According to the World According to Bruce Blog Please go to their website!
1. "Robbie McLaughlin and the Next Level Church of Matthews, located in Charlotte, North Carolina, are using a unique tool to make young adults aware of their Church".
2. Fox News reports:
To get people to attend his new church campus, Robbie McLaughlin is sending his message out to where the people are.
Next Friday, staffers from Next Level Church of Matthews will go to bars in the Ballantyne area of Charlotte to hand out shot glasses which ask patrons to “give us a shot” and bear the slogan, “Real church for real people.”
The idea is to draw people to the Ballantyne campus, which opens next month.
McLaughlin is the pastor, and said he is confident that it will be controversial, but he said the goal is not necessarily to impress people who already go to church. He said it’s to impress people who don’t.
Next Level is a nontraditional church that encourages members to dress casually and snack on coffee and doughnuts during services.
McLaughlin said the idea has caught on, and in two years, the church has grown from a handful of members to more than 700
Now, I got to admit this is not something I would do. I am 50, over the hill, stuck in the mud, too old to change some things.
But…..
* This is a very innovative way to reach young adults. Bars, clubs, pubs, sports bars, etc are very much a part of their culture. This is a simple attempt to reach them where they are.
* Shot glasses are inanimate objects. Enough said?
* Drinking is not a sin. Drunkenness is.
* If they bring their shot glasses to Church they will be ready for communion (humor attempt)
As usual, the self professed God’s Holy Police are up in arms over this. See here and here.
I see this as another “shot” for the Kingdom of God to be advanced. My hat is off to Robbie McLaughlin and the Next Level Church of Matthews for their willingness to use innovative means to reach their community for Jesus.
3. Technorati Tags: Robbie McLaughlin, Next Level Church of Matthews, Church hands out shot glasses, Innovative Evangelism, Ken Silva, Ingrid Schlueter, Postmodern Evangelism, Bruce Gerencser
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Rev Solomon of the Seal of Abraham responded to the blog as follows:
Rev. Solomon Says:
January 21st, 2008 at 1:06 pm
I have always understood that first impressions make the difference and
color the perception of the individual who is receiving the impression.
I would add that once made, the first impression, right or wrong, sets
up an expectation for what can be expected to follow.
So, what will be the encore, once you get the members in the church?
The Evangel Church in Maryland was humiliated once it was disclosed
to the public that the church had applied for a liquor license.
Yes, the Evangel Church, in order to increase revenue sought to acquire
a liquor license so that outside parties who rented the church facility
could sell liquor in its Family Life Center - a Center that sits on the
churches beautiful campus.
The word reminds us that except God build the House, the laborers
are laboring in vain. The word also reminds us, not by might but
by my spirit saith the Lord, and ‘no other foundation can be laid…’!
I would applaud any individual or group whose sole intent is to bring
people to Christ. However, I would simply ask this group, ‘did this
idea come from God? Going to the bar was great, but the methodology
is what I question. So what, 'you' got people, to come to 'your church!
Rev. Solomon's second response:
Rev. C. Solomon Says:
February 2nd, 2008 at 4:36 pm
Someone emailed me regarding this topic which I responded to previously, and ironically I am preparing a sermon that will be taken from Ezekiel 33:30-33, that might shed some light on this contemporary topic. Many of the gimmicks that are being employed today in order to attract people to churches are in fact working. However, all of us ought to be more concerned about what the end result will be, King Solomon’s warning in the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 7 vs 8 reads: ‘better is the end of a thing than the beginning’, comes to mind!
Many of our comedic ministers and their pageant-based services with high-fiving and worldly singing liturgies may end up having a devastating effect on a lot of naive individuals - in the end. No man, the scriptures read, can come to the Father unless the Father draws him. Simon wanted to purchase the power so that he could use it to inveigle the people that he had previously bewitched, see Acts chapter 8! He was rebuked, given his carnality, irresponsibility and secular narrow mindedness.
You would be surprised to know just how many ministers hire consultants, or purchase 'growth plans', in order to grow their church memberships. Folks, growing a membership often has little to do with bringing people to God!
In fact I was at a church service in Columbia Md a few years ago, where a young pastor and his wife were blessed by the church given their departure to found a Hip Hop church in New Jersey. And on a more serious note, Representative Bobby Rush raised the topic of Hip Hop music in the church at one of the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference that I attended in Washington a few years back.
A serious man of God, Ezekiel, was viewed by many of the post-exilic refugees who resided in the ghettos at Chebar as an entertainer. The exiles would frequently go (to church if you will) and listen to Ezekiel’s sermonic prophesies - in the same manner that Americans stay up to hear the monologue on the David Letterman show, or go and hear the slap-sticking entrepreneurial ministers of today preach. There will be a joke told, usually every few minutes.
How many of our modern day joke telling, gimmick making networking-entrepreneur ministers are anything other than entertainers who titillate the crowds, and give the people what they want to hear and see? Some ministers even refer to themselves as 'Motivational Speakers' - they don't want to be known anymore as preachers! Ask Reverend and Author Tim Storey for example - I like you Tim, but you are one of the ones who said it!
What will be the end result, for isn't that what really what matters in the present, and what will matter in the end? A church in Alviso/San Jose California, once had a mural displayed in the front of the church (nothing religious) whether the baptistry would normally be located. It was similar to the one on the David Letterman show. The mural depicted a panorama of the San Francisco Bay Area. Ron Kenoly, a Lou Rawls sound alike - led the singing, and the minister preached a lot of feel good messages that were laced with carnality, and loaded with injections of street patois and other urban colloquialisms!
He would frequently invite worldly celebrities to come in to sermonize, or to put on rock-styled concerts. With him standing before his urbane metropolitan mural, as he interviewed or introduced worldly entertainers - one would wonder whether or not they were at church or at the club! By the way, I don't have a thing against Reverend Kenoly, he is a nice man and his son's and my keyboardist son played together briefly. By the way, I have nothing against the pastor either - he is a nice man, and I know that he means well!
Later, MC Hammer himself came in following Kenoly’s departure to Florida - and I know Hammer and I personally like him. That church has grown infinitesimally. However, similar to Gideon’s bloated army membership of 32,000 - remember God showed him that there were actually only 300 real soldiers in his army. I suspect that most of the churches that you visit today, who use the methods that Reverend McLaughlin used to gain members, will fill his church army with individuals who really do not believe (at least not according to God's definition)!
In the city of San Francisco, St. Mary's Cathedral on occasion, invites the 'gay community' to come in to lead the oblation! Heterosexuals should not do this either, but after the service - the gay worshippers sit outside of the cathedral and hug and kiss each other! By the way, the preaching at St. Mary's is excellent. Go figure? How does the Reverend know all of these things? The Reverend is not only a minister, he is a student of the church - I have studied it over a period of many decades!
Ignorant proselyters, and 'I did not send them ministers and ministries - God said', are 'piping' and trying to reach the wrong people! Many of these individuals who are doing the proselyting have never surrendered, submitted or been converted themselves! Building the church membership, and winning souls for Christ are two different animals!
It is a spirit folks that is driving these nuanced ministries. And therefore, the manner in which these groups behave and the ideas that they come up with are driven by that spirit - a spirit that seems right to the unconverted and newborn in Christ! But what spirit is it really? Many individuals who still have a carnal spirit but still like to come to church, are filling up our churches today, filling the administrator roles and some are taking over the power positions at the church.
Bishop Carlton Pearson realized and confessed years before loosing his ministry, that the Spirit of God was not guiding the church that he pastored. In fact educated professionals who were in charge of his media ministry were running the church. If you will recall one Cain, who was written about in the Hebrew Scriptures in the old testament - he devised his own religion, just like some individuals and churches are doing today.
God told Cain that if he practiced his religion God's way, that he would be accepted! Otherwise, God informed him that both he and his self-devised religion would be rejected. And because he couldn't have it his way, like many of our new pouty-mouthed newcomers, he went away and killed the ones who were trying to do what God actually told them to do. Many of the carnal mega's are destroying the smaller churches that have ministries where people once were being saved!
Many individuals are not separating themselves from 'the world'. in fact many of the musicians that you see at these worship centers, are being being used interchangeably between the church and the club - WHO LET THE DAWSGS OUT! Some ministries like Reverend Ron Fowler's ministry in Akron Ohio, will not permit you to hold an office in the church unless you have a secular degree.
If that is the case then Reverend Fowler - a good man I might add - better go back and review the scriptures, for Jesus chose and used ignorant and unlearned men to turn the world upside down; they were selected for a reason.
God rejected the highly educated because he knew that they would attempt to bring the wisdom of this world into the church (ergo not many wise are called), and use it to co opt the church! And factually, we are witnessing what happens when the cerebrally inclined come in and take over the church - yours truly and a few others being the exception!
What about the Apostle Paul you asked? Yes, he was a very erudite and educated man, however, he had to have some sense knocked into him on the Road to Damascus, after which he summarily rejected his mostly religious education. In modern times, given the fact that the highly educated are running too many of America's churches, it would appear that 'the church distributed' - is heading in the wrong direction. Having said that, they are building some beautiful manmade buildings that will likely be turned over to the rest of us when the mega fad becomes a thing of the past.
Someone is going to have to go in and rescue these brainwashed babies, those who will not have already left the church and gone back into the world!
According to 1 Cor. 8 vs 1, Knowledge puffs up! Too many individuals coming into our churches today insist that their carnal education, rationalism and degrees drive the church! That is not good either, and it explains in part the problem and the effects that many of the churches that look good on the outside, are having on the inside - in today's post-modern cultural-religious church guided paradigm! The church is being shaped by the culture and by carnal babies who have come in and taken over; it is supposed to be the other way around.
Only God knows those who are really his! Modern day ministers often make the mistake that King David made, when he once numbered the people instead of relying on God. God's people were chosen in him before the foundation of the world, God knows those who are his he has a plan with which they will be drawn in. You cannot just go out and sweep up any and everybody and bring them to the church. I know of a church whose members pressed a young man to attend church. He finally gave in and attended church - the next week all of the musical and audio-visual equipment came up missing from the church!
Some ministers, as soon as you meet them ask, how many members do you have and then they proceed to tell you how many members they have. Who cares, for what truly matters is how many of those in the vast congregations of today, have been chosen in God before the foundation of the world? Besides, God promised to provide pastors according to his heart that would feed the people with knowledge and understanding, as opposed to self-imposed leaders who are teaching their parishioners how to be both in and out of God at the same time!
Those ministers and laypeople who seek to bring individuals to Christ must do so according to the leading of God, unless the church be filled with nonconvertible 'goats, wolves, hypocrites, performers, seducers and reprobate individuals'! And aren't we seeing a lot of that today? Everyday practically, you hear about some scandal at some church in America. Why? Some of these folks in the church have never been converted..., and it was never a requirement that they be converted prior to being placed over various ministries within the church.
How come Bishop Jakes confessed that a whole section of his church is filled with homosexuals? I know individuals who are faithful about going to church, they even pay their tithes - in fact I am related to some of them who are nothing more than the devil incarnate , and they love going 'to church'!
Our modern day liturgies are worldly - even Catholic churches are having Jazz Masses in order to draw members to their parishes. Our modern day Christians are very carnal, the ministers included! Many of the musicians and singers are worldly interchangeable - and have you seen Kurt Franklin, Jay Moss and company, or CC Winan's dancers who occasionally accompany her - they actually dance in church pulpits. Er herm! Come out from among them and be separate - what must the people, rappers and dancers of the world be saying?
A friend had me watch a TV show with him that he taped last week. The cast was slap sticking over the prospect of going to one of the new kool churches in their neighborhood. Why not, one cast members said…, they have swinging music and they will serve you wine along with the singing? Get my drift…!
Another unnamed Church, during its three Sunday morning services presented a pageant several years ago. In short, the pageant depicted a men's bible study that was being held during the week at a member's home. Instead of proceeding with the home bible study as planned (some individuals having needlessly brought their bibles) - it was decided that instead the men would watch some football and drink beer. The person who was singled out in the pageant as being 'holier than thou' and having the wrong spirit, was the character who felt that it was wrong to take God's time and use it to watch football and drink beer.
The play ended with the narrator moralizing and chastising Christians like the brother who brought his 'oversized bible', and insisted on having a bible study. Help us God. This new trend is taking the church to 'a new level' alright. The churches low trajectory heading appears to be clearly off course, with its modern day leaders taking it in the wrong direction. Churches are being carnalized, and the work that Jesus, our parents, grandparents and ancestors began - is being bastardized today by 'generation X', and a few baby-boomer wanna be 'big' young and old ministers!
Reverend McLaughlin's plan to inveigle new members into his 700-member substrate, reminds me a lot of this pageant that I witnessed. The man in the pageant was manipulated into coming to bible class by the church no less, where instead of studying the bible he would instead drink beer and watch football. The moral of this play and its accompanying message is very timely, for this is exactly what is taking place in Christendom today. The people of God ought to have a zeal according to knowledge, one that is for the things of God; and one that employees the methods that God uses!
I doubt that anyone loves sports more than the Rev (tomorrow is Super Bowl Sunday by the way), however, render unto Caesar and the NFL those things that belong to Caesar and the NFL. I wonder if Jesus ever sent any of the disciples out to 'catch a pass', that would give new meaning to the modern day phrase 'Touchdown Jesus', a phrase that was coined at Notre Dame University.
The fact is that I loved football so much that a decade or two ago, the Lord made me 'fast' football, for an entire year. And brethren, that was in the days that proceeded the VCR! My team was in the Super Bowl, and to this day I haven't seen that game (tears - tears). We won however, Bless Jesus! I had it so bad then that when the minister ended the service by saying, now may the Lord watch, between thee and me, while we are absent, one from the other..., I saw his mouth moving but I was hearing something altogether different.
I was hearing, runners take your mark, get set and hurry home to watch the Superbowl! And I did just that, along with the other brothers in the church. The females would get mad, asking, where are the men rushing off to!
Carnal methods and methodology draw carnal people! And that is why many churches are growing so fast. The leaders of these bloated Houses of worship are employing worldly marketing schemes in order to grow their membership. Folks, the ministers share these plans with each other, and some go to seminars so that they can simply put, learn how to build 'a big pseudo House of worship'.
Having said that, what used to work in Christendom will still work today, that is if your aim is to bring people to Christ. If your aim is to build a bloated, carnal, capitalist, high-fiving, wine tasting, whitewater rafting, multi-leveled, street talking, inappropriately vestured, celebrity appearing, selling-in-the-vestibule and pulpits, modern day, X-generation, contemporary, networking I want a big watermelon (ala Buckwheat) congregation by using carnal methods, that will still work too! However, what will be the consequences if one were to do the latter?
In a bible class that I was teaching in Emeryville California a couple of decades ago, one of the participants - from another church told a story of how she desired for some time to minister to her dentist. On the day of her next dental appointment she decided, today is the day. However, on the way to her dental appointment a voice kept repeating in her head the term 'reprobate'. Well she went to the dental appointment as scheduled, and after she was placed in the dental chair, she began ministering to her dentist on the subject of being reprobate no less. Obviously the dentist was very angry!
She was disheartned because she had heard the spirit repeating to her over and over again, 'repobate' - so why didn't the dentist respond to her she pondered? I asked her if she knew what the word reprobate meant? She did not, so I went on to explain to her that God was telling her that the dentist was reprobate, beforehand. She is a perfect example of a well-intentioned individual that wanted to work for the Lord, yet she lacked the requisite training or understanding to know how to work in the Lord's behalf. Do I have the right to say that the plan that Reverend McLaughlin and his congregation devised was wrong?
In my opinion, it didn't make any sense, and it doesn't sound like something that God would suggest. However, God telling Abraham to take his first son and offer him up as a sacrifice, would not have been music, initially, to my ears either. Let's see how this experiment turns out in its final analysis. But having said that, numbers don't necessarily mean a thing!
See the text of Ezekiel 30:30-34 below.
33:30 Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD.
33:31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee [as] my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, [but] their heart goeth after their covetousness.
33:32 And, lo, thou [art] unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not.
33:33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them.
The Ryrie Bible's commentary says it the best: Many of the exiles looked on Ezekiel as merely providing entertainment for them, and they did not heed his message. They also wanted to profit from the situation.
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What If You Want The Church That Jesus Established To Suceed:
Folks, we have an epidemic that is taking place in our churches today, and if you judge the success of the new mega churches by 'your sight', as opposed to looking at them long-term 'through the eyes of God', then I could understand how you could be impressed or likely deceived! Having tired of waiting for a harvest as a result of preaching or teaching the word for so long, many of today's modern-day ministers who came out of the immediate gratification 'X Generation', are seeking alternatives methods that they can utilize in order to fill up their churches.
They really don't understand what it means to win souls for Christ. Noah's church consisted of 9 souls! I would rather have 9 saved souls than 700, that none of them likely have ever been born Anothen! One church in Mitchellvile Maryland boasts, that it has nearly 100 ministries in the church. White water rafting anyone? Look folks, Paul's words to Timothy said it best - A time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine....
Paul insisted however, that Timothy continue to preach the word! Paul did not encourage him to come up with gimmicks; even though he could have! What we refer to today as New Age or modern methods, have been tried before, including the use of syncretic teaching, and the employment of gimmickry.
The minister who attacked the 'Holy Police Christians' is obviously still locked into a spiritually adolescent paradigm. The Apostle Paul would have rebuked him! We must hold up the standard folks and encourage folks to enter in at the narrow gate. Now having said that, is it wrong in my opinion to have programs in a church, some that might not be all that spiritual? The motive is what is important?
Some churches provide the parenting that families are neglecting, even today. Some churches provide baby sitting and other after school programs rather than permit latch-key, and other children to simply wander around at home or in the streets.
Keep in mind that there is both a spiritual as well a social dimension to Christ's ministry! So I applaud those churches who are aware of their civic duties, the ones who are trying to attend to their civic and social duties. Having said that, those churches should not allow their duties to become misprioritorized!
People can only come to Christ when they are drawn through the word of by the spirt. And, people can only be saved and cleansed by, and after hearing the word and responding appropriately to it - the word cleanses them. Does anyone recall the words spoken by Jesus to Peter, about his need to be converted. Peter was a disciple who walked with Jesus for 3.5 years, only to have Jesus inform him that he had not been converted. The reason that the church was incepted in the first place, was so that it would become the saving harbinger for the soul!
Once the Church looses sight of its mission and its purpose, what other institution can take its place? Can the government or an educational institution takes its place? I think not! I have visited churches that have built 'night clubs for their youth departments'. Instead of going to the world to party the kids come to church, dance, imbibe on soft drinks and some even have sex right in the church.
What's wrong with that? Perhaps nothing to some of you, however, as Paul did when he met with the disciples (we call them members today) at Ephesus, he asked have you received the Holy Spirit since or when you believed? Many of our youngsters today, as well as many of our ministers today have never received the Holy Spirit - and from all indications they have zero intentions of ever doing so. And to boot they are not being asked to!
My God, if you were to ask a question like that today to people in the church, you would loose half of your mega-numbers. And, modern ministers cannot pay the incredible bills that their churches have accrued as a result of soft-pedaling the ministry, which resulted in the bringing of individuals into the church under 'worldly pretenses'. A one hundred thousand dollar a month salary pay out alone, is nothing to some of these mega ministries! They have to pay bills, and they need people, in order to meet their total monthly obligations.
