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"It is understandable and legitimate that the
threatened self should look for
salvation, but this should not happen through
undervaluing or regulating to second place the urgent need to save
real life from its distress."
- Jon Sobrino
Jesus the Liberator
"Familiarity with the ways of the Eternal as they
are revealed in the physical universe certainly tends to keep a man sane and
sober and safeguards him against the vagaries and half-truths which our creeds
and indoor artificial lives tend to breed. Think of the obsession of the speedy
'end of the world!' which has so often taken possession of whole communities,
as if a world that has been an Eternity in forming could end in a day on the
striking of a clock." - John Burroughs
"The end-of-the-world prophecies so popular in
American fundamentalist Christianity today tap into an authentic realization,
except for the idea that our salvation will come from without. They imagine
Jesus coming down from the sky to take away
the True Believers in a rapturous escape from a
world we have ruined. It is a thought form exactly parallel to that of the
techno-utopians. Only the identity of their god is different." - Charles
Eisenstein
"When money
transactions replace gift transactions, the circle of self shrinks to
eventually become the lonely, mercenary domain of
John Calvin and
Adam Smith. To live in the gift reverses
that process, undoing the bonds of the discrete
and separate self and all that goes with it. To live in the gift is to
relinquish the compulsion to control, the program
to label and number the world, the quest for
reductionistic certainty, the drive to convert the
world into money and property." -
Charles
EisensteinJohn (Jehan) Calvin,
a strict literalist,
believed Biblical scripture to be the actual
incorruptible word of
God which carried absolute authority.
John Calvin, trained
to be a lawyer, studied under some of the best legal
minds of the Renaissance in France.
Part of that training involved the newer humanistic methods of
exegesis, which dealt with a text in the original language directly via
historical and grammatical analysis, as opposed to indirectly via layers of
commentators.
John Calvin legal and
exegetical training was important as he applied these exegetical methods to the
Biblical scripture.
John Calvin
systemized the Protestant interpretation of the scriptures with the publication
of The Institutes of the Christian Religion.
John Calvin
self-consciously tried to mold his thinking
along literalist biblical lines, and he
labored to preach and teach a literal
interpretation of scripture.
John Calvin taught
total depravity (people are born
evil and care only about themselves) and
predestination (some people are destined to hell, especially those who refute the
dogma of total
depravity and predestination - heretics all!).
{Obviously
John Calvin had a
flawed sense of logic. Man is totally depraved and
yet somehow those totally depraved human beings were able to
perfectly document and accurately describe
through Biblical accounts the attributes of God.}
"If there were no one
to punish, then God would be incapable of
demonstrating that
he was a mysteriously vindictive
God." -
John Calvin's
explanation for evil!
John Calvin made the
claim that only his interpretation of scripture was to be absolute law - with
stern retribution for transgressors.
John Calvin
founded the first Protestant absolutist theocracy in
Geneva, Switzerland.
Calvinist Geneva, the "Protestant Rome," was
a totalitarian police state with systematic subjugation
of an entire populace according to a specific doctrine - Calvinistic
dogma.
In 1542 the council approved
John Calvin's
religious regulations.
The ministry was
divided into pastors, teachers, lay (nonreligious) elders, and deacons. The
pastors governed Calvin's Church, and their permission was required to preach
in Geneva. To control public behavior, an
elected group of pastors and elders were given the right to search people's
homes; to banish anyone from the city; to force attendance at weekly sermons;
and to ban gambling, drinking, dancing,
and immodest dress. Criticism of
John Calvin or
other church officials was forbidden, as were immoral writings and books about
Catholicism. Punishment for first offenses was usually a fine. Repeat offenders
were banished, and extreme offenses carried
the death penalty. From 1541
until John Calvin's death fifty-eight people were executed and seventy-six were
banished in order to preserve the moral
order of Calvinistic dogma.
"Any
sculpture or public art was forbidden. A special permit was required to print
anything for publication. It was forbidden to write letters abroad, and local
mail was all read by a committee, coming and going. Everyone was encouraged to
spy on everyone else, children on their parents, workers against each other,
servants against their masters." - Rafi Metz*
"Most savagely of all
were punished any offenders whose behavior challenged Calvin's
political and spiritual
infalliblity. A man who had publicly protested against the reformer's
doctrine of predestination was mercilessly flogged at all the crossways of the
city and then expelled. A book printer who, in his cups, had railed at Calvin
was sentenced to have his tongue perforated with a red-hot iron before being
expelled from the city. Jacques Gruet was racked and then executed merely for
having called Calvin a hypocrite." -
Stephan Zweig*, The Right
To Heresy
John Calvin was
instrumental in the burning of Michael
Servetus* – the
physician who first accurately discribed the circulation of blood.
