Besides all the political and ideological reasons people are setting themselves on fire, IT'S HAPPENING. I have learned to step back from the "thing" going on and kinda just watch what's going on. That's how I say it to people, these things are actually happening in our world. Buc everything else! Somethings going on, here. I believe it'…
Besides all the political and ideological reasons people are setting themselves on fire, IT'S HAPPENING. I have learned to step back from the "thing" going on and kinda just watch what's going on. That's how I say it to people, these things are actually happening in our world. Buc everything else! Somethings going on, here. I believe it's a form of pure evil. Not religious but there's some kind of bad joojoo going on here.
I do not mean this in any patronizing or sardonic way AT ALL--it may be time for all of us to get religion. How much crazier is the idea of an omniscient God who loves us than anything the 'trust the science' climate wackos, cut the junk of kids trans freaks, or the unhinged hyperbole the left is spewing?
After 35+ years of 'cynical agnosticism' I began to reread the Bible a few years ago. My intention was to read the Bible and then to see if I can find evidence of the Bible in the world in which I live. In short, I found more truth in the Bible than anything I've read in 35+ years--and it actually makes me feel better.
I agree there is some bad juju--and now I'm inclined to believe it is demonically inspired over man-made. Just a thought. Be well my friend.
I'm right there with ya, Brian. I'm taking my own religious journey right now and the Bible is part of it. I'm still on the road though....with me, I'm not the kinda guy to throw all my chips into one basket. I'm dealing with that right now along my journey but you are right. I agree with everything you said. Not to sound like whatever......but, it's so obvious to me that this is pure evil. I understand everyone's different out here in the world but man o man is it so obvious to me.
Good. Another soft suggestion. Check out Jordan Peterson's Biblical Lectures. I am a podcast dude--on the move and listen to stuff on phone, but here is the YouTube lecture (1 of 14). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
THESE ARE SO GOOD!! Each lecture is 2.5 hours. I've listened to all of them 4 or 5 times. These lectures are what made me pick up the Bible again. They are secular lectures, but SO INTERESTING. Seriously.
These lectures and Darryl Cooper's Martyrmade "Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem" are, IM (not so humble) opinion--the best podcasts ever. Full stop.
Thanks for the Jordan Peterson info bsn, love this : Philippians 4: 4-9: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
"I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet."
Initially I skimmed the Pslams. TL;DR--and, honestly I'm not well versed/educated (nor usually interested) in poetry. The Psalms turned me back into my 15 year old self. BORING!
Now, upon multiple times doing the Bible in a year--I see them much differently. They are songs of joy and sorrow. Pain. Fear. Regret. Love. Optimism. Gratitude. They are truly the spectrum of man's emotional and psychological response to the world. I think we can find a little bit of ourselves in all of the Psalms.
Thank you Dena. A few years ago I had decided to commit a few quotes and Bible verses to memory. As a kid in Awana, I never understood why we memorized Scripture, I was there for the athletic competition...
Now I understand that I can always have True North within me. I'm adding this to my list.
I wish I could say I followed through 100%, but I lost the laminated cards I kept with me--but this has inspired me to begin again.
My list:
"If" by Rudyard Kipling
"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
"Man in Arena" by TR - actually only a portion of 'Citizen in a Republic' in which TR drops about 1000 truth bombs.
1 COR 13--I've now heard people call this Paul's Love Letter
Numbers 18:32--I'll write this one because, well, I just love it.
"You will be no sin by reason of if when you offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die."
To me, this last verse basically says, give all that you have. It doesn't need to be perfect, but your effort matters. Never, never, never diminish the honest best efforts of another man, or you will die.
Thank you for the great verse Dena. Have a great day.
Oh please, not Invictus. We are not the masters of our fate. We are not the captains of our souls. We are creatures, creatures made in the Image of God. It is God in Jesus Christ who holds the Universe, and us, together.
You may have heard the aphorism, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."
Inasmuch as we're slinging recommendations around, mine are these:
1. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
2. The Everlasting Man - G.K. Chesterton.
3. The Resurrection of the Son of God - N.T. Wright.
Thanks Bobby. I hear what you're saying, and honestly I heard Invictus long long before I ever decided to take the Bible seriously. That said, I still find it to be inspiring.
I have zero depth to argue Scripture, but to me, God did give man free will. I think this is what Henley is describing. Is Invictus too prideful? Maybe--but what/where/when does man find inspiration prior to contact with The Word?
CS Lewis is terrific. I've read most of his stuff, including Mere Christianity. I have 'The Everlasting Man' by GK Chesterton, but haven't cracked it yet.