When something grows too fast, it customarily does so for the wrong reason. You may have disciple-members that have responded to a carnal church message or to a carnal ministry, however, when Jesus returns he is going to be looking for individuals who have been washed in the blood. He will not be looking for individuals who are simply a part of someone's carnally-induced and bloated membership! And to boot, as in Ezekiel's prophecy, when it does come to pass, God's Word that is, they shall they know that a prophet has been among them!
Ministers, keep in mind the reason that Jesus stopped performing signs and wonders in front of the crowds, was because the nature of individuals with a crowd mindset was to follow anyone who would entertain them or perform a miracles. In other words, they were following him with the wrong motives in mind. The crowds of today, will always follow gimmicks, freak-shows, snake-oil preachers, bring me a 'seed offering minister', in order to get something like healing, a metaphysical word, networking opportunities, companionship or the minister's sanction - that the member-disciples are okay just the way that he or she are in their present state!
However, the real test is the word, and what God has to say. When Jesus' ministry began, he also had 'mega crowds' that followed him wherever he went. However, as he continued to minister the word instead of performing miracles - the crowds shrank from thousands - to by the time that he was placed on the cross - to a group of mostly faithful women who were of secondary cultural status. Do you remember them? They are like the ones that we wish would remain silent in the Church and in our homes today - just as the Apostles and men of old
wanted them to do then! Oops!
The gimmick churches and ministries are ignoring the wisdom of Jesus Christ and as aresul they are creating problems for those ministries who are actually trying to bring people to Christ. How? They are keeping people from coming to the ministries that God has appointed, because the same individuals have been have been inveigled into accepting a substitute 'worldly form' of Godliness. In other words, it is a decoy, a fraud - deception that satan is employing in order to keep people from coming all the way to God!
Many of these ministries in effect, have shut up heaven. And just as Jesus told the Pharisees of his day that they had Heaven shut up - and were not going into the Kingdom, many ministries today have heaven shut up, and they are keeping individuals from entering into the Kingdom of Joy, Righteousness and Peace in the Holy Ghost! The unlearned and foolish are being convinced in modern day gimmick churches, that they are okay just as they are!
Hogwash! Some of these churches remind you of what happened when Moses stayed up on the mountain too long. Weak ministers like Aaron caved in to the people's demands. Aaron instead, set up a ministry that pleased the people. And this substitute ministry with its self-created gods, satisfied their wunderlust(s)!
Be careful Reverend McLaughlin and others like him, for except the Lord build the House the resultant labor is in vain! And the scriptures read, not by might or by power [and I will interject gimmickry], but by 'MY SPIRIT' saith the Lord!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
Jan 26, 2008
"Seeing through The Eyes of God": Conclusion
Something to ponder: How is your peripheral vision, and with respect to visual trajectory - in which direction is your vision pointed, upward or downward? Are you still seeing things through a glass darkly? God has highly magnified X-ray vision!
Rev. C. Solomon
It was not the way that I saw it all - when I looked at it again through God's eyes: Go back and look at your spouse, your children, your siblings, your parents, your boss, your neighbor(s), your upbringing, your co-workers, the source of the argument, the marriage proposal, the separation, the
pending or planned divorce, the unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, the
sexual and verbal assault, the abortion(s), your abandonment, your
abandoning of the ones who you knew were in fact nonredeemable;
the fact that you are often right and others are wrong, the
pastor, the lay leader, the laymen, your crimes, your
addictions, habits and dependencies; those insurmountable
odds and the accompanying circumstances, the debilitating
sickness, the bankruptcy, the giants in your life, that
you got what you had not bargained or planned for,
your life, the lives of others - particularly the
one that you love or hate or distance yourself
from, those that you judged of being
guilty and undeserving of mercy or redemption,
that you were not accepted at Harvard, Yale
or Stanford, those who simply do not
understand as you do, the promotion
or the raise that you did
or did not get, that
you did not get
the MD, DD or
PhD -
And How About Your nemesis, the failures or successes of others as well as your own perceived successes and failures, your future, your past,
your interpretation of the scriptures, the intractable
position that you took, other people, other cultures,
the handicapped, the weight of others that you carry and the
afflicted that you are responsible for; your
cultural-political viewpoint, your
cultural-political adversaries;
the gay and the straight,
your enemies and most
important where you
actually stand in
God, not in
your church, mosque or synagogue?
Go back and look at the same individual, occurrence or event through
the merciful and accurate eyes, that God uses to look at you!
When I kneeled down to pray this morning, I realized that somewhere a Muslim, a Hindu, a Tibetan monk, a Catholic, others and a Jew, were also kneeling and that they were praying too!
Rev. C. Solomon
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I can recall when I was a student at a non-parochial junior high school in the mid-west, the teacher gave us a topic to write about in his class. The subject: What Is Wrong With the World?
I pondered the subject for a while, and then I began to write my essay. My position in response to his query was, it would depend upon one's perspective. For example two or more individuals can witness the same event or occurrence simultaneously, and still come away with different conclusions with regard to what just took place.
To my surprise and pleasure, my paper was one of the favorites of the teacher. He was amazed at my insight given that I was so young. I added that perhaps what is going on in a world that is comprised of so many different people, cultures and things, that what one might consider to be chaotic - might be natural and not chaotic after all - under the circumstances. In other words, perhaps there wasn't anything wrong with the world, for what we witness in our world would be natural under the circumstances. Or, to borrow from today's jargon or local street patois, the world simply 'is what it is', for after all this isn't heaven is it?
Would there be any conflict, for example, in a perfect world that is made up of disparate individuals, animals, or spirits? I suspect that the answer would be yes. I suppose that the difference in a perfect world, would have to do with the manner in which conflict would be handled. As an absolute, we have been taught in our culture that there aren't any two entities, unless they are cloned, that are exactly alike. Based upon that supposition, one could presuppose that conflict would be inevitable!
What usually creates conflicts? The answer, is difference! Whether it be differences in color, behavior, attitude, emotion or style, humans and animal often engage in conflict over differences.
In a perfect world I suppose, one would focus upon and respect differences - but still employ healthy conflict resolution in order to resolve or simply to respect differences. Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, Professor and Theologian, refers to 'a consciousness of kind', that we all have, which can be misconstrued as prejudice. Like animals, human beings and other entities are drawn to and comfortable with others that are like them in form, attitude or behavior.
Similar to King David who went through a bad experience and behaved immorally on more than one occasion, he learned when confronted by a higher power that his behavior was not only immoral, it was the opposite of God-like behavior. I have often experienced the same. Doctor Stanley, a famous television minister from Atlanta, once said: at best most of us are still Roman 7 Christians. Dr. Stanley referring to the passage in Romans 7, where Paul so eloquently explained that he still found conflict within himself - and at times the thing that he intended to do, he failed to do - and on the other hand that which he proclaimed that he would never do again, that is exactly what he did!
Based on spiritual and moral chastisement and the implications thereof, King David set out to guide his subjects in the right way by using divine-sight, just as the King of Kings used sight to instruct David in the manner that our thoughts, actions and behaviors ought to follow. Which all to often is the road less traveled. I have tried on more than one occasion in my life to give myself to understand, and to see, clearly, what is wrong and what is wrong. And I have found out about myself, that sometimes and with the best of intentions I cannot see the answer.
Then I turn to divine sight and I am always amazed by this. Often when I am seeking an answer, I believe that I have stumbled on the solutions, either solution A or solution, God comes back with something completely different, something that I had not given even remote consideration. I will call it solution C. Man, I couldn't even conceive of solution C, despite all of my human ingenuity, knowledge and cogitations!
Some of us still have not learned how to maximize our potentials and make full use of the world that we live in at this very house. I often refer to scientists in my writings, some I have met and grew to respect. There are many kinds of scientific disciplines. It is not just those who are engaged in the material sciences that I admire, but those who are engaged in the social sciences and other disciplines that I also admire. Why? Because customarily they are engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, growth and truth. Their desire, oftentimes, is to understand and better things, while other human beings spent their allotted time in more mundane and self-serving tasks and ruminations.
Too many of us are perfectly satisfied with and willing to live in a world of subjective fantasy!
For me God was and is the master scientist, whose transcendent mind and ethereal tastes and proclivities caused him to seek that which is more esoteric - that which is actual, and that which we refer to as real. Too many of us are more worldly focused, to borrow a colloquialism. Many of us are perfectly willing to live in a fantastical paradise, where we are at the center of that Universe and can consume all of the fruit that we want, live in pleasure, pursue the mundane and live within our own mental constructs. And, we are willing to do so by any means necessary!
Hey, I thought you said that the 'world is what it is', which implies that there shouldn't be any consequences? Yes, I wrote that and I won't take it back, at least the first part of it. For indeed, we have disparate people across the matrix who are from cultures - humans who have experienced different acculturation processes and experiences. And even when one is not trying to commit evil, and simply has different point of view, when confronted or involved in a joint task (as simple as driving down the same expressway together) the two can find themselves in conflict. And although I said that the world is what it is, individual human beings are not exempted from being singled out.
God has always singled out individuals, as well as bad behavior. However, God in his mercy, and by utilizing accurate divine-sight viewed not only the infraction but the reason for it - the latter had much to do with how God meted out punishment. God explained that man looks on the outward appearance to determine who is good and bad, or what is good or bad. God also decides what sanctions should be meted out as according to his word, and one's apparent fractious behavior.
Jesus stunned the Pharisees whose legalistic and hardened hearts he upset when he did not go along with their legal shenanigans. He upset them so much in John chapter 8, that not only did they wish to stone a woman who was taken in the act of adultery, they also wanted to stone him. If you will read on to the end of that same chapter, you will discover how some of these apparently religious folks were nothing more than 'natural born killers'.
The woman brought to Jesus was guilty of one of a 8 capitol crimes that were contained in the Mosaic law. If you were a legalist, this was certainly an open and shut case. Hoping to entrap Jesus by getting him to disavow the Mosaic Law failed when these men brought the woman and asked, what say you teacher?
Jesus, peering though the situation and into everyones heart that was present with divine-sight, and seeing the failings and needs of all of those were present - gave the accusers provisional agreement, however, with this one caveat. He told them to go ahead and stone the woman - he knew that she was guilty. However, he added let the one who is guiltless 'among you' throw the first stone, and afterwards the others could follow.
These religious zealots, much like many of the zealots that we have today, were all guilty of sin themselves. Not one of them was worthy, like many of us today are not worthy of casting a stone at someone else. We know of only one who was perfect! And even though he was worthy to cast the stone, he did not cast the stone, instead he forgave her sins and told her not to sin anymore!
Even the Lawgiver Moses, that we give credit for writing the book of Deuteronomy noted that there was a difference between sins of presumption, and unplanned sins. Neither was excusable, for behavior comes out of an uncircumcised heart. However, a harsher sentence was often meted out for a sin that was pre-planned, as opposed to a sin of passion, or another sin that was not pre-meditated. The former knew full well that they were acting against the will of God when the engaged in a sin act.
When preaching from this text, ministers often rightly refer to the absence of the man, apparently married, who was taken in the very act of divine and civil disobedience. Could it have been one of the men who were standing there who participated in the act along with here, and thus the men were so certain that the act had been committed. I know, you would say, but did Pharisees marry? A better question is, did any of the Pharisees have sex with this and other women like her outside of marriage? Even if they were not involved in adultery themselves, they certainly were guilty of judgmental attitudes.
God's sight is keen and accurate, and at the same time it is merciful. God did not come to destroy us, but according to John 3:15,16..., Jesus came to prevent humans from perishing, and intend he came to bring to us and extend to us eternal life. Factually, if he did not look past (not excuse) the past, and see the need, each and every one of us would perish in this life, and from the one that is to come!
American missionaries are running into problems, when they minister in areas where polygamy is still practiced. The missionaries and preachers teaching from the Christian Bible, teach the chiefs and others that polygamy is a sin. Many of these same tribal chiefs ask, well am I supposed to do, dispatch my wife and children who have lived with me for years? And the wives ask, and what shall I do, who will take care of us? Or, should I go and commit adultery with another, given that I am already married?
This is an excellent example of why we should not be so judgmental, instead, we should learn to see things, and find solutions for problems by employing God-sight. Many of us are quick to pull the trigger on others based upon our limited perceptions, and understanding of things. Was the woman taken in adultery guilty of a legal crime as well as a sin? Apparently she was for Jesus told her to go her way, after her accusers had departed, but not to sin anymore! Too easy, the law and order legalists even of today would say. But isn't that our objective, just as Jesus would say, to save that which was lost and to help people to recover from their sins?
I am concerned about the hatred and antipathy that I witness that is coming from Christians today, the one that is being leveled against homosexuals. Now if I write that, some will say that he must be a homosexual himself, or a homosexual sympathizer. Now where have I heard this before. In early American history, anyone who spoke up and said that racism was wrong, was branded as a 'negro-lover'.
No, in the event that you are wondering about the Rev, I am still fully heterosexual. However, I have often witnessed that same spirit of hatred being covered over and used to justify their own inbredded hatred of other individuals - particularly those individuals and groups who for one reason or another they harbor ill-will or prejudice against.
The prophet wrote that the heart is desperately wicked: and he asked, who can know it? Using Godly senses, I try to view individuals from a divine perspective. And from a divine perspective, mercy colors each and every observance, faltering or failings of men and women. From the abundance of the dinted dark heart, comes forth merciless, harsh judgment and the lack of concern about the individual that God created. The heart is the source that the Bible speaks about, from which comes all of the issues of life.
And much like the eunuchs referred to in scripture, some were born that way, some were made that way and others chose to be that way. On the same token, there are scores of individuals who are much like the eunuchs of scripture. In other words, some are born that way (inter-sex individuals), some were made that way (by choice or through sexual abuse), and others simply have chosen to be a certain way!
I am amazed at the individuals, even the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, who is considered one of the fathers of the modern day 'Conservative Movement', who changed his whole attitude about homosexuality. What changed the late senators mind? He changed when his grandson (that he loved), turned out to be homosexual.
And consider our Vice President Dick Cheney, a man who most Moral Majority and Christian Right Christians voted for to be a heart-beat away from the Presidency. The Vice President loves his homosexual daughter, otherwise, he would be as hard on homosexuality as he is on everything else. His position has been of late that states should decide whether or not 'same sex marriages should be sanctioned'. What do you suppose changed the hearts of these two dinosaurs?The answer is simple, LOVE CHANGED THEIR HEARTS.
It was not the love for aberrant behavior that they so much loved, it was the love for the individuals that colored their hearts and changed their opinions. And the scriptures read as follows: Love hides a multitude of faults. Neither of these men seemed to harbor the same kind of love for others that resulted similarly in patience, understanding, kindness or forbearance!
What will change your heart enough so that you can show mercy to individuals - not just homosexuals, but other individuals who do not see things the same way that you do? And how about those who do not look or behave like you, or those who do not go to your church or are not members of your your political party? How about those individuals who have failed, perhaps on more than one occasion? The answer is simple, what is missing in your heart for them is 'agape love'! God views everything through the prism of a loving eye, and God judges all things from a loving heart? Does God chasten? According to scripture, God even chastens those that he loves - however, his system of jurisprudence has its basis in love!
Each one of us, if we will admit it, knows that some chastenings and applications of the Law do not arise out of love. The rule of law is often applied according to bias, duplicity, hate, pride, fear and anger. The latter being responsible for some in and outside of the culture receiving harsher punishment, when many times they have engaged in the same behaviors as some who have received leniency or forgiveness altogether,for committing the same acts!
I know of a lot of 'unloving', logical, legalistic and self-righteous religious people. And my determinations have come from Divine-sight, not Solomon sight. Too many believers are like Simon who craved spiritual power to the extent that he was willing to purchase it. However, he wanted it for the wrong reason. -We are witnessing the same lust for spiritual power with religious and individuals within our culture, who want it only to further their own political and legalistic aims. Where is the love of God in that? How do you see men and women today? Are they no more than trees walking". If so, you are in need of a second touch. And once you have it, you will see men, animals and things in the appreciable way that God does!
Every behavior ought to be subjected to divine scrutiny and put through God's filtering process. Your good act or behavior, may turn out to be inadvisable or poorly thought of within God's lexicon. Your workaholic attitude might be viewed as nothing more than a stronghold from God's point of view. Some workaholics use work, in order to avoid their social and familial responsibilities. What you view as love, may be nothing more than manipulation from God's point of view.
Your giving in church might be done for self-serving reasons. For even when we do things in the manner which appears to be the right way, our motives can still be skewed. And remember that God judges the heart, and often the intent, as opposed to its outward appearance is what matters to God!
So what's wrong with a world that is not tempered by God-sight? Those entities, mostly human, within it - can never fully appreciate or properly utilize it. Why? Because they they do not understand its purpose, or how it can benefit them beyond their self-serving lusts. Too many of us are guided by other forces that do not understand or appreciate it either. I encourage you to practice, each and every day getting up and putting on your divine lenses. And I assure that every experience that you encounter will differ from what you experienced the day before!
The Rev even prays in a similar manner. I will say to God: with the best of my ability this is what I see, however, God, I want to know what do you have to say, how do you see it, and therefore what should my reaction be to anything that I come in contact with this day?
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
A good book to read regarding heaven on earth:
God's Kingdom and the Utopian Error: Discerning the Biblical Kingdom
of God from Its Political Counterfeits
Author: Pastor B.J. Byerhaus
Rev. C. Solomon
It was not the way that I saw it all - when I looked at it again through God's eyes: Go back and look at your spouse, your children, your siblings, your parents, your boss, your neighbor(s), your upbringing, your co-workers, the source of the argument, the marriage proposal, the separation, the
pending or planned divorce, the unplanned or unwanted pregnancy, the
sexual and verbal assault, the abortion(s), your abandonment, your
abandoning of the ones who you knew were in fact nonredeemable;
the fact that you are often right and others are wrong, the
pastor, the lay leader, the laymen, your crimes, your
addictions, habits and dependencies; those insurmountable
odds and the accompanying circumstances, the debilitating
sickness, the bankruptcy, the giants in your life, that
you got what you had not bargained or planned for,
your life, the lives of others - particularly the
one that you love or hate or distance yourself
from, those that you judged of being
guilty and undeserving of mercy or redemption,
that you were not accepted at Harvard, Yale
or Stanford, those who simply do not
understand as you do, the promotion
or the raise that you did
or did not get, that
you did not get
the MD, DD or
PhD -
And How About Your nemesis, the failures or successes of others as well as your own perceived successes and failures, your future, your past,
your interpretation of the scriptures, the intractable
position that you took, other people, other cultures,
the handicapped, the weight of others that you carry and the
afflicted that you are responsible for; your
cultural-political viewpoint, your
cultural-political adversaries;
the gay and the straight,
your enemies and most
important where you
actually stand in
God, not in
your church, mosque or synagogue?
Go back and look at the same individual, occurrence or event through
the merciful and accurate eyes, that God uses to look at you!
When I kneeled down to pray this morning, I realized that somewhere a Muslim, a Hindu, a Tibetan monk, a Catholic, others and a Jew, were also kneeling and that they were praying too!
