Another Round of Paganism

Another Round of Paganism


TRUTH and UNDERSTANDING - An electronic magazine of real knowledge
Millions, perhaps billions of people will once again run full throttle into the upcoming fall and winter holiday seasons of Halloween and Christmas. Many fully acknowledge that the customs of these events are deeply rooted in paganism.
Many take paganism as an ugly word, but it simply means teachings of the nations that did not know the Jewish or Hebrew God of the Bible. An important point to always remember is that the Hebrews or Israelites and not the nations (non Hebrews) were the ones who brought us the knowledge of God. Even in the New Testament we know that Jesus and the Apostles were Israelites. This is why scripture says, "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews." So it always comes as a surprise to me that the tail (the nations) tries to wag the dog when it comes to religious knowledge. Yet this is what is commonly allowed in the so-called Christian holidays.
The Catholic encyclopedia seems to struggle somewhere between acknowledging that modern Christianity has incorporated pagan teachings and no it is just a coincidence. A coincidence? When you look at the preponderance of coincidences like a day for all the dead Saints that comes on the heels of an ancient Celtic fire festival called Samhain (notice that this is a nations non Hebrew pagan teaching here) now called Halloween in which we have children dressing as demons, ghosts and skeletons or we shift to Christmas and really examine through some simple web research about the origin of these Bacchanalian or Saturnalia type festivities.
Research the origins of the Yule log, tree, mistletoe, wreaths, greenery, birthdays, gifts, caroling (yes even seemingly innocent Christmas carols are from ancient circle dances dealing with fertility rites of the medieval Celtic countries of Europe) and lights. Bacchanalian festivities also had parties celebrated with drinking and promiscuity orgies and riotousness. The Saturnalia festivities also included exchanging gifts, greenery, lights etc. It is impossible to ignore that we have ties to teachings of the nations or pagans that we have justified just as the Bible says, "everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Yet again the Bible says, "what communion has light with darkness?" But we say we cleaned it all up. Why we Christianized it Lord! Yet again the Bible says, "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!"
But some may ask isn’t it all ok. Can’t we just have some fun? Why half the stuff I do isn’t really Christian related, I just do it for fun and I’m not thinking of Christ. I’ve seen these attitudes. They are attitudes of someone who thinks they have some distinguishable alter ego. That somehow we can separate ourselves from ourselves like some type of Jekyl and Hyde. But do you think you can really hide half of yourself from before the Lord? The Bible says, "For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord" and "He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord" Therefore all we do is in plain sight of God.
So how dangerous is all this? Well this is what I call mixing of religions or religious practices. Though it appears to be innocent by most, truly it is the most dangerous of all sins. Believe it or not this is something that gets God absolutely furious. Notice God said, "do not inquire after their gods, saying, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.' You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way". If nothing else notice the word nations in the above. God is saying do not adapt the practices of the nations. In another example from the book of Ezekiel we read, "Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make Me go far away from My sanctuary?" What was this sanctuary? Why it was God’s temple back in the Old Testament. What were they doing to drive God far from His Temple? Well a further read says they were doing things like bringing in, "every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols", the Bible says the, "women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz." (It is known that there were ancient pagan religions that practiced weeping. Tammuz was an agricultural god who got weak as summer waned on and we all know how we get sad as summer nears its end, so they wept) and the Bible reads, "twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the LORD and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east" (hey look it’s a first Easter sunrise worship.)
The point of all this is that it all occurred in God’s temple. They had stained, soiled, desecrated and defiled the Temple of God by bringing in the ways and teachings of the nations, the pagans, those who did not have a knowledge of proper worship of the true God. After all, why do you think they were called pagans? Because they were stupid, get it? And why is it that their knowledge is so great now that it is brought into Christianity? Because we are stupid I guess. Belittling God’s Temple is not relegated just to the Old Testament. I’m sure we all remember how infuriated Jesus became when He encountered the merchandising in the Temple and made a whip and started to crack some heads. Some things are just off limits.
But now for the biggie because there is a scripture that we need to look long and hard at which says, "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." Defiling our human temple here is no different than all we just read about defiling the physical one. Simply intermix paganism, mix in the bad with the good and you are defiled. As a matter of fact if you mix in any ways of any kind of disobedience you are on your way to defilement and utter destruction.
Disobedience leads to destruction, but obedience and a humble spirit leads one to salvation. It is your disobedience that caused Christ to have to die for our sins (our disobedience) so why do we think it is ok to continue to disobey? Now that you have learned nothing from paganism, for what did you learn from the Yule log or dressing your child up as an Easter egg? Why not learn from God about His holidays? Most people do not even know that God also has Holidays (Holy Days). Well He does and there are seven of them that He commands us to observe.

