politicsThe Next President
What are Fred’s views on global warming? Do you think he has the balls to actually do something about it, even if it meant hurting the economy for a while? Does he realize that by doing so he could actually prevent one of the worlds worst disasters (like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs) from ever happening? If nothing else he could play a part in getting the world to move in the right direction. Will we be able to put off the end of the world long enough to find a permanent solution? That depends on how important it is to our next president and the next one and the next one after that.
The thing is the Kyoto Protocol was an important first step in the right direction that our current president let pass us by. I realize that the treaty would have allowed other countries like India and China to continue on the path to becoming industrialized nations while forcing America to take the lead. That‘s because it would be unfair for these countries to have to participate at this stage in the game. They simply aren‘t ready to make the sacrifices necessary to combat the problem. What people don‘t realize is that countries like these would be expected to make those sacrifices later and would be included in future protocols. The Kyoto Protocol is only the first step. No one said it would be the last. It’s not the “end all, be all” that our president seems to think it is. Just because other countries aren’t expected to do the right thing is no reason for America to turn away from our responsibility and let the world suffer the consequences.
Furthermore, saving the planet doesn’t have to hurt the economy. WWII is a perfect example of what happens when the country focuses on a goal and works together to achieve it. The economy gets better, not worse. To say that the Kyoto Protocol (or some future protocol) is bound to have a negative effect on the economy simply isn’t true. It would force new technologies to emerge while providing new jobs and opportunities for many Americans. The economy might change shape but it’s unlikely to deteriorate that much or for very long. Even if that’s not the case, hard times are a small price to pay when you consider the alternative: life on Earth could literally cease to exist!
“The Divinity of Christ”
There is little doubt
that someone named Jesus of Nazareth walked the Earth some 2000 years ago, claimed to be the Son of God and die for our sins. Most of the worlds other religions, at least, think of Him as a prophet. Among them are the Bah’ai Faith, Islam and numerous others. They all agree that He was a real person and a splendid teacher but not, necessarily, that He was who He claimed to be.
A few religions profess their particular prophet to be the last in a long line of prophets. In order for this to be the case, the others would have to be wrong which seems unlikely, if not totally absurd (according to Le-way). It’s far more probable that God has and will continue to send messengers (on His behalf) to share His way of life and unique perspective with those who will listen. I am one such individual.
Christianity teaches us that the divinity of Christ is without restraint. They claim we must either believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He literally died for our sins (so that all who believe in His name shall not die but have eternal life) or lose out on salvation entirely. To believe He was merely a man or a prophet is not good enough. The only way to God is through Christ. People of all other faiths will face the fires of hell for not accepting Christ as their lord and savior.
According to Le-way, the way to go to Heaven is to surrender The Knowledge of Good and Evil which can be accomplished in all sorts of ways, so long as you are sincere. You don’t have to be a Christian, Muslim or a Jew. You merely need to believe that God is perfect and want what He wants. Those who fail to do so will end up in Utopia (also called the Land of Oz) where they will experience Perfect On-going Justice, Actual Free-will and a Permanent 2nd Chance to surrender The Knowledge of Good and Evil and ascend to Heaven (once and for all).
In all reality, there is no way to substantiate any of these claims. No one knows for sure if Jesus truly is the Son of God or that Le-way isn’t just make believe. We must choose to either concede that we are completely blind to the truth (and go on with our lives) or put our faith in what we think it should be. According to Le-way, there will be liberty and justice for all, whether or not anyone actually believes in its legitimacy. As for Christianity, it promises to save a few souls while condemning the rest of humanity to fire and brimstone. So which should we say is better to believe or does it even really matter at all? In either case our beliefs do not determine what is or what isn’t. Most people will die completely clueless to what the truth could possibly be. Death might provide us with the answers but, until then, we should let God worry about such things and focus more on who we need to be in this life to fulfill Gods wishes and maybe even prepare ourselves for the next (assuming there really is one and especially if there's not).
“The Problem of Evil and Le-way”
As an American
I am most familiar with Christianity than any other belief system. At the same time, I was not raised in a Christian household like many of my peers. Instead my parents left it up to my brother and I to determine our own beliefs and encouraged us to think for ourselves. As a result I was given the opportunity to be true to myself by thinking outside the box and considering as many anglesas possible.
