The Sight of Larry

The father of a friend of mine was still a young man when we were teenagers. Larry had married quite young and started his family. So while my friend and I were teens, Larry was still like a big kid himself and loved to have fun. Larry was the kind of man who threw responsibility to the wind to entertain us teens and treated me as kind as a father himself. Larry once loaned me a motorcycle so I could join a ride with my friends. When I didn't have a car once, he offered to let me drive his Beetle Bug. I refused the offer of course, but that was just the kind heart Larry had. The first time I ever drove a truly hot rodded vehicle, it was a Chevy truck that Larry asked me to take on an errand for him. I've been sick with powerful engines ever since. Larry let me take out his chopper three wheeler for a ride. Larry was brotherly kind to me and the other teens, putting our enjoyment before any concern of personal liability. He stuck his neck out, but the memories he gave me are cherished high points of a teen's life.

But Larry had suffered from manic depression all his life. As jovial as he was, the illness wore him down like grinding wheel on his spirit. One day I got the news that Larry had killed himself. He left a note saying he was just tired. I was overcome with grief because he was such a friend.

One day many years later, I was sharing with a fellow trucker my memories of Larry and what a kind man he was, how he was so kind and charitable to us teens. I lowered my head and mused to my companion, "Maybe one day God will let me see Larry again." In the next instant I was struck by a vision that I know was a gift from God. I saw Larry's face appearing to me against a gold background. Larry was smiling at me really big as if he knew I was recalling him in loving ways and words of praise for his kind ways. And the thing that really got me was there was a prominent gap between his front teeth. I had forgotten that he had a gap in his teeth. But there he was so clearly for a few moments!

I rejoiced that I saw Larry and God had answered my request in an instant. I knew then that Larry is alive with Jesus. I had been concerned because Larry had committed suicide under the weight of manic depression. But I saw his smiling face against the backdrop of the golden cloud of Glory and knew right then he was in the presence of Jesus. Obviously Jesus had sympathized and understood Larry's sufferings and gave Larry his loving grace, even though Larry had taken his own life. Yes the grace of God is there even for people who die this way. Larry had always been a serious believer and trusted in his Baptist upbringing. He loved Jesus, and I know Jesus loves Larry too.

Dying with Joy

For some people, dying is an immediate and pressing issue. Maybe they are near the end themselves. I think it is useful, compassionate, and perhaps a bit courageous to talk to people in their hour of need about dying. For all of humanity, dying is a mystery. In the earthly sense it seems like a final farewell. Some think it is oblivion. Some create fantastic visions of death for various reasons and basis, that persuades them death is not the end.

For me personally, because of prophetic gifts, my perceptions of departing the earth are wholly influenced by the visions I've witness and the testimonies of those like Jesus Christ and the prophets. I know hardly anything about what it's like to depart into another realm, but I absolutely know that dying is NOT the end. I've seen people who have departed this realm under the sun. But they are not dead, but alive! They live again. By God's grace they live again.

I saw my grandmother fly away from over a thousand miles away when she left this world. She ascended (as the psalmist describes) as a white dove with gilded wings. Upward my grandmother flew as her white dove body faded away, but the gold upon her wings shone brighter and brighter until it dazzled the eyes. In the night sky a cross appeared to meet her. By now her dove form was almost completely faded, but the beating golden wings continued and flew upward right to the base of the cross in the sky. When the dove arrived at the cross both my grandmother and the cross instantly disappeared together.

How could I mourn for her? How could I see her go into unimaginable joys with Jesus Christ and feel anything but blissful triumphant JOY for her. Grandmother has made it home! Like the song says, where there is faith, there is peace. I felt that peace and joy even though my grandmother had just left us. Truly something beautiful is hers!

I have other things to share, but I hope some of you will as well.

The Star of Bethlehem

The star of Bethlehem wasn't anything astronomical. Careful reading of the account will reveal that the star first appeared to the Magi while they were in the east. They understood this was the star of "the great king" and surmised they should go the the City of the King, which was Jerusalem. But upon arriving there, they were told it was the wrong destination. Hence the Star did not lead them to Jerusalem. After being told the King would be born in Bethlehem, as prophesied, the Magi started their trip there. It was then that the star appeared to them the second time and went in front of them. This was the second appearing of the star. The Magi knew by the star preceding them, that they were being directed by God and rejoiced. The star was close enough to the Magi to have proximity relevance, which no astronomical body would have, insomuch that the star could pause above the house where Jesus was. With such proximity relevance, the star could not have been in the heavens, but was going before the Magi and very near them. The star of Bethlehem was an angelic entity of light. Perhaps even a manifestation of the Lord Jesus himself in a Magi(c) way, directing the Magi to his earthly location.

Seeing Jesus Christ

It's been a number of years ago, but it was about this time of year when I saw and met Jesus in person. Here is the excerpt taken from my book, "Stars of Glory: An Odyssey in Reality".

“His Sign in the Sky”

It was now December 13, 1978 on a Wednesday. Boyd and I had left work and were riding home in his pretty black Ford truck with the bright yellow graphics painted all over it. It was growing dusky as we got off the interstate. We crossed Percy Priest Dam and turned left off of Bell Road onto Dodson Chapel Road, heading north toward Dad’s house. I was almost home. As we passed by the Nelson’s mansion, I was thinking about Boyd going to the Baptist church. I thought to myself that he really should learn the doctrines of the Churches of Christ. It was Wednesday and there were church meetings that night.

I turned toward Boyd and asked him, “Boyd, would you like to go to church with me tonight?”

Boyd appeared thoughtful for a few seconds and then replied, “No, I guess not.”

I left it at that and turned back forward in the truck. Just then I noticed something bright up in the dusky sky that was beckoning my eyes. It was ahead and slightly to the left of our direction of travel. I looked up to see what it was. When I set my eyes upon it, this is what I saw: In the sky before us was a bright white upright oval of lucid light. Around its perimeter there appeared several rings of light like the effect of a rainbow; auras that I seem to recall were the colors of lavender and yellow and maybe rose. But I can’t recall the third color for certain or if there was actually a third color for certain. But the lavender and yellow were there. Within the oval of white light, there stood a cross of heavy wood. The grain of the wood was very clear and the cross was gray. The cross itself was glowing as if it were a hollow plastic imitation wooden cross with fluorescent lighting inside it. The scene was very clear and distinct as we rode along.

