Aug 31, 2008

Senator Obama & Democrats Overreached: Me Too Senator McCain and Governor Palin Follow!




Both Parties, if they believe that they can win will run unqualified candidates for office!. I AM STILL looking for: A FEW GOOD MEN or WOMEN to run for the office of President and Vice President of the USA!


George H. Bush had several ‘you are doing a good job Browny moments’ over the past 8 years, and most of the ones that he praised have either been disgraced. pardoned, released, resigned or in jail. John McCain not to be outdone decided like Bush, who picked two females for high offices Dr. Condoleeza Rice (who prevailed) and Harriet Miers(who did not), his initial selection for Supreme Court Justice, neither of the two was or is considered qualified by Republicans.

The fact of the matter is that Rush Limbaugh, Anne Coulter and others on the Republican fascist Right did not want Senator McCain to represent their Party. And when those two say something, they must be RIGHT!

It is truly amazing what is taking place in the American electoral process these days. Clearly neither side has any respect for the office of President of the United States, and one might wonder why should they given what we have experienced over the past 8 years, why should they? Over the past 30 years, Republicans have put more Presidents in office than all other parties combined.

And as long as it helped to defeat the Democrats, the Republicans have not cared who they ran for the office of President, or how sleazily they ran their campaigns. And isn’t it interesting that of the 3 presidents that they selected, Nixon resigned rather than be impeached, Reagan and his contretemps lied among other things misused their office in light of Contragate, and George Bush has admitted, at least one time, to misleading the American people. And we know that George Bush has misled the nation on more than one occasion.

And two out of three of the last Republican Presidential choices should have been impeached!

John McCain has called upon Sarah Palin to do a 'good job' of helping him to get elected (his good job Paly choice) and she is now his unqualified Harriet Miers choice as well, move over Dems two can play at that game. Here goes another Republican fiasco, and where will this one end up for the Democrats? And to think that either Party expects the American people to take the whole process, or them seriously.

What Americans need to do is to decide whether the current form of government will serve us into the 21st century, especially the current electoral process; it has a lot of holes in it. Many Americans refuse to vote because they cannot for the life of them see what purpose voting serves. Given the cynicism of those who run for office these days, and the callous individuals working behind the scenes to get them elected, is it any wonder that anyone who votes today does so with a degree of cynicism?

Voters typically vote today, only to keep the other side from prevailing, not because in any way they believe in the person that they are voting; they don't have any faith in their picks.

Voting by default has become the American way! And is it any wonder that America interferes and seeks to sway elections in other independent nations and regions like the Baltics for example.

As Peter once explained to the crowds who listened to him preach, I say unto you, “Save Yourselves” from this untoward American electoral process. Most of our votes have not counted for anything during the past 2-years, so why keep repeating the practice, vote for someone you believe in whether they are elected or not!

Peace & Grace
Reverend C. Solomon


Another thing to consider: America involves itself in the political affairs of other nations to ensure untampered with and free elections; when will the American government do the same for Americans!

When Is It Okay To Use Your Brain Religious People - A Phenomenological Approach To Confronting Issues And Problem Solving!




Whenever humans encounter inexplicable, unintelligible or unusual phenomenon (an occurrence, circumstance, or fact that is perceptible by the senses) but not always clearly defined. we ought to encourage discovery and exploration, rather than revert in a typical fashion to perceived and conditioned biases and closed reductionism.

And if the majority of the world will have its opinions colored or determined by their holy books (and there are a variety of holy books in the world), that is all the more reason why we must study the voracity of our holy books, and their origins in order to determine how valid those sources happen to be!

Our objective ought to always be to move forward into discovery as we pursue the vault of knowledge, truth and its opposites!
We must someday leave the principles and go on to perfection, otherwise we will remain stagnant.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus said, neither…! St. John 9:13

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Jesus said, for there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother’s womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sakes. Mt.19:1.

And by extension who did sin that a person was born, intersex, genetically predisposed to certain conditions like schizophrenia, autism, alcoholism… homosexuality?
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Is it a prudent thing to do, to rely strictly upon religious maxims (by any faith), cultural traditions, unknown and unlearned writers or speculation without experimentation and verification in order to confront the complex issues that we face, especially by individuals past or present who did not engage in any research?

I am convinced that the number one factor contributing to the failure of humans to resolve complex human issues by using what God gave them, has been the historical retardant behavior of religion apart from God (including mostly all of them) to keep its foot on the brakes instead of on the accelerator. Ignorance is a strong predictor and determinant of failure! Are God's people, those who name his name failing, given their self-imposed proclivity and apparent need or desire to surrender to religiosity and occasional ignorance, rather than to employ what was given them?

Please recall that the Church and other religious groups believed that the Earth at one time was the center of the universe and flat; and we know today that the Church was wrong!What else has religion been wrong about in general and in particular, and why won't we admit it? Are we willing to 'follow on to know the truth'? Are we willing to let go of some outdated beliefs that in private we even wonder whether or not they were true or not? Questioning is something that is often not tolerated in most religious or other groups.

