Issue 142 Do we need Saints? January 3, 2014

Saints are those people who have been deemed by a religion worth remembering for their miracles and for being blessed by God. But does it go too far?

Why question: The reason why I question the need of saints is because we pray to them in the same way we might pray to God. At some point while I myself prayed, I began to question if I was violating the first commandment "thou shalt not worship any God before me." I remembered that Buddha was really a man who was elevated to god status by his followers and later worshipers. So my worry is that we are forgetting God and his first commandment in exchange for a bunch of gods whom we call saints. It was this fear that had the Vatican ban the cult of the dead in Europe where people would visit the mass graves from World War two and pray to these nameless victims. There was such a following where in places they had the people’s skulls on display where they would give the skulls gifts and even face them away from each other thinking they would talk. In Haiti, they worship a version of Christianity that integrates voodoo and have animals, and other natural spirits that are prayed too. Now in Mexico, they have alters to the Virgin Mary. All of these are people from the past or spirits that are slowly elevated to the status of a God. As such the Catholic Church will periodically warn and eventually ban such practices. So if Saints and the like invite such behavior, then why have them.

The reason: Saints exist for a purpose. They are there to serve as life examples in the same way that Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi serve as people’s idols or hero's. We learn from there mistakes and try to emulate their good points. It is all about being worthy of Gods grace and maybe we too would be given a gift so as to impart a miracle. Some faiths completely remove saints completely for the aforementioned reasons, but they do serve a purpose. Even if you ban Saints as a whole, it does not mean that at some point people may try to elevate someone to the level of a god in the first place.

Conclusion: So the lesson here to my more religious readers is to ensure that you are not violating the first commandment or similar law in your own faith. I questioned my faith and do so constantly (though I do not consider myself all that religious) so as to better understand my self and my beliefs. Hopefully this helps you to question your own self to make yourself a better person.

Issue 241 Inspiring People January 2, 2014

What constitutes an inspiring person? Why should we follow there example? Well, I have wondered why people admire others like actors and other people who appear to be in positions of authority, power, or wealth. However, I questioned the very notion of admiring those people as a whole. Surely these people are not that worthy of admiration such as the Kardashian sisters or Paris Hilton who gets by on looks? Or is there something else at there core that is actually truly notable that should be emulated?

Decisions: We can look at people like a puzzle, but each piece is unique in the fact that one part may be worthy of praise while the others we may look on in disgust. As such, I personally look at individuals (or at least try my very best to) view them based on their actions. Let us take Nelson Mandela for example. He was an avid communist, and in his youth was violent. However, when he was released from prison he did something important. Mandela made the decision to change South Africa through non-violence. I will always disagree with communism as a whole due to how it always devolves into tyranny and dictatorship, but I can still admire Mandela for the hope he brought to the South African people. He is worthy of praise because he renounced violence and that he brought people together for the sake of freedom. As people go, Mandela is inspiring because he demonstrated that a single person can make a difference. So I will cleanly say that Mandela is worthy of imitation with respect to the example of people being able to make a difference, but I will not say to admire his politics.

Admire and scorn: Just like Mandela we can admire and be inspired by one part of the person, but still abhor the other part. Look at the Kardashian sisters as an example. They came to fame through sex tapes and pornography rather than hard work (they may argue that though). However, after they gained that attention they used it to their advantage to create a clothing line and host television shows. So the part you can admire is that they used the capitalist system to take advantage of their fame, the fortune they made from it and their ingenuity for designing cloths. The rest you can still look at with scorn. Love them or hate them, they set an example on how to run a successful business.

Conclusion: All people in power are like this. You can admire their message like the President Obama’s hope and change, their ideas, or their deeds, but you do not have to emulate the whole individual. No one has to copy the Presidents politics to believe in the hope and change message, or Nelson Mandela's communist beliefs to copy his example of one man making a difference. Each person has pieces of themselves that are worth admiring or emulating, and equally so parts that are worth learning what not to do. So do not let your view of someone be clouded by one simple wrong, but look at the actions and deeds of that individual. Use the teachings of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr. and look at the person character and with that see what is worth admiring in each and every individual.

Issue 240 New Years Day January 1, 2014

Well we made it. It is now official; we are in the year 2014. When I look back, it is kind of amazing that I even got this far with my blog. I actually started it the Thursday after I broke up with my girl friend who claimed I was full of useless information (including my Bachelors degree in political science). I had thought about writing a blog even before I met her, but never found the motivation to get up and do it until me and her broke up. Now my motivation to keep writing is you, my readers. I enjoy sharing what I know with you all and I look forward to any comments or questions you put in the comments section (only 3 so far, hopefully that is because what I'm writing is just that clear to all of you).