One of the concepts I have long accepted but now choose to do away with is the idea that God is omnipotent. It’s not that I doubt that good will ultimately prevail over evil but rather that the reason for this is that there is more good and a greater desire (or need) for good to overcome what isn’t. The nature of evil is to destroy itself while good seeks to further itself.
The hard reality is that there are two forces in the universe, like night and day, male and female, yin and yang, there is good and evil. Understanding this has lead me to solving The Problem of Evil. The Problem of Evil suggests that God can not exist to allow so much pain and suffering in the world.
I have previously proposed that the devil was a great angel given the responsibility of guarding over the knowledge of good and evil who was seduced by what it had to offer. This may very well still be the case and in fact may be the very thing that gave the devil his power.
God allowed Adam and Eve and the angels under His command to decide for themselves if the knowledge of good and evil was something they wanted. He did this because He is fair. The difficulty is that free-will (which comes from the knowledge of good and evil) is incapable of producing results that are just as fair. This brings us to The Problem of Evil which must be discussed if God is worth believing in.
The solution is a war that has lasted for millions of years and may last many more to come. It’s not a question of who will win but only a matter of how long it will take. Good will ultimately prevail over evil for the reasons I spoke of before. It’s not that God did not create the Universe and everything in it. The problem is that God made the mistake of trusting Satan with the knowledge of good and evil which the devil used inappropriately to make war with God and put His kingdom in jeopardy.
Ultimately, there are 2 principles at work here. The first being that God is fair which is why He allowed all this to take place. The other is called dualism but not in the most literal sense. True dualism would not allow for justice to be served in its proper context and would therefore produce undesirable results. It may not be that God is omnipotent in the sense that He can do away with evil as He pleases but, maybe, in the sense that evil will be done away with when all is finished.
“The Worlds Religions Versus Le-way”
Over the years I have taken it upon myself to study the worlds religions and learn as much about them as I can. I have come to the conclusion that they are all as valid as any other and tend to agree with those who believe that God has and will continue to send messengers on His behalf to offer new and different insights into His character.
I find it interesting the way that many religions (especially the monotheistic ones) seem to have evolved over time by making small (although often significant) changes to the earlier ones. It seems as though God has sent prophet after prophet into the world only to find He must send another to correct the errors of those who came before the most current one.
Among the earliest of the great mono-theistic religions was Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is well known to have had a great deal of influence on many of the worlds religions, including Judaism and Christianity. It’s almost ironic that Zoroastrians (of which there remain a few) have long believed that a messiah will be born to a virgin much like what Christianity is based on. Some scholars have even proposed that the Three Wise Men were actually Zoroastrian priests based on the direction from which they came.
I also find it interesting what Zoroastrianism has to say about Heaven and Hell. According to it’s teachings God will judge people based on the number of good deeds they have tallied compared to how many bad deeds they are responsible for. A person who has managed more good deeds than bad ones will go to Heaven while those who fair otherwise will be condemned to Hell. They even believe in a place like Purgatory where those who have committed the same number of good deeds as bad will take residence (if only for a time).
This is clearly a simplistic approach to justice which other religions would ultimately do better to address. Christianity offered us an entirely different means of salvation. Jesus based it on a persons faith in Him which is no more fair, if not even further from the truth than Zoroastrianism. Along came Islam and Submission to God which made a little more sense (as a path to salvation) but still based a persons salvation on what they do or do not believe. The Bah’ai Faith and a number of other religions attempted to unify the worlds religions by suggesting that it didn’t matter what religion a person belongs to but only that they follow the path God has prepared for them.
The problem with all of these religions is that none of them allow a person to have a relationship with God without following certain moral expectations (or, at least, attempting to). According to Le-way, the way to go to Heaven is to surrender the knowledge of good and evil which can be accomplished in as many ways as there are to be sincere. The difference is that Le-way condemns no one to hell but provides liberty and justice for all in a place I call Utopia (also called The Land of Oz). Those who have yet to turn their will and their lives over to the care of God will not experience the fires of hell but rather Perfect On-going Justice, Actual Free-will and a Permanent 2nd Chance (to surrender the Knowledge of Good and Evil and go to Heaven). I call it the right to be a fool or not to be.
