Greg's Thoughts and Ideas: May 2009

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Hidden Truth about Christians

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Sabbath Or the Lord's Day - Which Do We Follow?

The Old Testament clearly states that the Sabbath is a day of rest and should be taken very seriously. Some Jewish followers believe that no work should be done at all on this day. I was listening to a program the other day, when they mentioned something that I found hard to believe or even imagine. Some of the followers of the Torah wouldn't even go to the bathroom on the Sabbath, I don't even know if I could do that. I would have to find another religion obviously to be a part of.

I worked on a Seventh-day Adventist church for about nine months one time and they worshiped on the Sabbath but rented the church on Sundays to a Pentecostal organization. (Pentecostals are also Christians) I found this hard to imagine, that a church so adamant about the Sabbath would let another church worship on Sunday.

Let me explain my thinking, if the Pentecostal church was worshiping on Sunday, that meant they were allowed to prepare for worship on Saturday and even work if necessary. If I strongly believed in my religion, it wouldn't make much sense for me to support another group who ignored the Sabbath. I ask the pastor of both churches, who I talked to on a regular basis, what their opinion's were on this topic.

The bottom line, was of course money. Hard to imagine that someone's religious beliefs can be altered or even changed completely if their monetary needs aren't met.

My grandmother and grandfather were very involved in their Christian Church and explained to me that Sunday was the Lord's Day but chose to ignore the Sabbath. My grandfather often worked six days a week and would take Sunday off, Sunday of course was an important day in his life, this was a holy day and he rarely missed worship.

For those of you who worship on Sunday, a.k.a. the Lord's Day, I would like to make a suggestion, try to do some research and find out why the Sabbath was switched to the Lord's Day. Here's something to start with.

Exodus 20:8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.

Exodus 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.

For those of you interested in studying the Bible online, I would suggest that you type in," the Lord's Day" or "Sabbath" into one of my favorite Bible websites, Biblegateway and that's dot com. Remember not to do any web searches on the Sabbath. Hello I'm joking!

Spiritual Change Education

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Greg Vanden Berge is a published author, internet marketing expert, motivational inspiration to millions of people all over the world and is sharing some of his wisdom with experts in the fields of writing,marketing, and personal development.

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Use Religion Responsibly - Spiritual Humor

Well you probably heard of the problems that some people get into when they drink a little too much and start to drive their cars. This is known as drinking and driving irresponsibly and can be hazardous to your health but more hazardous to your pocketbook. Overdosing on drugs, spending too much money shopping, gambling excessively and last but not least, spending too much time at your place of worship can be hazardous to others. Over time, our loved ones seem to suffer the most from our excesses.

I suggest most people use religion responsibly and try not to overindulge in the excesses of your spiritual practice. Like an alcoholic drinking until they feel good, only to wake up feeling bad the next morning. And then starting the process all over the next day.

Now for the big question, "Are You a Religiousoholic?" Do you spend too much time at church? Do you surround yourself exclusively with people that share your same religious beliefs?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, there's a good chance you're a religiousoholic. Like alcoholics and drug addicts, there is help for you, once you've identified your problem, we can help. We call it our 5 step program. Alcoholics Anonymous has a 12 step program for recovery but we have eliminated a couple and rearranged others in hopes for a faster recovery.

Religionolism is no laughing matter and should be handled with the utmost delicacy. Start with the first step and work your way down the list and within a short period of time you should find yourself free from the religious tyranny of your institutionalized religion.

Step 1. The biggest problem you're going to happen during your recovery will be the temptation from religious followers, wanting you to come back. Like a drug addict, saying no to drugs,it's hard, you're going to have to be strong here. Learn to say no to organized religion and yes to religious freedom.

Step 2. Instead of reading Scripture, start reading about other religions around the world. You will find some weird things and new ideas, but the bottom line here is that you'll be able to see some similarities, and silliness between the religions.

Step 3. You can still spend time praying, just spend more time praying about how grateful you are, instead of praying for something you want, start spending a little more time thanking God for the things in your lives that you already have. I have spent a lot of time praying for things I never got. When I stopped praying for the things, I thought I needed, I started getting the things I really needed.

Step 4. Start spending a little more time believing in yourself, some religions seem to give all the glory and credit to their gods and very little to the people that are actually making the sacrifices. I have also noticed that when something goes wrong, some religious followers tend to punish themselves and it just doesn't seem fair. God gets all the credit when things are good and you blame yourself when things go wrong.

Step 5. Start showing a little more compassion towards people who don't think the same as you do or believe in your religion. Love and compassion are the true acts of a religious believer. I believe you'll find that in every religious scripture... somewhere.

Sometimes we get a little carried away in our beliefs and tend to beat up other people who don't share them with us. If you're part of a religion who discriminates, shows intolerance, bigotry or prejudice to other nonbelievers, maybe this isn't the religion you think it should be.

Dalai Lama - "All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness, the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives."

Just how big of a deal is Money Organized Religion. Your money is used for various things and some of them, you might not really want to spend the money on. Something to think about.

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence.

Finding Something You Don't Like About Yourself - Creating Habits

Finding something you don't like about yourself is usually very easy for most people. Most of the time you don't even have to ask your family or friends because you have heard them complain about the same thing for years. How many times have you heard someone mention, I need to lose weight?

Here's a list of things people don't like about themselves. If you're one of those people that has a hard time finding something wrong with yourself, you could always ask one of your friends for some suggestions. I'm sure they would like that.

1. The need to lose weight. This of course is one of the worst problems with Americans. Most people need to lose weight and let's not forget there are some people that need to gain weight.

2. The need to stop gambling. As more Indian reservations are allowed to build gambling casinos and of course as the Internet gambling gets larger, I've noticed some people with gambling problems.

3. The need to stop drinking alcohol. The abuse of alcohol has been going on for many years. These people have an excuse for why they drink and most of the time it doesn't make sense.

4. The need to stop smoking. This could be one of the most difficult things I've ever seen my friends and family deal with.

5. The need to stop excessive behaviors. For example, gossiping, cruelty, bullying, lying, cheating, stealing, partying etc. You get the idea.

6. Don't forget the dreaded shopaholic. Most shopaholic's seem to have large credit card debt and can't seem to stop this vicious circle of buying and owing money to their creditors.

7. Working long hours or the workaholic. Sometimes this is a necessity but I would suggest that you change your lifestyle if possible. Reevaluate your reasons for working so hard.

8. Religious fundamentalists. People that spend too much time at their place of worship and soon find themselves feeling guilty if they're not doing something spiritual.

9. The need to be on time. This would include people that have problems giving themselves enough time to get ready for work or school.

10. The need to stop doing drugs. I thought by now, approaching my 50s, that drugs would no longer be a problem in the United States, but it is. It's one of the most damaging things people can do to their lives.

There are plenty of things that people would like to stop doing or start doing. If you're a smoker and you seem to shop excessively near the casinos, I would advise you to start with something small and work your way up to the big stuff.

What are you going to change today about your life? Make a list of things that you're not happy with about your life and start making the changes today that you need to create the life you deserve and desire.

Greg is currently working on a personal development video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Hope in Religion - Is There Something You're Seeking in Religion?

I was reading a book on advertising when the author mentioned, "All Advertising Is about Hope."

This got me thinking about other people's dreams and aspirations, most of this is wrapped around them hoping to accomplish something or do something. I never gave it much thought but hope is one of the most important things in our lives. Some people go around hoping that they will keep their job, when the economy is in bad shape. Others go around hoping for forgiveness for their sins or other bad deeds they have done in the past.