I immediately realized I was seeing another manifestation, and my habit had become to avert my eyes away from such things. This was no exception and I averted my eyes and moved my gazing toward the eastern sky. Before the cross left my peripheral vision, it jumped as if reacting in surprise to my averted eyes, and then chased my line of gaze across the sky, following my eyes only a few degrees behind my direct line of sight. I stopped my eyes on the north eastern sky, and immediately the light with the cross moved directly in front of my eyes. I again averted my eyes all the way toward the north western sky, and the cross and light again chased my line of sight just as quickly and moved in front of my eyes again as I looked at the north western sky. I averted my eyes again, but this time I looked down into the truck at the floor in front of my feet. I noticed the light with the cross in it, remained in the sky this time. As I sat there I reasoned: “A cross is a good thing that's about Jesus. I shouldn’t be suspicious of this or refuse to look”. Reassured, I decided to just look at the cross in the light. I raised my eyes to see the light of the cross again, and this time to intently observe it. But it was gone! It was replaced by something else even more wonderful.

“He Lifts Up His Countenance Upon Me”

I looked back into the sky to see the cross and the light. But this time I saw the color of amber in the sky. It was a broad field of amber directly in front of us. Then I noticed a conspicuous patch of blue within the amber field in the sky. I focused on the blue area and my eyes struggled for a few moments to resolve the blue patch into sharp focus. I studied the blue area and realized as I resolved it, that I was seeing the silhouette of the figure of a man there within the amber. At first I had trouble understanding the situation of the man’s figure, until I realized the man was seated waist deep in the amber. The amber itself was now to me apparently a kind of mist like a cloud. The man was a silhouette of blue, and the word “sapphire” came into my mind concerning the nature of the blueness of his silhouette.

As I looked at the man I was meeting the sky, I was in quick cognition that I had just seen the sign of a cross in the sky as a kind of an annunciation, and the man being announced was Jesus Christ! I realized I was looking at Jesus sitting on his throne in the amber cloud. As I realized this, the Lord was listening to my thoughts, and knew when I realized it was him.

With my realization, the Lord responded in those moments, and he started arising from his seated position, standing up from his throne. As he arose up in a very natural motion, he lowered his arms down to his sides and stood there before me. I noticed that he was robed within the context of his silhouette, and his robe was gathered at the waist. When he lowered his arms to his sides, the motion revealed that the sleeves of his robe were belled and they loosely swayed at his sides. His form was apparently average slim as if he were a man of about a hundred and seventy pounds. His shoulders and stature reminded me of Rex. I saw no details of his face because it was the same blueness as the rest of his silhouette. The shape of his head was smooth and round as if he had no hair, or maybe his hair was oiled down against his scalp. The whole shape of his ears showed clearly on each side of his head and the view of them was clear and unobstructed. The whole shape of his silhouette was sharply defined against the amber cloud, except for where his waist entered the mist, and there it was misty.

As I beheld the appearing of the Lord, meeting him in the air on this amber cloud, and as I watched the Lord arise and stand before me, and as I was looking directly at him, I thought about the rude awkwardness of my silence. It occurred to me that I was in the presence of the ultimate person that anyone could ever meet. I felt like a child before a hero. I thought to myself, “There’s Jesus and I can’t think of anything to say!”  Then I gathered the situation in my mind again and thought, “Jesus is so perfect and never sinned and I’m just a sinner!” I suddenly felt some shame and humiliation as I looked at him and quickly I was too ashamed to look at him anymore. In utter self consciousness I lowered my eyes down from him and lowered my head in the truck.

I struggled to think of something to say to the Lord. The only thing that came to mind, I offered to him in a silent prayerful thought, “Lord, forgive me of my sins.” Immediately I was embarrassed at how redundant this was to say to him, because I had already prayed about sin and asked his forgiveness a thousand emotionally crushed times already. I knew with all my heart I was forgiven. I thought to myself, “Good grief! All I can think of to say is the same thing I’ve said already.” But with that thought, a gracious impression came upon me. Not in audible words, not even a clear word from the ethereal, but like a whispered statement into my spirit which was, “I already have.” I took it as a gracious encouragement from the Lord and I felt better, less ashamed. So feeling acceptance from the Lord, I ventured to look back up at him. But when I raised my eyes, he was gone!

I was shocked at his disappearance and wished he hadn’t left. Where did he go? Why did he leave? Was he upset? Then I realized he surely wasn’t upset with me. He just has his way of doing things is all that his disappearance means. I thought to myself, “Though I can’t see Jesus now, I still know he’s present and still watching me.” With this confidence, I directed my thoughts of gratitude toward Jesus.

Everything had happened in a few seconds. I knew I was good at hiding the fact that I was seeing spiritual manifestations. I looked over at Boyd as he drove along, and realized he had noticed nothing at all. I looked down the road and immediately I wondered if the world was going to start burning up. “Was this the Second Coming?” I asked myself. I couldn’t understand the event from anything I had read. I was wondering why I wasn’t arising into the sky. The Lord had arisen to stand, but I didn’t arise at all. I had met the Lord face to face and He was in the air in a great amber cloud, but I stayed on earth. I was confused and silent. What did it all mean?

Within a couple of minutes, Boyd let me out at Dad’s house. I hadn’t uttered a word of anything about seeing Jesus to him. I walked across the yard and went into the house. I saw Mom, but held back from telling her about what I had just now seen. It was very dusky now.
Somehow it all made sense that all the terror, all the manifestations, all the conflicts and trials, and all the harsh teachings of the angels that I had gone through, was leading up to this event: the Appearance of the Glory of the Lord. I was happy the journey had found a destination. I had been brought along to be ready to meet the Lord. I had a lot to be grateful for. I was still an emotional wreck, but I knew I was blessed beyond all imagination. I offered thanks to God, for Jesus my close companion!

The starry angels were still all about me. Among them I knew was the one that accused me. But I knew I had a constant companion. My faith in Him had caused my fear of the angels to subside to a great degree. They could still mess with my head, but I largely ignored them and tried not to converse with them. Life was now going to move along under these encouraging circumstances.

