Hello everyone! I hope you had a wonderful weekend so far and enjoying your day. I know for Florida it's always in the upper 90's here lately. It's miserable. High AC bills. Blah! Lol. Anyway..
Warning! <~~~~~~~~~This blog contains disturbing and adult content. It can't be avoided or else I'd omit them believe me. There are some things we can't sugar coat unfortunately. This Pizzagate information I stumbled on is connected to two blogs I did about the connection with meth and demons. Both were written way before this scandal broke out.
For those who didn't read them, you should. Here are the links: Demons and Meth? A Door To Darkness and Meth and Demons Part Two. Now by pure dumb luck I stumbled across how pedophiles often use drugs when abusing. They are rarely sober. The main drug of choice is METH! Boom! Here we are again this drug seems to be the main one where people constantly see demons and horrific things. I know any drug can cause hallucinations but it was meth that kept coming up when people came to me for guidance and help over the last couple of years. This drug seems to be truly be evil as all drugs are, but in a different way. I'm still receiving comments on my first blog that I wrote back in early 2014.
Pizzagate definition for those who may not have heard:
"The investigation and exposure of those viewing, exchanging or creating child pornography, on Twitter or elsewhere, that was launched after Wikileaks published thousands of emails to and from John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's campaign manager. Many emails referred to "pizza" and used other code for child pornography in an unusual manner."
Now for the topic at hand. While I was doing some researching on the status of this Pizzagate situation, I came across an article how pedophiles use METH for days on binges while abusing. When I read that I about dropped! Yes they will use other drugs but this "non offending pedophile as he calls himself" stated that METH was the main choice if not cocaine as it gives a similar feeling but METH is really the main one. If you search pedophiles on YouTube you'll see some mention of that. But non offending pedophiles feel since many never act on their feelings that they should get a break. Another whole issue there.
Some of you may already know this. It was stated by a pedophile that most serve Satan. Practicing in satanic rituals which many weren't hiding that the evil one that Satan was their lord. Freedom of religion I totally respect. But if harm is coming from it then there needs to be an investigation like they do to all churches, as they should. There are bad apples in every religion.
There is a video on YouTube where someone videotaped a party going on at the famous Comet Ping Pong saying it outright. Talking about enjoying Satan no matter where they are. Pizzagate has been all over the place and even some mainstream news are just now starting to talk about it. But no one ever said they had valid proof yet so it's up to each person to believe what they choose after viewing all the damaging circumstantial evidence. Twitter and YouTube is censoring anything about this. No free speech? I must say there have been no arrests yet regarding this possible pedo ring. I know another one somewhere that was busted so at least those dear children are safe now.
The devil is really sending out the forces! His time is near and he knows it. Only Satan would want such sick, perverse things going on. Making METH so available.....the sicker the sin the better. He's after souls people. I come at this from a biblical point of view so maybe opinions will differ. But I doubt anyone is ok with child rape and trafficking.
The people suspected to be involved are all connected to the White House and the elites. No wonder human trafficking has gone on for decades! It's our government and law enforcement being accused and the circumstantial evidence is mounting so much. It was never debunked. It's not fake news. None of that has been proved by any means. John Podesta has yet to say or provide any information about what the three under the age of 8 minors were doing for "their entertainment" as he stated in an email naming all three ages!! How can that be ignored?
Below is part of a article where a man claims METH turned him into a pedophile. Could be excuses or did some evil really cause him these feelings that the below article states? I found this at www.adelaidenow.comau. Feel free to check out the rest of the below article:
"A DRUG addict who turned to pedophilia when amphetamines left him "sexually disinhibited" will serve at least three years' jail.
The man, who cannot be named, appeared in the District Court today.
He had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse, five counts of indecent assault and child pornography offences.
The offending occurred between September and October 2010.
In sentencing, Judge Barry Beazley said the man's victim was the 11-year-old daughter of his "on-off defacto".
He said the man also photographed and video-recorded sex acts, with the girl, on his mobile phone.
"You were in a position of trust, and your offending is extremely serious," Judge Beazley said.
"This type of offending causes feelings of outrage and revulsion in the community."
Judge Beazley said the victim was "upset and angry", but had expressed a "positive attitude" about her future despite "no longer trusting people".
I hate these kind of topics but it can't stay a secret. This man only had to serve 3 years. I'm very much aware there are pedophiles who don't serve Satan and serve God and still offend. Trust me, churches sadly can be the worst. Not many seem to be okay using METH as they have devils and shadows chasing them. I'm serious. Read my meth blog and all the comments. See what others are saying they experienced. There are even videos on YouTube. Someone emailed me on a 3-day binge begging for prayer. His "trip" lasted a long time after stopping. Even four days of no use they still hung around according to this person.
This world is getting darker and darker as if something has awakened. Some feel it's the end times. The bible stipulates "no one knows the day nor time when God decides to step in. Not even Jesus knows only the Father." I personally don't care. I know where my soul is going. I fear God's wrath may possibly be forced with all the awful crimes. People kidnap the kids and dismember them and sell body parts on the shadow web. For food purposes. It's a place for cannibals. Adults are also killed for this purpose. I mean come on people.....this seems like it's out of a horror movie but is real. The deep web has anything you can think of for criminals. Someone posted a screenshot of this site on YouTube! It was disgusting. Just down right disgusting.
In conclusion I hated to write about such sad and awful things but when I pray before writing each blog I try to write what the Lord would want said. Children are so innocent and can't defend themselves. Women are kidnapped too. Just be careful online and watch what the children are doing so they don't inadvertently become a victim. These cyber sickos are very sneaky.
Thank you for reading my blog and coming to the Eye On The Paranormal. We have wonderful bloggers here you should check out and a interesting flash back at some of the paranormal controversies that took place back in 2007 for example. Lots of good stuff. Have a wonderful week.
God Bless You All,
Jennifer L Auld
Looking inside the spiritual & literary worlds
Saturday, May 13, 2017
Monday, May 8, 2017
Dalai Lama: Establishing Harmony within Religious Diversity
The Dangers of Changing Religions
There are many different religions and cultures in the world and each has developed to suit its own people. Because of that, I always recommend that it’s best to keep the religion you were born into. In the West, most people are Christians, although there are also some Jews and some Muslims. For them, or for anyone, to change religions is not easy and sometimes it just creates confusion.
There’s one example that I always mention. In the early 1960’s, we Tibetans faced great difficulties. At that time, many Christian organizations came to help us. There was one Tibetan lady who had several small children and she faced a very difficult situation. Then a Christian missionary came and accepted her children to go to a Christian missionary school. One day she came to me and told me that in this life she’s going to be a Christian, but in her next life she’s going to be a Buddhist. This clearly indicates that she had some confusion about religion.
Also there was one old Polish lady, I knew her from 1956. From 1959 onwards, she took serious interest in education and gave scholarships to several Tibetan students. She became interested in Buddhism, but before that she was a Theosophist in Madras. So already she had some nonsectarian type of point of view, but she accepted Buddhism as her personal religion. At the end of her life, the concept of God seemed to be closer to her mind and this also indicates a sign of confusion. Therefore, it’s best to keep your own religion.
Among millions of people, however, some will instinctively have an interest in Eastern religions, especially Buddhism. These people need to think carefully. If they find Buddhism more suitable to their own dispositions, then okay, it’s alright. Like among Tibetans, 99% of us are Buddhists. But over the last four centuries, there have been some Ladakhi Muslims living in Tibet, who have married Tibetans and their children have become Muslim. Also there have been some Christians in the Amdo area. So, okay, with both of them, no problem.
Also, I must mention that when someone takes a new religion, they must avoid a negative view toward their original tradition, which often comes up as part of human nature. Even if you find your old tradition not very helpful to you, it doesn’t imply in general that it’s not very helpful. All religions offer help to humanity. Especially when facing difficult situations, all religions offer hope. Therefore, we must respect all religions.
