A well written submission James and judging by the comments it has been well received by like minded believers but I am not convinced that the biblical god is a reality or that believing in god is the answer to world problems. Good luck convincing the world that it is.
I believe people power is the middle ground between Christianity and violence and that is where the solution lies without having to adopt either extreme.
I admire those who have the faith and genuinely believe in and practice Christianity but for too long many of the administrators of the Christian Religion have not exactly been good examples to follow.
Allegations of kiddy fiddling, fornication, debauchery, fraud etc does not help the religion.
Might I suggest, if you want to revive Christianity, in no particular order:-
. Name calling and disparaging comments by some about people who choose to not believe will not be likely to attract newcomers and borders on bullying.
. Go easy on the ‘you must love god’, because if you don’t you will spend eternity burning in the fires of hell stuff. It doesn’t sit well with young people and it relies on a fear factor.
. Get rid of the boring, tuneless hymns which young people don’t understand.
Perhaps try rock music or at least a modern version of it. Oh, wait, that’s been tried and set up by an alleged paedophile and his son who were more interested in collecting funds for huge buildings and private planes.
. Don’t tell people that if you believe in him, he will protect you. I can tell you first hand that it didn't work in real life for some who did believe and I didn’t.
. Quit telling people that he sees all and hears all. Big brother stuff in this day and age doesn’t go over well. Once again, it is an illogical fear factor.
I realise that my comments will not sit well with many people on this site and I’ll cop a bit of flak but I can’t and won’t pretend to be something I’m not.
The good news Jim, is that you seem to have far more problems with Jesus' followers than with Jesus! So I'd say there's not nearly as many barriers to faith as you imagine! Hang in there!! :)
Ha? No God? It is pseudo-intellectual arrogance, humanistic pride and an ingrained rebellion against any authority that characterise the people of Thomas Nagel's world.
In general terms, the prime minister of Italy agrees with you. I suggest you start at 11 minutes for her fabulous peroration, but the entire speech is powerful.
ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLE, GENESIS 3 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
Amen brother! Unless your completely stupid or so stubborn you just won’t admit your wrong after so much experience in a dystopian world, you’d have to come to the conclusion that we can’t save this world by ourselves. We need an outside agency and fortunately we have one who is able to solve all the issues and more than that only has our good in mind.
that's epic mate so true and so well explained. i couldn't agree more. it's also challenging when i feel like i'm sitting on the answer but reluctantly share it and need to make my faith more of a normal convo with people i hang out with. love it.
Thank you James - very well written. This piece is enough to encourage us all to do a little self-reflection.
When a biological male chants "I am a woman! I am a woman! I am a woman!" etc., what he is really doing, is clenching his fist at God and saying: "I am God! I am God! I am God!" God created him as a male. So this is a direct rebellion against, and denial of God. In his heart he is saying to God, "I know you created me as a male. That is why I have decided that I am a female. In other words, I am God, not you."
I believe the biggest sin that is keeping us separated from God, is pride. This has been the problem ever since the Garden of Eden. We stubbornly say in our hearts "There is no God!" simply because we want to be the God of our lives. This causes us to drift further and further away from God and walk down paths that become darker and darker. So of course, we stumble more and more and become madmen in the process. Remember what Jesus (Who is God Himself) said:
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
We desperately need a revival here in the west. But I believe that the only way that will happen is if people come to God in humility, repent of their sins and surrender their lives to God. We desperately need the Spirit of God to move in all our hearts.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time." 1 Peter 5:6-9
Great article. I agree with all you have written. So many thoughts running through my mind.
I was raised in a strict Catholic household.
However, since moving to Australia my belief in God Almighty and his only son Jesus Christ has never waned.
I don’t go to church. I believe if you live your life by the 10 Commandments and don’t commit a Cardinal Sin you can still in your own way everyday open your eyes and take a breath and be grateful for all we have.
As a civilised society we need rules. We need something bigger than us to believe in.
Chaos and Anarchy is the result of no structure.
Your description of tribalism is the best description of what’s happening in today’s world.
To deny the events of October 7th of the butchery and barbarism displayed by Hamas and the Palestinians who cheered them on is only condoning the violence and destruction of the only Western country in the Middle East. For people ignorant enough to see the leaders of Hamas who are in Qatar living in obscene luxury and opulence willing to send every Palestinian forward as cannon fodder is truly indicative of this world you are describing.
I hate to think the West is losing. However, when we see the waves of immigration and the people who are looking to live off our systems and the leaders of our Western countries encouraging this you have to wonder to what end?
Total authoritarian control is not beyond the realm.
I can only seeing it ending in horrible violence.
My heritage is Ukrainian 🇺🇦. The West needs to continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invaders. Do they need the Russians knocking at the gates of Vienna to wake up and suddenly realise we have a problem?
Too many crazies wanting to be Captain of the Kids.
A well written submission James and judging by the comments it has been well received by like minded believers but I am not convinced that the biblical god is a reality or that believing in god is the answer to world problems. Good luck convincing the world that it is.
I believe people power is the middle ground between Christianity and violence and that is where the solution lies without having to adopt either extreme.
I admire those who have the faith and genuinely believe in and practice Christianity but for too long many of the administrators of the Christian Religion have not exactly been good examples to follow.
Allegations of kiddy fiddling, fornication, debauchery, fraud etc does not help the religion.
