Excerpt

Perhaps once upon a time it seemed foolishly idealistic to imagine a truly just and peaceable world. But we are a generation that knows it to be an absolute imperative if our species is to have a livable future.  We’ve learned that garbage dumped off the coast of New Jersey ends up polluting the North Sea, that injustice in the Middle East brings terrorism to new York City, that economic policy in China affects Wal-Mart prices in America, that you can’t stop AIDS in Chicago without stopping it in Uganda.  The planet Earth pays no attention to national boundaries; therefore, outmoded notions of sovereignty must give way to new mechanisms for common security and global well-being.

No group has seen the imperative for new ways of thinking more clearly than those who have seen the Earth from space.  They formed the Association of Space Explorers to alert humanity to what they learned by looking back at our small, blue and green planet floating against the black backdrop of space.  One of them, the American astronaut, Russell Schweickart, wrote: “You go around it in an hour and a half. …You look down there and you can’t imagine how many borders and boundaries you cross again and again and again, and you don’t even see them…hundreds of people killing each other over some imaginary line that you’re not even aware of, that you can’t see.  And from where you see it the thing is a whole and is so beautiful; and you wish you could take one in each hand and say, ‘Look!  Look at it from this perspective, look at that!’…From where you see it, the thing is a whole and is so beautiful….”

…

Humanity’s next great step forward is to cultivate a sense of planetary patriotism, in which we understand ourselves to be citizens not of one country alone, but of Earth.

Read more about TITLE and AUTHOR HERE.

Copyright 2010 Richard Watts. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Four hundred years elapsed before the Hebrew’s stay in Egypt ended. When Pharaoh finally ordered Moses and Jacob’s family out, it is doubtful any were sad to leave. It was the last years, the time of slavery and cruel treatment that prepared them to follow God into the desert and toward the Promised Land.   Along with the motivation to go, their bonds had given them discipline. As always, God used Satan to perform his will. Harsh treatment in Egypt made the Hebrews tough. Without the rigors of slavery, how would they have survived the wilderness? Hardship will be the tool to harden us, also.   Do we know what our prophetic calendar says? Do we know what day it is? Hebrew years were based on twelve 28-day months. Twelve full-moon cycles equal one year. We are told Israel dwelled in Egypt 430 (Hebrew) years- to the day. Since days are equal in length, we are able to make a correlation between Jacob’s time in Egypt and the days of those living in North America.

The first Europeans seeking religious liberty in the New World were the Pilgrims. They arrived on North American shores November 21, 1620. Add 430 Hebrew years -to the day- from the Pilgrims’ landing; we have June 12, 2016.   After wintering off Cape Cod, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. So what does that mean? Could it mean The People of God will exodus from this continent soon? Is the temporary stay, for all but Native Americans, almost over? I am not referring to rapture but exodus, a mass exit of The People of God from North America. God cited the time Israel was in Egypt to the day. Why? Could it be the prophetic clock is ticking down another 430 years? I could be wrong but I believe this is how God will awaken the sleeping giant of global evangelism.

Wake up! It is near departure time- but where do we go? For starters, we need to leave Egypt.

ATTENTION! (Nothing grabs our attention like suffering. It turns thoughts to God and to our future in the next age. It makes us want to go forward no matter how great the cost. There is a war to fight.) Right-FACE! For-waaard MARCH!

Read more about The People of God: Finding the Future in Your Bible- 26 Keys that Unlock Prophecy and John Finkbeiner HERE.

Copyright 2010 John Finkbeiner. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

The Fullness of God John 1:15-18

As John the Baptist bore witness to the coming Jesus, he con- tinually emphasized Christ’s superiority over himself. Though Jesus came after him, He was greater, John said, because He existed before him. Notice verse 15. “He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.” John was born into this world before Jesus; he was older by several months. John’s words here are an unmistakable reference to the eternal nature of Jesus, His divinity, His existence in the beginning mentioned back in verses 1-3.