Rev. C. Solomon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I can recall when I was a student at a non-parochial junior high school in the mid-west, the teacher gave us a topic to write about in his class. The subject: What Is Wrong With the World?
I pondered the subject for a while, and then I began to write my essay. My position in response to his query was, it would depend upon one's perspective. For example two or more individuals can witness the same event or occurrence simultaneously, and still come away with different conclusions with regard to what just took place.
To my surprise and pleasure, my paper was one of the favorites of the teacher. He was amazed at my insight given that I was so young. I added that perhaps what is going on in a world that is comprised of so many different people, cultures and things, that what one might consider to be chaotic - might be natural and not chaotic after all - under the circumstances. In other words, perhaps there wasn't anything wrong with the world, for what we witness in our world would be natural under the circumstances. Or, to borrow from today's jargon or local street patois, the world simply 'is what it is', for after all this isn't heaven is it?
Would there be any conflict, for example, in a perfect world that is made up of disparate individuals, animals, or spirits? I suspect that the answer would be yes. I suppose that the difference in a perfect world, would have to do with the manner in which conflict would be handled. As an absolute, we have been taught in our culture that there aren't any two entities, unless they are cloned, that are exactly alike. Based upon that supposition, one could presuppose that conflict would be inevitable!
What usually creates conflicts? The answer, is difference! Whether it be differences in color, behavior, attitude, emotion or style, humans and animal often engage in conflict over differences.
In a perfect world I suppose, one would focus upon and respect differences - but still employ healthy conflict resolution in order to resolve or simply to respect differences. Dr. C. Eric Lincoln, Professor and Theologian, refers to 'a consciousness of kind', that we all have, which can be misconstrued as prejudice. Like animals, human beings and other entities are drawn to and comfortable with others that are like them in form, attitude or behavior.
Similar to King David who went through a bad experience and behaved immorally on more than one occasion, he learned when confronted by a higher power that his behavior was not only immoral, it was the opposite of God-like behavior. I have often experienced the same. Doctor Stanley, a famous television minister from Atlanta, once said: at best most of us are still Roman 7 Christians. Dr. Stanley referring to the passage in Romans 7, where Paul so eloquently explained that he still found conflict within himself - and at times the thing that he intended to do, he failed to do - and on the other hand that which he proclaimed that he would never do again, that is exactly what he did!
Based on spiritual and moral chastisement and the implications thereof, King David set out to guide his subjects in the right way by using divine-sight, just as the King of Kings used sight to instruct David in the manner that our thoughts, actions and behaviors ought to follow. Which all to often is the road less traveled. I have tried on more than one occasion in my life to give myself to understand, and to see, clearly, what is wrong and what is wrong. And I have found out about myself, that sometimes and with the best of intentions I cannot see the answer.
Then I turn to divine sight and I am always amazed by this. Often when I am seeking an answer, I believe that I have stumbled on the solutions, either solution A or solution, God comes back with something completely different, something that I had not given even remote consideration. I will call it solution C. Man, I couldn't even conceive of solution C, despite all of my human ingenuity, knowledge and cogitations!
Some of us still have not learned how to maximize our potentials and make full use of the world that we live in at this very house. I often refer to scientists in my writings, some I have met and grew to respect. There are many kinds of scientific disciplines. It is not just those who are engaged in the material sciences that I admire, but those who are engaged in the social sciences and other disciplines that I also admire. Why? Because customarily they are engaged in the pursuit of knowledge, growth and truth. Their desire, oftentimes, is to understand and better things, while other human beings spent their allotted time in more mundane and self-serving tasks and ruminations.
Too many of us are perfectly satisfied with and willing to live in a world of subjective fantasy!
For me God was and is the master scientist, whose transcendent mind and ethereal tastes and proclivities caused him to seek that which is more esoteric - that which is actual, and that which we refer to as real. Too many of us are more worldly focused, to borrow a colloquialism. Many of us are perfectly willing to live in a fantastical paradise, where we are at the center of that Universe and can consume all of the fruit that we want, live in pleasure, pursue the mundane and live within our own mental constructs. And, we are willing to do so by any means necessary!
Hey, I thought you said that the 'world is what it is', which implies that there shouldn't be any consequences? Yes, I wrote that and I won't take it back, at least the first part of it. For indeed, we have disparate people across the matrix who are from cultures - humans who have experienced different acculturation processes and experiences. And even when one is not trying to commit evil, and simply has different point of view, when confronted or involved in a joint task (as simple as driving down the same expressway together) the two can find themselves in conflict. And although I said that the world is what it is, individual human beings are not exempted from being singled out.
God has always singled out individuals, as well as bad behavior. However, God in his mercy, and by utilizing accurate divine-sight viewed not only the infraction but the reason for it - the latter had much to do with how God meted out punishment. God explained that man looks on the outward appearance to determine who is good and bad, or what is good or bad. God also decides what sanctions should be meted out as according to his word, and one's apparent fractious behavior.
Jesus stunned the Pharisees whose legalistic and hardened hearts he upset when he did not go along with their legal shenanigans. He upset them so much in John chapter 8, that not only did they wish to stone a woman who was taken in the act of adultery, they also wanted to stone him. If you will read on to the end of that same chapter, you will discover how some of these apparently religious folks were nothing more than 'natural born killers'.
The woman brought to Jesus was guilty of one of a 8 capitol crimes that were contained in the Mosaic law. If you were a legalist, this was certainly an open and shut case. Hoping to entrap Jesus by getting him to disavow the Mosaic Law failed when these men brought the woman and asked, what say you teacher?
Jesus, peering though the situation and into everyones heart that was present with divine-sight, and seeing the failings and needs of all of those were present - gave the accusers provisional agreement, however, with this one caveat. He told them to go ahead and stone the woman - he knew that she was guilty. However, he added let the one who is guiltless 'among you' throw the first stone, and afterwards the others could follow.
These religious zealots, much like many of the zealots that we have today, were all guilty of sin themselves. Not one of them was worthy, like many of us today are not worthy of casting a stone at someone else. We know of only one who was perfect! And even though he was worthy to cast the stone, he did not cast the stone, instead he forgave her sins and told her not to sin anymore!
Even the Lawgiver Moses, that we give credit for writing the book of Deuteronomy noted that there was a difference between sins of presumption, and unplanned sins. Neither was excusable, for behavior comes out of an uncircumcised heart. However, a harsher sentence was often meted out for a sin that was pre-planned, as opposed to a sin of passion, or another sin that was not pre-meditated. The former knew full well that they were acting against the will of God when the engaged in a sin act.
When preaching from this text, ministers often rightly refer to the absence of the man, apparently married, who was taken in the very act of divine and civil disobedience. Could it have been one of the men who were standing there who participated in the act along with here, and thus the men were so certain that the act had been committed. I know, you would say, but did Pharisees marry? A better question is, did any of the Pharisees have sex with this and other women like her outside of marriage? Even if they were not involved in adultery themselves, they certainly were guilty of judgmental attitudes.
God's sight is keen and accurate, and at the same time it is merciful. God did not come to destroy us, but according to John 3:15,16..., Jesus came to prevent humans from perishing, and intend he came to bring to us and extend to us eternal life. Factually, if he did not look past (not excuse) the past, and see the need, each and every one of us would perish in this life, and from the one that is to come!
American missionaries are running into problems, when they minister in areas where polygamy is still practiced. The missionaries and preachers teaching from the Christian Bible, teach the chiefs and others that polygamy is a sin. Many of these same tribal chiefs ask, well am I supposed to do, dispatch my wife and children who have lived with me for years? And the wives ask, and what shall I do, who will take care of us? Or, should I go and commit adultery with another, given that I am already married?
This is an excellent example of why we should not be so judgmental, instead, we should learn to see things, and find solutions for problems by employing God-sight. Many of us are quick to pull the trigger on others based upon our limited perceptions, and understanding of things. Was the woman taken in adultery guilty of a legal crime as well as a sin? Apparently she was for Jesus told her to go her way, after her accusers had departed, but not to sin anymore! Too easy, the law and order legalists even of today would say. But isn't that our objective, just as Jesus would say, to save that which was lost and to help people to recover from their sins?
I am concerned about the hatred and antipathy that I witness that is coming from Christians today, the one that is being leveled against homosexuals. Now if I write that, some will say that he must be a homosexual himself, or a homosexual sympathizer. Now where have I heard this before. In early American history, anyone who spoke up and said that racism was wrong, was branded as a 'negro-lover'.
No, in the event that you are wondering about the Rev, I am still fully heterosexual. However, I have often witnessed that same spirit of hatred being covered over and used to justify their own inbredded hatred of other individuals - particularly those individuals and groups who for one reason or another they harbor ill-will or prejudice against.
The prophet wrote that the heart is desperately wicked: and he asked, who can know it? Using Godly senses, I try to view individuals from a divine perspective. And from a divine perspective, mercy colors each and every observance, faltering or failings of men and women. From the abundance of the dinted dark heart, comes forth merciless, harsh judgment and the lack of concern about the individual that God created. The heart is the source that the Bible speaks about, from which comes all of the issues of life.
And much like the eunuchs referred to in scripture, some were born that way, some were made that way and others chose to be that way. On the same token, there are scores of individuals who are much like the eunuchs of scripture. In other words, some are born that way (inter-sex individuals), some were made that way (by choice or through sexual abuse), and others simply have chosen to be a certain way!
I am amazed at the individuals, even the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, who is considered one of the fathers of the modern day 'Conservative Movement', who changed his whole attitude about homosexuality. What changed the late senators mind? He changed when his grandson (that he loved), turned out to be homosexual.
And consider our Vice President Dick Cheney, a man who most Moral Majority and Christian Right Christians voted for to be a heart-beat away from the Presidency. The Vice President loves his homosexual daughter, otherwise, he would be as hard on homosexuality as he is on everything else. His position has been of late that states should decide whether or not 'same sex marriages should be sanctioned'. What do you suppose changed the hearts of these two dinosaurs?The answer is simple, LOVE CHANGED THEIR HEARTS.
It was not the love for aberrant behavior that they so much loved, it was the love for the individuals that colored their hearts and changed their opinions. And the scriptures read as follows: Love hides a multitude of faults. Neither of these men seemed to harbor the same kind of love for others that resulted similarly in patience, understanding, kindness or forbearance!
What will change your heart enough so that you can show mercy to individuals - not just homosexuals, but other individuals who do not see things the same way that you do? And how about those who do not look or behave like you, or those who do not go to your church or are not members of your your political party? How about those individuals who have failed, perhaps on more than one occasion? The answer is simple, what is missing in your heart for them is 'agape love'! God views everything through the prism of a loving eye, and God judges all things from a loving heart? Does God chasten? According to scripture, God even chastens those that he loves - however, his system of jurisprudence has its basis in love!
Each one of us, if we will admit it, knows that some chastenings and applications of the Law do not arise out of love. The rule of law is often applied according to bias, duplicity, hate, pride, fear and anger. The latter being responsible for some in and outside of the culture receiving harsher punishment, when many times they have engaged in the same behaviors as some who have received leniency or forgiveness altogether,for committing the same acts!
I know of a lot of 'unloving', logical, legalistic and self-righteous religious people. And my determinations have come from Divine-sight, not Solomon sight. Too many believers are like Simon who craved spiritual power to the extent that he was willing to purchase it. However, he wanted it for the wrong reason. -We are witnessing the same lust for spiritual power with religious and individuals within our culture, who want it only to further their own political and legalistic aims. Where is the love of God in that? How do you see men and women today? Are they no more than trees walking". If so, you are in need of a second touch. And once you have it, you will see men, animals and things in the appreciable way that God does!
Every behavior ought to be subjected to divine scrutiny and put through God's filtering process. Your good act or behavior, may turn out to be inadvisable or poorly thought of within God's lexicon. Your workaholic attitude might be viewed as nothing more than a stronghold from God's point of view. Some workaholics use work, in order to avoid their social and familial responsibilities. What you view as love, may be nothing more than manipulation from God's point of view.
Your giving in church might be done for self-serving reasons. For even when we do things in the manner which appears to be the right way, our motives can still be skewed. And remember that God judges the heart, and often the intent, as opposed to its outward appearance is what matters to God!
So what's wrong with a world that is not tempered by God-sight? Those entities, mostly human, within it - can never fully appreciate or properly utilize it. Why? Because they they do not understand its purpose, or how it can benefit them beyond their self-serving lusts. Too many of us are guided by other forces that do not understand or appreciate it either. I encourage you to practice, each and every day getting up and putting on your divine lenses. And I assure that every experience that you encounter will differ from what you experienced the day before!
The Rev even prays in a similar manner. I will say to God: with the best of my ability this is what I see, however, God, I want to know what do you have to say, how do you see it, and therefore what should my reaction be to anything that I come in contact with this day?
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
A good book to read regarding heaven on earth:
God's Kingdom and the Utopian Error: Discerning the Biblical Kingdom
of God from Its Political Counterfeits
Author: Pastor B.J. Byerhaus
'Seeing Through The Eyes of God" Part II: Whatever Are You Looking At?
Song Quotation From the Song: Amazing Grace
"He looked beyond my fault and saw my need".
Scriptural quotations: Isaiah 64:4 and 8. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,
neither have the eye seen, O God, beside these, what
he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou
our potter; and we all are the work of thine hand!-------------------------------------------
A philosopher once posed one question on an exam to his students:
The question: Philosophically speaking, why? No one came up
with the correct answer which was, why not?
Now I ask you a similar question, 'divine sight' - why and why not? And
what have you, and what will you 'forever' be looking at?
Rev. C. Solomon
---------------------------------------------------
Part II
Introduction:
Bathsheba, apparently failed to ask King David the question that every male, including me, has been asked on one occasion or another in his lifetime, 'what are you looking it'? Of all the senses, the visual sense is most likely the one that is the most cherished, especially if you are male. Yet when you think about it, what have we used it for?
Some men will admit, unabashedly, that they use their eyes to ogle women - something that is very pleasant to do I might add. But if you were to put the recorder of your life in reverse, and consider for a moment - just how did I use the wonderful gift of sight throughout my lifetime - wouldn't it be sad to discover that for the majority of your life, you focused on using your eyes in mostly in a salacious manner?
I. Open Up Your Eyes
In II King Chapter 6, beginning at verse 8, we read a remarkable story of an incident that occurred with the Kings of Syria and Israel, Elijah the Prophet and his young protege. Jumping right into the crux of the story, The King of Syria was enraged, for every time that his war council got together to strategically plan how to attack Judah, their plans kept being foiled.
Somehow the King of Judah's army always seemed to know where the Syrians would wage the battle, and each time the army of Judah would beat them to the punch. The King in his ruminations surmised that there must be a spy among us - someone who was revealing to the other side what his strategic plans were. However, one of the King of Syria servants explained, and probably saved a life or two within the Syrian camp - that it is not a traitor within our camp that is divulging the information. Instead he reported, it is Elijah the Tishbite, the prophet in Israel, who was divulging their planned in secrecy, information.
And how was he doing it? Had Elijah disguised himself and surreptitiously entered into the Syrian war councils, or had he paid someone within the Syrian, a traitor, in order to discover their strategy so that he could divulge it to the King of Israel? No the prophet Elijah had apparently mastered the use of his 'spiritual sight', and as a result of seeing 'through the Eyes of God', Elijah was able to see what the Syrians were planning next, and he did so having never left the comfort of his living room.
II. Sight Can Be Used For Worthy Purpose:
Elijah is therefore the perfect example of someone who employed his keen natural and spiritual senses for a worthy purpose, in this context to uncover wickedness. The King of Syria having tired of being defeated by what should have been a weaker army, decided to go right to the source of his anger. The King gathered a portion of his army and instead of going to battle, he road directly to the place where Elijah was dwelling, along with his youthful protege.
The young man shocked to discover, upon going out to do his chores it is very likely, that their dwelling place was surrounded by the Syrian army, and its men of war. The young man hurried to warn Elijah who apparently had gone about his daily business as if nothing was going on. Elijah remaining calm, attempted to comfort the discomfited lad. Elijah knew that the army that was on his side was greater than the army of the King of Syria. But note, the young saw what he saw, however, he was unable to see a superior force that was there to protect both he and his mentor Elijah. Angels of the Lord keepeth watch.
Elijah prayed and asked God, not attack the troops and to say them, that would have been our first inclination. Instead, he asked God to open the eyes of the young man, eyes that had apparently been opened one would think, given that he saw the army that was standing at the door. However, having your eyelids open and peering out through them is not the same as seeing through the eyes of God. The young lad was about have an experience that he had apparently never had before in his lifetime. Given Elijah's request God opened the young lad's eyes and he witnessed first hand what Elijah already knew.
To his dismay, the young lad discovered that a spiritual army was also outside of his door, and the spiritual army had the King of Syria as well as his Syrian attachment completely surrounded. In this story we 'see' three example of men who experienced God-sight, instead of Night Vision - the kind that the America military utilizes today, these men employed God-Vision. Elijah used it all the time, the man who divulged to the King of Syria just how his plans kept being uncovered, and finally the lad who for the first time observed that eyes could be used for other than looking at girls.
I believe that it is safe to say that the God who warned Elijah before about the tactical battle strategies of the King of Syria's army, had already warned him that he would be paying him a visit next. And one can easily surmise that when God warns you ahead of time that Satan is coming, God saw it first, and he is warning you so that you can either take evasion action - and to let you know that you are going to be protected.
III. What Is This Thing Called Sight?
According to one concise dictionary definition, sight, the noun form) is:
vision; ability to see; look; glimpse...! When we think of sight, we typically think of it in just these terms. However, many have learned that sight transcends this and other colloquial definitions. Is it more than just this?
In many cultures certain children are born with what the indigenous people refer to as a 'gift of sight'. At any early age, parents determine that their children are gifted, particularly a child who at birth was partially or fully encased with portions of the embryonic which they refer to us 'a Vail'. This Vail is seen as a special injunction from God, explaining that the encased child is a special child.
And later in life, it is not uncommon for these gifted children to show remarkable talents. Their abilities appear to be greater than those of average human beings.
Many of these children carry their gifts into adulthood. Many of them have sight, clairvoyant gifts like Extra Sensory Perception. It is not uncommon for these individuals to predict future events, to foretell what is transpiring in the present having never been there to see what is taking place. These individuals experience highly spiritual and sensory inputs during the waking state, as well as the nocturnal state. Have you ever had someone foretell an event in your life that took place, or call you ahead of time to say, 'I am praying for you because God showed me, or something told me that you were about to have an experience...", and it turns out to be true?
And where does this ability come from, it comes from what we refer to as Spirit, or what was also referred to at one time as 'daimon'. Spirit is a word that frightens most people, and to an extent it should. Why? Because there are both good and bad spirits, just as there were good and bad 'daimons', a word that was transliterated later to become 'demon'. I was speaking with a woman some years ago who happened to be from a family of warlocks. Although she had since given her life to the Lord, she had much to divulge from her repository of experiences in her earlier life when she became curious about and began to study witchcraft.
