|
5.31.2013
2 Timothy 2:4 Paul: "No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter." [From friend Leon]
2 Timothy 2:4 Paul: "No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter." [From friend Leon]
Leon, that was a great kindness to share that with me. I had
zero recollection of that verse, but I find it massively affirming
of my walk.
My experience of life is that there is, there IS, a Path, before,
during, and after Jesus, put there by the
Creator. But as Newton pointed out Gravity,
Jesus discovered and pointed out the Path - Loving, Universal Family. If two
people walk the Path, one found it (Jesus), pointed it out, walked it, but the other
was too stupid to understand (me) his words, too cowardly
to follow his Lead, at first, had to find it, learn it, learn the Hell
of all the other wide open Errors...
When the 2nd, the stupid one (me), the cowardly
one (me), finally has walked the Path for a
long time, figuring it out for himself, he becomes of the
Path, and Knows it, if by different words than those that went
before.
AND WHEN HE HEARS THE WORDS OF THE EARLIER MASTERS,
[IN THIS CASE, PAUL] HE KNOWS THEM, EVEN IF HE HASN'T
'HEARD' THEM BEFORE.
Thanks Leon.
Loving
----------------------------Leon's Fwd to me ---------------
Leon, that was a great kindness to share that with me. I had
zero recollection of that verse, but I find it massively affirming
of my walk.
My experience of life is that there is, there IS, a Path, before,
during, and after Jesus, put there by the
Creator. But as Newton pointed out Gravity,
Jesus discovered and pointed out the Path - Loving, Universal Family. If two
people walk the Path, one found it (Jesus), pointed it out, walked it, but the other
was too stupid to understand (me) his words, too cowardly
to follow his Lead, at first, had to find it, learn it, learn the Hell
of all the other wide open Errors...
When the 2nd, the stupid one (me), the cowardly
one (me), finally has walked the Path for a
long time, figuring it out for himself, he becomes of the
Path, and Knows it, if by different words than those that went
before.
AND WHEN HE HEARS THE WORDS OF THE EARLIER MASTERS,
[IN THIS CASE, PAUL] HE KNOWS THEM, EVEN IF HE HASN'T
'HEARD' THEM BEFORE.
Thanks Leon.
Loving
----------------------------Leon's Fwd to me ---------------
In 2 Timothy 2:4,
Paul tells us that “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the
concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter.” We somehow
have forgotten about this part of scripture. It’s always far more
convenient to only talk about those areas that are comfortable for us,
or the commands with which we don’t struggle. In the passage above, the
recruiter is obviously Jesus. He loves you and has been drawing you
towards Him your entire life. Getting “entangled in the concerns of
civilian life” means becoming obsessed with achieving success outside of
His kingdom or constantly striving to acquire all the stuff that your
neighbors and society at large have convinced you that you need.
We were called to be different (John 17:14; 1 Peter 2:9).
Our lives should not look like that of our neighbors. Our lives should
look like Jesus. The things we live for make no sense to the world at
large. Nor should what they live for make any sense to us. What
difference does the size of your television make in the grand scheme of
eternity? Whose life will be changed by the type of car you drive? Will
anyone’s eternal destiny be secured based on what brand of purse you
carry?
Nothing we achieve or acquire
in this life counts for anything in the Kingdom of God. All that matters
is what we do for Jesus. Instead of buying that new television, what if
you made it possible for someone without food to have a warm and
nutritious meal? In lieu of purchasing the new BMW, how about putting a
roof over the head of a homeless person? And before dropping several
hundred dollars down on that new Louis Viton bag, perhaps instead
consider providing clothing for the poor family down the street.
Our lives must look
different. Our motives must always be to serve and to love. We have one
goal in life: to further the mission of Jesus and bring glory to God.
Few would think joining the military was just an easy paycheck and they
could do whatever they wanted. No, signing up for service necessitates a
great responsibility and commitment. If you get recruited into the army
and decide to live your life in direct opposition to what you are told
to do, you will find yourself court martialed, disgraced, and eventually
kicked out.
If we would serve God, we bear
the responsibility and commitment to do the things He commands us to do.
Our lives are no longer ours. Everything we do is for His glory and His
purposes. We can’t be dedicated to Christ and remain loyal to this
world. Don’t worry about what the neighbors will say. You’re not here to
please the neighbors. We’re either on mission for Christ or living in
direct opposition to Him. Don’t be foolish. Be devoted to the One who
has called you to serve Him. Do it well, and do it with all your heart.