Grace and truth have come by Jesus Christ. The Bible often speaks of grace and truth, claiming Jehovah God as the source of both. God’s grace is often referred to by such words as loving- kindness, mercy and compassion, and His truth represents what is real, lasting and unchangeable, the trustworthiness of God. Exodus 34:6 says the Lord is “abundant in goodness and truth,..” and in Psalm 25:10 we read, “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies.” In verse 17 of our text, John identifies Jesus Christ as the avenue by which we are made to realize God’s grace and truth.

Many great men have improved the course of man’s history. Moses, for example, brought a system of law and correct deal- ings the like of which history had not seen. Galileo opened to us new vistas of understanding. Shakespeare used his genius with language to stir our emotions. With their music, Mozart and Schumann continue to soothe our souls and fire our spirits. But, true knowledge of God’s love and faithfulness came only through Jesus Christ.

John points to the fullness of Christ received by men and extends the scope of Christ’s fullness to all men. That includes you and me as well as all those early disciples. His fullness is without limit, sufficient to fill the needs of everyone of all time. Out of the fullness of the God who came down we all receive grace upon grace. Literally, the thought is grace exchanged for grace. All the attributes of divinity are summed up in Jesus, and, as from a divine spring of which there is no end, blessings out of the grace of God flow forth upon all Christians. There is no end to God’s loving-kindness. Each expression of God’s grace stands as a promise of more and greater blessings ready to take its place.

Is it any wonder that John concludes this thought in verse 18 with the fact that we see and know of the Father by looking at the Son? Jesus is God, the only begotten of the Father. He was with Him in the beginning and, though in His bosom, He came down to reveal the fullness of God’s grace and truth among men. Dear friend, would you like to know God? If so, learn of Jesus. Only in Him can you come to know God.

Just a Voice John 1:19-23

John 1:19 begins a discussion in which John the Baptist gives testimony of himself and the Christ and how Christ was greater than he.

John was a powerful preacher. He told it like it was, often in scathing terms. Such preaching did not go unnoticed. It couldn’t. National fame, or should we say notoriety, was hard on the heels of his preaching. For most of us this would have been a heady experience, a monumental ego trip. When public attention comes, it is easy to get caught up in it and bask in the glow of be- ing widely known and acclaimed. Some may even lose sight of their true mission as they bathe in the glory of self-importance. John kept himself and what he did in proper perspective. When the Jews in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites out into the coun- tryside to find John and to learn more of this preacher who caused such a stir, John did not let it go to his head. He was careful that they understood he was no more than he really was. He took no undue glory. “I am not the Christ,” he said. “What then? Are you Elijah? Or are you the Prophet?” perhaps referring to the prophet that Moses had said would come (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). “No,” John said. None of these.

How easy for John to have taken credit for himself. Can you hear him saying, “I am a lot like Elijah, aren’t I?” And wasn’t that so? Wasn’t he a lot like a modern day Elijah? “I am not Elijah,” he might have said, “but I have a similar mission.” John didn’t do even that. He answered simply, humbly and truthfully. Who I am is not important. “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness. Make straight the way of the Lord.” My reason for being is to tell people to prepare for the coming of the Lord.

Surely there are lessons for us in John’s answer. First, though John the Baptist fulfilled his mission wonderfully, we dare not, in the religious fervor of our day, make more of him than he really was, than he made of himself. Just a voice crying, “Make straight the way of the Lord.”

Further, let us not miss the lesson that we ought not to make ourselves more important than we really are. The apostle Paul put it this way in Romans 12:3, “For I say… to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think;…” This is certainly a most important lesson for any area of our lives, but it is especially needed as we tell others the gos- pel story and work to bring others to the Savior. Let us not think of ourselves more than we are – a voice, simply a voice in the world’s wilderness of sin helping others prepare for the Savior.

Copyright 2010 Charlie Brackett. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

GOD’S SECRETS REVEALED

Divine Mysteries and Parables Explained/A Message of Hope for a Planet in Peril

(Featuring a Real Life Story of the Fall of Atlantis, and How the United States is Heading Down the Same Path.

