Sweat Lodge Charlatan -- A "Self-Help Guru"??

http://www.nctimes.com/news/national/backpage/article_652ba590-a370-5c0c-be3d-b0ae0da5c8f2.html

This is disgusting on so many levels, that I don't know where to start.

This man, James Arthur Ray, took it upon himself to fraudulently use the sacred ceremonies of the sweat lodge and managed to kill three people. Why?

The Bible says that "The love of money is the root of all evil."

According to the news article, "His attorneys have said his Carlsbad-based company, James Ray International, hasn't been bringing in revenue for months."

Well, I don't know about you, but it's pretty clear to me -- it's all about the money.

His attempts at restarting his career at fleecing those people seeking spiritual enlightenment is disgusting. He built his empire on the backs of the lost, and now, after killing three of them, he's trying to get it going again?

My friends, there is nothing wrong with seeking Truth. In fact, you should seek Truth. But don't listen to charlatans who are stealing from other cultures, other peoples, from the Great Spirit, from God.

Have respect for the Great Spirit, Jehovah Jirah, God. Your God who loves you as a parent loves a child. He gave you a handbook to guide you through this life.

It's called the Bible.

Don't listen to disgusting thieves who warp the sacred ways, desecrate the sacred places, perform ceremonies without proper safeguards, without guidence from the Elders.

Take it back where you belong, back to the Word.

And for Heaven's sake, don't give this "self-help guru" your hard earned money! He's NOT looking to help you, he's looking to help himself to your checkbook.

Yes On 8 Is BUNK!!

I've been listening and watching the latest ad campaigns here in Cali, and I can tell you, that compost pile that we call an ad campaign is growing by the minute.

One of the most egregious is the Yes On 8 campaign.

Flat out lies fill the commercials that claim that children will be taught about gay marriage in schools, that churches will lose their non-profit status, that we will lose our rights as citizens.

Whoever came up with this garbage is LYING!

Do not be fooled by out of state special interests.

First, Cali has very stern rules about teaching certain topics to our kids. I have to sign a form before my son can be taught ANYTHING about family relations or sex education. It's not an opt-out system, I have to opt-in or he doesn't get that class. Period. No exceptions to the rules.

Second, non-profit status is from the Feds, so all that blather about churches is another flat out lie!

Third, regarding rights? What about the rights of our family, friends, co-workers to have a permanent relationship with their loved one? To love and cherish through sickness and in health.

Yes, I know that the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, has Words on homosexuality.

However, I also believe that God NEVER says "oops".

People are born the way they are, including their sexual orientation. Again, God never says "oops". So if people are born that way, and God knit us together in the womb, well, then, hmmmm........?

So who am I to judge and condemn people who love each other and want to make the commitment of marriage? In our country, marriage is a legal and business relationship anyway. And it's better that two people marry than to be fornicating around with every Tom, Dick and Harry (or Tammy, Donisha and Harriet).

Don't believe the overblown BS that this desperate ad campaign is throwing at you. It's FULL of LIES.

Oh, and that stuff about how four judges went against four million voters? Well, some of us did NOT vote for a ban on gay marriage. So don't include us in those fake numbers.

And by that logic, our Brothers and Sisters of Color would not be allowed to marry whites. In fact, like my gggrandmother, a free person of color, I would not be allowed to marry a white man either. Because it was once against the law for a person of color, any color, to marry a white.

I'm not all white.

My parents would not have been allowed to marry.

My grandparents, neither set, would have been allowed to marry.

My great grandparents would not have been allowed to marry (actually, they passed for white so they were able to marry).

Thank God for the judges who rule upon the constitutional rights of the citizens of this country, going against the popular prejudices of the times. Thank God for judges who look above and beyond the rantings of the haters among us, and look to the Constitution first, not last.

And hey, you know, if you insist on voting Yes on 8, voting to ban gay marriage, well it will be a wasted effort on your part. Because even if it passes, the judges will rule again, based on the Constitution, and your ranting and raving and votes will be for nothing.

Don't fall into the trap of believing everything you hear on TV. Especially if the ad is way over the top.

The ad campaign manager isn't underestimating the stupidity of the audience. Do yourself a favor and don't believe the hype.

Yes On 8 is BUNK!!

Don't believe the hype.

NEVER believe the hype!

All The Children Of Abraham

In today’s world, the peoples who follow Islam are all too often vilified as followers of a violent ritualistic faith. Yet, according to Islam, they're the children of Abraham.

Hmmm, aren't the Jews and the Christians considered the children of Abraham? What's going on here? How is it that the three great faiths could all be children of Abraham? And why are we all fighting in the Middle East?

I can only speak as a Christian, and I think we should consider: If a person believes that the Bible is the literal Word, then how to understand the current crisis between Jews, Christians and Muslims? Bluntly, a true Believer would go back to the Bible.

