R.E.S.P.E.C.T

 

OPINION — During the past several days I’ve received more than twenty messages from readers, asking my opinion on the most recent shootings in El Paso and Ohio. Since I hadn’t planned to address the subject, I’ve been answering those messages privately. But then one of my editors asked me to write about the issue, so I will, although I see little point in the exercise. Senseless shootings seem to have become the norm rather than the exception, and although they aren’t happening any more frequently of late, they’re more in the news, so they seem more frequent.

To begin I’d like to offer condolences to the victims and their families. I can’t imagine what it’s like to live through such an ordeal, or to have someone I love live through one. I’m sure it’s devastating and frustrating, and about all the rest of us can do is offer support and prayers, so that’s what we do. We all wish we could do more. I understand so many showed up to give blood in El Paso they had to turn people away, and those who weren’t able to give blood brought food and drinks to those waiting in the lines. We all do what we can.

The only good news to come from these horrible tragedies is that there are still heroes among us, such as Glendon Oakley, a U.S. soldier stationed at Ft. Bliss who was shopping at a mall near the Saturday shooting in El Paso. When the incident started, Oakley started gathering children who were separated from their parents and carrying them to safety. I have no idea how many kids Oakley saved, and I don’t think he does, either, but every child he carried from danger represents one less potential life lost to hate. He risked his life to save others, to save children, and it doesn’t get more heroic than that.

Then there was Jordan Anchondo, who lost her life that day while shielding her two-month-old baby from the gunfire. That’s what mothers do. In a world of hate and evil, mothers are willing to sacrifice themselves to save their children. Jordan is undoubtedly a heroine.

But most of the questions I’ve received haven’t focused on such people. I’ve been asked, ‘How could someone do such a thing?’ and ‘Whose fault is it that this is happening?’ and ‘How can we stop mass murder?’ And those are all good questions, asked out of despair and frustration. People want easy answers. They want the pain and hate to end. We all do.

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Above: Jordan Anchondo, who lost her life that day while shielding her two-month-old baby from the gunfire.

The problems we face are complicated and delicate, and no one in a position of authority in this country is adequately addressing them. No one. Some are trying, but are being shouted down by those whose idea of ‘doing something’ involves passing more impotent laws on top of the impotent laws we already have. We’re all frustrated and angry, but until we address the actual problems, instead of treating the symptoms, this kind of thing will keep happening.

The main problem we have in America today is a lack of respect. People don’t respect themselves, and therefore are unable to respect others. Without respect, regardless of race or social status or financial resources, we end up with hate. And when lack of respect becomes hate, death follows.

So I’ll address the problem, and the solution. I’ve done it before, and no one listened, and I don’t expect anyone in charge of anything to listen this time. Until they do, nothing will change.

Our society has been degraded to the point where murder is perfectly legal in most states, provided the victim has not yet been born. You can call abortion ‘women’s rights’ or whatever you want, but you’re lying, and you know you’re lying. It’s murder. Worse, it’s murder of the totally innocent among us, by their own mothers, those from whom they deserve the most love and protection.

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Since we have become so degenerated, we’ve sent a message to our children. We’ve made it crystal clear to them that their lives are not valued by our society. They aren’t important. Once our children realize they have no value to society, they extrapolate that message to everyone around them. They understand that life is not important. They aren’t respected, so they don’t respect themselves, and they can’t respect others. And when life has no value, taking the lives of others doesn’t seem like a bad thing. So why not shoot up a school, or a mall, or a concert?

So these shootings will keep happening. Many more people will die senselessly on the altar of political correctness, because it’s political correctness that causes otherwise sane people to view murdering unborn children as a choice.

In the coming days, politicians will make speeches and tweet twits and send posts, pointing fingers and proposing laws and blaming the other side, whatever side that happens to be. None will offer any solutions that will make a difference. Each will be a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Until mothers stop murdering their babies and start protecting them, as Jordan did, nothing will change. Until we once again begin to respect one another, starting with valuing human life, all human life, we will continue to die as a society.

May God have mercy on our souls . . .

 

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I agree with you on your opinion. I have been saying and thinking the same thing for years. We have to have respect for each other, including those who haven't taken their first breath yet. But we don't and until we do, things will continue to deteriorate. We are all brothers and sisters and children of the same God. We must...we must..... learn to accept each other's differences. Learn to love one another and learn to respect each other before it is too late.

While I can certainly agree that the lack of respect for fellow human beings is a common thread among the majority of mass shooters, I can't quite go so far as to label abortion as an underlying cause of these horrific events. I'll save that debate for another time.

While the politicos rant and rave over gun control and mental illness ad nauseam once again, I cannot foresee any legislation that will effect a reduction in these acts of mass violence, unfortunately. Making some weapons unavailable for public purchase will not make the existing ones vanish, nor will it prevent mass killings via trucks, bombs, arson, poison, or other murderous means.

The one thing we can do, is to immediately cease tolerating the existence of mass shooters........Period. I suggest that local, state and federal law enforcement agencies invoke a kill on sight policy for all mass shooters, no arrest whatsoever. Once engaged by law enforcement shoot them until they are dead. If they drop their weapon and surrender, shoot until they are dead.

Texas Ranger Frank Hamer eliminated the Bonnie and Clyde threat with just such a policy. FBI agent Melvin Purvis didn't give John Dillinger a chance to fight back, they shot him on the street without mercy.

While this policy may not stop some from mass murder, such as those who plan to commit suicide themselves or via cop after their rampage has concluded, the cowards who are planning to kill on a large scale and surrender afterwards will know that they will no longer be coddled in our jails, courts, mental institutions and prisons.

We'll never make the world "safe" or "fair". Life has always been and always will be neither of those things. But we can refuse to tolerate the very existence of these people.

