StephentheHeathen's Blog

A couple of comments over on jpbikerfreak's post about  taking family pictures in front of a strip club by WingMan has provoked some questions in my mind I would like to share.

The comment, "Yes, GOD does have a sense of humor, but that was not one of them."  has me asking;

Who was offended, WingMan or "GOD" and,

Does someone have the 'right' to speak for God in this situation? and,

Is God big enough to take this kind of 'abuse'?

Having read the old testament a few times and learning the character of God, the next question is; Does He really have a sense of humor, the same as we humans do?

 

On a final note, another comment by  WingMan , "Jesus is the only reason that we have a choice for eternal life if we will just except him as Lord and Savior, some don't believe in salvation, but one day they will."

In my point of view Jerry, I think that when you pass on and go into the white light you are going to be sorely disappointed. I think that your God is going to be just  as intangible then as He is now.

Here's a preview of the new 5 Dollar Bill.

There's a lot of truth in this for me, I own a diesel truck.

Looks like the Mexican Government has solved the Illegal Immigrant problem.

I hate rules just as much as the next person, however, some rules have to exist to maintain a basic civil existence - even for a blog. I have thought seriously about leaving this website as well, but after thinking some things over I think I'll stick around for a while. I am, however, going to take control over my blog.

After reading BeStrong's post on Respect and Blinded by Life  and jstol3's comment, which I believe both were put together thoughtfully, I'm going to have to put down a few rules and be up front about them so no one is caught by surprise. One of the reasons that I think that everyone should have rules is that this blogsite, with us being adults, should be kind of self-governed to at least keep the "Big Moderators In The Sky" from inforcing the website's rules by suspending or banning members and deleting entire posts with the commentaries. So here go the rules:

1) Please use English. I'm not bi-linguial, unless you consider gutter talk as a second language.

2) No name calling please. Same as jstol3's version (moron, idiot,etc.). Believe me I've been called them all, there's no need to repeat yourself.  Accusations, in my book, are the same thing as name calling. Examples would be; 

"My goodness, but you are young and poorly educated." ,

"Liberalism IS a Mental Disorder." or the other way around,

"I am afraid that your lack of knowledge is showing.",

"I see that you have at least 5th grade reading skills and retention abilities, along with the same maturity level, sorry if I insulted any 5th graders out there." etc., etc., etc. 

If you want to "express" yourself on your own posts by name calling, go for it. Just not on my blog please.

3)  I'm not here for a debate. If you want to debate then may I suggest that you persue the careers of being a lawyer or a politican. Maybe my definition of debate is different that yours. My take is that in a debate you choose sides, defend your position with your last dying breath and to ultimantly win. I don't want to win anything. I want to exchange viewpoints, look at different perspectives, and question to clarify points. If we agree, disagree, or agree to disagree, that's fine by me.

4) This is more of an explaination than a rule. I love parody and satire, even if it's aimed at me. If we can't laugh at ourselves, then we don't need to be laughing at anyone else. Sarcasm can be good too as long as it's not intended to be truly hurtful. Honestly if you don't know the meanings of parody/satire/sarcasm I will dig up a couple of links to an on-line dicitonary and thesaurus. My comments on the "Pure Elite" were satire, believe me, I'm neither pure nor elite.

5) One last thing,  in the course of commenting and it winds down to just a couple of people commenting back and forth that have the same viewpoint or you are beating a dead horse and you go on and on I will probably come on and ask you to start your own post and continue from where you left off on mine. That's just common courtesy.

Now let me clarify a couple of things. I have been guilty of all the above, (two of the quotes on number 2 are mine) except for number 1 (I don't think that I've used gutter talk here) and hereby want to apologize to all that I have belittled or called names. From this point on I will try my hardest to abide by my own rules. I'm sure that you all will see to that now. 

I don't speak for SkookumJim, he's a big boy, but I want to point out that people have different thicknesses of skin, I think that some bloggers here have gone silent because of some of the lashing out and backlashing that goes on here at this weblog.

Sorry for the rules, if you don't like them, then don't comment on my blog. Self-governing needs to start somewhere, it might as well be here. 