Are you concerned there’s no way out for our troubled world? Take heart! God is sharing His highest truths with those who are seeking. It’s a plan for happiness the likes that dreams are made of; the plan He’s had all along for us! This is not a doomsday scare, but a message of hope for an “end unto a new beginning.” Learn how you can help make it happen!

The following items are excerpts from the book including the Prologue and Introduction taken from this newly released book. To order your copy of this 270 page, 6X9 trade paper back, please see far bottom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

P R O L O G U E

Let it be known,

In the beginning, there was love, the purest that’s ever existed, on a small planet in a far corner of the universe. I, whose name is “Creator” came forth from this love with a mind so vast and intelligent all I can think of is beauty and creating.

The first order of business was to expand the heavens, my homeland. No sooner would the thought emerge and another celestial body manifested. And setting it upon nothing, it stayed according to my word. Thinking it was very lovely and good, I continued creating more beautiful large orbs; suns, moons, planets and stars. I bid them to move about to bring me glory and be perfect and they did. But again and again, I wanted to do something different.

From these urges, inclined by my boundless love, was issued eight archangels that I called my sons. I wanted to be Father to many children so they could share my love. Night and day we were together, bonded by the joy of eternal wonder. But there was something missing. We had each other but we were still “alone.”
In my own likeness, inclined by my boundless love, was issued forth a companion, one in my own image, to cleave only onto me for eternity. She is my bride, split from my soul, created to compliment me in every way. This made me very happy.

My sons looked upon my joy and wanted to share it so I let them. In time was issued forth soul mates for them as well, one for each in their own image. I saw it was good and my joy was multiplied but still not completed. I wanted a son from my own flesh and blood.

In time, inclined by my boundless love, we gave birth to a son, my perfect eternal companion and I. He was made in our own image in every way, and I thought this was very, very good. Later, my mate and I were delivered also of a daughter cast from the soul and meant from before the time of conception, betrothal only to our new son. My other sons and their wives saw this and even though they were issued not from my physical flesh also as my newborns, they still wanted to share my joy; all, that is, save one… To my utter dismay and sadness, my eldest archangel, the son I created before all the others, started shedding his happy glow.

Meanwhile, feeling overjoyed with our joined completeness, my begotten son and I wanted to share our boundless love with others. Already we had made every conceivable life form in the plant and animal kingdom, but something was missing. Besides, he and I wanted to do something different. So we said, “Let us make man in our own image,” and we did.

And as man came onto the scene it was very good but my begotten son and I, knowing such joy of love and togetherness with our own eternal companions, thought it best that man should not be alone either, so we made woman to be joined with them; one for each in their own image.

Surveying my handiwork throughout the limitless boundaries of a universe that will never match my boundless love, I then gave this command to those made in my image, “Be fruitful and multiply.” Subdue and fill all of these worlds I have provided, each one according to the qualities and characteristics bestowed you, unique yet apart from one another. You will be different, yet the same, male and female, soul-mated forever, with a portion of my mind and goodness. Unlike the lesser beasts who know nothing else but to love me, you shall receive another special gift that shall never diminish. It is free will. I choose whatever pleases me and I choose that man and woman, as my mighty sons of heaven, freely choose to love me.

My purpose was now complete, my being satisfied. As long as I could create, I would find happiness. I tried to put aside that part of me that knows everything to soften the blow that the coming fall would bring to my heart. And it was coming. My eldest son, my brightest child was going to break my heart and short of destroying him, I couldn’t stop it. Free will is a gift I refuse to turn away from.

Presently, there are trillions of angels plus sons and daughters I’ve made, all living the dream of an eternal, pain free life I had planned all along for them in the countless planets near my homeland heaven. While bearing my physical and spiritual being and essence, they are all as colors of the endless rainbows in my brain. I keep coming up with different ones! But I like to do things different. Like my love, this too, never changes. Creation and love are what I am made of.