"An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production." - Robin S Sharma

I caught an interview with Mike Huckabee, in which he (in the same fashion as the opportunists on the Left, who beat the gun-grabbing drum any time a bullet is fired) took to the proverbial pulpit, to scold the public that "..mass shootings will never stop until kids are brought up once again to believe that we are all made in the image of God" and "until we once again accept that children need to be raised by parents and guided in moral instruction, to be taught the Golden Rule and the Ten Commandments".

If the aim is to curtail gun violence, it's not going to come about by the Left's incessant push to railroad law abiding people from obtaining or owning firearms, nor by the radical Right's insistence that indoctrinating young people into an archaic middle eastern death cult is the remedy.

Faith can be a useful personal trait, but religious faith, is often the spark which ignites the flames of religious fervor, and consequently religious zealotry. Every inquisition and "witch trial" began with some iron fisted political or religious body, claiming "YOU NEED JESUS!". Religious tyranny was never successfully applicable then, and certainly is not, nor will be, today.

"Faith" (specifically Huckabee's faith) has been the seed which bore the fruit of some of the most horrific and catastrophic events in recorded history, with a body count which dwarfs every mass shooting, combined, to dare I say, a negligible statistic.

As long as there are those pushing diversionary talking points about abortion, religion, or this chimerical epidemic of "white nationalism", no viable, realistic solutions regarding gun violence will ever come to pass.

Within minutes of the El Paso shooting, Democrats (including El Paso leadership and Beetle Bailey Beto) were blaming Trump for the murders. The national news is blaring the Dayton shooter was a left wing nut job who supported Fauxahontas Warren. The current political climate in the country is more heated and childish that I've seen in my lengthy lifetime.

But, the simple fact of the matter is something is twisted and crazy in the mind of someone who commits a mass murder. Did their Mommy not hold them enough as a child? Can they not get a date/job/life? I have a much better solution for these wing nuts....if you are that miserable, kill yourself, please. I would prefer grocery shopping without a gun on my hip. Alas, in current American society, I must.

Blaming Jesus for the inquisition has got to be up there with some of the least thought out comments I've ever heard.

A little study into the history and beliefs of others will help to keep from sounding so uneducated.

If some reader went out and killed 25 criminals in San Angelo and blamed it on Lares, is it really Lares inspiration that killed them?

"A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit."

"Jesus" may not be personally responsible, rather the seed which (repeatedly, throughout history) bears the fruit of intolerance and oppression.

Since the turn of the century, the number of people with no religious preferences or practices have doubled, a trend which shows absolutely no signs of coming to a halt, much less regressing -- too many people appalled by the numerous bad apples, too many church-goers disgusted by the half eaten worms within the apples they've bitten into.

What's an inapplicable, archaic belief system have to do with modern day solutions dealing with gun violence? Absolutely nothing, which was the initial point in my previous post.

As for your last question, is "Free Man Nate" planning on making headlines anytime soon?

So there you have it folks, by Lares own admission, the number of people with no religious beliefs has doubled since the turn of the last century and shows no signs of stopping. Not a far cry from the point that Kendall was making.

More people have died in these last 2 centuries than in all the other centuries combined, maybe throwing God away had something to do with it.

One article says that the number of gun deaths in America now totals more than the number of all our losses in war combined.

Seems to me like you're not fighting the idea in the article but supporting it.

Your last comment...

Belief in God has decreased because evidence has steadily mounted that the assumptions that Christian theology was based on are false. A crawling, concomitant social breakdown has ensued as tradition finds itself attempting to weather the storm while many individuals find themselves climbing out of superstition only to find nothing firm to grasp hold of. Others are too afraid even to attempt moving forward into the wider ramifications of new scientific understanding. The result is a widespread, enervating cognitive dissonance that can be used to take advantage of the populace by politicians and advertisers alike. Best not to think things through too thoroughly, lest one's mind break.

Historically, it isn't uncommon for people to fall into wooliness. A proverbial "tower of Babylon" shattered at the end of the Roman empire. New languages were formed from the fractured Latin dialects and scientific knowledge was pushed back centuries. Around that time, there was a similar disenchantment with the reigning religious orthodoxy and new religions had made their way in from the East, including Christianity. Christianity offered comfort, certainty, and an escape from the violent cynicism that had overtaken life in the Empire. It flourished, and it flourished at the cost of reasons. The minds of people were destroyed, but their bodies survived—a pattern that Christianity repeated during the Inquisition and during the atrocious conquest of the Americas. Today, the minds of the people are able to become free, but not finding anything firm to grasp onto and not being able to reconcile the dissonance between what they know factually and what they feel, less rational traditions from other countries take hold. There are other, more peaceful traditions, but those are pushed to the margins and the majority chooses the shape of its descendants' shackles while the dominant tradition flounders and resists necessary change.

Call Jehovah down from heaven if he isn't asleep. Let's have him light a bonfire. Once you do that, I would like you to prove that the Ram Setu bridge connecting India and Sri Lanka *was not* build by the monkey armies of the monkey god Hanuman. Then, please, tell me which assumptions of Christianity have proven correct?

Typical comeback, take a piece of the Bible out of context. I don't know about monkey armies, but if they do exist to build thing's, they didn't evolve into us because they are still here... Though they don't build bridges anymore.

Christianity has many more proof's to support the biblical account than any other writing in all of human history. I will let you pick which area of Biblical theology we will address, since it is you who confidently asserts there are Biblical claims that have been proven false, I would like to address one.

Here's 10 pieces of Biblical truth that may surprise some. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2sMJMXDiH4

Well, Nate, and here we are. Just as the faith of the Catholic fathers in Galileo's day persecuted him for his scientific discovery that the Earth goes around the sun, here you are attacking science again when it disagrees with the Bible by forwarding the theory of evolution. By extension, your attack also implies that perhaps the Earth is only 6,000 years old as Biblical scholars once asserted confidently. Facts are not your friend, it seems, and neither are the theories based on them.

