Often Atheists get caught with the absurdity of their views and are forced to concede that there "may be a God" and fall back into a deeper trench called Agnosticism. They concede that the world is too complex to have evolved 100% on its own and that at some point the universe must start with nothing and become something. But in order to stay on the thrones of their own kingdoms they entrench themselves into an even more absurd view of the universe that God may have created this world but has no care of concern for it at all.
I am reminded of a doctor named Dr. Amen who is a medical doctor who specializes in neurology and psychiatry. He was treating a woman who as dealing with depression and was a 60 year-old widow. She told him, "No one will want to be with a 60-year-old woman like me". He confronted her assertion, saying "Really? There are 6 billion people on the planet and not ONE man out there would want to spend their life with you?". She realized how wrong that assertion was and decided to change her assertion to, "There must be as least ONE person out there who would like to spend their life with a 60-year-old woman". From there she moved to "There is someone out there for me!".
You see, the probability of there being ZERO men out there for her was ZERO PERCENT. It changed her outlook completely.
The same can be said for the Agnostic. The agnostic may think they have created a spiritual "safe space" for themselves when in reality they have opened themselves up for God to work in their lives. Using the same method as Dr. Amen, one must confront the Agnostic with their rational that "God doesn't care at all about his creation". Really? God cares ZERO about his creation? What is the probability that God cares ZERO about his creation? Answer: ZERO PERCENT. So God DOES care about the universe... he cares about you therefore since you are part of that creation. Now the question become "HOW MUCH DOES HE CARE?"
How do you measure if someone cares for you? Often we use their behavior as a sign of their feeling for us. If they want to spend time with us we say they care some for us. But we know that time alone is not enough. Just because a person spends time conversing with us does not mean they "care for us" for it may be they like spending time with us because it fills a hole in their lives. People who work in soup-kitchens often find themselves there because working their makes them feel better about themselves and not because the people they find there are of better communication or enjoyment. But spending time is a way we can quantify some small level of concern or love for us.
The next way we measure their concern for us is how far they come to be with us. If our neighbor next door comes over to say "hi" that has a different value to us than a friend to spends money on a plane ride and the spends 6 hours sitting in cramped conditions and forgoes time spent elsewhere to be with us. How often have we said, "I can't believe they traveled all the way out here to be with ME!".
Right after distance we use cost to measure ones concern and love for us. Granted we do make allowances for those who don't have as much to spend such as relatives who have limited savings to pull from to make the trip to see us. But we look at how these people compensate for their lack of funds or how they utilize what they have to let us know they love us. It could be a card, a gift or a simple letter or phone call. We measure these in cost of not just money but "time" (there's that time factor again) but also "effort". Those who are poorer use their effort to show their love. Have you ever received a hand-made-gift? A gift that took some simple ordinary and inexpensive materials and turned them into something unique and special?
These then are the measuring sticks for determining if someone cares for you: Time, Effort and Cost.
So how do we measure God's care and concern for us?
Let's look at TIME. God began his journey with Adam several thousand years ago. He later furthered his time with man through Abraham some 4000 years ago. From Abraham he worked with prophets and kings to let us know he was there for us and had a plan for us. Then at the completion of time he sent his son Jesus to spend REAL-TIME with us here on earth. He has been with us ever since too. Jesus said, "I will not leave you as orphans but will send the Holy Spirit to be with you and comfort you". He is still here!
Next let's look at EFFORT. Jesus left everything in heaven to be with us. Like that good friend that leaves everything to take a plane to fly a far distance just to be with you, God left everything behind to be with YOU. But let's not also forget all the effort God put into place to get Jesus to earth. He worked through Abraham and the Jewish people through thousands us years of backsliding and unfaithfulness to him by worshiping other gods. He protected them from constant annihilation and destruction both physically (attacks by Assyrians, Philistines, Hittites, Babylonians, Greeks and Romans) and spiritually (inter-marriage with other cultures that would have erased their faith in God and keeping his promises).