A young man came to me not too long ago and asked me if I would help him to launch his ministry. I wrote on a piece of paper the following acronym,
'WDWDWWD', and then I asked him what does it mean? While he attempted to decipher my code, I then asked, where did the bible come from? He stumbled around and finally admitted that he really did not know where the bible came from, except that holy men of God wrote it. I explained the acronym further and its meaning, 'why do we do what we do'? The young man said that he had ten sermons to preach from the bible to others, but he himself did not know where or how the bible actually originated!

I am convinced that too many individuals have zero knowledge of where their most important beliefs derive from, they only know what they have been told. I am convinced that most humans simply repeat the behaviors of their predecessors oftentimes not knowing why their predecessors engaged in certain behaviors or held to certain beliefs. And folks today, that is not good enough. More and more the expanding cosmos is coming to us and a perceptible grasp on what has been undiscovered for centuries is within our grasps!

I've spoken with members of the clergy some with and some who lack scholarship, and they (the teachers) have often bought wholesale into what they have been told by their particular religious groups or what they have learned from their respective cultures, having never asked the tough questions. Jesus when speaking to Nicodemus in the 3rd chapter of the book of John asked, 'are you a teacher in Israel and you don't know these things'? What is it that our teachers today are oblivious of, and what are the things that some of our teachers know but they are not saying?

And why aren't some of our clerics speaking up who know better? It is simple, it is because they would lose their source of earnings and positions, or be forced to admit that they made errors in the past (which among other things would cause some to ask, then is the word of God or God itself real or not real)? Jesus said, as it is recorded in the Canon, that I AM THE TRUTH! The truth is what all of us ought to be seeking after, not some religious ends or to be accepted into some geographical-regional religious group, and/or to simply believe its often uncorroborated dogma.

Why is the religious world so stratified and divided? The answer lies within us. Most of us are not seeking the truth or what is actual and factual, we have our own motives for seeking after our religious choices! Another reason for not questioning or verifying the voracity of one's religious belief is a result of conditioned fear. How many believe that a Sovereign would not want you to ask questions, to test reality or to seek what is real? Jesus explained to his disciples, that what was often said by them of old times was not to be adhered to!

Jesus even pointed out that Moses' decision to grant divorce was just that, a Moses decision, which proves that often what has been said by the ancients did not have universal/Sovereign origins or support! Paul admitted that some of what he wrote was a consequence of his own values, logic, rationalisms or reason, not divinely appointed or inspired!

The question that the disciples asked Jesus about the young blind man certainly can presuppose that they believed in reincarnation (transmigration of the spirit), that is one alternative. Or, how or why else would they ask if the young mans condition of congenital blindness was brought on as a result of sin that he committed prior to being born?

Our major thrust ought to the pursuit of truth, no matter if it means leaving behind some unproven and unsubstantiated ideas, in order to pursue better ones. Now with respect to taking a phenomenological approach to dealing with some unresolved issues of the past or present, it is also time for us to wake up. We have been given wisdom )Sophia), knowledge and the ability to comprehend, and most of all an okay to use the intelligence that we have already received or acquired to unravel issues, challenges and the unknown or imperceptible.

However, we will never seek to address those issues that need addressing until we can move beyond outdated, unsubstantiated religious dogma and acculturation, something to which all religious groups and indigenous people of the world are guilty of, and confront those parts of our belief systems that have no basis in verifiable and unverifiable, thus far, truth!

I was out one night a decade ago with a group of Christians and all of us sat around the table in the middle of the booth at a restaurant in MountainView California waiting to be served. I asked this probative question: Is alcoholism a condition or sickness as the medical and psychological profession maintains, or a sin as the church explains and some religious writers have written? Before the discussion could get underway one individual at the name went ballistic. What are you saying Pastor, for the bible says...! And that was the end of the conversation for her.

I have asked others, could Paul and others have been speaking based upon their conception or misconception of the facts, and could the conclusions that they drew be based upon culture shaping and their own personal feelings? Should an individual go to the Gehenna and burn forever because he cannot control some urge or habit? If that is the case, all of us would be deserving of the Gehenna fire for each one of us has habits that we cannot break. Factually, some are born with 'addictive propensities', some more than others.

We should not be offended by questioning in order to test the voracity of what we say that we believe. Jesus was a master at questioning religious people, and of course he often met with the same reaction that I did with this woman! A skillful deployment of the Socratic method can often be a useful tool in getting to the heart of the matter, and along with the way discovering and removing the mental-habitual dross!

Today, we know that some individuals are and were genetically predisposed to substance abuse. Whether they will engage or not, is not always the case? But if they were to engage and become a chemical-dependent, are they then sinners? Or, did they simply succumb to something that was hard-wired within them even before they knew how to walk. Each of us is addicted or has a predilection or has been predisposed to something. If you accept my premise, then does it follow that we have fallen short of the glory or placed something before God?

I am a diabetic. Diabetes runs in my family. Following the syllogism to its logical conclusion then, am I a sinner, fallible, broken or something less than I should be because I am diabetic? The antecedents were in place long before the symptoms of diabetes showed up in my life at the age of 42!