Spirit In The Sky

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Classic Rock
Artist:	Norman Green

More Flower Power for Jesus

Jesus is Just Alright

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Classic Rock
Artist:	Doobie Brothers

Another Flower Power tribute to Jesus Christ.

Turn! Turn! Turn!

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Pop
Artist:	Byrds

It Had To Be You

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Jazz
Artist:	Lisa Ekdahl

Put Your Hand In The Hand

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Classic Rock
Artist:	Ocean

Oh Happy Day

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Christian & Gospel
Artist:	Edwin Hawkins Singers

Occupy Wall Street?

I have two things to say about those occupying Wall Street:

AdBusters and Anti-Semitism.

Messiaic Manifesto: The Teachings of Paul

It is apparent to me that there exist widespread misunderstanding of the teachings of Paul in the Christian community, as well as among the Jewish community. The "Messianic Manifesto" will address these misconceptions so that the internal consistency of the faith in light of Paul's unique teaching will be apparent. It is true that Paul taught about the faith in ways the rest of the Apostles didn't. And the basis of this is understandable. Paul was also different from Jesus in how he taught about the faith. This to is understandable and will be addressed in this blog.

Messianic Manifesto on the Ontology (being) of Jesus

My years of observation of all the various discourse on the being of Jesus has revealed to me the virtually nobody really understands who Jesus is as a being. That will be remedied in the Messianic Manifesto in such a way that Jesus will be understood to be the very source of, and the unity between, Jewish testimony and Christian testimony.

This will unify the faith wholly instead of the present fallacy of their being two religions such as is popularly mischaracterized. The unity will be in understanding who Jesus really is as a being.

Messianic Manifesto and Trinity Doctrines

It's my position that Trinity Doctrines are harmful to the faith, because they close the doors of Jewish acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah, and are a needless fallacy projected onto the faith.

Messianic Manifesto

Since I have a profound interest in the Messianic Movement, I have decided to post a question for everyone. What are sound doctrines for the Messainic Community to adopt?

The Ten Principles of a Free Society: By Kit.

I'm stealing this from Kit's blog for my friends to read. Here is the link to the original post: http://treknatal.multiply.com/journal/item/4/The_Ten_Principles_of_a_Free_Society

THE TEN PRINCIPLES OF A FREE SOCIETY

1. Rights belong to individuals, not groups; they derive from our nature and can neither be granted nor taken away by government.

2. All peaceful, voluntary economic and social associations are permitted; consent is the basis of the social and economic order.

3. Justly acquired property is privately owned by individuals and voluntary groups, and this ownership cannot be arbitrarily voided by governments.

4. Government may not redistribute private wealth or grant special privileges to any individual or group.

5. Individuals are responsible for their own actions; government cannot and should not protect us from ourselves.

6. Government may not claim the monopoly over a people's money and governments must never engage in official counterfeiting, even in the name of macroeconomic stability.

7. Aggressive wars, even when called preventative, and even when they pertain only to trade relations, are forbidden.

8. Jury nullification, that is, the right of jurors to judge the law as well as the facts, is a right of the people and the courtroom norm.

9. All forms of involuntary servitude are prohibited, not only slavery but also conscription, forced association, and forced welfare distribution.

10. Government must obey the law that it expects other people to obey and thereby must never use force to mold behavior, manipulate social outcomes, manage the economy, or tell other countries how to behave.

Ron Paul: Your Opinions Requested

My oldest son Kit and my wife are both big fans of Ron Paul and intended to vote for him in the republican primaries. Personally I don't know enough about Ron Paul to form a real assessment of him.

From what Kit has informed me, Ron Paul is against American international adventurism such as existed during the cold war (propping up dictator regimes).

I also have been informed that Ron Paul is very conservative toward the Constitution. We'll isn't that radical to the status quo of the Constitutional hypocrites now in Washington D.C.?

What about the topic of Austrian Economics which seems to be so closely associated to Ron Paul?

What style of President might Ron Paul project if he should win the White House? I need your thoughts on these and other matters of interest concerning Ron Paul. MY wife really wants me to get behind Ron Paul, but it's just too early to commit.

McCain vs. Palin

Kit, earlier I made the assertion that during the presidential campaign, the McCain staff tried their best to hold Palin's reigns tightly, since she was so outspokenly conservative. I found an article discussing that conflict in those ranks and I thought it would add some recentl historical perspective:

"But the ongoing tensions between McCain staffers (as well as subtle and perhaps not so subtle hints from McCain himself that he thinks the GOP should shop around before choosing a 2012 Presidential candidate) underscore Palin’s failure to mend political fences on the most fundamental, basic scale: with her own running mate’s staff. Moreover, this split seems to have personal as well as ideological roots: although Palin is painted as a political diva it’s no secret McCain is less predictable politically than Palin and she seemed to be unhappy at some of his less conservative stands."

Here is the link for the full article:

http://themoderatevoice.com/37489/mccains-campaign-team-disses-sarah-palin-in-vanity-fair-piece/

"The Far Side of Madness" book review

The Far Side of Madness, by John Weir Perry.

Book review by
Rob Couteau

 

The terror of psychosis–and the terrifying treatments to which the “mental patient” is subjected–remains a source of bafflement to the outsider and a source of frustration to many practitioners in the mental health field. Although the literature is fraught with descriptions of symptoms, diagnoses, theories, and methods of treatment, few researchers address the patient as an equal. Rare, indeed, is the practitioner who has come to view psychosis as a strange sign of health: as an attempt to heal, or as a stage in a developmental process that transports the subject beyond “illness” or “normalcy” into a positive transformation of the self.

Such an exception is John Weir Perry. His Far Side of Madness remains a classic in the field for all these reasons. Working in the lonely tradition of Carl Jung and R. D. Laing, who each viewed psychosis as potentially purposive and telic in nature, Perry describes the goals–and the terrible dangers–that are typically encountered in the psychotic journey.

Perry’s work in traditional psychiatric settings led him to conclude that those in the thrall of an acute psychotic episode are rarely listened to or met on the level of their visionary state of consciousness. Instead, every conceivable way to silence them–to ignore or disapprove of their nonrational language and experience–was called into play, thereby increasing their sense of isolation, alienation, and so-called madness. (Although this book was first published in 1974, things have not substantially changed in state mental hospitals or in community residence settings. To explore the strange imagery of psychosis with a client in a counseling session is viewed as “feeding into their delusional system,” and it is discouraged by psychiatrists and social workers.)