Finally there is COST. Jesus said, "No greater love is this, that a man should lay his life down for his friends!". The price God would ultimately pay for us would be his own Son. Abraham was once tested by God to sacrifice his own son on an alter. This story was not just to show us Abraham's faith in God to save Isaac (he was promised by God that through Isaac Abraham would be made the father of a large nation) but also as a fore-shadow of the price God was willing to pay for his people. Jesus allowed himself to suffer immensely to be with you forever. The purpose of the cross is for God to demonstrate the SIZE of his LOVE for us. Like the person, who looks at the gift and tries to estimate how much it cost you to buy or to make, we also look at the cross and evaluate it for it's cost and worth. God reserved the most horrible form of death (a method so cruel it is not used anywhere in the world today) for his Son to show us the full depth and height of his love.
So given these measurements, what Agnostic can say "God cares nothing for his creation" ? Like that 60-year-old widow they must relent and acknowledge that there is zero chance God cares zero for them. From there we must acknowledge the ridiculousness of our arguments and accept the TRUTH that God does love his creation fully.
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Thursday, January 3, 2019
Thursday, November 15, 2018
No! It's not caused by Global Warming...
Recently Governor Brown gave a speech at a news conference on the Camp Fire in California. Here he spent much of his time placing the blame for the fire on Global Warming and used his speech to instill fear into us to get on board his agenda to control the climate.
But sorry Mr Brown... the disastrous blaze in Northern California know as the "Camp Fire" was not caused by Global Warming. The problem isn't a mysterious Boogie-man you try to use to push your agenda.
The problem was caused by 3 main agents:
1) Environmentalists
2) Unions
3) Lawyers
First the Environmentalists. These people put pressure on California back in the 70's to end the clear-cutting of timber. This has caused the over-growth of trees in our state and because our forestry service has done it's job of stopping the smaller fires, the uncut timber has become a ticking time-fire-bomb. Trees do not last forever. They, like everything else, die naturally and when they do they carpet the forest floor with dead and dry wood. This wood, if not removed will pile up and become extremely flammable. Once started, there is no stopping it.
The Unions played their part in this fiasco because over the years PG&E lineman have become overpaid. Simple linemen can earn over $200K per year and a high voltage lineman can earn over $300K. They also have large fully-funded pensions that include full medical and dental for life and also a 401K on the side that PG&E matches dollar for dollar. These unions have forced PG&E to cut back on staff and have made it too expensive for them to replace their dying infrastructure. These power lines (some of which were only meant to be "temporary" ) are now falling apart. These power line provide the "spark" to light the ticking-fire-bomb in our state. We are foolish to think that all these high voltage lines can just live on forever. They will eventually crumble and light more and more dangerous fires. As proof that PG&E knows this is the problem, they have set up plans to shut off the power during certain conditions of high humidity and WIND. That is the only solution PG&E has to address the problem. It is CHEAPER for them to lose money by shutting of the power (can't charge people for power you didn't deliver) than it is to FIX their aging equipment.
Finally we have the lawyers. All these disasters are followed by huge lawsuits levied against PG&E by the insurance companies. Because they don't want to be held holding the bag on these burnt homes they go after PG&E to offset the cost. But in the end, that leaves PG&E with even LESS money to fund fixing the problem. This becomes a perfect storm in which everyone will be hurt in the end.
California will continue to see increasing amounts of catastrophic fires in the coming years if this is not addressed. The answer to the problem is not moving to Solar Panels. The answer is two pronged.
First we must allow the timber industry to clear cut again. This will remove the old growth and also provide fire-breaks that will stop future fires from ravaging uncontrolled. We cannot continue to allow them to grow unchecked. Before modern fire control, mother nature took care of it by periodically cleaning up the forests. But now we don't let that happen. Clear-cutting is our best alternative. The wood in our forests will be used for something, we might as well put it to some GOOD use. Right now it's only use is to devastate our citizens and fill our skies with smoke.
Next, we have to get PG&E to improve and update their aging lines. Because of the current situation and how much it needs to be done quickly, the Governor should call out the National Guard to work along side of PG&E to assist in getting this much needed work done quickly and cheaply.
But sorry Mr Brown... the disastrous blaze in Northern California know as the "Camp Fire" was not caused by Global Warming. The problem isn't a mysterious Boogie-man you try to use to push your agenda.
The problem was caused by 3 main agents:
1) Environmentalists
2) Unions
3) Lawyers
First the Environmentalists. These people put pressure on California back in the 70's to end the clear-cutting of timber. This has caused the over-growth of trees in our state and because our forestry service has done it's job of stopping the smaller fires, the uncut timber has become a ticking time-fire-bomb. Trees do not last forever. They, like everything else, die naturally and when they do they carpet the forest floor with dead and dry wood. This wood, if not removed will pile up and become extremely flammable. Once started, there is no stopping it.
