Respect?

Watching the morning news with the report on North Korea testing a nuclear weapon, the reporter mentioned that the North Korean government said that now the rest of the world would have to give them the respect they deserved.

Well sorry North Korea, but repect is earned, not gained by threatening behaviour.

Maybe they are confusing the Oriental concept of "Face" with respect. Face is another form of pride, but respect is admiration and understanding. What North Korea are doing is a form of bullying. By saying "We can damage you if we don't get our way", they are trying to induce fear into the rest of the world. Any form of complience derived from fear is not respect, for rather than admire what North Korea represents, others will be filled with distrust and what North Korea thinks is respect will be fear induced loathing hidden behind a temporary appeasement. Is that really what they want? A false sense that the world accepts them as equals?

If North Korea really want to be respected then they should abandon this foolish path, direct their energies towards making their country a better place for their own people, show the world that they have matured and that they are morally and interlectually the equals of us all, and then they would be admired and respected.

But, unfortunately, that would mean relinquishing thier iron grip on power and stepping down from their dictatorial system of government. Not only would they lose their power over their people, but they would lose "face" as they would have to admit that the past 60 years have been a failure. In their minds it is better to demand "respect" with the barrel of a gun and to pretend that what they receive is admiration, respect and confirmation that they are right, when in reality the world only pays lip service and in private holds them in utter contempt.

Sad that a country that could offer the world so much, is so downtrodden by the self interest of the powerful few, that it will only produce more loathing and hatred and less of the "respect" they yearn for. Maybe the countries that have striven to support this regime for so long will now wake up and realise that instead of ensuring their own security, they have spawned a monster that threatens themselves as well as the rest of the world.

Let's pray that it is not too late for sense to prevail.

Is there honesty in religion today?

I ask this question because of the ongoing row about the recent speech by the Pope whilst on a visit to Germany. Not having heard this speech myself, I am reliant upon the reports in the press and so I will quote from the report on the BBC's website. It reads :

In his speech at Regensburg University on Tuesday, the German-born Pope quoted Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire.

Stressing that they were not his own words, he quoted the emperor saying: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

He also said that violence was "incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul".

What I have noticed is that there has been a widespread outpouring of anger and condemnation of the Pope from the Muslim world, not just from the ordinary people, but from the religous leaders of Islam. Along with this has come the usual rhetoric showing hatred to all of Christainity, and to the Western powers in general.

WHAT HAS NOT COME OUT OF THE MUSLIM WORLD IS A REASONED RESPONSE TO THAT SPECIFIC QUOTE.

No one has turned around and said "Yes! The Prophet did say that but.........." or "No! What the Prophet actually said was .........."

Why not? Is it because that is the truth and Islam is prepared to spread itself that way? If so it makes the outpouring of anger totally unjustified, and makes those who bring up the Crusades as an indication of the failings of Christianity into utter hypocrites.

It is also interesting to hear so many leaders in both Islam and Christianity, claim that they are the only ones who are able to interpret God's word and to define His will, and yet they so often contridict one another, not so much between the religions, but within them.

The time has come for both Christian and Muslim leaders to do just that. To lead. And to do it honestly. And for the followers of both religions to stop and think about what they are taught and told by their leaders. Belief is one thing, but blind faith plays into the hands of those with an axe to grind.

Personal Responsibility

One of the Seven Primciples of Spiritualism, and a fundamental part of many religions is Personal Responsibility, but it is not always viewed the same way. Some religions like to define Personal Responsibilty as "Free Will", but reserve the saving of the soul as the responsibility of God, Jesus, or whoever.

From evidence provided from those already in the Spirit World (or the next life), the way we live this life has a serious effect on our place in the next. This is not affected by our belief in one person who will save us, but on the kind of life we lead and the way we develope as a person. It is totally OUR responsibility as to how we live, and ultimately where we end up after we throw off this mortal coil.