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5.30.2013
31 million people displaced by fossil fuels use so far
https://www.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct3=MAA4AkgIUABgAWoCdXPYAQE&usg=AFQjCNFAu3QzgH5VfMzUlG7RpTPN-cVe9Q&rt=HOMEPAGE&url=http://www.fastcoexist.com/1682141/mapping-the-31-million-people-displaced-by-climate-change-so-far&ei=J_anUcH8FYX2tgf0Ig&sig2=qsGKeer5x8bCe8hu32qXTg
posted from Bloggeroid
nd "Those who live by compassion are often canonized. Those who live by justice are often crucified," Dominic Crossan, "Birth of Christianity."
nd "Those who live by compassion are often canonized. Those who live by justice are often crucified," Dominic Crossan, "Birth of Christianity."
nd 'IN NO INSTANT CAN WE ESCAPE 'MAKING A DIFFERENCE.' THE ONLY VARIABLES ARE DIRECTION, AND DEGREE.' Loving
nd 'IN NO INSTANT CAN WE ESCAPE 'MAKING A DIFFERENCE.' THE ONLY VARIABLES ARE DIRECTION, AND DEGREE.' Loving
"Loving, nobody cares if you live or die," anonymous comment. "Anonymous, I defer to you, obviously a representative of our moral nobodies, Soul-dead masses, cancerously terminating Creation," Loving
"Loving, nobody cares if you live or die," anonymous comment. "Anonymous, I defer to you, obviously a representative of our moral nobodies, Soul-dead masses, cancerously terminating Creation," Loving
5.29.2013
Ultimately it was a great middle of the population that needed to overcome its fears.Wael Ghonim, Egypt rev
Ultimately it was a great middle of the population that needed to overcome its fears.Wael Ghonim, Egypt rev
posted from Bloggeroid
***** "IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU LIVE TO 20, 40, OR 7O. WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT YOU DID WITH YOUR LIFE," Wael Ghonim to self, in prison, Egypt Revolution
***** "IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU LIVE TO 20, 40, OR 7O. WHAT MATTERS IS WHAT YOU DID WITH YOUR LIFE," Wael Ghonim to self, in prison, Egypt Revolution
***** Obama Campaign Group Targets Climate Change
| Yahoo! News | - |
The multipronged, multiyear effort aims to inject climate change into the heart of national politics—and make it an election issue as well.
***** "WE WILL CONTINUE THE REVOLUTION UNTIL WE WIN, OR DIE AS MARTYRS," Wael Ghonim, Egypt, Tahrir Square
***** "WE WILL CONTINUE THE REVOLUTION UNTIL WE WIN, OR DIE AS MARTYRS," Wael Ghonim, Egypt, Tahrir Square
***** "HISTORY IS MADE ON THE STREETS, NOT ON THE INTERNET," Wael Ghonim, Arab Spring Rev Leader
***** "HISTORY IS MADE ON THE STREETS, NOT ON THE INTERNET," Wael Ghonim, Arab Spring Rev Leader
5.28.2013
nd 'INSANITY: USING EDUCATION TO AUTOMATE, ELIMINATE, DUMB-DOWN, RENDER MEANINGLESS... THE JOBS, THE LIVES, THE VERY BEING... OF THE MASSES. INSANITY. HAVE YOU THOUGHT WHERE THIS ENDS???' Loving
nd 'INSANITY: USING EDUCATION TO AUTOMATE, ELIMINATE, DUMB-DOWN, RENDER MEANINGLESS... THE JOBS, THE LIVES, THE VERY BEING... OF THE MASSES. INSANITY. HAVE YOU THOUGHT WHERE THIS ENDS???' Loving
***** nd '2013 Westerners are Maryrs, "Witnesses," of the Flesh, suiciding their Consiences to save the Flesh of their 'dear' ones. Unviolent Warriors, Christ-likes, Apostles of Loving, are Martyr's, "Witnesses," of the Spirit, suiciding their Flesh to save the Spirit, Soul, Heart... of their Dear one's, uh, every creature, humans first.' Loving
***** [reworded] nd '2013 Westerners are Maryrs, "Witnesses," of the Flesh, suiciding their Consiences to save the Flesh of their 'dear' ones. Unviolent Warriors, Christ-likes, Apostles of Loving, are Martyr's, "Witnesses," of the Spirit, suiciding their Flesh to save the Spirit, Soul, Heart... of their Dear one's, uh, every creature, humans first.' Loving
nd 'If a bomb (ecocide) is thrown down in front of 200 billion kids, does Loving dive in front of it to save only one kid? Hmmm. I think Loving does. Yes, I keep running round and round on this. Hmmm' Loving
nd 'If a bomb (ecocide) is thrown down in front of 200 billion kids, does Loving dive in front of it to save only one kid? Hmmm. I think Loving does. Yes, I keep running round and round on this. Hmmm' Loving
Cancer Update: Walk Cross Country till the cancer takes me with signs saying: "HOW STUPID R U? STOP GLOBAL WARMING! NOW!!!""
