Act

We never know how far our actions would spread until we see the final effect, which may not be evident in this lifetime.

In life our actions are a chain, intertwined with the actions of others. The interactions between people are connected in ways unimaginable.

If you choose not to do the right thing you will never get that same chance again. Nobody might every be given the chance to make a difference just because you chose not to ACT when you had the opportunity.

Open your eyes and do the right thing. For all you know you could save the lives of many through your one act of kindness.

You can be the hero. Heroes do what is right, Heroes are made when a choice is made.

You might only directly affect one person’s life, but that person and their story could save many more indirectly. Lives that would have been lost if not for your action.

Make a choice. Be the hero. Save a life.

You can make a difference in many ways.

Apathy is a curse.

Share Jesus with someone.  It might save them

Rights

This is the 4th post in my on-going series on Revolution

There are certain rights that were promised the people by the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.  These amendments were previously PROMISED to reconcile the lack of a Bill of Rights provided for directly within the original document and are the ONLY reason that the constitution was agreed upon by the 13 colonies.

The first ten amendments are known as The Bill of Rights

for those who do not know them they proceed as follows

#1 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

#2 A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

#3 No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

#4 The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

#5 No person shall be held to answer for any capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

#6 In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district where in the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

#7 In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

#8 Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

#9 The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

# 10 The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Simply put:

#1 The government shall NOT establish a national religion and shall not put into effect laws that protect or harm the free practice of any religion.  And the government also shall not put into effect any laws that would take away from the rights to Speak what you wish, Assemble in a peaceful manner, Publish whatever information you choose, or to Petition the government.

#2 Because a military is necessary for protection of freedom (back then the military was run on a state by state basis through the different militias) people shall have the right to own a weapon.

#3 Quartering of soldiers is not permitted

#4 In order for any law enforcement agency to search/seize yourself or your property a Warrant specifically describing who/what shall be search and what that person/property is to be searched for.

#5 People cannot be put on trial multiple times for the same crime.  No person will be forced to witness against him/herself.  Nor shall a person be deprived of anything (life, liberty, or property) without due process.  Nor can private property be taken for public use without just compensation

#6 An impartial jury and a speedy trial in the State/District in which the crime was committed must be provided to all those accused of criminal activities by law.  Legal counsel is to be provided for all those accused as a defense of themselves in trial.

#7 In all civil suits where-in the value in controversy exceeds $20 a jury mus be provided if requested.

#8 Neither excessive bail or fines nor cruel and unusual punishments be inflicted by the courts

#9 The statement of protection of these rights neither denies people any rights not listed here or in the constitution or claims any rights not listed here as being worthless.

#10 Any powers not assigned by the Constitution to the federal government or states belongs to the states or the people.

The most important of these amendments, in this respect, being 1, 4, 9, & 10

These four protect our ability to spread ideas (whether controversial or respected), our property from being unfairly taken (whether legal or illegal), and all our rights, powers and privileges not specifically mentioned in either the Bill of Rights or the Constitution.

These four amendments should also call all of those who care about the future of this nation and the future of our rights as people in this nation to action.

Our government has been writing and enforcing many laws which violate the Bill of Rights.

And “When injustice becomes law, Rebellion becomes Duty.”

Types of theology

There are three main groups of theology.  Atheology, Protheology, and Vertheology (These are my terms and won’t be found in a dictionary or encyclopedia).

Atheology is the study of God in an attempt to disprove His existence or study of other fields to obtain the same effect.  It is used by people who refuse to believe that God exists.  Study of evolutionary theory is one example.

Protheology is the study of God in an attempt to prove His existence or study of other fields to obtain the same effect.  It is used by Christians and some people of other religions that wish people to find God.  Study of parrallels between a sacred text and recorded history is one example.

Vertheology is the study of God or other fields in an attempt to learn the truth about the existence of God.  It is used by those who simply wish to understand the truth of the matter.  In its process both atheological study and protheological study are used and compared to determine which is more accurate.

Most people seem to be surprised to hear that even atheists study the bible.  Some study it for its historical value and others study it for atheological application.

The least common of the three is Vertheology because most people have an opinion as the the existence of God that is not likely to be deterred.  Unfortunately this is the MOST important of the three.  This form of theology allows the UNDECIDED to make an informed decision about God without bias.  If all the evidence both for and against God is laid out and understood by the person they will make the decision that THEY deem is the correct one and not the one-sided degradation of the other side.