Tragedy took place here in heaven that wrought feelings even I wasn’t aware of till I felt them myself. That’s how I was able to fashion you, my child. I first felt the anguish of heartache, pain and suffering long before you did. But I felt the joy of sheer ecstasy first too, such as when I created the galaxies, the wonderful lower living things, my angelic sons and begotten ones, and then each and every one of you.

The untold story of events that disrupted peace and happiness in the universe and how it affects everyone is long and detailed. Although everything is recorded in heaven, much information has been withheld from my children on earth till a time I felt you could better understand. You’ve shared my image from the beginning. Now, it pleases me that you also share my knowledge of high truths. I have waited a long time to do this. I hope you are ready.

To prepare for this special time in history, I relayed to one of my prophets of old a message regarding such deep matters in the book of Deuteronomy 29:29. Through him I said, “There are secrets the Lord your God has not revealed.”

That was a long time ago. Now is the time to reveal them.

It’s time you hear the truth, not parables, behind my mysteries kept hidden on purpose for ages. I always knew this time was coming.

Be open. My grace is with you.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The preceding is how Genesis, the first book of the Bible might read if God had decided to include in scripture His highest truths, secrets and mysteries of creation from the very beginning.

Over the ages, it has been our Creator’s wisdom and choice that He work and even speak through ordinary people thus His documented Word as we know it.

You are about to embark on the greatest journey ever.
You are about to enter God’s Secrets Revealed.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I N T R O D U C T I O N

Messenger from Another World

I am a lucky girl. You could say I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth if we had such an expression here like they do on earth for I will never be alone. Not only is God always present, I also have another very special friend. He was born with me! We even look alike, same eye color and hair. I guess we were a lot of trouble at first. Poor mother and father; I mean, there was two of us! Even though we have many pairs of older brothers and sisters, our parents still had to get used to us, their newest set of twins.

All day long we play, holding hands, riding unicorns and watching the three suns of our planet rise and set. Shadd teases me constantly and makes me giggle because of the things he says. I can even read his mind and I blush because it’s hard to believe that someday, it’ll be our turn to be united. He and I have been to lots of weddings, especially for our own siblings. It’s the closest I’ve been to archangels and one time, I got to touch the Lord Jesus for real! He is more beautiful than anything I’ve ever seen and Shadd is second to that. God meant it to be that way.

You see, it’s different here than on earth. Because we are shared of souls, Shadd and I belong with each other. We always have a playmate. We’re never bored. There’s always something fun to do. About the only time we ever fight is when he wants to go to the freezing cold planet because he likes to ski. Burrr! He calls me a sissy and the next thing you know, he dares me and I follow; because I love a challenge. Just because he’s my soul mate doesn’t mean he’s better than me!

One time, while gliding along the silvery slopes of Adromia, he made me laugh and then, we collided! Only, I like running into Shadd. His skin and body feel very much like mine. But that’s as far as it gets, that is to say, until we’re ready. Where we live, everybody knows and obeys God’s laws. In fact, no one even wishes to question them. Besides, there’s no such thing as time here. Shadd and I know we’ll be together forever, not like on earth where everyone has to search for their true love, so we’re not in a hurry. We have eternity. What more could we want?

That was a long time ago. Shadd and I now have many sets of soul- mated children of our own. There have since been some very serious problems in our once peaceful universe. Consequently, God asked Shadd and me to go to earth on assignment again. It’s because He also loves His children there very much and felt my soul mate and I could serve as qualified teachers. We understand God’s special love for those on earth and how dearly He wants them to have the same kind of life His children in the other worlds enjoy. It’s His plan.

When we agreed to lend our skills, we learned there were also many others from around our neighborhood, including other galaxies that would make the trip at different times and to different places, in order to help. As usual, we left the details up to our Heavenly Father. Like always, He would lead us.

Well, here I am according to my word and it’s not as easy as I thought when I was back home even though I’ve been missioned to earth several times before. But I am still a lucky girl for the message I bear is wonderful.