Is a blind person therefore a sinner, or born blind as a consequence of sin that was committed by his parents and therefore he was cursed, or was he or she cursed because of some sin that was committed in his or her past life (again transmigration of the soul or spirit? Or, are there other factors that ought to be taken take into consideration? If we accept what most religions teach us, the answer is no, you are not to consider what some other discipline or body of knowledge may offer. I said it, they maintain having done zero research and having only quoted what someone else wrote, and therefore it is right!

If we accept the Canon, all conditions including the young blind man's condition were either a result of the sin of Adam, or those special instances where a condition was brought on simply to prove a point. In other words and there is a term for it, this young man's hysterical blindness was not truly blindness that was a result of some natural consequence, it was brought on by a higher power simply to prove a point. Lazarus's death was apparently another example of a pre-planned event that was to occur in order to make a point. There are many other examples recorded in the Canon.

In this example of the young blind man who was removed from fellowship, it was done so that Jesus could come along and demonstrate the creative powers of the Holy Spirit that he possessed, by taking from the same earth that the human body was created from, and to create an iris, retina, cornea or whatever had been divinely impaired in the young man so that the man could see! Today our learned human biologists are doing the same thing, stem cell research, researching and understanding the DNA are examples of man understanding his chemical/biological makeup and coming up with solutions that can be employed in order to extend the lifecyle.

Not even in the Canon is it written that the Almighty would not use humans in order to extend the human lifecycle into what is known as eternal life (see my subsequent writing on this topic, it will explain how the DNA was once altered, and how it can and apparently has been at spiritual rebirth or will be manifestly altered again in order to extend the life-cycle permanently!

Why are humans so hard on people who have unusual conditions that they had nothing to do with its cause or origin in a previous, recurrent or present life? Why are religious people so quick to disfellowship their sisters and brothers who lack control over certain conditions? It wasn't the young man's fault that he was born blind, not any more that it is an infants fault that it is born with birth defects. Would we say to a child with muscular dystrophy, baby, you must have done something to cause this condition!

Can we agree that none of us are perfect in a religious sense, otherwise and if we were - none of us would ever get sick, die, make any mistakes, speak out of turn...! If endocrinologists are able to prove that homosexuality for example is a result of genealogy..., then as with Copernicus and Galileo who proved that the earth was not at the center of the universe or flat, religious groups will be embarrassed again for their historical venal hatred of human beings who have been tormented as a result of human bias and religious ignorance.

I have not been quiet about my contention that during the early part of this century, the 21st Century, many of the disparate religious groups of the world are going to be humiliated, given that much of what has been taught over the years will be exposed as nothing more than myth, superstition, cultural misrepresentation or downright ignorance!

If my 7 year old child were to write a book, I would be very careful about using her as my source to unravel or to explain complex issues. And essentially that is what too many religious groups have done, followed the uncorroborated teachings of individuals who were children in terms of their understanding. And many times, the sources that we rely so heavily upon could not agree among themselves with respect to what was and what was not truth!

A phenomenological approach to any issue or problem suggests that you study it from a phenomenological perspective, not to simply take the words of unknown authors who have never done any research on a topic, accept and apply their definition as if it were an absolute. Have you ever done this yourself, or heard someone else say this, I will tell you how they did that? Typically that individuals conclusion is his upon his own reasoning, and nothing else. When so much is at stake, we must do more than rely upon limited or speculative reasoning.

Factually, if you were to go back and question some of the authors who wrote what they wrote on various topics in many of our religious groups and ask, where did you get your knowledge from, they would likely answer in a manner that Jesus has already debunked, 'We heard it from men of old times'? These are the same men who suppressed what would have been the female contribution to knowledge. And why is that significant, they are the ones who bear life, and the ones who have a closer connection and a deeper and keener understanding of life.

Oftentimes males draw most of their conclusions from a male-egocentric absolutist point of view (some women are learning to do the same from a female-egocentric absolutist point of view), instead of from any divine or studied source! Folks, the latter is simply not good enough! I am a man, and I know that we have been wrong on many subjects that have been codified as if it were handed down from God itself! And again, this phenomenon more and more is not unique to males!

Humans are long overdue to begin opening up and expanding their awareness, whereby availing themselves of more of the resources that are out there in order not only to grow in grace (not always doing that well either), but in wisdom, knowledge and understanding. It is time to use that part of the brain that is not being utilized. Get knowledge and get an understanding one writer told us to do. Do you know anything about Pegasus 51, just one of 50-plus moons that revolved around Jupiter. Why is it relevant to know anything about the sky, well for most Christians it is because you plan to go there someday, correct?

The Sovereign, I suspect, will have more to reveal and clarify once we open up and move beyond and towards what is real. Everything is not a sin, and some things are not right just because some religious person said so! Each one of us ought to, in my opinion, particularly religious people reconsider the voracity of our beliefs, and inquire deeply into 'why we do what we do' and 'why we believe what we believe', for we might be hindering the revelation of more actual and factual knowledge and ultimate truth!