My list was things I had committed to memory (then got lazy & fell out of the habit of maintenance)--but I do like your reading list.
That's great! I try to really hear what people are saying when pushing back on what I've written. I'm not always good at it, but writing as opposed to speaking face to face, it much easier for me to slow down, listen, think, accept--then respond. Often, I respond like it is an attack to which I respond like an ass.
So, I'm glad I took my time and thought things through. Why does Invictus resonate with me? Does Bobby have a point? What can I learn here?
Mr Chris Bray has attracted an interesting, eclectic, and thoughtful group of folks. It is as rewarding as his original piece that got us all chatting/exchanging thoughts.
Thank you. I am still genuinely happy as a person. My core is still strong and true to myself. Life has torn at it though and with the world the way it is, it's tough. That's how I know there has to be a lot of people breaking because I'm kind of a tough mother! Lol! I've always been myself, I know it's not that easy for everyone. So if I'm breaking a little bit, I can only imagine what's going in out there.
Believing in evil without believing in god (or Christ) is scary, because then the source of evil must be people, rather than a Satan. Many people are incapable to accepting this, so they adopt religions that pin "evil" on forces that are out of their control.
You might also consider reading The Rational Bible (Genesis and Exodus so far) by Dennis Prager. He takes verse by verse and adds explanation and commentary. Very informative. Also, read the book of John in the New Testament. good places to start.
Sadly I over looked your response. Thank you. I just got Genesis on Audible. Listening to books allows me to consume much more than I would be able to by reading alone.
Did you listen to Jordan Peterson's Exodus work? Prager was on that as well. He is educated, persuasive, and funny. Thanks for the suggestion.
Two comparisons to Nero & Ancient Rome: I’m not aware of them chopping parts off their children, and they did light Christians on fire as torches. In the modern era, we send kids through a Cuisinart ad early as possible, and we have an ordinary citizen lighting himself on fire because we’re drowning in evil.
I'll pray you find someone close by who can walk you through the Bible. I was convinced at one point that I couldn't be a Christian because I couldn't force myself to read the thing; it made no sense.
Now it does. Good on you. And yes, it's good vs evil.
One of the things in support of the Bible's truth is the inclusion of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is narrative about real people and the crazy things they do, as well as revelation about the God who chose them as His own people; both Israelites and Christ followers. No photoshopping the people involved; warts and all. It rings true about people we know, and ourselves. I believe it was Lewis, or Chesterton, who noted that it shines light on the world and makes sense of what we see.
Jordan Peterson makes a similar point in some of his lectures.
I'm only 54 and this space/time feels like the worst I've ever experienced--but all I need to do is read the Old Testament to see, "Oh, third verse same as the first..."
It gives me comfort to read how many times we, as a species, keep screwing it all up--and God hasn't turned his back on us.
Remember back early in the Iraq War, when all the looting of museums was going on, Rumsfeld said something to the effect of, "Freedom is messy."
I agreed then and I agree now. We are sinner/saints, monsters/angels at any given moment.
"Of course I contradict myself, I contain multitudes..." (poorly quoted Walt Whitman)
I disagree a little bit about the analog of the present with the past. In the past there was no political history other than strongman rule. Thus life for the weak and average sucked as it had always sucked.
In 1775, the legislatures of the colonies sent ≈60 delegates to form a new government. From 1781 onward, we have lived under the almost divine principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
My point is that we’re pissing that wondrous legacy away, and that makes this modern conflict SO MUCH more excruciating.
“It is better to have loved & lost than to have never loved at all” does NOT apply to freedom.
I have always accepted that our nation was Divinely inspired--even when my belief/understanding of the Divine was more opaque than it is today (opacity remains, but I've stopped fighting what I cannot prove).
I've read/heard many people say something to the effect of, "There is nothing special about USA, nothing Divine, we colonized a land like all other countries..."
The not so subtle insinuation seems to be anyone who believes our nation was Divinely inspired, or has any moral authority over other countries is country-bumpkin-ish, xenophobic, jingoistic, etc. It is said in a rather sneering way.
We should be above such antiquated thinking.
I'm with you John. There is nothing antiquated, nor simple about recognizing we are the only country on Earth that 'tries' and was founded on the principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
I saw something the other day about 2A. 2A does not give us the right to bear arms. We have the right to bear arms from God. 2A forbids the government from infringing on that Divine right.
I've never been particularly religious but I think that the lack of a 'creator' is what's missing because it is necessary to believe there is something more above all of us than the government of crooks and clowns.