What is it you're hoping for? There's got to be something. Are you hoping to become a multimillionaire or even the world's first trillionaire. Are your dreams big or small? Are you the kind of person who is happy living a simple life with very little possessions like a Buddhist monk or are you one who is seeking the lifestyle of the King.

Hope supplies us with the will to continue through hopeless obstacles during our lifetime.

Most people seeking hope are looking for a way out of something or a way toward a better life. These people often fall easy prey to large religious organizations, as they take them under their wing and slowly start to brainwash them. They seek the weak minded, helpless, poor and trusting people and build their organizations using them. I once believed in Christianity, but it no longer offers me true hope, the more I study Christianity and other organized religions, I noticed certain similarities based on inspiration.

I hope I live the good life, so I can go to heaven, the promised land, our ultimate enlightenment.

I hope I am living the true will according to God, Buddha, Krishna or other supreme beings.

I hope that the Bible is wrong about the 144,000 people from the 12 tribes.

I hope I'm living a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

If you're part of an organized religion, ask your religious leaders, any questions that you have about your religion. If they can't answer these questions, try to find them on your own. Books, videos, and the Internet are great sources for information. If you're living your life for the sole purpose of going to heaven one day, you could be disappointed, when that day arrives.

Ask a couple of questions and I hope you will get honest answers to them.

Greg is currently creating articles on religion filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven? - The Good People Get to Go to Heaven Also

I found a website that was recommended to me and it had the comment, is Jesus the only way to heaven at, Gotquestions, seems like your typical Christian website that replies with biblical quotes and simple to follow information. If I was lost, they will help me find a way. There's even a button at the bottom that states, I have accepted Christ today. I guess if I was to push that button, I get to go to heaven and be with Jesus. Hard to imagine, avoiding a life of burning in hell could be as simple as pushing a button and uttering a few simple words.

I found this question and began reading their comment. The first comment is from somebody answering as a nonbeliever in Christianity. It states something like, if I'm basically a good person and live a moral life, I get to go to heaven, right, only the bad people like murderers go to hell.

Now the answer that the website gives, seems to create fear if you do not belong to Christianity and provide you with hope if you join the group.

It mentioned Satan as the ruler of the world, and he can plant these thoughts into your head if you're not a Christian. He also controls your mind and let's you believe, that it would only make sense to any rational person, they get to go to heaven if they're good.

Now this is what makes sense to me but according to this information, I am doomed to rot in hell for eternity, even if I am a pretty good person. All I have to do is accept Christ as God and I get to go to heaven. That seems pretty easy and I wonder why more people don't do it. Just push the button.

I wonder if Satan is controlling, non-Christians minds and that's why there's brutality and war throughout the world. If everyone was a Christian, would our world be better.

Here's a quote from Wikipedia The Crusades were a series of religion-driven military campaigns waged by much of Christian Europe against external and internal opponents. Crusades were fought mainly against Muslims, though campaigns were also directed against pagan Slavs, Jews, Russian and Greek Orthodox Christians, Mongols, Cathars, Hussites, Waldensians, Old Prussians, and political enemies of the popes.

These Christian Crusades killed thousands of people. To give you an idea how many people were killed, all I had to do was type the word crusades into a search engine and it took me to the Christian Crusades.

I guess that rules that out, it seems like the Christians a long time ago were pretty aggressive towards their enemies, I wonder if most Christians would refer to these people as enemies today or are they just being controlled by Satan. Do these Christians from the Crusades get to go to heaven? If people like this get to go to heaven, may be hell is a better place anyway.

Here's something to think about, go to heaven.

Do You Believe in the Bible?

Do you really believe in the Bible? The other day I was listening to an audio book on the Dead Sea Scrolls. The author had a Ph.D. and of course I have no idea what the Ph.D. was in, it didn't say on the audio book cover. He made the statement below and it got me thinking about our beliefs and what we believe in.

"For those who want proof positive that the Bible is true, there's really only one thing to say for those who disbelieve no proof is possible for those who believe no proof is necessary."

The statement is coming from an educated person and it kind of sounds like an oxymoron. For those who want proof positive that the Bible is true, there is really only one thing to say, for those who disbelieve no proof is possible. What does that mean to a Christian and this same statement applies to most religions throughout the world. If you want proof positive, there really isn't any is there.

Researchers can prove certain parts of the Bible like, people's names and that some of these people were actually alive and have some history to them, geographical locations like cities, rivers and oceans, and some beneficial facts to religious believers. I don't want to single just the Bible out here, other religious text can't be proven, proof positive.

There are a lot of sections in the Bible that quite possibly could never be proven. Unless of course God or some sort of superior being with superior knowledge could give us positive proof that the Bible was true. This of course would eliminate the need for faith and faith is pretty much the most important part of believing in most religions.

Let's take the last part of the statement, "for those who believe no proof is necessary". Where do we draw the line between belief and facts, where do we draw a line between faith and truth. What is it going to take to get religious believers to start doing some research on their religious beliefs, instead of following with only faith. You should question your religion.

If you're going to believe in something like the Bible, you have no right to question someone else's beliefs and their religion. The next time a Christian judges a Muslim or Hindu about their beliefs, start thinking about yours a little more clearly, before you pass judgment on someone else who is living their life based on faith.

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Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Christian Sermon Evaluation - Purpose and Suffering

I was listening to a sermon today that someone sent me through e-mail. It showed a man preaching in what looked to be a mega-church. When do these preachers stop preaching the gospel and start becoming entertainers for profit?

For many years, religious leaders have been using propaganda, music, advanced dramatic effects, misquoting biblical scripture, adapting any religious text to serve their personal needs or beliefs and any other usable tool that can gather the moss to the rolling stone of Christianity.

Here's what the religious leader of this mega-church said.

The purpose of God in creating the universe is to display the greatness of the glory of his grace supremely in the suffering of the son, that's yesterday, today the summons, will you join the son in displaying the supreme satisfaction of the glory of grace in joining him on the Calvary Road of suffering.

So let me get this right, this sermon is in plain English and easy to interpret but like most religious text can be interpreted to benefit anyone who chooses to do so, in any way, shape or form. These over dramatic, theatrical like sermons often absorb the followers into some sort of trance. As the camera scrolls around in the audience, adding drama of course, the faces of these believers are definitely caught up in the moment and to add to the theatrical drama of the sermon.

I'm going to interpret this in simple English. The purpose of God in creating the entire universe is to show some form of glory or grace and even greatness in the suffering of his son. How could you possibly get this statement out of the Bible. Does it actually say this in the Bible? Anyone who has proof or any thing like it can send me the information, I will post it underneath this article. Only send me information that makes sense in plain English.

After that he's asking you to join his son in displaying this supreme satisfaction and makes it sounds like something wonderful by using the word glory of grace in joining him on the Calvary Road of suffering. This is purely financial dramatics to have people feel sorry, send money and live in a world of guilt because Jesus died for their sins.

Let me break this to you gently, open your ears because I'm old and going to say this once. Jesus's message is about love, Christianity is about love and suffering. Remember the old Pepsi challenge, where Pepsi would set up booths and ask people if they could tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi. It was very easy for me to tell the difference, but thousands of people quit drinking Coke and started drinking Pepsi. Most people are easily swayed and controled.

Seeking the truth can often be confusing when religious leaders put their personal goals first and God's second.

