.” (Jude 8). The Emperor Constantine, three hundred years later, is often blamed for altering the truth of Christianity when he established the Christianity of Paul as the state religion, but he was only recognizing what had already long existed. The statements of Jude Thomas became a remote and mute witness to what used to be the Way.

If the New Testament appears to be silent about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene perhaps it is because it was formulated in the period after the Bar Kochbar rebellion and the final destruction at Jerusalem and Masada . It was a period when it became imperative to placate the Romans and accuse the Jews of being the cause of the hostility which the message of Jesus aroused. In the later era when the Gospels were formed, incidents and their significance in the life of Jesus would come to be missed. But they would have been clear as crystal when the early Christian movement was still predominantly a Jewish or eastern Semitic thing. If the New Testament, as we have it, wished to be silent on the relationship between Jesus and Mary, it did not realize the significance which the Eastern mind would read into in the several incidents which are recounted in the New Testament. If their implications had been realized they would have been removed.

Several authors for example have suggested that the wedding at Cana which is told in John 2: 1-5 was actually the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. I still remain to be persuaded of that, but it is undeniable that Mary the Mother of Jesus is portrayed in this passage in the role of a person who has responsibility for the catering, possibly at her son’s wedding. The stewards come to tell her they have run out of wine and Jesus does what was needed to rescue the situation.

In John 2: 20, 28, and 29 the incident is told of Jesus returning from his travels to the house at Bethany which belonged to Martha, Mary, and Lazarus who had just died. Martha goes out to meet him, but not Mary. Is it because a wife in mourning cannot go out to meet her husband returning from a journey until she is sent for? That was the Jewish custom then, and Mary did go out to meet him when she was sent for.

This would imply, for anyone of the Jewish eastern mind at that period, that they were married. A person from a western culture, such as those who edited the Gospels, would miss that so the incidents remained in those forms in the text.

In Matthew 26 and Mark 14, we are told of the woman who anointed the feet of Jesus with oil. John Christopher Thomas, in his perceptive work, “Footwashing in John 13” points out that it was only a wife who would be permitted to engage in such an intimate act with a man and that indeed in the culture it often was a prelude to sexual intercourse between husband and wife.

In the Diatessaron, which dates from about 150-160 AD, we are told that the footwasher was the woman known as Mary of Bethany or Mary Magdalene.

In the same category is the incident told in Luke 10:39: the woman Mary who sat at the feet of Jesus. In first century Judaism it would have been considered scandalous for any woman other than a wife to do this.

In the New Testament’s seven lists of women associated with the ministry of Jesus, Mary Magdalene is named first in six of them, even ahead of the mother of Jesus. In the narratives of the appearances of Jesus in the garden after his passion, Magdalene was the first to meet him and it was within the context of an exchange of intimacies.

The original meaning of “Apostle” was “apostellein”, ‘to bear witness.’ If Magdalene was not alone just a witness, but the very first witness who saw him at that time, does it not justify her having the title not simply of “Apostle” but also that very ancient appellation often attributed to her, “Apostle of the Apostles?”

So the view of those authors who claim that the New Testament is silent about the special relationship between Jesus and Mary cannot be sustained. You could only conclude that if you believed the New Testament was as easily understood as the morning newspaper, and did not realize that a person of the western mind redacting the eastern traditions about the life of Jesus would have totally missed the implications which those incidents I have mentioned are actually asserting in the Jewish culture of the day. The early redactors missed the significance of those incidents and what they said of the relationship of Jesus and Mary; a modern western reader who is not clued in cannot fail to do the same.

In fact it was not until nearly two hundred years after the time of Jesus that early Christian writers first began to deny that he was married. It was much the same time when those same Christian writers began to be embarrassed by the awkward fact that the New Testament explicitly names four brothers of Jesus and also that he had sisters (Mark 6:3). Like the marriage, these brothers and sisters had also to be explained away when the urgency to make Mary the Mother of Jesus into a perpetual virgin was felt to be a necessity.

The linking of the doctrine of the Virgin Birth and the celibacy of Jesus did not begin to gain currency until the second century. The pagan notion then believed that because virgins were “undefiled” they were by that fact closer to God. It had never been a Jewish or a Christian notion up to that time.

In this way an essentially pagan notion carried over into the early Church which maintained that virginity was a spiritually superior state, whereas in Judaism it had always been maintained that it was the married state which was spiritually superior.

Many authors have claimed in recent years that because Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi, he would have had to be married. That would be an excellent argument were it not for the awkward fact that Jesus was not a Jewish Rabbi, but an itinerant teacher whose disciples called him by the mystery school title “Master” or “Rabboni.” His only relationship to the religious establishment was to be a thorn in its side.

Likewise nothing with regard to him being married can be adduced from his time in India and Tibet , where the tradition for a spiritual teacher was celibacy.

It’s very possible he had connections with the Essenes, as John had, but contrary to a lot of popular conviction today, they were not celibate. None of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which included the Essene, “Manual of Discipline,” makes any reference to any of their members living in a state of celibacy. Nor indeed did the teachings of Jesus have anything in common with the harsh rigors of the Essenes.

