I don't even know how to respond to this other than to say it hits me deeply, and I agree. I always tell my kids(they're all old now, but still I tell them) that for every situation, there is cause to put oneself in others' shoes. Behind the layers...so, so many layers...arrogance, fear, Insecurity, vanity, anger, even compassion and love...peel it all away. What's left in each of us is something so innocent, like a very small child, just learning to walk, speak, and eat solid food. Children are the best of us. And in each one of us there is a child. That part is the best of you. That part holds God's light, purity, wisdom. That's where the clean conscience lives. If we could all just find that inside ourselves and our neighbors, I think we would be on our way to something very special.
There are a few themes that run throughout the Bible. All the stories and all the characters and all the lessons taught, are for the purpose of demonstrating certain themes.
One of those themes is good vs. evil, and how we recognize each, and how we conduct ourselves based on this understanding.
In the Bible, God never punishes anyone unless they break one of His Laws -- Rule of Law.
The USA was founded on Rule of Law, both Biblical Law and English Common Law, which itself was based on Biblical Law.
Even atheists (which I was at one time) can understand -- if they are philosphical people (many atheists are not) -- that Rule of Law is necessary for a well-functioning society. Even if we say it is "Nature's Law" it is still law.
Or, as Jefferson wrote, "the Laws of Nature, and of Nature's God."
Consider the Garden of Eden.
Adam was given ONE Law to follow: Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you will surely die.
God did not give this Law to Eve, but Eve knew it, as well. She must have been told by Adam.
So, people can pass on the Law to each other; they don't have to be told directly by God. They can learn it from each other.
But they violated the Law by eating from that "tree" (not a real tree, but an allegorical tree).
When they violated the only Law they knew, they were punished by God. He told them that they would surely die if they violated that Law, and that is what happened. They did not die right away, but they changed from being immortal like God, to becoming mortal by eventual death (of the flesh).
Now, consider Cain and Abel. Cain murdered Abel, and yet God did not punish Cain for murder. Since everyone knows that murder is against God's Laws, then why wasn't Cain punished for murder?
Because murder was not YET a Law issued by God. That did not come until later (the 10 Commandments).
At the time Cain murdered Abel, murder was not a crime. So, God did not punish Cain for murder, anymore than you would punish a young child for doing something they did not know they were not supposed to do. Instead, you tell them it is wrong and don't do it again. If they do it after that, then they should be further punished in some way.
So, Cain was not punished by God, but he punished himself by exile away from others because he was fearful they would punish him. He knew, instinctively, it was wrong, but it was not (yet) a violation of The Law.
The USA was founded on the concept of Rule of Law, more than any other single factor. The king was no more entitled to determine what was The Law than any other man.
So, they broke away and formed a new nation.
This is very similar to what happened within the Church. The Roman Catholic Church was issuing the rules of what Christians must or must not do in order to "be a good Christian."
But some Christians saw this as a lie. The Bible does not give a Pope any authority to rule over all Christians, anymore than a king has some sort of divine right to rule.
So the protestors broke away, creating the Protestant Reformation.
The protestors would eventually have further differences, which is why we have all the denominations today: Protestants, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, etc.
In our society today, the People have not done their duty to understand The Law -- whether they want to take it from the Bible, or Nature's Law (which requires philosophical thinking), or even the US Constitution.
They have willfully disregarded The Law and Rule of Law, and the result is chaos.
The reason that the Middle East and Africa have been nothing but chaos for 1,000 years or more is that they never had Rule of Law. They never had a Thomas Jefferson or a Jesus to "gather the flock" and get people to recognize that a civil society needs some sort of Rule of Law.
The communist Dems and RINOs who are destroying from within today are doing it BECAUSE they are ignoring Rule of Law, even if we limit that to the Constitution -- or the state constitutions, or even the election laws on the books prior to election. However you look at it, they are ignoring the law. The judges and attorneys ("officers of the court") are ignoring the law, too.
They are also violating the bigger issue of God's Law by (a) bearing false witness, (b) worshiping idols, (c) coveting, (d) creating their own gods, etc.
CAUSE - AND - EFFECT.
The disrespect for Rule of Law is the cause, and chaos is the effect.
Consumerism, lack of trust, lack of love ... these are all born out of chaos, which is the result of forgetting about Rule of Law.
Getting back to the rules that create a respectful society is the way things get turned around.