Learning from Each Other’s Religions
Also, today’s reality is a little bit different from the past reality. In the past, people from different traditions remained more or less isolated. The Buddhists stayed in Asia; the Muslims in the Middle East and some in Asia; and in the West there were mostly Christians. So there was very little contact. But now the times are different. There are many new waves of immigration taking place; there’s economic globalization and also the growing tourist industry. So much information is now available, including information about Buddhism. Because of these various factors, our world community has become like one entity: a multi-cultural, multi-religious singular entity.
So here there are two possibilities of what can happen. The first one is that because of close contact between different traditions, sometimes there’s a little sense of insecurity about our own tradition. The other tradition comes into more contact with us, so we feel a little bit uncomfortable. That’s a negative possibility. The second possibility is that because of this reality of more communication, the opportunities to develop genuine harmony between traditions have grown. This is a more positive possibility and so now we must make effort to establish true harmony. If we leave aside the religions that do not have any philosophical basis, but just faith in worshipping the sun or moon or these type of things, if we leave those aside but look at the major world religions – Christianity, Judaism, Islam, different Hindu and Buddhist traditions, Jainism, Daoism, Confucianism, and so on – each of these has its own specialty. Therefore, through close contact, we can learn new things from each other; we can enrich our own traditions.
We Tibetan Buddhists, for example, we remained isolated behind the Himalayan mountains; we had no idea what was taking place in the outside world. But now the situation has completely changed. Now, for almost 50 years as homeless refugees, we’ve found new homes and many opportunities to learn from other traditions in other countries. This has been extremely useful. In the past, we have established exchange programs here in India: Christian brothers and sisters came to India to learn from us and some of our Tibetan monks and nuns went to the West and had experience in Christianity, mostly in Catholic monasteries. So, with close contact in that way, if we don’t remain closed-minded but open up, then we can learn something from each other. That way, we can develop mutual understanding and respect. And anyway, a new reality is there. Therefore, I think that the development of mutual harmony among different religions is very important. This is one of my commitments until my death, to promote religious harmony. This is very helpful.
So, when I give lectures on Buddhism to audiences in the West who are mostly followers of other religions, then, the aim is to help these people to develop some understanding of Buddhism. That can be helpful for the development of tolerance. Then, perhaps like the present Pope stresses, the emphasis needs to be on both faith and reason together. That’s very important. Without reason, sometimes faith remains a little irrelevant. But with reason, faith can become a part of life that is extremely relevant. Faith in God, for example, can be extremely helpful, like when a person is going through difficult periods it gives that person great hope. And if we think in terms of anger, hatred, jealousy, the wish to cheat and bully others, then if we have faith, faith protects us against such negative emotions and actions. When we realize this, then faith becomes very important in daily life. In the Buddhist tradition, we place emphasis equally on faith and reason. So, some Buddhist explanations, particularly those based on reason, might be useful to practitioners of other traditions.
Sharing Knowledge with Science
In the variety of religious traditions present in today’s world, there are two categories: those that are theistic and those that are non-theistic. Buddhism is one of the non-theistic ones. According to non-theistic religions, the emphasis is on the law of causality. So naturally, there’s a great deal of explanation of the law of cause and effect in Buddhism, and this is something which is very useful to know. It is useful in that it helps us to know more about ourselves and about our minds.
We need to realize, for example, that destructive emotions and attitudes are the sources of our suffering and pain. To eliminate suffering and pain, we need to focus not just on their physical and verbal levels, but also on the mental. The counterforces for them are also mostly mental.
In the Buddhist tradition, the explanation of the mind is very detailed. Also, we find the same in some ancient Indian traditions. Therefore now, today, modern science is investigating deeper and deeper in this area. For instance, medical science is beginning to carry out research on emotions, since they are very important in relation to our health. A healthy body is related to emotions. So it is especially important for neurologists investigating how the brain works to look more at emotions. In other academic fields as well, there is also a big interest in the mind and emotions. Therefore, information about the mind and emotions from Buddhism and from ancient Indian religions is very useful for their research.
Usually I distinguish three parts of Buddhism: Buddhist science, Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist religion. Look at the example of Buddha himself. Buddha originally was an ordinary sentient being, a limited being. He taught how to transform our ordinary emotions and minds step by step and, by following that path himself, he finally became enlightened, and that’s a Buddha. Therefore, the Buddhist approach is to start on this level, the level of ordinary people, and then proceed on that level all the way up to Buddhahood.
Because of that, then firstly, we have to know today’s reality: that entails Buddhist science. Then, on that basis, we see the possibility of change, of transformation. We see that change is possible and that’s the Buddhist philosophy. When that becomes clear to us and we have confidence in the process of inner transformation, then we can start the practice of Buddhist religion.
So if we look back at Buddhist science, there are two areas that it deals with: internally, the mind, and externally with atoms, the universe and so on. Western science has much to offer on the external level: it seems to be extremely advanced in that area. We Buddhists can learn much from it about particles, how they function, about genetics, about the universe – these are very useful for us as Buddhists. At least, in terms of this planet, it’s quite clear that there is no Mount Meru. So, some of our classical descriptions must also be changed. Therefore, the scientific findings in the fields of cosmology, particle physics, quantum physics, and so on, are very essential for us Buddhists to learn.
Some findings of modern science and Buddhism, however, are the same. For example, originally, people believed that there was some sort of self-sufficient, independent substance on the side of objects. But now, according to the findings of quantum physics, we see that there is no such thing. We Buddhists have had this understanding for thousands of years. Buddhism teaches that nothing is self-sufficiently arising or self-sufficiently existing, but rather everything dependently arises.
Now, in terms of inner knowledge, modern science is starting to conduct some investigations, so there can be mutual benefit. Buddhists can learn about external phenomena from science and science can learn how to deal with negative emotions and such internal phenomena from the Buddhists. So, when we speak with the scientists, it’s not about future lives or nirvana. We don’t speak about religious aspects, but rather we speak about the mind and emotions. This is because we have the same method: we investigate things in order to find out about reality.
So those of you Westerners who are interested in Buddhism, it’s helpful to carry out your own scientific research. So, on that basis of offering the opportunity to investigate the Buddhist teachings with a scientific attitude, it seems alright for me to give lectures on Buddhism to non-Buddhist audiences. Because of that, then please look at my talks somewhat like academic lectures. Except for some chanting at the start, there are no rituals, no religious aspects in my talks. I just give scientific lectures. What do you think?
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama
courtesy of studybuddhism.com
Original link with photos https://www.dalailama.com/messages/religious-harmony-1/establishing-harmony-within-religious-diversity
Saturday, May 6, 2017
Are We Being Conditioned to Tolerate Evil?
Hello everyone! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend. It's very hot here in Florida. I can't begin to explain how hot. I set AC on 73 and it ran all day. It was too hot to cool it down that low. It's ridiculous. Every time you go outside you feel the need to shower due to how sweaty and hot one gets just from checking the mail! Lol. The dang heat factor is just awful.
Our world is changing, folks. Evil movies coming out about nothing but demons. I saw somewhere that the movie "IT" remake [based on the Stephen King book] was a disappointment to some as they made the clown more "demonic and evil and it wasn't like that in the original." I know he was a clown that killed kids as I hate clowns. LOL. They freak me out. But I thought it was noteworthy to share what I had come across by pure coincidence.
All these episodes of "A Haunting" and "Paranormal Witness" and others are these scary looking creatures that people had the unfortunate luck to cross paths with or inadvertently let it in somehow. I don't believe all those stories are true but I sure believe some are. It's just my humble opinion. They fabricate, too. Editing is involved. It hurts people who really are telling the truth. People are more into the dark arts which are everywhere it seems. It's not healthy but it's accepted as normal. Before they wouldn't dare air TV shows about demons but now it's so popular.