:-) Not so 'fine.' Awoke last night gasping for air!?!? I'm pretty certain
the cancer has spread too far and fast to be curable now. The poor
folks hospital oncologist really mis-led me four months ago saying
that the best I could hope for was 18 months additional with 6 months
chemo. The Georgetown Doc 2 weeks ago said full cure is what he
would have expected, operation, if he'd received these results 4 months ago, instead
of now. If I'd been told this 4 months ago it would have been a
no-brainer to me. My best guess is that Howard U uses chemo as a money
mill$$$. :-(
I had time to think last night, with the breathing problems, and yes,
if the cancer is not curable, walking across country, with signs
saying something like:
"HOW STUPID R U?
STOP GLOBAL WARMING! NOW!!!"...
...on my back, and the
front of a push cart, are how I think I'd finish out in the months
before the cancer takes me.
the cancer has spread too far and fast to be curable now. The poor
folks hospital oncologist really mis-led me four months ago saying
that the best I could hope for was 18 months additional with 6 months
chemo. The Georgetown Doc 2 weeks ago said full cure is what he
would have expected, operation, if he'd received these results 4 months ago, instead
of now. If I'd been told this 4 months ago it would have been a
no-brainer to me. My best guess is that Howard U uses chemo as a money
mill$$$. :-(
I had time to think last night, with the breathing problems, and yes,
if the cancer is not curable, walking across country, with signs
saying something like:
"HOW STUPID R U?
STOP GLOBAL WARMING! NOW!!!"...
...on my back, and the
front of a push cart, are how I think I'd finish out in the months
before the cancer takes me.
"Revelation" from Latin and "apocalypse" from Greek both mean a lifting of the veil, a disclosure of something hidden, a coming to clarity.
"Revelation" from Latin and "apocalypse" from Greek both mean a lifting
of the veil, a disclosure of something hidden, a coming to clarity.
Cancer update: I am NOT expecting a miracle. Awoke tonight gasping for air. Repeated periods of huge fatigue.
Cancer update: I am NOT expecting a miracle. Awoke tonight gasping for air. Repeated periods of huge fatigue.
posted from Bloggeroid
5.27.2013
Why radical is the new normal. Rabble .ca
https://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&ct3=MAA4EkgBUABgAWoCdXPYAQE&usg=AFQjCNEeD5RTT6blSxEJ-WSdPsUiliGziQ&rt=HOMEPAGE&url=http://rabble.ca/news/2013/05/get-apocalyptic-why-radical-new-normal&ei=UeOjUegHkb-AB4rrAQ&sig2=GDAOQ3gfCwKhHu6ROcwElA
posted from Bloggeroid
nd "Ecocide won when Jesus religion of Loving was defeated by christianity 1800 years ago. The rest is history." Loving
"Ecocide won when Jesus religion of Loving was defeated by christianity 1800 years ago. The rest is history." Loving
"I could have rescued thousands more if I could have shown them that they were slaves." Harriet Tubman. Virtually every movement that I revere has pursued in tandem human rights and economic advance. Averting ecocide is not clearly framed in this way.
"I could have rescued thousands more if I could have shown them that they were slaves." Harriet Tubman. Virtually every movement that I revere has pursued in tandem human rights and economic advance. Averting ecocide is not clearly framed in this way. Tomorrow's children that we are economically destroying are not here to defend themselves. Young people today are clueless.