The challenge that Elijah gave his opponents in 1 Kings chapter 18 was one that provided solid proof, unlike your assertions that mostly seem to negate proofs and evidence. The account given there says that he called down fire from heaven to prove the power of Jehovah. This isn't the first time you've been challenged to do this, so one has to wonder whether 1) Jehovah doesn't exist or 2) you just don't have his approval.

Your presentation of ideas is wonky here, Nate. We want to say that the right aligned shooter in El Paso or the left aligned shooter in Ohio didn't have a good relationship with Jehovah, but if they had both acted out against irreligiousness in the name of Christ similar to the way that Islamic terrorists do for their faith, what then? Your "pitch" is a hard sell, other religions like Islam and Hinduism also point out "scientific revelations" giveb in their scriptures, (I don't want to have to watch those videos to post them here... but I can...) and when it's all said and done, you haven't made much of a case for WHY your religious tradition might have stopped something like these shootings—though you're absolutely sure that a lack of it helped bring them about.

I'm not about to start a holy war online. I've already learned that people don't want to hear it. But if you want to make a case based on your scriptures based on old Semitic legends, you could do a better job of it. I'll leave you with this dramatization of how the massive Ram Setu was built—a giant, physically impressive, measurable evidence of Hanuman's ancient construction efforts:
https://youtu.be/AIx72UokEYg
Science weighs in:
https://youtu.be/FA3LN4vqtlM

Sorry I can't flood SAL like I used to, see I have a family to spend my time with, if you were serious about your question's, I would devote more time to research some things for you and discuss them, keep that in mind if you ever get to that point I can post an email here.

"Regressives cherish an utterly sophomoric myth, that the problem with modern society is guns. If we could just get rid of guns, they think, society would once again be peaceful and harmonious, and everyone would get along famously.

But the problem in modern society is not guns, it is people.

The left thinks that guns are inherently evil. No, they are not. They are inanimate objects which can be used for noble purposes (protecting national security, enforcing the law, protecting your family) as well as for evil purposes. You can use a hammer to build a house or beat someone to death. The hammer is just the tool. The problem is with the one who is swinging it.

Guns are not inherently evil, people are. The Christian doctrine of original sin is that man is an innately fallen creature, fallen from birth and even before. David says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5).

What theologians mean by original sin is that every single one of us is born with an inherent bent toward sin, selfishness, and even violence. You yourself have this inherent bent toward sinfulness - ask your wife if you don’t believe me - and she does too. Your children got their sin nature the old-fashioned way, from their parents.

Now many modern liberals take umbrage with the thought that they themselves, as enlightened as they are, could possibly be sinful by nature. But the doctrine of original sin is the easiest doctrine in the Bible to prove. Ask parents one simple question, and the truth will out.

Ask them whether they had to teach their children to be good or to be bad. Parents do not have to teach their children how to be bad - kids have got that figured out all by themselves. No, parents have to teach their children how to be good. Why? Because their humanity is bent toward evil and unless that pull is resisted and overcome, it will destroy the children and maybe even people around them.

The whole purpose of the incarnation was to defeat this evil that wants to consume human beings. “The reason the Son of God appeared,” John tells us, was “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).

Thus the ultimate solution to society’s woes cannot be found in man, no matter how educated and enlightened he happens to be. The ultimate solution to society’s challenge is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So that leaves us with the challenge of living in a fallen world, surrounded by people who may not have an interest in restraining their appetites through the power of the Spirit of God. How do we navigate a dangerous world like that? The Founders understood the basic depravity of man, which is why they established clear separation of powers in our Constitution. Power needed to be separated because no man could be trusted with absolute power.

And the Founders also gave us the Second Amendment so we could defend ourselves, our families, and our friends from the physical attacks of fallen people who mean us harm.

Jesus himself provided the theological underpinnings for the right of self-defense when he instructed his own disciples to arm themselves in their own defense. “He said to them, ‘But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one. For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment” (Luke 22:36-37).

And so he was taken into custody just minutes later and executed as a common criminal and a threat to national security. “You will be numbered with me, identified with me, and evil men may assault you because of that. You need, every one of you, to buy a sword in preparation for that day.”

Because man has this disposition toward evil - yes, we are all “born that way” - if we were to confiscate every gun in America today, tomorrow someone would be committing mass murder with something else.

My good friend Clayton Cramer published a column this week at National Review entitled, “Mass Murder Without Guns.” After cataloging 504 incidents of mass murder, he concludes that evil people don’t only use guns to commit mass killings. They use axes (“I can imagine axe-control fanatics in 1890 arguing that “an axe in your home is more likely to be used against you than against an intruder”), hatchets, blunt objects, hanging, drowning, poison gas, poison, fire, and airplanes.

But we’re just getting started. According to Cramer, cigarette lighter fluid, gasoline, camp-stove gas, knives (even kitchen knives), meat cleavers, explosives, bombs, and cars and trucks have all been used in a pinch.

The point here is that if we restrict access guns, bad actors will simply seize on something else. It’s time to do two things: get our minds right about the fallenness of man, and encourage Americans to follow Christ’s advice and get armored up."

https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2019/08/banning-guns-won-t-stop-mass-murders-here-s-proof/

"Everyone is scratching their heads trying to figure out what has gone wrong when disturbing stories break of more attacks by young men killing strangers at random. We are reeling as a nation in the wake of these mass shootings and wondering what has gone wrong.

Our cultural elites have led us down a path of unbelief, and now we are reaping the consequences.

I’m reminded of the story about Voltaire, the famous French skeptic, who helped grease the skids for the bloody French Revolution. When one of his skeptical guests was talking loudly at his home, Voltaire asked him to lower his voice. He didn’t want the servants to hear their godless philosophy, lest they steal the silverware.

It’s the morality, stupid. Of course, this phrase piggybacks on the unofficial campaign slogan of Bill Clinton in 1992: “It’s the economy, stupid!” This simple phrase kept them focused, eventually on to victory.

In today’s crisis, which is not something brand new, it’s been brewing for decades in America: It’s the morality, stupid. And what’s the cause of this morality? We have driven God out of the public arena.