Perry’s work with those in acute stages of psychosis revealed that their pre-psychotic personalities were the true source of “sickness.” Forced to live an emotionally impoverished life, the psyche had reacted by provoking a transformation in the form of a “compensating” psychosis, during which a drama in depth was enacted, forcing the initiate to undergo certain developmental processes.

Such experiences, which are accompanied by rich emotional imagery, offer amazing parallels to classical myths and to obscure rituals of antiquity:

The individual finds himself living in a psychic modality quite different from his surroundings. He is immersed in a myth world ... His emotions no longer connect with ordinary things, but drop into concerns and titanic involvements with an entire inner world of myth and image.

Although the imagery is of a general, archetypal nature (“imagery that pertains to all men and all times”), it also symbolizes the key issues of the individual undergoing a crisis. Therefore, once lived through on this mythic plane, and once the process of withdrawal nears its end, the imagery must be linked to specific problems of daily life. Thus, the archetypal affect-images await a reconnection to their natural context: to the personal psychological complexes (which tend to be externally projected).

The notion of a “reorganization of the Self” is central to Perry’s approach to the psychotic journey. Extreme damage to the self-image (usually, through a mother’s withholding of love) was a typical problem in the cases he studied. The injury to the self-image is so severe that, during a crisis, psychic energy leaves the higher levels of consciousness and is attracted to the psychic depths, where an archetypal process of renewal commences. The goal is not only to restore self-esteem but also to engender a “capacity to love and be loved.”

For this to occur, there must be a connecting link with another human being (and not necessarily a link with a “professional”): one that instills warmth and trust. This encourages a forward progression of the inner-imagery (reminiscent of Jung’s statement that a schizophrenic is no longer schizophrenic when he feels understood by someone else). Therefore, at this stage, “analysis” seems secondary to basic human kindness. In place of an omniscient psychotherapist, Perry posits the autonomous psychic process as a crucial factor.

Perry searched for and finally discovered a regular pattern of imagery and ideation in the psychotic process. The negative self-image is typically compensated by an “overblown” archetypal one, the latter manifesting in imagery such as that of the hero, clown, saint, ghost, or sovereign leader. In addition, there’s a sense of “participating in some form of drama or ritual performance.” Most significantly, ten sets of motifs emerged: symbols of the center; death; return to beginnings; cosmic conflict; the threat of the opposite sex; apotheosis; sacred marriage; new birth; new society; and the quadratic world.

Following the Jungian school of thought (from which Perry emerged), comparative symbolism and cross-cultural studies were used to uncover a holistic context, in order to view the motifs from a broader perspective. Further research led to the discovery of the same sequence of images in archaic religions and in other cultural phenomena. Most remarkable to the author is that “the myth and ritual form that resembles it is the principal and central rite of the civilizations of remote antiquity, and parallels the image sequence step for step.” That is, the “ceremonial pattern of sacral kingship,” found in the ancient Near East, the Mediterranean, Europe, and the Far East, which involves an annual renewal of the cosmos during the New Year.

Perry devotes an entire chapter to the psychic significance of kingship, and he refers to its importance throughout this work. Indeed, the correspondence is striking. In New Year festivals, we find “a creation rite also emphasizing the center, the beginnings, death and renewal, the sacred combat and sacred marriage, and the other elements of the process.” The divine rites of kingship represent a projection of “man’s spiritual potential as an individual.”

Once such functions were integrated in the collective psyche, the era of the sacred king gave way to a new era: one ushered in by “great prophets” and “founders of the great religions,” and characterized by a revaluation of the individual and the Eros principle. Thus, kingship reflects an archetypal pattern of growth: one progressing through dismemberment, reconstitution, and the rebirth of the psyche, paralleling “outer” historical processes (which themselves were probably based on inner archetypal correlates), and culminating in the Eros principle (the return to love).

He places the advent of this era of exalting Eros at around “the middle of the first millennium B.C.” and he refers to it as the “revolution of democratization.” The prophets and mystics proceeding from that time–founders of culture and “heroes with a vision”–underwent eerie, turbulent psychic experiences. Afterward, they communicated a vision that reflected not only their own transformation but also that of the broader society. The genuine depth experience, however, is never supported by the collective when in its “acute” stage. As has been noted by Perry and by others before him, the prophets of old would have been locked up in psychiatric wards by today’s practitioners of “health.”

The point of Perry’s inquiry, and of those in that lonely tradition I alluded to earlier (it might be called the Romantic tradition in psychology), is not to “diagnose” artists, prophets, and mystics–not to label or denigrate the highest human values and aspirations–but to reexamine such rich transformation processes and to value the cultural elements that enrich human life. Thus, “Rather than what is pathological in mysticism, we ask what is mystical in its intent in psychosis?” Perry concludes:

The content of the depths reached in the ultimate ecstasies is on the one hand illumination that enlarges the understanding, and on the other, rapture that fills the heart with lovingness.

The schizophrenic’s obsession with “social reform” is viewed as more than merely a “complaint against the faulty parental world.” For Perry, the ideation of a “new society” is a legitimate psychic concern that affects us all: a collective problem seeking a collective solution, and one that especially manifests in psychotic and visionary states of consciousness. He asks:

With our secular governments, and with our diminishing trust in any generally accepted higher moral or spiritual authority … where do we find our real governance–one that involves us in depth? I consider this to be the modern problem that the archetypal psyche is wrestling with in order to produce a convincing new myth that will satisfy the need of the times.

Society’s rebirth is dependent upon continual psychic upheaval: a renewal of the social archetype rooted in each individual psyche. It is there that we find the true matrix of history. And when social institutions become too rigid, it is there that we uncover a creative means of transforming them.

Living After Death

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lal_Bihari

Prophets, Madmen and Genius

I'm linking off this article for your consideration:

http://fds.oup.com/www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-924197-X.pdf

I so understood the social attitudes described in this article.

