One of the main reasons God is not real to many people, though they may claim to believe that God exists, is because He is invisible. It is extremely difficult to believe something actually exists in an invisible, enigmatic realm that is totally foreign to human beings. For that reason, God is not a source of benevolent influence, even to those who claim to be Christians, since He is not the dominant theme on their minds. Since God is invisible, the only way to take up the slack as a means of making God a real, living, dominant entity, is to have Christ-like faith/belief.
Along with faith and belief, when one uses plain old-fashioned LOGIC, the visible worlds provide persuasive evidence as to the existence of some sort of invisible, intelligent, supreme force or energy. As I have written numerous times in this blog, something as complex and gigantic as our universe, to say the least, COULD NOT have come into existence on its own, and for no apparent reason. And more convincing evidence is the formation of life, creating itself out of nonliving chemicals, etc., and for no apparent reason, just by chance. For the intelligent and scientific community to believe the above scenarios without any concrete theories on their genesis is hard for many to comprehend.
Then some wise guys/gals will ask, “Where did this force you call God come from?” This is my response: “Before I answer that question, I want you to make me any type of ‘physical matter’ out of nothing. When you have accomplished that tricky feat, I will tell you where my God came from.” I actually believe that the majority of people, even some nonbelievers, secretly believe there must exist some sort of metaphysical, supernatural power, because it is only logical, based not only faith, but also on the aforementioned, apparent impossibilities.
Now, to get back to everyday matters: Since God is shrouded in mysticism, His abode (heaven) is also a place of misunderstanding and uncertainty when it comes to what heaven is like. The question I ask is this: Since heaven is portrayed as the epitome of bliss, why is it that so many, if not all, Christians want to go to heaven, but few, if any, want to die to get there? There are several possibilities: 1) Many will say they are not afraid to die, but not right now. 2) They are not certain they will be going there; possibly hell is waiting for them. 3) They don’t know if there really is a heaven; what hard evidence, other than faith, is there that heaven really exists? Maybe it’s all a big hoax? 4) Their lives on earth are going so well; how could heaven be any better? 5) They may believe their time has not yet come. 6) They are afraid of the unknown. 7) The most legitimate reason is for parents who still have young children to raise. I am certain there are many other personal reasons for wanting to avoid death. What is the reason you want to go to heaven, but don’t want to die just yet to get there? Give yourself an honest answer. If you want, leave a comment. Of course, we can understand why agnostics and the like don’t want to die; for them, physical death is the end of everything.
Since the majority of the world’s population believes in the existence of a benevolent God, why is this world so full of people who live such ungodly lives (God is little or no part of why they do what they do)? One reason is this: out of sight, out of mind. God does not have an impact on how they live their lives, repeating, because God and what He stands for is not on their minds; their minds are on worldly matters. That may be the main reason those who claim to believe in God in their hearts don’t believe God is relevant as to what they do. Most won’t admit it, but God has little influence on their lives. Remember, whatever people think of/on the most is what controls their lives.
I truly don’t believe that most Christians know what God expects from them. That is the main reason for “Religion’s Crime Against God” and this post. First of all, they don’t take God seriously. He is just a free pass to eventually go somewhere they don’t want to go at this time. Other than that, I don’t know why they say they “believe in God.”
The most provocative verse in the New Testament consists of only two words: “pray continually.” 1st Thessalonians 5:17. Who is capable of living life on this earth and still obeying that command? Why did the Apostle Paul write such a command? Either he was deranged or actually knew what he was talking about. The reason was, and more so, still is, as previously mentioned, that our lives are controlled by what we think. What percentage of our waking hours are our minds on Godly matters? This is an incriminating question. That question will verify what was written in the above paragraphs, that our devotion to God may be nothing more than a lot of Sunday-morning gobbledygook.
Again, the question comes down to this: Do we take God seriously? The stark evidence is the ungodly condition of Americans and most likely the world. Need proof? If you watch any TV, you know what I mean: mind-boggling trash. Can you believe that “American Idol” recently got more votes than the last national election? TV is an accurate barometer of where the majority of Americans have their minds. Shame on a people who have printed on their money, “In God We Trust.” No one can make a fool of God and get away with it forever. Are we Americans making a fool of God? Good question. The New Testament has the answer. I am certain God is jumping with joy over our great “Godly” country. I am being facetious.
Here is another topic I have written on extensively, and will be repeating because it will have an impact on this subject: “Out of Sight, Out of Mind.” This subject will elaborate on what was mentioned in the third paragraph # 4: “Their lives on earth are going so well; how could heaven be any better?” When a person is living the good life, this is what happens: God is put on the back burner. Out of sight, out of mind. That good life is exactly what most Americans are seeking. That is what our capitalistic form of government was based on: wealth and prosperity. Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin who was influential in the creation of our Constitution? Wasn’t it he who made up the famous cliché concerning life’s values: “Healthy, WEALTHY and wise”?