Use your brain, if it was not intended for you to use yours and instead you were to rely strictly upon someone else's, then perhaps one out of a hundred of us (the average size of a religious group) would have never been given a brain, and the rest of would not have been given one at all. And the latter appears to be what most religious leaders, anyway, believe and want you to believe! The Apostle wrote in his epistle, not scripture, that we ought to test everything, and hold on to that which is good, accurate, sound or reliable! Use your brain all the time, particularly when you are around dogmatic people - employ the Socratic Method and ask questions!

Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


And remember: Our theme - ought to be - to pursue different passions - for different people!

Aug 30, 2008

A Dependent Race of People: Rev Submits to the Black Agenda Report




Written by revcsolomon, August 30, 2008

It is both regrettable and sad that the black race once removed from slavery and colonialism has became a dependent of the white race. Blacks are dependent on whites for employment, healthcare, food, education, services..., and this phenomenon reaches all the way to the motherland.

On the continent blacks are waiting for whites to eliminate poverty in too many instances and to come up with cures for AIDS, Ebola..., as well as to solve political problems! What is the reason for this crippling phenomenon, you figure it out? The solution however, remains with blacks!

I could only wish that blacks would stop going to whites for help and instead use what God gave them in order to resolve their own problems. Continuing to do so only swells the heads of whites and causes them to look down even more on blacks. In the new global economy and the newly emerging world order, blacks will no longer be able to rely on white largesse, restitution or reparations; whites will have to do all that they can do in order to save themselves from the Chinese...!

It is time for a Black Genesis Project to take hold, before the inevitable takes place! Half of the reason for the failure of black nations and people to rise is a result of the historical failure of black male (not female) leadership and black male condigned power!

Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


Addenda: Those blacks who believe that the current general election in the USA will solve their problems are badly mistaken. Just consider what has taken place so far. One leading candidate was knocking boots during the time that he was supposed to be running for office, another who has been in office less than 3 years spent most of his time on the road campaigning for a new job, a female without any preparation or experience either has had her hat cast into the ring and then there is John McCain.

The American political process has devolved into one sad nightmare, and what is even sadder is that there is so much at stake, human life and the planet itself!

Aug 29, 2008

The Obama Campaign: Are Black Politicians Indeed Any Different From White Ones?




Are the majority of frustrated black voters in terms of conscience, any different than their white counterparts?


The Wright Reverend said it best: Senator Obama will say whatever he has to say in order to get elected.
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I was accosted several times over the past 7-days by people who were attempting to raise money for the Obama campaign. Each one took for granted that I was supporting Senator Obama, and they went right to lecturing me about the importance of supporting Senator Obama financially. When I proceeded to ask questions and to explain why I was not supporting Senator Obama, one stopped me in mid-sentence and asked, despite what I said, are you going to give me any money or not? I refer to these people as the American black Janjaweed.

Black people are behaving now, I’m sure out of desperation, just like the ones that they have criticized in the past and in the present.

Despite my respect for the Clintons, and it is on record what they have done not only for the black community but for all Americans before and after Bill Clinton was President, I simply cannot comply with their request to support the waffling, acquiescing, foreign policy equivocator of most American politicians of the past, Senator Obama.

One thing that has always bothered me about blacks who have criticized inane white behavior, is that once they gain power, and I have said it for years, they do the same things/engage in the same behavior as the ones that they criticize, consider Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana as an example!

I cannot tell you how many blacks there have been who have told me that Senator Obama has to acquiesce, recapitulate (and some have implied-lie) in order to get elected, because that is the way that the American political process works; as if the American political process is the end all. Have blacks lost their moral compass?

There is one who sits higher than the one who happens to occupy the office of president of the USA, and there is something greater than the American political process, and that is the thing that Senator Obama is missing, and the primary area where he has veered off course! He has made it clear that he will continue the practice of supporting Israel and America’s scorched earthy policy in the Middle-East!

My response to those who say that it is okay to lie, recapitulate and behave like typical American politicians do is this, ‘then the more things change the more they remain the same’, and that is what I believed that most of us wanted to change’. I am still looking for someone who can be different, and someone who is truly different from all of the rest.

And sadly, now it is black Americans who have adopted wholesale the politics of greed, recapitulation and say whatever you have to say in order to acquire the golden prize of sitting in the America seat of dwindling power. I don't accept it. Whenever we get a black president or another white one may he or she be different that from what we have experienced for over the past 232 years, and may he or she be like Dennis Kucinich, Cynthia McKinney, individuals, who simply tell the truth whether they are elected or not; Jesus, Gandhi, Dr. MLK were like that, and we have individuals like that today.

I simply cannot countenance 4-more years of the same, thus I can neither with good conscience support either the Obama or McCain campaign! And I will not support a typical waffling politician who will not stand up for true justice in the USA and in the rest of the world as Commander-in-Chief of the USA! The policy of American exceptionalism is wrong, it always has been wrong and it still is WRONG!

Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


Addenda: When the day comes that America has its first 'just president', may they stand on principle and for principle!

Aug 27, 2008

The Rev Discusses American Exceptionalism & Bill O’Reilly on You Tube.