Michael Servetus and
John Calvin
communicated by letter each trying to con-vince the other of his
theology. Michael Servetus, while in Vienne, was
denounced as a heretic by Guillaume Trie,
a rich merchant who had taken refuge in Geneva and was a very
good friend of
John Calvin.
Michael Servetus was
convicted of heresy by the French
inquisition but escaped before his execution could be carried out.
Michael Servetus shortly thereafter
attended a sermon by John Calvin in Geneva
and was arrested. Michael Servetus was
found to be a heretic and was
condemned to be burned alive. The executioners
tied Michael Servetus to a chair,
lowered him into the flames, then raised him up, then lowered him into the
flames again, and again, and again, so in all it took half an hour before he
died (apparently they were unsure of suffering
in the after life and wanted to make sure he suffered in this life).
the RaptureThe
Rapture is the name given to an event by neo-evangelists in which Jesus Christ
descends from Heaven, accompanied by the spirits of all the saints of God, both
from the pre-incarnation period and after, who have passed on prior to this
event. The reincarnated bodily remains of these saints are transported from the
Earth to meet the Lord and be rejoined with their corresponding spirits in
heaven. Immediately after this, all Christians alive on the earth are
simultaneously transported to meet the Lord and those who have preceded them in
heaven. All are transformed into immortal bodies
like Jesus' body, often referred to as the "resurrection body" - experiencing a
literal rebirth.
The popularization of the term is associated with
teaching of John Nelson Darby, prominent among the Plymouth Brethren, and the
rise of premillennialism and dispensationalism in English-speaking churches at
the end of the 19th century. In 1908, the doctrine of the rapture was further
popularized by an neo-evangelist named William Eugene Blackstone, whose book,
Jesus Is Coming, sold more than one million copies The first known
appearance of the theological use of the word "rapture" in print occurs with
the Scofield Reference Bible of 1909.
last
judgementThe concept of a Last Judgment is found in all Abrahamic
religions.
In Christian eschatology, the Last Judgment, Final Judgment,
Judgment Day, or Day of the Lord is the judgment by God of each individual
soul.
In Islam, the Last Judgment is called, among other things, yaum
al-Qiyamah - literally "the Day of Standing" when Allah judges all of Creation.
"For thousands of years now people have been
predicting the end of the world - and soon! Though their frequent postponement
of the date of Armageddon detracts from their credibility, the basic psychic
energy behind the loonies holding up placards on Times Square comes from a real
source. They are tapping into a true insight: the
edifice of civilization has an irremediable
structural flaw that dictates its eventual collapse. We are on a collision course
with nature and with
human nature." - Charles
EisensteinApocalypse literally means
the lifting of the veil.
Apocalypse is a term applied to
the disclosure to certain privileged persons of something hidden from
the majority of humankind. Today the term is often
used to mean "end of the world", which may be a shortening of the phrase
apokalupsis eschaton which literally means "revelation at the end of the
age".
Apocalyptic
beliefs predate
Christianity, appear in other
religions, and have merged into contemporary
secular society, especially through
popular culture.
Apocalyptic
beliefs also occur in other
religious systems; the
Hindu concept of pralay and the Norse
concept of Ragnarök.
Ragnarök, literally
translated as the "fate of the gods", is
the battle at the end of the world.
Ragnarök will be waged between
the Æsir, led by Odin, and the various forces of the Jötnar,
including Loki. Not only will most of the
gods, giants and creatures
involved perish in this apocalyptic
conflagration, but almost everything in
the universe will be torn
asunder.
Ragnarök will be
preceded by the Fimbulwinter, the winter of winters. Three successive winters
will follow each other with no summer in between. The stars will vanish from
the sky, plunging the earth into darkness.
The earth will shudder, so violently that
trees will be uprooted, and mountains will
fall, and every bond and fetter will snap and sever, freeing Loki, the God of
Mischief.
ArmageddonArmageddon is the final climactic
battle between God, also known as YHWH Elohim, and
Satan, written in the Book of
Revelation in the Christian New Testament, or more generally, an apocalyptic
catastrophe. The word Armageddon in Scripture is known only from a single verse
in the Greek New Testament, where it is said to be Hebrew, but it is
thought to represent the Hebrew words Har
Megido, meaning "Hill of Megiddo". Megiddo was the location of many decisive
battles in ancient times.
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Armageddon is
the battle when Satan unites the
kings of the Earth against God's appointed King, Christ.
Rastafari
believe it is Haile Selassie who appears in the Book of Revelation. Armageddon
(or rather "Amagideon") is a slightly different theological concept, meaning
not so much a specific battle, but rather the general state the entire world is
in now, and has been getting progressively deeper in.