The Unions played their part in this fiasco because over the years PG&E lineman have become overpaid. Simple linemen can earn over $200K per year and a high voltage lineman can earn over $300K. They also have large fully-funded pensions that include full medical and dental for life and also a 401K on the side that PG&E matches dollar for dollar. These unions have forced PG&E to cut back on staff and have made it too expensive for them to replace their dying infrastructure. These power lines (some of which were only meant to be "temporary" ) are now falling apart. These power line provide the "spark" to light the ticking-fire-bomb in our state. We are foolish to think that all these high voltage lines can just live on forever. They will eventually crumble and light more and more dangerous fires. As proof that PG&E knows this is the problem, they have set up plans to shut off the power during certain conditions of high humidity and WIND. That is the only solution PG&E has to address the problem. It is CHEAPER for them to lose money by shutting of the power (can't charge people for power you didn't deliver) than it is to FIX their aging equipment.
Finally we have the lawyers. All these disasters are followed by huge lawsuits levied against PG&E by the insurance companies. Because they don't want to be held holding the bag on these burnt homes they go after PG&E to offset the cost. But in the end, that leaves PG&E with even LESS money to fund fixing the problem. This becomes a perfect storm in which everyone will be hurt in the end.
California will continue to see increasing amounts of catastrophic fires in the coming years if this is not addressed. The answer to the problem is not moving to Solar Panels. The answer is two pronged.
First we must allow the timber industry to clear cut again. This will remove the old growth and also provide fire-breaks that will stop future fires from ravaging uncontrolled. We cannot continue to allow them to grow unchecked. Before modern fire control, mother nature took care of it by periodically cleaning up the forests. But now we don't let that happen. Clear-cutting is our best alternative. The wood in our forests will be used for something, we might as well put it to some GOOD use. Right now it's only use is to devastate our citizens and fill our skies with smoke.
Next, we have to get PG&E to improve and update their aging lines. Because of the current situation and how much it needs to be done quickly, the Governor should call out the National Guard to work along side of PG&E to assist in getting this much needed work done quickly and cheaply.
Monday, November 5, 2018
The Scientific Model doesn't make MATHEMATICAL sense
People often don't realize, but there is really only ONE mathematical function in the universe. and that function is none other than ADDITION. Addition is the source function (or building block function) for all other functions.
Subtraction? Addition of negative numbers
Example: 4 - 3 = 4 + (-3) = 1
Multiplication? Iterative Addition.
Example: 4x3 = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 OR 4 + 4 + 4
Division? Iterative Addition of negative numbers.
Example: How many times can you -3 to 12 ? Answer: 4
and so forth...
Everything essentially boils down to to this function.
And yet, when scientists try to explain why the Universe exists they wants us to believe that
0 + 0 = 1.
They implore us to accept that something comes out of nothing. Of course you can point to a myriad of complex functions that explain HOW the universe works, but that in no way explains WHY it is here at all.
Science actually follows an ancient faulty method of thinking that was found in Egyptian Mythology. In the Egyptian story of creation, Ra , the Sun god, comes out of the Nile because Ra says, "I knew my own name!". This is the same faulty view used by scientists today that believe the Universe pulls itself out of nothing because the equations tell it do so. But like any person who looks at the story of Ra, one cannot call themselves forth unless they first exists to call themselves forth. The same goes with the scientific view. The equations that govern the universe (and "create" it), cannot exist if the universe that they govern, does not first exist. It's much like having automobile traffic laws BEFORE there are automobiles. It is also important to understand that having equations that describe how a universe works does not answer the more pressing question of WHY it works this way. This is the "slight of hand" that most physicists do when discussing the beginning of the universe. They say they will can explain why we are here but in the end of their thesis they have only explained how the universe functions and how it may have reached its current state of existence
Genesis actually makes more logical sense. It says,
God + 0 = Universe.
