In God We Trust....

Not even sure where I'm gonna go with this post....

Not even sure if I should do it....

But sometimes you just have to get started on something and see where it leads...

So here goes.

Over the past couple of months, I have made a concerted effort to work on my....

Spirituality....

Yep... it is part of a Healthy Lifestyle.... reaching out in some way to bring Peace and Harmony to Life through a relationship with a Methodology, a Practice, a Being....

That is beyond explicable and tangible....

That's why they call it Spirituality.... cause you can't see it or touch it or contact it by normal physical means.

It actually kinda began through an outreach from an unexpected source - an acquaintance from the gym who, much to my surprise, was a devout and practicing Christian.

That little point of contact began conversation and questions and a dialog that encompassed many aspects of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness....

And most importantly to my friend....

A Personal Relationship with God.

Yep - that's it.... That's the big things with devout Christians - You gotta have a personal relationship with God.

First off.... I don't even know what that means.

How do you have a personal relationship with a Spiritual Being?

I'm not even sure I want to be that close to Something that can Zap the Whole Universe back to amoeba stage in a blink of an eye....

At this point, the "Saved" would probably just shake their head and say something like "Poor Lost Soul"...

Or Sacreligious Heretic!!!

And I would raise my hand to both.

Fine.... I'm a poor lost soul and a disrespectful asshole... but that still doesn't mean I'm stupid.

Okay... let's get down to reality and things that are in my control....

And on my mind.

Real stuff.

Assuming I want it.....

What can I do to build a relationship with God?

Well - one thing that works for me is to get away from people and get alone in Nature....

Already told you about this before.... but it seems to be an Effective and Constant Mechanism for Me.

But can't go live like a Hermit in Nature forever... at least not right now.... so what else.

Another thing that has emerged over the past few months is that the healthier I get.... the more I believe that God exists and that I need to get to know Him a little better.....

Huh - Whacchu talking about Wills?

Well, it's like this.... The More I Work Out and the Better I Eat and the More my Body responds to this sort of treatment and the more I study and experience about the Cause and Effect of the whole Diet - Nutrition - Exercise - Recovery Cycle, the more I'm convinced that this Ole Human Body is one Complex, Bad Ass Machine of Crazy Chemical Reactions and Endless Electrical Highways housed in a shaped charge of a few basic elements....

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

Bottom Line - the Human Body was created by one Sharp Cookie.... I don't think it just happened.

When I feel the drain of energy from hard physical work, whether it be mowing the yard, or deep housecleaning, or knocking out a 15 min CrossFit WOD, or a fast and rhythmic sequence of songs in Zumba, and I see the results of that work, and I realize God was supposed to have made us in his Own image..... and I feel the effects of the Natural Opium the body injects into the bloodstream to control pain and promote recovery (endorphins)....

I feel like I at least am honoring the Vessel God gave me to exist in this World.

So there's that.

So what else can I do to feel a little closer to God.....

I can read my Bible.... or at least certain sections of it that have some meaning to me.

For me, that's the Old Testament..... I know I know....that's weird and different.

So what's new....

Why do I like the Old Testament?

Because it's practical and functional and tangible and it has specific and actionable stories, anecdotes and instructions.

And it doesn't talk about the blood of Christ and dying on the cross and someone else sacrificing their life for me....

That kind of shiz freaks me out.... Frankly I think a  lot of Christians are kinda nuts for talking about that all the time.

I mean where else in society is it OK to talk about the Torture of a Human Being or a Godly Being on one of the Historically Most Heinous Torture Devices of all time.....How is that a good thing?  Or a God Thing?

I dunno....

But Christians wanna talk about it and not only talk about it..... they make it the foundation and basis for a personal relationship with God.

I think a devout Christian trying to witness to a loser like me would be much better off keeping all that stuff hidden for quite some time....

I mean that kind of conversion has to be a progressive thing....for me it ain't gonna happen overnight.

But Christianity just wants to run over you with all this Being Saved, and Drinking the Blood of Christ and Sacrificing and all that.....

Why can't we just talk about something a little more helpful with everyday life?

Like how to be nice.... and supportive.... and positive....and OPEN MINDED!!!

It was kinda interesting when I tried to talk about things with my New Christian Friend.

