{"id":13,"date":"2011-01-20T12:57:03","date_gmt":"2011-01-20T12:57:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/prophetormadman\/2011\/01\/things-to-ponder.html"},"modified":"2011-01-20T12:57:03","modified_gmt":"2011-01-20T12:57:03","slug":"things-to-ponder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/2011\/01\/things-to-ponder.html","title":{"rendered":"Things to Ponder"},"content":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but I was told many things as a
\nchild that didn’t seem to make sense to me. Before I share some thoughts about one of the
\nmost confusing and contradictory issues I encountered, I would like to say that
\nI believe 100 % that there is an Unconditionally Loving God, Creator of all
\nthat is. Further, I would like to add we are all a part of and come from the
\nsame source.   <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That said, let me get back to the point I wanted to share.
\nOne of the most confusing notions I struggled with regarding God came from my
\nreligious teachings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was told God was omniscient (All Knowing), Omnipotent (All
\nPowerful), and Omnipresent (present everywhere at all times). While looking
\nat these basic tenets, I had no trouble accepting that they were in fact <\/b>attributes that accurately represented God. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What troubled me was not that God would possess such ineffable
\nqualities. The problem I had came from hearing God did not possess such
\nqualities. I once read that there is no contradiction to truth. Once again, I
\nam in 100 % agreement. To me, there is no contradiction to truth and where
\ncontradiction appears you can be assured you have not found truth. With that
\nthought in mind I would ask you to consider the following.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If in fact God is all knowing, all powerful, and omni-
\npresent, wouldn’t’ that mean God would be perfect and incapable of error? Moreover,
\nwouldn’t that also mean God would know the outcome of any moment before it is
\nplayed out in this world. Didn’t Jesus say in Matthew 6:8,  <\/span>“Do not be like them, for your
\nFather knows what you need before you ask him?”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Once again, I have no problem with the concept that the Creator
\nof all that is has the ability to see every detail of His Creation including
\nthe timing and outcome of a moment. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The problem I struggled with was regarding judgment. From my
\nviewpoint, I asked myself,  <\/span>“How is
\nit that some of us in this world can do certain things that others might find
\noffensive?”  <\/span>It did not take me
\nlong to conclude that each of us was equipped with a different mind and value
\nsystem that functions slightly different from someone else’s. A natural and
\nlogical question that comes to mind is, “Who then created one person to
\nstruggle in this world and another to live a seemingly blessed life if not God?”\n<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From Isaiah. 45:5-7<\/p>\n

“I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace,
\nand create evil. I am Jehovah, who does all these things” <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Going back to the concept or belief that God is incapable of
\nmaking a mistake, wouldn’t it be logical to conclude, if any one is guilty<\/b> or responsible for anything, wouldn’t it be God
\nhimself?  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recently I saw a movie that may shed some light on this
\nconjecture. The movie was based on a true story about a young man who during
\nthe time of the great depression stole five dollars to buy food for his younger
\nsister. As the story was told, their parents had passed away and he felt responsible
\nto provide for his younger sister. Unfortunately for him, he was caught and
\nsentence to prison. After an escape attempt,  <\/span>he was sentenced to life in prison and moved to Alcatraz.
\nUpon his arrival he was moved to a cell below the main cell block and held in
\nsolitary confinement and beaten on a regular basis. He remained there for 3
\nyears and was allowed to see sunshine and the outer yard for only one half hour
\nper year. Without any interaction with the other prisoners he became mentally
\nunbalanced. On his first day back in general population he killed a fellow
\ninmate for no apparent reason other than his mind had snapped.    <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At his murder trial his defense attorney did something that
\nwas totally unexpected. He said it was not his client that was guilty but
\nrather the prison and those who ran the prison who were guilty. The jury
\nagreed.  <\/span>It was the prison and the
\ninhuman treatment that was responsible, they concluded.  <\/span>    <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I think the main point here is that without having all the
\ndetails, no one is in a position to come to the real truth about anyone or
\nanything. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perhaps that’s why Jesus taught us that the way to the
\nFather can only be experienced through non-judgment.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Please note, I said if<\/b><\/span> <\/i><\/b><\/span>any
\none is guilty it would have to be God Himself. Personally, I do not believe in
\njudgment or in the view that the majority of the world holds. I do believe
\nthere are consequences for our thoughts and actions both in this world and
\nbeyond. In Prophet or Madman, I wrote about the various dimensions of time and
\nspace and shared the view of creation that God presented to me in hopes that
\nthere are those who are ready to see more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Shakespeare once said, “There are more things in heaven
\nand earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Regardless of your path or what religion you practice, if
\nyou wish to awaken yourself and live awakened in this world you will have to
\nstruggle. <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More to come…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love and Light,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Brother Bruce<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Prophet or Madman<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I don’t know about you, but I was told many things as a child that didn’t seem to make sense to me. 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I'm looking forward to learning a lot and enjoying myself immensely as I join Bruce and my good friend Steve on our lighthearted spiritual journey all across this great land looking for and ministering to the souls of America.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/author\/cjohnson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/prophetormadman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}