Why is Satan and the dark arts all a sudden just considered so cool? Kids asking for ghost boxes and doing EVP's at home, using spirit boards etc...They download the app version on devices etc...and just because it's a phone and not a costly paid for device doesn't mean they can't manipulate those apps. Phones have radio and recorders. Are they only able to do it to this device? My bet is they can manipulate our phones.
These satanists have women just to breed kids for them to sacrifice. It's disturbing and disgusting! There is so much more. Look at all the pizza/pedo gate? Type it into your browser and YouTube as well. The elites who help run this country are possibly involved in a huge pedophile ring. One person was murdered after speaking out about it. It could have been just a bad coincidence but possibly to shut the man up many are saying. He knew too much many say. It's been going on for many years. In the 1970's it was going on. People became conditioned to turn a blind eye. Its human trafficking, my God.
I found this post on a random website:
"We are being conditioned to accept Satanism at a grand scale. As a blogger said about the 2015 grammies – what’s on for next year…child sacrifice? That’s how bad and blatant it is!"
For those who don't know what Pizzagate is the following information will help.
Basically when a user by the name u/DumbScribblyUnctious posted a thread titled “Comet Ping Pong – Pizzagate Summary” to subreddit r/The_Donald (a community of Donald Trump supporters), which appears to have touched off a complex and detailed conspiracy theory involving WikiLeaks’ release of e-mails from former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign chair John Podesta, child exploitation, and a Washington, D.C. pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong.
According to snopes.com it's a detailed conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate" holds that a pedophile ring is operating out of a Clinton-linked pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. Which I should note is only a few minutes from the White House. The owner is an alleged pedophile. This is all speculation at this point but something is up with these spirit cooking events. It's so far beyond disturbing ladies and gentlemen. It is just not getting better. It's on the rise and this is just my opinion. Mainstream media stays quiet after calling it "fake news".
Satan's time is near and I personally feel he is after as many souls as possible. I think we are in end times or close to it but that's just my opinion. So they are stepping it up in hell with such violent and unspeakable acts and attempted murder planned out! He hates us to the nth degree. All humans. He assigns his demons to certain people like God sends us Angels for protection. He copies the Lord in so many ways. So many people inadvertently open doors which can take months to deal with. It's just not worth it.
The Lord may return at any time. No one knows the time or day. But so many things are coming to pass and it's very scary for many but remember God's promise to us. We won't be a part of this. Be strong let's not let the world turn a blind eye to sickening criminal behavior.
I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please check out our other bloggers with valuable information they share as well. And interesting. God bless.
Written By
Jennifer L Auld
Our world is changing, folks. Evil movies coming out about nothing but demons. I saw somewhere that the movie "IT" remake [based on the Stephen King book] was a disappointment to some as they made the clown more "demonic and evil and it wasn't like that in the original." I know he was a clown that killed kids as I hate clowns. LOL. They freak me out. But I thought it was noteworthy to share what I had come across by pure coincidence.
All these episodes of "A Haunting" and "Paranormal Witness" and others are these scary looking creatures that people had the unfortunate luck to cross paths with or inadvertently let it in somehow. I don't believe all those stories are true but I sure believe some are. It's just my humble opinion. They fabricate, too. Editing is involved. It hurts people who really are telling the truth. People are more into the dark arts which are everywhere it seems. It's not healthy but it's accepted as normal. Before they wouldn't dare air TV shows about demons but now it's so popular.
Why is Satan and the dark arts all a sudden just considered so cool? Kids asking for ghost boxes and doing EVP's at home, using spirit boards etc...They download the app version on devices etc...and just because it's a phone and not a costly paid for device doesn't mean they can't manipulate those apps. Phones have radio and recorders. Are they only able to do it to this device? My bet is they can manipulate our phones.
These satanists have women just to breed kids for them to sacrifice. It's disturbing and disgusting! There is so much more. Look at all the pizza/pedo gate? Type it into your browser and YouTube as well. The elites who help run this country are possibly involved in a huge pedophile ring. One person was murdered after speaking out about it. It could have been just a bad coincidence but possibly to shut the man up many are saying. He knew too much many say. It's been going on for many years. In the 1970's it was going on. People became conditioned to turn a blind eye. Its human trafficking, my God.
I found this post on a random website:
"We are being conditioned to accept Satanism at a grand scale. As a blogger said about the 2015 grammies – what’s on for next year…child sacrifice? That’s how bad and blatant it is!"
For those who don't know what Pizzagate is the following information will help.
Basically when a user by the name u/DumbScribblyUnctious posted a thread titled “Comet Ping Pong – Pizzagate Summary” to subreddit r/The_Donald (a community of Donald Trump supporters), which appears to have touched off a complex and detailed conspiracy theory involving WikiLeaks’ release of e-mails from former Hillary Clinton presidential campaign chair John Podesta, child exploitation, and a Washington, D.C. pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong.
According to snopes.com it's a detailed conspiracy theory known as "Pizzagate" holds that a pedophile ring is operating out of a Clinton-linked pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong. Which I should note is only a few minutes from the White House. The owner is an alleged pedophile. This is all speculation at this point but something is up with these spirit cooking events. It's so far beyond disturbing ladies and gentlemen. It is just not getting better. It's on the rise and this is just my opinion. Mainstream media stays quiet after calling it "fake news".
Satan's time is near and I personally feel he is after as many souls as possible. I think we are in end times or close to it but that's just my opinion. So they are stepping it up in hell with such violent and unspeakable acts and attempted murder planned out! He hates us to the nth degree. All humans. He assigns his demons to certain people like God sends us Angels for protection. He copies the Lord in so many ways. So many people inadvertently open doors which can take months to deal with. It's just not worth it.
The Lord may return at any time. No one knows the time or day. But so many things are coming to pass and it's very scary for many but remember God's promise to us. We won't be a part of this. Be strong let's not let the world turn a blind eye to sickening criminal behavior.
I want to thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Please check out our other bloggers with valuable information they share as well. And interesting. God bless.
Written By
Jennifer L Auld
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
Dalai Lama: A Biased Mind Cannot Grasp Reality
I am extremely delighted to attend this inter faith seminar on the Preservation of Religious Harmony, Coexistence and Universal Peace organised by the International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF), Ladakh group. Thank you very much for the detailed explanation of the association's history, activities, objectives and their relevance in the present century. I have nothing to add on what the speakers said earlier. But I would like to say a few things.
We are now in the twenty first century. The quality of research on both the inner and physical world has reached quite high levels, thanks to the tremendous stride in technological advancement and human intelligence. However, as some of the speakers said before, the world is also facing a lot of new problems, most of which are man-made. The root cause of these man-made problems is the inability of human beings to control their agitated minds. How to control such a state of mind is taught by the various religions of this world.
I am a religious practitioner, who follows Buddhism. More than a thousand years have passed since the great religions of the world flourished, including Buddhism. During those years, the world had witnessed a lot of conflicts, in which followers of different religions were also involved. As a religious practitioner, I acknowledge the fact that different religions of the world have provided many solutions about how to control an agitated mind. In spite of this, I still feel we have not been able to realise our full potential.
I always say that every person on this earth has the freedom to practice or not practice religion. It is all right to do either. But once you accept religion, it is extremely important to be able to focus your mind on it and sincerely practice the teachings in your daily life. All of us can see that we tend to indulge in religious favouritism by saying, "I belong to this or that religion", rather than making effort to control our agitated minds. This misuse of religion, due to our disturbed minds, also sometimes creates problems.
I know a physicist from Chile who told me that it is not appropriate for a scientist to be biased towards science because of his love and passion for it. I am a Buddhist practitioner and have a lot of faith and respect in the teachings of the Buddha. However, if I mix up my love for and attachment to Buddhism, then my mind shall be biased towards it. A biased mind, which never sees the complete picture, cannot grasp the reality. And any action that results from such a state of mind will not be in tune with reality. As such it causes a lot of problems.