It is well known that the Nag Hammadi Gospel of Philip describes some form of romantic relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The Valentinian movement of the middle second century did teach that Jesus had been married and the Gospel of Philip is believed to be associated with that movement.

Among the early Church Fathers, Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-216 AD) is remarkable for his insistence on the goodness of all creation, and his equal insistence that it is not the sexual organs or sexual intercourse that is obscene, but only the immoral use of sexuality.

Clement also stated that the Apostles took their wives along with them on their missionary journeys. It should be noted that the Greek term “gune” can be translated both as ‘woman’ and as “wife.” So when we read in a modern translation of the Gospels that a ‘woman’ or “women” followed Jesus or the Apostles, we should remind ourselves that those words could just as validly be translated as “wife” or “wives.” It would be ironic indeed if Jesus set a celibate example which none of his disciples followed. Even Paul had been married before his conversion, and both Clement of Alexandria and Origen (185-254 AD) believed he married again to Lydia at Philippi , a woman to whom he referred as his “co-bearer of the yoke.” (Phil. 4:3).

Of course with St. Augustine we are fully immersed in the view that all things to do with sexuality is evidence that mankind is a fallen race. This tradition had an enormous influence on subsequent Christianity when the necessity of portraying Jesus as having absolutely nothing to do with such realities became paramount. His body came from a virginal conception, his mother was a perpetual virgin, even throughout the process of his birth, and he himself was celibate.
So contrary to what so many people believe, now it appears that the tradition that Jesus was celibate could not have come from an early Apostolic tradition, but arose to prominence only after Christianity had started to compromise its original teachings with pagan views that were hostile to both women and marriage. Thus it came about that an essentially pagan notion was to define what mattered most about Christianity and about Jesus for the majority of people, as it still does in certain quarters today. The stage was set for celibacy to become the very badge of holiness in the West, and indeed the very discussion of sexuality began to smack of the taboo in Christianity. The Age of the Gods of Men had reached its zenith and the psychosis of implicitly having as a religious duty to hate the way God made us, held center stage.

Even the interpretation of the Fall of Mankind in the Garden of Eden began at this same time to be re-interpreted as a sexual sin, even though both Christian and Jewish commentators did not see it in that way at all.

But oddly enough even this in itself would incline towards the necessity of a married savior, since if we view the Fall as a sexually transmitted disease, then a Redeemer would surely himself have to enter such a human situation in order to redeem it, along with all the other elements of human existence that stood in need of Redemption.

Given the background of the Judaism of his day and what we can glean from a much more accurate understanding of the foundational Christian texts and the early Christian tradition, it seems clear the burden of proof rests on those who would deny that Jesus was married. If some still find this difficult to accept or even incline to believe it is impious or sacrilegious to make such a suggestion, then it is really time for them to ask why they consider it so important to make hatred of the way God made us into a central religious duty.

Copyright Michael F. Ledwith 2008.

Miceal Ledwith appeared in the hit move "What the Bleep Do we know" and its sequel "Down the Rabbit Hole." He is co-author of "The Orb Project" published by Simon and Schuster/Beyond Words in November 2007, and has published three DVDs so far in his projected series, "The Hamburger Universe," 2005, "How Jesus Became a Christ," 2006, and "Orbs: Clues to a More Exciting Universe," February 2008. He has lectured extensively all over North and South America, South Africa, Australia, Europe and Japan.

He can be reached at his website: hamburgeruniverse.com [1]
Source URL:http://www.bleepingherald.com/jul2008/miceal
Links:[1] http://www.hamburgeruniverse.com

ARE YOU SAVED YET OR WHAT?

Dear Friends,

Perhaps the two biggest questions asked by those who claim to be Christians are:

1) DO YOU KNOW JESUS?

or

2) ARE YOU SAVED?

These questions seem simple and nonthreatening to a person who feels they "know Jesus and are saved (by the blood of the lamb)" .. yet to those who are not "Christians" these same two questions can be seen as threatening or leading.

I, myself, feel the questions are actually too vague and need to be defined and qualified before anyone should ever attempt to ask them... and perhaps it is inappropriate to do so.

"WHAT?!!!, INAPPROPRIATE! BUT HOW ELSE CAN I SHARE THE LOVE OF JESUS"

Yes indeed I can hear many Christians screaming at me even now for suggesting these questions are improper... see, the reason they are improper is because the reason for asking is usually to proselytize people into accepting "YOUR VIEW" of who Jesus is and what it means to "be saved".

Remember, entrance into God's Kingdom is NOT based on numbers. No matter how many souls you "win for Christ" it matters not to God. There is no quota and (in my opinion) no obligation to PREACH to anyone... SHARE ..YES!.. Preach..no.

Sharing your faith however is a personal issue and if you intend to talk the talk..you better WALK THE TALK too or you would be no better than the the Hebrew Priests (Pharisees and Sadducee's) who Jesus of Nazareth (JoN) condemned more harshly than the prostitutes, extortionists (tax collectors) and thieves. JoN called these priests "Vipers & Hypocrites" and inferred they were worse than the average sinners because although they were sick themselves they refused to admit it and get help.