Unbelief assumes there is no divine accountability. When there is no fear of God in the land, then people do whatever they feel like doing - even if it inflicts mayhem on others. As an atheist character in Dostoyevsky’s Brothers Karamazov put it: “…since there is no infinite God, there’s no such thing as virtue either and there’s no need for it at all.”

America is ultimately an experiment in self-government. After the Founding Fathers hammered out the Constitution in the convention in 1787 in Philadelphia, a Mrs. Powell of that city asked Benjamin Franklin what kind of government they gave us. His answer was classic: “A republic, Madam, if you can keep it.”

The Founders knew that the only way we could sustain this self-government was by the people being virtuous, acting in a moral way. And how would that morality be sustained? Answer: through voluntary religion.

The man who spoke more than any other at the Constitutional Convention was Gouverneur Morris of Pennsylvania. He is credited with writing some of the Constitution, including the preamble (“We the people”). He noted that religion is necessary for morality: “Religion is the only solid basis of good morals; therefore education should teach the precepts of religion, and the duties of man toward God.”

George Washington said in his Farewell Address that it is religion that sustains morality. If you undermine religion, you’ll undermine morality.

That is precisely what has happened to America. Beginning with a whole series of misguided Supreme Court decisions, religious influence - frankly Christian influence - in society was restricted more and more. By the 1960s, God was effectively kicked out of the public schools.

When he was 14 years old, William J. Murray was the plaintiff in one of the key anti-school prayer cases on behalf of his atheist mother, Madalyn Murray O’Hair. Today, Murray is a born- again Christian, ruing the terrible decision and its consequences.

He once told me, “I would like people to take a look at the Baltimore public schools today versus what they were when I went to those schools in 1963 and my mother took prayer out of the schools. We didn’t have armed guards in the hallways then when we had God in the classroom. But I’ll guarantee you there are armed guards [now]. In fact, the city school system of Baltimore now has its own armed police force.”

We lack a fear of God in our land. Young people have no idea that after they die, they will have to give an account to Jesus, whom the Founders called in the Declaration of Independence, “the Supreme Judge of the World.”

In the mid-19th century, one of the Speakers of the House of Representatives was Robert Charles Winthrop, a descendant of John (“a City on a Hill”) Winthrop, the Puritan founder of Boston.

Robert Winthrop gave an address in 1849 at the Massachusetts Bible Society, in which he noted, in effect, our choice is clear: Christianity or violence?

Here’s what Winthrop said:

All societies of men must be governed in some way or other. The less they have of stringent State Government, the more they must have of individual self-government. The less they rely on public law or physical force, the more they must rely on private moral restraint.

Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them, or a power without them; either by the word of God, or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.

Would that we choose the Bible today, as the settlers and the founders of our nation chose to do."

https://www.afa.net/the-stand/culture/2019/08/its-the-morality-stupid/

The sudden lucidity from you is refreshing, and a curious surprise. I, myself, have to take time from my day to write these responses which means less time physically and psychologically abusing my puddies. Looking over what you've written, I see a few points of agreement between us:

* It's the morality, stupid.
* The founders maintained, (and were right,) that a democracy can only be maintained by a virtuous people.
* Religion is the means for cultivating virtue.

Your theology, however... well, you'd have to threaten someone, maybe torture them, for them, not to see the glaring crack right in the foundation. Actually, such things still happen to people today for discussing these things, but the fact that you've dropped your oafish mask and revealed that you've given your faith some serious thought also raises some serious questions.

Earlier I asked you to simply give a demonstration of the power of your god, Jehovah. You've written about the founding fathers and the "sinful nature of man." The United States was founded on the principles of the European enlightenment, albeit admittedly with theocratic undertones. Arguments could be made to try to give either of those aspects more weight, so I'll let that issue rest for now. However, your "proof" here for the validity of your faith rests on the very challenge I posed to you earlier:

In order for "sin" to exist, God would have to exist.

Evil, in your system of belief, is also dependent upon the existence of Jehovah—and not just upon his existence, but his existence as the theologians you give credence to posit he exists.

Early in the history of the Christian church, the educated men of the classical world took to attempting to define the nature of their God using the tools of philosophy. It was a process that went on for centuries, but early on it was determined that, in order for the logic of their doctrines to be internally consistent and consistent with their revealed scriptures, an inherent sinfulness would have to be posited which could only be resolved by an appeal to salvation from God—and not any god, but only from Jehovah.

That's a doctrine that is at the basis of every Christian sect I'm aware of with the possible exception of the Thomas Christians of India, and I may be wrong about that. The issue here is that the doctrine itself is about as "man made" as it gets, and also leaves the curious question about what the statement "ye are all gods" means, which appears in the Old Testament and is also quoted by Jesus.

Christianity is the foundational myth of the Western world—once known as Christendom. Our modern world exists because the Western scientific tradition was able to rest firmly upon the social stability granted by that faith even as the two, science and Christian religion, diverged. But diverged they have, and starkly. My question wasn't whether you knew any notable people, but simply whether you could offer proof for what you've built the rest of your arguments upon.

An argument you've given, but this argument that humanity is inherently bent towards evil and only redeemable by an influence beyond human apprehension seems like it would be more likely to motivate punishing the wicked to make them fearful rather than to patiently wait for moral consequence to reap its inexorable results. I don't think the problem here is lack of fear or of God, but of an inability to effectively demonstrate that presence you say is there. If God exists as you posit, then demonstrate that, or posit him differently. It may be the most pressing concern at this juncture in history because you demonstrably are *not* wrong about one thing:

It's the morality, stupid.

You two are spending a lot of time trying to one-up each other, but I learned long ago to disengage from these perpetual and pointless debates, simply because neither will convince the other of anything. As adults, we've had plenty of time to formulate and adapt our own belief system and ya'll are no exception.