American exceptionalism is by definition hypocrisy. And it represents a double-standard for if you apply the same definition to America’s opportunistic and hegemonist behavior that you apply to so-called enemy combatants and nations (people and nations who are simply defending themselves from American aggression), America is then by definition the quintessential terrorist state. Or as the late Dr. Martin Luther King explained, the number one 'purveyor of violence in the world'!

That God has permitted 14 million non-documented individuals to simply walk across America's borders unhurt, as America continues to disrespect border sovereignty in other nations around the world, does it suggest that God is taking on the American Pharaoh again, however, without frogs, lice ... this time?

Americans have accepted this double-standard for so long that it has become an acceptable part of American lore. Other nations are no longer accepting the double-standard, they are fortifying themselves, growing their economies and seeking to acquire WMDs, in other words following the example of the USA. Americans may continue to buy into the doctrine of American exceptionalism but other nations and people are not.

That America operates under a double-standard should be clear to the blind, only sycophants of duplicity, unjust and a double-standard continue to support it. Interestingly God’s plan, according to the Canon, is to establish a New World Order. I haven’t read anywhere where the America Empire will be the hallmark of that new world order!

I joined this discussion that began as an appraisal of Bill O’Reilly, who fascist behavior on the show when interviewing guests demonstrates to a substantial degree why he supports American aggression and fascism.


Woodlelette said:
BRING DOWN THE WHITE AMERICAN CHRISTIAN POWER!!!!!!!!!!
EQUALITY FOR ALL!!!
Besides..this country Belongs to Native Americans.
Not white people.

revcsolomon
Colonialists invaded what is known today as America. They took the territory, inhabited and refer to it as 'The Land of the free and the home of the [slave]'. Over a 232 year period America has occupied and annexed how many other nations & territories around the world? America wants to stop terrorism in the world, and Bill Reilly feels encroached upon, hmm!? Is it any wonder that over 14m people have walked across America's borders lately to reclaim it? Bill believes in American terrorism!

electricblueboi
That's rich.

revcsolomon
That Bill and so many other Americans have turned their backs on reality speaks to a much deeper pathology that exists within the duplicitous American psyche. Consider the American invasion and occupation of Iraq, Bill O'Reilly and the likeminded were and are totally on board for the hostile takeover of another nation. The same group of sycophants immediately jumped on Russia for doing far less than what the USA has done. These people are totally on board when it comes to terrorism by America!

electricblueboi
Wait a second.. the President of Georgia is not a brutal dictator who slaughtered hundreds of thousands of his own. Hussein's dictatorship over Iraq exploited terror to its fullest as a method of oppression; Georgia is a Democracy.

I think your idea of terrorism is warped and false. The US along with coalition forces are improving the lives of the Iraqis and brought its heinous dictator and his minions to justice. Also keep in mind a lot of people were on board for this war at its inception.

JamieApollo
"the new york times and the far left want to break down the white Christian power structure" I HOPE WE FUCKING DO! how is this neo-con, fascist Nazi motherfucker allowed to spew such poison? the sooner white Christian lunatic fat cats no longer run this fucking country, we as a people can finally evolve into something better

electricblueboi
It's a free country - you don't have to listen to it. Fascists like you wouldn't allow him to "spew such poison".. you'd have the state control everything, including freedom of speech.

You're the one coming off as the uninformed BIGOT by suggesting "white Christian lunatic fat cats no longer run this fucking country".

Your brand of racism is, in fact, the most dangerous in the world today.

revcsolomon
Religion often becomes a tool of the state. The descendants of the same people who rejected King George III and his tyrannical misuse and control of the church among other things, have joined with King George of the USA in order to wield the conjoined power of politics and the church in order to inveigle the minds of the people and to rule the world. Is it any wonder that not only Muslims, but allied nations are looking forward to a new world order with less Christian America influence!

electricblueboi
Many societies were founded and developed with Judeo-Christian beliefs. Where religious beliefs have the biggest influence on policy are laws, many of which I am sure you agree with and subscribe to. Many find great comfort and direction from religion.. others twist scripture to justify horrible acts like terrorism.

Allies heavily rely, and will continue to rely on the strength and generosity of the USA for many years to come.

janebusby
O Reilly talks utter shit.

revcsolomon
The problem with syncretism is its by-product, an amalgamation of manmade ideas mixed in with transcendent knowledge. The aim of the latter is more self-encompassing, and its end is self gratification/ immolation. America's allies complain about America more than any other perceived threat. Most recently, many of the allies were more sensitive to Russia than to Georgia. Most of them recognize how hypocritical it is for America to invade and occupy nations, while criticizing other nations!

electricblueboi
So you don't believe morality, taken from religion, should be (or should have been) imposed in any form, via the law?

USA's allies complain about the USA because the guys on top with all of the power, money and control are often the "bad guys". Jealousy.

Don't compare Iraq to Georgia! Its apples vs. oranges.