 

Philosophers speak of postulations and possibilities, the religions speak of absolutes and consequences.

Is Transcendentalism or Existentialism the same thing as Judaism or Christianity?

The latter two profess Answers, Gods, Consequences and Rules and are therefore considered ‘doctrines‘ by philosophers but philosophies by ‘believers‘.

The box is either ‘open’ (philosophy) or it is ‘closed’ (doctrine). The two practices, in literal terms, cannot exist in the same placeholder as the same thing.

Or can they?

Taken from http://defryer.com/blog/

One of Buddha's last words was "Work out your own salvation with diligence."

The author of Hebrews said basically the same thing.

Salvation means to be saved from something. With Buddhism its being saved, and saving others,  from suffering.

In Christianity its being saved from sin and the lake of fire.

What does salvation mean to you?

Any holiday that is celebrated on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal or spring equinox sure sounds pagan to me.

The older European and pre-European holiday traditions were not based upon claimed religious phenomenon, but rather upon the seasonal characteristics of nature. The ancient traditions were founded by people who were highly aware of seasonal change and arranged their lives and festivities around them accordingly, explicitly marking the spring and fall equinoxes as well as the summer and winter solstices. These periods acknowledged and celebrated the Sun god and its relation to society. The Sun god was seen as the provider of the energy for life from which they prospered, and was therefore given reverence. Even today Judeo-Christians borrow extensively from pagan wisdom while otherwise slandering and misrepresenting paganism. If you go to a sunrise service on Easter, reflect for a moment about why the rising sun is an inherently powerful and appealing force to our inner spirit.

Early Conversion Attempts

"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it."
- Will Durant, "The Story of Civilization"

When Judeo-Christians attempted to convert pagans from their traditional beliefs, the native people of Europe were initially resistant to discarding the beliefs and values that had guided them successfully for thousands of years. Realizing that it was difficult to get people to give up their relation to nature and the recollection of their past, the Judeo-Christian conversion effort adopted and modified the pagan traditions, while replacing cyclical nature with an invisible, inert god and a personal, linear human idol to worship as its representation.

The chosen people of the Judeo-Christian God did not like the worship of nature and knew this would be harmful to the successful propagation of their beliefs.

So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east.
- Ezekiel 8:16

Thus says the Lord: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles."
- Jeremiah 10:2

In some translations the word "Gentiles" is replaced by "Heathens", but the two words have the same meaning:

Gentiles. All the people who were not Jews were so called by them, being aliens from the worship, rites and privileges of Israel. The word was used contemptuously by them. In the New Testament Greek is often used as its synonym.
- Peloubet's Bible Dictionary

Pagan Wisdom

The word pagan is derived from the Latin paganus, meaning one who lives in the country. Early conversion attempts occurred primarily in the city, thus giving rise to this distinction. Those who lived in the country were closer to nature and understood it better, making them less likely to forsake it. Because nature is the essence of life, someone who lives and studies among nature knows more truths about life than those who are separated from it and merely read about it in the cities.

Pagans were familiar with the cycles of nature that made life everlasting. Life and death were not considered personal ego-based conditions and feared as they are in Judeo-Christianity, but were seen as stages of growth and decay through which everything living inevitably passes. Instead of being afraid and needing to be "saved" from life, pagans loved this world and lived with honor and respect so that they were able to have the best lives possible. The notion of a "better world" reached by dying was not their life's goal. Instead, they believed in making this world better for each other and for their children. Here "better" does not concern itself with being meek or moralistic, but rather is focused on what is real and heroic in life, while also preserving its rich roots and heritage. This conception of life is that of a long chain to which every child is eternally connected and from which he inherits an entire history as his birthright.

Adopting Paganism

Early first century Christian practices revolved around the Jewish Passover, which is the tradition of the Bible when the word pascha is correctly translated as Passover. However, a mix between the will of emperors and the resistance of the people to give up their traditions and nature-worship for foreign anti-natural beliefs came to sway Judeo-Christianity towards the adoption of Easter.