 

A Long Trip

I have just arrived at the town to deliver my freight for crossing into Mexico, and the trip is almost over. I started my trip in St. Johns, Newfoundland, which is as far east as a North American truck can go. I crossed 6 time zones and am now in Pacific time. it has been a long trip that was well over 4000 miles long. Glad it is almost done.

"Stars of Glory" in App Format

I want to announce that "Stars of Glory: An Odyssey in Reality" will soon be available as a stand alone application for all smart devices and formats including iPhone, Androids, HP web OS, and all other systems, for those of you who use smart phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

I sincerely hope that offering this wonderful story as an App Book will facilitate your ability to access and enjoy the book.

 

Bible Translations: A Blast From The past

Here is another blurb from the defunct Holy Smoke Fidonet Echo. This one concerns Bible Translations

From: Bryson Hughes

To: all

Date: 1997-03-06 01:05:17

Subject: bible translations  

 

EID:a561 226608a0
MSGID: 1:116/17.0 331f3908
-=> Quoting Sandy J. Hooper to Rodney Barnes <=-

SJH> Also, don't you believe you have the inerrant, infallible
SJH> Bible?

I know you asked Rodney this question, But I wanted to state that there
is
no inerrant, infallable, plenarily complete Bible or compiled word of God.
There are only imperfect Bibles.

RB> But this is
RB> not supported in scripture and credable bible scholarship.

SJH> What is not supported in scripture?  I believe I have the
SJH> "scriptures" (2 Tim. 3:16), don't you?

Sandy, when Paul wrote the Letter to Timothy, it was just a letter and not
considered scripture by the Apostle himself. Nor was the Apostle talking
about the Bible, since it didn't exist for about 300 years to come.
The Apostle was talking about sacred text that were available to Him and
his contemporaries, and even sacred doctrines that may not have been
in writing. What is being spoken of in Timothy is not what we now have
called the Bible. If you went back in time and told Paul you liked what
he
said about the Bible, he wouldn't know what you were talking about, since
bible didn't exist in his day, nor could he have possibly commented on it.

SJH> Do you know where I can get the inerrant, infallible Bible from,
SJH> and if so, could I get a copy of it in English?

There are none in existance, and never will be. Your best bet is to become
a scholar and understand the background of scriptures, the history of
the idea of canon, and the influences upon those text included in the
Bible. Canonicity and complete Bible are not (ahem) scriptural doctrines.

There are many source texts which the writings of the Bible have drawn upon.
To name a few that Paul drew upon where Enoch, Jannes and Jambres, the Death
of Moses, the Martrydom of Isaiah. The Book of Jude draws upon Enoch.
Revelations draws upon the creation themes from the Babylonians, as does
Job
and the Psalmist David. The Gospel of John includes Helenistic creation
themes
and a hymn that is based upon them in the first 18 verses. Indeed they are
NOT the teachings of John the Apostle.

Also, many of the Bible's books are Psuedapigraphic, that is not written
by
the person whos name is on it. Moses didn't write Deuteronomy, Daniel didn't
write Daniel, Matthew didn't write Matthew, nor did John write the Gospel
of
John. Isaiah had at least two and probably three authors. Solomon didn't
compile Proverbs, and most of the sayings recorded there and attributed
to
Solomon, are actually the proverbs of and Egyptian (can't remember his name).
In fact, they use the Egytian text to restore questionable areas of Proverbs.

Yet these athoritative source materials for the authors of the scriptures,
are
left out of the bible!

Then we get into the area of mistranslations! Oh dear, it seems Lightning
was not spoken of by "Jesus" in referance to either the devil or his
second coming. And the name JESUS is not Jesus' name. His name is Yeshua,
Y'shua or Yahashua. In our corruption of Hebrew names we would say at
best Joshua and at the most tortured level "Jesus". And some versions of
the bible refer to the Magi as "ASTROLOGERS"! Can you believe that?
And then we have the word dusk in greek translated as "dawn".

Then there are the books mentioned but not included, such as the Book of
the Wars of the Lord.

I'm not saying all this to discredit our faith. I BELIEVE GOD when he speaks.
Therefore as a God fearing man, I tell the truth about the Bible and do
not
try to cover up the truth for fear of discrediting the faith of Messiah.
Indeed, by facing the truth, our faith becomes purer.

... PROPHET BRYSON and The ANGELS -***- WORLD * TOUR -***- 1997
--- Blue Wave/Max v2.12 [NR]
* Origin: Skeeter Haven  "Nashville, TN" (615) 872-8609 (1:116/17)
SEEN-BY: 12/12 24/888 102/2 943 106/2000 109/7 112/101 114/262 271 124/1
SEEN-BY: 124/1208 2342 5125 8001 9000 9005 130/1 1008 133/2 140/3 143/1
SEEN-BY: 147/34 2021 167/166 170/400 202/777 1207 213/213 218/890 907
SEEN-BY: 270/101 275/429 280/1 169 282/1 283/120 284/29 290/14 300/603
SEEN-BY: 310/666 322/739 323/107 324/278 343/600 346/250 352/3 356/18 369/32
SEEN-BY: 371/42 377/86 380/64 381/900 382/92 388/1 396/1 2 690/660 730/2
SEEN-BY: 732/10 2401/0 2442/0 3603/420 3606/10 3612/41 3615/50 3619/25
SEEN-BY: 3632/21 3651/9 3652/1 3667/1
PATH: 116/17 158 3615/50 396/1 124/1 9005
 

Blast From The Past: The Flood

Here is something I found online from an archive of the old "Holy Smoke" Fidonet BBS skeptics of religion forum. The year was 1997. While I spent very little time in the "Holy Smoke" forum, I did spend a great deal of time on the "Religion" Fidonet forum which was started by Dan Bennet per my request in the mid 80s. I wish there was an archive of that forum I could access.

But here is what I found:

EID:d4e5 226104c0
MSGID: 1:116/17.0 3318d497
-=> Quoting Don Martin to Bryson Hughes <=-

BH> Ok we can talk about the existance of God if you like.

MG> Do you have any evidence that a god exists? Any at all?

BH> However, in a case of the honest skeptic, I doubt that
BH> I could produce the evidence of what I know. There
BH> would be a couple of reasons. One would be my own
BH> limited ability to convey abstract ideas in a
BH> compressed space of time; the other due to the
BH> uninitiated or unprepared state that my skeptic friend
BH> would be in, to absorb the full impact of what I show
BH> to him.