How can one even begin to qualify/quantify that notion given the massive number of political, social, and economic variables at play in each scenario?

revcsolomon
Don't concern yourself with what I think, God didn't impose morality, IT gave people free choice. Only despots and despotic nations seek to impose their will on other nations and people, and at the same time declare that no other nation, United Nations, the International Court or the Hague (where the USA will personally take other world leaders to - Slobodan Milosevic...) will impose its will on the USA. The USA ignores every other decision body in the world. IAEA inspectors get out of Iraq?

revcsolomon
elec, One thing that the holy writ of most religions has in common is an insistence on not just making or quoting laws, but living by the rule of the law. Clearly the USA just like the nations that it criticizes has often been inviolate. When the power shifts economically and military (new world order), the allies will shift. Remember I care what my base thinks, it is only 'old Europe talking', and I don't care what the American people think..., words from the American oligarchy/tetrarch!

electricblueboi
If you're trying to get me to disagree with the fact the USA has made mistakes, I won't. No nation has a perfect track record - but I believe the US has used its power/influence for more GOOD than evil in the world.

With all due respect, Europe is so weakened by socialist garbage that national pride has also gone out the window - that's very apparent in your tone. The USA was a major force in freeing Europe during WW1 and WW2, and at one point Europeans were thankful for our sacrifices.

revcsolomon
elect, How many people are American dictators responsible for murdering? I remind you that during the Iran/Iraq War, when Saddam was using WMDs against the Iranians, they went to the U.N. and requested a resolution against Saddam. Ronnie Reagan had the resolution blocked. Dr. MLK again said it best, the number one purveyor of violence in the world was (not the USSR, China, the DPRK...) the United States of America. America is a terrorist nation by any stretch, it started off that way!

electricblueboi
You're able to communicate thoughts with an excellent vocabulary, but yet you don't quite seem to understand the difference between "dictator", "king" or "president".

What do you mean "it started off that way"? You seem to like to twist the meaning of "terrorism" to back up your fallacies. During the Iran/Iraq war, the USA was supporting Saddam while the USSR was supporting Iran. We could spend hours debating geopolitics, but please reconsider your inaccurate terminology.

revcsolomon
elect, If only American people will stop consuming long enough and consider what their representative government is doing around the world. If only American people, who insist on freedom and that the gov't not interfere in their affairs, would understand that other nations and people feel the same way about the USA gov't interfering in their affairs. The USA 'started the same way', by invading, occupying, terrorizing, murdering, raping, enslaving and pillaging in the territory that is known today as the USA. Today Iraq!

revcsolomon
elect, You have drunk a substantial amount of the American kool-aid. Other nations are not jealous of the USA, they are simply sick of the USA's incessant meddling in their internal affairs, and the internal affairs of other nations, and when they complain America threatens them with economic sanctions, other overt and threats, and a withdrawal of support, if not aggression. Americans forget the nations that helped it to secure its independence from England. Other nations do a lot for the USA.

revcsolomon
elect, American exceptionalism is by definition hypocrisy; it represents a double-standard for if you apply the same definition to America's opportunistic and hegemonist behavior that you apply to so-called enemy combatants and other people and nations of the world that are simply defending themselves from American aggression, America is by definition the quintessential 'terrorist state', and it has been that way for decades. Bush was challenged in Vienna 2 yrs back about American terrorism!

revcsolomon
elect, Other nations are no longer accepting the double-standard, they are fortifying themselves, growing their economies and seeking to acquire WMDs, following America's example in order to strengthen & defend themselves from America. Americans continue to buy into the doctrine of American exceptionalism but other nations are not. An example, America has a Monroe Doctrine however Russia, Iran, Cuba.., cannot! Americans will not tolerate similar totalitarianism, hegemony and meddling by other!

revcsolomon
What elect refers to as having been innocent 'American mistakes', was in fact intentional American policy. America does not tolerate similar mistakes by other nations. The fact is that America has operated with a venal, duplicitous double-standard from the onset and other nations and people know it. Only some Americans will not admit it, and the sycophants of unjust policies and duplicitiy will never demand as I have done, that America 'get in the real world before it is too late'!

In Summary and conclusion: With the rise of emerging economics and nations around the world, a new world order will grow out of the new alliances that will be formed between nations. The most sagacious thing that American can do now is to begin treating other nations with the respect that it demands, it may be too late for many nations including America’s allies have tired of America bullying!


Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


Addenda: The law of the Universe is essentially this: 'what a man sows, that shall he also reap'. Point of fact, the USA is reaping today given its venal past and present behaviors. Isn't it interesting that as the USA continues to invade, occupy and threaten other nations particularly Iraq of late, that at the same time America's borders have been crossed by at least 14 million non-documented occupiers - a land that belong in part to their ancestors in the first place?

The Law of the Universe would suggest then that America's borders will never be respected and will continue to be breeched, until the USA learns to respect the sovereignty and the borders of other nations. Reparations for blacks? How about restoring the true owners of America to their place of prominence?

Aug 26, 2008

God, Reverend Jeremiah Wright & American Politics!





Reverend Jeremiah Wright: America’s Unsung Hero of 2008!

A Salute to Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the Wright Reverend is an unsung hero of Senator Obama’s continuous success and mercurial rise to the top.


