God, the Gospel, and Glenn Beck

[RonD1120 62]

Moore to the Point by Russell D. Moore

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Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

http://www.russellmoore.com/2010/08/29/god-the-gospel-and-glenn-beck/

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[Coreece 190]

Good article...Thanks!

I never really thought about it like that...but he's correct...the liberation theology of the right...Interesting.

Your secrets are the true reflection of who you really are...

[Niki1 2]

"A plague on both their houses."

This is how religion started. Some one, a long time ago, wanted to control the people around him so he said, "I know what makes lightning and thunder. It's God (or Ra or Zeus or whatever). And the only way to contact him is through me." The people fell for it and that started the ball rolling. New religions are still being started so that some one can have control over the others.

Religion has very little to do with God. And most Christians don't act very Christ like.

Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossilbe before they were done.
Louis D Brandeis

Where are we going and why are we in this basket?

[pirana 0]

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"A plague on both their houses."

This is how religion started. Some one, a long time ago, wanted to control the people around him so he said, "I know what makes lightning and thunder. It's God (or Ra or Zeus or whatever). And the only way to contact him is through me." The people fell for it and that started the ball rolling. New religions are still being started so that some one can have control over the others.

Religion has very little to do with God. And most Christians don't act very Christ like.

That is how ORGANIZED religion started. Spirituality. which preceded organized religion by thousands of years (and is what I like to call organic religion) started with respect for the memories of the dead. It went like this:

<> Respect for living elders
<> Respect for the ideas of the elders after they passed
<> Honoring past elders in ceremony
<> Worship of past elders
<> Bestowing powers on past elders. This is where the oogie-boogie kicks in; and of course once magic and mysticism become an answer to whatever you don't know - the sky is the limit on manipulating people and the corruption that follows.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

There was an interesting story on NPR last week.

In short, an atheist psychologist had a spiritual experience, and it made him wonder why.

And he noticed that all cultures in the world have had some sort of religion.

So he came to the conclusion that there must be some sort of evolutionary benefit to religion.

So he did some experiments and research and came up with the the theory that having a deity watching over a society made it far more likely to cooperate.

Full text:http://integral-options.blogspot.com/2010/09/npr-is-believing-in-god-evolutionarily.html

Edit to correct typo

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[billvon 3,120]

I can recommend the book "Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief." It's a good overview of some of the reasons we so regularly believe in God.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

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I can recommend the book "Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief." It's a good overview of some of the reasons we so regularly believe in God.

Thanks.

I believe in God, although I don't participate in any organized religion.

I haven't been able to quite decide if God is real, or simply a construct of my own mind.

I have decided that it really doesn't matter.

If he is real, then I am doing the best I can to understand his will and carry it out That usually means helping my fellow man and doing the best I can to make the world a better place for all, while doing as little damage or hurt as possible.

If he isn't real, then I have an ideal, perfect construct that I am using to do my best to help my fellow man and make the world a better place, while doing as little damage or hurt as possible.

Real or unreal, the end result is the same.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[jclalor 12]

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"A plague on both their houses."

***This is how religion started. Some one, a long time ago, wanted to control the people around him so he said, "I know what makes lightning and thunder. It's God (or Ra or Zeus or whatever). And the only way to contact him is through me." The people fell for it and that started the ball rolling. New religions are still being started so that some one can have control over the others.

Religion has very little to do with God. And most Christians don't act very Christ like.

That is how ORGANIZED religion started. Spirituality. which preceded organized religion by thousands of years (and is what I like to call organic religion) started with respect for the memories of the dead. It went like this:

<> Respect for living elders
<> Respect for the ideas of the elders after they passed
<> Honoring past elders in ceremony
<> Worship of past elders
<> Bestowing powers on past elders. This is where the oogie-boogie kicks in; and of course once magic and mysticism become an answer to whatever you don't know - the sky is the limit on manipulating people and the corruption that follows.

I don't think anyone knows how a belief in god(s) came about, most likely it came from not understanding the natural world. The more we understand science, the less we need to believe that a supreme power is responsible for events that we do not understand.

[skipbelt 0]

did you day diety ? i want in on that religion , i could lose some weight , will it include a deity ?

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

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did you day diety ? i want in on that religion , i could lose some weight , will it include a deity ?

No, I didn't day diety.

I did, however, say (type actually) it.

And, in retrospect, a diety wouldn't involve weight loss, it would be the entity that makes you DIE

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[maadmax 0]

I don't think anyone knows how a belief in god(s) came about, most likely it came from not understanding the natural world. The more we understand science, the less we need to believe that a supreme power is responsible for events that we do not understand.

[billvon 3,120]

>free will

Heisenberg probably played the biggest role in demonstrating that the future cannot be predicted, and thus there's no real possibility in "predestining" someone.

>how memories are stored and retrieved

We have a pretty good handle on this one. We know how new synapses are formed, which chemicals assist in memory formation, which brain structures are responsible for it, how to fix some problems with the memory system, and which chemicals do what.

>the “higher” faculties of reason and imagination . . .

We also have a pretty good handle on this. Animals exhibit imagination (i.e. the ability to imagine and evaluate future actions) and we now understand the brain structures (mirror neuron complex) that allow us to make those evaluations.

Hardly "unaccounted for."

[pirana 0]

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I don't think anyone knows how a belief in god(s) came about, most likely it came from not understanding the natural world. The more we understand science, the less we need to believe that a supreme power is responsible for events that we do not understand.

http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/2010/07/sciences-dead-end/

I think your faith in science may be a bit blind.

..."The implications are obvious enough. While it might be possible to know everything about the physical materiality of the brain down to the last atom, its “product,” the five cardinal mysteries of the non-material mind are still unaccounted for: subjective awareness; free will; how memories are stored and retrieved; the “higher” faculties of reason and imagination; and that unique sense of personal identity that changes and matures over time but remains the same."...


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