I believe there is a Creator, but I suspect His reaction to our troubles is “Why should I intervene when most of you don’t bother to inform yourselves of factual truths and thereby abandon your responsibility to to ensure your society is governed wisely. ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’ doesn’t just mean money; It means your time and attention as well.”
Speaking of time & attention...I realized I need to go on a bit of a hiatus and focus on our race. While I love it here...I need to throw myself into our event. I don't think I've fought hard enough for this, I need to see what it can become when I leave nothing. Go all in. That means living like Rocky. Drinking raw eggs and avoiding distractions!
Tucker and Rogan were talking about this. You could hear the gears turning in Rogan’s head as he considered it. I am a believer but evil is the only explanation for what is going on around us.
I thought Tucker’s comment that there are a lot of weak politicians who, because of their weakness, become vessels for evil. He included Mike Johnson in that group.
Yep, pretty prescient when you see how the votes went this weekend with Johnson doing a complete 180 and leading the way. Passing all that money and not a cent for the border, sliding in the TikTok edict and forcing the FISA renewal without any effort to reign in the abuse.
I read this recently, doubted it, googled for information about it, and found it's true:
It could be coincidence - extremely unlikely, but life is strange - that on some images in Disney cartoons going as far back as Pinocchio in the early 1940s, there are, for lack of a better term, pedophilic symbols.
Besides all the political and ideological reasons people are setting themselves on fire, IT'S HAPPENING. I have learned to step back from the "thing" going on and kinda just watch what's going on. That's how I say it to people, these things are actually happening in our world. Buc everything else! Somethings going on, here. I believe it's a form of pure evil. Not religious but there's some kind of bad joojoo going on here.
Mike,
I do not mean this in any patronizing or sardonic way AT ALL--it may be time for all of us to get religion. How much crazier is the idea of an omniscient God who loves us than anything the 'trust the science' climate wackos, cut the junk of kids trans freaks, or the unhinged hyperbole the left is spewing?
After 35+ years of 'cynical agnosticism' I began to reread the Bible a few years ago. My intention was to read the Bible and then to see if I can find evidence of the Bible in the world in which I live. In short, I found more truth in the Bible than anything I've read in 35+ years--and it actually makes me feel better.
I agree there is some bad juju--and now I'm inclined to believe it is demonically inspired over man-made. Just a thought. Be well my friend.
bsn
I'm right there with ya, Brian. I'm taking my own religious journey right now and the Bible is part of it. I'm still on the road though....with me, I'm not the kinda guy to throw all my chips into one basket. I'm dealing with that right now along my journey but you are right. I agree with everything you said. Not to sound like whatever......but, it's so obvious to me that this is pure evil. I understand everyone's different out here in the world but man o man is it so obvious to me.
Good. Another soft suggestion. Check out Jordan Peterson's Biblical Lectures. I am a podcast dude--on the move and listen to stuff on phone, but here is the YouTube lecture (1 of 14). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w
THESE ARE SO GOOD!! Each lecture is 2.5 hours. I've listened to all of them 4 or 5 times. These lectures are what made me pick up the Bible again. They are secular lectures, but SO INTERESTING. Seriously.
These lectures and Darryl Cooper's Martyrmade "Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem" are, IM (not so humble) opinion--the best podcasts ever. Full stop.
I'm with you on a journey.
bsn
Thanks for the Jordan Peterson info bsn, love this : Philippians 4: 4-9: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
"I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet."
Psalms 18:37
Initially I skimmed the Pslams. TL;DR--and, honestly I'm not well versed/educated (nor usually interested) in poetry. The Psalms turned me back into my 15 year old self. BORING!
Now, upon multiple times doing the Bible in a year--I see them much differently. They are songs of joy and sorrow. Pain. Fear. Regret. Love. Optimism. Gratitude. They are truly the spectrum of man's emotional and psychological response to the world. I think we can find a little bit of ourselves in all of the Psalms.
Thank you. Nice choice!
bsn
Thank you Dena. A few years ago I had decided to commit a few quotes and Bible verses to memory. As a kid in Awana, I never understood why we memorized Scripture, I was there for the athletic competition...
Now I understand that I can always have True North within me. I'm adding this to my list.
I wish I could say I followed through 100%, but I lost the laminated cards I kept with me--but this has inspired me to begin again.
My list:
"If" by Rudyard Kipling
"Invictus" by William Ernest Henley
"Man in Arena" by TR - actually only a portion of 'Citizen in a Republic' in which TR drops about 1000 truth bombs.