According to Buddhist philosophy, happiness is the result of an enlightened mind whereas suffering is caused by a distorted mind. This is very important. A distorted mind, in contrast to an enlightened mind, is one that is not in tune with reality.
Any issue, including political, economic and religious activities human beings pursue in this world, should be fully understood before we pass our judgement. Therefore, it is very important to know the causes. Whatever the issue, we should be able to see the complete picture. This will enable us to comprehend the whole story. The teachings offered in Buddhism are based on rationality, and I think are very fruitful.
Today, a lot of people from different religious backgrounds are present here. In every religion, there are transcendent things that are beyond the grasp of our mind and speech. For example, the concept of God in Christianity and Islam and that of wisdom truth body in Buddhism are metaphysical, which is not possible for an ordinary person like us to realise. This is a common difficulty faced by every religion. It is taught in every religion, including Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam, that the ultimate truth is driven by faith.
I want to emphasise that it is extremely important for practitioners to sincerely believe in their respective religions. Usually, I say that it is very important to distinguish between "belief in one religion" and "belief in many religions". The former directly contradicts the latter. Therefore, we should resolutely resolve these contradictions. This is possible only by thinking in contextual terms. A contradiction in one context might not be the same in the other. In the context of one person, a single truth is closely associated with a single source of refuge. This is of extreme necessity. However, in the context of society or more than one person it is necessary to have different sources of refuge, religions and truths.
In the past it was not a major problem because nations remained aloof from each other with their own distinct religion. However, in today's close and inter-connected world there are so many differences amongst various religions. We must obviously resolve these problems. For example, there have been a lot of religions in India for the past thousand years. Some of them were imported from outside whereas some have grown in India itself. Despite this, the fact is that these religions have been able to coexist with each other, and the principle of Ahimsa has really flourished in this country. Even today, this principle has a strong bearing on every religion. This is very precious and India should really take pride in it.
Ladakh has been a predominantly Buddhist area 'for so many centuries. But other religions such as Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism have also flourished here. Although it is natural for the people of Ladakh to have attachment to and love for their own religions, yet this place has a very peaceful environment with no major problems of religious intolerance. During my maiden visit to Ladakh, I heard elderly Muslims using the phrase "community of sangha" in their speeches. Although such phrases are not found in Islam, yet a reference of this kind invokes a lot of trust amongst the Buddhists. Therefore, people from different religious background in Ladakh are very close to each other and live in harmony.
As far as the Muslims are concerned it is appropriate for them to have complete devotion to Allah while praying in the mosques. This is also the same with Buddhists who are completely devoted to the Buddha when they pray in Buddhist temples. A society, which has many religions should also have many prophets and sources of refuge. In such a society it is very important to have harmony and respect amongst the different religions and their practitioners. We must distinguish between belief and respect. Belief refers to total faith, which you must have in your own religion. At the same time you should have respect for all other religions. This tradition of believing in one's own religion and having respect for others is in existence in Ladakh since your forefathers. Therefore you do not have to invent it. The most important thing at the moment is to preserve and promote this tradition. I would like to thank all of you for working hard regarding this and request you to continue to do so in the future.
If a harmonious relationship is established amongst societies and religious beliefs in today's multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural world, then it will surely set a very good example for others. However, if all the sides become careless, then there is a danger of imminent problems. In a multiethnic society the biggest problem is that of between the majority and the minority. For instance, in the capital Leh, Buddhists constitute the majority of the population whereas Muslims belong to the minority community. The majority must consider the minority as their invited guests. The minority, on the other hand, should be able to sensitise with the majority. In other words, both sides should live in harmony. In order to sustain this harmony, both sides should not take lightly the sensitive issues between themselves. Indeed, the majority should pay attention to and appreciate the views and opinion of the minority. Both sides should discuss and clearly express what they think about the other's view and opinion. The minority, on the other hand, should be careful about where the sensitive issues of the majority lies and express whatever doubts they have in their minds. If problems are resolved in such a friendly manner; then both sides will gain. Suspicion of each other will only harm both communities. Therefore, it is very important to live in harmony and analyse where the opinion of the other lies. The best way to do this is to engage in dialogue, dialogue and dialogue.
Excerpts from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's address to the inter-faith seminar organised by the International Association for Religious Freedom, Ladakh Group, in Leh on 25 August.
original link with photos: https://www.dalailama.com/messages/religious-harmony-1/religious-harmony
Sunday, April 30, 2017
Is Demonic Oppression on the Rise?
I don't know if anybody else noticed that there is a major rise in Demonic Oppression?
It seems that more and more people are dabbling in occult/satanic type activities from what they see on TV. Sadly they inadvertently put themselves in the line of fire inviting God knows how many in human entities in their life and home. It's legal ground for them even if it wasn't intended and it was an accident. I just don't think it's healthy when someone buys a 7 year old digital recorder to reenact what we've seen on TV for slumber parties and things to that nature. Many did spooky things when we were younger such as 'light as a feather stiff as a board' or the famous 'bloody Mary, bloody Mary, Bloody Mary' and then she is supposed to appear after the third chant. Then of course the Ouija board. I fully admit I was one of those people who participated in the bloody Mary and the ever so popular Ouija board. I wanted to know how real it was and I was the only one in the group that challenged something to come through...... I would explain what events took place but I'd be accused of lying. In this field every body looks for something to harass somebody about. It's like a piece of sand but making it out to be an entire Sandcastle with issues, that's why I don't share what took place. I was 17. All these years later the two other friends refused to talk about it because that's how badly they had been traumatized. I decided not to bother.. I remember two kids that I came across that were older around 11 to 12 who had K2 meters, dousing rods and the ghost box and they received them from their parents
This was a requested topic from Allison K. I understand that many are curious about this and I have "closet curious readers" for lack of better words who prefer not to make it known that they believe this topic. They would unfortunately endure a lot of harassment and possibly trouble in the work place and among circle of friends. There's just so many things that can open you up to oppression so I am guessing I'll start with the basic. You can always research this yourself on the Internet I'm sure there would be a plethora of information. Christian book stores and Barnes & Noble have many good books on the subject and many subjects related to it. You can go to Amazon.com. Over the years since at least 2000 I have purchased many good reads that assisted in my research. I prefer to stay away from the ones written by para-celebs. 98% claim all this experience in all these things they've done but yet they can't provide any references or any certificates that were given to them for any courses that they took etc...it kills me to know there are about 8 people that are so knowledgeable in this particular area of the field. And I do mean extremely knowledgeable having 40 something years experience but you never ever hear of them invited to speak or to come on the radio to be interviewed. They would be a very big blessing and we could all learn a lot from them but because they're not well known or don't have well known friends in the field all these stupid people are just seeking fame. Their heart isn't fully into helping the client they're hoping for some major action at the clients expense in order to put them on the map.
A demon is believed to be a force that can be conjured and controlled. They are also believed to have the ability to possess or inhabit the body of humans and the only way to rid the person of them is to conduct deliverance and/or Exorcism. Demons are portrayed differently in different cultures. Some believe demons to be actual physical beings that can take the form of anything, including animals. Others consider the real demons as more of a spiritual force of evil battling for one's soul. They have been feared and written about in almost every culture in one form or another
What Is Demonic Oppression?
Demonic oppression is the work of evil spiritual forces that try very hard to encourage us to sin. It mimics depression down to a T! Discernment, which is a gift of the spirit, is needed to determine which one is actually present. There's a lot of mental illnesses that are not caused by the devil and his demons. We have to be very careful and not blame everything on demons. They have the ability to make us feel spiritually dead, and to be in bondage to sinful activities and thoughts. This oppressive work is performed by demons, which are fallen angels who resist God, and who sinned in their first estate. This information can be found in the book of Jude chapter 6). They wage war against God, against God's people, and against unbelievers as well. Their goal is to bring as many people as possible into rebellion against God and condemnation in hell. They want to drag as many souls to hell as possible.