Christians need not push the undecided for that will turn them away.  Instead we should inform them of everything that we can for BOTH sides of the argument that way they will know for sure that they are choosing the path by themselves and not being led along like a blind person.

I know that it is hard to present both sides of an argument but in doing so you are being a testimony to this person and they will know you truly care that they form their own INFORMED opinion.

They may not make the choice for a good eternity but at least they are actually making the decision for themselves.

“Gay” man sues Bible publisher

This one of the articles

Even the headlines aren’t politically correct. I find it hard to believe that someone in this day and age can get away with writing the word GAY instead of homosexual.

Well this person is Gay in the common sense of the word (homosexual) but hopefully by the end of this legal scenario he won’t be “gay” in the dictionary sense.

This person at the source of his argument is using 3 versions of the same scriptural passage. In the fashion in which he presents implies that these are of the same translation just taken from different copyright years.

In 1970, I Corinthians 6:9 read as followed-

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulteres, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effiminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind.

In 1982 ,the same scripture read like this-

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodimites.

In 2001 the same scripture reads like this-

Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not inherit God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled, those who sin sexually, worship idols, take part in adultery, those who are male prostitutes, or men who have sexual relations with other men, those who steal, are greedy, get drunk, lie about others, or rob thses people will not inherit God’s kingdom.

Unfortunately these are versions from 3 different translations. The first translation is Old KJV (King James Version). The second translation is the New American Standard Bible. I personally do not know what the third translation is. However what I do know is that none of the versions listed here have ever been published by Zondervan. Zondervan publishes NIV translations only with the exception of The Message, which is a paraphrase not a translation and this is also NOT the third version listed above.

If anyone still believes that this person has grounds for a lawsuit based on these grounds please explain this to me for I can see no support for legal action.

Now on another grounds this person claims that the depiction of homosexuality as a sin is what has caused him to be made “an outcast from his family and contributed to physical discomfort and periods of ‘demoralization, chaos and bewilderment.’”

Is homosexuality widely accepted in either Non-Christian theistic circles or the atheistic circles?

The statistical and factual answer is No.

Islam does not condone homosexuality. Judaism does not condone homosexuality. American law tends not to condone homosexuality.

Therefore this man has NO RIGHT to claim that a single published translation of The Bible is the only, or even the main, cause of his “emotional pain.”

If the case were to reach the court system I would wish to be in the courtroom. Unfortunately I cannot.

However in all actuality I hope this case doesn’t make it to court. Not because I believe that he will win, but i fear the repercussions of the appealing of the original decision.

Another interesting scenario that could very likely land the Christian Church as a whole in a poor spot is the current United Nations anti-defamation law. This is the article and I should have a post on this topic by the end of the week.

Civic Duty

This is the third post in a continuing series about Revolution.

The 1st post is available HERE
The 2nd post is available HERE

When does revolution become more than a theory?
And even more importantly when should theory be turned to action?

I am merely a revolutionary theorist and as such I know that at this point I am unable to take action.
This knowledge can merely be attributed to one of the central ideas of Tao.
“Tiggers cannot really fly”

In this I am not referring to Tigger as a character in a children’s book but to the idea of being true to one’s inner nature. Everything and everyone has an inner nature and when they stay in harmony with that around them they abide by that nature.

Since I am a theorist it is not my nature to initialize the revolution for which i desire greatly. It saddens me to know that it is not my place to begin this endeavor. It could perhaps be your place though reader. Any person reading this could be the person who is the most necessary to this revolution. Some person out there has the skill but perhaps lacks the knowledge of how best to use it. My skills are those of deduction, reasoning, and passion, however my skills are not those of war tactics and they are not those of virus programming.

Getting back to the purpose of this post, Civic Duty.

We all as citizens and observers have a duty that is neglected by most.

“We the People” are to hold our government responsible for its actions.
“We the People” are to choose how we wish our country to be run.
“We the People” are to bear the burden of fixing a broken society.

“We the People” are the prodigal would-be’s.

Potential must be converted into action and the technology that allows for the non-use of potential should be converted into technology that increases potential instead of shadowing it.

It is our civic duty to overthrow an unjust, failing, corrupt government.

I am not advocating violence, but i do advocate overthrow of the government’s current state.

Another piece of Tao to ponder until the continuation is posted.

“People are considered pure of heart when they do not approach
power and pomp; but those who can be near without being affected
are the purest of all. People are considered high-minded when they
do not know how to plot and contrive; but those who know how yet do
not do so are the highest of all.”