I don't even know how to respond to this other than to say it hits me deeply, and I agree. I always tell my kids(they're all old now, but still I tell them) that for every situation, there is cause to put oneself in others' shoes. Behind the layers...so, so many layers...arrogance, fear, Insecurity, vanity, anger, even compassion and love...peel it all away. What's left in each of us is something so innocent, like a very small child, just learning to walk, speak, and eat solid food. Children are the best of us. And in each one of us there is a child. That part is the best of you. That part holds God's light, purity, wisdom. That's where the clean conscience lives. If we could all just find that inside ourselves and our neighbors, I think we would be on our way to something very special.
I agree.
American society has been CONDITIONED TO CORRUPTION
There are a few themes that run throughout the Bible. All the stories and all the characters and all the lessons taught, are for the purpose of demonstrating certain themes.
One of those themes is good vs. evil, and how we recognize each, and how we conduct ourselves based on this understanding.
In the Bible, God never punishes anyone unless they break one of His Laws -- Rule of Law.
The USA was founded on Rule of Law, both Biblical Law and English Common Law, which itself was based on Biblical Law.
Even atheists (which I was at one time) can understand -- if they are philosphical people (many atheists are not) -- that Rule of Law is necessary for a well-functioning society. Even if we say it is "Nature's Law" it is still law.
Or, as Jefferson wrote, "the Laws of Nature, and of Nature's God."
Consider the Garden of Eden.
Adam was given ONE Law to follow: Do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or you will surely die.
God did not give this Law to Eve, but Eve knew it, as well. She must have been told by Adam.
So, people can pass on the Law to each other; they don't have to be told directly by God. They can learn it from each other.
But they violated the Law by eating from that "tree" (not a real tree, but an allegorical tree).
When they violated the only Law they knew, they were punished by God. He told them that they would surely die if they violated that Law, and that is what happened. They did not die right away, but they changed from being immortal like God, to becoming mortal by eventual death (of the flesh).
Now, consider Cain and Abel. Cain murdered Abel, and yet God did not punish Cain for murder. Since everyone knows that murder is against God's Laws, then why wasn't Cain punished for murder?
Because murder was not YET a Law issued by God. That did not come until later (the 10 Commandments).
At the time Cain murdered Abel, murder was not a crime. So, God did not punish Cain for murder, anymore than you would punish a young child for doing something they did not know they were not supposed to do. Instead, you tell them it is wrong and don't do it again. If they do it after that, then they should be further punished in some way.
So, Cain was not punished by God, but he punished himself by exile away from others because he was fearful they would punish him. He knew, instinctively, it was wrong, but it was not (yet) a violation of The Law.
The USA was founded on the concept of Rule of Law, more than any other single factor. The king was no more entitled to determine what was The Law than any other man.
So, they broke away and formed a new nation.
This is very similar to what happened within the Church. The Roman Catholic Church was issuing the rules of what Christians must or must not do in order to "be a good Christian."
But some Christians saw this as a lie. The Bible does not give a Pope any authority to rule over all Christians, anymore than a king has some sort of divine right to rule.
So the protestors broke away, creating the Protestant Reformation.
The protestors would eventually have further differences, which is why we have all the denominations today: Protestants, Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, etc.
In our society today, the People have not done their duty to understand The Law -- whether they want to take it from the Bible, or Nature's Law (which requires philosophical thinking), or even the US Constitution.
They have willfully disregarded The Law and Rule of Law, and the result is chaos.
The reason that the Middle East and Africa have been nothing but chaos for 1,000 years or more is that they never had Rule of Law. They never had a Thomas Jefferson or a Jesus to "gather the flock" and get people to recognize that a civil society needs some sort of Rule of Law.
The communist Dems and RINOs who are destroying from within today are doing it BECAUSE they are ignoring Rule of Law, even if we limit that to the Constitution -- or the state constitutions, or even the election laws on the books prior to election. However you look at it, they are ignoring the law. The judges and attorneys ("officers of the court") are ignoring the law, too.
They are also violating the bigger issue of God's Law by (a) bearing false witness, (b) worshiping idols, (c) coveting, (d) creating their own gods, etc.
CAUSE - AND - EFFECT.
The disrespect for Rule of Law is the cause, and chaos is the effect.
Consumerism, lack of trust, lack of love ... these are all born out of chaos, which is the result of forgetting about Rule of Law.
Getting back to the rules that create a respectful society is the way things get turned around.
Deep thinkers here at GAW