DM> Personally, I have said many times that I would welcome ANY
DM> evidence of the existence of any god, and I have even specified
DM> indirect evidence that would be quite convincing, not only to
DM> me, but (I suspect) to all the wicked atheists here: the residue
DM> of the Noachan Flood.

DM> We have an account of a global flood directly produced by
DM> Yahweh in the Bible.

DM> : in short, a universal unique
DM> event would produce a universal unique outcome--a stratum like
DM> no other in the geologic column.

DM> Such a stratum would furnish perfectly good indirect
DM> evidence for the existence of this Yahweh person,

DM> So show us this stratum. That would be evidence.

I'm not a geologist.

Nor am I a fundamentalist in my view of biblical text. However, if you are
feeling serendipitous enough to look at other sources on the account of
the
biblical flood, I can recommend a few other text that I find interesting.

The Sibylene oracles give many detailed expansion upon the flood story
including the name of a specific peak that is one of the sub-mountains of
Ararat, as the last resting place of the ark.

Also the three versions of the book of Enoch, read side by side, give a
pretty
fantastic account of pre-flood world history including extremely high levels
of technology said to be brought by the "Sons of God" from the heavens,
who
intermarried with humanity because earth women were extremely attractive.
The technology was used in great warring and for violence continually, thus
the judgement upon the earth.

Another is the Ron Wyatt book about the discovery of a deteriorated boat
structure located in Turkey, on a peak that is a sub-mountain near Ararat.
The book includes pictures and is very interesting. Several anchor stones
also survived in much better condition than the boat structure. They are
huge and weigh several thousand pounds each. There is also text inscribed
on the anchors which indicate eight people. The name of the local area
is also named eight in another language.

I have found through reading the various accounts of the flood, that it
closely resembles the Atlantis legends of the destruction of a technological
race due to a deluge.

I also find the existance of quick frozen woolly mammoths quite a wonder.

I see each of these things as pieces of the puzzle, but I don't know what
the big picture is that gave rise to these clues. Several themes emerge.

We can reasonbly state that SOMETHING happened, that gave rise to these
accounts interpretted, by those who passed them down to us, as a world
wide deluge. I find the mystery to be fascinating and a great opportunity
for sluething out the mysterious past. I don't have the answers, but I've
got some of the clues.

Even if we had the big picture of what the cataclysm consisted of, I doubt
that it would prove God to the skeptic. As I stated before, the perception
of God, in lue of theist experiences and epiphanies such as I have, is
due to the ability to see meaning in events which speak of the superior
being that transcends human scales. Prophecy tracking and synchronicity
are
just two examples which some people find persuasive. What is persuasive
to each individual though, is an individual matter.

... PROPHET BRYSON and The ANGELS -***- WORLD * TOUR -***- 1997
--- Blue Wave/Max v2.12 [NR]
* Origin: Skeeter Haven  "Nashville, TN" (615) 872-8609 (1:116/17)
SEEN-BY: 12/12 24/888 102/2 943 106/2000 109/7 112/101 114/262 271 124/1
SEEN-BY: 124/1208 2342 5125 8001 9000 9005 130/1 1008 133/2 140/3 143/1
SEEN-BY: 147/34 2021 167/166 170/400 202/777 213/213 218/890 907 270/101
SEEN-BY: 275/429 280/1 169 282/1 283/120 284/29 290/14 310/666 322/739
SEEN-BY: 323/107 324/278 343/600 346/250 352/3 356/18 369/32 371/42 377/86
SEEN-BY: 380/64 381/900 382/92 388/1 396/1 2 690/660 730/2 732/10 2401/0
SEEN-BY: 2442/0 3603/420 3606/10 3612/41 3615/50 3619/25 3632/21 3651/9
SEEN-BY: 3652/1 3667/1
PATH: 116/17 158 3615/50 396/1 124/1 9005

iTunes Now Has "Stars of Glory: An Odyssey in Reality"

For those of you who like to use the iPad, iPhone, iPods etc. etc.., my book "Stars of Glory: An Odyssey in Reality" is now available on iTunes. Here is the direct link to it:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/bryson-hughes/id412771116?mt=11

 

A Sinner's Prayer for Deliverance. Prayer Works When Tried

Excerpt from my book:

"Then it occurred to me that God is the most power that exists, if he really does exists. So I surmised that God might exist and decided to try praying to him. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by just giving a prayer to God a try, so I went with it. In my mind I thought about God having a reputation for holiness and thought of my unworthiness to approach such a being, if He actually existed. Yet God also had a reputation for being there for those in need, worthy or not, so I decided such a God might listen to me. So without drawing attention to myself, I quietly lowered my face toward the floor and prayed within my thoughts, knowing telepathy was real.

I spoke to God: “God, if you are there, you are the most powerful thing that exists. I need your help. You can see these invisible beings are making me sick and bothering me. It isn’t right what they are doing. I want to ask you that you would come and drive these evil things away from here. I ask you in Jesus’ name. Amen”

I raised my eyes and instantly the air was clear. The beings were gone and I knew God had driven them away. I didn’t even care what happened to them. I was just grateful that God answered me and came to my rescue.

Suddenly there was a profound realization: GOD REALLY EXISTS! Then another realization came to me: I had no more excuses concerning God’s existence, and all this living right stuff."

The most important point in this excerpt from my book is: "I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by just giving a prayer to God a try, so I went with it."

Root of Atheism

TIme with atheist and those who are generally against God or the idea of God, has shown me a pattern. When you deal with anti God minded people for a time, the root of their angst with God inevitably comes down to sexual issues. It appears that such people have a profound pre-occupation with sexual licentiousness and this provokes them against God since they know God advocates the highest form of personal sexual responsibility and social conscience concerning sexuality.