I would bring up a particular subject, express an opinion, give some empirical or experiencial evidence....

And what did I get back?

Scriptures.....And it was always the New Testament....

I set there and told the person.... I don't identify with the New Testament..... I like the Old Testament.

So if you're gonna throw bait to this old fish.... throw the right bait.

And DON'T PREACH....... DISCUSS like a human being.... Not like a Disciple.

I mean God Bless this Lady.... I gotta give her much Respect.... She had a Heart of Gold and the Spirit of God lives in her.... I saw that.... Knew that... from the get go.

Problem was.....

She probably never dealt with someone like me and they had trained her in Bible School to go for the old Tried and True....

Keep going to the Story of Salvation and the Leap of Faith and all that.....

Let me tell you something People.....

Faith is the Gap Between Dollars and Sense!

The reason why Christians don't ever talk about the Old Testament is that they can't sell it....

There's nothing to buy.... except specific written instructions and real life experiences of people struggling with their relationship with God....

That and them killing the hell out of each other because God gave the Upper Hand to Whoever Was Doing What He Wanted at the Time.

Look at Kings and Chronicles and Proverbs and Ecclesiastes..... It's all about the Trials and Tribulations of Life...... Of People seeking to do good, failing, seeking God and failing, learning from those experiences and moving closer to a Godly life.

That's real stuff.... That's something you can hang your hat on.

So what's the New Testament about?

A shortcut..... a paid shortcut.

What do I mean by that?

Well - let's take a look at the real world and Christianity....

You can be a freakin' ax murderer..... hack up 20 people.... torture them in the most sadistic ways....

BUT BUT BUT...... You accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and....

Poof!  You're Saved and Forgiven!

BULL(&^T!

Lemme tell you something People.....

I got no Respect for any SuperHuman Being, God or Entity that will let anybody get away with that.

And the God of the Old Testament didn't put up with that either.

When People, Cultures, Societies did stuff like that, God would have this special Prayer Meeting with His Chosen People and say.....

"Hey you know those dudes that messed with Us..... Here's What I want you to Do with Them!"

http://www.gotquestions.org/Canaanites-extermination.html

Or better yet..... you're already a Good Person but you want "Eternal Life aka Heaven"......

Boy if that ain't a carrot in front of a donkey I don't know what is.

So what's the path for that?

Well - you go to Church.... you become a member of that Church.... and then you begin....

Tithing!

Nothing wrong with the Tithing described back in the Old Testament.... that was back when the Church actually did something....

Besides Build Wealth!

Seriously, the Church of the Bible was much like the Government today in that it provided Health Care,Welfare and Retirement Services and Housing and Care for the Poor, Crippled and Mentally Ill.

I don't see that happening in today's church.

You wanna know what one of the Richest Corporations in the World Is?

The Roman Catholic Church!!

I have sent Truly Needy People to the Church several times over the past 30 years....

And every single one of them was turned away with no more than a form to fill out or 20 questions on why they needed the money.

What the Church oughta be telling People is to Manage their Money, quit living beyond their means, create and live by a budget.....

Then when they get all that in line..... If they wanna be Holy Philanthropic..... then break out the Piggy and Rock On!

I'll follow up on this Whole Concept of the Church Selling Salvation in another Post but suffice it to say that the God of the New Testament Sells and the God of the Old Testament doesn't.

Let me just summarize this little Smorgasbord of Hot Links and Sour Grapes with these few thoughts.

I'm a Sinner.... I got that.

I can do Better.... I got that.

I need the influence of a Higher Being in My Mind, Spirit and Body.... I got that.

I pretty much pissed off my New Friend with all my unconventional self taught lack of wisdom....

As she said....

"Your viewpoints don't hold a candle to the Power of God and His truth".

And she's right.

But that's OK.... I don't have to get and accept everything I hear.

I can nibble here and pick there and learn and consider and ponder....

Because in the end analysis, a man far wiser than me summarized it best when he said....

"Here is the conclusion of the matter; 
Fear God and keep his commandments,
For this is the whole duty of man".
Ecclesiastes 12:13

Now that I can do.

And that's good enough for me....

And just between you,  me and God....

I think it's good enough for God too!