5.26.2013
nd 'It is Impossible for Words to say what is important; Only Spent Life speaks what is important. Words can just explain, a little.' Loving
nd 'It is Impossible for Words to say what is important; Only Spent Life speaks what is important. Words can just explain, a little.' Loving
nd 'The Only True Ethics: Optimizing the Joy, Psychological Well-being, of the Individual, of the Group. I've wasted my life focusing on the material. Yes, they are related.' Loving
nd 'The Only True Ethics: Optimizing the Joy, Psychological Well-being, of the Individual, of the Group. I've wasted my life focusing on the material. Yes, they are related.' Loving
***** nd ' "Freedom," worthy the name, is Loving, that is, Freedom of Conscience, Heart, Soul, from Tyranny of Flesh, Head. THIS is the aim of All TRUE Religion.' Loving
***** nd ' "Freedom," worthy the name, is Loving, that is, Freedom of Conscience, Heart, Soul, from Tyranny of Flesh, Head. THIS is the aim of All TRUE Religion.' Loving
nd "FAILURE IS IMPOSSIBLE," Suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
nd "FAILURE IS IMPOSSIBLE," Suffragist Susan B. Anthony.
***** nd 'THEY FIGHT TO WIN (Failure is not an option), AND ARE WILLING TO DIE - the UNFAILING HALMARK, the Litmus Test, of True Activists in history.' Loving
***** nd 'THEY FIGHT TO WIN (Failure is not an option), AND ARE WILLING TO DIE - the UNFAILING HALMARK, the Litmus Test, of True Change Agents, Activists, in history.' Loving
nd ' "HELL NO!!!!!!", is the deafening Reply to New Posters: 'WOULD U DIE TO STOP ECOCIDE????' Loving
nd ' HELL NO!!!!!! Deafening Reply to New Posters: 'WOULD U DIE TO STOP ECOCIDE????' Loving
nd 'STOP TALKING, STOP THINKING, START LOVING - The One thing that can Stop Ecocide is the ONE THING ACTIVISTS WON'T DO.' Loving
nd 'STOP TALKING, STOP THINKING, START LOVING - The One thing that can Stop Ecocide is the ONE THING ACTIVISTS WON'T DO.' Loving
nd 'Miracle Workers act on their Vision, as Others act (or WON'T act even...) on 'facts.'' Loving
nd 'Miracle Workers act on their Vision, as Others act (or WON'T act even...) on 'facts.'' Loving
nd 'The only hope, the only activism worthy the name, is FULL Effort. "Full effort is full SUCCESS." Gandhi. Everything less is CERTAIN FAILURE.' Loving
nd 'The only hope, the only activism worthy the name, is FULL Effort. "Full effort is full SUCCESS." Gandhi. Everything less is CERTAIN FAILURE.' Loving
nd 'If I, Loving, were a match, I'd gladly, Joyfully, IMMEDIATELY go up in flames, if there was that around that could be ignited. But there is not. Dead, drenched, rotten wood as far as the eye can see.' Loving
nd 'If I, Loving, were a match, I'd gladly, Joyfully, IMMEDIATELY go up in flames, if there was that around that could be ignited. But there is not. Dead, drenched, rotten wood as far as the eye can see.' Loving
nd 'Death Fast IS the Weapon capable of Stopping Ecocide. That even a small group won't go near it, is the reason Ecocide will Prevail.' Loving
nd 'Death Fast IS the Weapon capable of Stopping Ecocide. That even a small group won't go near it, is the reason Ecocide will Prevail.' Loving
nd 'Any Breath, Any Second the only choice of consequence is to be Loving, Universal Family, or not. Everything else is determined by this decision; every breath, every second.' Loving
nd 'Any Breath, Any Second the only choice of consequence is to be Loving, Universal Family, or not. Everything else is determined by this decision; every breath, every second.' Loving
nd 'The one moral duty of which we can every breath be certain: Being near-perfectly Loving to self, and to others.' Loving
nd 'The one moral duty of which we can every breath be certain: Being near-perfectly Loving to self, and to others.' Loving
nd 'DON'T GO TO CHURCH. GO TO JESUS, INSTEAD.' Loving
nd 'DON'T GO TO CHURCH. GO TO JESUS, INSTEAD.' Loving
***** Thomas Jefferson: "... I am a REAL CHRISTIAN....", "...To the corruptions of christianity I am indeed opposed (detail)..." MUST READ. MUST. READ - Thomas Jefferson's Religions Views.