Baking Bread

Baking Bread


Holiday activities are stirring among us. The weather is easing into a crisp chilliness that is comfortable in calling out our warmer coats and scarves. Balanced against homes warmed by evening lighted windows and rich stews bubbling on the stove, we are taking our first steps into the time of year that beckons us to enter the mysteries of faith, hope and new life itself. Some of my favorite childhood memories are from this time of year in my mother's Saturday morning kitchen. My mother is a practiced and skilled baker, and she made good use of her creative gift, manifesting cookies, cakes, pies and sweet rolls that make my mouth water and my mind drift with remembered pleasure even as I write these words. Any Saturday could include one or more of these items, and Christmas holiday preparation particularly focused on fruit cake,cookies, sweet rolls, and pies. (The abundance of fruit cake jokes in our culture is lost on me because I have eaten good fruit cake all my life.) But the staple of all these baking days was bread. Baking bread tied all these Saturdays together into one grand, fond memory of a kitchen filled with warm scents, laughter, creativity and love.
My mother learned the fine art of bread baking from her mother-in-law, who lived across the alley behind our house. These lessons were solidified before my memory began, but I witnessed the patterns and rhythm of a defined plan that always exhibited specific, consistent results. Each ingredient was added in order, integrated into the process in the way that would ensure its proper place with its companion components, and the the kneading would begin. Once completed, the dough, covered gently with a cotton dish cloth, was set into the warmed oven to raise. Once risen, the dough was then punched down, divided among the readied loaf pans and set back to the task of raising again before the official baking began. While the creation process evoked a warm, satisfying aroma, the end result, pulled from the oven with round golden crusts, looking like works of art, wafted of contented abundance like nothing else imaginable. We barely let it cool enough to slice it, slather it with butter and taste it melt in our mouths.
On rare occasion, only one that I can remember, this beautiful scene was halted by the dismal performance of yeast that was simply unable to complete its work. No matter how gifted, skilled or practiced the baker, if the yeast doesn't work, the bread doesn't rise, and you are left looking at some very heavy, chewy loaves of mismatched ingredients. The same can be said if the yeast is not left to do its work once blended with the other ingredients. Too little kneading creates huge piles of raw dough, unshaped, uncontrollable and impossible to bake. Too much kneading tells the yeast its services are no longer required, and perfectly good bread gives up the fight and falls as flat as its sibling which came to the table unable to rise at all. It is a delicate balance, this infusion of yeast into the process of baking bread, and how it is handled once in the mix makes all the difference in the success of the end product as it is removed from the oven.
It is no surprise, then, that Jesus chose to use this image to challenge his followers to ponder a new understanding of God's kingdom. "And again he said, 'To what should I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." (Luke 13:21) Interesting that bread making hasn't changed in its basic form in over two thousand years. Interesting too, that the woman in Jesus' parable did not force the bread into submission, rush it to move more quickly than would be appropriate to achieve a healthy result, or change it into something it wasn't designed to be or do. In short, the woman did her part, then let the yeast rise to the occasion, doing what yeast was intended to do for the bread to become bread.
Fortunately, God is a very practiced and skilled baker, one who is acquainted with the mysteries of the powerful activity of yeast, and with the grace of well-placed faith that, left to its natural devices, will do its work, in its time.