Here the equation can actually be balanced and make some numerical sense (if numbers is your thing). The laws are created to govern the universe at the same time as the universe is created. Of course many will then ask, "Where does GOD come from?" to which the Christian can only reply, "From Eternity". This is where none of us humans can possibly understand at any level. We cannot fathom a world without time. Even in movies like "Interstellar" which tries to bend our understanding of time, we cannot grasp its powerful hold on our lives. God is outside that realm and no set of events can hold him or contain him.
Subtraction? Addition of negative numbers
Example: 4 - 3 = 4 + (-3) = 1
Multiplication? Iterative Addition.
Example: 4x3 = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 OR 4 + 4 + 4
Division? Iterative Addition of negative numbers.
Example: How many times can you -3 to 12 ? Answer: 4
and so forth...
Everything essentially boils down to to this function.
And yet, when scientists try to explain why the Universe exists they wants us to believe that
0 + 0 = 1.
They implore us to accept that something comes out of nothing. Of course you can point to a myriad of complex functions that explain HOW the universe works, but that in no way explains WHY it is here at all.
Science actually follows an ancient faulty method of thinking that was found in Egyptian Mythology. In the Egyptian story of creation, Ra , the Sun god, comes out of the Nile because Ra says, "I knew my own name!". This is the same faulty view used by scientists today that believe the Universe pulls itself out of nothing because the equations tell it do so. But like any person who looks at the story of Ra, one cannot call themselves forth unless they first exists to call themselves forth. The same goes with the scientific view. The equations that govern the universe (and "create" it), cannot exist if the universe that they govern, does not first exist. It's much like having automobile traffic laws BEFORE there are automobiles. It is also important to understand that having equations that describe how a universe works does not answer the more pressing question of WHY it works this way. This is the "slight of hand" that most physicists do when discussing the beginning of the universe. They say they will can explain why we are here but in the end of their thesis they have only explained how the universe functions and how it may have reached its current state of existence
Genesis actually makes more logical sense. It says,
God + 0 = Universe.
Here the equation can actually be balanced and make some numerical sense (if numbers is your thing). The laws are created to govern the universe at the same time as the universe is created. Of course many will then ask, "Where does GOD come from?" to which the Christian can only reply, "From Eternity". This is where none of us humans can possibly understand at any level. We cannot fathom a world without time. Even in movies like "Interstellar" which tries to bend our understanding of time, we cannot grasp its powerful hold on our lives. God is outside that realm and no set of events can hold him or contain him.
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Was Jesus a Socialist?
I heard a story a while back in which a professor at a university made an astonishing statement that Jesus himself was a Socialist. Granted, socialism didn't come about for about another 1800 years or so after Jesus ascension, but would Jesus have thrown his hat (or tunic) in with the Socialist crowd if he was around today?
The idea stems from Jesus concern for the poor and downtrodden and that if Jesus was living on earth today he would want to align himself with others who also appear to be concerned with the poor and downtrodden.
But is that the case?
Looking at Jesus teachings we might come away with a different view. Jesus words can be divided into 2 categories: Parables (teachings) and Conversations (discussions). Let's take a look at each of these and see if they align with a Socialist view or a Capitalist view.
Parables
Jesus many parables use different groups of people to illustrate God's relationship to us and how we should relate to him and others. Here are the different parables and the groups of people used to show our releationship
Lost Sheep : Shepherd (God) , Sheep (us)
Lost Coin: Woman (God), lost coin (us)
Pearl of Great price: Merchant (God), Pearl (us)
Hidden Treasure in a field: Seeker (God), treasure (us)
Workers in the Vineyard: Owner (God), workers (us)
Vineyard and the renters : Owner (God) , renters (us)
Prodigal Son : Father (God), sons (us)
The Giving of the Talents: King (God), servants (us)
The Wedding Feast: King (God the Father) , Son (God the Son), servants (us) , people (world)
In every case shown above the "owner" is God and he is always shown in a positive light. The workers are often shown in a negative light as they are often shown to be "grumbling" (dissatisfied) or murderous and treacherous (killing the Son in the Parable of the Vineyard and the renters. The owner is often shown to be generous and loving. In the case of the Vineyard and the Workers, he gives the same amount of money to all the workers despite how many hours they worked in the field. This would be the same as a business owner paying unequal wages to his workers. (not very Socialist). In the story of the Giving of the Talents, the king gives his wealth to his servants in UNEQUAL amounts. He gives 5000 to one, 3000 to another and 1000 to the third. When he comes back the only one who gets chastised is the one who BURIED his wealth and did nothing with it. If Jesus was a Socialist would he berate a person for not gaining wealth? Wouldn't he berate the ones who doubled their wealth and not sharing with the guy who didn't do anything?