I think both of you realize that the other will not be swayed to your beliefs, so is the relentless diatribe an effort to impress the readers and each other your knowledge of the Bible vs Roget's Thesaurus?

Moving on now.........

He said he had God, so I asked to see it. Now he's all quotations and no action. And he keeps quoting the Bible without proper notations on the nuance of the original languages. I'm not trying to get into why the name of the Biblical God is often given in the plural or the origin of those names and their implications on an honest and thorough-going theology. I just asked to see what he was talking about.

Mark 8:34-35
34- Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35- For whoever wants to save their life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

People don't like what Jesus said... It's hard and comes with many implications, the same rings true today.

John 6:44
44- No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.

There's a reason that more than 2000 years later, we still talk about this... It's because the topic never grows old, God is everlasting.

Here is some more evidence of the growing problem in America today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r93-A2QJ7AI

Yeah, because ADULTS don't ever learn new things! They've all grown up and matured so much that they can't have their minds changed EVER.
How true that is in many cases.

The true mark of adulthood is complete and utter self-reliance/dependence. Once you can say, "I don't need God, I can do it all by myself" you can run into other people's dialogue with each other and shout about how you've become enlightened on the futility of their efforts, while you commend yourself about learning how not to do that very thing.

Many people manage to be highly dependent upon others well into advanced age, so once again we disagree.

Christianity is the only message that doesn't require you to EARN your salvation. Salvation is God's gift to us, it doesn't cost us anything, we can't earn it, we don't deserve it and yet, it is freely ours if we choose to accept it. No other system of belief operates that way, the few spin-off's that come in the name of Jesus all require something different.

Instead of challenging ME to do what ELIJAH and GOD already did, why don't you ask something I can work with, kind of like how you asked me to demonstrate that God exists.

To demonstrate that God exists, we have to agree on some things. The Bible is not humanity's thoughts about God... It claims to be the sole revelation of God to humanity.

The Bible claims that God is the creator of all the physical realm. EVERYTHING, so by proxy, it claims that He is outside of time, space, and sight.

How does something outside of time, space, and sight tell you that it exists. Well, the Bible claims that Jesus, fully God and fully man, came to the earth He created... Jesus claimed in the Bible to be equal to God, and was put to death by the Jews for those claims. The Bible also claims that Jesus died to pay the penalty for sin, "for the wages of sin is death". We look at the historical evidence of these claims and accept with the utmost certainty that it is true because of the fact that, regardless of all the hubbub, the Bible is the MOST AUTHENTICATED BOOK in ALL of humanity's history. If the Bible was wrong, it wouldn't still be standing up to all of the scrutiny, literally thousand's of years later.

No other work of antiquity that you can point to has been as thoroughly authenticated as the Bible. If the Bible isn't true, then neither is Plato, or Socrates, or the establishment of the United States of America. If the Bible isn't true, then we have a lot to throw out with it, that has been authenticated in the same manner, with less evidence.

I don't say any of this to stand above any of you, because I don't. I don't say you're all going to hell, I don't give you a "call to salvation" at the end of every rant, NO. I give you my opinion, and support my beliefs with the history that is there for anyone to see, so don't pull that same old worn out argument that twists what I am saying.

What the Bible says, flies in the face of the arguments that others pose, all I'm doing is agreeing with it. Arguing the authenticity of the Bible is stupid, because you then have to throw out literally everything else with it. You don't have to accept the free gift of God that the Bible revolve's around though.

https://www.exploregod.com/what-makes-christianity-different-from-other-religions
https://www.everystudent.com/features/bible.html
http://www.kevinpendergrass.com/new-testament-textually-authenticated-document-antiquity/

Christianity is NOT synonymous, with morality in of itself, nor is morality (or "good behavior", as we know it) contingent on a belief in Judeo-Christian doctrine.

I also take umbrage with the sanctimonious bunch, who tout the "born with sin" BS, or try to sell the need to be "born again".

The aforementioned philosophies are nothing more than the egotistical excrement from the behind of this slavish religion. My Nature, though far from perfect, has 2-300,000 years of evolution behind it's core design, and not a single cell within my body is concerned with the contrivances of a 2,000 year old bastardized brand of superstition.

I was born ok the first time, and have done quite well for myself -- innate "sinful" faculties, and all.

My intentions weren't to lure our wayward friend "Nate" down the religious rabbit hole, rather spotlight the absurd notion that throwing a Bible at every impressionable child, is the fix-all remedy for all the world's ills.

Here is another article that may not impress anyone, they may not read it, they may not accept what it says, just like you don't accept what the Bible says, and that's fine. Then again, they may read it and realize how short your argument comes to defending your position.

All I'm saying is that you aren't arguing with me anymore, now your fight is that the MOST WIDELY AUTHENTICATED WORK OF ANTIQUITY IN ALL OF HUMANITY, couldn't possibly be accurate. Just let that simmer in the minds of anyone who reads this.

You borrow your morality from God.

https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/1441-new-testament-compared-to-classical-literature-the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rPCIooYmgM

(1) I think you meant to type, "in and of itself".

(2) If neither you, nor anyone else can be held eternally responsible for how they behave on the earth, why is it of the utmost importance for you to take umbrage to the message of the Bible. You seem to get vastly annoyed with it at the very least, and are most definitely, and irrefutably fighting against, what you claim isn't even there. How do you combat something that doesn't exist?

Nate, I think what you've been meaning to type this whole time is, " I don't have the answers to these questions. For the love of God, just BELIEVE!" You ask how someone can fight what doesn't exist and why they're so concerned with fighting it, but the real question is, why are you so concerned with advocating for what you can't prove if it should be self-evident, and why aren't you able to offer solid proof when asked?

You were asked how you believe your religious tradition would have deterred this individual from his actions. The pith of your answer seems to be to instill him with what psychologists call "a fatal flaw" and then to demand that he accept the Bible on faith as a way of compensating for that complex. I'm not sure if psychologically damaging someone is the answer here.