Find out a little bit more about Your Religious Freedom

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg is currently working on a Christian help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Is Money a Big Part of Organized Religion?

Where do you think most modern day religious organizations would be without money? Is money really a big part of modern day organized religion or is that something in the past. Why do certain scriptures require their believers to donate a portion of their earnings?

Does this money improve the lives of religious believers? I'm asking these questions because most people won't. Most people don't even no where the money they earn is going. If you donate money to a religious organization and they choose to hire someone to install stained glass windows throughout the sanctuary, is this really going to help the congregation. Is this a want or a need?

When does a religious group become too powerful for its own good. Do you think the Catholic religion, which at the time of me writing this article, is the largest organized religion in the world, by itself, is very powerful or driven by finances. This organization has seeked wealth and power for centuries, creating an establishment that has its hands in everything all over the world.

Is it fair to have religious leaders living a life of luxury, while some of their followers suffer and go without food or shelter. Should some of this money go towards the aid of others who choose not to believe in the religious culture of their patrons?

Why do some people give money to their religious organization, even though they can barely survive. Are these people driven to contribute money because someone makes them feel guilty? Some of these people give money and time, even at the expense of their own family. It's just not fair, when I see people who are barely scraping by but give faithfully to an organization that promises them a better life after they die.

Your rewards for living a good life on Earth will be received after you die and are allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. Does anyone have any proof of this? If you choose to base your life entirely on faith instead of seeking knowledge and wisdom, or even questioning your religious doctrine, you're not doing yourself any favors.

Money plays a big part in organized religion and honestly does a lot of good throughout the world. Christianity has had a large impact on the United States of America but only time will tell if it was a good thing or not.

If you have extra money and desire to give it to a religious organization of your choice, feel free, but if you're giving 10% of the money you've earned and really can't afford to, I wish you would take the time to research what your church actually spends it's money on. If your church is building another church in Mexico but you don't have enough money for food, clothes or other necessities, I would suggest that you let other people donate their extra money instead.

It might not be mentioned anywhere in your religion, but I'm sure your God or the ultimate Almighty power of the universe you believe in, does not want anyone to suffer or go without, because your religious organization chooses to make you feel guilty if you do not contribute a certain amount of money, for whatever reasons they can possibly come up with.

If everyone that believes in this interpretation has the keys to the kingdom of heaven, wouldn't Jesus be suggesting a life kind of like Mother Teresa but without any money. She wouldn't be allowed to ask any wealthy people for money, let alone use it if she acquired it somehow.

Have you ever ask yourself is there any Hope in Religion .

Would it be safe to a sound that by asking for money from a wealthy person would mean I would not be going to happen. Does it say anything in the Bible about using money from a wealthy person for great earthly deeds and you get to go to heaven but he does not. If this is starting to sound a little confusing, welcome to my world. There are very few people that follow organized religion, that even ask these questions, let alone seek the answers and find the truth and keeping an open mind to future information that possibly could change the old answer that they accepted as a truth but now realize, the possibility that the old information could be wrong.

If you were a religious leader and could not answer some of the major questions that you yourself had, would you continue living a life of confusion or seek relentlessly to find the answers until you are satisfied. Knowing that if you were satisfied with the answers to your questions and now your religious beliefs have changed considerably, would you retire or quit working with the religious organization you were involved with.

This is one of the biggest obstacles for most people that seem to get comfortable in their religious environments. If the interpretations of a you Bible verses are incorrect and can be proven, either scientifically or through translation errors, does this mean that there are more verses in the Bible that could be incorrect or misleading.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Religious Mind Control Or Generational Sin

If you were raised with certain beliefs and belong to a certain religion, there is a very good chance that your parents followed your religion and share the same beliefs. If you are a Muslim, there's a very good chance that your parents were Muslims. If you live in the United States, there is a really, really good chance that you're a Christian, especially if you live in Texas or Utah.

Is this religious mind control and generational sin or is this truly the way life is meant to live. Your parents and ancestors formed strong beliefs and pass them on to their children. What's wrong with that? Is it a generational sin to pass on what you truly believe? With that question asked, is a generational sin our mind control to teach our children how to fit into society, is it our obligation as stewards.

We often send our children to school, give them a good religious upbringing and then assimilate them into the workplace, almost like robots on an assembly line. We seem to never even question where these beliefs originated, we have no idea where they are going to take us and above all, we have no idea that they are truly beneficial to society, let alone ourselves.

Teaching our children what we have been taught, isn't always going to be right. If you look back in history, at all the beliefs, rituals and facts that have been disproven and are no longer followed by modern man, you can get a pretty good idea what I'm talking about. These people often taught their children, what they were taught. In centuries to come, these truths died out and were replaced by new ones.

Religious mind control can be cured by opening your mind and reading articles like this. You might be talking to someone who you have been taught to fear or even hate your whole life, only to find out that they think like you. They care about their families, feel sorry for others who are less fortunate and usually eat and sleep just like you do. If your mind is open enough, you could realize that you have been lied to and now it's time to start thinking seriously about what you were taught and what you're going to believe in the future.

Religious mind control can be cured through reading books, watching television, visiting other countries and educating yourself about other cultures and religions. The change you make today could affect future generations in your family.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg is currently working on a religious help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Powerful Beliefs in the Bible - How Powerful Exactly is the Bible

If you're a Christian, you probably believe in the Holy Bible and take it for granted, that this is the written Word of God. Here's a book that most people look upon as very sacred. I don't know if they do it anymore, but in a court of law, they would ask you to swear upon the Bible and to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God.

I would assume that this would generate fear in a prospective liar that was a Christian, but if you are a Muslim could you lie or should they switch the Bible to the Koran. Some things don't make sense do they. This made sense to me at one time and I even used this to gather some information from a nine year old boy at one time. I was amazed at how fast he told me the truth, when I pulled out a Bible and was going to have him swear to me that he wasn't lying. Try that one with your children.

I have seen Bible's in museums, on pedestals in churches and visible as you enter someone's home or bedroom. Are the Bibles that are located in people's homes to send you a strong sign of their faith. Do any of these Bibles ever get used or are they just there for looks?

Looking upon the Bible as a sacred symbol can create a sense of comfort and fear. At one time, I believed the Bible was some sort of sacred book and needed to be touched very delicately. I often wondered as a child if I accidentally tore out a page of the Bible, if I would have to spend an eternity burning in a lake of fire.

Are Bibles made at special factories and does each one of them need to be blessed or put in special shipping boxes before they are sent out to be sold or given away? I wonder if they use holy water during the printing procedure, if water is actually required. Do you think the paper come from special trees and are these trees grown on holy ground, maybe in a special forests guarded by angels. This is starting to sound like the makings for a good movie.

People can form powerful beliefs about other objects as well as the Bible. You should think about, some of the things you used to believe in and some of the things you still believe, then compare the two. Some of my old beliefs no longer serve me in a positive way. The Bible is just a book and should be treated like any other book. If the pages get ripped ripped fix them, if the bindings get loose repair them and if they become hard to read or have seen better days, replace them.

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

Greg is currently working on a Christian and spiritual library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility. It's based on overindulgence

Meditating on Religious Scripture

I have been meditating for about nine months seriously and during my meditations, realize that I have been meditating my whole life. I can see things a little clearer than I could even one year ago. The Holy Bible, Koran and other religious scriptures seem to make a little more sense to me, the more that I meditate. I recommend meditation to anyone interested in relaxing, sorting out your life and even as an exercise to increase your intuitive spiritual thinking.