An acquaintance of mine complained that in regard to homosexual issues, I think demons are swarming around such people. Such an idea at face value may sound absurd, but in the sense of an oxymoron, it may be profoundly true. I am posting an excerpt from my book that describes demonic influence behind homosexual behavior:

“Invisible Men and Demons from Hell”

Ike wasn’t finished with me yet. Over the next few days, Ike seemed more engaging toward me than usual. I think that in the years past, Ike hadn’t really paid me that much attention because I was just a friendly immature kid next to him. But now that I was showing an awareness and grasp of things that Ike related too, I think Ike felt less restrained, and was willing to be a bit more open with me. I remained on friendly terms with Ike, and his interest in me had increased. It seemed now that Ike would initiate conversations and activities with me, and in the course of them Ike would seize on certain words I said as if they were somehow contractual agreements. Usually he would either nod with affirmation, or softly repeat statements with emphasis, or maybe agree a little more affirmatively than usual, or give an interpreted meaning to some remark. But the idea of an agreement having just been made was there. The vibe to me was as if I was being bargained with by the emissary of the hellish world of the occult. I wasn’t making any agreements though, and thought the whole routine was rather silly.

There was one time when Ike showed up at my house, which was more than unusual because that just never happened. Yet here he was. We talked a bit, and then Ike suggested we walk around the place outside. We went walking around in the back yard behind the hedge row toward the garden plot. There laid the blackened remains of one of my overly ambitious mechanical projects. It was the chopped and reshaped floor pan and transaxle of an old Volkswagen Beetle, which I had wanted to make into a three wheeled cycle, like my friend Larry Fudge had done. But the project was too much for me and there the hulk laid in the weather. As Ike and I were talking, I stood upon the hulk, and Ike asked me a question which I can’t recall. Yet the question evoked an indignant response in me and my only answer was, “Hell!” Ike started nodding in pleased affirmation, as I stood there on the hulk of ruin. Ike was acting as if I had just signed a contract through the implication that this was all ritual. He was implying that I just had made an agreement with Hell. I took it as silly.

About this time I began to really explore the scope of speaking in metaphors and double meaning, as part of trying to get feedback from those who were occultist and those who weren’t. Those who weren’t would simply take my words at face value unsuspecting they were spoken with a little emphasis, questioning tones, inviting a look for double meanings. Those who were occult would catch the tilt of terms and play on the mutuality of speaking behind the words. It was subtle and imprecise, and required a little degree of faith in the possibility. I became quite adept at having second meanings. Yet I sensed there was also some spiritual catalyst that seemed to work between parties to cause the metaphoric vibes to really take hold, because using double meanings was suddenly, very much, excessively opportune! But it was hard to imagine this could really possibly be true. The spiritual catalyst thing didn’t really seem all that plausible to me. But the feeling was still very distinct.

Ike liked the opportunity to occasionally make an open interpretation of my double meanings or symbolic emphasis, with a mere word or two of his own. His interpretations were always defined by his perspective and didn’t often jibe with the way I was speaking. To Ike it was a handy and convenient thing in order to imply a ritual contract was made according to his specific emphasis. I was taking stock of Ike, that his bend on matters seemed distinctly evil. Still, he believed that I wanted to be a part of his strange subculture. That worked to my ends to bring some light on this mystery. In my heart of hearts though, I was becoming quite repulsed by what was increasingly evil, exploitative, and sinisterly implied a personal sacrifice of my being. I was regarding the occult scene as toxic groups of sick minded people by this time.

One afternoon Rex, Ike, and I were riding up Briley Parkway on the way to Rex’s house on McAlpine. I was in the back seat and contemplating that I was turned off by what was appearing evil. I thought of myself as a good guy. But then as I really thought about it, I knew I had done things that wouldn’t be considered good. But my mind definitely wanted to be good rather than part of this culture that seemed black and evil. Black for evil I thought. Hmmm, then white is for purity. Well I made a symbolism of this idea that I was maybe blackened by my past deeds, my mind was definitely wanting to be pure in motive. So I stated, “My body is black, but my head is white”; meaning I was bad in deeds done in the past, but I was seeking purity in my mind. In a fashion I had come to expect from Ike, he offered his own take on my words. “Black is male, white is female”. “Maybe in his mind,” I thought, “But that’s not what I mean.”

Shortly we arrived at Rex’s house and went inside. It was then that something very repulsive and perverse began to take place. There began to be appearing lights in the room that first announced their arrival by making clicking spark sounds as they flashed. As I began to notice them here and there, they began to interact with me with touches and stings. Sometimes they would move across my skin either seen or unseen. They had a particular affinity for moving through my hair across my scalp. I heard Ike say in humorous tones, “Something is getting in my hair!” as he stood with a pleased grin on his face looking at Rex, and suddenly the phrase had new and deeper meanings to me. I immediately realized these noisy sparks were some kind of exotic life forms with the intelligence to relate to me as a human being. But these beings were far from anything I wanted to be involved with.

The sparks acted as if Ike’s interpretation of my symbolism was some kind of contract they were obliged and anxious to enforce. They began to touch me in lewd ways. They created light depictions of lewd and vulgar things. These spark beings were acting like a bunch of crazed homosexual men in their lewdness. They truly could make the impression that an invisible and very lewd group of homosexual men were present. They affronted the physical senses, though they were mostly invisible. I put up with their vulgarity because I was intrigued at how they could be invisible entities, and I studied on this. I studied how they could interact with the senses of the physical man, even though the sparking entities were mostly invisible and without physical form.

Then the spark entities started playing tricks with other people in the room, without making those people aware of it. They would sting a person and cause them to jerk. Obviously the person would think he just had a strange pain and think nothing of it. Yet they would do something to me at the same time, even if I was across the room. The message implied by them in this, was that there was some strange ethereal connection between me and the other person, as if we were interacting from a distance apart. The problem was they chose to make the statement with the lewdness of homosexual suggestion. This was not acceptable to me, nor did I believe there was any true connection between me and other people. I saw the whole thing as a trick in which these lewd incorporeal entities were the sole agency.

I tried to be as tolerant as I could for the sake of trying to understand these beings. But their persistent lewdness gradually wore me down and I was becoming fed up with them. I wanted them to just leave, but they wouldn’t. It was about this time that I realized there seemed to be only one other person in the room who was aware of the sparking incorporeal beings. It was obvious to me that this person was beginning to play along with the sparks in their games. This person wasn’t being so obvious as to be outlandish appearing to others. Yet in subtle words and actions that have context to the situation occurring, I understood this person was involved in a direct and open way with these beings. It was Ike. I believed then with realization, that Ike seemingly kept very strange company and seemed to enjoy the perverted behaviors of these revolting incorporeal beings. I knew then that Ike and I had polarized completely. Ike and his astral friends had done all the explaining I wanted with this lewd demonstration. But still they persisted. How could I make them go away?