So, if for instance, we are the bullying type, or a greedy person, or whatever, we will do a degree of damage to our Spirit and will, upon passing over, find ourselves surrounded by Spirits of a similar nature. On the other hand, if we are a generous, giving sort of person, we will find ourselves amongst Spirits with a giving, generous nature. No one is going to intervene on our behalf and say "ok he/she lived a bad life, but he/she believed in me so they are saved". It just doesn't work like that.

If you believe in a faith like that, that tells you that you should try and live your life the way your saviour shows you, but because you have the "get out clause" of I believe you can live any way you like then your belief is false. Not the religion, but YOUR belief. You are only paying lip service to it.

So in simple terms, because it is a simple concept, You determine the type of life you will go to in the next world. No one will save you but yourself.

Lets take another example. A man works hard, goes to church, believes in God, gives generously to charity, helps others by, lets say, setting up a charitable foundation to help educate the children in an area blighted by poverty. But, he makes his money by running a company employing many people and he treats them almost as slaves. He penny pinches with their working conditions, he pays badly, cuts he workforce in order to maximise profits. Worries that he only made a 5% increase in profits instead of 10% this year. Has he done enough to save his soul?

Well, he has done some good work, but at a cost to others, whom he had taken responsibility for. Not total responsibility, as they still have responsibility for themselves. They also have responsibilty to him as an employer, just as he has resposibility for them as employees. And then there is the matter of intention. Is he doing this charitable work to "show" what a good man he is? Or is it his nature to be charitable? If the latter then he is failing because he is overlooking his employees, and if the former, he then is is living a false life, for he is going "good" for the wrong reasons. One of the reasons for his obsession with profit might well be that he is only generous and charitable, because he makes so much money and he sees it as a way to salve his conscience. If so, he is failing himself in the long run.

As a postscript, I mentioned at the begining, evidence of the next life, and may people will say "so show me the evidence". The answer to that is I can't. You need to find that evidence yourselves. I could list out the evidential messages that I have recieved, but they would mean nothing to anyone else. What I would say is that evidence is there to be found. It may be in the form of coincidences that lead you down a particular path, or you may read an article like this and think that you would like to explore further. Some people will write this off as a load of mumbo-jumbo, or the work of the devil, or whatever, but I would say to them stop and think. Does any of it make sense? Is there logic in this? What is the motive behind this? What is the motive behind those who pooh-pooh it?

One of the most annoying things about many religions and faiths, is the insistance that you must not question anything. You must accept what is told to you. Well, if you are given"free will", then why should you not seek the answers you need?

What are we here for?

A Medium, in his address to a Church the other day, said that in his opinion we are on this Earth Plane to find happiness.

Often within the Spiritualist movement, the reason for this life is described as so we can learn, maybe to atone for failings in past lives, and to progress Spiritually.

It may seem, at first sight, as if this medium was out of step with mainstream spiritualist thought, but stop and think!

Happiness? What does that mean?

Well, it could mean that we do everything we want regardless of how it affects others. Would that make us happy? Would gathering in vast ammounts of money, for instance, make us happy? Possibly it might, but then again, it might not, at least in the long term. Like anything, it is all a question of degree.

If for instance you won the lottery and ended up will a few million in the bank. You probably think that would make you very happy indeed. But what would you do with that money? What will happen to you friends? Will you keep them? Will you stay in the same social circles you are currently in? And if so, how will they react to you, with your new found wealth, and how will you react to them?

OK!, So you change your circle and move to a new area, where you associate with people of a similar bankroll. Will you fit in? Will they accept you? Will the money last if you have to live up to their lifestyle? You could be burning your bridges, leaving yourself with no friends, no social circle. Would that be happiness?

Another option is to stay where you are and spread the money about. Treat your friends, family and so on. But the money willnot last, and how will your friends and family take to that? At first they will probably be delighted, but what will happen when the money runs dry, or you get the impression that they are expecting too much from you? Any initial happiness will quickly disappear. Or maybe give the money away to charity. Certainly there will be a good feeling generated by that and done it a sensible way, it could be a lasting feeling.