The Wright Reverend ought to be America’s man of the year! And even though his presence is not welcome at the Democratic Convention in Colorado, he is a substantial part of the reason for America’s profound new hope, for it is he who gets much of the credit for producing Senator Obama and family. If only more individuals in the nation, particularly its former and current leaders had been shaped at Trinity United in Chicago!

America should thank the Wright Reverend; a man who served his country militarily and stood by the bedside of one of America’s other presidents who believed in ‘a great society’ for his gift of shaping, over the past 2 decades, America's current favorite son. The Wright Reverend, Trinity United and Liberation Theology molded and shaped the Obama family with values that the majority culture often claims but never embraces.

And even though many Americans hate the Wright Reverend (including some unknowledgable black Americans), ironically it is the Wright Reverend who produced America's most recent favorite son! The counterpart to the Wright Reverend & Trinity United, the white church gave America George Bush!

And even though you won’t be on the stage during the Democratic National Convention where you should be, or present for the inauguration if the inchoate Senator is to prevail Reverend Wright, you are responsible by and large for the positive changes that have recently taken place and that may take place even to a greater extent over the next four years in America and the world!

Senator Obama and family are what they are and mostly where they are because of you. And even though you have been betrayed, just as Jesus and Jeremiah of the scriptures were often betryaed, THANK YOU Reverend Jeremiah Wright, I salute you sir and many other Americans salute you, and the rest will come around sooner or later!

Peace & Grace from an ardent admirer,
Reverend C. Solomon

Aug 11, 2008

Was Apostle Thomas Originally an Atheist, Agnostic or Secularist?




Subtext: I Believe, Why Won't They Believe What I Believe?

I am finding that more and more what the church believes is God, and what the self-declared non-believer who is seeking after what is real actually believes in may be one and the same. One is simply referred to in the Christian faith as God, and the self-declared unbeliever believes in a Sovereign unifying principle! And who is to say that the principle cannot create and jump inside and outside of bodies? The real problem is that the two camps won’t talk, and I intend to change that!

The Apostle Thomas once said to the other Apostles who had gathered together after the Resurrection, those who had seen the reincarnated Jesus Christ, that I will not believe until I put my hands in the holes in his sides…!

Based upon what Thomas said, then is the belief of today’s secularist of any value at all? We can see that Thomas did not believe until he believed!

Why is it that Jesus did not simply discard Thomas, as most religious individuals have done with secularists today? At one time or another weren’t each one of us ‘a secularist or an atheist’, before we believed?

Is what matters the most, who can believe the most, even if what one believes does not meet the mainstream test? Can we synthesize our understandings about what is real and then get a better handle on what is and what is not real?

Can the two camps reconcile, the religious and the non-religious believers? Can religion move beyond its belief in an anthropomorphic God that cannot be seen, and can the other camp accept that what they cannot see, can be real in a dimension that they have yet to experience? Answer: We will see!


Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


To be continued…,

Aug 10, 2008

The Canon Is Not the Inerrant Word of God As the Church Teaches!




Then when will believers leave the principles and go on to perfection, and in what way does our exclusive dependency on the ancient canon hinder us?

If we take Jesus' words literally, all of what is included in the Canon cannot be the inerrant word of God as we have been taught to believe. At best, the Canon is merely a subset of the word of God!


PART I
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Why is it important for a born again Christian pastor, evangelist, teacher and lecturer to raise this subject? I believe that the church is stagnant; it is feeding off of its internal organs (repeating the same behaviors and questionable texts over and over as if the Sovereign would not have advanced us any further in a 21st century context, Day 7 perhaps in a divine context).

The church has forgotten what was written in the 2000 plus year old documents, that the Sovereign would reveal more of itself in the future. Sincere church people are satisfied with gathering, singing, taking the Eucharist, performing the annual pageants, christening babies, performing marriages, raising offerings, having the annual picnic, going white-water rafting, organizing religious retreats, attending to customary and religious holidays…! However, answer the following.

Questions:

Are we limiting ourselves by repeating past behaviors and limiting ourselves to a historically flawed text?

Is there more to what we ought to be doing, and more that we should comprehend by now that our predecessors would not have known or would likely not have understood during their time on Earth, men who saw but could not explain 'chariots of fire'?

What does God expect of a 21st Century Christian, a post-modern Christian whose spirituality is expected to have caught up with intellectual and scientific knowledge?

Are we letting God down, given our hyper-spirituality that is encased in a carnal church posture?

What would the Sovereign expect a post-modern 21 Century Christian to understand and do that his predecessors would not known or have done, 2000 years ago men could appeal to the Universe and cause moisture to fall from heaven?

Where should we be in terms of our capacity to know, to understand and to perform, keep in mind that we are far more advanced than 4BCE Christian happened to be?

Would the Sovereign expect that we would still be fighting among ourselves, thinking or talking on a 3rd grade level, okay for those in the 3rd grade, but shouldn’t we have knowledge, understanding and practices that far exceed those of our predecessors?

Have we grown up to the stature of Christ whole), or to a level of awareness that ought to become a group of humans who claim to be in touch with God in a 21 Century context? I think not!