From "The Jefferson Bible." See Library Tab this site.
From the letter, below, Jefferson to Mr. Charles Thompson:
"...I am a REAL CHRISTIAN, that is to say, a
disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who
call ME infidel and THEMSELVES Christians and preachers of the
Gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its
author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen
mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great
reformer of the vicious ethics and deism of the Jews, were he to return on
earth, would not recognize one feature."
From the following letter from Jefferson to Dr. Priestly, a friend:
"...To the corruptions of christianity
I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine
precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he
wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to
all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he
never claimed any other."
Religious Views of Thomas Jefferson
IN a letter to his daughter, written in 1803, Mr. Jefferson said: “A promise
made to a friend some years ago, but executed only lately, has placed my
religious creed on paper. I have thought it just that my family, by
possessing this, should be enabled to estimate the libels published against
me on this, as on every other possible subject.” The “religious creed” to
which he referred was a comparison of the doctrines of Jesus with those
of others, prepared in fulfillment of a promise made to Dr. Benjamin
Rush. This paper, with the letter to Dr. Rush which accompanied it. is a fit
introduction to the “Jefferson Bible.”
Washington, April 21, 1803.
Dear Sir: In some of the delightful conversations with you, in the
evenings of 1798-99, and which served as an anodyne to the afflictions
of the crisis through which our country was then laboring, the Christian
religion was sometimes our topic; and I then promised you that one day
or other, I would give you my views of it. They are the result of a life of
inquiry and reflection, and very different from that Anti-Christian system
imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the
corruptions of christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine
precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he
wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to
all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he
never claimed any other.
At the short intervals since these conversations, when I could justifiably
abstract my mind from public affairs, this subject has been under my
contemplation; but the more I considered it, the more it expanded beyond
the measure of either my time or Information. In the moment of my late
departure from Monticello, I received from Dr. Priestly his little treatise
6
of “Socrates and Jesus Compared.” This being a section of the general
view I had taken of the field, it became a subject of reflection while on
the road, and unoccupied otherwise. The result was to arrange in my
mind a syllabus, or outline, of such an estimate of the comparative merits
of Christianity, as I wished to see executed by some one of more leisure
and information for the task than myself. This I now send you, as the
only discharge of my promise I can probably ever execute. And in confiding
it to you, I know it will not be exposed to the malignant perversions of
those who make every word from me a text for new misrepresentations
and calumnies.
I am moreover averse to the communication of my religious tenets to
the public; because it would countenance the presumption of those who
have endeavored to draw them before that tribunal, and to seduce public
opinion to erect itself into that inquisition over the rights of conscience
which the laws have so justly proscribed. It behooves every man who
values liberty of conscience for himself to resist invasions of it in the
case of others, or their case may, by change of circumstances, become
his own. It behooves him, too, in his own case, to give no example of
concession, betraying the right of independent opinion by answering
questions of faith, which the laws have left between God and himself.
Accept my affectionate salutations.
Syllabus of an Estimate of the Doctrines of Jesus,
Compared With Those of Others:
In a comparative view of the ethics of the enlightened nations of
antiquity, of the Jews, and of Jesus, no notice should be taken of the
corruptions of reason among the ancients, to wit, the idolatry and superstitionof
the:; vulgar, nor of 'the corruptions ofChristianity by the learned
among its professors. Let a just view be taken of the moral principles
inculcated by the most esteemed of the sects of ancient philosophy, or of
their individuals; particularly Pythagoras, Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero,
Epictetus, Seneca, Antoninus.
7
I. PHILOSOPHERS
1. Their precepts related chiefly to ourselves, and the government of
those passions which, unrestrained, would disturb our tranquility of
mind. In this branch of philosophy they were really great.
2. In developing our duties to others, they were short and defective.
They embraced indeed the circles of kindred and friends, and inculcated
patriotism, or the love of country in the aggregate, as a primary obligation:
towards our neighbors and countrymen they taught justice, but scarcely
viewed them as within the circle of benevolence. Still less have they
inculcated peace, charity, and love to our fellow-men, or embraced with
benevolence the whole family of mankind.
II. JEWS
1. Their system was Deism, that is, the belief in one only God; but
their ideas of him and of his attributes were degrading and injurious.