In a similar way, supposing you gained your wealth at the expense of others? You trample people into the ground, take advantage of strangers, maybe even swindle people. Will you be happy then? You may think that they don't matter, and that you can sleep at night regardless of you behaviour, and yes, you are happy because you have the money to do what you like. But have you friends? People you really like? People you trust? Probably not, for you will most likely be afraid that someone will do to you what you have done to others, and that fear, andthe fear of losing everything, will prevent true happiness.

And all that is without consideration of the effect it will have on your Spirit and it's developement, and your place in the next life.

For that is what Spiritualism is all about. Proving that there is a next life, and preparing ourselves for it.

And it is not just about money. That was only an example of a situation. It could be power, relationships, work, hobbies, or any of the thousand and one aspects of life.

What I cannot do here is give a definative answer because we are all different. We need to find our own answers, and what I am trying to do is to encourage you to think. To think carefully and to look inside yourself to find your own answer. To find what really really does make you happy.

And within that search, make sure you consider that next life.

Justice is served

"Justice is mine" says the Lord, according to the Bible. I believe this is true.

I started this post after hearing that a member on a forum I subscribe to, car related as it happens, has just had someone try to scratch their name on the side of his pride and joy. I put forward the wish that the would get their just deserts, and this started a train of thought.

I do believe that justice will prevail, although not always in the way we think. Normally we think that justice needs to be done now, in this life, otherwise someone has gotten away it whatever they had done. But I think that although we as society might take revenge and therefore serve justice, sometimes it is not until we enter the next life that justice is served.

Take for instance, suicide bombers. They perform horrendous acts against innocent people, they sometomes have the blessings of their religion or society, and as the name implies, they are not around to face justice. But what will happen to them upon entering the next life?

Their religion may say they will be rewarded. But will they? What sort of God would reward one person for such acts? Certainly not a God of love and justice. If that was the case then what reason is there to worship such a God? Fear? Sorry, but no thank you.

I believe that these people, and anyone who commits any form of criminal act, will eventually be asked to account for their actions, big or small. I do not see this as a punishment in terms of eternity in Hell, being tortured and prodded by devils with pitchforks, although if that is the belief one holds strongly enough, that could appear to happen. No, I think we will shown the errors of our ways, and given, over a period of time (time being relative - who can say how long) the opportunity to reform.

The senario I imagine would be something like this.

The culprit would be met by loved ones, maybe a mother, and welcomed into the new life. They would then be shown the sort of life the loved one is living, and then shown the harm they have inflicted on others and the shame and hurt that those who care about them feel. I believe that away from this materialistic world, these felling will have great significance.

Once they have seen this, they will be shown the place where they will reside. This will be a place where they are surrounded , not with loved ones, but with people of their own kind, otheres who thought that acts of violence, or whatever, were justified. People whose own outlook on life matches theirs.

So you may say, whats wrong with that? They will be happy and comfortable there. But will they?

Imagine for a moment that you were a bully. You die and pass into the next life. You see what is available to say your mother or grandmother, a nice lady who lived a good honest life. Then you find yourself in a society of bullies. All around you are other bullies. Are you going to feel comfortable?

There you are, someone who has always bullied other, and the only people you see are ones who also bullied others. What are you going to do? Your nature is to start bullying. Well so is everyone else's. No easy victims, just other bullies. Those that bully the hardest will feel happier, but hey will always be in fear of a stronger bully. Those that aren't as strong will suffer, but will still have the in built desire to bully. So, comfortable? I don't think so.


And there you have it. Your just deserts. You are getting the life you deserve.

Justice has been served.

The Da Vinci Debate

Or should that be The Da Vinci Debacle?