Bringing God Alive

Bringing God Alive

Every one who believes in God is, to some degree, into theological argument -- argument in the sense of developing logical reasons and propositions for various points of view about God.
We are not concerned here with the development of doctrinal arguments, nor in comparing one set with another. There is a level and degree of conviction which goes infinitely beyond all that and wordy dialogue. And beyond consulting vast tomes of theological treaties. It is the conviction which comes from an EXPERIENTIAL knowledge of God. It comes from experiencing God in our own, everyday lives. Certainly, what we "know" about God comes in some degree from what we believe. But is there not a difference between "belief" in some theological proposition and faith, which is what makes that proposition into a reality for any one of us?
FAITH BRINGS GOD "ALIVE"
It is faith which, as it were, "brings God alive" for each one of us. It is faith exercised at a personal level which makes God personal to us. It is that, rather than delving into works of theology, which make God real.
Faith is, in practice, different to belief. We can believe something and, because we never act on it, it never changes our lives. If I say "I believe God, the father Almighty", it is open to someone without that belief to ask, "So what?" The question is really, "So what is different in your life compared to mine as a result of your belief?"
Unfortunately, there are Christians who would be hard put to answer that, because they have belief but little faith. Faith can be expressed as belief put to the test. No, we are not testing God so much as testing ourselves. We can call in God's promises to us, but such calls are ultimately tests of our own faith, although they must inevitably also show God's loyalty to his own word.
FAITH BRINGS KNOWLEDGE OF GOD
What kind of knowledge of God does faith bring? It is a knowledge which goes beyond anything we can find in a book -- or in an article such as this! It is an EXPERIENTIAL knowledge of God. That is to say, every act of faith is a personal encounter with God, a personal experience of him. The reason is that God never ignores an act of faith, not least because, apart from love, it is the greatest quality he desires from us.
We can read, say, Paul in Roman 4. 17 that God is he who: "gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." (NIV) He "calls things that are not as though they were"! It is acting on such scriptures as this which brings God alive to us, which brings us into a reality of God which might not previously have existed.
THE KNOWLEDGE THAT COUNTS
That experiential knowledge is what counts! It is that which converts people from no belief to putting God first in their lives, from being nominal Christians into committed Christians -- because that knowledge of God is something which cannot be acquired in any other way. And it tells us what cannot be known in any other way. You may acquire some kind of knowledge about me from reading this article or some of the books I have written. Yet all that would be far less than the knowledge gathered from the experience of actually meeting me (which some may say is a great blessing for you!!!). How much more important, and how much more life-changing is the experiencial knowledge of actually encountering God?
In Romans (as elsewhere) Paul makes the case that we are saved through faith. That is the ultimate expression and consequence of our faith. But it must not be the only one! If we can trust God for this ultimate expression of his love for us, and the dependability of his word, the consequence of which will last for eternity, we can surely trust him for a myriad of other things -- things which are of much less consequence, but which happen every day in our lives.
That repeated, ongoing accumulation of (essentially loving) experiential knowledge is open to anyone who has the courage to risk the consequences of holding God to his many biblical promises -- and who wants to see God "come alive" in their lives.

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Customer Service Rating: God

