You DID Build That!

Put Up or Shut Up

For the last few days, both here and on Facebook, we have been looking at some hard questions and answering them with hard answers.  Today I am going to elaborate on my Facebook statement about bad things "happening for a reason".

I am going to set aside, for a moment, the lengthy argument as to why most "bad" things really aren't.  For now we will define a "bad thing" as an event resulting in suffering for the person who experiences it.  (Later on we can talk about doing away with "bad" things in your life)

Events that cause suffering can be classified into precisely two categories.  The first category includes those events that happen as a result of an "accident of nature". There are actually far fewer accidents of nature than we think there are.  If a disaster causes suffering, but could have been prevented by action on the part of a person or persons, then it becomes the second category - events caused by man.

We live in an imperfect world. If we lived in a perfect world where random things don't happen, we would be BORED OUT OF OUR MINDS. Living in an imperfect world does not mean we are slaves to it's accidents and disasters.

Suffering as a result of an unpredictable disaster or accident in an imperfect world is unfortunate, but it does not "Happen For a Reason". That fact is lost on many of the world's ignorant fundamentalists.

In fact fairy tales and outright lies by fundamentalists turn accidents into "caused suffering". How many of these lies have we heard over the years? Asshats like Jerry Falwell have turned a terrible disease, that is the result of a virus just like EVERY OTHER viral disease, into hate.

"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."

When a "christian" who has a captive audience of millions makes irrational, illogical statements like that, they not only inflict and create hate toward a whole group, they ironically disgust and repel anyone who was curious about "christianity".  What they perceive is that "christians" are lying bigots who purposefully create fear and hate in people they don't like.

These lies, just like the truth, are what creates the future.  YOU create the future with your words and your actions. What was an opportunity to treat the suffering, heal the disease and use the power and authority granted to you by God, thus resulting in a future where AIDS patients are seen just like other patients, where much more funding is available for AIDS research, where a cure might have ALREADY HAPPENED... was instead used to create the future (our present) where homosexuals and AIDS patients are seen as lesser-than-us, where rich "christians" donate their money to hate mongers like the Salvation Army instead of AIDS research, where millions of "christians" have turned into mindless hate-brokers, and where millions more are suffering needlessly because one asshole turned an entire generation away from teachings that could have relieved them.

That did not "HAPPEN FOR A REASON". That happened "AS A RESULT OF" opportunistic lies, hate, bigotry, arrogance, ignorance and ego.  It was not entirely "AS A RESULT OF" Falwell, though.  How many "christians" denounced him? How many "christians" made the conscious decision to destroy the not-Real cognitive processes of doubt, hate, anxiety and fear so that they could KNOW right then and right there that fundamentalist "christianity" is a complete and total lie?

"christians" and Atheists

We have proven over the last few days that our physical existence is not-real (illusion), that our beliefs are illusions, that the existence of "real" things is in no way related to our "beliefs" and that our sole purpose in this physical life is to act out of Love (infinite spiritual love, not romantic love).  We've also proven that emotions like fear, doubt and hate are not-Real illusions that are a result of a few pounds of goop in your head telling your (not-Real) body lies.

Knowing these things has unexpectedly answered a question I've had for a long time that made no sense to me.

I've known quite a few self-labeled Atheists. I've known thousands of self-labeled "christians" also. The thing I couldn't figure out is why all the Atheists I know spend much more time helping others, giving to charity and doing things like campaigning for social justice. Why would somebody who expected to cease existing at some point spend so much effort helping others? What would be the point? They even seem to prefer helping professions also. I've known atheists who were teachers, nurses, military and emergency responders.

I've rarely seen cynicism from Atheists, unless it is to ridicule a "christian" who does something that is in complete opposition to their "beliefs".

On the other hand only a very small number of the thousands of self-labeled "christians" I've known have demonstrated that level of compassion, empathy and selflessness. Why would people who profess to having given their entire existence to God, and relinquished all control of their actions to Jesus, spend so little time doing THE ONE THING COMMANDED BY JESUS?

The answer? Atheists have nothing to prove! They don't agonize over whether their actions will please a bearded man in the sky. Their charity donations aren't going to subsidized mega-churches and Italian suits for TV preachers. Whether they consciously realize it or not they are using their God-given authority to actually DO the things christians talk about.

Having a belief in God, or not, has absolutely nothing to do with His existence. Having a belief in God, or not, has absolutely no bearing on what happens to you when you die. One belief is no better than another, and as we have proven, beliefs mean absolutely nothing! They are not real! They do not reflect on reality.

Many Christians base their entire (not-Real) lives on mistakes and lies created by other (not-Real) imperfect human beings. The label "Christian" is absurd in the first place.

This is going to be a shock to some of you, but Jesus' last name WAS NOT Christ. In fact, his first name wasn't Jesus, but that's for another day.

"Christ" is a title. It's meaning is "annointed" or "messiah". Jesus didn't give that title to himself. He also never claimed exclusivity or denying the ability to be anointed to others.

The label "Christian" means "belonging to". Thus, "belonging to the anointed".

Jesus didn't use the word Christ or the word Christian. He also didn't say that only the special few that got their card punched by saying a prayer and getting baptized were the ONLY ONES that belonged to him. THE WHOLE WORLD belongs to him.

He didn't go around healing "Christians". He healed the sick. He served the ones that modern Christianity shuns. He didn't pick and choose. And he didn't direct YOU to pick and choose.

What He DID do was to give the world the absolute truth. He gave the world an absolute command.

He gave each person absolute authority to find and speak the truth. He gave each person absolute power over ALL things when they do the work he commanded.

All the rest of the garbage that is associated with Christianity today was dumped there by MEN. Hell, fear, doubt, 'special status', superiority over others, a special 'heaven' that INCIDENTALLY will be occupied solely by those people that go to your church that you really can't stand being around.

If you buy into the garbage, you miss the message. If you really believe that even one person who doesn't go to your church will burn alive at the hands of the god you claim to worship, then you are either mentally ill or sociopathic.

What it Means

You create the future. It doesn't matter if you believe that or not, it is the truth.

The thoughts and actions you take right now permanently create future events that don't travel in a straight line, but cascade and build and become huge influences down the road.

Thoughts and actions that arise from Faith (absolute reliance and trust in God) create events that cascade and expand and result in a growing of Love.

Thoughts and actions that arise from fear, uncertainty, indifference, ignorance or hate cause a powerful and expanding wave that create more of those emotions for other people.

The universe doesn't "happen" to you for "a reason". The future isn't a predetermined sequence of events engineered to teach you a lesson.

You have been given the power and the authority to create the world by your actions. That is a huge responsibility right?

Doing things out of Love, by pushing forward, aggressively, without ceasing with complete reliance and trust in God, plants a seed that will grow into a forest because YOU HAPPENED TO THE UNIVERSE FOR A REASON, not the other way around.

Stop letting "life" live you. Stop scaring yourself into immobility by assuming you suffer for a purpose.

Use the power and authority you have to DESTROY the fake fear, worry, doubt that make you suffer. Use the power and authority you have to plant a seed that others will see grow into a forest that doesn't need to be watered by hate, or threatened with punishment if it doesn't grow exactly as its told.

When you do that, even if only one single person sees it and repeats it, you have created a huge event in the timeline that will not only continue, but grow.

Make life your bitch.