She explained that within the realm of witchcraft, a spirit or spirits actually do the bidding in behalves of the witch, or it divulges information to the witch or warlock that the rest of us may not be privy to. She went on to say that whenever a witch attempts to cast a spell on someone, that they factually rely on a spirit to do the enchantment. Scary? Many Americans, to those in the Shaman religions of the past have sought ought and found 'spirit guides' that they call upon in order to help them through life. A famous book some years ago entitled: The Sorcerers New Apprentice, made the best sellers list. The book divulged how many Americans, even professors as some of America's most elite Universities Well, from scriptures we know that there are both good and bad spirits, and we know that these incantations apparently work.
On the plus side, the Father of Spirits, gives gifts to men, primarily to help us to combat unseen forces. Most human cannot believe that they are being engaged in a battle against forces that they cannot experience with their physical senses, particularly their eyes. I warn these individuals that there are many things that you cannot see with your limited visual perception. For example, without the aid of a microscope or telescope - you cannot see certain microorganisms, or cosmic stellar entities, that actually exist. And, even though you cannot see certain phenomenon with the naked eye, it does not impact in any way whether they actually exist or not.
The eyes, and all of the senses, bring input into the brain so that it can be processed. Jesus often referred to individuals on earth in two categories those who were physically blind and those who were spiritually blind. Prior to Adam's debacle, he apparently still retained sight-vision, given that he apparently recognized spiritually beings like God, or the angels that was dispatched to prevent him from returning to 'the tree of life', which could result in an unwanted life-death sentence!
Jesus, spent much of his time trying to open the eyes not just of the physically blind - which he did do, he also spent much of his time trying to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. And I might add here, the majority of the spiritually blind that he encountered and attempted to restore sight to were religious and spiritual people. However, it begs the question with respect to the latter, WHAT SPIRIT WERE THEY REALLY OF? In other words, believing that they could see or understand in this context, what prevented them from seeing the truth? Many of these individuals who similar to a physically blind individual, where groping around in the dark and still bumping into walls.
These folks, along with the rest of the world lacked sight, the kind that God intended for us all to have.
IV: A Dead Man With Fixed Eyes
It is not uncommon that when an individual dies that his or her eyes remain partially or completely opened. It is as if they are experiencing an 'ocular gyric crises', for their ocular stare is unsettling to those who experience them that way. The first inclination of the observer is to 'shut their eyelids'.
No doubt, if you have the technology to do so - you might be able to determine the image that those eyes are staring at, that has been captured within their visual receptacles. The problem remains however, that the mechanizations minus the processing causes sight to be useless. What am I getting at?
The eyes, like the other senses - gustatory, olfactory, tactile and auditory, has to have a place for the information to be processed. Otherwise, what good is the information. In the biological world, we rely upon our brains to process the information that proceeds into it through physical means. First of all the eye(s) have to be reasonably intact or there won't be any input or data to process in the first place. So the cornea, the iris, the retina and other parts of the yes must be intact.
However, does one require a physical eye, with the proverbial eye ball, in order to see. I used to wonder about this with respect to the next stage in our spiritual evolution. I wondered, how can a Spirit see things, and therefore if we are going to be like the angels in the next phase of our spiritual evolvment, how will we be able to see. Physical sight I determined is still something that ought to be valued, however, I recognized that even during the nocturnal state, we still experience 'sight'.
Clearly, the mechanizations of the brain tied to memory, and precognitive abilities or outward forces can cause images to be produced within us, when our eyes are completely shut. So, how are images constructed? Are they actually constructed by the eyes, or is something else working here? In order to understand this better one would need to consider the branch of physics that is known as quantum physics. Quantum Physics teaches that our brains, through our visual pathways takes the 'radiation from the images' that we encounter with our eyes, and shapes them within our brains.
And through memorization in the brain, the radiological image that we experience visually is therefore stored in the brain. So the next time I experience the construction of a form that I refer to as 'an apple', in the future when I recognize this formation of molecules, I will remember it as an apple. And my parents or guardians or teachers will have taught me that an apple is comestible food. On the other hand, I might be fearful of something in its construction, that I have been taught is something that can be harmful!
When our eyes are closed while we are sleeping the brain continues to process ideas and images, some past, some present and apparently some future. Dreams are presented to us in visual patterns, patterns that arise from the limbic system. Our brains are always putting together pictures, and it will present pictures in our unconscious that we must later decipher within our conscience state. The Bible and other books are full of dreams. In fact, much of what Christians base their futures on have been summed up and presented to early Christian fathers in dream. The most famous astral-laden eschatological book of the canon fits into this category.
Ancient people, post and pre-antideluvian people, took the unseen far more serious than we do today. Most of us are like adolescents who want to take on the world with the knowledge that they have gained. However, their parents recognize that some of their pre-pubescent youngster still do not have enough of an understanding to take on the world, as much as they would like to try. Why do the parents fail so much? Because many of them are unwittingly still locked into their adolescent fazes. Although eager to take on the world, neither do they possess the abilities yet to understand half of what is going on out there.
It is not just the portions that we can envision with natural sight that impact us, for what is more important and can be more detrimental is that which we cannot see that will have its greatest impact upon our lives, as well as those who lean on us for their guidance survival. How can you teach someone about something that you have not seen or understood yourself?
IV: God Is The Processor of the Soul:
What makes divine sight work, is because it is not reliant upon limited understanding. I realized one day that God would never go to a library in order to garner information. I recognized that from an anthropomorphic point of view, that God's brain is the library, a library that is even more vast than that of the 'Library of Congress' (and by the way if you are ever in Washington, be sure to visit the indomitable Library of Congress).
Unlike us, a microcosm of god that was created in God's image - our processing power, as well as our knowledge is limited. So that when we believe that we are employing perfect 20/20vision, at best we are using primitive mechanisms and processing power in order to process and decide upon very real events. If my physical eye, brain and other senses are working properly, I can do a fairly great job of deciding what is good fruit and what is not. However, beyond that there are so many areas and considerations to be made, that my simple functioning cannot inure to helping me to see or to understand that which I need to see and understand.
God foresaw that, stepped in and offered to help each of us from the beginning. God did not suddenly cast us upon a barren earth, then abandoned us in order to pursue his own triumphs. Instead, the earth was prepared with all of the systems in place that would produce food, protection from the dangerous rays of the sun, and with all of the life-sustaining ... that we require. To wit, God gave us intellect, a sufficient enough amount of it to ... our survival, and so that we could have dominion over the earth and to get along with each other.
Sadly, we have tossed away the manual for the most past, or we refer to it only on a limited basis in order to understand how to navigate through this life. In the book of Romans, Paul writes about what happened, when humans refused to 'retain God in their knowledge'. God is the knowledge book that we should rely upon and refer to. Every bit of data that comes into our brain, should be processed in accordance with the divine book. Unlike David who was shaped in iniquity, each of us should seek to reshape ourselves by garnering higher knowledge, lest we waste our sight and understanding in procuring wealth, pleasure and the fulfilment of our lusts.
In other words, you can be tied into the Divine Library, where there is a complete and accurate repository of information for you to filter all of your ideas through, and come back with the correct answer! Are you aware that some older people, whose physical sight may have dimmed with time, actually have keener vision than their younger counterparts, whose senses appear to be intact!
Now we have come full circle. When we learn to see through God's eyes, we will judge all things differently, one of the most important to self-centered, egomaniacal and ego-centric humans, is the ability to see our brothers and sisters properly. Having said that, if we can ever move beyond our base/primitive instincts, we will find that this repository and sight that has always been able to us will accelerate us into transcendence as we occupy these physical bodies. Isn't it sad that human sight is wasted on peering at each other lustfully, or hatefully.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, so is sight - and many come to realize that as it begins to fade away. God has impressed upon me and given me to share it with you, that the world and everything and everyone in it will seem different, once you learn to view each and every thing, phenomenon or person through the eyes of God, including yourself; and when you learn to judge all things through the eyes of God. Then you will be less judgmental and self-righteouss, and more understanding and open to growth yourself. Then you will recognize the beauty of the world and God's intent for both it and you in it, during your temporary stay on Earth!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
www.sealofabraham.blogspot.com
My summary and conclusion will follow...to be continued.
Addenda: Some individuals are seeking higher knowledge and the ability to have sight. Why would they choose to use methods that are
written about in the book that I mentioned: The Sorcerers
New Apprentice, as opposed to seeking God for full
and complete sight. Is it because carnally,
they desire something that will benefit
the human desire, while sacrificing
the responsibilities that come
along with higher knowledge?
In other words, some still desire the convenience of a gift without responsibility -
the kind of responsibility that comes from God. It teaches
us that power in the hands of untrained and unworthy
individual can be dangerous power - there's
represents a dangerous and possibly
catastrophic intrusion
into the divine
and spiritual
realm!
One of the founders of this nation, although a syncretist as well, Benjamin Franklin preferred alternative mysticism himself over mainstream
religion. And that is disturbing when you
consider that he helped to found
this nation after attending
a seance or two, or
consultation with
a spirit guide!
Need we mention Nancy Reagan's delving into the occult from which she garnered messages that she used to council her husband. And she was and
is a woman, the wife of an American President that are championed
o less than by the religious right and the so-called
moral majority of this nation? Shall we touch
on the names of other prominent figures
who guided this country who often
paritipated in occultish
practices?
Hmm!!!
"He looked beyond my fault and saw my need".
Scriptural quotations: Isaiah 64:4 and 8. For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear,
neither have the eye seen, O God, beside these, what
he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.
But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou
our potter; and we all are the work of thine hand!-------------------------------------------
A philosopher once posed one question on an exam to his students:
The question: Philosophically speaking, why? No one came up
with the correct answer which was, why not?
Now I ask you a similar question, 'divine sight' - why and why not? And
what have you, and what will you 'forever' be looking at?
Rev. C. Solomon
---------------------------------------------------
Part II
Introduction:
Bathsheba, apparently failed to ask King David the question that every male, including me, has been asked on one occasion or another in his lifetime, 'what are you looking it'? Of all the senses, the visual sense is most likely the one that is the most cherished, especially if you are male. Yet when you think about it, what have we used it for?
Some men will admit, unabashedly, that they use their eyes to ogle women - something that is very pleasant to do I might add. But if you were to put the recorder of your life in reverse, and consider for a moment - just how did I use the wonderful gift of sight throughout my lifetime - wouldn't it be sad to discover that for the majority of your life, you focused on using your eyes in mostly in a salacious manner?
I. Open Up Your Eyes
In II King Chapter 6, beginning at verse 8, we read a remarkable story of an incident that occurred with the Kings of Syria and Israel, Elijah the Prophet and his young protege. Jumping right into the crux of the story, The King of Syria was enraged, for every time that his war council got together to strategically plan how to attack Judah, their plans kept being foiled.
Somehow the King of Judah's army always seemed to know where the Syrians would wage the battle, and each time the army of Judah would beat them to the punch. The King in his ruminations surmised that there must be a spy among us - someone who was revealing to the other side what his strategic plans were. However, one of the King of Syria servants explained, and probably saved a life or two within the Syrian camp - that it is not a traitor within our camp that is divulging the information. Instead he reported, it is Elijah the Tishbite, the prophet in Israel, who was divulging their planned in secrecy, information.
And how was he doing it? Had Elijah disguised himself and surreptitiously entered into the Syrian war councils, or had he paid someone within the Syrian, a traitor, in order to discover their strategy so that he could divulge it to the King of Israel? No the prophet Elijah had apparently mastered the use of his 'spiritual sight', and as a result of seeing 'through the Eyes of God', Elijah was able to see what the Syrians were planning next, and he did so having never left the comfort of his living room.
II. Sight Can Be Used For Worthy Purpose:
Elijah is therefore the perfect example of someone who employed his keen natural and spiritual senses for a worthy purpose, in this context to uncover wickedness. The King of Syria having tired of being defeated by what should have been a weaker army, decided to go right to the source of his anger. The King gathered a portion of his army and instead of going to battle, he road directly to the place where Elijah was dwelling, along with his youthful protege.
The young man shocked to discover, upon going out to do his chores it is very likely, that their dwelling place was surrounded by the Syrian army, and its men of war. The young man hurried to warn Elijah who apparently had gone about his daily business as if nothing was going on. Elijah remaining calm, attempted to comfort the discomfited lad. Elijah knew that the army that was on his side was greater than the army of the King of Syria. But note, the young saw what he saw, however, he was unable to see a superior force that was there to protect both he and his mentor Elijah. Angels of the Lord keepeth watch.
Elijah prayed and asked God, not attack the troops and to say them, that would have been our first inclination. Instead, he asked God to open the eyes of the young man, eyes that had apparently been opened one would think, given that he saw the army that was standing at the door. However, having your eyelids open and peering out through them is not the same as seeing through the eyes of God. The young lad was about have an experience that he had apparently never had before in his lifetime. Given Elijah's request God opened the young lad's eyes and he witnessed first hand what Elijah already knew.
To his dismay, the young lad discovered that a spiritual army was also outside of his door, and the spiritual army had the King of Syria as well as his Syrian attachment completely surrounded. In this story we 'see' three example of men who experienced God-sight, instead of Night Vision - the kind that the America military utilizes today, these men employed God-Vision. Elijah used it all the time, the man who divulged to the King of Syria just how his plans kept being uncovered, and finally the lad who for the first time observed that eyes could be used for other than looking at girls.
I believe that it is safe to say that the God who warned Elijah before about the tactical battle strategies of the King of Syria's army, had already warned him that he would be paying him a visit next. And one can easily surmise that when God warns you ahead of time that Satan is coming, God saw it first, and he is warning you so that you can either take evasion action - and to let you know that you are going to be protected.
III. What Is This Thing Called Sight?
According to one concise dictionary definition, sight, the noun form) is:
vision; ability to see; look; glimpse...! When we think of sight, we typically think of it in just these terms. However, many have learned that sight transcends this and other colloquial definitions. Is it more than just this?
In many cultures certain children are born with what the indigenous people refer to as a 'gift of sight'. At any early age, parents determine that their children are gifted, particularly a child who at birth was partially or fully encased with portions of the embryonic which they refer to us 'a Vail'. This Vail is seen as a special injunction from God, explaining that the encased child is a special child.
And later in life, it is not uncommon for these gifted children to show remarkable talents. Their abilities appear to be greater than those of average human beings.
Many of these children carry their gifts into adulthood. Many of them have sight, clairvoyant gifts like Extra Sensory Perception. It is not uncommon for these individuals to predict future events, to foretell what is transpiring in the present having never been there to see what is taking place. These individuals experience highly spiritual and sensory inputs during the waking state, as well as the nocturnal state. Have you ever had someone foretell an event in your life that took place, or call you ahead of time to say, 'I am praying for you because God showed me, or something told me that you were about to have an experience...", and it turns out to be true?
And where does this ability come from, it comes from what we refer to as Spirit, or what was also referred to at one time as 'daimon'. Spirit is a word that frightens most people, and to an extent it should. Why? Because there are both good and bad spirits, just as there were good and bad 'daimons', a word that was transliterated later to become 'demon'. I was speaking with a woman some years ago who happened to be from a family of warlocks. Although she had since given her life to the Lord, she had much to divulge from her repository of experiences in her earlier life when she became curious about and began to study witchcraft.
She explained that within the realm of witchcraft, a spirit or spirits actually do the bidding in behalves of the witch, or it divulges information to the witch or warlock that the rest of us may not be privy to. She went on to say that whenever a witch attempts to cast a spell on someone, that they factually rely on a spirit to do the enchantment. Scary? Many Americans, to those in the Shaman religions of the past have sought ought and found 'spirit guides' that they call upon in order to help them through life. A famous book some years ago entitled: The Sorcerers New Apprentice, made the best sellers list. The book divulged how many Americans, even professors as some of America's most elite Universities Well, from scriptures we know that there are both good and bad spirits, and we know that these incantations apparently work.
On the plus side, the Father of Spirits, gives gifts to men, primarily to help us to combat unseen forces. Most human cannot believe that they are being engaged in a battle against forces that they cannot experience with their physical senses, particularly their eyes. I warn these individuals that there are many things that you cannot see with your limited visual perception. For example, without the aid of a microscope or telescope - you cannot see certain microorganisms, or cosmic stellar entities, that actually exist. And, even though you cannot see certain phenomenon with the naked eye, it does not impact in any way whether they actually exist or not.
The eyes, and all of the senses, bring input into the brain so that it can be processed. Jesus often referred to individuals on earth in two categories those who were physically blind and those who were spiritually blind. Prior to Adam's debacle, he apparently still retained sight-vision, given that he apparently recognized spiritually beings like God, or the angels that was dispatched to prevent him from returning to 'the tree of life', which could result in an unwanted life-death sentence!
Jesus, spent much of his time trying to open the eyes not just of the physically blind - which he did do, he also spent much of his time trying to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. And I might add here, the majority of the spiritually blind that he encountered and attempted to restore sight to were religious and spiritual people. However, it begs the question with respect to the latter, WHAT SPIRIT WERE THEY REALLY OF? In other words, believing that they could see or understand in this context, what prevented them from seeing the truth? Many of these individuals who similar to a physically blind individual, where groping around in the dark and still bumping into walls.
These folks, along with the rest of the world lacked sight, the kind that God intended for us all to have.
IV: A Dead Man With Fixed Eyes
It is not uncommon that when an individual dies that his or her eyes remain partially or completely opened. It is as if they are experiencing an 'ocular gyric crises', for their ocular stare is unsettling to those who experience them that way. The first inclination of the observer is to 'shut their eyelids'.
No doubt, if you have the technology to do so - you might be able to determine the image that those eyes are staring at, that has been captured within their visual receptacles. The problem remains however, that the mechanizations minus the processing causes sight to be useless. What am I getting at?
The eyes, like the other senses - gustatory, olfactory, tactile and auditory, has to have a place for the information to be processed. Otherwise, what good is the information. In the biological world, we rely upon our brains to process the information that proceeds into it through physical means. First of all the eye(s) have to be reasonably intact or there won't be any input or data to process in the first place. So the cornea, the iris, the retina and other parts of the yes must be intact.
However, does one require a physical eye, with the proverbial eye ball, in order to see. I used to wonder about this with respect to the next stage in our spiritual evolution. I wondered, how can a Spirit see things, and therefore if we are going to be like the angels in the next phase of our spiritual evolvment, how will we be able to see. Physical sight I determined is still something that ought to be valued, however, I recognized that even during the nocturnal state, we still experience 'sight'.
Clearly, the mechanizations of the brain tied to memory, and precognitive abilities or outward forces can cause images to be produced within us, when our eyes are completely shut. So, how are images constructed? Are they actually constructed by the eyes, or is something else working here? In order to understand this better one would need to consider the branch of physics that is known as quantum physics. Quantum Physics teaches that our brains, through our visual pathways takes the 'radiation from the images' that we encounter with our eyes, and shapes them within our brains.
And through memorization in the brain, the radiological image that we experience visually is therefore stored in the brain. So the next time I experience the construction of a form that I refer to as 'an apple', in the future when I recognize this formation of molecules, I will remember it as an apple. And my parents or guardians or teachers will have taught me that an apple is comestible food. On the other hand, I might be fearful of something in its construction, that I have been taught is something that can be harmful!
When our eyes are closed while we are sleeping the brain continues to process ideas and images, some past, some present and apparently some future. Dreams are presented to us in visual patterns, patterns that arise from the limbic system. Our brains are always putting together pictures, and it will present pictures in our unconscious that we must later decipher within our conscience state. The Bible and other books are full of dreams. In fact, much of what Christians base their futures on have been summed up and presented to early Christian fathers in dream. The most famous astral-laden eschatological book of the canon fits into this category.
