I hear what you're saying, Marsh, while I also agree with Gatekeeper's post. One of the expressions I have come across is
`act as if' ... and this sounds a lot like ~~Live as if you are already there~~
+~+
Part of the difficulty - and I was pondering this just two nights ago - is that throughout history we have often seen violence and various forms of oppression used by conquerors ... and by world leaders (or governments, such as totalitarian regimes), even after they've come to power. It is especially difficult to reconcile this harsh reality with the idealistic visions that many have of some type of
`Heaven on Earth.'
But the Kingdom Christ speaks of, while certainly all are
aware of the need to work for the
Common GOOD, is not necessarily `perfect' the way we might choose to define perfect. It will not likely fit our conception of things, just as the expectations for the Messiah 2,000 years ago varied greatly depending on which group of people you talked to.
Some were looking for a mighty warrior to come and overthrow the Romans ... but they were disappointed. Others may have expected that the Messiah would
create the perfect kingdom of Heaven on Earth - but again, they were disappointed. I think they were looking for something to happen
instantly, for Christ to somehow, magically, just
cause people to all get along and live righteously overnight. And that did not happen.
It is up to US.
The question is, do
you believe in the GOOD within Human Nature, and do
you believe that this Good is part of God's Plan - that God gives us the capacity,
not just to CHOOSE between Good & Evil (for most Christians would acknowledge this) ... but also for us to
BECOME better people as a result of our choices?
I do not accept the view that some people have which suggests were are
incapable of Good ... or that we are
mostly bad, but can "do good" on occasion. This has not been my experience, it is not what I see when I look at the world, and in fact, in so many cases, it is BECAUSE of our adversity, BECAUSE we are challenged, and BECAUSE there is the possibility of doing wrong (or evil)
THAT we do Right (or Good).
Praise SATAN ... PRAISE your Adversary - for without this challenge, without this adversity, without that
rock to stumble over (and thus exclaim, in PAIN) ... you would
not know Good, you would
not know God.
Jesus is fine, Jesus is lovely,
but He teaches you and shows you NOTHING, if you do not have something with which to contrast his Good Works, his Way of living. As long as you can worship him, and keep him removed in your mind from being
A Real MAN (person) to EMULATE - WWJD? - then sure, everything is hunky-dory, you can feel good about
getting religion (and what have you really gotten?) ... yet Christ's application of His own Teachings may continue to exist in a vacuum!
My interest is not in pointing the finger at anyone, at any
group of people, or at the world - and saying,
look, look! See how we fail to do as Christ has asked us to do! So long as we focus on the
bad examples, we cannot improve, we cannot
bring about the conditions which will allow the Kingdom of God to exist and flourish upon our planet.
Praise Satan, Praise God for providing us with Satan ...
not just so we can SEE the differences between living Righteously and unrighteously, but so that we can CHOOSE THEM, so we can
put into practice what Christ has shown us. THINK about this. Angelic powers may exist - Mighty Beings next to Whom and which we are as dust, grains of sand,
just a feather in the wind. These Powers may (do) literally
bring planets, stars and galaxies into Being. Yet do they QUESTION? Do they
think about whether or not to enact God's Will? Do they sit at McDonald's and take an extra 15 minutes on their lunch hour, since no one will really notice?
The day that Christians can PRAISE SATAN (and can Praise God for
providing us with the energies and forces which this word represents) ... will be the day we take one important step CLOSER to establishing the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth. Ironically, the only way to
defeat this Spirit of Adversity, is by recognizing, confronting, and trying to
understand something of the PURPOSE for which God has allowed this very Spirit to co-exist here, upon this planet, with His Children, for so long.
Did God not also create Satan? Was not Satan one of God's Angels? And, while Fallen, do you really think God abandons His Children, His Creations,
even His Angels? Further, if Angels are supposed to ENACT God's Will, then how are you going to reconcile this teaching with the notion that
Satan transgressed ... and somehow became
cast out?
Learn to put the pieces together. Good exists within us, and you darn well better get used to affirming it. Affirm it within
yourself (God knows I have done the same) ... just as you have become accustomed to acknowledging and admitting that there is also
evil. But also learn to affirm the Good within your NEIGHBOR, and do you best to
overlook and forgive all that you recognize in him of evil. This is not running from Satan, this is not giving in; this is meeting Satan face to face, and
shining a Light into the dark.
And (while I cannot always prove the best example, I can nonetheless ask you to)
Remember to SMILE.
Do you think Satan will smile back at you in return? It's only a relevant question if you personify those forces which struggle against Righteousness. But remember why these forces exist; remember why God has provided us with the GIFT of the Angel of Satan, the
adversary.
This thread is about the K of H on E. So why the talk about Satan?
Because we
know that the former is resisted by the latter. That is Satan's JOB. Hmm,
Job?