All I want to do is tell every one of all ages, cultures, languages and races, that no matter your pain, trials and tribulations, our Creator will walk with you and lead you into the knowledge and reality of paradise, a place that exists even now as I speak. It’s home to all and God’s greatest wish is that everyone be reunited to that perfect place of happiness with Him. There, families and loved ones await us! There is no death or tears and soul mates like the pair I’ve described, joyfully flourish with their extended families in unexplainable beauty that never ends.

Imagine the earth itself renewed, wondrous as a fairy tale, patterned after those of the universe, for this is exactly what God will do.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

God’s Secrets Revealed
(Additional Details)

“In the beginning, God made the heavens. Earth didn’t come along till much later…

“In the beginning, everything was terrific. No one ever got tired or sick. No one was lonesome or sad. There was no such thing as crime, abuse of power or corruption; no such thing as pain.

“In the beginning, people didn’t ask questions like, Where did I come from or where am I going? (afterlife) because there was no such thing as death! The stars and planets were still objects of wonder to them because that’s where their friends and neighbors live.

“In the beginning, all babies were soul-mated from birth, male and female, paired like twins. As they grew, they didn’t have to search for their true love because they came into life holding hands with that person. Likewise, children didn’t have to grow up too fast. In fact, God had given them hundreds of years to reach maturity and adulthood. They still went to school, but when you live forever there’s a lot to learn!

“In the beginning, everybody saw and communicated with celestial beings such as angels. People could actually see God and the Lord Jesus! Additionally, mind projection, telepathy and highly advanced space travel were all a part of everyday living. With distances that defy comprehension, God ingeniously devised miraculous methods for everyone living in galaxies trillions of light years apart to not only be able to visit one another at a moments notice, but to get to church on time, of course!

“In the beginning, things were just as God planned for all humanity; a perfect existence absent of suffering. No one had to work too hard or go hungry. Moreover, no one is richer or poorer because there’s no such thing as money! All had everything they needed to be happy and healthy.

And for the longest time, no one even knew what tears were or the sound of crying. But then, something very serious happened that changed everything; everything, that is, except the love of God, which never changes no matter what. Afterward, inclined by His boundless love and mercy, earth was fashioned.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The preceding is how Genesis, the first book of the Bible might read if God had decided to include His highest mysteries, secrets and truths of creation into scripture from the very beginning.

Over the ages, it has been our Creator’s wisdom and choice that He work and even speak through ordinary people, thus His documented Word as we know it.

Deuteronomy 29:29 says, “There are secrets the Lord your God has not revealed.”

That was a long time ago. Now is the time to reveal them.

The untold story of events that disrupted peace in the universe and what this means for you personally is long and detailed. God has been saving this high knowledge for just the right time in history when He felt people would be more apt to listen, understand and believe.
If you’re a truth seeker, your search is over.

This is His

new yet timeless message in the twenty-first century.

About the Author
(Excerpts from the Book)

Unworthy as I am, I chose, before I was born, to be a messenger through which our Creator could present explanations to some of His divine secrets and mysteries that have been hidden on purpose for ages.
~*~*~*~
In the spring of 1989, I learned it was time for me to actively begin my mission for this particular lifetime. I couldn’t see it coming. If I had, I might’ve made a run for it. No use running from the Lord. He remembers the promises you made before you were born even if you don’t! And He will see to it that you live up to them! But this is also what we wanted as well. God will not force us to obey Him. Soon after, I discovered that I, Cynthia Anne Dahm, was named Shannon during my first lifetime on earth as a teacher of God’s laws in the temples of Atlantis, dating approximately 40,000 years B.C.
~*~*~*~
For God’s Secrets Revealed, it was a process of rediscovering ancient familiar knowledge through various life-experiences, inwardly opening my searching heart in order to receive again on the earth plane, downloaded information from the heavenly computer by means of the Holy Spirit to the three stages of mental processing: superconscious, subconscious, and finally, the conscious mind; that part of my brain which allows me to put into words the material given. Having taken years to get to this point, I don’t block this information because I already “knew” it.

Read more about GOD’S SECRETS REVEALED and Cynthia Anne Dahm HERE.