1 COR 13--I've now heard people call this Paul's Love Letter
Numbers 18:32--I'll write this one because, well, I just love it.
"You will be no sin by reason of if when you offered the best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, or you will die."
To me, this last verse basically says, give all that you have. It doesn't need to be perfect, but your effort matters. Never, never, never diminish the honest best efforts of another man, or you will die.
Thank you for the great verse Dena. Have a great day.
bsn
Thanks! The Sunday Substack by Dr. Tenpenny’Walking With God’ is a good one each Sunday.
https://open.substack.com/pub/tenpennywalkwithgod/p/what-do-i-do-next?r=nl3ud&utm_medium=ios
Followed. Thank you. Appears to be another thought group of people on that blog.
bsn
Oh please, not Invictus. We are not the masters of our fate. We are not the captains of our souls. We are creatures, creatures made in the Image of God. It is God in Jesus Christ who holds the Universe, and us, together.
You may have heard the aphorism, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."
Inasmuch as we're slinging recommendations around, mine are these:
1. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
2. The Everlasting Man - G.K. Chesterton.
3. The Resurrection of the Son of God - N.T. Wright.
4. The Gospel of John.
5. The Epistle to the Romans, chapters 1 - 5.
Thanks Bobby. I hear what you're saying, and honestly I heard Invictus long long before I ever decided to take the Bible seriously. That said, I still find it to be inspiring.
I have zero depth to argue Scripture, but to me, God did give man free will. I think this is what Henley is describing. Is Invictus too prideful? Maybe--but what/where/when does man find inspiration prior to contact with The Word?
CS Lewis is terrific. I've read most of his stuff, including Mere Christianity. I have 'The Everlasting Man' by GK Chesterton, but haven't cracked it yet.
My list was things I had committed to memory (then got lazy & fell out of the habit of maintenance)--but I do like your reading list.
Have a great week.
bsn
You, too, Brian.
Your reply cheered me up a lot.
That's great! I try to really hear what people are saying when pushing back on what I've written. I'm not always good at it, but writing as opposed to speaking face to face, it much easier for me to slow down, listen, think, accept--then respond. Often, I respond like it is an attack to which I respond like an ass.
So, I'm glad I took my time and thought things through. Why does Invictus resonate with me? Does Bobby have a point? What can I learn here?
Mr Chris Bray has attracted an interesting, eclectic, and thoughtful group of folks. It is as rewarding as his original piece that got us all chatting/exchanging thoughts.
bsn
Thank you. I am still genuinely happy as a person. My core is still strong and true to myself. Life has torn at it though and with the world the way it is, it's tough. That's how I know there has to be a lot of people breaking because I'm kind of a tough mother! Lol! I've always been myself, I know it's not that easy for everyone. So if I'm breaking a little bit, I can only imagine what's going in out there.
Thank you! I was unaware of this series; I am going to relish it!
Well, it seems to me a person can believe in evil without running to become a follower of Christ. It's ok. Take your time. This is big.
Believing in evil without believing in god (or Christ) is scary, because then the source of evil must be people, rather than a Satan. Many people are incapable to accepting this, so they adopt religions that pin "evil" on forces that are out of their control.
You might also consider reading The Rational Bible (Genesis and Exodus so far) by Dennis Prager. He takes verse by verse and adds explanation and commentary. Very informative. Also, read the book of John in the New Testament. good places to start.
I just recommended The Gospel of John. Great minds think alike.
Sammy,
Sadly I over looked your response. Thank you. I just got Genesis on Audible. Listening to books allows me to consume much more than I would be able to by reading alone.
Did you listen to Jordan Peterson's Exodus work? Prager was on that as well. He is educated, persuasive, and funny. Thanks for the suggestion.
bsn
Two comparisons to Nero & Ancient Rome: I’m not aware of them chopping parts off their children, and they did light Christians on fire as torches. In the modern era, we send kids through a Cuisinart ad early as possible, and we have an ordinary citizen lighting himself on fire because we’re drowning in evil.
Third verse same as the first.
What has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.
bsn
I'll pray you find someone close by who can walk you through the Bible. I was convinced at one point that I couldn't be a Christian because I couldn't force myself to read the thing; it made no sense.
Now it does. Good on you. And yes, it's good vs evil.
Kathy,
Thank you. My eyes got a little misty when I read this. Thank you.
bsn
<Grin> Nobody gets to do this alone without an argument.
Be well.
I am a believer. This is a spiritual war. Pray. Gather. Worship.