I'm not going to explain how to meditate here, the meditation I'm talking about is simple. Take a verse out of the Bible that you're having problems with, either understanding or explaining to someone else. Write the verse down on a piece of paper and take it with you to a quiet spot in your home, the park, or any area where you normally feel comfortable and relaxed. Set the piece of paper in front of you, along with a pencil or pen.

There is no need to sit in a yoga position, find yourself a comfortable chair to sit in. Try not to fall asleep during the meditation practice. It helps to sit in an upright position with your feet flat on the ground and you're back straight. If you sit in the chair, relaxing with your back supported by the chair, you could become a little too comfortable and fall asleep.

Try to be as comfortable as you can, without falling asleep. Make sure that your clothes are not uncomfortable. Loose fitting clothes are preferred while meditating.

Make sure that you place the piece of paper where you can read it, if you haven't memorized it. If it's a small Bible verse, commit the verse to memory, if possible and sit there quietly, while you start to repeat this verse, over and over again. There is no need to repeat this Bible verse at high speeds, simply relax and take your time, either saying them out loud or to yourself.

You can spend anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes each day, relaxing and going over your Bible verse. Pay attention to any thoughts that enter your mind. For example, the title of a book or movie might pop up. If this happens, simply write the title or any other thoughts that pop up, down on the piece of paper. Try not to focus on your new thoughts, titles or any other things that pop into your head, simply let them go peacefully and return to your Bible verse.

These thoughts could inspire you to do something, like purchase a book, watch a movie, go somewhere or, for instance, someone's name could even pop up. There is a possibility that this person might have the answers you are seeking. By reviewing, what you have written down, on a weekly basis, this could lead to further inspiration or action.

I'm not going to tell you to do this for 30 days, six months or a year. You might have some sort of insight or explanation of the Bible verse, you might not. Your meditation could lead you towards something else. Pay attention to the thoughts that you are having, these thoughts can lead you towards the answers you seek in the form of a book, person, spiritual insight or something else.

Meditation has been extremely helpful for me, in finding answers to questions that I am overly interested in. It has taken over a year to receive some of these answers, but most seem to come to me in a shorter period of time. Your answers might not come as soon as you would like, but they will come.

Good Christian News

You are free to copy this article to your site as long as you include the following resource information with an active link to my site:

If you're really seeking the kingdom of heaven, the glory of God and the true vision that Jesus had, check out some great Christian articles. These articles are designed to teach and educate Christians.

Receiving Your Just Reward As a Christian

Most Christians believe that their life is about glorifying God. Living a life on Earth as a representative of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. These people read the Bible often receiving what they perceive and believe as visions or understandings of the Scripture. If you ask a Christian, "What is your ultimate goal in Christianity?" You'll probably get a response like," To be a good Christian," or maybe "Seeking the glory of the kingdom" are how about "To actually perform a task like helping others, starting a church, missionary work or something along the lines of Mother Teresa.

I was listening to a sermon the other day when the pastor said, "That he would not do this if it wasn't true if I couldn't expect the resurrection from the dead, where everything would be paid back to me a thousand fold for everything that I have laid down for the service of Jesus. I wouldn't go this way."

Do you think this person is looking to receive their just reward as a Christian, living a life of a pastor at a mega-church and converting thousands to Christianity should give him plenty of rewards in the promised land. Now the problem I have is, when he mentions that he would not do this if it wasn't true. How does he actually know that it is true? Just stop and think about this statement for a second.

Some people respond when asked this question with total confidence. They might even respond with a look on their face like, "Helloooooooooooo!" You've got to be kidding me, Jesus Christ is the Lord and Savior, he was God's son put on earth to fulfill prophecy or any other answer that sounds good but provides very little factual support to this religion. In other words, it might not be true, what if it isn't true and you've been caught up in a false prophecy.

How many Christians are living a life, seeking their just reward? These people are living a life of denial, wanting to do other things but can not because of their religious beliefs. If they were to try something new or different, this could somehow penalized them and eliminate their final payment or reward, for providing years of service to the faith of Christianity.

Christianity controls its faith like most religions, through fear, suffering, love and of course guilt. Without guilt, modern religions would have problems functioning. How many people give money or time to their religions based on fear instead of love? If you search your soul to justify your actions or beliefs, how many of them are based on guilt, fear or suffering, instead of love.

Life Changing Books

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Fooling Modern Day Christians - Fake Christian Teachers

When I went to church, I would often see people raising their hands, standing up, singing passionately, praising the Lord and some of them, sometimes would even get a little out of hand, with their excitement. I was watching a Christian show on TV and I will leave out the pastors name but it rhymed with Skeeter top off. This Christian teacher was amazing, to say the least.

When I said I was watching a Christian show, this was almost like watching a cross between a documentary and the circus. This guy would stand up on stage and start to become magnetically pulled towards one of the people in the audience. Once he got closer to the person he would start to tell them, what was wrong. The closer he got to his prey, the more excited they both would become as he started laying it on them.

This man would convince them that he knew, what was wrong with them, some of the problems in their life, health related issues and physical handicaps. While watching these shows, I would often pinch myself, go look at the calendar, and verify that I was in the 20th century and didn't go back in time somehow. Later on, this man was caught, but I don't know if he ever had to spend time in jail or prison. I mean that's not that big of a deal, fooling thousands of people and making them believe something that isn't true,... right. Would this be considered a con artist?

Here's how the scam went down. As people would enter this place of worship, they would write down all of their problems on a card and place it in a container or hand it to a trusted Christian usher. After the people were seated, someone would take the cards to a person hidden behind the scenes, this person would direct the Christian teacher towards the people with the problems in the audience.

The Christian teacher had a hidden earpiece and this made him look like he was psychic. This man was a hero to thousands and seen as a divine healer like Jesus Christ. He had fooled plenty of people and I often wonder, how many people were actually healed, just by the belief that someone with extraordinary powers had just healed them.

The mind is extremely powerful and can believe whatever it chooses to. The more you feed the mind, information that you choose to believe in, the stronger these beliefs will actually get. If you don't believe this, start asking someone who beliefs in Christianity, Hinduism, Islam or other religions around the world, why they believe and would it be possible for them to change their religious views. Think about it, most people are passionate about their religious choices.

Question your religion

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Studying Other Religions - Religious Education

I started out as a Christian and lived the first 17 years of my life as one. When I started doing a little research on Christianity, this soon led me to other religions. I started to research other religions, I soon found myself having problems with the religion of my birth, Christianity. I believe that Jesus was special and for some reason, thought that he was an only child. While reading one book, I found out he had 11 brothers and sisters. I don't know if this is true but this is what the book reported.

The stuff I had been taught in Sunday school and going to, what I would like to call adult church. Listening to the sermons and of course never reading the Bible, because my main concerns at the time were playing with my friends, sports and as I entered my teens, became extremely interested in cars. I didn't have time or a desire to verify anything that I had heard about Christianity.

I read one book and that led to others and pretty soon I was confused and chose not to be a Christian anymore, because I couldn't verify if this was a religion made by God or man. Everything I was learning pointed towards man and control and money and power. The more I learned, the more forgiveness I could have towards others who belonged to other religions throughout the world.

We all want the same thing, love, compassion and understanding. Buddhism seems to represent this the most to me and I started to study it a little more diligently. I kind of became fascinated with the Dali Lama and the country of Tibet. We tend to get caught up in stuff that sounds good and makes us feel good but often can't see the problems. This happens in our daily life with work, family and fun.