Are we any different than the Hebrews that we often criticize, having said that they are stuck in the Old Covenant, and are incapable of moving beyond their ancient texts?

Are we stuck in an old Covenant ourselves, and as a result not even the Sovereign can move us past dancing, jumping, singing, raising offerings, taking the Eucharist or enjoying other religious activities and participating in historical/traditional religious behaviors, move over Shamans?

Part II

Before the Church can move forward to the next step, we must consider whether or not our primary literative source, Constantine’s Canon, is the inerrant word of God. Most Christians believe that it is, however, if you consider the words of Jesus - it is not! One minister argued on a prior occasion that you must believe all of it or accept none of it; in my opinion he went too far.

When you consider the disparate writers whose writings are included in the canon, and the number of biblical sources that are represented there, one can argue that while portions appear to be accurate and have both manuscript and spiritual authority, others are unsubstantiated and lack any support at all.

The Apostle Paul’s position in his epistle to his protégé Timothy, when he wrote that all scripture is “God-breathed…” suggests that we must consider what is and what is not by definition, scripture, including the Pauline letters.

Question: Did Paul consider the letters that he drafted and sent to disparate churches around the region to be scripture? Answer, I think not, and this is critical given that a major portion of the New Testament and what the church considers to be scriptures are predominately Pauline epistles. The Apostle himself even admitted that a portion of what he wrote in his epistle to the church at Corinth was not divinely inspired, he simply wrote by permission; Moses apparently did the same!

The Apostle’s position with regard to the next stage in the divine evolutionary cycle (which the church refers to as ‘the rapture’), as it is recorded in the book of Thessalonians - is not without flaw. Clearly, the Apostle 'misspoke'; he expected to be alive when the rapture occurred and to rise with those who were asleep. We know that the Apostle was summarily executed, having been beheaded approximately 2000 years ago, probably as a result of all of the individuals that he was responsible for their deaths.

How many Christians know that the Book of Revelations and other books that were included in the Canon were put there not by rote but by vote? The process of deciding which books would be excluded, or on the other hand which books would be included in the canon was based on which books received the highest number of votes. What can we learn from the Apocryphal writings that were excluded?

With respect to the Pentateuch, which was purportedly written based upon inspiration that Moses received directly from God, some of what Moses wrote was contradicted by Jesus. In fact Jesus commented on several occasions about positions that were taken by Moses and by others ‘of old times’, positions which were included in the Pentateuch. According to Jesus, many of the sayings by them old of old, including some of what Moses wrote (which have been included in the canon) that 'did not' originate with or come from God.

A perfect example of this would be those portions of Moses’ or others writings that were attributed to Moses regarding marriage, (particularly polygamous marriages) and divorce. Jesus said that in the beginning it was not so, which is one reason why the best of God's servants ought to be careful about what we, with the best of intentions, add on to what God said.

For even Moses, a man who ultimately ended up on the Mountain of Transfiguration, embellished and co-opted ideas from others at one time, which proves that everything in the canon 'is not the inerrant word of God', because it did not come from God!

Religious scholars believe that a lot of what has been attributed to Moses in the Pentateuch was apparently borrowed anyway. Again, Jesus said that what Moses wrote about divorce, 'in the beginning it was not so'!

There are hundreds of other examples to support my position; many texts that are not only without manuscript support, I suspect that these writings arose from manmade ideas. And having said that,those texts which have manuscript support particularly the poetical, allegorical, chronological and historical writings were oftentimes not meant to be taking literally. Have you ever written a poem? Do you have understand what poetic license means?

Why is it important to discuss this in a post-modern era, and is it my objective to destroy someone’s faith? The answer is no, for on the other hand my belief and therefore my purpose is to help the stagnating church move on to perfection. We must place what we have, accepted as historical truth, in its proper historical context for we need to move on.

Jesus told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would guide them into all truth, many believers trust only in the Canon; they are not leaning on the Holy Spirit. The churches reliance on Constantine’s flawed Canon as an exclusive source, will prevent believers from pursuing and finding what is actual and factual as opposed to what is historically flawed and limited. How much power does the corporate church have today, the answer is in the question?

Have I tread upon dangerous ground? Of course I have, particularly to those who are seeped in tradition, and the ones who believe that something is true simply because it is what they believe to be truth!

Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon


Addenda: Why haven't I included other theological experts who have written on this topic? I would prefer that you hear it from someone who is 'born again'. I don't have a dog in the fight, I simply believe that we need to move forward, the powerless and at times useless church as it stands today is devolving into mediocrity and social and religious conformity.

Remember this, when Jesus dispatched his Apostles before departing from the Earth, he instructed them not to go to the church prototype of the day, The Temple and the Synagogues. Conversely, he dispatched his people to a remote location where the Spirit itself would be sent in order to move the church forward and into truth - which is what we all ought to be seeking. Many of today's churches have become the equivalent of what Jesus told his disciples to avoid, Temples, Synagogues, Priestly Orders and all!

The truth will help to build faith and to uncover the Truth, it will not destroy faith, unless it is a self-devised or brokered faith!