What about his Parable of the Good Samaritan? Doesn't that point to Socialism? Since the man who showed compassion on the injured person ,who was robbed and beaten, picked him and cared for him. Doesn't that point to Socialism? Looking closely at the parable, however, we do see somethings that don't line up with this view. First of all, the Samaritan uses his own wealth to help and care for the man who is near death. He uses his own oil and wine to clean his wounds, puts him on his own donkey and carries him to an inn and pays for his further care. He doesn't round up people and go after the people who passed this man buy to get them to pay for his care. This is where using this story to support "Jesus is a Socialist" view runs off the rails.
So in terms of his Parables, I think we can say that Jesus connection with the Socialist would be a big stretch of the imagination.
Conversations (discussions)
So one, might argue that his Parables are just spring boards for his teachings and we can't see much into his view of how we ought to be towards each other. For example, Jesus is asked a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus says, "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesars and give unto God that which is Gods!". Here Jesus shows us that as his followers we should "give" to whoever that asks us. If the government asks for our money we should give it and if God has need of our money then we should give it too.
The idea stems from Jesus concern for the poor and downtrodden and that if Jesus was living on earth today he would want to align himself with others who also appear to be concerned with the poor and downtrodden.
But is that the case?
Looking at Jesus teachings we might come away with a different view. Jesus words can be divided into 2 categories: Parables (teachings) and Conversations (discussions). Let's take a look at each of these and see if they align with a Socialist view or a Capitalist view.
Parables
Jesus many parables use different groups of people to illustrate God's relationship to us and how we should relate to him and others. Here are the different parables and the groups of people used to show our releationship
Lost Sheep : Shepherd (God) , Sheep (us)
Lost Coin: Woman (God), lost coin (us)
Pearl of Great price: Merchant (God), Pearl (us)
Hidden Treasure in a field: Seeker (God), treasure (us)
Workers in the Vineyard: Owner (God), workers (us)
Vineyard and the renters : Owner (God) , renters (us)
Prodigal Son : Father (God), sons (us)
The Giving of the Talents: King (God), servants (us)
The Wedding Feast: King (God the Father) , Son (God the Son), servants (us) , people (world)
In every case shown above the "owner" is God and he is always shown in a positive light. The workers are often shown in a negative light as they are often shown to be "grumbling" (dissatisfied) or murderous and treacherous (killing the Son in the Parable of the Vineyard and the renters. The owner is often shown to be generous and loving. In the case of the Vineyard and the Workers, he gives the same amount of money to all the workers despite how many hours they worked in the field. This would be the same as a business owner paying unequal wages to his workers. (not very Socialist). In the story of the Giving of the Talents, the king gives his wealth to his servants in UNEQUAL amounts. He gives 5000 to one, 3000 to another and 1000 to the third. When he comes back the only one who gets chastised is the one who BURIED his wealth and did nothing with it. If Jesus was a Socialist would he berate a person for not gaining wealth? Wouldn't he berate the ones who doubled their wealth and not sharing with the guy who didn't do anything?
What about his Parable of the Good Samaritan? Doesn't that point to Socialism? Since the man who showed compassion on the injured person ,who was robbed and beaten, picked him and cared for him. Doesn't that point to Socialism? Looking closely at the parable, however, we do see somethings that don't line up with this view. First of all, the Samaritan uses his own wealth to help and care for the man who is near death. He uses his own oil and wine to clean his wounds, puts him on his own donkey and carries him to an inn and pays for his further care. He doesn't round up people and go after the people who passed this man buy to get them to pay for his care. This is where using this story to support "Jesus is a Socialist" view runs off the rails.
So in terms of his Parables, I think we can say that Jesus connection with the Socialist would be a big stretch of the imagination.
Conversations (discussions)
So one, might argue that his Parables are just spring boards for his teachings and we can't see much into his view of how we ought to be towards each other. For example, Jesus is asked a question about paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus says, "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesars and give unto God that which is Gods!". Here Jesus shows us that as his followers we should "give" to whoever that asks us. If the government asks for our money we should give it and if God has need of our money then we should give it too.
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