Ancient people, post and pre-antideluvian people, took the unseen far more serious than we do today. Most of us are like adolescents who want to take on the world with the knowledge that they have gained. However, their parents recognize that some of their pre-pubescent youngster still do not have enough of an understanding to take on the world, as much as they would like to try. Why do the parents fail so much? Because many of them are unwittingly still locked into their adolescent fazes. Although eager to take on the world, neither do they possess the abilities yet to understand half of what is going on out there.
It is not just the portions that we can envision with natural sight that impact us, for what is more important and can be more detrimental is that which we cannot see that will have its greatest impact upon our lives, as well as those who lean on us for their guidance survival. How can you teach someone about something that you have not seen or understood yourself?
IV: God Is The Processor of the Soul:
What makes divine sight work, is because it is not reliant upon limited understanding. I realized one day that God would never go to a library in order to garner information. I recognized that from an anthropomorphic point of view, that God's brain is the library, a library that is even more vast than that of the 'Library of Congress' (and by the way if you are ever in Washington, be sure to visit the indomitable Library of Congress).
Unlike us, a microcosm of god that was created in God's image - our processing power, as well as our knowledge is limited. So that when we believe that we are employing perfect 20/20vision, at best we are using primitive mechanisms and processing power in order to process and decide upon very real events. If my physical eye, brain and other senses are working properly, I can do a fairly great job of deciding what is good fruit and what is not. However, beyond that there are so many areas and considerations to be made, that my simple functioning cannot inure to helping me to see or to understand that which I need to see and understand.
God foresaw that, stepped in and offered to help each of us from the beginning. God did not suddenly cast us upon a barren earth, then abandoned us in order to pursue his own triumphs. Instead, the earth was prepared with all of the systems in place that would produce food, protection from the dangerous rays of the sun, and with all of the life-sustaining ... that we require. To wit, God gave us intellect, a sufficient enough amount of it to ... our survival, and so that we could have dominion over the earth and to get along with each other.
Sadly, we have tossed away the manual for the most past, or we refer to it only on a limited basis in order to understand how to navigate through this life. In the book of Romans, Paul writes about what happened, when humans refused to 'retain God in their knowledge'. God is the knowledge book that we should rely upon and refer to. Every bit of data that comes into our brain, should be processed in accordance with the divine book. Unlike David who was shaped in iniquity, each of us should seek to reshape ourselves by garnering higher knowledge, lest we waste our sight and understanding in procuring wealth, pleasure and the fulfilment of our lusts.
In other words, you can be tied into the Divine Library, where there is a complete and accurate repository of information for you to filter all of your ideas through, and come back with the correct answer! Are you aware that some older people, whose physical sight may have dimmed with time, actually have keener vision than their younger counterparts, whose senses appear to be intact!
Now we have come full circle. When we learn to see through God's eyes, we will judge all things differently, one of the most important to self-centered, egomaniacal and ego-centric humans, is the ability to see our brothers and sisters properly. Having said that, if we can ever move beyond our base/primitive instincts, we will find that this repository and sight that has always been able to us will accelerate us into transcendence as we occupy these physical bodies. Isn't it sad that human sight is wasted on peering at each other lustfully, or hatefully.
A mind is a terrible thing to waste, so is sight - and many come to realize that as it begins to fade away. God has impressed upon me and given me to share it with you, that the world and everything and everyone in it will seem different, once you learn to view each and every thing, phenomenon or person through the eyes of God, including yourself; and when you learn to judge all things through the eyes of God. Then you will be less judgmental and self-righteouss, and more understanding and open to growth yourself. Then you will recognize the beauty of the world and God's intent for both it and you in it, during your temporary stay on Earth!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
www.sealofabraham.blogspot.com
My summary and conclusion will follow...to be continued.
Addenda: Some individuals are seeking higher knowledge and the ability to have sight. Why would they choose to use methods that are
written about in the book that I mentioned: The Sorcerers
New Apprentice, as opposed to seeking God for full
and complete sight. Is it because carnally,
they desire something that will benefit
the human desire, while sacrificing
the responsibilities that come
along with higher knowledge?
In other words, some still desire the convenience of a gift without responsibility -
the kind of responsibility that comes from God. It teaches
us that power in the hands of untrained and unworthy
individual can be dangerous power - there's
represents a dangerous and possibly
catastrophic intrusion
into the divine
and spiritual
realm!
One of the founders of this nation, although a syncretist as well, Benjamin Franklin preferred alternative mysticism himself over mainstream
religion. And that is disturbing when you
consider that he helped to found
this nation after attending
a seance or two, or
consultation with
a spirit guide!
Need we mention Nancy Reagan's delving into the occult from which she garnered messages that she used to council her husband. And she was and
is a woman, the wife of an American President that are championed
o less than by the religious right and the so-called
moral majority of this nation? Shall we touch
on the names of other prominent figures
who guided this country who often
paritipated in occultish
practices?
Hmm!!!
Jan 24, 2008
'Seeing Through The Eyes of God' Part I
Utilizing God's Intellect and his Spiritual Senses To Assess Circumstances and Events in order to Procure an Appropriate Outcome and for Daily and Life-long Planning and Determinations!
Scriptural Reference 1 Kings 6:16 & 17:
And he answered, fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part I
Introduction: Seeing, viewing and observing circumstances and events through the prism of 'the eyes of God' is something that each and every human needs to perfect on a moment-by-moment basis, particularly those individuals who claim to be the children of God. If we were to engage God-sight or Divine-vision in and for every scenario or circumstance that we encounter, even the ones that others bring to our attention, what a difference it would make in terms of our assessments, solutions and initial and final judgments of each said event - even of life itself!
I. Putting On Our Spiritual Lenses - God Sight:
Just as some of us clean or detoxify and place our glasses or contact lenses contacts on a daily basis in order to enhance or correct impaired vision; and just as many human beings have had corrective laser surgery and other treatments to their eyes in order to enhance or correct impaired vision - each of us should pursue with more of a sense of urgency and alacrity, the acquirement, use and maintenance of divine vision.
Too many of us are still viewing all of the above through the prisms of our own carnal-visual opthalmic-refractive lenses. The latter is tied too often to our sentient but basic intellect - as opposed to the vision and understanding of the one that created, knows, surmises and accurately judgest all things!
The Benefits:
a). To do so would save us a lot of time in finding the proper solution or answers to our queries and observances, as opposed to wasting time in pursuing the wrong path, and imposing an improper solution!
b). To do so would produce realistic, beneficial and lasting results both for ourselves and others, and ultimately we would please God!
c). To do so would eliminate the false-positives, that we often rely upon in order to decide upon what course or action one should take, or what is wrong, and on the other hand what is right.
d). To do so would go a long way in helping us not to be less human -judgmental or presumptuous, and more God-centered in our dealings and interaction with others!
e). To do so would help us to focus with keener insight on the need, as opposed to the perceived faults of our fellow men, employers, nations and companions.
We can learn to please God and help to extend God's creation and better the world as a result of viewing things through the 'eyes of God' as opposed to judging circumstances, people or events through the prisms of limited and imperfect sight. Human sight, in addition to our perceptions are influenced by our limited intellectual, culturally influenced and often character-inhibited internal repositories and receptors!
Therefore, many times to borrow from a passage of scripture: after we believe that we are healed and our sight has been fully restored from spiritual blindness and darkness, oftentimes we are in need of a second touch, for we still see men as trees walking!
If each of us were to ostensibly submit our perceptions, will and determinations, as well as our limited far and near-sightedness over to universal God-sightedness, we would have peace with our family-members and neighbors; our co-workers and employers, and most of all with God and 'the God's universe'!
Furthermore, by permitting the necessary internal changes to be made by permitting God to perform corrective surgery on us (the second time),we would view and experience toxic circumstances and interactions with people, bosses, neighbors, children and friends - which make us uncomfortable - from a completely different perspective. We would even see life itself from a different, 'it's all about me' perspective!
For as God has 'the requisite ability to see need over fault' (it is called grace), most of us would learn to be patient with others, and help others to grow, recognizing that if we were to focus God-sight on ourselves, that we also leave a lot to be desired in spite of our glowing assessments of ourselves! In other words, just as we want understanding from God, we would permit grace to help us to see the need as to the perceived or real faults and failings of others!
II. Did I See What I Thought I Saw?
Even eye-witnesses to a purported crime, have been stunned to find out later that what they thought they saw, turned out not be happened at all. How often have we had to retreat altogether, when something that we knew that we judged logically or factually - and without any doubt, turned out not to be an accurate assessment of the events or circumstances at all? We oftentimes miss the big picture don't we, and we later have to recapitulate - those of us who will? Can we minimize those all too frequent occurrences of misjudgment and mischaracterization of events, and cause them to occur on a less frequent basis? A lot of damage could be avoided if we would learn to do so!
How often do we view a circumstance one way on a given day, then later when we view the same circumstances through the eyes of God do we surmise: 1).That things were not as bad as they may have appeared initially, 2). We learn that things were in fact worse than what they initially appeared to be,3). Given our own well thought out and erudite assessment, we missed it all together. And sadly some of us, even believers, are so carnally pre-occupied and stubborn that we refuse to adapt or concede - when we are confronted with God's intact truth.
Many of us insist on believing that which has been parsed through our own internal filters - as if our internal filters in any way could be confused with being absolute!How arrogant, egotistical and obnoxious can we be? In other words as one wrote: Man, in your case - self, "...is the measure of all things"! How often have you felt, if I just had a manual, similar to the ones that are provided usually when I purchase a product or service? Folks, we have a manual that was constructed by the manufacturer itself. It is the 'word of God', that is fully Jesus Christ, and it is contained for us today in a talking 'Paracletos'!
The Lord began to deal with me on this topic just over a week ago. I was involved in my daily devotion and bible reading one morning (on a typical day which consists of one chapter from Psalms, and one chapter from the book of Proverbs. In Psalms chapter 32, vs 8, King David explained how he would teach others in his kingdom, after he had himself made such an excruciating error in judgment with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, through the restored eyesight of a faltered King - having been forgiven, corrected and taught by the King of Kings!
How could a man chosen by God before the foundation of the world have made such egregious errors? We do it all the time! Bathsheba was observed bathing by King David while her husband, a Hittite, was off fighting for the Hebrew, King David. David, David being the man that he was, of lessor character, permitted his male virility and a spirit of lust to get the best of him. Instead of relying upon his spiritual impulses, senses and understanding, he gave into the lustful desires of the flesh. For most men the senses, typically the eyes, similar to flipping on a light or electrical switch, are our triggers that turn on the machinery of natural human lust! David was not any different, and he failed to turn off the switch!
David sent for Bathsheba and made her an offer that she could not refuse (not all agree with me on this), remember, he was the King. To cover up the evil that he had done, committing the sin of adultery and impregnating her, he conspired within his own intellect and came up with an erroneous solution which represented the second, or even the third error that he made. David decided that he could cover up his sin by inveigling Urijah to go in to sleep with his wife when he had returned home on furlough.
Bathsheba was pregnant, and the King knowing that the first thing that the average man who has been away from his wife or sex, for some time would want to do is to is to experience intimacy with his wife or a woman.
III. Human Failure & Inability To Anticipate, Assess or Accurately Judge a Circumstance:
The problem that David failed to anticipate, given that he judged circumstances through the prism of his own limited senses and his fallen character, was that Urijah was a noble man. What happened to the David who before, when his brothers went off to fight Goliath and the Philistines, who was more noble and volunteered to join into the fight himself and to take on the giant Goliath. This David stayed at home, apparently lapsed into a spiritual malaise and conjured up evil of the kind that you would have suspected of his brothers, not him!
Urijah could not see going in to have pleasure with his wife, while his comrades were engaged in battle. So David failing now for the fourth time, consulted with his intellect again, having ignored the word of God and hatched yet another venal plan to cover his sins. David somehow concluded that the solution to the whole matter that could have disgraced his monarchy, was to have Urijah killed - which he proceeded to have done; this is how he 'saw things'.
However, instead of killing Urijah himself, remember David was a 'man of war' himself and could have done just that, he hatched a plan whereby Urijah the nobleman would be placed in the hottest part of the battle, at the frontline, where he would be sure to put to death.
It was reported later by David's co-conspirator via a messenger that Urijah had indeed been slain. Bathsheba wept, however, the unrepentant David continued on with his life, took Bathsheba as his wife and continued on his merry way. Well, he continued until God dispatched the prophet Nathan to visit the wayward king. After listened to Nathan's disclosure of a man in his kingdom who had acted in a vulgar, deadly and despicable manner, King David ordered a harsh judgment to the man, sight unseen except his head, to the man who engaged in such an egregious manner as was reported by the prophet Nathan.
Then just as suddenly following the King's pronouncement, Nathan announced, you are the man who is guilty of the egregious act! What a blunder by King David? But how many times have these kind of blunders been made by purportedly good people. Remember, this was the same psalmist and giant killer of Israel who was once a hero, and the man that the women sang songs of exultation to upon his return from battle? But this time he remained home and engaged in abominable and egregious salacious behaviors himself!
As a lad we preferred David over the alacritous and depraved King Saul who attempted to murder David; and he did so on more than one occasion. Didn't David consider his own experiences when a King sought to murder him on numerous occasions, inside and outside of the place?It turned out that David later turned out to a harbinger of ill-will towards others himself, in fact he was in fact a murderer himself. David was different than Saul in many respects, but in many respects he turned out to be just like him in other respects. Today, we still sing and read his psalms during our worship services!
Given God-sight, a man that was chosen before the foundation of the world, even given God's prescient fore-knowledge was elected to be king over God's throne on earth, knowing that David would commit such vial acts. If anyone behaved in the same manner today in one of our churches, synagogues or mosques, I am sure that he would be silenced forever, and his song book would be trashed!
I don't want to get too far off on this accompanying topic, but when you think about it, why did God choose individuals, given his prescient foreknowledge, men and women who turned out to be murderers, sex fiends, killers, and accessories to murders? And then why did God turn around and make their lives, including their failures so transparent? There were men and women who were alive who had better records, higher moral fiber and character!
Names like Moses, David, Elijah and the Apostle Paul come to mind - and there are many others. Two of these men stood on either side of Jesus on the mountain of transfiguration - both of whom had engaged in killing before - not to overlook the two malefactors who were on either side of Jesus at his demise on the cross. Could it be that God chose the most egregious of men and women (all of whom are not mentioned here), using his sight and foresight - in order to show us today how he could choose a often failing you and me?
And when you think about it, we haven't done anything as bad as some of them did! Isn't it truly about God-sight: sight that we often simply do not understand? Who is it that you consider to beneath you educationally, culturally, spiritually, economically in one way or another, that God sends along to instruct and teach you God's lessons? Remember, it was the unlearned and ignorant who 'turned the world upside down'. The educated and erudite Apostle Paul was so stunned by this, that he counted all of his knowledge, that led him down the wrong road, given his own impaired site, that he counted all of what he learned before as 'dung'!
There are some in religious groups who believe that they have 'sight', but from God's perspective - they are the one's who are still blind, or who have only limited sight. God knocked the 'sighted Apostle' down on the road to Damascus, blinded him, and restored him with divine sight! It was during that period that he actually 'saw Jesus', heretofore, he had not - and he actually went about persecuting him!
IV. How Could David Or One of Us Come To Make Such Egregious Errors?
We can attribute our failings, as well as King David's to an over-reliance on a limited and impaired intellect, and fallen character, as well as both our and his his reliance upon depraved human sensory perceptors and perceptions that come from the same source! Are we saved? Yes, but oftentimes we are not always 'walking in the Spirit'. David was not walking in the Spirit, when it came to viewing 'a nude woman', and as a result he failed to turn off the trigger.
Most men today face similar challenges today when being exposed daily to partially nude, and sexually attired females. It is as if the machinery kicks in all by itself just by seeing a woman - yet it is our responsibility to manage the machinery, that is usually turned on by our eyes and a simple glance! Men are so turned on by the female anatomy, that the porn industry in this country has more than quadrupled from the time that I was a little boy. Dr. Henry Cloud and others of the New Life Life syndicated radio program, are doing much to help men in this regard.
They offer instructive retreats for " Every Man's Battle! It is the sexual battle, that most of us fight throughout our lifetimes, each day knowing that we can slip!
Back to King David: As a consequence of how David viewed the circumstances - relying upon all that was located within him, he acted in kind - and he turned out to be wrong on every count. In terms of the way that God viewed things, David grieved the heart of God given his desultory decisions, even the manner in which he sought to ultimately retain his honor having committed several unrepentant and evil acts, and his willingness to permit in even more.
Who or what determines our righteousness?
If you consider my query in light of the books of the Bible, we read where it was God who determined what is, was, and was not good! Even given the non-biological aspects of the creation, God determined what was and what was not good, e.g. the morning and the day, the evening and the night...!
And after humans were placed on the scene, Adams's disobedience was determined as 'not good'; Abel his sons' blood offering was found to be 'good'. With Abraham, his faith was counted to him for righteousness, and for the children of Israel it was something else altogether. In Deuteronomy 7 vs 9, it reads as follows: And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. These children of Israel recognized initially that their adherence to the word of God would be counted as righteousness.
Many of us have made similar mistakes to the ones that David made. And just think about how we viewed our own misbehaviors when we acted in-kind. We have even tried to cover up a circumstance or failing, or misconstrued a solution or someone else's apparent failing? If we would have relied upon God's eyes, rather than upon our own cloudly senses, we would not have made such egregious errors in behavior ourselves, or in judging others! So who becomes our righteous at the time: Sadly, we ourselves became our own righteousness, and we will offend defend that which we know not of based upon our own self-righteous perceptions and judgment.
Weak and limited intellect, intolerant and self-righteousness teachings which turns us into 'Pharisees', cultural shaping and impaired consciousness often sits atop the throne and becomes the judge of too many of our circumstances and behaviors, and it has to do with how we perceive and judge others!
In Isaiah 55: Isaiah wrote for God: Your ways are not my ways, your thoughts are not my thoughts, and that as high as the heavens are above the earth are God's way above our ways, and God's thoughts are above our thoughts.
When we rely upon God's loving intellect, if you will permit me to put it that way, we are essentially relying upon the one who we believe created everything that is material, out of what was non-material or that which did not exist before. Who better, would have the knowledge of a thing or a phenomenon? And who better knows how things, phenomena or people or causes work? It begs the question, what have you misinterpreted in the past or of late, because you relied upon human sight alone, that had serious consequences given your misinterpretation?
Peace & Grace,
Rev. C. Solomon
www.sealofabraham.blogspot.com
Did God say...that's Good? Is Human 20/20 vision, accurate vision, or at best is it still onto partial vision? to be continued...What Occurs When Our Eyes Are Opened?
Many of us still walk around, as if our very eyelids were closed! Some
prefer it that way - those individuals hope to screen out all that is
even and undesirable unto them. However, God eyes are every where
beholding both the good and the evil!