I never really fell out of favor with Buddhism but soon learned enough to save this religion wasn't exactly for me either. I like some of the principles, especially the principle of compassion which tends to drive this way of life forward.

I have studied quite a few religions and still have plenty of more to educate myself on. I understand that most people don't have the time or interest to pursue this path. That's fine, but at the same time don't make fun of these religions, if you don't know anything about them and don't tell others that your religion is right if it isn't.

If you want to read something funny and get your daily laugh in, you need to read this, it's funny Using Religion Responsibility . It's based on overindulgence.

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Another Crappy Rule in the Bible - Leviticus 20:9

How do we know which rules to follow in the Bible? If you're a Catholic, you follow certain rules and guidelines, Protestants, evangelical, Seventh-day Adventist, church of religious science, Mormons and other Christian organizations seem to interpret the Bible in different ways and make the rules up as they go along.

Seventh-day Adventists, choose to worship on Saturday and follow the Old Testament laws of the Sabbath. The most visible and largest Christian group is the Catholic church, this group of Christians has been known to change the rules as society changes. If you belong to any Christian organization and hold the Holy Bible as God's Word, and written law, wouldn't one of these organizations be right. By reading the rules in the Bible, we could eliminate those who did not follow them word for word. Sounds easy enough.

The Bible is definitely not short of laws and rules to follow. The book of Leviticus is full of them. Let's start with, Leviticus 20:9 " 'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head." I guess you're not allowed to curse your father or mother or you will be put to death.

This rule seems to be easy enough to follow, anyone who swears or curses at their mother and father, for example, if you were to damn your parents to hell or call them harmful names, could this be reason enough to be put to death and if so, who is supposed to kill you, one of the 10 Commandments, says your not allowed to kill anyone. Now it's getting a little confusing, which law do I follow.

Let's take another look at the word curse. A curse is any manner of adversity thought to be inflicted by any supernatural power, such as a spell, a prayer, an imprecation, an execration, magic, witchcraft, a god, a natural force, or a spirit. Maybe what the book of Leviticus was trying to tell us, was something different. If you were to cast a few spells, using magic or witchcraft, then you should be put to death. This makes a little more sense than just calling your parents names and then getting your head chopped off.

We are supposed to honor and respect our parents, Exodus 20:12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. And this makes sense, as long as our parents are decent and loving stewards. What if they're not? If your parents are cruel and abusive, do you still honor them? I couldn't find that one in the holy Bible, maybe I didn't look hard enough and maybe it's not in there.

Here's another rule of the Bible that isn't really clear. Anyone who curses their parents must be put to death but who's going to murder them, or should I say kill them in the name of God. If we don't follow these rules, why are they written down in the Holy Bible? Shouldn't the holy Bible be edited and, who's going to edit it, man or God.

Good Christian News

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Wishing For Riches Can Motivate You to Start

Anybody can wish for riches, and most people do, but only a few know that a definite plan, plus a burning desire for wealth, are the only dependable means of accumulating wealth.

This statement is at the beginning of Chapter 13 from the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill.

There are so many different methods, from so many different people, but most people don't know where to start, or plan their way to success.

I have heard some people mention the hardest part is actually starting, while others say you have to start somewhere, anywhere but start. Starting is usually the hardest part for most people, they get defeated by their own beliefs and of course never even start.

Fear of failure and fear of success, seem to be at the top of the list when thinking about starting a business. It's always been hard to imagine people being afraid to succeed, when this is what they seem to desire the most.

Wishing for riches can motivate you to start, thinking about the many different ways to succeed can motivate you to plan. A burning dire to succeed well often motivate you to start and create a plan eventually.

The key to creating wealth is developing habits and good daily habits performed over a lifetime, most of the time, will lead you to wealth beyond your wildest dream's. Sometimes this wealth is going to have nothing to do with money.

Get some books, talk to some people, watch some biographies about successful people throughout history, find out what they did and start paving your own trail. But you're going to have to start somewhere.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Rethinking Today's Religions - Misleading Our Children

When I was a young man, my parents told me about Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Every Christmas, there would be presents underneath the tree from Santa Claus and on Easter I would get a basket full of candy and eggs. However, when I was 11 years old, my parents broke the devastating news to me, there was no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny.

As you can imagine, I cried for hours over the frustration and disappointment. For one, I thought that I wasn't going to get any more Christmas gifts, but my parents provided me with the needed psychological relief and told me that they were going to provide Christmas gifts for me, until I died. Even though I was upset, I was relieved and confused.

If my parents lied about this, could they have possibly lied about something else, anything else. Have you ever thought about this and is there a situation in your life today that could be an old habit that never got corrected. Some theme that your parents told you when you were a child that was a lie and they never told you the truth. Maybe they never told you the truth because they don't even know themselves that it's a lie.

Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny were obviously disappointments to me and most people that I've talked to about their experiences, with their parents and even their children. Why do we do this as parents to our children, even though we didn't like it when it was done to us. Hard to explain why we can't break certain habits and certain traditions.

I love Christmas and the joy of giving. Even though I am no longer a Christian, I enjoy going over to my relatives homes and spending Christmas or Christmas Eve with them. Now for the bad news, if you were raised to believe in Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism or any other large religious organization. Let me ask you this, do you think that it could be like Santa Claus, do you think the religion you believe in so strongly could be a story that has gotten out of control over the centuries.

I've spent a life time rethinking today's religions and can't find very many facts to prove any one religion is superior over another. Do your own research and find your own answers. Enlightenment could be as simple as gathering the right information.

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30 Days to Creating Super Habits

Creating super habits are easier than you could ever imagine. Most people have something they would like to change in their lives. If you ask anyone, they are usually able to answer this question, "If you could change anything about yourself, what would you change." All the self help and personal development programs and books available today are full of useful information that nobody seems to take advantage of. You've seen the TV commercials and listen to other people tell their stories, about how they lost weight.

Are you one of those skeptics that find these stories hard to believe. Do you think it's possible to create a life changing habit within 30 days? If you don't think it's possible, have you ever tried to change something about yourself you don't like.

If you haven't tried, how do you know it's impossible. If you have tried to create change in your life, did you quit, did you quit shortly after you started. This is often what most people do. They either quit before they start and never even get started, or they quit within a short period of time after they started. Usually these people have an excuse, most of the time their excuse is quite simply, it was harder than I thought.

Creating super habits in 30 days is possible and you don't have to be an over achiever to accomplish this goal. Creating these habits will require some effort on your part but the rewards most of the time are worth the effort.

I challenge you to change something about yourself you don't like within the next 30 days.

Go to the next step for more information.

Finding Something You Don't like about Yourself

Greg is currently working on a self help video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

The Bible's Power Over One Child

I mentioned Sean in another one of my articles, the story of a young foster boy that we were taking care of. Sean's father was my ex-wife's uncle, and they were going through some tough times for a while and their three children ended up as wards of the state. We eventually ended up taking the oldest child because he was the hardest one to place and another home. His brother and sister ended up with a family that wanted to adopt them and eventually Sean went to live with them and I believe all three of them were adopted by this family. I don't know this for a fact though.

Sean was a emotionally damaged child. His parents would punish him with some strange and bizarre punishments. They weren't really physical punishments but seemed to leave the emotional scars on him and I often think about where he is and what he is doing.