Well in any case, I'll tell you my New Years resolution. My resolution is to continue writing and finding interesting topics to share. With those topics I hope to inspire and enlighten you the reader, or at least make you question the world around you as these topics make me do constantly. Basically, I want to create a conversation to develop ideas and enhance knowledge, with the hope that that knowledge becomes useful to all of you at sometime or another.

So my readers thank you once again for sticking with me. Have a very happy and healthy New Year.

Issue 239 New Years eve December 31, 2013

What do you do for New Years Eve? Is it a holiday to be celebrated? I'm not sure to be honest. Let’s discuss.

Survived another one: When you think about it, you can say that New Years is a celebration of life. We survived another full year on this planet despite all the dangers existing in our world. Don't believe me? Well if you look at the ancient cultures that celebrated New Years, they celebrated with a harvest and festival even though each winter could wipe them out. They survived the dangers of predators and disease each and every day. Now look at the modern day where we still face disease, war, famine and now nuclear holocausts. So saying we survived is not exactly a joke.

What should we do?: So how do we celebrate? The same way we always have, by having a party. Get together with close friends and family to enjoy each others company and to just be merry together. It is a similar feeling to Thanksgiving, but with the twist of it being about ushering in the New Year.

Anything special?: Because it is the ushering of a new year and follows two important holidays (Thanksgiving where we are thankful for what we have, and Christmas where we give to those we care about or are in need) we have to do something right? Well, this is where New Years resolutions come in. No, I'm not talking about loosing weight or bland silly things like that. I am talking about trying to be a better person than the year before. So things like, "I will not get stressed over nothing anymore" or "I'll get angry less" are very good options. It is now a holiday that goes beyond surviving the year before. New Years is now all about betterment of yourself so that you can say that you are not the same as you were the year before. So that you as an individual can say "I've become a better person."

Conclusion: It is time again to make your New Years resolution. So I ask you, make one that matters, and that you can enforce upon yourself. But most of all, try to improve upon who and what you are so that you can be proud of yourself.

Issue 238 Voluntary Redistribution December 30,2013

What does it mean to redistribute the wealth? When is it theft and when is it voluntary? I attempt to answer these questions here and now.

Redistribution: To redistribute wealth means to literally have one person take there own wealth and give a portion of it to someone else. In to day’s society, this is typically done by wealthy individuals who are giving to the poor, or when the government takes money from people with money and gives them to the less fortunate. It can be forced or compelled. Even the poor themselves can have money taken from them and given to others as well. Redistributing wealth is just this, taking money or property from one individual and giving it to another.

When it is theft: This redistribution can be a form of theft. If a person or a government forcibly takes money and property away from the individual against the will of the owner, then it is theft of the highest order. A government has no right to a person’s individual wealth, nor does it have the right to take that wealth and give it to whoever they wish (an estimated 70% of welfare helps the rich rather than helping the poor in the U.S.). Governments play the role of a thief on a daily basis even when it is against the law for private individuals to take from one another. The Founding Fathers of the United States warned against an income tax because of the government’s thievery they experienced back in Europe and when the U.S. was still a bunch of colonies (also they felt the government would go broke just trying to enforce an income tax). What ever the reason for the government taking our money and giving it to others, if it is against our will then it will always be theft.

When it is voluntary: It is voluntary when people give money freely to those they feel who need it. We all call this charity. Rather than some government or organization deciding where our money should go, we can choose who gets what. Charity is all about the giving freely of your own wealth. You yourself are redistributing it to those you believe can do the most good with it. Whether it is a charity, a hospital or similar organization or an individual, when it is done by you it is voluntary. As the biggest advantage of this is that you can see where your money is going and maybe even see its effects on that individual. You also can see if the aid you give is actually helping. This allows you to adjust the type of aid you’re giving or to cut it back if the person begins to abuse your kindness (an unfortunate but necessary evil).

Conclusion: Which is better? When governments take wealth and redistribute it, they do so in a blanket approach that may or may not help anyone. If you yourself does it, you can see where your wealth goes, how your former wealth is used and if it is helping or if you are being abused. It sells itself. Charity, the voluntary redistribution, is the best way to help those who need just a little help to help themselves.

Issue 237 Pray then do it! December 27, 2013

  

When you pray, do you ask God to do things for you? Do you then proceed to watch and wait for it to be done by God on your behalf? If you are then you are doing it wrong.