A Few Examples of the Types of Attacks
Emotions. Exaggerated emotional states: fear, anxiety, anger, panic, shame, rejection, grief that is over-extended or out of proportion, hopelessness, helplessness.
The Mind. Tormenting thoughts of suicide, self-mutilation thoughts, confusion, forgetfulness, blocked memory, self hate, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of being unloved and thoughts that God won't ever forgive you and he doesn't love you.
How Do People End Up as Targets of Demonic Oppression?
Sometimes people involved in occult activity will curse you or your family. It is not that you can actually be cursed as a Christian. Rather, those who are against Christ and his people can focus demonic activity on you. Anger, bitterness and strife. These things feed off that. When we are vulnerable already or depressed better or what have you that's when they zoom in like flies on honey. When we're in that state of mind it's only by the blood of Jesus that we can defeat these vile entities.
I noticed Occult traditions have some ideas about the topic. Tradition suggests a maleficent spirit (or thought) can try an invasion. Normally we put it out of our mind, and it is gone. However, if we are passive in the face of a negative influence, eventually our connection with our own Higher Self may be severed. Our higher self is that part of our being that coexists with the realm of eternal Spirit. We are normally unaware of our higher self, but it steadily guides us invisibly. Call it our intuition. A negative entity (or thought) might try to replace our higher self (or intuition) with itself, like a parasite. If we allow it, the entity/thought will become our new, lower self. Then we’d be stuck, unable to access our higher self’s assistance. Once our own spiritual abilities are extinguished we require help from others.
There are many demons assigned to torment us by satan just as Jesus assigns angels to look after us . We have demons of fear running amok trying to destroy any and all humans before the appointed time. Yes they know very well the second coming of Jesus Christ will in fact take place. They already know they are defeated but they will still try to drag as many souls to hell with them or make our life hell in hopes we may take our own life or just live so miserable and depressed we end up making ourselves sick. It is their job to torment us day in and day out. They messed with our heads in major ways. They HATE humans. They hate our guts and want nothing but death for us. But remember, Christ is in control. The battle has already been won. Jesus got his victory and his grave was literally denied because he appeared before a certain amount of people so they could see him and touch him and told them to go spread the word and they said Jesus what shall we do the devil roams about like a lion and he says......and I quote " I leave you with the power of the Holy Spirit so you may cast out demons in my name."
Written By Jennifer L Auld
It seems that more and more people are dabbling in occult/satanic type activities from what they see on TV. Sadly they inadvertently put themselves in the line of fire inviting God knows how many in human entities in their life and home. It's legal ground for them even if it wasn't intended and it was an accident. I just don't think it's healthy when someone buys a 7 year old digital recorder to reenact what we've seen on TV for slumber parties and things to that nature. Many did spooky things when we were younger such as 'light as a feather stiff as a board' or the famous 'bloody Mary, bloody Mary, Bloody Mary' and then she is supposed to appear after the third chant. Then of course the Ouija board. I fully admit I was one of those people who participated in the bloody Mary and the ever so popular Ouija board. I wanted to know how real it was and I was the only one in the group that challenged something to come through...... I would explain what events took place but I'd be accused of lying. In this field every body looks for something to harass somebody about. It's like a piece of sand but making it out to be an entire Sandcastle with issues, that's why I don't share what took place. I was 17. All these years later the two other friends refused to talk about it because that's how badly they had been traumatized. I decided not to bother.. I remember two kids that I came across that were older around 11 to 12 who had K2 meters, dousing rods and the ghost box and they received them from their parents
This was a requested topic from Allison K. I understand that many are curious about this and I have "closet curious readers" for lack of better words who prefer not to make it known that they believe this topic. They would unfortunately endure a lot of harassment and possibly trouble in the work place and among circle of friends. There's just so many things that can open you up to oppression so I am guessing I'll start with the basic. You can always research this yourself on the Internet I'm sure there would be a plethora of information. Christian book stores and Barnes & Noble have many good books on the subject and many subjects related to it. You can go to Amazon.com. Over the years since at least 2000 I have purchased many good reads that assisted in my research. I prefer to stay away from the ones written by para-celebs. 98% claim all this experience in all these things they've done but yet they can't provide any references or any certificates that were given to them for any courses that they took etc...it kills me to know there are about 8 people that are so knowledgeable in this particular area of the field. And I do mean extremely knowledgeable having 40 something years experience but you never ever hear of them invited to speak or to come on the radio to be interviewed. They would be a very big blessing and we could all learn a lot from them but because they're not well known or don't have well known friends in the field all these stupid people are just seeking fame. Their heart isn't fully into helping the client they're hoping for some major action at the clients expense in order to put them on the map.
A demon is believed to be a force that can be conjured and controlled. They are also believed to have the ability to possess or inhabit the body of humans and the only way to rid the person of them is to conduct deliverance and/or Exorcism. Demons are portrayed differently in different cultures. Some believe demons to be actual physical beings that can take the form of anything, including animals. Others consider the real demons as more of a spiritual force of evil battling for one's soul. They have been feared and written about in almost every culture in one form or another
What Is Demonic Oppression?
Demonic oppression is the work of evil spiritual forces that try very hard to encourage us to sin. It mimics depression down to a T! Discernment, which is a gift of the spirit, is needed to determine which one is actually present. There's a lot of mental illnesses that are not caused by the devil and his demons. We have to be very careful and not blame everything on demons. They have the ability to make us feel spiritually dead, and to be in bondage to sinful activities and thoughts. This oppressive work is performed by demons, which are fallen angels who resist God, and who sinned in their first estate. This information can be found in the book of Jude chapter 6). They wage war against God, against God's people, and against unbelievers as well. Their goal is to bring as many people as possible into rebellion against God and condemnation in hell. They want to drag as many souls to hell as possible.
A Few Examples of the Types of Attacks
Emotions. Exaggerated emotional states: fear, anxiety, anger, panic, shame, rejection, grief that is over-extended or out of proportion, hopelessness, helplessness.
The Mind. Tormenting thoughts of suicide, self-mutilation thoughts, confusion, forgetfulness, blocked memory, self hate, feelings of worthlessness and thoughts of being unloved and thoughts that God won't ever forgive you and he doesn't love you.
How Do People End Up as Targets of Demonic Oppression?
Sometimes people involved in occult activity will curse you or your family. It is not that you can actually be cursed as a Christian. Rather, those who are against Christ and his people can focus demonic activity on you. Anger, bitterness and strife. These things feed off that. When we are vulnerable already or depressed better or what have you that's when they zoom in like flies on honey. When we're in that state of mind it's only by the blood of Jesus that we can defeat these vile entities.
I noticed Occult traditions have some ideas about the topic. Tradition suggests a maleficent spirit (or thought) can try an invasion. Normally we put it out of our mind, and it is gone. However, if we are passive in the face of a negative influence, eventually our connection with our own Higher Self may be severed. Our higher self is that part of our being that coexists with the realm of eternal Spirit. We are normally unaware of our higher self, but it steadily guides us invisibly. Call it our intuition. A negative entity (or thought) might try to replace our higher self (or intuition) with itself, like a parasite. If we allow it, the entity/thought will become our new, lower self. Then we’d be stuck, unable to access our higher self’s assistance. Once our own spiritual abilities are extinguished we require help from others.
There are many demons assigned to torment us by satan just as Jesus assigns angels to look after us . We have demons of fear running amok trying to destroy any and all humans before the appointed time. Yes they know very well the second coming of Jesus Christ will in fact take place. They already know they are defeated but they will still try to drag as many souls to hell with them or make our life hell in hopes we may take our own life or just live so miserable and depressed we end up making ourselves sick. It is their job to torment us day in and day out. They messed with our heads in major ways. They HATE humans. They hate our guts and want nothing but death for us. But remember, Christ is in control. The battle has already been won. Jesus got his victory and his grave was literally denied because he appeared before a certain amount of people so they could see him and touch him and told them to go spread the word and they said Jesus what shall we do the devil roams about like a lion and he says......and I quote " I leave you with the power of the Holy Spirit so you may cast out demons in my name."