I'm waiting for you to spark up the next Great Awakening and show me how that would be a good thing that helps people live more healthy, productive, and peaceful lives, but if we can't cross this great monkey bridge, I don't see how that could ever happen.

So if you don't have the "charisms" to bring fire or rain or shoot lightning from your hands like father Sis, at least tell me how Jehovah has helped you, personally?

There are 7 area's that we all observe at work in the universe, and just as I've posed to Lares, I pose to you that the Bible, (the most authenticated book in all of HUMAN HISTORY) contains the answers to all of these area's.

(1) The beginning of the universe.

(2) The "fine tuning" of the universe.

(3) The origin of life in the universe.

(4) The appearance of design in biology, in the universe.

(5) Minds and free agency in the universe.

(6) Objective moral truths in the universe.

(7) The problem of evil in the universe.

How do you reconcile these area's?

STILL NO WORD ON HOW YOU EXPLAIN THESE POINTS IN YOUR WORLDVIEW...

Perhaps, you're past the point of mature dialogue?

Nate, I'm shocked as to how one person can be so completely wrong about everything or deny all evidence in the face of facts disproving his position and proving mine. You've completely flown off the handle here because you're threatened by the fact that Hanuman exists. His mere existence is the bane of yours and you've apparently lost sleep over this. You live in fear of Hanuman. Everyone can totally see how scared you are right through the screen.

I've decided to follow up with you at the email address you provided several months ago on this site at [email protected]. Together I think we can dialogue to figure out what's wrong with you.

Nate, if a man comes up to me with a paper bag, and says "I have an elf inside this bag", the burden of proof does not fall upon me, rather the elf wrangler. You've failed to show as much as a trail of elf droppings, much less the elf, itself.

Your psychobabble nor it's peddlers don't annoy me, rather the heavy handed types with their assertions that MY life would somehow become sunshine and roses, had I just take their word for it, that since birth, my innate traits and instincts have been pissing off Superjew, and I'm in need of some kind of spiritual intervention.

The "My Pillow" guy has been all over afterhours TV for years, beating the dead horse about his miracle sleep accessories with extended infomercials. I change the channel -- minor annoyance. Now, if pillow man followed me around various parking lots, like our local Peter Griffin look-alike ( see https://sanangelolive.com/news/san-angelo/2019-03-16/watch-drive-thru-prayers) with his little torn pieces of paper with scrawled Bible verses on them, the annoyance level goes up a notch, possibly to aggravation.

You see Nate, it's not always the useless crap within the salesman's suitcase which irks people, rather the salesman himself.

Wouldn't it be nice if it were that simple, see we BOTH share a burden of proof, I'm not shucking mine.

I have posited that there are objective moral truths in the universe, and that the best explanation for that is found in the Bible, where God says, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." Romans 1:20.

You have posited, well, that objective morality isn't synonymous with the Bible. That is the full extent of your argument. There is no pride, or arrogance in my heart when I frame my position and challenge yours. Although I am still growing, I hope that you do understand that my opposition is less about you, and more about what you believe.

I could be wrong, but it seems to me that you feel the opposite. You seem upset by me, not so much my message. Fair enough, I'm not going to leave the issue's untouched though, regardless of your "feeling's".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxiAikEk2vU

I have a feeling there are a few people on this forum who REALLY want to protect their "way or life":[ not sure really what that may consist of but something for sure has them afraid of accepting what there is proof of all around us lol... I totally get it who wants to feel conviction for things they really love -pornography, lying, doing drugs, the list goes on but surely you can fill in the blank if I didn't mention it. Because you see you do know what it is that you do wrong even if you don't want to admit it secretly in your heart you know your a liar...;) dont you! Even if you cant even admit it out loud . Sadly:( there is all this fighting over prove it how about disprove it... Oh wait for it....... you CAN'T just like I cant "prove it" in a satisfying enough way for you unless that is your enough with yourself to put aside your pride and admit that the push back is because you really don't want to be held responsible for all your dirty little secrets:/... sound about right? Its OK everyone gets scared sadly some people never step out of that and take on their responsibility for the actions they have taken weather out of rebellion or fear and the will end up on the wrong side of judgement since as we know the Gospel had been presented but not accepted. Hey it breaks my heart but can't make someone see something if they wont open their eyes... I am truly saddened by what ever the little pleasure it is that these men hold onto so tightly that will eventually cause eternal suffering. Is it really worth it? So while we are on this subject it seems that Rita and Wacker both have something in common and ... ya'll have a burning for Nate hmm seems a bit weird maybe has something to do with truth..?Now before you get to huffy I know having a real man of God respond to your timid attempts of puffing yourselves up deflates your egos and surely it hurts..right am I onto something here? Come on you know its really starting to get to you . Why though if nothing really matters? and were all monkeys building bridges... hold on I had to get a laugh ok back to reality now. I read through a lot and I do mean a lot of the back and forth it has gone from both sides presenting and defending their beliefs of situations or people whatever the case all the way to the extreme of calling the cops out of fear over an imaginary situation that had to be a hard one to swallow Liares after you realized how bad you painted yourself to be... scared fool over literally a message ... no threats no other interaction or observation more than one glimpse in passing that had to be frightening! but hey you did try to laugh it off so maybe your foolishness would be overlooked... nope I think we all seen it how embarrassing. But enough about you and more about Jesus! Nobody's perfect but that is because we are born sinners not sure about y'all but I didn't need anyone to teach me to be bad as a child so poof proof? No hold on we have perfect upstanding people with self thought and taught morals whom I dispute this point to so I will not bother to waste anymore time since we all know I surely can't fix perfection...lol