Well anyway, if Satan did not resist, we would not have the opportunity to learn, we would have no way to progress, and God's Kingdom
could not come into being on this planet ... because we would be an unchanging, rather boring sort of people.
Satan provides us with a
bad example, if we wish to collate all of the negative tendencies that people have, and form these into an unpleasant image. Sure, that's helpful
IF it enables us to see the OPPOSITE Qualities in a higher light, in the Light of God (or Reason). God is
very Reasonable, I should think, and surely God has provided us with plenty of GOOD examples in addition to the negative. Can
you think of some?
Focus on
those (some stand out more than others, but even Christians can look to many sources of inspiration - within Humanity - other than just Jesus) ... and you will gravitate toward Righteousness. You will develop into the mature being, spiritually, morally, psychologically and outwardly, that God desires of us.
The violent conquests of our planet's past, the totalitarian leaders and their regimes, do not always show us the very best of which
even those Souls are capable. The reason is that such Souls are conditioned by a Divine Energy which can easily become destructive or devastating if it is not carefully stepped down and applied. This energy can destroy on the individual level, or it can be devastating in groups of people - especially if one or more members of that group pulls away from the true, organizing Spirit (or Purpose) of that group.
On the scale of the very tiny, we have been Blessed with a glimpse into the
powerful, AWESOME nature of the energy and forces which are inherent in EVERY ATOM of substance. Even
physical matter - on the tiniest scale you can imagine - contains this amazing power of GOD. Do not think you are considering
anything other than yet another piece, yet another example, of God's Creative handiwork ... when you consider the atom, or matter itself.
So if this destructive power, this capacity, exists on the atomic/sub-atomic scale, and if it also exists on the scale of the
individual person as well as
groups of people (even at the level of nations & governments), is it any surprise that when we look out through today's various types of telescopes - we witness
explosions in the heavens, the
violent formations and deaths of the stars themselves?
Remember, this is a DIVINE ENERGY - and it
is NOT evil. Evil is the resisting of Good. Evil is the tendency to REMAIN STAGNANT, to
resist change when change is what is sorely needed. Evil is the transgression of
any of God's Laws - and of these Laws we know there are many.
We don't need to become complicated, however, in considering what these Laws are. While they have been expressed in many ways throughout the ages, and while Humanity is learning new ways to interpret and apply these Laws ... they have been summarized for, especially within Christianity and by the Christ, in recent times.
Christ taught us to
Love our neighbor even as we love (or cherish) our own self.
This Law is very straightforward. Yet because we are
complicated creatures, it is not always so easy to
apply it. We are multi-Principled beings, in the Spiritual sense. We have
elements of Good within us, yet we also have elements of what we call evil.
And so long as we
resist evil, we are denying part of our being. Why waste time asking
, what, then, should I DO about this evil? Why not ask,
What about those GOOD elements of our nature? How can I develop the GOOD, or help bring out those aspects - in my own nature, in others whom I encounter, and in all the greater groups in which I serve or am privileged enough to have membership ... such as your community, nation, or planet.
This is not avoiding the problem of evil; it is simply learning to
re-orient ourselves to that part of our Nature which is worth preserving, worth developing, worth perfecting.
Greater things than this YE shall do.
Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ
It will not happen overnight. It will not happen tomorrow. But it CAN happen today, each day. It's in everyone you meet; it's in your smile.
Do not WAIT. But strive to MAKE it happen, knowing that we work not alone ... and knowing that wherever you go, whatever you do, so long as your heart is pure and your motivation is Good, so Good will result from your efforts. This is the Law of LOVE - and Christ taught no other.
~~
You might try reading a few of the quotes or posts here, just on this last page. They have been inspiring to me ...
Also the thread on Democratic religion and spiritual democracy is quite relevant.
And what I have noticed for several weeks on a church sign where I live ... seems appropriate:
If God brings us to it
He will bring us through it
++
Alright, you can have your stump back. Time for me to
think about what I just posted. If I believe every word of it (and I do), then it should be good advice for me, too! In fact, I may have posted it for me, and not just for you ...
(yes, I talk to myself a lot)
All I ask is that - if you reply to
me, do at least read the whole post, maybe even twice, or more. Consider the
context of what I say. Surprise me. Prove that you can
respond without being
reactive. And if you disagree with something, GOOD!
Just tell me WHY. What I have found, is that the majority of disagreements between people - even philosophical or on religious matters - occur because of misunderstandings.
And
that is what I believe Jesus foresaw, in Gethsemane, wishing and desiring
so Greatly (and RIGHTLY) that He might be able to somehow, magically,
make it happen for us. But He cannot force agreements, or single-handedly
make us understand one another. Rather, we ourselves must
FORGE (Vulcan,
Hephaestus) such Right Relations between one another, and
Connect or
Unite in a common Spirit, with shared understandings. (Thus, tell me
`where you're coming from!')