Might I suggest, if you want to revive Christianity, in no particular order:-
. Name calling and disparaging comments by some about people who choose to not believe will not be likely to attract newcomers and borders on bullying.
. Go easy on the ‘you must love god’, because if you don’t you will spend eternity burning in the fires of hell stuff. It doesn’t sit well with young people and it relies on a fear factor.
. Get rid of the boring, tuneless hymns which young people don’t understand.
Perhaps try rock music or at least a modern version of it. Oh, wait, that’s been tried and set up by an alleged paedophile and his son who were more interested in collecting funds for huge buildings and private planes.
. Don’t tell people that if you believe in him, he will protect you. I can tell you first hand that it didn't work in real life for some who did believe and I didn’t.
. Quit telling people that he sees all and hears all. Big brother stuff in this day and age doesn’t go over well. Once again, it is an illogical fear factor.
I realise that my comments will not sit well with many people on this site and I’ll cop a bit of flak but I can’t and won’t pretend to be something I’m not.
The good news Jim, is that you seem to have far more problems with Jesus' followers than with Jesus! So I'd say there's not nearly as many barriers to faith as you imagine! Hang in there!! :)
You could be right James. Something has to unite the people to fight back and if it turns out to be Christianity I will applaud it.
Excellent James!
Wow James.....👏👏👏
Ha? No God? It is pseudo-intellectual arrogance, humanistic pride and an ingrained rebellion against any authority that characterise the people of Thomas Nagel's world.
Absolutely spot on James! Bravo! We need more of this.
In general terms, the prime minister of Italy agrees with you. I suggest you start at 11 minutes for her fabulous peroration, but the entire speech is powerful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_Z1LClnhsk
ALL THE WAY BACK TO THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLE, GENESIS 3 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
The woman answered the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You must not eat of it or touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not surely die,” the serpent told her. “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eyes, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom, she took the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.
And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”
“I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”
“Who told you that you were naked?” asked the LORD God. “Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”
And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
“The serpent deceived me,” she replied, “and I ate.”
Amen brother! Unless your completely stupid or so stubborn you just won’t admit your wrong after so much experience in a dystopian world, you’d have to come to the conclusion that we can’t save this world by ourselves. We need an outside agency and fortunately we have one who is able to solve all the issues and more than that only has our good in mind.
that's epic mate so true and so well explained. i couldn't agree more. it's also challenging when i feel like i'm sitting on the answer but reluctantly share it and need to make my faith more of a normal convo with people i hang out with. love it.
Thanks James! That’s gold!
Could not have said it better, Thank you James, and all the people who've posted on this site. Problem is how many people read your messages ?
Thank you James - very well written. This piece is enough to encourage us all to do a little self-reflection.
When a biological male chants "I am a woman! I am a woman! I am a woman!" etc., what he is really doing, is clenching his fist at God and saying: "I am God! I am God! I am God!" God created him as a male. So this is a direct rebellion against, and denial of God. In his heart he is saying to God, "I know you created me as a male. That is why I have decided that I am a female. In other words, I am God, not you."
I believe the biggest sin that is keeping us separated from God, is pride. This has been the problem ever since the Garden of Eden. We stubbornly say in our hearts "There is no God!" simply because we want to be the God of our lives. This causes us to drift further and further away from God and walk down paths that become darker and darker. So of course, we stumble more and more and become madmen in the process. Remember what Jesus (Who is God Himself) said:
"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12
We desperately need a revival here in the west. But I believe that the only way that will happen is if people come to God in humility, repent of their sins and surrender their lives to God. We desperately need the Spirit of God to move in all our hearts.
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time." 1 Peter 5:6-9
Onya James
So succinct - God bless and keep you and make His face smile upon you.
Bravo indeed James 👍👍. This is the reality and you’ve elucidated it so well, much appreciated brother.
Great article. I agree with all you have written. So many thoughts running through my mind.
I was raised in a strict Catholic household.
However, since moving to Australia my belief in God Almighty and his only son Jesus Christ has never waned.
I don’t go to church. I believe if you live your life by the 10 Commandments and don’t commit a Cardinal Sin you can still in your own way everyday open your eyes and take a breath and be grateful for all we have.
As a civilised society we need rules. We need something bigger than us to believe in.
Chaos and Anarchy is the result of no structure.
Your description of tribalism is the best description of what’s happening in today’s world.
To deny the events of October 7th of the butchery and barbarism displayed by Hamas and the Palestinians who cheered them on is only condoning the violence and destruction of the only Western country in the Middle East. For people ignorant enough to see the leaders of Hamas who are in Qatar living in obscene luxury and opulence willing to send every Palestinian forward as cannon fodder is truly indicative of this world you are describing.
I hate to think the West is losing. However, when we see the waves of immigration and the people who are looking to live off our systems and the leaders of our Western countries encouraging this you have to wonder to what end?
Total authoritarian control is not beyond the realm.
I can only seeing it ending in horrible violence.
My heritage is Ukrainian 🇺🇦. The West needs to continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invaders. Do they need the Russians knocking at the gates of Vienna to wake up and suddenly realise we have a problem?
Too many crazies wanting to be Captain of the Kids.
God help us !!!!!
Infidelity is the root of lawlessness. John Calvin
Keeps the lawyers in good living