Scriptural Reference 1 Kings 6:16 & 17:
And he answered, fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Part I
Introduction: Seeing, viewing and observing circumstances and events through the prism of 'the eyes of God' is something that each and every human needs to perfect on a moment-by-moment basis, particularly those individuals who claim to be the children of God. If we were to engage God-sight or Divine-vision in and for every scenario or circumstance that we encounter, even the ones that others bring to our attention, what a difference it would make in terms of our assessments, solutions and initial and final judgments of each said event - even of life itself!
I. Putting On Our Spiritual Lenses - God Sight:
Just as some of us clean or detoxify and place our glasses or contact lenses contacts on a daily basis in order to enhance or correct impaired vision; and just as many human beings have had corrective laser surgery and other treatments to their eyes in order to enhance or correct impaired vision - each of us should pursue with more of a sense of urgency and alacrity, the acquirement, use and maintenance of divine vision.
Too many of us are still viewing all of the above through the prisms of our own carnal-visual opthalmic-refractive lenses. The latter is tied too often to our sentient but basic intellect - as opposed to the vision and understanding of the one that created, knows, surmises and accurately judgest all things!
The Benefits:
a). To do so would save us a lot of time in finding the proper solution or answers to our queries and observances, as opposed to wasting time in pursuing the wrong path, and imposing an improper solution!
b). To do so would produce realistic, beneficial and lasting results both for ourselves and others, and ultimately we would please God!
c). To do so would eliminate the false-positives, that we often rely upon in order to decide upon what course or action one should take, or what is wrong, and on the other hand what is right.
d). To do so would go a long way in helping us not to be less human -judgmental or presumptuous, and more God-centered in our dealings and interaction with others!
e). To do so would help us to focus with keener insight on the need, as opposed to the perceived faults of our fellow men, employers, nations and companions.
We can learn to please God and help to extend God's creation and better the world as a result of viewing things through the 'eyes of God' as opposed to judging circumstances, people or events through the prisms of limited and imperfect sight. Human sight, in addition to our perceptions are influenced by our limited intellectual, culturally influenced and often character-inhibited internal repositories and receptors!
Therefore, many times to borrow from a passage of scripture: after we believe that we are healed and our sight has been fully restored from spiritual blindness and darkness, oftentimes we are in need of a second touch, for we still see men as trees walking!
If each of us were to ostensibly submit our perceptions, will and determinations, as well as our limited far and near-sightedness over to universal God-sightedness, we would have peace with our family-members and neighbors; our co-workers and employers, and most of all with God and 'the God's universe'!
Furthermore, by permitting the necessary internal changes to be made by permitting God to perform corrective surgery on us (the second time),we would view and experience toxic circumstances and interactions with people, bosses, neighbors, children and friends - which make us uncomfortable - from a completely different perspective. We would even see life itself from a different, 'it's all about me' perspective!
For as God has 'the requisite ability to see need over fault' (it is called grace), most of us would learn to be patient with others, and help others to grow, recognizing that if we were to focus God-sight on ourselves, that we also leave a lot to be desired in spite of our glowing assessments of ourselves! In other words, just as we want understanding from God, we would permit grace to help us to see the need as to the perceived or real faults and failings of others!
II. Did I See What I Thought I Saw?
Even eye-witnesses to a purported crime, have been stunned to find out later that what they thought they saw, turned out not be happened at all. How often have we had to retreat altogether, when something that we knew that we judged logically or factually - and without any doubt, turned out not to be an accurate assessment of the events or circumstances at all? We oftentimes miss the big picture don't we, and we later have to recapitulate - those of us who will? Can we minimize those all too frequent occurrences of misjudgment and mischaracterization of events, and cause them to occur on a less frequent basis? A lot of damage could be avoided if we would learn to do so!
How often do we view a circumstance one way on a given day, then later when we view the same circumstances through the eyes of God do we surmise: 1).That things were not as bad as they may have appeared initially, 2). We learn that things were in fact worse than what they initially appeared to be,3). Given our own well thought out and erudite assessment, we missed it all together. And sadly some of us, even believers, are so carnally pre-occupied and stubborn that we refuse to adapt or concede - when we are confronted with God's intact truth.
Many of us insist on believing that which has been parsed through our own internal filters - as if our internal filters in any way could be confused with being absolute!How arrogant, egotistical and obnoxious can we be? In other words as one wrote: Man, in your case - self, "...is the measure of all things"! How often have you felt, if I just had a manual, similar to the ones that are provided usually when I purchase a product or service? Folks, we have a manual that was constructed by the manufacturer itself. It is the 'word of God', that is fully Jesus Christ, and it is contained for us today in a talking 'Paracletos'!
The Lord began to deal with me on this topic just over a week ago. I was involved in my daily devotion and bible reading one morning (on a typical day which consists of one chapter from Psalms, and one chapter from the book of Proverbs. In Psalms chapter 32, vs 8, King David explained how he would teach others in his kingdom, after he had himself made such an excruciating error in judgment with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, through the restored eyesight of a faltered King - having been forgiven, corrected and taught by the King of Kings!
How could a man chosen by God before the foundation of the world have made such egregious errors? We do it all the time! Bathsheba was observed bathing by King David while her husband, a Hittite, was off fighting for the Hebrew, King David. David, David being the man that he was, of lessor character, permitted his male virility and a spirit of lust to get the best of him. Instead of relying upon his spiritual impulses, senses and understanding, he gave into the lustful desires of the flesh. For most men the senses, typically the eyes, similar to flipping on a light or electrical switch, are our triggers that turn on the machinery of natural human lust! David was not any different, and he failed to turn off the switch!
David sent for Bathsheba and made her an offer that she could not refuse (not all agree with me on this), remember, he was the King. To cover up the evil that he had done, committing the sin of adultery and impregnating her, he conspired within his own intellect and came up with an erroneous solution which represented the second, or even the third error that he made. David decided that he could cover up his sin by inveigling Urijah to go in to sleep with his wife when he had returned home on furlough.
Bathsheba was pregnant, and the King knowing that the first thing that the average man who has been away from his wife or sex, for some time would want to do is to is to experience intimacy with his wife or a woman.
III. Human Failure & Inability To Anticipate, Assess or Accurately Judge a Circumstance:
The problem that David failed to anticipate, given that he judged circumstances through the prism of his own limited senses and his fallen character, was that Urijah was a noble man. What happened to the David who before, when his brothers went off to fight Goliath and the Philistines, who was more noble and volunteered to join into the fight himself and to take on the giant Goliath. This David stayed at home, apparently lapsed into a spiritual malaise and conjured up evil of the kind that you would have suspected of his brothers, not him!
Urijah could not see going in to have pleasure with his wife, while his comrades were engaged in battle. So David failing now for the fourth time, consulted with his intellect again, having ignored the word of God and hatched yet another venal plan to cover his sins. David somehow concluded that the solution to the whole matter that could have disgraced his monarchy, was to have Urijah killed - which he proceeded to have done; this is how he 'saw things'.
However, instead of killing Urijah himself, remember David was a 'man of war' himself and could have done just that, he hatched a plan whereby Urijah the nobleman would be placed in the hottest part of the battle, at the frontline, where he would be sure to put to death.
It was reported later by David's co-conspirator via a messenger that Urijah had indeed been slain. Bathsheba wept, however, the unrepentant David continued on with his life, took Bathsheba as his wife and continued on his merry way. Well, he continued until God dispatched the prophet Nathan to visit the wayward king. After listened to Nathan's disclosure of a man in his kingdom who had acted in a vulgar, deadly and despicable manner, King David ordered a harsh judgment to the man, sight unseen except his head, to the man who engaged in such an egregious manner as was reported by the prophet Nathan.
Then just as suddenly following the King's pronouncement, Nathan announced, you are the man who is guilty of the egregious act! What a blunder by King David? But how many times have these kind of blunders been made by purportedly good people. Remember, this was the same psalmist and giant killer of Israel who was once a hero, and the man that the women sang songs of exultation to upon his return from battle? But this time he remained home and engaged in abominable and egregious salacious behaviors himself!
As a lad we preferred David over the alacritous and depraved King Saul who attempted to murder David; and he did so on more than one occasion. Didn't David consider his own experiences when a King sought to murder him on numerous occasions, inside and outside of the place?It turned out that David later turned out to a harbinger of ill-will towards others himself, in fact he was in fact a murderer himself. David was different than Saul in many respects, but in many respects he turned out to be just like him in other respects. Today, we still sing and read his psalms during our worship services!
Given God-sight, a man that was chosen before the foundation of the world, even given God's prescient fore-knowledge was elected to be king over God's throne on earth, knowing that David would commit such vial acts. If anyone behaved in the same manner today in one of our churches, synagogues or mosques, I am sure that he would be silenced forever, and his song book would be trashed!
I don't want to get too far off on this accompanying topic, but when you think about it, why did God choose individuals, given his prescient foreknowledge, men and women who turned out to be murderers, sex fiends, killers, and accessories to murders? And then why did God turn around and make their lives, including their failures so transparent? There were men and women who were alive who had better records, higher moral fiber and character!
Names like Moses, David, Elijah and the Apostle Paul come to mind - and there are many others. Two of these men stood on either side of Jesus on the mountain of transfiguration - both of whom had engaged in killing before - not to overlook the two malefactors who were on either side of Jesus at his demise on the cross. Could it be that God chose the most egregious of men and women (all of whom are not mentioned here), using his sight and foresight - in order to show us today how he could choose a often failing you and me?
And when you think about it, we haven't done anything as bad as some of them did! Isn't it truly about God-sight: sight that we often simply do not understand? Who is it that you consider to beneath you educationally, culturally, spiritually, economically in one way or another, that God sends along to instruct and teach you God's lessons? Remember, it was the unlearned and ignorant who 'turned the world upside down'. The educated and erudite Apostle Paul was so stunned by this, that he counted all of his knowledge, that led him down the wrong road, given his own impaired site, that he counted all of what he learned before as 'dung'!
There are some in religious groups who believe that they have 'sight', but from God's perspective - they are the one's who are still blind, or who have only limited sight. God knocked the 'sighted Apostle' down on the road to Damascus, blinded him, and restored him with divine sight! It was during that period that he actually 'saw Jesus', heretofore, he had not - and he actually went about persecuting him!
IV. How Could David Or One of Us Come To Make Such Egregious Errors?
We can attribute our failings, as well as King David's to an over-reliance on a limited and impaired intellect, and fallen character, as well as both our and his his reliance upon depraved human sensory perceptors and perceptions that come from the same source! Are we saved? Yes, but oftentimes we are not always 'walking in the Spirit'. David was not walking in the Spirit, when it came to viewing 'a nude woman', and as a result he failed to turn off the trigger.
Most men today face similar challenges today when being exposed daily to partially nude, and sexually attired females. It is as if the machinery kicks in all by itself just by seeing a woman - yet it is our responsibility to manage the machinery, that is usually turned on by our eyes and a simple glance! Men are so turned on by the female anatomy, that the porn industry in this country has more than quadrupled from the time that I was a little boy. Dr. Henry Cloud and others of the New Life Life syndicated radio program, are doing much to help men in this regard.
They offer instructive retreats for " Every Man's Battle! It is the sexual battle, that most of us fight throughout our lifetimes, each day knowing that we can slip!
Back to King David: As a consequence of how David viewed the circumstances - relying upon all that was located within him, he acted in kind - and he turned out to be wrong on every count. In terms of the way that God viewed things, David grieved the heart of God given his desultory decisions, even the manner in which he sought to ultimately retain his honor having committed several unrepentant and evil acts, and his willingness to permit in even more.
Who or what determines our righteousness?
If you consider my query in light of the books of the Bible, we read where it was God who determined what is, was, and was not good! Even given the non-biological aspects of the creation, God determined what was and what was not good, e.g. the morning and the day, the evening and the night...!
And after humans were placed on the scene, Adams's disobedience was determined as 'not good'; Abel his sons' blood offering was found to be 'good'. With Abraham, his faith was counted to him for righteousness, and for the children of Israel it was something else altogether. In Deuteronomy 7 vs 9, it reads as follows: And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the Lord our God, as he hath commanded us. These children of Israel recognized initially that their adherence to the word of God would be counted as righteousness.
Many of us have made similar mistakes to the ones that David made. And just think about how we viewed our own misbehaviors when we acted in-kind. We have even tried to cover up a circumstance or failing, or misconstrued a solution or someone else's apparent failing? If we would have relied upon God's eyes, rather than upon our own cloudly senses, we would not have made such egregious errors in behavior ourselves, or in judging others! So who becomes our righteous at the time: Sadly, we ourselves became our own righteousness, and we will offend defend that which we know not of based upon our own self-righteous perceptions and judgment.
Weak and limited intellect, intolerant and self-righteousness teachings which turns us into 'Pharisees', cultural shaping and impaired consciousness often sits atop the throne and becomes the judge of too many of our circumstances and behaviors, and it has to do with how we perceive and judge others!
In Isaiah 55: Isaiah wrote for God: Your ways are not my ways, your thoughts are not my thoughts, and that as high as the heavens are above the earth are God's way above our ways, and God's thoughts are above our thoughts.
When we rely upon God's loving intellect, if you will permit me to put it that way, we are essentially relying upon the one who we believe created everything that is material, out of what was non-material or that which did not exist before. Who better, would have the knowledge of a thing or a phenomenon? And who better knows how things, phenomena or people or causes work? It begs the question, what have you misinterpreted in the past or of late, because you relied upon human sight alone, that had serious consequences given your misinterpretation?
Peace & Grace,
Rev. C. Solomon
www.sealofabraham.blogspot.com
Did God say...that's Good? Is Human 20/20 vision, accurate vision, or at best is it still onto partial vision? to be continued...What Occurs When Our Eyes Are Opened?
Many of us still walk around, as if our very eyelids were closed! Some
prefer it that way - those individuals hope to screen out all that is
even and undesirable unto them. However, God eyes are every where
beholding both the good and the evil!
Jan 19, 2008
'Ameristan Pakistan' - The Rev's 1/18/08 Reply To The Post
Americans have always been tough on crime-
particularly our government and the majority culture! Well there is one exception, neither group has been as vigilant at pursuing the crimes that they commit against other people, nationalities or nations!
How much time did Lt. Calley actually serve 'in the barracks' for the crimes that he once committed against the people of My Lai, or Oliver North for the criminal behavior that he engaged in downstairs in the White House? Sorry, the Rev caught himself just before writing 'Whore House'!
Unfortunately, this less than amusing double-standard has been lost on the greater society, and it has persisted since the inception of this nation - we are neither purists nor noble in these matters, except in our own eyes!
And as I understand it, no one in prison or on death row believes that he or she is guilty of a crime and neither do we as a nation believe that we have done anything wrong overseas!
The same Americans who will police other nations, will suddenly hide their heads in the sand when it comes to policing our own nation!
Isn't it wonderful that Ms. Bhutto's death conveniently took the onus off of the killings being committed, and the ones that have been committed by our own -even when we know who dunnit?
If we could rid the whole world of crime given our own ambitious crimes that we often engage in - just so that we can eliminate the crimes of others in other nations or groups, then our nation would be the remaining criminal nation on earth!
Is our survival dependent upon our own government surreptiously going around the world and behaving like a rogue band of criminals?
Is that how we thrive as a nation? If so, 'the United States of Ameristan' is not any different than Pakistan,or any individuals who are hiding in the White Mountains of Pakistan!
Posted by: The Rev
Addenda: Is there any wonder that some individuals in America do not take the law very seriously, where are their role-models in Washington DC?
particularly our government and the majority culture! Well there is one exception, neither group has been as vigilant at pursuing the crimes that they commit against other people, nationalities or nations!
How much time did Lt. Calley actually serve 'in the barracks' for the crimes that he once committed against the people of My Lai, or Oliver North for the criminal behavior that he engaged in downstairs in the White House? Sorry, the Rev caught himself just before writing 'Whore House'!
Unfortunately, this less than amusing double-standard has been lost on the greater society, and it has persisted since the inception of this nation - we are neither purists nor noble in these matters, except in our own eyes!
And as I understand it, no one in prison or on death row believes that he or she is guilty of a crime and neither do we as a nation believe that we have done anything wrong overseas!
The same Americans who will police other nations, will suddenly hide their heads in the sand when it comes to policing our own nation!
Isn't it wonderful that Ms. Bhutto's death conveniently took the onus off of the killings being committed, and the ones that have been committed by our own -even when we know who dunnit?
If we could rid the whole world of crime given our own ambitious crimes that we often engage in - just so that we can eliminate the crimes of others in other nations or groups, then our nation would be the remaining criminal nation on earth!
Is our survival dependent upon our own government surreptiously going around the world and behaving like a rogue band of criminals?
Is that how we thrive as a nation? If so, 'the United States of Ameristan' is not any different than Pakistan,or any individuals who are hiding in the White Mountains of Pakistan!
Posted by: The Rev
Addenda: Is there any wonder that some individuals in America do not take the law very seriously, where are their role-models in Washington DC?
Jan 17, 2008
The Rev's Reply in the Washington Post to 'An American Solider'
An American Soldier wrote:
I would just like to point out, that every other major country in the world believed, as our Commander-in-chief did, that Hussein had WMD...!
The Rev Replied to an American Soldier
All due respect to An American Solider, but there are gaping holes in his or her's specious argument. Number one, can you provide us with your definition of 'a major country'? Your explanation would likely help us to settle the matter of your conjecture rather quickly.
Your definition would be interesting to read, given that those nations who did not believe that Iraq had WMDS, more than likely did not make your major nations list! And for that and other reasons your specious argument in defense of the President's policies and actions, would be essentially DOA!
Besides, most nations of the world are aware that the U.S.A. has actual weapons of mass destruction - weapons which we have used before. And, those nations have not attacked America in spite of the fact that we have used them before, and threatened (MAD) to use them again for example!
If the nations of the world were to follow the irrational logic of the Bush Administration, they would apparently be within their right to act-in-kind, ignore sobriety and the UN, and attack the USA under a conjured pretext!
On the other hand those nations who 'suspected' that Iraq had WMDs were willing, before having their arms twisted by the USA to permit the unbiased weapons inspectors to do their jobs. In America we use to refer to that as allowing the process to work!
The 'Commander-in-Chief' of the USA clearly did not want the whole truth to be revealed, therefore he was unwilling - the cowboy from Texas that he is - to permit the organization of nations to handle the matter, or for the IAEA to finish doing its job.
A lot of innocent people died 'on death row' when he was the Governor of Texas, and a lot of other innocent people have died since he became the President of the United States and apparently the world. The vision of Saddam's assassination will forever be associated with the name of George Bush 'the assassin'!
One could argue that he was elected President by some simply to be the the hired assassin that he has proven over and over to be! He certainly was not drafted and made President by some in the Republican Party because he was smart!
Bush and his administrative gang achieved what they wanted in the final analysis, and pushed the weapons inspectors out of Iraq, took over Iraq (Babylon) and placed their own convenient spin on the Iraqi armaments and weapons matter.
Criticize as you might, however, the UN and the community of nations would not have made the blunders that our nation has made - in the ME and elsewhere. And as a result of our actions, the world is more dangerous as a result of this Administration's capriciousness!
Now every 'tin horn' sheriff, dictator or individual in the world will likely, in reaction to the behavior of the United States Government simply go ahead and embark upon or enforce their own form of prairie justice!