Customer Service Rating: God


Holiday shopping season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally called Black Friday, what for most of the country is a day to sleep late and socialize with visiting relatives and friends, is for retail workers the beginning of the countdown until close of business on Christmas Eve. Swarms of people come out to see what is available, enjoy the decorations and wistfully lament how fast time goes by. How can it be Christmas again already?
It's the retail rhythm of life, and stores are the official worship centers of this highly consumeristic season. As a precursor to this main event, an article flashed across my computer screen last week, indicating that disgruntled shoppers were taking charge and fighting back against poor customer service. I can only imagine what these irate and aggravated customers did to vent their frustration regarding being overcharged and underserved. But I also know what it feels like to stand behind the counter, exhausted, aiming to do everything I can to help, but what I have to offer is seen as not enough.
What customers who complain about poor customer service will not tell you is their whole side of the story. They won't tell you they have not ordered their merchandise early enough to be delivered before they need to be on the plane to their mom's house in another state. They won't tell you that they broke the pretty blue and white vase, the last one in stock, as they put it into their car. It was , you see, broken when they purchased it, and they want a refund. They also won't tell you how they held up the line behind them being unpleasant to a sales associate who was unable to locate their item in the back room because they had ordered a completely different product from another company.
What you will hear is the partial story. Although it is the truth, it is not the whole truth. The truth, the whole truth, is that many of us know we have put too much pressure on ourselves regarding shopping and entertaining, we have waited too long to be able to complete our tasks thoroughly, let alone joyfully, and so we become frustrated, blaming other people at hand for our poor choices. I have stood on this side of the counter too, and recognized the bitterness and enraged feelings that begin to rise inside me like music from a horror movie, as the hidden monster was about to strike.
Raising this issue now is a moment to remember all the times I realized, as I rang people up for ornaments, holiday serving pieces and collector nutcrackers, that blaming retailers for poor customer service is a lot like how we treat God when our prayers are not answered and things don't go our way. Prayers are very much like sales transactions. We place our order for the work, the relationship, the house, the vacation, the weather we want, move on to the next task, and assume God is at work on filling our order. when we realize that the order hasn't been filled to our specifications, we often become irritated, blame God and wonder why God is being mean to us, ignoring us, or not giving us what we want. What about that whole asking and receiving business in the bible? Doesn't that really work?
Our overabundance of material wealth in the United States has backfired on us in so many ways. We assume that if we want something, it must be available, and be available when we say so, even when we are dealing with God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God's abundance is always at our door, but not always at our disposal. God isn't about supporting our use it/toss it society, regarding material objects or human resources. God is also not about being dictated to according to the terms we set for how we think things should run.
In chapter forty, verse twenty-five, the prophet Isaiah asks us, on God's behalf, an important question: To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Do we really want to be treating God as a purveyor of poor customer service in our lives? Do we really think God isn't treating us kindly or lovingly just to make our lives miserable? I do believe God has an interesting way of working with circumstances that doesn't usually enter my mind, except in retrospect. But I also believe that God has my best interests in mind, and is quite delighted to help whenever asked with an open mind and heart.
It's my heartfelt hope that as we stand on the threshold of another holiday season, that we can approach each other with open hearts and minds, remembering that, given the truth and a chance, most people will do their best for each other, simply because they can and they want to.