So what is all the fuss about? Some bloke has written a book, marketed as fiction, possibly based on an earlier book, this time marketed as non-fiction, and someone has made a film based upon it.
I haven't read the book myself (yet) nor have I seen the film, but I have read the earlier book.

The underlying concept of both book is that Jesus, at some point in his life, got married, and his wife carried their child to what is now France shortly after his death. Nothing there to get your knickers in a twist about!

Think about it for a moment!

Jesus was a man, possessed by God's spirit, who preached on the ethics and morals of the time, in a country that was under foreign rule, and some of his teachings went against the prevailing religious authorities views. However, his teachings struck a cord, sowed a seed that grew, and upon which the Christian religion was based. But at the time he was hunted and persecuted for his teachings, as were his friends and associates, in the typical fashion of an oppressive regime. So what would be more natural than for his family to flee into hiding? After all his parents fled from Herod shortly after his birth.

But, I hear you say, what family did he have? There is no mention of a wife or child in the bible.

And so there isn't. But think on. There was a wedding that was very significant in his life. It was the scene of his first miracle, and his mother was in some way involved with its organisation. And so what if he was only a teenager at the time, as that is often an arguement against it being his wedding. This was centuries ago, in a culture far removed from what we are accustomed to, when life expectancy was short, and people tended to marry young, and to some extent in that region, still do. You cannot judge life then and there by here and now.

And of course when the bible was finally put together, it was done so at a time of great conflict within the society of the time. The Roman empire was fragmenting, the Christian relgion that was evolving was also fragmented and in the midst of this turmoil, a convention was held to decide what format this new religion would take and how it would affect the positions of the power seekers both in the Roman Empire and the emerging church. And all this in a male dominated society. Women were not seen as being in positions of power and so did not figure in any prominence. A marriage would not have been seen as anything out of the ordinary, and the prime requisite for the new religious texts was the extraordinary. The teachings, the miracles, the torment, the crucifiction, the ressurection. These were the things that the new religion would be expected to stand or fall by, so there was no room in them for in depth personal details. This was not to be a novel where there was plenty of time to build the character and establish his full history. There was just enough space to mention a few tidbits in passing in order to concentrate on the important issues.

And that is the real point to all this!

Does it really matter one little bit whether Jesus was married and had a family? And certainly at this point in time, is there any relevence to anyone claiming to be a decendent of Jesus? What significance would that person have? A divine right to rule over us? I think not! After all, how many people trace their family trees? And if they find they are decended from King Alfred for instance, do they have a claim to the throne of England? They would be laughed out of court. And so a decendent of Jesus would have no relevence, except to those who would want to stir up trouble within the religous community.

The romantic in me would like to think that Jesus did marry, have a family, and that they survived the troubles, but that is as far as I would allow it to affect me.

I would like to think that the Christian religion, and other religions as well, should be able to adapt to the changes in society, where better education brings about an more informed and interlectual population. A Religion that can serve the society that supports it rather that sticking to the old, dubious, writings that reflect the male dominated, under-educated society that as in place at its conception. To my mind there is nothing that says women cannot place an equal role to men, they were not given the chance at the start because that society did recognise them as being mens equals.

So there you have it. My views on this little controversy. The Da Vinci Code and it's predecessor, may have uncovered a secret, but if they did, so what? That secret had relevence centuries ago, but the world has change, mankind has moved on, grown up, and we may need guidence, but we need guidence that is relevent for today. We do not need to hark back to the time of the Roman Empire.

What we do need is the ability to question everything. We need a religion that will encourage questions and testing, and above all, a religion that embraces the whole of society and treats everyone, male, female, white, black, brown, yellow as equals.

And just in case anyone is interested, I am white, male, and a former Christian who accepts the that there is a lot more to God's work than that put forward by Christianity and most other religions. To me, they have become tainted by mankind's interpretations, and twisted to suit the needs to the powerful throughout their history. and I will leave it at that. You can make up your own minds and find your path to the truth.