The name Easter comes from an ancient European goddess of the dawn called Eostre by the Anglo-Saxons and Ostara by the Germanic peoples. She is also known as Eostra, Eostrae, Eostar, Eastre, Easter, Estre, Eástre, and Austra by various European peoples. Her name means "movement towards the rising sun" and is related to the Indo-European root word Aus which means "to shine". The English words estrus and estrogen are also derived from her name. She was considered the goddess of the growing light and spring, associated with fertility and celebrated with a festival of rebirth. One story has her entertaining children by performing a trick that changed her pet bird into a rabbit. This rabbit then laid colored eggs that she gave to the children. Given the history of these ideas which date back to at least 2000 years before the Christian era, it should be no surprise that the original symbols and practices of Easter persist today, just as our ancestors once celebrated them.

The Vernal Equinox

Most people are aware that the day of Easter moves each year, but few people remember the reason for this or the method of its calculation. When we celebrate Easter, it is the first Sunday after the first Vernal Equinox fullmoon. The Vernal Equinox signifies the astronomical arrival of spring and was considered the time to celebrate the rebirth and renewal as nature resurrects itself from the death it suffered in winter.

There is truly little attributed to Judeo-Christianity that is original, but to be fair it is difficult to conquer people sufficiently to destroy their traditions and instinctual feelings. This must be performed gradually by first coopting the traditions, slowly turning them against the spirit of the people, and then cutting the people off from their roots so they remain separated from their natural instincts and awareness of what is right.

Happy Easter/Vernal Equinox Everyone!

Right now the U.S. Supreme Court is viewing a case involving the Second Admendment. A resident in Washington D.C. is challenging the district's handgun law banning handgun ownership.

Gun control laws are now out of the hands of the Legislative and Exectutive branches of our government.

Their decision will have sweeping effects across the country regardless of which side wins.

 

I have been studying Buddhism for a couple of months now and there is a sidebar that I would like your opinions on and any information you might have on Jesus' "Lost Years".

I've been on-line and have read some of the manuscripts that supposedly tell of Jesus' sojourn in India, Tibet and Nepal in the 18 year historical gap not accounted for in the Bible. I'm also reading Pagel's book 'Beyond Belief'.

Also I would like to know if there are any Buddhists in this blog-world that would like to help me in my studies.

Just a question.

Jesus isn't materialistic, why are modern Christians materialistic?

“ Man, I can’t wait to get that tax rebate. I mean after the bills are paid, the utilities, car insurance, car payments, house payment, cable TV, cell phone bill, hi-speed internet, gym membership and of course the groceries. Thank God for Pizza Rolls, Hot Pockets, Cheerios and Diet Pepsi, huh? There isn’t too much left, especially after paying the child support and alimony. I sure do miss my little boys. You remember my ex, don’t you Steve, she’s taken her maiden name back. Yep, she’s Sharon Herlovin again. I sure am glad that my new wife has a pretty good job since my job got out sourced to India of all places. Working for about half pay is tough and I lost the benefits, too. I just hope that my 401k will still be there because I lost the pension, too. Not being vested is a b**ch, isn’t it?

Part of that rebate is going to pay down the old credit cards. After paying for that Hannah Montana concert for my three new step-daughters and buying them the new cell phones, we went over the limit and can’t use them until we pay them down to under the limit. Sure will be good to have use of them again. Oh well, gotta keep mama and the girls happy, huh?

Filling up the Yukon and the wife’s new Hemi Charger is a bite, isn’t it. But boy that Hemi with that 300+ horsepower motor really cruises down the highway! Oh yeah, that’s where the rest of that rebate check is going to, got a speeding ticket on the interstate the other day. Those highway patrolmen have no sense of humor at all.

This mortgage thing is just crazy, man. I hope that my APR doesn’t go up anymore, we really need the space in this house. And well, I guess I can tell you, the oldest girl - the 15 year old - is about 4 month’s pregnant. You know that tall, skinny, baby-faced kid the next road down? Yeah, he’s 15 too, little pecker-head. I don’t know how it happened, his parents were home when she stayed over some nights. Oh well, how much can a few diapers and some formula cost these days? A couple of changes of baby clothes could be the least that punk can cough up, right?