Copyright 2010 Cynthia Anne Dahm. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Preface
One of the things that I was not aware of as a new believer in Christ was that there exists a “culture of silence” in the church. It has been my experience that things that happen in the everyday lives of people are not being discussed honestly and openly among “church” folk so that healing and deliverance can take place. Many times, those things are shrouded in a veil of silence.
There are people in churches all over the world who are hurting and going through trials, tests, painful experiences, crises, etc., but you would never know it because we hide behind a curtain called phoniness that offers a protective shield from those things which are painful. We, as Christians, are as adept as anyone when it comes to maintaining the phoniness facade. Week after week, we arrive at the local church dressed in our “Sunday best” accompanied by a big smile. When asked how we are doing, the response sounds something like, “Oh everything is going well. Praise the Lord!” I understand the power of positive confession or calling those things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17), but I also understand that sometimes it becomes necessary to share what’s going on on the inside with others. Sometimes, you just need to be “real.” I am not advocating sharing your situation or circumstance with anyone who will listen, but rather share it with a spiritually mature, trustworthy Christian who can offer you effective prayer, godly wisdom, and godly counsel.
Do you ever feel like you are the only person going through a particular test or trial? Did you ever wonder if there were any others out there who could identify with your situation? I have often felt this way, and it was not until I began to write this book, and allowed others to read it, that I came upon individuals who had had the same or similar experiences. The irony is that we were having some of the same issues; yet, we had never discussed them with one another. We just kept them under lock and key, tucked safely away, inside the phoniness box.
In hindsight, I have to admit that I had assimilated into the “culture of silence” in the church rather covertly. I can’t even pinpoint when it happened, but I found myself a part of a socially acceptable more, within the church, that I didn’t even know existed. I found myself imitating what others were doing, or should I say “not doing?”
I began to forget that each week I was coming into contact, in the church, with “real people” who had “real problems” that required “real solutions,” and I was one of them. I entertained the idea that things were going well for others due to their outward appearance and their response to my inquiry about their welfare. Can you say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?” I was satisfied with this mindset. Can I be real with you and talk about my issue for a minute?
My assignment, in this endeavor, is to share my real-life, everyday experiences with others. Some will identify with the same and/or similar situations while others will locate themselves immediately and unequivocally. My hope is that my transparency in breaking the “culture of silence” will help someone else get delivered. It’s just that simple. Throughout the writing of this work, I have tried to write in love under the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
With this goal in mind, I will have completed my assignment as unto the Lord, and I am satisfied.
Meditations of the Heart, Life Lessons for Renewing the Mind: Volume 1 has been written as an outgrowth of various life experiences. A scripture that has sustained, supported, rebuked, corrected, renewed, changed, inspired, delivered, and/or strengthened my walk with God supports each experience. My prayer for you is that you will allow the Spirit of the living God to minister to your heart
as you read. As a result, I believe your mind will be changed and/or renewed about the matter unswervingly.

Introduction

Your thinking determines your decisions.
Your decisions determine your actions.
Your actions determine your habits.
Your habits determine your character.
Your character determines your destiny.
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind,
T. Harv Eker, 2005

Divine destiny is the reason that you and I are here. God has a divine destiny for each of us to fulfill. It is a destiny that has been created by design. If you read the statements above again, you will discover that your thinking starts the process of reaching that destiny. Only when you and I, as believers, meditate day in and day out upon the Word of God can we begin the process of renewing the mind or changing the way we think. By becoming a Christian, you and I have
made a quality decision to become a new creation “in Christ.” The old previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away. Behold, the fresh and the new have come (2 Corinthians 5:17)! The “newness” the Bible refers to includes the mind, but the process is neither something that takes place by osmosis, nor does it take place overnight. In other words, renewing the mind is an ongoing process that requires time, work, and diligence.
There was a time when each of us was “in the world,” and we
thought and acted like the world. As members of the Body of Christ, we must now accept the responsibility for aligning our thinking and thought processes with the Word of God if we are to ever have and enjoy the life Jesus died to give us. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:2:
Do not be conformed to this world (this age),
[fashioned after and adapted to its external,
superficial customs], but be transformed
(changed) by the (entire) renewal of your mind
[by its new ideals and its new attitude], so
that you may prove [for yourselves] what is
the good and acceptable will of God, even the
thing which is good and acceptable and
perfect [in His sight for you].