Written By Jennifer L Auld
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Alleged Reasons Why Some Are Likely to Become Ghosts: Fear of Hell.
By Reverend Mark Hunnemann
I recently read an article in which eight reasons were given as to why some are likely to become ghosts upon death: violent death, dying with addictions, money owed to them, died suddenly, have young children, unresolved emotions, betrayal, and seeking revenge. However, even the author stated that most of these fell under the general principle of unfinished business.
While the paranormal community has no consensus as to who or what makes the final decision as to who stays behind, there is a somewhat of a consensus as to WHY people stay behind. There are four criteria: traumatic death, emotional death, untimely death, and unfinished business.
I shall look at those next time, but there is another reason stated as to why some folks refuse to move on: the fear of hell.
Before we examine this notion, we have to deal with first things first. That is, from where do we derive our ideas about the fate of the dead? There are ultimately only two alternatives, though they may be semantically streamed in different ways. We either lean on revelation or speculation. Those are the only two possible alternatives.That is, we either look to what God has revealed to us in His Word, or we autonomously seek to use our God-given faculties to determine this issue by reason, feelings, observation, etc…placing them above God’s Word.
Since the soul, the after-life (including hell) are manifestly theological issues, then whether people can refuse to pass on due to a fear of hell is clearly a theological issue as well. Hence, we NEED God’s Word to answer this question. Natural reason cannot answer that question.
Some assert that the bible is not clear regarding the Intermediate State (when we die, and before Jesus’ Second Coming). Hence, this is the time when folks may avoid going to the Light. First, there are only a very few theologians who think the bible is unclear about the Intermediate State. I have shown elsewhere that the bible is exceedingly clear as to what befalls all people immediately after death…our judgment. Second, the “Light” is not a celestial bright spot. Rather, the Light before whom we all must come for judgment (either to be pronounced “not guilty’ or condemned) is the High King of Heaven, the Lord Jesus…the refulgence of His awesome holiness is the Light we see. The Light is a Person, and not a destination or a thing, which can be avoided or resisted.
Again, it is stated that some spirits/souls stay behind out of fear of what awaits them IF they walk into the Light. Either because of fear of what they believed, or how they lived their lives, the possibility of going to Hell dissuades them from crossing over.
According to this theory, humans retain free will after they die, which includes the free will to (at least temporarily…some say eternally) to insist on staying on earth, in order to avoid hell.
This belief places man in the position of final determiner of his eternal fate (at least temporarily). This casts a long shadow over both God’s holiness and His absolute sovereignty. It is a denial of the reigning Kingship of God as Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25)If a person can run away from God’s judgment as long as he wishes (eternally according to many), then man is placed in the seat of ultimate authority. God could only judge us IF we let Him! The most cruel and wicked men who ever lived could laugh at the King of Glory and tell Him to basically “get lost.” The very thought should be odious to all God’s saints.
As many have pointed out, Jesus spoke much more about hell—its reality and horror—than He spoke of the glories of heaven. He did this because He loves us, and wants us to think long and hard about something we would rather ignore, or explain away.
Jesus warned many people to flee from the wrath to come…He warned them of the eternal consequences upon death if they put anything before Him. Nowhere do we get a hint of possible snubbing of the Holy One of Israel. To state that man may choose to flee from hell is to strip the gospel of its utter urgency. Why? Because we can just say to ourselves: “I’ll just resist going into the Light.”When you read the gospels and epistles, the gospel is a message of fleeing from a clear and present danger…a message which is of eternally urgent importance.The gospel is good news, but it is urgently good news…for sinners who are hell-bound.
Jesus pled with people to not waste their lives on trivialities, only to be thrown into the pit where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is clear in its implications regarding the inalterability of God’s Judicial summons and holy decree after death. It cannot be averted.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Please read v. 28 carefully. Is there any hint of human free will to avoid hell? If you look closely, in the succeeding verses, Jesus is asserting His utter control over seemingly insignificant events. How much more the lives and deaths of His image bearers—whether to heaven or hell. Again, there is no hint of avoiding God’s judgment in v. 28, 32-33.
If a person misses an important court date, then a summons is given for their arrest. Do we really think that the Holy Lawgiver and Judge will let us avoid being prosecuted for cosmic treason?
What disturbs me about the notion of ghosts avoiding hell is the trivializing effect it has on the holiness and utter sovereignty of God, as well as the reality of Hell. The bible is clear that our free will ceases upon our deaths. Upon death, it is too late to believe in Christ, and we cannot flee from the personal judgment. This is an appointment that no man can cancel or flee from. Death ushers us into God’s holy throne-room, and we are either sent to heaven or hell, depending on whether we have clung to finished work of Christ on the Cross.
We need to remember, that by virtue of creation, God owns us—body and soul. He determines when we shall die (Psalm 139: 16 ) Hence, there is no such thing as a untimely death. (more of that next time)
Hebrews 9:27 states it very clearly. In a context of the once-for-all nature of the atonement…it says: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Notice, that our deaths are appointed by God. He is utterly in control, and any human effort or free will, melts away. What does it say comes after (meta, Greek) our appointed deaths—which implies there are no untimely deaths? Our appointed judgment comes immediately after our appointed deaths.The notion of a person choosing to avoid their appointment with the Ancient of Days is repugnant to both reason and Scripture. God’s sovereignty, and the beauty of the atonement is everywhere in this context, and resisting the Irresistible summons is impossible.
To state that we can avoid facing God’s judgment also minimizes the beauty and efficacy of Christ’s atonement, in which He became a curse for us….so that we would be blessed and not eternally cursed. Jesus shed His infinitely precious blood to ransom us…to pay the price to release us from sin, Satan and death. To assert that we can avoid hell is to deny the urgency and centrality of the atonement.
If our deaths are appointed by God, then how much more so are our judgments appointed by God. And after we die, we face judgment. The notion of retaining a free will which averts this judgment flies in the face of this clear text, and countless others.
There are two judgments: our personal judgment the moment we die, and then the general/universal judgment (or Great White Throne…Revelation 20:11-15) The two are often conflated, because the general judgment is simply the public announcement of God’s holy judicial decree at the moment of our deaths.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Upon reading this text, does the notion of avoiding God’s judgment seem possible to you? The same God who will stand as Judge at the end times, is the Judge whom we all face immediately upon death. Again, I ask: does this God/Judge seem like One whom we can avoid simply because we fear hell?
Stephen saw the Lord Jesus stand up in anticipation of his arrival, but unbelievers have nothing but the fearful prospect/certainty of the Lord Jesus pronouncing an eternal guilty verdict upon them and sentencing them to an eternity in Hell. In Hell, Satan won’t rule, but God Almighty will be present, and causing the excruciating eternal agony of all those there. This is where we must bow our heads and weep for those who are lost. It is ugly, very ugly, for a person to speak glibly of hell. On the other hand, it is monstrous to think that we can cancel/postpone our judgment before our Holy Creator. To think that a reason for some people remaining as ghosts due to fear of hell, is to deny every attribute revealed about God in the Bible.
When we die, we are drawn by an omnipotent, irresistible summons before the holy Judge of heaven and earth. Let us expunge any notion that minimizes the incomparable glory of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Let the Word of God control all of our thoughts and beliefs.
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
I recently read an article in which eight reasons were given as to why some are likely to become ghosts upon death: violent death, dying with addictions, money owed to them, died suddenly, have young children, unresolved emotions, betrayal, and seeking revenge. However, even the author stated that most of these fell under the general principle of unfinished business.
While the paranormal community has no consensus as to who or what makes the final decision as to who stays behind, there is a somewhat of a consensus as to WHY people stay behind. There are four criteria: traumatic death, emotional death, untimely death, and unfinished business.