2. Their ethics were not only imperfect, but often irreconcilable with
the sound dictates of reason and morality, as they respect intercourse
with those around us; and repulsive and anti-social as respecting other
nations. They needed reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree.
III. JESUS
In this state of things among the Jews, Jesus appeared. His parentage
was obscure; his condition poor; his education null; his natural endowments
great; his life correct and innocent. He was meek, benevolent, patient,
firm, disinterested, and of the sublimest eloquence. The disadvantages
under which his doctrines appear are remarkable.
1. LikeSocrates and Epictetus, hewrote nothing himself.
2. But he had not, like them, a Xenophon or an Arrian to write for
him. I name not Plato, who only used the name of Socrates to cover the
whimsies of his own brain.
On the contrary, all the learned of his country, entrenched in its
power and riches, were opposed to him, lest his labors should undermine
their advantages; and the committing to writing of his life and doctrines
8
fell on unlettered and ignorant men; who wrote, too, from memory, and
not till long after the transactions had passed.
3. According to the ordinary fate of those who attempt to enlighten and
reform mankind, he fell an early victim to the jealousy and combination of
the altar and the throne, at about 33 years of age, his reason having not
yet attained the maximum of its energy, nor the course of his preaching,
which was but of three years at most, presented occasions for developing
a complete system of morals.
4. Hence the doctrines which he really delivered were defective, as
a whole, and fragments only of what he did deliver have come to us
mutilated, misstated, and often unintelligible.
5. They have been still more disfigured by the corruptions of
schismatizing followers, who have found an interest in sophisticating and
perverting the simple doctrines he taught, by engrafting on them the
mysticisms of a Grecian Sophist (Plato), frittering them into subtilties
and obscuring them with jargon, until they have caused good men to
reject the whole in disgust, and to view Jesus himself as an impostor.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, a system of morals is presented to
us which, if filled up in the true style and spirit of the rich fragments he
left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught
by man. The question of his being a member of the Godhead, or in direct
communication with it, claimed for him by some of his followers, and
denied by others, is foreign to the present view, which is merely an
estimate of the intrinsic merits of his doctrines.
1. He corrected the Deism of the Jews, confirming them in their
belief of one only god, and giving them juster notions of his attributes
and government.
2. His moral doctrines, relating to kindred and friends, were more
pure and perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers, and
greatly more so than 'those of the Jews; and they went far beyond both
in inculcating universal philanthrophy, not only to kindred and friends,
to neighbors and countrymen, but to all mankind, gathering all into one
family, under the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants and
common aids. A development of this head will evince the peculiar
superiority of the system of Jesus over all others.
3. The precepts of philosophy and of the Hebrew code laid hold of
9
action only. He pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man; erected his
tribunal in the region of his thought, and purified the waters at the
fountain head.
4. He taught emphatically the doctrine of a future state, which was
either doubted or disbelieved by the Jews; and wielded it with efficacy as
an important incentive, supplementary to the other motives to moral
conduct.
I, too, have made a wee-little book from the same materials (The
Gospels) which I call the Philosophy of Jesus. It is a paradigma of his
doctrines, made by cutting the texts out of the book and arranging them
on the pages of a blank book, in a certain order of time or subject. A
more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen. It is a
document in proof that I am a REAL CHRISTIAN, that is to say, a
disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who
call ME infidel and THEMSELVES Christians and preachers of the
Gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its
author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen
mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great
reformer of the vicious ethics and deism of the Jews, were he to return on
earth, would not recognize one feature.
—Jefferson to Mr. Charles Thompson.
From the letter, below, Jefferson to Mr. Charles Thompson:
"...I am a REAL CHRISTIAN, that is to say, a
disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who
call ME infidel and THEMSELVES Christians and preachers of the
Gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its
author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen
mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great
reformer of the vicious ethics and deism of the Jews, were he to return on
earth, would not recognize one feature."
From the following letter from Jefferson to Dr. Priestly, a friend:
"...To the corruptions of christianity
I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine
precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he
wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to
all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he
never claimed any other."