Mr. Bush was going to attack Iraq, and likely Iran if they did not comply during his tenure in office. The 9/11 attackers gave him the cover/pretext that he needed in order to move forward with his preconceived plot.
Tacking on the WMD issue while Americans were crippled with fear, I have to give it him - was brilliant! Your loyalty to the President is to be commended; your assessment of the facts, on the other hand leaves much to be desired!
And finally: Mr. Bush and his Administration's woeful policies and tactics of pre-emption, not to mention their disrespect for decency and the law, will not only impact the present - but the remainder of human history.
The question is who be the beneficiaries (that's ebonics), positive or negative, of these present acts of the U.S. Government?
Peace & Grace ... I hope so!
Reverend C. Solomon
I would just like to point out, that every other major country in the world believed, as our Commander-in-chief did, that Hussein had WMD...!
The Rev Replied to an American Soldier
All due respect to An American Solider, but there are gaping holes in his or her's specious argument. Number one, can you provide us with your definition of 'a major country'? Your explanation would likely help us to settle the matter of your conjecture rather quickly.
Your definition would be interesting to read, given that those nations who did not believe that Iraq had WMDS, more than likely did not make your major nations list! And for that and other reasons your specious argument in defense of the President's policies and actions, would be essentially DOA!
Besides, most nations of the world are aware that the U.S.A. has actual weapons of mass destruction - weapons which we have used before. And, those nations have not attacked America in spite of the fact that we have used them before, and threatened (MAD) to use them again for example!
If the nations of the world were to follow the irrational logic of the Bush Administration, they would apparently be within their right to act-in-kind, ignore sobriety and the UN, and attack the USA under a conjured pretext!
On the other hand those nations who 'suspected' that Iraq had WMDs were willing, before having their arms twisted by the USA to permit the unbiased weapons inspectors to do their jobs. In America we use to refer to that as allowing the process to work!
The 'Commander-in-Chief' of the USA clearly did not want the whole truth to be revealed, therefore he was unwilling - the cowboy from Texas that he is - to permit the organization of nations to handle the matter, or for the IAEA to finish doing its job.
A lot of innocent people died 'on death row' when he was the Governor of Texas, and a lot of other innocent people have died since he became the President of the United States and apparently the world. The vision of Saddam's assassination will forever be associated with the name of George Bush 'the assassin'!
One could argue that he was elected President by some simply to be the the hired assassin that he has proven over and over to be! He certainly was not drafted and made President by some in the Republican Party because he was smart!
Bush and his administrative gang achieved what they wanted in the final analysis, and pushed the weapons inspectors out of Iraq, took over Iraq (Babylon) and placed their own convenient spin on the Iraqi armaments and weapons matter.
Criticize as you might, however, the UN and the community of nations would not have made the blunders that our nation has made - in the ME and elsewhere. And as a result of our actions, the world is more dangerous as a result of this Administration's capriciousness!
Now every 'tin horn' sheriff, dictator or individual in the world will likely, in reaction to the behavior of the United States Government simply go ahead and embark upon or enforce their own form of prairie justice!
Mr. Bush was going to attack Iraq, and likely Iran if they did not comply during his tenure in office. The 9/11 attackers gave him the cover/pretext that he needed in order to move forward with his preconceived plot.
Tacking on the WMD issue while Americans were crippled with fear, I have to give it him - was brilliant! Your loyalty to the President is to be commended; your assessment of the facts, on the other hand leaves much to be desired!
And finally: Mr. Bush and his Administration's woeful policies and tactics of pre-emption, not to mention their disrespect for decency and the law, will not only impact the present - but the remainder of human history.
The question is who be the beneficiaries (that's ebonics), positive or negative, of these present acts of the U.S. Government?
Peace & Grace ... I hope so!
Reverend C. Solomon
'NHI': An American Black Criminal Justice System - My Response to the Faith in Action Blog
I wrote in response to the senseless and cold-blooded murder of Zechariah I. Hallback, an 18 years old activist and member of the NAACP earlier this week in Baltimore MD:
Eventually the black community will have to come together and organize its own national police force, community courts and vigilante groups, and provide more economic opportunities for its own community members if not the larger society. Why?
It is the only way, as I see it, that we are going to solve the problem of crime within our indigenous communities, by solving the problem first within our collective psyches. As a community, we understandably often fail to trust the duplicitous and frequently racist government criminal justice agencies, whose perambulations are often based on race, or the color of one's skin.
And we often feel empathy for these poor victims who were raised in single-family households or poverty-stricken areas.
Some years ago some members of the [actual] LAPD were known to use the acronym 'NHI', upon approaching crime scenes where blacks were involved. NHI stands for 'no humans involved'. All of us have witnessed the treatment of blacks in the media, when the LAPD (LA in this context stands for Lower Alabama) happened upon purportedly 'non-human' blacks!
Having our own trustworthy criminal justice system with agencies that our citizens can trust and will respond to; and knowing that we have created economic opportunities for everyone, should liberate us from our own schizophrenia, and guilt about punishing black criminals. Besides, let's face it - some of our black criminals are not poor by any stretch!
Afterwards, we can without any guilt, go after the bad elements in our communities, who are wealthy and those who might be underemployed, or those who would have been denied access to the unequal opportunity structures of the nation at large - just as many of us in the larger community have experienced at one time or another during our lifetimes.
The community can then be assured that our agencies have detained and taken certain individuals off of the streets - and members of the community can feel free to turn them in, not because they are black, but simply because they are criminals. And the latter can be assured that the criminals will receive fair trial and equal treatment under the law and in prison!
My deepest regards to the surviving family-members of this modern-day martyr!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
Addenda: Some years ago, at an intimate sit-down meeting at the National Headquarters of the N.A.A.C.P. in Baltimore, I was amazed that their were armed policemen guarding the entrance, and who surveilled the grounds of the N.A.A.C.P. Headquarters. Having learned in the meeting about the volumes of hate-mail that cripples the email systems at the N.A.A.C.P. headquarters almost daily, I overlooked the need for security against our own black criminals in our own black community. In the spirit of Dr. King's life and birthday, we need to consider some viable solutions that will address the problems that persist within our own communities.
My solution might seem radical to some, the one that I mentioned above, but how long will we tolerate the Rosa Park's, Malik El Shabazzes, Martin Luther King, our grandparents, daughters and cousins being the victims of criminal behavior? Which one of our relatives or even which one of us will be next? Why don't we trust the government operated criminal justice system or those Americans who claim to be hard on crime? The reason is because that system has always had a double-standard, and those who claimed and still claim, today, to be hard on crime - were and are hard on any crime other than their own crimes against other humanity - particularly black humanity!
Within the collective conscience of the black community, we have been conditioned to tolerate crime, the pimps, the drug-dealers in our communities, given the racial astigmatism that continues to impair our collective vision. We have traded whites doing us wrong, for blacks who are doing us wrong - we fought the white criminals, now we have to fight back against and overcome the blacks ones who live among us!
In Baltimore several years ago, a black family stood alone and turned in the drug dealers in their neighborhood. The drug dealers, early one morning, burned-alive the woman who turned them in, along with her family-members in their encased concrete ghetto residence! It should never happen again, and it wouldn't have happened at all if all of us would have been involved and gone after the bad guys before they could have committed this horrific act!
Eventually the black community will have to come together and organize its own national police force, community courts and vigilante groups, and provide more economic opportunities for its own community members if not the larger society. Why?
It is the only way, as I see it, that we are going to solve the problem of crime within our indigenous communities, by solving the problem first within our collective psyches. As a community, we understandably often fail to trust the duplicitous and frequently racist government criminal justice agencies, whose perambulations are often based on race, or the color of one's skin.
And we often feel empathy for these poor victims who were raised in single-family households or poverty-stricken areas.
Some years ago some members of the [actual] LAPD were known to use the acronym 'NHI', upon approaching crime scenes where blacks were involved. NHI stands for 'no humans involved'. All of us have witnessed the treatment of blacks in the media, when the LAPD (LA in this context stands for Lower Alabama) happened upon purportedly 'non-human' blacks!
Having our own trustworthy criminal justice system with agencies that our citizens can trust and will respond to; and knowing that we have created economic opportunities for everyone, should liberate us from our own schizophrenia, and guilt about punishing black criminals. Besides, let's face it - some of our black criminals are not poor by any stretch!
Afterwards, we can without any guilt, go after the bad elements in our communities, who are wealthy and those who might be underemployed, or those who would have been denied access to the unequal opportunity structures of the nation at large - just as many of us in the larger community have experienced at one time or another during our lifetimes.
The community can then be assured that our agencies have detained and taken certain individuals off of the streets - and members of the community can feel free to turn them in, not because they are black, but simply because they are criminals. And the latter can be assured that the criminals will receive fair trial and equal treatment under the law and in prison!
My deepest regards to the surviving family-members of this modern-day martyr!
Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon
Addenda: Some years ago, at an intimate sit-down meeting at the National Headquarters of the N.A.A.C.P. in Baltimore, I was amazed that their were armed policemen guarding the entrance, and who surveilled the grounds of the N.A.A.C.P. Headquarters. Having learned in the meeting about the volumes of hate-mail that cripples the email systems at the N.A.A.C.P. headquarters almost daily, I overlooked the need for security against our own black criminals in our own black community. In the spirit of Dr. King's life and birthday, we need to consider some viable solutions that will address the problems that persist within our own communities.
My solution might seem radical to some, the one that I mentioned above, but how long will we tolerate the Rosa Park's, Malik El Shabazzes, Martin Luther King, our grandparents, daughters and cousins being the victims of criminal behavior? Which one of our relatives or even which one of us will be next? Why don't we trust the government operated criminal justice system or those Americans who claim to be hard on crime? The reason is because that system has always had a double-standard, and those who claimed and still claim, today, to be hard on crime - were and are hard on any crime other than their own crimes against other humanity - particularly black humanity!
Within the collective conscience of the black community, we have been conditioned to tolerate crime, the pimps, the drug-dealers in our communities, given the racial astigmatism that continues to impair our collective vision. We have traded whites doing us wrong, for blacks who are doing us wrong - we fought the white criminals, now we have to fight back against and overcome the blacks ones who live among us!
In Baltimore several years ago, a black family stood alone and turned in the drug dealers in their neighborhood. The drug dealers, early one morning, burned-alive the woman who turned them in, along with her family-members in their encased concrete ghetto residence! It should never happen again, and it wouldn't have happened at all if all of us would have been involved and gone after the bad guys before they could have committed this horrific act!
Jan 15, 2008
The Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration @ Stanford University
My Poem: Have you noticed lately, that many of the civil rights workers (3 in the King family alone), have recently slipped away? Now, who will carry the torch for us today? Each one of us must pick up and carry the torch for justice and freedom ourselves!
By Rev. C. Solomon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The nation as well as most individuals will celebrate Dr. King's birthday on Monday January 21, 2008.
However, I would like to commend Professor Clayborne Carson, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute and Stanford University for the excellent program that ensued earlier today, January 15, 2008, in honor of Dr. King's birthday.
It was entitled:
2008 King Birthday Celebration, and it was held at the gorgeous Arrillaga Alumni Center on the campus of Stanford University.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was reminded yesterday, that today was MLK's birthday and that a special celebration would be taking place at my old haunt Stanford. I was able, tonight, to celebrate Dr. King's birthday along with old friends and comrades.
It seemed like yesterday when members of the Executive Board of Afro-American Staff and Faculty at Stanford, comprised of of our President, Dr. Judith Little; the indomitable Mr. Henry Organ aka Hank; the erudite professor and accomplished musician Dr. Michael Britt; former college roommate and friend of the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Harold Boyd; and yours truly Rev. C. Solomon who rounded out the Board, met with Mr. Clayborne Carson for introductory and debriefing purposes, in an intimate setting on the Stanford campus.
It was at that time that Coretta Scott King and the King Center appointed Prof. Carson to edit the King Papers. He explained how he planned to go about his task, and when the world could expect editions of the papers and volumes of the MLK Encyclopedia to be released.
At Stanford this evening I felt as if I had not missed a beat, albeit I spent the past 7 years mostly in the Washington DC-metro region. Not only was Clayborne one of the first individuals that I got to see and talk with about old times, there were other special guests from Los Angeles and other places in California.
Also present was special guest, Clarence Jones, Attorney and speech-writer for the late civil rights leader, Dr. King, and he is now a scholar in residence at Stanford. Dr. Jones and I met and spoke to each other several times during the evening, he was surprised that I knew that Rev. Billy Graham turned down the invitation to speak along with Dr. MLK at the 1963 March on Washington. We discussed the ramifications of Billy's decision and how it impacted the civil rights workers and Dr. King when he was still alive - and hindered the nation from healing its racial strife, to the extent that it has, sooner than it did.
I also had the opportunity, previously, to question, former Washington Delegate Walter Fauntroy, U.S. Representative Lewis and Reverend Joseph of the SCLC regarding the same subject, on separate occasions over the past few years in Washington DC. Representative Fauntroy confirmed that not only was Dr. King devastated, the rest of the civil rights workers were in dismay given Dr. Graham's behavior - they were hurt, but not surprised.
Reverend Fauntroy, still a pastor on 13th street in Washington added, don't forget that a lot of black ministers and black religious organizations also distanced themselves from Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.
On a personal note, former Stanford colleague and friend, Harold Boyd, would frequently keep us abreast of what his former college roommate, the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy was doing when he was still alive and later became head of SCLC.
I could go on and on name-dropping, however, I won't; however, suffice it say that this affair was attended by some rather substantial individuals from around the world. The excitement of being back in my element, enjoying an excellent reception and an evening spent with old friends and individuals, even special guests who flew over from Bejing China to participate in this evening's affair; not to mention all of the individuals who drove up from Los Angeles (400 miles) and elsewhere caused me to ask God the question again, are we doing enough given this man's sacrifice?
I am still excited about being back home after a 7 year hiatus as I have been sharing with some of my relatives back in my birth state of Ohio, and I simply wanted to share my excitement with you given this evening's affair. Harold was shocked to learn that I had been in DC over the past years, and that I worshipped with former delegate Walter Fauntroy in DC, just over a year ago. Harold was especially surprised because he and his wife stayed out in DC for a minute, visited Fauntroy's church and considered staying in DC and joining his church.
I told him about my discussions with Reverend Fauntroy and his wife at his church (I have also talked with former Washington Delegate Fauntroy on Washington DC radio), as well as sat in on conferences that he also attended with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the hill. And for some reason before meeting me personally, Rev. Fauntroy selected me out of a whole congregation, when I first visited his church to stand up, spontaneously, and have words. Ah, I knew why it happened - God let me know when I was young that that I would follow in the footsteps of Dr. King, and later he showed me that I would also be like the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
And for those of you who criticize our black leaders, I simply ask you this: If the government appointees, presidents, elected officials and other leaders over the past 231 years of American history had done the jobs that they took an oath - and vowed to do, would we have had need of a Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sojourner Truth, Mary McLeod-Bethune, Dorothy Height or others to do their jobs for them in the first place?
These people are not at fault, and they are not the one's who should be constantly criticized or blamed for the failure of the citizens of this nation and its leadership, to rise up and live out the meaning of this nation's creeds, not to mention the Christian creed. I have nothing but praise for all of the men and women, black or white, who made personal sacrifices and tried to make a difference in this land of ours, as well as in the world!
The fact of the matter is, if you want to question or blame anyone for the poor racial relations that have persisted in this nation for nearly 400 years, question or blame all of those individuals (all the way back to George Washington and before if you could), and ask them how come you were derelict in your duties and failed to honor your oaths and vows - in fact, one might ask them, if it were possible, where was your personal integrity and honor? In fact some of the critics, some of you, should ask yourself, what have I done besides criticize those who tried to help to implement change?
I have never heard a critic of the civil rights workers or leaders (many of whom have never done anything to help anybody), even the ones who have made mistakes (just as all of us have made), ever criticize those men and women who were paid to do a job, which they failed to do, and as a result - a job that had to be done by someone else. And the ones who did their jobs for them were individuals who often lacked any real resources, still they did the best that they could given the circumstances, Harriet Tubman comes to mind.
Other men and women even sacrificed their lives given the failures of appointed leaders, presidents, supreme court justices and other members of the judiciary, governors, marshalls, policemen and even preachers to do what they were supposed to do! Harold embraced me and said, God is truly getting you ready for something. I'm excited, because I simply want to do God's work, and I want to do the work that I was put in this world to do. Clearly the preparation has been immense and mind boggling. And although Satan's minions recently tried to destroy me in another venue, God helped me and I am still here fighting the good fight!
If I can just walk in the footsteps of the men and women who fought for social justice, the same individuals, mostly religious, who recognized both the social and the spiritual dimensions of Christ's ministry, I will be pleased with the life that I have led and the footsteps of those individuals who I have gladly followed.
In 1983, when I was a delegate to the United Neighborhood Centers of America Conference, held in Washington DC, I was chosen by my peers from around the nation, after several days of caucusing and preparing our platform, to speak before and meet with individual members of Congress. Another black delegate, during one of our receptions raised a question to the dismay of all of us who could hear him. We were at a black-tie reception at the Shoreham Hotel, when he asked, "can anyone tell me anything that Dr. King ever did"? He went on to say, "I don't see anything that he ever did"!
For those of you who did not care for the original movie, Barbershop and outspoken and obstreperous characters like the one played by Cedric the Entertainer, people like that really do exist! Remember, not only had we spent a [portion of the week preparing to speak before members of Congress, we spent several days meeting personally with the offices of men like the late Congressman and head of the Congressional Black Caucus Parren Mitchell, former member of the Freedom Riders whose bus was shot in and torched on one occasion - and others.
I should not fail to mention my one-on-one meeting with former co-sponser of the famous Humphrey-Hawkins Jobs bill, Representative Augustus Hawkins of California, and other Congressmen in private sessions. I was flattered by the attention that I received when Congressman Hawkins personally sent for me, took me aside and spent personal time with me to the dismay of some of my peers, who wanted to know what we discussed. He took out personal time to compliment me for my speech, and to tell, a young minister, more about the in's and out's of Washington DC.
He also told me how I could, along with others back home at the grass roots level help him and others in Congress to be successful. I was also flattered during that trip by Rep. John Seiberling who after listening to my speech, donned me 'the Heavyweight', at one of our private Hearing room sessions at Rayburn with the members of our local delegation that traveled to Washington DC.
When I reflect on this occasion, one of many occasions that I have spent working with members of Congress and attending Congressional and District of Columbia sessions and hearings, not to forget working along with an organizations like DC Vote, I am reminded of my personal visit and meeting with members of the NAACP at its national headquarters in Baltimore Maryland.
In a sit down meeting of about 6 of us, individual staffmembers explained how the NAACP email system was being impaired on a daily basis given the volume of hate mail that they receive each and every day at the NAACP. And having said all of this, being present to see Nelson Mandela who praised Dr. Martin Luther King when he visited Oakland years ago, and here standing in the nation's capitol was a black man who uttered what seemed like such foolish venom!
Ironically, around the year 1993, a white employee at Stanford augured that Dr. King, in his estimation, was nothing but a troublemaker. His words much like the Rev. Billy Graham's and the later repentant governor of Alabama George Wallace, sounded similar to Dr. Graham who by his own admission, refused in 1963 to stand on the podium and tell the nation that 'racism' was wrong. I heard his repentant confession on the radio. How could Dr. Graham a man of God have been so confused?