Don't just pray: In the Bible we are told "God only helps those who help themselves." We are also told that "give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." So what does this mean? It means that just praying to God to make something occur will not work. God actually wants you to take steps to do something to further your own desire or need. Things don't go your way simply because you want them to or because you ask God, but because you started working toward that goal and acquire the knowledge to further achieve that goal. As such, by going out and trying to achieve the goal while learning as you go, you can succeed in what you want. Will you sometimes fail, yes of course, but you learned from it so you can avoid that failure next time.

Normally I would have at least said a bit more on this matter, but a story tells it better (it’s a variation of one I heard on the television show “The West Wing”).

A man is sitting in his living room and listening to the radio. The radio shouts that a storm is coming. Then the man thinks to himself, I'll be fine for I have God on my side.

The storm begins with trees being blown over outside the mans house. A rescue worker knocks on his door. The man is told you have to come with me, this place is not safe. The man refuses and says "God will save me" and closes the door on the rescue worker.

Now the house is flooded and the man is on the roof of his home. A boat comes by while the storm rages around him. People on the boat beg him to come aboard knowing that if he stays he will die. And still the man refuses, saying that "God will save me."

The man is now dead. He enters heaven and demands to see God. As he approaches Gods throne, he demands to know why he died claiming that he has always been faithful and has strived to remain free of sin. God looks down on him and exclaims "I sent you a radio broadcast, a rescue worker and a boat, so why the hell are you even here?!"

Conclusion: So what can we learn from this little story? The man had faith, and God did try to help him. One problem, he did not try to help himself. This applies to everything in life, if you want something done you can pray, but get to doing something about it. Try to reach your goal with all your might and then and only then will God help you on your journey towards that goal.

Issue 236 Joining Hands December 26, 2013

I have always questioned why the faiths have not teamed up to tackle issue like poverty and world hunger. With all of their resources put together, the faiths could give for free the knowledge needed by the poor to get ahead in life and even the financial means if necessary. So why don't they?

Differences: One of the primary reasons faiths choose not to cooperate is because of the differences of belief that they have. They look at each other with skepticism and sometimes derision (like how Mormons are typically viewed by the rest of the Christian community). But I question this. Is this not being so petty as to not accept aid from your fellow man? It is silly to not accept each others help. The Mormons have a fantastic disaster relief network with them typically getting to the communities in trouble long before the government or even other charities arrive. Catholics have a world wide network which allows them to gather information quickly so as to know what is needed where. Muslims who use sharia law integrate charity into all of there transactions (it’s obligatory), and thus gather large sums of money quickly. However, because of differences in faith and belief, many of these faiths choose not to help each other out. As such, when trouble occurs each choose to continue to do things on there own in there own way. This to me is counter to what my Christian teaching tells me as a Catholic. We do not know who are Gods chosen people and associating with people of a different faith will not make us sinners. So I feel that getting the community of faiths together, even if it is just in your own town and making an emergency supply center/shelter that doubles as a food pantry could be a nice start to something bigger. Who knows, maybe these faiths can even team up to do other things like creating genealogy trees like some Mormon communities do, and maybe revive some of the more stagnant churches by copying some of the Baptist singing and rejoicing in the sermons. If the faiths just cooperate they may yet grow and renew themselves.

Government: The other reason that inhibits faiths from going further is do to the government getting involved with things like welfare. Welfare used to be done by the churches and other similar community groups, but government decided to step in during the Great Depression when it was felt that these churches and groups could not handle the sheer amount of poverty that occurred. It can be argued that the government perpetuated the depression though by slaughtering livestock and burning crops which raised the price of food (see book Grapes of Wrath), the same food that would have been much cheaper and affordable for the poor to buy if not for there interference. Add in price and wage controls and government made it impossible to feed the poor on the cheap. Now there is a way of thinking that the Charities cannot handle the poor if government was to step out of the picture for even a little bit (which I believe is false). This mindset has even infiltrated the churches and as such they have no incentive to go beyond the current services they are offering. Charity used to be local for a reason, to ensure that those who need help get help. But with government, anyone can become a freeloader.

Conclusion: Each of the faiths has much to offer by getting together. They can learn from each other, share resources and information and even set up interfaith networks to handle things like health care, education, the obvious welfare aid and maybe even sanitation if a community needs it. Together the faiths can do it; they can show that government is not needed to survive in the modern world. So start coming together, and start saving people the way God intended.