It was all very magical and the thought of magic power occurred to me. But where is this power found? Then it occurred to me that God is the most power that exists, if he really does exists. So I surmised that God might exist and decided to try praying to him. I had nothing to lose and everything to gain by just giving a prayer to God a try, so I went with it. In my mind I thought about God having a reputation for holiness and thought of my unworthiness to approach such a being, if He actually existed. Yet God also had a reputation for being there for those in need, worthy or not, so I decided such a God might listen to me. So without drawing attention to myself, I quietly lowered my face toward the floor and prayed within my thoughts, knowing telepathy was real.

I spoke to God: “God, if you are there, you are the most powerful thing that exists. I need your help. You can see these invisible beings are making me sick and bothering me. It isn’t right what they are doing. I want to ask you that you would come and drive these evil things away from here. I ask you in Jesus’ name. Amen”

I raised my eyes and instantly the air was clear. The beings were gone and I knew God had driven them away. I didn’t even care what happened to them. I was just grateful that God answered me and came to my rescue.

Suddenly there was a profound realization: GOD REALLY EXISTS! Then another realization came to me: I had no more excuses concerning God’s existence, and all this living right stuff. That was a bit heavy, so I put off thinking about it very much.
I felt enriched and secure about God existing since he was willing to help me. I was polarized to God’s side. I just knew it! That means Ike and his starry pals are the bad guys!

On another day at Rex’s house, I felt sorry for Ike and appealed to him to adopt love and goodness and to get on “God’s side”. I was so tender that Ike felt my sincerity and was touched by the turn of events. Yet Ike seemed unable to change sides. He seemed to desire something, and a huge struggle seemed to be boiling up inside him, though he tried to appear calm. Silently, Ike listened in uncharacteristic great tolerance of my intrusions into his personhood. The lamb was approaching the lion. Ike gripped deeply at times, into the arms of the chair he was sitting in, yet he remained silent. Still yet, something was holding him back. I figured something was really gripping Ike and had its oppressive influences upon him in some coercive manner.

I was sitting on Rex’s couch and the time was early in the afternoon. Ike was in a chair next to the front door. As I was appealing to Ike to turn to the good side, he listened attentively. I read in Ike’s expression that something inside him desired to make that turn, but he just couldn’t! Then a bright yellowish diamond of light flashed on the far side of the room and raced across the room and shined brightly into my face! This startled Ike who was badly frightened by the sudden light, and he nearly jumped out of his chair! I realized he thought some spiritual being was upon us. But it was only the sunlight reflecting in the front storm door glass through the main front door’s window pane. The storm door had been opened outward and the breeze had made it swing shut some, sending the flash of light into the room to race onto my face and stop there. I must have momentarily seemed gloriously transcended to Ike. But the light just happened to stop on my face. Or did it just happen? Or was it some agency making the event happen? Who knows?

I quickly told Ike it was just the sunlight. But Ike had been so frightened by the event, that for the only time, I saw his emotions come to the surface. A mixture of stress, desire, and fear boiled up in his eyes as they filled with tears. Ike could feel, that much I knew! Between Ike and me, it was understood which side I was on. I left Ike alone at that point to let him recompose himself.

 

And there it is, the revelation of the divide between those with reprobate mind and those of God. The anti-God sentiment seems to come with what is a field effect of the "delusion" of reprobation and the dynamics of that mind controlled state. It is disturbing to think that such individuals are beyond the hope of redemption and their enmity with God is by the decision of God himself to turn them away. It is easy to be sympathetic to somebody with an intellectual problem with the idea of God, and such people must exist. However sympathy for those who's hatred of God stems from sexual issues is hard to sympathize with. So far to me, the anti-God mindset appears to me to be rooted in sexual issues, and homosexual issue in particular.

Sad but apparently true.

CSA 2010 tyranny

Jerome: I think non violent resistance to oppression by an elected government is a moral and preferred solution.

V: Jerome, something that has been bugging truckers and the scales of justice need leveling, is the CSA 2010 regulations. It is a reporting system imposed upon the trucking industry in which the Drivers have no due process and are considered guilty if reported. Check into it, because it is oppression, I say it's illegal, and is causing damages to Truckers in that opportunities are being denied them on the basis of the snitch system. This shades of Facism Modus Operandi stuff has got to be ended for remedy and the protection of American values. The Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is fighting it. I think the American Trucking Association is also fighting it. But all Americans should be fighting the implementation of a snitch system in which there is no due process before penalty is imposed.

What is Worse Than War?

I have noticed recent trends in the discussion of society in general. We have on one hand a segment of people seeing humanity subverted by corporations into virtual slavery. Exploitation by the system!

That topic reminds me of the Hippies who were saying that exact same thing back in the early 60s...

On the other hand we have people of recent, decrying the level of vitriol in social discussion and suggesting it leads to violence...

Now this sets up a silly scenario. Complain about your oppressors nicely!  That is hardly human nature.

In cases of oppression, either real or perceived, it is historically the pattern that the oppressed would rise up preferring war over oppression, and saw war as the remedy for and relief from oppression.

But there are a couple of notable exceptions. Gandhi resisted oppression non-violently and in his footsteps we find, perhaps the most remarkable American, Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Imagine the discipline it took and the courage that it took not to lash out in violence in the face of real oppressions that tore at the souls of its victims.

Jesus spoke of turning the other cheek. I think there are times more common that we face soul devouring words more often than real oppression. The tongue is an unruly thing almost universally. How do we respond?

I think it is important to realize that if there were men who took the high ground even in the face of real oppressions, instead of making war, and had the constitution to be voices of reason in the face of institutionalized insanity, then shouldn't we have at least the capacity to respond to unruly words with maturity and adult calm? Somebody needs to be the adult. So why not have the courage to not fear unreasonable or even vitriolic words, but rise above them with a magnanimous spirit..?

 

"Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz"

While I was reading a bit on Chaos theory, I stumbled upon a performance of "Faerie's Aire and Death Waltz". Coincidence? I think not...