Anyway, back to the two questions...

First, To KNOW JESUS means more than saying a prayer, going to church and reading the Bible.

One can do all the ritual and ascribe to whatever dogmas and doctrines their "religion" teaches... they can claim Jesus is their best friend and do great works... yet even the Bible clearly points out that NOT ALL WHO CLAIM JESUS SHALL BE SAVED (sinless). Sadly, It says "many shall come and say on that day 'Lord (Jesus) did we not do great things in YOUR NAME' yet Jesus shall then say to these (who did not WALK THEIR TALK) "Depart from me .. I DO NOT KNOW YOU".

But then, if the name "JESUS" is not the saving factor then is it possible that more than just "Christians" WILL BE SAVED? Which indeed is Question #2 and instead of just answering it myself... I will let someone I normally do not quote too much do the answering...

THE POPE (before he was the POPE).

Here is an article regarding WHO CAN BE SAVED and I must admit.. I may not agree with all that he believes.. but this is pretty close to my view.

Are Non-Christians Saved?

In a 1964 sermon, the Catholic priest who later became pope discussed whether there is salvation outside the Church.
By Joseph Ratzinger

...Everything we believe about God, and everything we know about man, prevents us from accepting that beyond the limits of the Church there is no more salvation, that up to the time of Christ all men were subject to the fate of eternal damnation. We are no longer ready and able to think that our neighbor, who is a decent and respectable man and in many ways better than we are, should be eternally damned simply because he is not a Catholic. We are no longer ready, no longer willing, to think that eternal corruption should be inflicted on people in Asia, in Africa, or wherever it may be, merely on account of their not having "Catholic" marked in their passport.
Actually, a great deal of thought had been devoted in theology, both before and after Ignatius, to the question of how people, without even knowing it, in some way belonged to the Church and to Christ and could thus be saved nevertheless. And still today, a great deal of perspicacity is used in such reflections.

Yet if we are honest, we will have to admit that this is not our problem at all. The question we have to face is not that of whether other people can be saved and how. We are convinced that God is able to do this with or without our theories, with or without our perspicacity, and that we do not need to help him do it with our cogitations. The question that really troubles us is not in the least concerned with whether and how God manages to save others.

The question that torments us is, much rather, that of why it is still actually necessary for us to carry out the whole ministry of the Christian faith—why, if there are so many other ways to heaven and to salvation, should it still be demanded of us that we bear, day by day, the whole burden of ecclesiastical dogma and ecclesiastical ethics? And with that, we are once more confronted, though from a different approach, with the same question we raised yesterday in conversation with God and with which we parted: What actually is the Christian reality, the real substance of Christianity that goes beyond mere moralism? What is that special thing in Christianity that not only justifies but compels us to be and live as Christians?

It became clear enough to us, yesterday, that there is no answer to this that will resolve every contradiction into incontrovertible, unambivalent truth with scientific clarity. Assent to the hiddenness of God is an essential part of the movement of the spirit that we call "faith." And one more preliminary consideration is requisite. If we are raising the question of the basis and meaning of our life as Christians, as it emerged for us just now, then this can easily conceal a sidelong glance at what we suppose to be the easier and more comfortable life of other people, who will "also" get to heaven. We are too much like the workers taken on in the first hour whom the Lord talks about in his parable of the workers in the vineyard (Mt 20:1-6). When they realized that the day's wage of one denarius could be much more easily earned, they could no longer see why they had sweated all day. Yet how could they really have been certain that it was so much more comfortable to be out of work than to work? And why was it that they were happy with their wages only on the condition that other people were worse off than they were? But the parable is not there on account of those workers at that time; it is there for our sake. For in our raising questions about the "why" of Christianity, we are doing just what those workers did. We are assuming that spiritual "unemployment"—a life without faith or prayer—is more pleasant than spiritual service. Yet how do we know that?

We are staring at the trials of everyday Christianity and forgetting on that account that faith is not just a burden that weighs us down; it is at the same time a light that brings us counsel, gives us a path to follow, and gives us meaning. We are seeing in the Church only the exterior order that limits our freedom and thereby overlooking the fact that she is our spiritual home, which shields us, keeps us safe in life and in death. We are seeing only our own burden and forgetting that other people also have burdens, even if we know nothing of them. And above all, what a strange attitude that actually is, when we no longer find Christian service worthwhile if the denarius of salvation may be obtained even without it! It seems as if we want to be rewarded, not just with our own salvation, but most especially with other people's damnation—just like the workers hired in the first hour. That is very human, but the Lord's parable is particularly meant to make us quite aware of how profoundly un-Christian it is at the same time. Anyone who looks on the loss of salvation for others as the condition, as it were, on which he serves Christ will in the end only be able to turn away grumbling, because that kind of reward is contrary to the loving-kindness of God.

-------------------

Who "GET's SAVED" is really not up to you or I.. it is up to GOD ALONE.

I think the final verdict will surprise everyone... but I will let God take care of judgement.. I meanwhile will continue to do the MOST IMPORTANT CALLING..which is...

BE LOVE!

Be Love & Be Loved!