We watched him for about a year and I learned quite a bit from this young man. He was in the third grade but was still at the first grade level for reading and math. I would spend a couple of hours each night during the week helping him with his schoolwork, I seem to have created some sort of allusion that I would be able to bring him up to the third grade level within a short period of time. Wrong. He must've had learning disabilities and of course I don't think I was that good teacher.

Sean was easy going, polite and extremely obedient. He would do anything to avoid getting in trouble and often blamed others for his mistakes. His punishments must have been more than he could bear before he arrived at our home. I think you're getting the picture about what kind of a child Sean was.

One day I found myself in a dilemma with Sean, I couldn't get him to tell me the truth, even though I knew he was lying. I forget what the problem was but I remember a hollow look in his face. It was almost like he wasn't really there. It was almost like he was just doing time, sitting on the bed, listening to me asking the same question over and over again, "Sean are you lying", but he wasn't even paying attention.

I normally would not punish my children for accidents, and never tolerated lying. I was trying to explain to him that he wasn't going to get in trouble, I just wanted to know the truth. He wasn't budging at all and stuck to his story. I remembered that his mother and father were Catholics and feared the church, almost as much as they loved it.

That's what I came up with my evil plan. I don't know where I come up with these ideas, but every once in a while one pops up in my head and I run with it.

I told Sean that I was going to bring the Holy Bible in, and if he could swear on the Bible that he was telling the truth, I would accept that and this would be the end of our conversation. I couldn't believe my eyes, as he started crying and screaming, frantically and excitedly as a yelled out, I did it, I did it, don't bring the Bible in, I won't do it again.

I couldn't believe that was all it took to get information from him. I have always been a pretty good interrogator and found myself gathering information from those people easily, but this was amazing. His fear of the Holy Bible got me thinking about how powerful this book actually is to some people. I remember when I looked upon this book, pretty much the same as Sean did.

It's just a book, like any other book. It's not made at a holy factory or a secret monastery in the Swiss Alps somewhere, it's made from paper and ink and can be damaged and destroyed like other books. I would be surprised if I threw the Bible into the fire, that it wouldn't burn. I would be even more surprised, if I seen three men standing in the fire, wait a minute that's another story in the Bible.

Is it possible for this book to actually control the lives of people. It seemed to control Sean, I wonder if I, could have actually been driving a nail home that his parents started. Could I have added to his belief, that the Bible is a book from God the creator of everything.

Structuring Your Time During the Day

We only have 24 hours in each day, if we're working 12 hours each day, six days a week, planning the time required to create a habit will be a little more difficult, than someone who works four hours a day three days each week.

If you're one of those overachievers and can't seem to rest or sit down for even five minutes a day. This tells me, we need to change this habit first. Most people that tell you, they just don't have any time during the day, for anything. These people usually have a lot more time than others.

Their time is normally unstructured and they often find themselves running around like a chicken with its head cut off. They are not organized or very efficient at most things that they do. Keep in mind that there are some extremely successful people that only work four hours each day and some of these people take vacations every other month.

Structuring your time will allow you the extra time you need during the day.

If you have a daytime organizer, use this to figure out, if there is any wasted time during the day. Pay strict attention to any wasted time and make a list you can evaluate at the end of the day. Do this for one week and at the end of the week evaluate your weekly activities.

If you don't have a daytime organizer, carrying around a scrap piece of paper to keep track of your daily activities. If you don't have a daytime organizer or if this is too much work for you, simply pay attention to any time you might feel, has been wasted during the day.

If we can create better time management habits, it won't be long before we have more time than we ever imagined.

Have you ever thought about Getting up Earlier.

Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Council of Nicaea Conclusion - The Origins of Christian Belief

In the year 325A.D the emperor of Rome, Constantine gathered a group of church bishops and other leaders who believes in Christianity. The purpose of the meeting was to define the true God for all Christians and eliminate any confusion within Christ's church.

By the end of this council, Jesus, God and the Holy Spirit were considered one and the same. Before the council, there was confusion about, whether they should believe in one God, two gods or three entities.

Here's a statement from got questions, a popular Christian website, "The Council of Nicea affirmed the deity of Jesus Christ and established an official definition of the Trinity-the deity of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit under one Godhead, in three co-equal and co-eternal Persons."

This was a pretty interesting article, if you've got time to read it, I would also suggest checking out Wikipedia for more information about the Council of Nicaea.

Here's Some of the Problems I Have with This Small Group of Proclaimed Christians.

If I'm reading this statement correctly, a group of people or religious leaders, 1700 years ago decided that Jesus, God the creator of everything in the universe and the Holy Spirit are the same. What does this mean to you? To me it establishes as a fact that a group of men, at a meeting, under the control of the Roman empire and the Emperor Constantine, made an agreement within the Council of man, not gods, that the Trinity was now a fact.

If this one thing was created by a group of men, doesn't it get you thinking about other things in your religion that might be false or even misleading. These are some of the facts that most Christians tend to either ignore or don't even have a clue that they exist.

I believe more Christians and other organized religions should inspire their followers to learn more about how their religions were formed and where they came from. I cannot verify that the Council of Nicaea ever took place, I'm basing this information on historical writings from man, that I either gather on the Internet or through books. I don't know if any of this is true or false, always use religion responsibly.

I don't need to believe the information, I don't need to believes the information in the Bible, I need to research and gather more information and with this information I can make an educated guess, and be happy with that, I suggest you do the same.

Greg is currently working on a self help library filled with great subjects on a wide array of topics like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world. His views on religious freedom are slowly changing the way people think about institutional religion.

Following Old Religious Text - Religion

Most people tend to bury their head in the sand when it comes to problems with their family, community, job, government and of course religious beliefs. They don't want to hear the truth and often they can't see the truth. I have read many religious text, books and other literature, missing some very important parts and only when I reread the information, did I find what I have missed. Sometimes I have needed to read or listen to the same information over 30 times, before it becomes somewhat clear to me.

Most religions are living in the dark ages. From what I gather, Hinduism is over 4000 years old, Judaism is around 2500 years old, Christianity is 2000 years old and Islam is about 1400 years old. People are following information today that isn't necessarily applicable to modern times but often religious leaders can twist it around, add some verbiage, make a semi-educated judgment and now we have something we can follow. It just doesn't make sense.

Why do we put so much faith in religious books like the Bible, Torah, Bhagavad-Gita and Quran, when these books cannot be proven and often have many mistakes and errors. I know people that open these books very carefully and treat them like they are made from solid gold. They are books like any others but often people live their lives from the information inside, strictly and religiously. Often never straying from their beliefs, even though they're outdated and hard to follow.

Let me get to the bottom line here, have you researched your religion and if you have, do you have any questions that can't be answered? Do you read any of the religious text and often wonder or think to yourself, this doesn't seem to make sense, because you just read something else that was contradicting the last statement.

You can handle the truth about your religion. By reading this article, it tells me that you're on the Internet, can you go to a search engine and type in Bible contradictions, Torah contradictions, or whatever your beliefs are. I was searching for errors in the Bible and came upon a couple of pretty good web sites.

Use words like contradiction, problems, errors and see what websites you come up with.

Seek the wisdom and the truth shall set you free.

Hope in Religion

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Was God From Another World?

I can't believe how many people focus on the Scriptures or religious text and their holy books but never question the origins of God. People run around like chickens with their heads cut off proclaiming that they have the truth and yet never seek the existence of their creator. I'm going to shed some light on this subject and when you're done reading this article, you will be a little bit farther towards the religious illusion of ignorance.