Surely someone so intelligent can draw their own conclusions of whatever it is that keeps them in the dark... no one gossiping no one projecting no one being judgmental a good attempt to try to deflect from the actual problem a sad attempt but a good one! See the thing is I dont have to know or care to know what your dirty little secrets are because I dont have to answer for them but you can type away and pretend your not human maybe find comfort in thinking your not but in the end you are human you live with your sinful nature and it eats you up to know what your doing is wrong because like I said who wants to give up something they enjoy... I get it. So whatever vile things you and Lares do need not be publicized I dont imagine. Although you may reject what I have to say we all know the truth is you do something your not proud of we all have. After all why would it matter to you if you have no God to answer to someone is smoking crack or a porn addict a murderer why even comment or have any emotion about anything well you know why it matters just like anyone else does the only difference is some of us have enough courage to admit it and not try to pretend we are perfect or space dust or monkeys or whatever to escape that nagging voice telling is its wrong! Sorry if this upsets you or anyone else God doesnt solve your problems but He can improve your thinking your empathy your compassion your kindness your patience humility gentleness you know that list is pretty long because there is so much He can offer in a fallen world but not once did He offer to make our lives perfect but through His perfection he offered salvation . "An important distinction : its one thing to admit to missing the mark and falling short of the goal but it is quite another to deny the struggle or pretend we are winning when we are not. That is the distinction between an honest sinner struggling to become more like God and a hypocrite who refuses to come clean and acknowledge his or her own flaws"mark middleburg he sure knows how to hit that nail on the head although you may refuse to admit that lol It really does sadden me to think that people are so far out there in their sin they would refuse to repent and live a good life and by good let me clarify so you dont think Christian's feel they wont get cancer or be in an accident whatever it is people believe about that bad things still happen its just how we are able to handle them that is different a good life that puts you last and others first. I know that isn't for everyone but God is patient and loves us flaws and all. So think about it. Hopefully your understanding will change and if not at this point it's your choice to live in a bed of lies and pretend you dont matter to the creator of the universe because He makes it clear to you every breath you take how patient ,forgiving ,and loving He really is. It is not you I am against it is your ideas there is only one truth anything outside it is false and who sees a person running towards a bridge out and does not try to stop them before they fall? so I get it I had to get to the point where I accepted the gospel and that wasn't from doing things right.

"..man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without a rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck." - Thomas Jefferson

That's a hell of a steaming pile you've laid there, Brit. I'll attempt to address your dissociative, run-on drivel, one turd at a time.

1. "Brit" takes issue with the "things WE really love -- pornography, lying, doing drugs" ! Assuming she's in possession of a video of us snorting rails off of an X-rated DVD cover, while exchanging tales of our superhuman feats, she's still simply yet another delusional automaton tossing out blind assumptions, asserting that without Jesus and his handbook of ''thou shalts", we're (of course) destined for a life, knee deep in depravity and dishonesty. Brit's one of Jesus' special, favored little pets, and we're not. Allow me a minute to recover from the shame I feel...

2. We've "done wrong, and won't admit it", Rita. Which wrongs, we'll never know. Maybe Brit's taken a page from ol' Nate's handbook, and has been creeping around the shadows with her judgmental glare upon us. Perhaps she DOES know about the coke and the porn and the...well, anyway, we'd only LIE about it, so what's the use in denying it, right?

3. Brit claims that her lack of demonstrable proof that her imaginary buddies are real, is indicative of one's refusal to feel accountable to them. Well, Brit, If I felt the slightest obligation to pay reverence to your delusions, I'd have to question my accountability to myself, and then my sanity.

4. We "have a burning for Nate", Rita. I'll try to curb my Atheism, lest I come off as ''huffy''.

5. Brit, I'll have you know that Nate is absolutely harmless to most grown men of moderately good physical health, however he took it upon himself to attempt a bit of feigned bravado, by letting me know he's been peering at me and my family in public, knows what vehicle I drive, and did so against the policies of the organization in question, by regurgitating a plethora of personal information which made the mother of my child uncomfortable. See, that type of behavior is the convict side of him. Now, his reluctance to confront the (male) individual who's gotten under his thin skin for so long, well there's a word for that kind of spineless dolt, however his actions have shouted that word louder than I could ever emphasize, here in print.

6. "No one taught you to be bad as a child so poof proof". What eloquence. Well, someone surely took some time to indoctrinate you into a judgmental, holier-than-thou shadow of a human being, and for that you have my condolences.

If you don't like the way you and your buddy are batted around when the need to proselytize tickles your naughty bits, then try to avoid the subject matter. If you can't help yourselves and get offended in the process, just do the Christian thing, turn the other asscheek and forgive us.

You have broken my holier than thou heart Lares I almost thought you could do better than that ... not really lol I'm can see your upset :( did you get your feelings hurt?? You put your dirt out there I just was giving examples for those of you who do not know what sin is.if you cant figure out what you've done wrong shame on you for real... I do not know what you do in life nor does it really matter because you cant dispute the fact you are a sinner ... sorry if that hurts and you clearly you do get hurt and type off on a rampage about all the negative things your imagination can come up with. I couldnt stop myself from laughing at your feeble attempt to discredit the truth "lurking in the shadows" lol please you couldnt be serious dont be so hurt that I pointed out how scared you were like I said it's ok everyone gets scared sometimes... it's ok to feel that shame too. Dont worry it'll pass :) Your horribly hurtful comeback .... gasp.... ok i have gotten myself together again... shows nothing more than your upset again sorry you are so hurt. You talking turds and drivel and creeping about and sanity or how much of a man you thought you are will not sway the fact that your scared and I get it been there before. The truth still stands with Jesus I can admit I am a sinner and that's where the the freedom begins I'm sorry you have to try so hard to make yourself to be perfect... that's not me for sure far from it lol I'm a Christian not a doormat for someone so full of crap its running down there legs to stand on so please step off me and go clean yourself up. You can lie all you want but the truth still stands and always will there's no changing that.

Nate still hasn't demonstrated the existence of Jehovah or explained away the massive physical structure left by Hanuman. He keeps posting a lot of opinions, either his own, the opinions of the leaders in the tradition he follows, and even material from works written in ancient times based on Semitic legends instead of offering objective academic commentary. He's wrong, and he's wrong on the internet. This MUST be addressed.