One of the things in support of the Bible's truth is the inclusion of the good, the bad and the ugly. It is narrative about real people and the crazy things they do, as well as revelation about the God who chose them as His own people; both Israelites and Christ followers. No photoshopping the people involved; warts and all. It rings true about people we know, and ourselves. I believe it was Lewis, or Chesterton, who noted that it shines light on the world and makes sense of what we see.
Thank you Jason.
Jordan Peterson makes a similar point in some of his lectures.
I'm only 54 and this space/time feels like the worst I've ever experienced--but all I need to do is read the Old Testament to see, "Oh, third verse same as the first..."
It gives me comfort to read how many times we, as a species, keep screwing it all up--and God hasn't turned his back on us.
Remember back early in the Iraq War, when all the looting of museums was going on, Rumsfeld said something to the effect of, "Freedom is messy."
I agreed then and I agree now. We are sinner/saints, monsters/angels at any given moment.
"Of course I contradict myself, I contain multitudes..." (poorly quoted Walt Whitman)
bsn
I disagree a little bit about the analog of the present with the past. In the past there was no political history other than strongman rule. Thus life for the weak and average sucked as it had always sucked.
In 1775, the legislatures of the colonies sent ≈60 delegates to form a new government. From 1781 onward, we have lived under the almost divine principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
My point is that we’re pissing that wondrous legacy away, and that makes this modern conflict SO MUCH more excruciating.
“It is better to have loved & lost than to have never loved at all” does NOT apply to freedom.
I have always accepted that our nation was Divinely inspired--even when my belief/understanding of the Divine was more opaque than it is today (opacity remains, but I've stopped fighting what I cannot prove).
I've read/heard many people say something to the effect of, "There is nothing special about USA, nothing Divine, we colonized a land like all other countries..."
The not so subtle insinuation seems to be anyone who believes our nation was Divinely inspired, or has any moral authority over other countries is country-bumpkin-ish, xenophobic, jingoistic, etc. It is said in a rather sneering way.
We should be above such antiquated thinking.
I'm with you John. There is nothing antiquated, nor simple about recognizing we are the only country on Earth that 'tries' and was founded on the principle that our rights come directly from God to us individually.
I saw something the other day about 2A. 2A does not give us the right to bear arms. We have the right to bear arms from God. 2A forbids the government from infringing on that Divine right.
That is the correct perspective.
bsn
To quote another man from the past "Two things I know, I am a great sinner and Jesus is a great Savior." Spurgeon?
Just read all of the Proverbs for a way to live life is a good start.
Danny Huckabee
It’s always a good thing to get right with God. We are all going to face Him at some point.
I've never been particularly religious but I think that the lack of a 'creator' is what's missing because it is necessary to believe there is something more above all of us than the government of crooks and clowns.
I believe there is a Creator, but I suspect His reaction to our troubles is “Why should I intervene when most of you don’t bother to inform yourselves of factual truths and thereby abandon your responsibility to to ensure your society is governed wisely. ‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’ doesn’t just mean money; It means your time and attention as well.”
Speaking of time & attention...I realized I need to go on a bit of a hiatus and focus on our race. While I love it here...I need to throw myself into our event. I don't think I've fought hard enough for this, I need to see what it can become when I leave nothing. Go all in. That means living like Rocky. Drinking raw eggs and avoiding distractions!
bsn
Pure evil has made some serious strides in the last 4 years, of that there is no doubt.
Tucker and Rogan were talking about this. You could hear the gears turning in Rogan’s head as he considered it. I am a believer but evil is the only explanation for what is going on around us.
I thought Tucker’s comment that there are a lot of weak politicians who, because of their weakness, become vessels for evil. He included Mike Johnson in that group.
Yep, pretty prescient when you see how the votes went this weekend with Johnson doing a complete 180 and leading the way. Passing all that money and not a cent for the border, sliding in the TikTok edict and forcing the FISA renewal without any effort to reign in the abuse.
I read this recently, doubted it, googled for information about it, and found it's true:
It could be coincidence - extremely unlikely, but life is strange - that on some images in Disney cartoons going as far back as Pinocchio in the early 1940s, there are, for lack of a better term, pedophilic symbols.
Use the following key words -
disney cartoons man - boy love symbols
It's creepy as can be.
It’s been a banner decade for Evil, Inc. check out our website, we are always looking for new members!!! Detached or intact, we don’t mind!
Very scary also, from my perspective, is how quickly evil has been normalized across so many aspects of culture and society.
Yuppp, it's all part of it, man. The way it moves. It takes over everything. I always say it bleeds I to everything.
Isaiah 5:20.