Religious Views of Thomas Jefferson
IN a letter to his daughter, written in 1803, Mr. Jefferson said: “A promise
made to a friend some years ago, but executed only lately, has placed my
religious creed on paper. I have thought it just that my family, by
possessing this, should be enabled to estimate the libels published against
me on this, as on every other possible subject.” The “religious creed” to
which he referred was a comparison of the doctrines of Jesus with those
of others, prepared in fulfillment of a promise made to Dr. Benjamin
Rush. This paper, with the letter to Dr. Rush which accompanied it. is a fit
introduction to the “Jefferson Bible.”
Washington, April 21, 1803.
Dear Sir: In some of the delightful conversations with you, in the
evenings of 1798-99, and which served as an anodyne to the afflictions
of the crisis through which our country was then laboring, the Christian
religion was sometimes our topic; and I then promised you that one day
or other, I would give you my views of it. They are the result of a life of
inquiry and reflection, and very different from that Anti-Christian system
imputed to me by those who know nothing of my opinions. To the
corruptions of christianity I am indeed opposed; but not to the genuine
precepts of Jesus himself. I am a Christian in the only sense in which he
wished any one to be; sincerely attached to his doctrines, in preference to
all others; ascribing to himself every human excellence, and believing he
never claimed any other.
At the short intervals since these conversations, when I could justifiably
abstract my mind from public affairs, this subject has been under my
contemplation; but the more I considered it, the more it expanded beyond
the measure of either my time or Information. In the moment of my late
departure from Monticello, I received from Dr. Priestly his little treatise
6
of “Socrates and Jesus Compared.” This being a section of the general
view I had taken of the field, it became a subject of reflection while on
the road, and unoccupied otherwise. The result was to arrange in my
mind a syllabus, or outline, of such an estimate of the comparative merits
of Christianity, as I wished to see executed by some one of more leisure
and information for the task than myself. This I now send you, as the
only discharge of my promise I can probably ever execute. And in confiding
it to you, I know it will not be exposed to the malignant perversions of
those who make every word from me a text for new misrepresentations
and calumnies.
I am moreover averse to the communication of my religious tenets to
the public; because it would countenance the presumption of those who
have endeavored to draw them before that tribunal, and to seduce public
opinion to erect itself into that inquisition over the rights of conscience
which the laws have so justly proscribed. It behooves every man who
values liberty of conscience for himself to resist invasions of it in the
case of others, or their case may, by change of circumstances, become
his own. It behooves him, too, in his own case, to give no example of
concession, betraying the right of independent opinion by answering
questions of faith, which the laws have left between God and himself.
Accept my affectionate salutations.
Syllabus of an Estimate of the Doctrines of Jesus,
Compared With Those of Others:
In a comparative view of the ethics of the enlightened nations of
antiquity, of the Jews, and of Jesus, no notice should be taken of the
corruptions of reason among the ancients, to wit, the idolatry and superstitionof
the:; vulgar, nor of 'the corruptions ofChristianity by the learned
among its professors. Let a just view be taken of the moral principles
inculcated by the most esteemed of the sects of ancient philosophy, or of
their individuals; particularly Pythagoras, Socrates, Epicurus, Cicero,
Epictetus, Seneca, Antoninus.
7
I. PHILOSOPHERS
1. Their precepts related chiefly to ourselves, and the government of
those passions which, unrestrained, would disturb our tranquility of
mind. In this branch of philosophy they were really great.
2. In developing our duties to others, they were short and defective.
They embraced indeed the circles of kindred and friends, and inculcated
patriotism, or the love of country in the aggregate, as a primary obligation:
towards our neighbors and countrymen they taught justice, but scarcely
viewed them as within the circle of benevolence. Still less have they
inculcated peace, charity, and love to our fellow-men, or embraced with
benevolence the whole family of mankind.
II. JEWS
1. Their system was Deism, that is, the belief in one only God; but
their ideas of him and of his attributes were degrading and injurious.
2. Their ethics were not only imperfect, but often irreconcilable with
the sound dictates of reason and morality, as they respect intercourse
with those around us; and repulsive and anti-social as respecting other
nations. They needed reformation, therefore, in an eminent degree.
III. JESUS
In this state of things among the Jews, Jesus appeared. His parentage
was obscure; his condition poor; his education null; his natural endowments
great; his life correct and innocent. He was meek, benevolent, patient,
firm, disinterested, and of the sublimest eloquence. The disadvantages
under which his doctrines appear are remarkable.
1. LikeSocrates and Epictetus, hewrote nothing himself.
2. But he had not, like them, a Xenophon or an Arrian to write for
him. I name not Plato, who only used the name of Socrates to cover the
whimsies of his own brain.