The alignment of our thinking and thought processes with the Word of God must penetrate the psyche to the point of total and complete saturation. In time, new thought processes will begin to take over our minds at both the conscious and subconscious levels. Worldly or carnal responses to situations and circumstances, along with old decision making habits, will begin to be replaced by godly thoughts and godly habits. These new thought patterns and habits will influence and determine our character, which then determines our destiny. Divine destiny is why we are here. Are you starting to get the picture?

Read more about MEDITATIONS OF THE HEART: Life Lessons for Renewing the Mind – Volume 1 and Yvonne Anderson HERE.

Copyright 2010 Yvonne Anderson. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Thou shalt not kill. Is that what the Bible really says? Moses gave God’s Law to the people in Exodus 20:13 which says”You must not murder” (TLB). The Amplified Bible says “You shall not commit murder” and the King James Versions says, “Thou shalt not kill”. The word kill comes from the Hebrew word RATSACH or RASAH, which means: to put to death, kill, or murder. I understand this word to show intent. Even Webster’s dictionary defines murder as: willful, unlawful, killing. So, is a shooting in the line of duty or during war considered murder? In your heart, do you consider it willful and unlawful? Let’s examine God’s word together and see what the Bible really says!

Read more about Blessed are the Peacemakers and Maria Sayle-Terry HERE.

Copyright 2010 Maria Sayle-Terry. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Introduction

It was in 1978, following my Baptism in the Holy Spirit, that I began keeping a journal. At the time, I wrote merely to record my precious moments with the Lord. In the interim, by way of Jesus and His Holy Spirit, I was graced to perceive an opening into the Divine Realm of God Our Father. I became aware of matters and knowledge I had previously been unaware of possessing.

At that time, there was no thought, plot or plan to write a book. However, in the ensuing years, when I reflected upon the interrelatedness and the outcome of each situation I had been led into, it became clear that the Lord did have a plan for just such a project. I simply responded and moved on in the story I shall share with you.

My account will also include the joys, burdens and hardships I experienced throughout these years. It is necessary that I reveal it all to you, as I want to give honor and glory to God, not only for bringing me through those various phases, but also for opening doors for me, thus enabling me to complete my mission.

It took me years to fully understand the first prophetic word I heard in 1978: “When they are threatened with the loss of all this, only then will they turn to Me.” Initially, in that time and place, I believed God’s word was directed solely to my Church, and so I made efforts to take that message to Pope John Paul II.

Following a near-fatal car accident in 1980, I was made aware that the above word was also meant for the whole of humanity, all of God’s Children, or Planet Earth would once again meet with devastation and annihilation. However, as you shall read, God our Father and Creator offers Hope for Humanity.

PART ONE

Chapter 1
Hunger for God

In the fall of 1977, I had reached a time of crisis in my life. After twenty-eight years of marriage one would suspect my restlessness to be rooted in boredom, or even a state of mid-life doldrums. Yet such was not the case; I was a healthy, very active housewife and mother who found enjoyment in being with her husband and family. I delighted in cooking, golfing and dancing with my handsome husband, and all this activity had also been interspersed with much involvement in my church.

On the surface my life appeared to be full, but inside I was troubled, or perhaps “restless” is a better word to describe my state. In spite of what I thought of as my very deep faith, I even began questioning the very purpose of existence, wondering if there was more to life than I was experiencing. The deep longing within me convinced me that something was missing in my life.

>From time to time, I searched for the source or sources that were causing my uneasiness. I concluded that the unrest could not be caused by any problems in my marriage. Though I had been only nineteen when Bruce and I got married, we still shared a deep love for one another even after all these years. I also knew that the void within me was not due to our financial status; we were certainly not wealthy, but we were comfortable. Bruce had built up his own accounting business, and provided well enough for our family. Yes, in that area I was satisfied, but then again even in my earliest years I was never driven to desire things beyond my family’s means. Certainly when I was growing up, our family didn’t have a lot, but there was always love.