I think the next logical step is to meet Nate in person and explain to him that his opinion is wrong. Reason demands it, and when all is said and done, he can't explain away an artifact built by Hanuman the monkey god which is also visible from space.

It's visible from outer space, Nate.

No archaeological evidences to support the writings in Hinduism? OK, maybe we should quite crying "excuses", and get back to the 7 points I brought up about the universe around us.

Still no answer on how you reconcile those area's in your worldview?

What's your take on morality? Is it subjective or objective?

Still nothing? It's alright, think on it and get back to me, but there's no more room for this talk of "avoidance", unless you are going to be referring to yourself.

God made the outer space that it is visible from... There is no credence to the legend though. No monkey bones found in buried camps around the area stating that they worked on a bridge for Hanuman. Archaeology regularly gives further credence to the Bible, are you requesting some?

Here, let's play this game, I'll give you an archaeological find that supports the Bible, and you give me one that supports the writings found in Hinduism, and we'll see who runs out of archaeological evidence first.

Ready, set, GO! THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS.

Your turn.

https://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/learn-about-the-scrolls/historical-background

https://thewire.in/media/post-truth-take-ram-setu

Your writing is garbled, Nate. You say you are a Christian and then write that there is "no credence to the legend" about Jehovah. This is true, but why are you writing this if you say you are a Christian? You then demonstrate your lack of understanding of historical documentation such as the Ramayana. You go on to assert that you are going to provide evidence that will give credence to your scriptures. The article you've linked proves that some form of some part of this text did exist in the past, yet ignore the roots of this literature in the legends of the region it originated from, particularly from Assyrian and Babylonian legends. Finally, you post a heavily biased article responding to an outcry over the flawed conclusion drawn by biased and politically motivated individuals who felt threatened by the overwhelming evidence they encountered. You want to "play a game" set up on false premises, shaky reasoning, and armed with your own faulty interpretations and garbled writing not realizing that doing so means that I win by default.

My original intention wasn't to challenge the basic texts that Christian put faith in such as the Torah (or "Old Testament,") appropriated from Judaism, the New Testament, and the Book of Mormon, but you've drawn me into this. I'm not sure why you feel such a strong connection to the henotheistic protector spirit the the Israeli people, but I suppose that tradition is tradition. So how is it that the latest of these revealed texts, the Book of Mormon was not revealed until so late in history? I'll accept circumstantial evidence in this case since the tablets it was translated from were physically witnessed and handled as the document itself was produced. But why the wait, and was the information given accurate?

A deflective reply that only builds up a "house of cards" argument against all that I've said and challenged.

Any reader can clearly see the back and forth... You have yet to commit to any one line of questioning.

That's whats so funny about your perception of our commentary! I never claimed to have any answers, I claimed that the Holy Bible has them. I'm beginning to wonder if you are even committed to this dialogue.

Not sure which way you want to go, but there's still 7 areas of observation in the universe around us that I would love to dig into because I believe the evidence provided by the Biblical view of these area's is the best explanation to what we see in the universe.

Maybe in your worldview, nothing needs to be reconciled, except those who disagree.

You want me to demonstrate the existance of God, go... outside tonight... and... *whisper tone, LOOK UP!

Of course everyone knows Christians tell better jokes. I'd like to see some proof. Pleeeeeze.....

How cute "you win by default" lol after reading your "garble" I conclude the same as everyone else reading and laughing at your reply, you have no answers. Something that you so demandingly expect from Nate.... kinda funny you come up with nothing but rambling about monkeys and Mormons. Are you running out of steam or maybe ideas of how to try to deflect from questions asked? Since it seems very clear any time a direct question is asked of you well your responses are built upon "false premises, shaky reasoning, and armed with your own faulty interpretations and garbled writing " couldn't have said that better myself Thanks Rita! You have projected your " lack of understanding of historical documentation" again wrote by none other that yourself. You see what we all take out of your jumpy writing is you have no answers either so you jump from one thing to another trying to get off track pretty sure Nate had asked some basic questions and if you have evidence that your view that is the "right" view- is the correct view on life , how the world was made , dna ah whatever it may be please SPILL!.. anxiously waiting for this proof.... I along with so many others in this world would love nothing more than to hear the "PROOF" you seem to be keeping hidden away from the world. Of course we know you cant answer these questions posed to you by Nate because you have nothing to back it up other than theory and nothing to prove the Bible is not what is says it is other than your "garble" lol so deflection and nonsense is the best you can do....? I find this amusing to say the least. I mean after all what can you do ?Angrily type away at me talk about my lack of writing skills my sanity my beliefs my sins ...well you know just make it about me rather than actually coming up with any reasonable answers to anything ... oh please don't .... you may hurt my little fragile Christian feelings... ;) you see I know why you lash out and it happens to be the same reason anyone fighting the truth does .... do we both know what I'm talking about? of course we do! its out of fear I mean really who wants to admit they were wrong unless the are offered forgiveness? or a second chance to get it right? I get it when I'm in the wrong and faced with the truth that I've been living in sin I get scared too just like you but that is when I take that opportunity to ask my savior Jesus Christ to forgive me and guide me so that I may handle the next situation more patiently or compassionately. Surely you don't enjoy making yourself out to look like a fool nobody does but with gentleness I can tell you that is what you do here. So maybe one of these days you will consider the love and thought that has been put into batting down all of your nonsense ideas so that you may discover the truth. Just like me you are loved by the creator of the universe you are loved by God its just up to you to take the blinders off see it and accept it!

If you aren't going to talk about these area's of the universe around us, maybe you shouldn't enter into debate about these thing's...

I see that the debate had to be moved to a private emailing... wonder why that is ? Maybe the demanding proof from a Christian backfired when proof was demanded back? So sad it was getting interesting I was hoping for the spill all from the oh so knowledgable opossers of Christianity lol

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