Man came from dust, man came from Clay and of course man came from light but where did God come from and if we could figure out where God came from, that still leaves us with a problem of where did God's parents come from. It goes back to the chicken and the egg problem, what was first the chicken or the egg. If you've never heard that statement before, let me shed some light on this subject.

Through the evolution of the chicken, could it always lay eggs, was there an evolution of the chicken, or did God create chickens and then the chickens started laying eggs to produce other chickens and if so how many chickens were produced in the very beginning of time. Were the chickens here before God or man? If the eggs were first, what kept the eggs warm, was the chicken and the egg invented at the same time?

The existence of a single creator is starting to become an obsession of mine. All the religions in the world can't answer my questions, at least I haven't found one yet. Every time I ask a question, I get an answer that's practically useless to a first grader. How was our world formed and who formed it. Quick answer, God did it, God does everything.

The Big Bang theory doesn't make sense, but you can make sense out of it, creation and evolution can also be proven to anyone who wants to believe in something strongly enough. I've heard people explain to me, like they have a doctorate in the creation of the universe, God did it in if you don't believe that, read this religious text, it says so right here. They could only pass on the knowledge of what they have learned from others.

When are we going to break this cycle, when are we going to start searching for God and when it all started. God had to have come from somewhere and it was probably another world, universe or dimension. Refuse to be a part of the old religious ignorance and start educating yourself, to become part of the changing spiritual world.

Christian Movie Problems

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Three Questions to Ask Yourself If You're a Christian

I was talking to someone on the Internet the other day through e-mail and I found myself asking them the same questions that I have asked others to think about. That's when it dawned on me that I should make this list available to everyone who is either involved in Christianity or is thinking about becoming a Christian.

1. Why Do You Believe in God?

Have you ever given it much thought, how or why he became a Christian. Were you raised a Christian and now consider yourself a Christian or have you converted from another religion to Christianity? Were you a nonbeliever and now are a believer? Are you someone who was indecisive and didn't really give much thought to Christianity but then met someone and they convinced you to follow the Lord.

2. Do You Use God?

I've heard so many people talk about God when things are going bad but rarely talk about God when things are going good or even give God much thought. When you're having problems, do you pray for God to give you the answers or maybe even a little help? When people are dying, they're reaching for anything that can promise them hope, that this isn't the end of their life. Is God your safety crutch in life, only to be used when there's a problem?

3. Would You Be a Good Person without God?

Is fear the only thing that keeps you in line? You don't want to do anything bad, because you might not get to go to heaven. Is it possible for you to live your life as a good person, an honest person and maybe even show a little compassion towards others, without God. Do you think we could live in a world and be good people without fear or judgment?

I don't really know if these three things are going to help you but if just one of them gets you thinking about Christianity, then I've done my job. Learn a little bit more about your religion and how you came about your beliefs.

Jesus Missing Years

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Here's a Way to See Jesus - Good News For All Christians

I was reading something the other day in the Bible and it got me thinking, if Jesus had appeared to his disciples, Paul and a this few other people on earth after his death, why wouldn't he appear to me or someone else. Are these people better than me, if yes then how, and if no, then how come I can't see my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Get ready for some secret information.

Jesus appeared to Saul who became Paul and Paul did a lot for Christianity. If Jesus would appear to one of us today, with modern-day technology, we could convert the whole entire population of the earth and possibly the entire universe to Christianity. If we just had one person like Paul to get things going again.

What do these verses out of the Bible mean to you, because I know they can be interpreted in many ways, shape or form. I've seen the best and brightest Christian scholars make sense out of scripture like this to support their religious views, on a regular basis. Anyway read this verse out of the New Testament and think about it before continuing to read the rest of the article.

Matthew 18:18 - "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. 19 "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Now compare your interpretation of these verses to mine, here's what I think the book of Matthew was trying to say. If I was to ask to see Jesus, he will be shown to me, by his Dad. But I need to be with another person. Does that make sense to you? What's your interpretation of those verses and was it similar to mine.

If this verse can be interpreted in another way, I would love to hear it. I don't know how well this translates from the original language it was written in, or if it's even close to the original meaning, if you truly desire to see Jesus, get with another person and ask for Jesus to appear to you and one of you buds.

This is good news for all Christians, we can now put all of the naysayers to rest, so what are you waiting for, get your Bible and another person and let's get our video cameras working overtime. Can't wait to hear the good news, let me know as soon as you see Jesus, I've got a couple of questions I would like to ask him if he wouldn't mind, of course. He's not someone we want to get mad at us, he holds the book of life in his hands at the end of times and I'm sure he can erase our names, if he choose to.

Incredible Religious Writing

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Success With Small Percentages - Financial Inspiration

Now what if I told you that for every 100 things you did, only two of them would be a success. I probably don't have your attention anymore and there is no inspiration, why should you even continue to read this article. Failure is the part of life that has no glory, success on the other hand provides people with money, satisfaction and further inspiration.

If you could only succeed 2% of the time, this could actually be enough to create a financial empire beyond anything you could have ever possibly dreamed of. Now do I got your attention again. Let me give you an example of what I'm talking about.

You start with something that's not expensive or complicated and most people can obtain the knowledge easily. You become a real estate agent and for every 100 people that you meet with, you sell two homes. Each one of these homes is worth $500,000 and you get a 3% sales commission. That's $15,000 each, is this going to inspire you to find your next 100 people or even figure out a way to increase the percentage from 2% to 4%. Sometimes small percentages can lead to big profits.

Would you try to sell homes that were worth more money. 3% sales commission on a $2 million house would be $60,000. You've just quadrupled your income. Now were getting somewhere with a small percentages.

Success every once in a while, comes in large numbers, large percentages with unbelievable inventories, but sometimes we have to make our way through the tough times with low percentages and small inventories. If you are writing books, and came up with one best-selling book from your first 50 books written, this could provide you with millions of dollars in income for the rest of your life.

The problem was small percentages, is that it takes too much effort to become successful. Most people want success, fast, when they write their first book or meet their first client looking for a home, they can become discouraged and never attempt to try again. Don't let this happen to you, keep pursuing your passion and reap the rewards.

Starting with Education

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Greg is currently working on a inspirational video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

The True Christian - Becoming a Great Person

For years, I have been trying to figure out what a true Christian believer is, is it someone who studies the Bible on a daily basis and develops excellent habits to keep them in line. Is a good Christian someone who helps people and inspires them to become better Christians. At what point in our lives do we know that we are true Christians. What separates a true Christian from regular Christians.

The true Christian is someone who reads their Bible on a daily basis and develops good study habits. These Christians bring their Bibles to work with them and set a good example by reading the Bible during their lunch break. Often showing every one that they are the above average Christian. Most of these people can answer any questions that are asked to them simply and effortlessly.

The answers will be based on information that they have gathered from the Bible, videos, audios, other Christian related material and of course their church leaders. Often these true Christians are leaders in their church and community. Followers of Jesus Christ are often inspired to help their friends and fellow church members.

Ordinary Christians are those who go to church every once in a while and never carry their Bible to work. They can however be found drinking coffee and eating doughnuts at local donut houses. Sometimes these donut houses even carry free newspapers that provide unchristian like materials. Every once in awhile I will notice a man, wearing a trenchcoat, taking one of the newspapers home with him. He's a bad and naughty Christian.