I shall look at those next time, but there is another reason stated as to why some folks refuse to move on: the fear of hell.
Before we examine this notion, we have to deal with first things first. That is, from where do we derive our ideas about the fate of the dead? There are ultimately only two alternatives, though they may be semantically streamed in different ways. We either lean on revelation or speculation. Those are the only two possible alternatives.That is, we either look to what God has revealed to us in His Word, or we autonomously seek to use our God-given faculties to determine this issue by reason, feelings, observation, etc…placing them above God’s Word.
Since the soul, the after-life (including hell) are manifestly theological issues, then whether people can refuse to pass on due to a fear of hell is clearly a theological issue as well. Hence, we NEED God’s Word to answer this question. Natural reason cannot answer that question.
Some assert that the bible is not clear regarding the Intermediate State (when we die, and before Jesus’ Second Coming). Hence, this is the time when folks may avoid going to the Light. First, there are only a very few theologians who think the bible is unclear about the Intermediate State. I have shown elsewhere that the bible is exceedingly clear as to what befalls all people immediately after death…our judgment. Second, the “Light” is not a celestial bright spot. Rather, the Light before whom we all must come for judgment (either to be pronounced “not guilty’ or condemned) is the High King of Heaven, the Lord Jesus…the refulgence of His awesome holiness is the Light we see. The Light is a Person, and not a destination or a thing, which can be avoided or resisted.
Again, it is stated that some spirits/souls stay behind out of fear of what awaits them IF they walk into the Light. Either because of fear of what they believed, or how they lived their lives, the possibility of going to Hell dissuades them from crossing over.
According to this theory, humans retain free will after they die, which includes the free will to (at least temporarily…some say eternally) to insist on staying on earth, in order to avoid hell.
This belief places man in the position of final determiner of his eternal fate (at least temporarily). This casts a long shadow over both God’s holiness and His absolute sovereignty. It is a denial of the reigning Kingship of God as Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25)If a person can run away from God’s judgment as long as he wishes (eternally according to many), then man is placed in the seat of ultimate authority. God could only judge us IF we let Him! The most cruel and wicked men who ever lived could laugh at the King of Glory and tell Him to basically “get lost.” The very thought should be odious to all God’s saints.
As many have pointed out, Jesus spoke much more about hell—its reality and horror—than He spoke of the glories of heaven. He did this because He loves us, and wants us to think long and hard about something we would rather ignore, or explain away.
Jesus warned many people to flee from the wrath to come…He warned them of the eternal consequences upon death if they put anything before Him. Nowhere do we get a hint of possible snubbing of the Holy One of Israel. To state that man may choose to flee from hell is to strip the gospel of its utter urgency. Why? Because we can just say to ourselves: “I’ll just resist going into the Light.”When you read the gospels and epistles, the gospel is a message of fleeing from a clear and present danger…a message which is of eternally urgent importance.The gospel is good news, but it is urgently good news…for sinners who are hell-bound.
Jesus pled with people to not waste their lives on trivialities, only to be thrown into the pit where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The parable of Lazarus and the rich man is clear in its implications regarding the inalterability of God’s Judicial summons and holy decree after death. It cannot be averted.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Please read v. 28 carefully. Is there any hint of human free will to avoid hell? If you look closely, in the succeeding verses, Jesus is asserting His utter control over seemingly insignificant events. How much more the lives and deaths of His image bearers—whether to heaven or hell. Again, there is no hint of avoiding God’s judgment in v. 28, 32-33.
If a person misses an important court date, then a summons is given for their arrest. Do we really think that the Holy Lawgiver and Judge will let us avoid being prosecuted for cosmic treason?
What disturbs me about the notion of ghosts avoiding hell is the trivializing effect it has on the holiness and utter sovereignty of God, as well as the reality of Hell. The bible is clear that our free will ceases upon our deaths. Upon death, it is too late to believe in Christ, and we cannot flee from the personal judgment. This is an appointment that no man can cancel or flee from. Death ushers us into God’s holy throne-room, and we are either sent to heaven or hell, depending on whether we have clung to finished work of Christ on the Cross.
We need to remember, that by virtue of creation, God owns us—body and soul. He determines when we shall die (Psalm 139: 16 ) Hence, there is no such thing as a untimely death. (more of that next time)
Hebrews 9:27 states it very clearly. In a context of the once-for-all nature of the atonement…it says: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…” Notice, that our deaths are appointed by God. He is utterly in control, and any human effort or free will, melts away. What does it say comes after (meta, Greek) our appointed deaths—which implies there are no untimely deaths? Our appointed judgment comes immediately after our appointed deaths.The notion of a person choosing to avoid their appointment with the Ancient of Days is repugnant to both reason and Scripture. God’s sovereignty, and the beauty of the atonement is everywhere in this context, and resisting the Irresistible summons is impossible.
To state that we can avoid facing God’s judgment also minimizes the beauty and efficacy of Christ’s atonement, in which He became a curse for us….so that we would be blessed and not eternally cursed. Jesus shed His infinitely precious blood to ransom us…to pay the price to release us from sin, Satan and death. To assert that we can avoid hell is to deny the urgency and centrality of the atonement.
If our deaths are appointed by God, then how much more so are our judgments appointed by God. And after we die, we face judgment. The notion of retaining a free will which averts this judgment flies in the face of this clear text, and countless others.
There are two judgments: our personal judgment the moment we die, and then the general/universal judgment (or Great White Throne…Revelation 20:11-15) The two are often conflated, because the general judgment is simply the public announcement of God’s holy judicial decree at the moment of our deaths.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.
13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.
14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Upon reading this text, does the notion of avoiding God’s judgment seem possible to you? The same God who will stand as Judge at the end times, is the Judge whom we all face immediately upon death. Again, I ask: does this God/Judge seem like One whom we can avoid simply because we fear hell?
Stephen saw the Lord Jesus stand up in anticipation of his arrival, but unbelievers have nothing but the fearful prospect/certainty of the Lord Jesus pronouncing an eternal guilty verdict upon them and sentencing them to an eternity in Hell. In Hell, Satan won’t rule, but God Almighty will be present, and causing the excruciating eternal agony of all those there. This is where we must bow our heads and weep for those who are lost. It is ugly, very ugly, for a person to speak glibly of hell. On the other hand, it is monstrous to think that we can cancel/postpone our judgment before our Holy Creator. To think that a reason for some people remaining as ghosts due to fear of hell, is to deny every attribute revealed about God in the Bible.
When we die, we are drawn by an omnipotent, irresistible summons before the holy Judge of heaven and earth. Let us expunge any notion that minimizes the incomparable glory of the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. Let the Word of God control all of our thoughts and beliefs.
Mark Hunnemann is the author of Seeing Ghosts Through God's Eyes: A Worldview Analysis of Earthbound Spirits. It's also available in eBook format.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Dalai Lama on Disarmament for World Peace
By the Dalai Lama
Through history, mankind has pursued peace one way or another. It is too optimistic to imagine that world peace may finally be within our grasp? I do not believe that there has been an increase in the amount of people's hatred, only in their ability to manifest it in vastly destructive weapons. On the other hand, bearing witness to the tragic evidence of the mass slaughter caused by such weapons in our country has given us the opportunity to control war. To do so, it is clear we must disarm.
Disarmament can occur only within the context of new political and economic relationships. Before we consider this issue in detail, it is worth imagining the kind of peace process from which we would benefit most. This is fairly self - evident. First we should work on eliminating nuclear weapons, next, biological and chemical ones, then offensive arms, and finally, defensive ones. At the same time, to safeguard the peace, we should start developing in one or more global regions an international police force made up of equal number of members from each nation under a collective command. Eventually this force would cover the whole world.
Because the dual process of disarmament and development of a joint force would be both multilateral and democratic, the right of majority to criticize or even intervene in the event of one nation violating the basic rules would be ensured. Moreover, with all large armies eliminated and all conflict such as border disputes subject to the control of the joint international force, large and small nations would be truly equal. Such reforms would result in a stable international environment.