So let's go back to the beginnings of the Great Faiths.

OK, not all the way back, we'll start with God's covenant with Abraham. I've paraphrased and condensed the verses, you can go back to your Bible to read the full text. Don't take my word for this, go back and read it for yourself!

In the Old Testament, God made a Covenant with Abraham, saying that his seed would be numbered as the stars in the heavens. Genesis 14:5

Now, Abraham was old at this point, he and his wife Sarah had no children. If you read Genesis carefully, they weren't always the nicest people, but they believed in God. That was their strength, they were Believers.

So when God said Abraham would have descendants, they Believed in God's Word. Over time, however, Sarah decided that if she couldn't provide an heir, Abraham WOULD have an heir.

As was the custom of that era, Sarah gave her handmaid, Hagar, to Abraham as a second wife, hoping for an heir. Hagar was also a follower of God, and in the midst of the turmoil that was caused between Abraham, Sarah, and herself, an angel of God spoke to her, ordering her to submit to Sarah. By her submission, God forged a covenant with Hagar, promising her that her seed would also be too many to count. Genesis 16:9-10

Then, when Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90, God again spoke to Abraham, promising them a son. God told Abraham that his first son, Ishmael would have many children, a great nation. Yet Abraham’s heir would be Sarah’s son, Isaac. Genesis 17:16, 20-21

Thus, despite her old age, Sarah had a son, Isaac. As was the custom, the son of the first wife is the heir, even if the other wife's child was the oldest. And unfortunately, human nature wins out over compassion. Sarah was jealous of Hagar and Ishmael. In today's words, she felt that they "didn't know their place".

After Isaac was born, Sarah demanded that Abraham put Hagar and Ishmael out. God reassured him that both sons would lead great nations, so Abraham did as his wife demanded. Genesis 21:10-13

DANG, Abraham put his own child out into the wilderness because his wife demanded it? That is some messed up stuff, now isn't it? Even if God reassured me about my child's destiny, I don't know that I have enough Faith to do such a thing. But then again, I'm a mom, not an old man with a big problem.

Hagar and Ishmael were cast out into the wilderness. Hagar was in despair, believing that they would die. Yet God heard her cries and His angel again reassured her that Ishmael would father a great nation. She opened her eyes and saw a well of water. They were saved. Genesis 21:14-21

Fast forward to the present:

Many Christians now accept that the Jewish peoples still have a covenant with God. Jesus said himself that he didn't come to set aside the law.

Now, if Isaac’s descendants are the Jewish people, then who are the followers of Islam? We already know that genetically, the Jews and the Arabs of the middle east are related peoples.

If we believe that the Arabic peoples are also descended of Abraham, then are they actually the descendants of the elder brother, Ishmael?

More than that, if the Arabic peoples are the descendants of Ishmael, then they are the brothers and sisters of the Jews (and Christians). According to Bible, Hagar and Ishmael also have a covenant with God, separate from Isaac's Promise.

Therefore, since all three great faiths of the world, according to their own beliefs, are descended from Abraham, the conflict today is far worse than the secular world understands.

From the ancient days, right to the present, the descendants of Abraham are still fighting over their place in God's Kingdom.

There is NOTHING worse than a family fight -- especially a family fight over an inheritance.

It's no wonder that the Middle East is such a mess. None of us can fully comprehend the good and the evil that happen when men believe that they are the single heir of God. God didn't tell Abraham, Sarah or Hagar any such thing, God said that both of Abraham's sons would father great nations. Ouch. Yes, one is "the heir" but the other also has a Promise. Ouch again.

Honestly, Sarah shouldn't have taken matters into her own hands, she should have left it up to God. That's what happens when we decide to push things along, instead of waiting on God's Time. But at this point, those thoughts are way too late. We can't change the past, we can only look to the future.

What future do we have if we continue to battle each other?

God has a covenant with each of the great religions. Yet we deny that. We deny our own Brothers and Sisters in Faith.

There is evil out there in the world that twists everything and everyone, until it seems that what's right is wrong and what's wrong is right. So, we actually assist the evil one.

When will we learn Lord? When will we learn the lessons You try to teach us? How long must Abraham's children pay for the sins of the father?

How many more years will we fight over God?

Until we stop fighting each other and begin to grow and accept that all of God's children, all of Abraham's children, have a place in the Kingdom, the world will remain in conflict. The Middle East will remain divided, torn by wars, as it has been through history.

How much longer must we suffer?

Until we stop letting the extremists reign.

Until we listen to the Father.

Until we follow His Word.

Until we have a family reunion.

Then we will find Peace.

Links:

Science Daily - http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/05/000509003653.htm

The Scribe - http://www.dangoor.com/73page25.html

BeliefNet - http://www.beliefnet.com/story/136/story_13658_1.html