On the contrary, all the learned of his country, entrenched in its
power and riches, were opposed to him, lest his labors should undermine
their advantages; and the committing to writing of his life and doctrines
8
fell on unlettered and ignorant men; who wrote, too, from memory, and
not till long after the transactions had passed.
3. According to the ordinary fate of those who attempt to enlighten and
reform mankind, he fell an early victim to the jealousy and combination of
the altar and the throne, at about 33 years of age, his reason having not
yet attained the maximum of its energy, nor the course of his preaching,
which was but of three years at most, presented occasions for developing
a complete system of morals.
4. Hence the doctrines which he really delivered were defective, as
a whole, and fragments only of what he did deliver have come to us
mutilated, misstated, and often unintelligible.
5. They have been still more disfigured by the corruptions of
schismatizing followers, who have found an interest in sophisticating and
perverting the simple doctrines he taught, by engrafting on them the
mysticisms of a Grecian Sophist (Plato), frittering them into subtilties
and obscuring them with jargon, until they have caused good men to
reject the whole in disgust, and to view Jesus himself as an impostor.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, a system of morals is presented to
us which, if filled up in the true style and spirit of the rich fragments he
left us, would be the most perfect and sublime that has ever been taught
by man. The question of his being a member of the Godhead, or in direct
communication with it, claimed for him by some of his followers, and
denied by others, is foreign to the present view, which is merely an
estimate of the intrinsic merits of his doctrines.
1. He corrected the Deism of the Jews, confirming them in their
belief of one only god, and giving them juster notions of his attributes
and government.
2. His moral doctrines, relating to kindred and friends, were more
pure and perfect than those of the most correct of the philosophers, and
greatly more so than 'those of the Jews; and they went far beyond both
in inculcating universal philanthrophy, not only to kindred and friends,
to neighbors and countrymen, but to all mankind, gathering all into one
family, under the bonds of love, charity, peace, common wants and
common aids. A development of this head will evince the peculiar
superiority of the system of Jesus over all others.
3. The precepts of philosophy and of the Hebrew code laid hold of
9
action only. He pushed his scrutinies into the heart of man; erected his
tribunal in the region of his thought, and purified the waters at the
fountain head.
4. He taught emphatically the doctrine of a future state, which was
either doubted or disbelieved by the Jews; and wielded it with efficacy as
an important incentive, supplementary to the other motives to moral
conduct.
I, too, have made a wee-little book from the same materials (The
Gospels) which I call the Philosophy of Jesus. It is a paradigma of his
doctrines, made by cutting the texts out of the book and arranging them
on the pages of a blank book, in a certain order of time or subject. A
more beautiful or precious morsel of ethics I have never seen. It is a
document in proof that I am a REAL CHRISTIAN, that is to say, a
disciple of the doctrines of Jesus, very different from the Platonists, who
call ME infidel and THEMSELVES Christians and preachers of the
Gospel, while they draw all their characteristic dogmas from what its
author never said nor saw. They have compounded from the heathen
mysteries a system beyond the comprehension of man, of which the great
reformer of the vicious ethics and deism of the Jews, were he to return on
earth, would not recognize one feature.
—Jefferson to Mr. Charles Thompson.
LOL. Cancer update. There goes my last Miracle? D.C.’s Medicaid goes bankrupt
LOL. Cancer update. There goes my last Miracle? D.C.’s Medicaid goes bankrupt
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dcs-medicaid-upheaval-puts-health-care-providers-in-a-tight-spot/2013/05/25/e546e456-c3b9-11e2-8c3b-0b5e9247e8ca_story.html
Miracle #1 is that I've remained symptom free so long.
Miracle number two would be if the cancer has not spread so far that it is now inoperable.
It looks now worked as if a third miracle would be required, that somehow Georgetown Hospital would still do the operation.
LOL.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/dcs-medicaid-upheaval-puts-health-care-providers-in-a-tight-spot/2013/05/25/e546e456-c3b9-11e2-8c3b-0b5e9247e8ca_story.html
Miracle #1 is that I've remained symptom free so long.
Miracle number two would be if the cancer has not spread so far that it is now inoperable.
It looks now worked as if a third miracle would be required, that somehow Georgetown Hospital would still do the operation.
LOL.
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