Hey, looks like the pizza guy is coming down the road, they’ll deliver anywhere for the right price. Look, I gotta go now and I know that you keep up on things, right? Maybe later you can explain how the rest of this stimulus package is going to help me and mine, OK?

Later! ”

My “neighbor”, Richard Cranium

Edited for spacing and font.

My Mom's side of the family is rural Roman Catholic, does anyone know Scipio?

Every gathering that I was ever at included alcohol, and A LOT of it.

I don't see them stopping this tradition for "Holy Week".

I'm sure I'll be seeing some of them on the news coverage of the St. Paddy's day festivities!

After my wife and I watched the report on self-defense by Loren Halifax, my wife has asked me to write this post, which I totally agree with.

I applaud and am grateful for what the Kemp and Smith families and foundations are doing.

My wife, many years ago, worked at a stop-and-shop and was robbed at gun point. In about this same time frame she was a "victim" of an attempted rape. The quote "victim" is because she learned a valuable lesson and will not allow herself to be a victim again.

What Greg Smith is doing is exactly on track. AWARENESS. Not putting yourself in the position of being a victim is 90% of not being a victim. It's a sad and sorry time that we live in that we have to take the added concerns and stress to keep safe, but it has to be done.

One of the common threads to both stories is that these girls were alone. Our suggestion to to go somewere with someone. If someone is with you then the odds of being attacked are greatly reduced.

Another common thread is that they both thought that they were in a safe environment. Sorry to say that there isn't too many places that you can consider as being safe, including your own house sometimes.

If someone can't go with you then you have to prepare and be alert. Have your keys out and ready before you leave a building or car, heads up - scout out an area before you enter it, if you are alone in a building then check out the entrances before you are alone. I'm sure that Mr. Smith on Kelsey's website has many more tips.

Mr. Kemps' heart and motives are in the right place, but in our opinions, Bob and Jill Leiker are going to get many women seriously hurt.

Wailing on a dummy for 7 - 12 seconds looks impressive, and probably made the women feel good, but did you notice something was missing?

THE DUMMIES DIDN'T HIT THEM BACK.

Smack a man a couple of times and you better be prepared to get hit back, it's reflex, and especially if he intended doing you harm in the first place.

The comment that my wife made was 'could you see someone my size hitting someone your size for that long?' She's 5'6" and about 130 lbs., I'm 6'4" and about 250 lbs. She answered her own question with 'get real'. And before you ask it, yes I've been racked before, but give me two good breaths and you had better be gone, the fights I have been in have lasted an average of about 15 seconds - win or lose.

That's reality.

Stomp your heel onto his instep,

Hit him in groin with, well, anything you can,

If you have long fingernails or keys in your hands, go for the eyes and face.

These have been taught in many, many self-defense classes.

Let us also add this. After you have stunned your attacker with one or all of the above methods then;

TURN AROUND AND RUN AWAY AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND SCREAM AS LOUD AS YOU CAN FOR HELP.

Don't stand there and try to duke it out with him, you will be one of the 99% that don't survive if you do.

I'm sure that the Leiker's are "champions" in a controlled fight setting, but in reality the rest of the world isn't.

Don't let them get you hurt.

Thanks for the update, Fox4!

After watching last night's story on KU's amazing research on using used fryer oil to make bio-diesel, well, ok, after I stopped chuckling about it, I had some semi-serious thoughts about it.

This story is anything but new, people here in the States have been making bio-diesel out of used fryer oil in their garages for years. I started making it myself this summer - I own a diesel truck. You can even find it being commercially made here.

The sad part is that Europe is ahead of us again when it comes to alternative power and fuels. Most countries there require a certain percentage of bio-diesel in their regular diesel. The British government were getting after truckers for putting canola oil in their tanks because they weren't getting the fuel taxes from the canola oil. The price of canola oil is cheaper than diesel over there. You can use used fryer oil too, you just have to filter it good and remove the water out of it, but I recommend converting it to bio-diesel.

Please Fox4, do a little research and give a complete story next time.

Google up "Journey to Forever" for starters and then go from there.