Wasn’t it upper-class aristocrats who made up and signed our Constitution? They were creating a democracy, not a theocracy. How dare they incorporate God into our Constitution while ignoring what God’s Son teaches?. Did they know what Jesus Christ taught in the New Testament? God has only to do with theocracies. A democracy that is formed by the upper class is not a true democracy, regardless of how many checks and balances it may have. It always was—and still is—a government: of the people, by the people, for the rich. The present White House with Bush in control is all the evidence we need to see what happens when the rich, greedy, heartless, and stupid get in control. I will continue to write about this man, because to him, God is out of sight, out of mind.
Bush is a rich, ungodly man who claims to be a born-again Evangelical Christian. How could that be? He is a liar, a cheat, and a murderer of several thousand of our fighting boys and girls, not to mention the thousands of Iraqis still dying, along with the thousands on both sides permanently wounded; and let us not forget the thousands of weeping widows and widowers, children now with only one parent, both Americans and Iraqis. I can hear their cries: “I want my daddy, I want my daddy,” or “Where is my mommy?” Orphans are saying, “I want my mommy and daddy back; please give me my mommy and daddy—I love them.” These children were robbed of something (a genetically alike father and/or mother) that never can be replaced the rest of their lives, even after Bush is dead and gone, which can't come soon enough–I write these words with tears in my eyes because these little ones don’t understand. Along with that, the brokenhearted mothers and fathers and all the other human carnage including both Iraqis, Americans, etc.
Bush also is a thief, robbing Americans by putting us in debt to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. For him to start this stupid and unnecessary war is a disgrace to this country, and for the real Christian community. In short, our Commander in Chief is personally responsible for all this harm and heartbreak, with still much more to come. For that and more, he is the modern-day chief devil of devils, in the flesh. I would love to take credit for writing this last sentence, but I can’t, because it came straight from Jesus Christ Himself. Check out the Table of Contents # 135 on the beast. His # is 666—the most disgraceful stigma Bush is responsible for is that he gave the world at large an ugly picture of what Americans are like.
Getting back to how wealth, especially in America, takes control when God is out of sight, and out of mind. . . Isn’t it funny how we Americans love to be wealthy—no, it isn’t—when that’s the exact opposite of what Jesus Christ teaches in the New Testament? The complete New Testament hasn’t one good word concerning the desiring for or having material or financial wealth. There are several dozen New Testament verses telling of the harm of wanting to be rich, or actually being well-off. I will mention only a few. Mark 10:23. “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 1st Timothy 6:9-10. “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. [Of course, most “christians” who have wealth will adamantly deny that they love money]. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” Luke 6:20. “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” James 2:5. “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” Again, there are many, many other verses that corroborate the above, in essence saying the same thing. Here, most likely, is the reason the poor are better candidates to enter God’s kingdom: Since life, genetics or environment has treated the poor and misfortunate segment of society cruelly, they may have a greater desire to be looking for anything better than this life.
Whenever I bring up this topic, I receive more non-biblical flack than any other subject. There are many reasons wealth and the desire to be prosperous are damaging, if not deadly, to the Christian; the biggest damage is that it puts God in second place: out of sight, out of mind, if even that, as to life’s values. The best, if not the only way, this anti-prosperity teaching is countered by its church-going opponents is to bring up a few rich characters in the Old Testament like Abraham; though a man of faith, he was a liar; Solomon, a womanizer; Job was one person with character. Jesus Christ clarified the Old Testament belief that material wealth is a sign of God’s blessing–click on # 116, “What Money Can and Cannot Buy.” In almost every case, it failed to produce character and loyalty. Hosea has this to say when people are content with worldly security: Hosea 13:6. “When I fed them [Israel], they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.” Did we in America put God out of sight, out of mind (did we forget God)?
God does not, cannot, and will not play second fiddle to anything or anyone that replaces devotion and obedience to Himself. Almighty God is number one, and must be worshiped as such. As I mentioned previously, Jesus Christ turned most of the world’s values upside down, although many “christians” who blend in very nicely with the ungodly crowd won’t acknowledge that fact. Let me ask you a hard question: Can you distinguish Christians from pagan nonbelievers after checking out where they live; what is of importance to them; the type of vehicle/s they drive; their investments and financial statements; what type of pastime activities they engage in; the type of TV they watch; the sports they follow, etc.? I will bet my bottom dollar there isn’t much, if any, difference between the two groups.
If the above sounds ridiculous to you, prove me wrong according to the New Testament. If you can’t, you better change your ways or else. This glorification of Christ-like poverty and degradation of wealth does not play well in America or the world, regardless of what Christ or this post teaches. As you can tell, Jesus Christ nor this blog plan on winning a popularity contest. What is written in this blog may be the cause for the final damnation of our great, wealthy, and powerful country. God forbid. Out of sight, out of mind.
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