Well in fairness, the Apostle Peter didn't eat any unclean things, and the prophet Jeremiah seemed to have a problem with the skin color of the Ethiopian - and ironically, it was an Ethiopian who pulled him out of his dungeon!
Dr. Graham viewed Dr. King and the civil rights movement and its leaders as 'the trouble-makers' at the time! It kind of reminds you of all of the people who felt that Jesus Christ was a trouble-maker in his day, the same individuals who preferred to have a murderer and killer/seditionist released, as opposed to someone who simply sought to save lives!
Having said that, can you envision what it would have done for this nation, Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Billy Graham standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and preaching together - saying to the citizens of the United States that the racist practices of the individual citizens, its varied institutions and its governments must stop? Unfortunately, we will never get to see that take place!
We have come a long way as a nation, however, we have a long way to go. And this man, father, minister and activist would like to express loud and clear the deepness of the debt that this nation and likely the world owes to Dr. King, his family and the civil rights movement. The surviving family members should be paid from the national treasury for their service and the contribution that their parents made, given that their parents did the job that other government officials failed to do and yet they were paid for - doing nothing, except fomenting hatred and bigotry themselves!
I was in the audience at the Paramount Theater in Oakland California, when at the beginning of the current millenia, that elegant lady Coretta Scott King was the headliner for the evening's program. I was fortunate to sit in, I believe, the 3rd row where I could get a birds eye view of Mrs. King who immediately exited, probably for security reasons, at the conclusion of her speech. Angela Davis and others also spoke that evening.
The thrill of being there so near to greatness is hard to express - however, I know that if each one of us would simply do what Dr. King, his wife and his accomplices have done already - the world would be a better place! Coretta reminded all of us that she worked in the civil rights movement longer than her deceased husband did. And how much time are we putting in and what are we doing ourselves about civil rights and social justice issues today?
Again, thank you Clayborne Carson and the MLK Research & Education Institute and most of all, Dr. Martin Luther King for your life and sacrifice so that all of us could have what you folks both dreamed, sacrificed and worked for us to attain - that many others did and still do not want us to have, freedom!
Rev. C. Solomon
Pastor, Minister & Long-Time Social Activist
Addendum:
And for those of you who are asking, will they ever stop talking about that indomitable and torrid period in American history? A Jewish gentleman said it best, why do Americans keep asking black Americans to forget their torrid experience in America, when you never ask us to forget ours in Nazi Germany and the rest of the world? This gentleman went on to say on a televised program that most Americans celebrate Jewish history, lament the holocaust and even visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington in order to commiserate with the Jews.
He asked again, why is that you keep asking black Americans to just forget about what they suffered [given their holocaust in America]? Many Americans cannot countenance the fact that Nazi America wasn't any different for blacks than Nazi Germany was for the Jews, whereas blacks in America were also recipients of hatred by the American Aryan brotherhood aka the American government and too many of its white citizens - not all of them fortunately; nonetheless, America has been our Nazi Germany and our Auschwitz!
And what was so ironic about it, black troops were sent to theaters around the world to fight against Aryanism, when the same conditions awaited them once they returned back home - the same conditions that they were sent away to fight against! Now is that Aryan schizophrenia or what? Having said that, I could never understand the schizophrenia of the KKK, a group who lambasted the Jews, but the same KKK that embraced a Jewish Jesus. How many black matrons nursed their children? Strom Thurmond, can you hear me? Nutty or what?
The black American holocaust persisted over a period of centuries in Nazi America, it won't simply go away because some individuals try to turn the tables and blame us for the problem, or because they cannot countenance the fact that they were the purveyors of racial injustice just like those of Hitler Germany and the Aryans! Who practiced eugenics on us I ask?
Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland California said it best in one of the CBC meetings, why don't we just call it what it is, White Supremacy - for this thing is bigger than racism. I am often accused of being angry by my friends, which is a non-sequitur because anger is not always a bad thing -read the Bible. Even my Jewish friends have intimated, on occasions, the same; still those same individuals never associate the word anger with their remembrances or depictions of their experiences or their ancestors plight when they recall, rehearse or get together in order to lament their experiences or those of their ancestors. The Rev is simply keeping the record straight.
Some Americans still won't address the problem or talk about it, they simply blame the recipients of a problem; a problem that they did not create - the evils that were brought about and sustained as a result of the attitudes and beliefs of 'our critics', and purveyors of evil, many of of their predecessors, ancestors and parents! Many of our critics support the Jewish Holocaust survivors financially and by other deeds. And many in this group of Americans answered 'yes' before; when the nation considered whether or not reparations should be paid to the Japanese people who were also interred in prison camps during WWII.
The Jews were told, apparently by God, to accept reparations prior to leaving their 4-centuries of bondage in Egypt. However, whenever blacks mention reparations...? How dare anyone millitate against, or attempt to mitigate our experience - I'm not having it!
Hopefully, when the King Memorial is completed and someday opened to the public, some of the critics of Dr. King won't deface it! I was blessed to be at the ground-breaking ceremonies of the MLK Memorial in Washington DC which is strategically situated in between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, last year as Rev. Andrew Young, being supported by the Rev. Jesse Jackson broke down into inconsolable tears when the shovels broke ground!
The first edition of the King Encyclopedia will be available in stores this month!
By Rev. C. Solomon
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The nation as well as most individuals will celebrate Dr. King's birthday on Monday January 21, 2008.
However, I would like to commend Professor Clayborne Carson, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute and Stanford University for the excellent program that ensued earlier today, January 15, 2008, in honor of Dr. King's birthday.
It was entitled:
2008 King Birthday Celebration, and it was held at the gorgeous Arrillaga Alumni Center on the campus of Stanford University.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was reminded yesterday, that today was MLK's birthday and that a special celebration would be taking place at my old haunt Stanford. I was able, tonight, to celebrate Dr. King's birthday along with old friends and comrades.
It seemed like yesterday when members of the Executive Board of Afro-American Staff and Faculty at Stanford, comprised of of our President, Dr. Judith Little; the indomitable Mr. Henry Organ aka Hank; the erudite professor and accomplished musician Dr. Michael Britt; former college roommate and friend of the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy, Harold Boyd; and yours truly Rev. C. Solomon who rounded out the Board, met with Mr. Clayborne Carson for introductory and debriefing purposes, in an intimate setting on the Stanford campus.
It was at that time that Coretta Scott King and the King Center appointed Prof. Carson to edit the King Papers. He explained how he planned to go about his task, and when the world could expect editions of the papers and volumes of the MLK Encyclopedia to be released.
At Stanford this evening I felt as if I had not missed a beat, albeit I spent the past 7 years mostly in the Washington DC-metro region. Not only was Clayborne one of the first individuals that I got to see and talk with about old times, there were other special guests from Los Angeles and other places in California.
Also present was special guest, Clarence Jones, Attorney and speech-writer for the late civil rights leader, Dr. King, and he is now a scholar in residence at Stanford. Dr. Jones and I met and spoke to each other several times during the evening, he was surprised that I knew that Rev. Billy Graham turned down the invitation to speak along with Dr. MLK at the 1963 March on Washington. We discussed the ramifications of Billy's decision and how it impacted the civil rights workers and Dr. King when he was still alive - and hindered the nation from healing its racial strife, to the extent that it has, sooner than it did.
I also had the opportunity, previously, to question, former Washington Delegate Walter Fauntroy, U.S. Representative Lewis and Reverend Joseph of the SCLC regarding the same subject, on separate occasions over the past few years in Washington DC. Representative Fauntroy confirmed that not only was Dr. King devastated, the rest of the civil rights workers were in dismay given Dr. Graham's behavior - they were hurt, but not surprised.
Reverend Fauntroy, still a pastor on 13th street in Washington added, don't forget that a lot of black ministers and black religious organizations also distanced themselves from Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement.
On a personal note, former Stanford colleague and friend, Harold Boyd, would frequently keep us abreast of what his former college roommate, the late Dr. Ralph Abernathy was doing when he was still alive and later became head of SCLC.
I could go on and on name-dropping, however, I won't; however, suffice it say that this affair was attended by some rather substantial individuals from around the world. The excitement of being back in my element, enjoying an excellent reception and an evening spent with old friends and individuals, even special guests who flew over from Bejing China to participate in this evening's affair; not to mention all of the individuals who drove up from Los Angeles (400 miles) and elsewhere caused me to ask God the question again, are we doing enough given this man's sacrifice?
I am still excited about being back home after a 7 year hiatus as I have been sharing with some of my relatives back in my birth state of Ohio, and I simply wanted to share my excitement with you given this evening's affair. Harold was shocked to learn that I had been in DC over the past years, and that I worshipped with former delegate Walter Fauntroy in DC, just over a year ago. Harold was especially surprised because he and his wife stayed out in DC for a minute, visited Fauntroy's church and considered staying in DC and joining his church.
I told him about my discussions with Reverend Fauntroy and his wife at his church (I have also talked with former Washington Delegate Fauntroy on Washington DC radio), as well as sat in on conferences that he also attended with members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the hill. And for some reason before meeting me personally, Rev. Fauntroy selected me out of a whole congregation, when I first visited his church to stand up, spontaneously, and have words. Ah, I knew why it happened - God let me know when I was young that that I would follow in the footsteps of Dr. King, and later he showed me that I would also be like the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
And for those of you who criticize our black leaders, I simply ask you this: If the government appointees, presidents, elected officials and other leaders over the past 231 years of American history had done the jobs that they took an oath - and vowed to do, would we have had need of a Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sojourner Truth, Mary McLeod-Bethune, Dorothy Height or others to do their jobs for them in the first place?
These people are not at fault, and they are not the one's who should be constantly criticized or blamed for the failure of the citizens of this nation and its leadership, to rise up and live out the meaning of this nation's creeds, not to mention the Christian creed. I have nothing but praise for all of the men and women, black or white, who made personal sacrifices and tried to make a difference in this land of ours, as well as in the world!
The fact of the matter is, if you want to question or blame anyone for the poor racial relations that have persisted in this nation for nearly 400 years, question or blame all of those individuals (all the way back to George Washington and before if you could), and ask them how come you were derelict in your duties and failed to honor your oaths and vows - in fact, one might ask them, if it were possible, where was your personal integrity and honor? In fact some of the critics, some of you, should ask yourself, what have I done besides criticize those who tried to help to implement change?
I have never heard a critic of the civil rights workers or leaders (many of whom have never done anything to help anybody), even the ones who have made mistakes (just as all of us have made), ever criticize those men and women who were paid to do a job, which they failed to do, and as a result - a job that had to be done by someone else. And the ones who did their jobs for them were individuals who often lacked any real resources, still they did the best that they could given the circumstances, Harriet Tubman comes to mind.
Other men and women even sacrificed their lives given the failures of appointed leaders, presidents, supreme court justices and other members of the judiciary, governors, marshalls, policemen and even preachers to do what they were supposed to do! Harold embraced me and said, God is truly getting you ready for something. I'm excited, because I simply want to do God's work, and I want to do the work that I was put in this world to do. Clearly the preparation has been immense and mind boggling. And although Satan's minions recently tried to destroy me in another venue, God helped me and I am still here fighting the good fight!
If I can just walk in the footsteps of the men and women who fought for social justice, the same individuals, mostly religious, who recognized both the social and the spiritual dimensions of Christ's ministry, I will be pleased with the life that I have led and the footsteps of those individuals who I have gladly followed.
In 1983, when I was a delegate to the United Neighborhood Centers of America Conference, held in Washington DC, I was chosen by my peers from around the nation, after several days of caucusing and preparing our platform, to speak before and meet with individual members of Congress. Another black delegate, during one of our receptions raised a question to the dismay of all of us who could hear him. We were at a black-tie reception at the Shoreham Hotel, when he asked, "can anyone tell me anything that Dr. King ever did"? He went on to say, "I don't see anything that he ever did"!
For those of you who did not care for the original movie, Barbershop and outspoken and obstreperous characters like the one played by Cedric the Entertainer, people like that really do exist! Remember, not only had we spent a [portion of the week preparing to speak before members of Congress, we spent several days meeting personally with the offices of men like the late Congressman and head of the Congressional Black Caucus Parren Mitchell, former member of the Freedom Riders whose bus was shot in and torched on one occasion - and others.
I should not fail to mention my one-on-one meeting with former co-sponser of the famous Humphrey-Hawkins Jobs bill, Representative Augustus Hawkins of California, and other Congressmen in private sessions. I was flattered by the attention that I received when Congressman Hawkins personally sent for me, took me aside and spent personal time with me to the dismay of some of my peers, who wanted to know what we discussed. He took out personal time to compliment me for my speech, and to tell, a young minister, more about the in's and out's of Washington DC.
He also told me how I could, along with others back home at the grass roots level help him and others in Congress to be successful. I was also flattered during that trip by Rep. John Seiberling who after listening to my speech, donned me 'the Heavyweight', at one of our private Hearing room sessions at Rayburn with the members of our local delegation that traveled to Washington DC.
When I reflect on this occasion, one of many occasions that I have spent working with members of Congress and attending Congressional and District of Columbia sessions and hearings, not to forget working along with an organizations like DC Vote, I am reminded of my personal visit and meeting with members of the NAACP at its national headquarters in Baltimore Maryland.
In a sit down meeting of about 6 of us, individual staffmembers explained how the NAACP email system was being impaired on a daily basis given the volume of hate mail that they receive each and every day at the NAACP. And having said all of this, being present to see Nelson Mandela who praised Dr. Martin Luther King when he visited Oakland years ago, and here standing in the nation's capitol was a black man who uttered what seemed like such foolish venom!
Ironically, around the year 1993, a white employee at Stanford augured that Dr. King, in his estimation, was nothing but a troublemaker. His words much like the Rev. Billy Graham's and the later repentant governor of Alabama George Wallace, sounded similar to Dr. Graham who by his own admission, refused in 1963 to stand on the podium and tell the nation that 'racism' was wrong. I heard his repentant confession on the radio. How could Dr. Graham a man of God have been so confused?
Well in fairness, the Apostle Peter didn't eat any unclean things, and the prophet Jeremiah seemed to have a problem with the skin color of the Ethiopian - and ironically, it was an Ethiopian who pulled him out of his dungeon!
Dr. Graham viewed Dr. King and the civil rights movement and its leaders as 'the trouble-makers' at the time! It kind of reminds you of all of the people who felt that Jesus Christ was a trouble-maker in his day, the same individuals who preferred to have a murderer and killer/seditionist released, as opposed to someone who simply sought to save lives!
Having said that, can you envision what it would have done for this nation, Dr. Martin Luther King and Dr. Billy Graham standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and preaching together - saying to the citizens of the United States that the racist practices of the individual citizens, its varied institutions and its governments must stop? Unfortunately, we will never get to see that take place!
We have come a long way as a nation, however, we have a long way to go. And this man, father, minister and activist would like to express loud and clear the deepness of the debt that this nation and likely the world owes to Dr. King, his family and the civil rights movement. The surviving family members should be paid from the national treasury for their service and the contribution that their parents made, given that their parents did the job that other government officials failed to do and yet they were paid for - doing nothing, except fomenting hatred and bigotry themselves!
I was in the audience at the Paramount Theater in Oakland California, when at the beginning of the current millenia, that elegant lady Coretta Scott King was the headliner for the evening's program. I was fortunate to sit in, I believe, the 3rd row where I could get a birds eye view of Mrs. King who immediately exited, probably for security reasons, at the conclusion of her speech. Angela Davis and others also spoke that evening.
The thrill of being there so near to greatness is hard to express - however, I know that if each one of us would simply do what Dr. King, his wife and his accomplices have done already - the world would be a better place! Coretta reminded all of us that she worked in the civil rights movement longer than her deceased husband did. And how much time are we putting in and what are we doing ourselves about civil rights and social justice issues today?
Again, thank you Clayborne Carson and the MLK Research & Education Institute and most of all, Dr. Martin Luther King for your life and sacrifice so that all of us could have what you folks both dreamed, sacrificed and worked for us to attain - that many others did and still do not want us to have, freedom!
Rev. C. Solomon
Pastor, Minister & Long-Time Social Activist
Addendum:
And for those of you who are asking, will they ever stop talking about that indomitable and torrid period in American history? A Jewish gentleman said it best, why do Americans keep asking black Americans to forget their torrid experience in America, when you never ask us to forget ours in Nazi Germany and the rest of the world? This gentleman went on to say on a televised program that most Americans celebrate Jewish history, lament the holocaust and even visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington in order to commiserate with the Jews.
He asked again, why is that you keep asking black Americans to just forget about what they suffered [given their holocaust in America]? Many Americans cannot countenance the fact that Nazi America wasn't any different for blacks than Nazi Germany was for the Jews, whereas blacks in America were also recipients of hatred by the American Aryan brotherhood aka the American government and too many of its white citizens - not all of them fortunately; nonetheless, America has been our Nazi Germany and our Auschwitz!
And what was so ironic about it, black troops were sent to theaters around the world to fight against Aryanism, when the same conditions awaited them once they returned back home - the same conditions that they were sent away to fight against! Now is that Aryan schizophrenia or what? Having said that, I could never understand the schizophrenia of the KKK, a group who lambasted the Jews, but the same KKK that embraced a Jewish Jesus. How many black matrons nursed their children? Strom Thurmond, can you hear me? Nutty or what?
The black American holocaust persisted over a period of centuries in Nazi America, it won't simply go away because some individuals try to turn the tables and blame us for the problem, or because they cannot countenance the fact that they were the purveyors of racial injustice just like those of Hitler Germany and the Aryans! Who practiced eugenics on us I ask?
Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland California said it best in one of the CBC meetings, why don't we just call it what it is, White Supremacy - for this thing is bigger than racism. I am often accused of being angry by my friends, which is a non-sequitur because anger is not always a bad thing -read the Bible. Even my Jewish friends have intimated, on occasions, the same; still those same individuals never associate the word anger with their remembrances or depictions of their experiences or their ancestors plight when they recall, rehearse or get together in order to lament their experiences or those of their ancestors. The Rev is simply keeping the record straight.
Some Americans still won't address the problem or talk about it, they simply blame the recipients of a problem; a problem that they did not create - the evils that were brought about and sustained as a result of the attitudes and beliefs of 'our critics', and purveyors of evil, many of of their predecessors, ancestors and parents! Many of our critics support the Jewish Holocaust survivors financially and by other deeds. And many in this group of Americans answered 'yes' before; when the nation considered whether or not reparations should be paid to the Japanese people who were also interred in prison camps during WWII.
The Jews were told, apparently by God, to accept reparations prior to leaving their 4-centuries of bondage in Egypt. However, whenever blacks mention reparations...? How dare anyone millitate against, or attempt to mitigate our experience - I'm not having it!
Hopefully, when the King Memorial is completed and someday opened to the public, some of the critics of Dr. King won't deface it! I was blessed to be at the ground-breaking ceremonies of the MLK Memorial in Washington DC which is strategically situated in between the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials, last year as Rev. Andrew Young, being supported by the Rev. Jesse Jackson broke down into inconsolable tears when the shovels broke ground!
The first edition of the King Encyclopedia will be available in stores this month!
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