HELLO! LISTEN UP

The truth is, that a true Christian is only someone who lives a life like Christ. It doesn't get any simpler than that. Treating people with kindness, compassion and understanding, trying to become a better person or an example for others and their children. It's not necessary to read the Bible every day or associate with Christians only.

Jesus set the example for others to follow, read about him in the Bible and use him as a good example, but not the only example. There's plenty of good examples throughout history. Spiritual leaders like, Buddha, Krishna, Mohammed and Moses are also great teachers and can provide you with other experiences and knowledge.

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Greg is currently working on a video library filled with great movies on a wide array of topics, like religion, self help and spiritual changes in the world.

Creation Versus Evolution - Critical Thinking and Religion

You rarely hear the word evolution among scientists anymore and creation seems to be too far-fetched for any educated person to make sense out of. How the world started and where the universe came from has been one of the secrets that even the most educated people on the planet seem to have problem solving.

Creation states that God created the world in seven days. Evolution states that man has evolved from apes. Anyone could make sense out of both of them and with that in mind, we could tear each one of them apart with very little effort. It's hard to imagine modern man believes in either one of them but there are millions of people who do. Christians, Hindus, Judaism and of course the Nation of Islam.

How could we ever prove that God created the earth? I guess if someone invented a time machine, we could go back in the past and watch these events taking place but how would we know for sure, this is actually what we were seeing and would we be able to tell the difference between an illusion and the truth. If you choose to base your review of creation entirely on faith, I have some oceanfront property in Utah I would like to show you.

Evolution doesn't seem to fare much better than creation when it comes to proving scientifically that it's true. A hundred years ago, some of our greatest teachers were convinced that evolution could very easily replace the theory of creation. Nowadays it almost seems like something from our past, something like Greek mythology. At one time people on this planet believed in Greek and Roman gods but they are kind of a joke, while religions like Christianity seem to be gaining more ground.

Evolution is missing more than one link, they're missing links that link the other links together. The theory that our world was created by God makes more sense to me than the theory of evolution. However, if there was a God or being so powerful, why wouldn't this supreme entity intervene on our planet and eliminate hunger.

It's hard to imagine that either one of these theories are entirely true but at the same time each one of these theories could be stepping stones on our ladder of education towards the truth. I'm sure that one day we will know the truth but for now I will choose not to endorse either one of them 100%.

More Spiritual Ideas

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Hope in Religion - Is There Something You're Seeking in Religion?

I was reading a book on advertising when the author mentioned, "All Advertising Is about Hope."

Hope supplies us with the will to continue through hopeless obstacles during our lifetime.

I hope I live the good life, so I can go to heaven, the promised land, our ultimate enlightenment.

I hope I am living the true will according to God, Buddha, Krishna or other supreme beings.

I hope that the Bible is wrong about the 144,000 people from the 12 tribes.

I hope I'm living a life that is pleasing to the Lord.

Ask a couple of questions and I hope you will get honest answers to them.

Think Twice About the Following Your Leaders - Don't Follow to Close

Large organizations do it, world governments and religions also do it. I'm not talking about sex, I'm talking about imposing their wills and doctrine on their followers. The control others have on our lives can be extremely stressful and full of guilt if we choose to believe that these people are right.

It never has made sense to me that God could let all the horrible things in the world continue to go on, even though he is a loving and compassionate parental figure. Religions and governments seem to be the biggest culprits here, they impose their will and doctrine on others less fortunate. When I say less fortunate, what I'm referring to is the people that don't get to make the rules and are known as the followers.

If the United States government chooses to go to war with another country, it can print money on paper and scraps of metal while convincing the rest of the world and United States citizens that this means something and has value attached to it. They can then use this money to finance what they would like to acquire or accomplish, even if it doesn't benefit others.

A good example of this would be sending your child to war to fight for something you believe in, at that time, but 10, 20 or even 30 years in the future you could find yourself changing your mind. This would become even more devastating if your child was killed in the war. Believing in someone else's cause might not benefit mankind and that's what we need to focus on. Improving the lives of people on the entire planet.

When you impose your will on other people, you eliminate free thinking. Freedom of thinking has added more good to the world than bad with great inventions, literature, people, philosophy, medical treatment and of course the list goes on and on. Some of these great thinkers had to change their thinking and sometimes is required going against their religion or government. Galileo was one of these people.

Think about it the next time you impose your will or your beliefs onto someone else without stating the fact that this was just your opinion and maybe you would like them to think about. But stating something in a way that suggests you're right and someone else is wrong will not benefit you or them in the long run.

Believing you're right, and someone else is wrong, seems to create limited beliefs. Closed minds lead to followers and we have plenty of followers in the world. We could use a few good leaders.

Saying You're Sorry Without Action - Time Wasting Self-Improvement

How many times a day do you hear the words I'm sorry? I use the words whenever I feel like I have done something harmful to another person.

I know people that would never even think of apologizing to someone, because it shows a sign of weakness. I don't believe in this, but at the same time, I often tire from listening to the same person saying that they are sorry 30 times a day.

It's these people I'm talking about when I mention, "Saying You're Sorry without Action". I can think of a couple of people in my life that use the word sorry as a poor excuse for their daily activities that seemed to create a repetitive lifestyle of problems.

To me the word sorry becomes meaningless, it used too much by the same person. When this becomes a problem with me, I often make a suggestion to the other person, to quit using the word sorry and start showing me some effort, by changing their life. Changing the way they do things would eliminate the need to say you're sorry, constantly.

If somebody was sincerely sorry, would it continue to happen two, three or four times in the same day. Does this become a habit that they can't seem to break? Do they do it for attention? Is this something that people do for sympathy? I can't really figure it out. Are you lacking the motivation to start solving your own problems or do you need a little help from someone.

Think about it, the next time you say you're sorry to someone. Are you sincerely sorry or is it like flushing the toilet, something you do as a response to something that has came out a you. Be a little more careful with what words you use on a daily basis.

Greg's Thoughts and Ideas

Blog Archive

About Me

Followers

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

The Hidden Truth about Christians

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

The Sabbath Or the Lord's Day - Which Do We Follow?

Use Religion Responsibly - Spiritual Humor

Finding Something You Don't Like About Yourself - Creating Habits

Hope in Religion - Is There Something You're Seeking in Religion?

Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven? - The Good People Get to Go to Heaven Also

Do You Believe in the Bible?

Christian Sermon Evaluation - Purpose and Suffering

Is Money a Big Part of Organized Religion?

Religious Mind Control Or Generational Sin

Powerful Beliefs in the Bible - How Powerful Exactly is the Bible

Meditating on Religious Scripture

Receiving Your Just Reward As a Christian

Fooling Modern Day Christians - Fake Christian Teachers

Studying Other Religions - Religious Education

Another Crappy Rule in the Bible - Leviticus 20:9

Wishing For Riches Can Motivate You to Start

Rethinking Today's Religions - Misleading Our Children

30 Days to Creating Super Habits

The Bible's Power Over One Child

Structuring Your Time During the Day

Council of Nicaea Conclusion - The Origins of Christian Belief

Following Old Religious Text - Religion

Was God From Another World?

Three Questions to Ask Yourself If You're a Christian

Here's a Way to See Jesus - Good News For All Christians

Success With Small Percentages - Financial Inspiration

The True Christian - Becoming a Great Person

Creation Versus Evolution - Critical Thinking and Religion

Hope in Religion - Is There Something You're Seeking in Religion?

Think Twice About the Following Your Leaders - Don't Follow to Close

Saying You're Sorry Without Action - Time Wasting Self-Improvement