Blowing Smoke

Well, I've been at it again. TitforTat with a Christian in regards to religion. Afterwards I had an epiphany. Religion is an awful lot like Smoking. You know that pastime don't ya. Granted about 20% of us knew better and never touched the stuff, but the rest of us tried it out at one point or another. Though we knew it had a poisonous element to it, the social aspect was all too inviting. The first time trying it may have had you choking a little bit, but surprisingly it also had quite the euphoric effect. Very confusing for sure, on one hand toxic and on the other, nurturing. Well for many of us it didnt take long to notice how partaking in it started to affect our health and the health of the ones around us. It was probably this awareness that allowed us to make the break and stop the nasty habit. Unfortunately there is a core percentage of individuals who continue to breath it in. These individuals believe it is their right to do as they please regardless of the noxious fumes it emits to the rest of the population. They are so deeply entrenched in their addiction that they cant see how even a little bit of it damages them and the rest of the population. They have developed communities of like minded people. They gather together in the cold, at parties and even praise it after sex. Im not sure if you can ever cure them of it, as they have invested too much time and would be unwilling to make the change. Even given insurmountable evidence they continue to deny and think that its ok. The best we can do is make it public policy to ensure that the activity is not partaken of in public. Leave it to the private institutions, if they wish to engage in this harmful behaviour, then so be it. I gained this insight after breathing in the Holy Smoke, Oops I mean spirit. Time to have them Butt out of our public lives.

The clockmaker may not exist, but prayer can still help us Tick.

Now let's get one thing straight. I am not suggesting that you can pray to some unknown deity and have a limb replaced or a dead person resuscitated, but does that mean there is no benefit to prayer? I would say not. There are several ways in which prayer can directly and indirectly help. Afterall the primary reason it can be effective comes directly from a faith perspective.

Hebrews 11

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."

For many Christians and I would imagine people of other faiths, prayer is exactly this. They are convicted and truly believe that their words will be heard. And it is in this belief that the wonders can some times happen. We many times see this effect when someone takes a placebo drug. They truly believe that it will be affective and for some reason this helps alter their body chemistry which in turn leads to some types of healing. Science hasnt quite figured out why or how this happens but that shouldnt negate its potential benefit. So I bet you are asking, how can prayer be effective from person to person? Well, again this is based on their faith. If someone truly believes that their G-d will heal them, then obviously the more people that pray for them, the more comforted they become and the potential for them to access their own healing system becomes enhanced. Add to that when being prayed for directly, many times the prayor will lay their hands on the prayed for. The reason for the sometimes benefit is two fold here.

1. Touch affects our central nervous system, releasing feel good and pain relief hormones.(We see this with premature babies, the ones that are touched grow 40% faster)

2. The emotional connection to others who care for you also has a powerful effect. It definately makes you feel loved and cared for, which in turn can lead to healing.

The point of all this is, many Prayers are not only physically beneficial, they are emotionally beneficial as well. So for all you G-dless athiests ;), the next time some one says they would like to pray for you, give it a whirl(regardless if you have faith), you may enjoy the laying on of hands. And here in North America, couldn't we all use a little more touch and caring that doesnt have anything to do with sex.

Tick Tock, Tick Tock.

Heaven is an Amusement Park

How could I have been so blind? All these years discussing, thinking and subconsciously waiting for heaven to pop up, little did I know that it is located just north of Toronto, Canada on highway 400. Here we all were, waiting for the joy to begin. Black, white, red, yellow and brown. Young and old, male and female. All faiths gathered together for one thing. FUN, pure unadulterated JOY. Sure there were moments of Nausea, but fortunately the man with the "Jesus will save you tattoo" had some pepto bismol. Also, I could see the fear in the eyes of the Muslim woman covered by her niqab just before we started down the Vortex. I calmly reassured her everthing would be fine and to just be brave for a moment. The next time our eyes met she had tears of joy in them. Her thankful glance warmed my heart. Cousins sat with their nieces and nephews who were afraid, while mom and dad relived their youth on the Behemoth. Even more unbelievable was when the white supremacist had to ride with the black man because his buddies filled the seats and left him odd man out. At the end of that ride they were both hollering and laughing about how great the ride was. Seems in the midst of Joy we forget how to hate. Drop your hat, someone picks it up for you. Lose your balance and there were many to lend you an arm. Laughter and joy were everywhere. And while some cried, there were words of support from others. Sometimes in the midst of our search we fail to see what is directly in front of us.
I guess the Magic Man Jesus nailed it when he said this.

Luke 17:21 (English Standard Version)

nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."