Of course, the immense financial dividend reaped from the cessation of arms production would also provide a fantastic windfall for global development. Today, the nations of the world spend trillions of dollars annually on upkeep of the military. Can you imagine how many hospital beds, schools and homes this money could fund? In addition, as I mentioned above, the awesome proportion of scarce resources squandered on military development not only prevents the elimination of poverty, illiteracy and disease, but also requires the sacrifice of precious human intelligence. Our scientists are extremely bright. Why should their brilliance be wasted on such dreadful endeavors when it could be used for positive global development?
The great deserts of the world such as the Sahara and Gobi could be cultivated to increase food production and ease over-crowding. Many countries now face years of severe drought. New, less expensive methods of desalinization could be developed to render seawater suitable for human consumption and other uses. There are many pressing issues in the fields of energy and health to which our scientist could more usefully address themselves. Since the world economy would grow more rapidly as a result of their efforts, they could even be paid more!
Our planet is blessed with vast natural treasures. If we use them properly, beginning with elimination of militarism and war, truly, every human being will be able to live a wealthy, well-cared-for life.
Naturally, global peace cannot occur all at once. Since conditions around the world are varied, its spread will have to be incremental. But there is no reason why it cannot begin in one region and then spread gradually from one continent to another.
I would like to propose that regional communities like the European Community be established as an integral part of the more peaceful world we are trying to create. Looking at the post Cold War environment objectively, such communities are plainly the most natural and desirable components of a new world order. As we can see, the almost gravitational pull of our growing interdependence necessitates new, more cooperative structures. The European Community is pioneering the way in this endeavor, negotiating the delicate balance between economic, military and political collectively on the one hand and the sovereign rights of member states on the other. I am greatly inspired by this work. I also believe that the new Commonwealth of Independent Sates is grappling with similar issues and that the seeds of such a community are already present in the minds of many of its constituent republics. In this context, I would briefly like to talk about the future of my own country, Tibet, and China.
Like the former Soviet Union, Communist China is a multinational state, artificially constructed under the impetus of an expansionist ideology and up to now administered by force in colonial fashion. A peaceful, prosperous and above all politically stable future for china lies in its successfully fulfilling not only its own people's wishes for a more open, democratic system, but also of its eighty million so-called "national minorities", who want to regain their freedom. For real happiness to return to the heart of Asia - home to one-fifth of the human race - a pluralistic, democratic, mutually cooperative community of sovereign states must replace what is currently called the People's Republic of China.
Of course, such a community need not be limited to those presently under Chinese Communist Domination, such as Tibetans, Mongols, and Uighurs. The people of Hong Kong, those seeking an independent Taiwan, and even those suffering under other communist governments in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia might also be interested in building an Asian Community. However, it is especially urgent that those ruled by the Chinese Communist consider doing so. Properly pursued, it could help save China from violent dissolution; regionalism and a return to the chaotic turmoil that has so afflicted this great nation throughout the twentieth century. Currently China's political life is so polarized that there is every reason to fear an early recurrence of bloodshed and tragedy. Each of us- every member of the world community - has a moral responsibility to help avert the immense suffering that civil strife would bring to China's vast population.
I believe that the very process of dialogue, modernization and compromise involved in building a community of Asian states would itself give real hope of peaceful evolution to a new order in China. From the very start, the member states of such a community might agree to decide its defense and international relations policies together. There would be many opportunities for cooperation. The critical point is that we find a peaceful, nonviolent way for the forces of freedom, democracy and moderation to emerge successfully from the current atmosphere of unjust repression.
Disarmament can occur only within the context of new political and economic relationships. Before we consider this issue in detail, it is worth imagining the kind of peace process from which we would benefit most. This is fairly self - evident. First we should work on eliminating nuclear weapons, next, biological and chemical ones, then offensive arms, and finally, defensive ones. At the same time, to safeguard the peace, we should start developing in one or more global regions an international police force made up of equal number of members from each nation under a collective command. Eventually this force would cover the whole world.
Because the dual process of disarmament and development of a joint force would be both multilateral and democratic, the right of majority to criticize or even intervene in the event of one nation violating the basic rules would be ensured. Moreover, with all large armies eliminated and all conflict such as border disputes subject to the control of the joint international force, large and small nations would be truly equal. Such reforms would result in a stable international environment.
Of course, the immense financial dividend reaped from the cessation of arms production would also provide a fantastic windfall for global development. Today, the nations of the world spend trillions of dollars annually on upkeep of the military. Can you imagine how many hospital beds, schools and homes this money could fund? In addition, as I mentioned above, the awesome proportion of scarce resources squandered on military development not only prevents the elimination of poverty, illiteracy and disease, but also requires the sacrifice of precious human intelligence. Our scientists are extremely bright. Why should their brilliance be wasted on such dreadful endeavors when it could be used for positive global development?
The great deserts of the world such as the Sahara and Gobi could be cultivated to increase food production and ease over-crowding. Many countries now face years of severe drought. New, less expensive methods of desalinization could be developed to render seawater suitable for human consumption and other uses. There are many pressing issues in the fields of energy and health to which our scientist could more usefully address themselves. Since the world economy would grow more rapidly as a result of their efforts, they could even be paid more!
Our planet is blessed with vast natural treasures. If we use them properly, beginning with elimination of militarism and war, truly, every human being will be able to live a wealthy, well-cared-for life.
Naturally, global peace cannot occur all at once. Since conditions around the world are varied, its spread will have to be incremental. But there is no reason why it cannot begin in one region and then spread gradually from one continent to another.
I would like to propose that regional communities like the European Community be established as an integral part of the more peaceful world we are trying to create. Looking at the post Cold War environment objectively, such communities are plainly the most natural and desirable components of a new world order. As we can see, the almost gravitational pull of our growing interdependence necessitates new, more cooperative structures. The European Community is pioneering the way in this endeavor, negotiating the delicate balance between economic, military and political collectively on the one hand and the sovereign rights of member states on the other. I am greatly inspired by this work. I also believe that the new Commonwealth of Independent Sates is grappling with similar issues and that the seeds of such a community are already present in the minds of many of its constituent republics. In this context, I would briefly like to talk about the future of my own country, Tibet, and China.
Like the former Soviet Union, Communist China is a multinational state, artificially constructed under the impetus of an expansionist ideology and up to now administered by force in colonial fashion. A peaceful, prosperous and above all politically stable future for china lies in its successfully fulfilling not only its own people's wishes for a more open, democratic system, but also of its eighty million so-called "national minorities", who want to regain their freedom. For real happiness to return to the heart of Asia - home to one-fifth of the human race - a pluralistic, democratic, mutually cooperative community of sovereign states must replace what is currently called the People's Republic of China.
Of course, such a community need not be limited to those presently under Chinese Communist Domination, such as Tibetans, Mongols, and Uighurs. The people of Hong Kong, those seeking an independent Taiwan, and even those suffering under other communist governments in North Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia might also be interested in building an Asian Community. However, it is especially urgent that those ruled by the Chinese Communist consider doing so. Properly pursued, it could help save China from violent dissolution; regionalism and a return to the chaotic turmoil that has so afflicted this great nation throughout the twentieth century. Currently China's political life is so polarized that there is every reason to fear an early recurrence of bloodshed and tragedy. Each of us- every member of the world community - has a moral responsibility to help avert the immense suffering that civil strife would bring to China's vast population.
I believe that the very process of dialogue, modernization and compromise involved in building a community of Asian states would itself give real hope of peaceful evolution to a new order in China. From the very start, the member states of such a community might agree to decide its defense and international relations policies together. There would be many opportunities for cooperation. The critical point is that we find a peaceful, nonviolent way for the forces of freedom, democracy and moderation to emerge successfully from the current atmosphere of unjust repression.
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