Seventh-day
Adventists believe the final battle of Armageddon will take place after the
thousand-year period mentioned in the Book of Revelation, where the righteous
dwell with God in heaven and the wicked are judged. According to this account,
Christ and his saints (and the Heavenly kingdom they now reside in) will come
down to Earth, shielded from the wicked. Christ will raise the wicked dead, and
Satan will prepare them to
engage in one final battle between good and evil.
Satan and his followers will
attempt to overthrow Christ's followers, but will be overcome by the power of
Christ. Under His command, God destroys
Satan and the wicked once and
for all with an overwhelming fire. The Earth will be cleansed by fire, purged
of all evil, then, according to the final two chapters of Revelation, will be
made new and restored to its original state before sin entered into the world.
Then Christ and His redeemed saints will be declared victorious.
End TimeEnd
time, End Time, End times, End Times, End-time, End-Time, End-times, End-Times;
or End of days and End of Days, usually refers to the eschatological ideas in
the three Abrahamic Religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). End times is
often, but not always, depicted as a time of tribulation that precede the
predicted coming of a messianic figure. A number of religions and faith
traditions have eschatological beliefs about end times, resulting in various
belief systems, traditions and behaviors.
The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints teaches that we are living in the last days. Some Latter-day
Saints believe that the earth has a temporal existence of 7000 years and that
the present day is somewhere near the 6000th year. Wars, pestilence, economic
despair, natural disasters and a finally a great earthquake will signal the end
times.
In Shia Islam the end of time theory believes that the coming of
Jesus will coincide with the return of the Muhammad al-Mahdi, who is considered
by Shias as the 12th appointed successor of Prophet Muhammad. Shias believe
that Jesus and the Mahdi will work together to bring about peace and justice on
Earth between all peoples of faith.
In Sunni Islam the Sun sets, does
not rise for 3 days, then rises from the west, rising till mid-day and then
setting in the west. The Dajal (The Anti Christ) appears and deceives the
majority of mankind. Jesus Christ descends from heaven. Famine and disasters
occur. A man appears in Madina and is named the Mahdi. A great war between
Muslims and Jews occurs. A wind comes taking the souls of all Muslims leaving
only infidels on Earth. (see The Rapture)
Zoroastrians believe "at the
end of thy tenth hundredth winter the sun is more unseen and more spotted; the
year, month, and day are shorter; and the earth is more barren; and the crop
will not yield the seed; and men become more deceitful, more given to vile
practices and they will have no gratitude. A dark cloud makes the whole sky
night."
Zoroastrians also believe an end time battle will occur between
the righteous and wicked. Sinners will be punished but then forgiven. The world
will reach perfection as poverty, old age, disease, thirst, hunger, and death
cease. Evil and the spirit of evil will cease to exist,
dualism will end and goodness will
prevail.
Osisris
returns to Earth, resurrects every human that lived by the
Golden Rule and all sorrow pass' away
forever. |
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This web site is not a commercial web site and
is presented for educational purposes only.
This website defines a new religious
ideology to which its author adheres. The author feels that the falsification
of reality outside personal experience has created a populace unable to discern
propaganda from reality and that this has been done purposefully by an
international corporate cartel through their agents who wish to foist a corrupt
version of reality on the human race. Religious intolerance occurs when any
group refuses to tolerate religious practices, religious beliefs or persons due
to their religious ideology. This web site marks the founding of the religion
aptly named The Truth of the Way of Life - a rational religion based on reason
which requires no leap of faith, accepts no tithes, has no supreme leader, no
church buildings and in which each and every individual is encouraged to
develop a personal relation with God through the pursuit of the knowledge of
reality in the hope of curing the spiritual corruption that has enveloped the
human spirit. The tenets of The Truth of the Way of Life are spelled out in
detail on this web site by the author. Violent acts against individuals due to
their religious beliefs in America is considered a “hate
crime.”
This web site in no way condones violence. To the contrary
the intent here is to reduce the violence that is already occurring due to the
international corporate cartels desire to control the human race. The
international corporate cartel already controls the world central banking
system, mass media worldwide, the industrial military entertainment complex of
America and is responsible for the collapse of morals, the elevation of
self-centered behavior and the destruction of global ecosystems. Civilization
is based on cooperation. Cooperation does not occur at the point of a
gun.
American social mores and values have declined precipitously over
the last century as the corrupt international cartel has garnered more and more
power. This power rests in the ability to deceive the populace in general
through mass media by pressing emotional buttons which have been preprogrammed
into the population through prior mass media psychological operations. The
results have been the destruction of the family and the destruction of social
structures that do not adhere to the corrupt international elites vision of a
perfect world. Through distraction and coercion the direction of thought of the
bulk of the population has been directed toward solutions proposed by the
corrupt international elite that further consolidates their power and which
further their purposes.
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their writings, showed the capacity for intelligent, reasonable, rational,
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