Laughter

Laughter
Laughing childLaughter is the biological reaction of humans to moments or occasions of humor: an outward expression of amusement. Laughter is subcategorised into various groupings depending upon the extent and pitch of the laughter: giggles, clicks (which can be almost silent), chortles, chuckles, hoots, cackles, sniggers and guffaws are all types of laughter. Smiling may be considered a mild silent form of laughter. Some studies indicate that laughter differs depending upon the gender of the laughing person: women tend to laugh in a more "sing-song" way, while men more often grunt or snort. Babies start to laugh at about 4 months of age. Philosopher John Morreall theorises that human laughter may have its biological origins as a kind of shared expression of relief at the passing of danger. The relaxation we feel after laughing may help inhibit the fight-or-flight response, making laughter a behavioral sign of trust in one's companions.
On the other hand, laughing at somebody is ridiculing him or her.
Laughter is a part of human behavior regulated by the brain. It helps humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and provides an emotional context to our conversations. Laughter is used as a signal for being part of a group — it signals acceptance and positive interactions. Laughter is contagious and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others. This may account in part for the popularity of laugh tracks in situation comedy television shows. A particularly dramatic demonstration of contagious laughter was the Tanganyikan laughter epidemic, which demonstrated that laughter can also be difficult to control and can occur, unpleasantly, when people are severely stressed.
However, laughter in certain contexts can feel threatening as in drama. For instance, the Batman supervillain The Joker is an insane clown like criminal who finds violent crime hilarious and often laughs hysterically for the slightest reason, especially when commiting murder. Furthermore, one of his favourite methods is a deadly poison that causes the victims to laugh uncontrollably before death.
Certain medical theories attribute improved health and well-being to laughter as it triggers the release of endorphins. A study demonstrated neuroendocrine and stress-related hormones decreased during episodes of laughter, which provides support for the claim that humor can relieve stress.
Research has shown that parts of the limbic system are involved in laughter. The limbic system is a primitive part of the brain that is involved in emotions and helps us with basic functions necessary for survival. Two structures in the limbic system are involved in producing laughter: the amygdala and the hippocampus.
Researchers frequently learn how the brain functions by studying what happens when something goes wrong. People with certain types of brain damage produce abnormal laughter. This is found most often in people with pseudobulbar palsy, gelastic epilepsy and, to a lesser degree, with multiple sclerosis, ALS, and some brain tumors. Inappropriate laughter is considered symptomatic of psychological disorders including dementia and hysteria.
In most people, laughter can be induced by tickling, a phenomenon in itself. Laughing gas is sometimes used as a painkiller. Other drugs, such as cannabis, can also induce episodes of strong laughter. At rare times, pain can sometimes be used to create laughter, though not necessarily with sadistic or masochistic reasoning.
The December 7, 1984 Journal of the American Medical Association describes the neurological causes of laughter as follows:
"Although there is no known "laugh center" in the brain, its neural mechanism has been the subject of much, albeit inconclusive, speculation. It is evident that its expression depends on neural paths arising in close association with the telencephalic and diencephalic centers concerned with respiration. Wilson considered the mechanism to be in the region of the mesial thalamus, hypothalamus, and subthalamus. Kelly and co-workers, in turn, postulated that the tegmentum near the periaqueductal gray contains the integrating mechanism for emotional expression. Thus, supranuclear pathways, including those from the limbic system that Papez hypothesized to mediate emotional expressions such as laughter, probably come into synaptic relation in the reticular core of the brain stem. So while purely emotional responses such as laughter are mediated by subcortical structures, especially the hypothalamus, and are stereotyped, the cerebral cortex can modulate or suppress them." Laughter might not be confined to humans. Chimpanzees show laughter-like behavior in response to physical contact, such as wrestling, chasing, or tickling, and rat pups emit short, high frequency, ultrasonic vocalizations during rough and tumble play, and when tickled. Rat pups "laugh" far more than older rats. Chimpanzee laughter is not readily recognizable to humans as such, because it is generated by alternating inhalations and exhalations that sound more like breathing and panting. The differences between chimpanzee and human laughter may be the result of adaptations that have evolved to enable human speech. However, some behavioral psychologists argue that self-awareness of one's situation, or the ability to identify with somebody else's predicament, are prerequisites for laughter, so animals are not really laughing in the same way that we do.

Types of smiles

Types of smiles
The "Duchenne smile", after the researcher Guillaume Duchenne, is the most studied, and involves the movement of both the zygomaticus major muscle near the mouth and the orbicularis oculi muscle near the eyes. It is believed that the Duchenne smile is only produced as an involuntary response to genuine emotion, and is therefore what one could call the "genuine" smile. The "Pan American smile", on the other hand, is the voluntary smile involving only the zygomatcus major muscle to show politeness; for example, by a flight attendant on the former airline of the same name. Considered "insincere", this type of smile has also been called the "Professional Smile" by David Foster Wallace in his comedic short story A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again (see link for relevant excerpt).

Smile

Smile
For other uses, see Smile (disambiguation). An Iraqi girl smilesIn physiology, a smile is a facial expression formed by flexing muscles most notably near both ends of the mouth, but also around the eyes. Among humans, it is customarily an expression of pleasure or amusement, but can also be an involuntary expression of anxiety. There is much evidence that smiling is a normal reaction to certain stimuli and occurs regardless of culture. Many studies indicate that smiling is an innate reaction, as children blind from birth smile; however feral children generally do not smile, perhaps lending evidence to the contrary. Among animals, the exposure of teeth, which may bear a resemblance to a smile, are often used as a threat - known as a snarl - or a sign of submission.
Smiling not only changes a facial expression, but can also make the brain produce endorphins which reduces physical and emotional pain, and give a greater sense of well-being.