Perhaps that was how I came to learn that material things were less important.

Today Enon, Pennsylvania, the town where I was born, bears almost no resemblance to what it was like at the time of my birth. The Appalachian mountains are unchanged, but nearly everything else in the surrounding area is totally transformed. In the past there were streams and fields where my siblings and friends and I ran and played, and we delighted in our carefree existence. We would use rocks to mark out the rooms of make-believe houses in the fields and furnish them with empty boxes and wooden crates.

In those days, coal mining was the principal industry, but the air was not congested with smoke and fumes as one would expect. Instead it was crisp and clear, because the mines were located a safe distance from the town. Our father had built our two-story family house on Adler Street himself. The dirt road remained unpaved for many years, and echoed with laughter every winter as our sleds raced through the snow.

Our paternal grandparents lived on the lower end of the street, and each morning the crow of their rooster awakened the entire neighborhood. I cherish a treasury of tender memories of them to this day. Bobba, as we of Slavonic descent called our grandmother, always wore a long dress and apron, with a babushka or scarf tied around her head. Each Christmas Eve, her entire family gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ. The three rooms on the first floor of her home were filled with tables and chairs to accommodate her children and grandchildren. Growing up, I liked to sit in the kitchen near the coal stove, which served not only to cook the delicious traditional foods but also lent a sense of coziness and well being which I am still able to draw forth from the recesses of my mind.

As we gathered around the tables every year to pray and then to eat, Bobba never failed to remind us of the reason for our coming together. She would point to the crib in the center of each table, where Baby Jesus lay resting upon a bed of straw. We children, assailed by those wonderful aromas, could barely wait to dig in, and yet we listened as she spoke. Those marvelous memories, filled with love and warmth, are imprinted upon my consciousness forever.

The town of Enon also had its dangers. We children often ventured into the nearby hills where there were some abandoned strip mines. The gaping holes which were left behind, filled with sulfurous water, were a great hazard. One balmy summer day when I was eight, my four-year-old brother Aaron tagged along with me and some of my friends as we trekked through the area near the abandoned mines. I must have lost sight of him for only a minute, but it was enough time for him to wander off toward one of those hazardous pits. By the time I caught up with him, he was nearing the edge of the deep sulfurous water. With my heart in my mouth I hurried down the treacherous slope until I reached him, took hold of his hand in the nick of time, and then began the climb upward again, reaching out to those waiting to help us. It’s strange how some memories are imprinted upon our consciousness.

Aaron and I were the two youngest in a family of seven, but two of our siblings were unknown to us, except for the following sad stories, so indicative of the time. The firstborn, a boy named Cyril, died at the age of two in the arms of our gentle father after the doctor performed an emergency tracheotomy on him as he lay on our kitchen table.

Another story I am always proud to share involves our sister Gertrude. During the Spanish flu epidemic following the First World War, my mother contracted the flu late in her seventh month of pregnancy. She was told her death was imminent unless she allowed the doctors to abort her baby. Her response was adamant.

“Well then, I’ll die, because I will not let you take my baby.”

Gertrude was born and lived long enough to be baptized and taken home from the hospital, where she was kept alive for a very short time in a box surrounded by heated bricks.

I think now you have a small idea of the character and goodness of our parents.

I have no at-home memories of our sister Maryann, as she married at an early age, even before Aaron was born. Shortly after her marriage she and her husband moved to New Jersey. Maryann had a gift of hospitality, and when anyone entered her home they were welcomed by her beautiful smile.

Our sister Mary Lucille took advantage of Maryann’s hospitality when she finished high school. Though she graduated with honors and greatly desired to attend college, she was unable to do so, as our parents could not afford it. This was during the Second World War, and so Mary Lucille decided to seek employment in the city, where good job opportunities were available. And of course Maryann and her husband Joe graciously opened their door to her.

There are many at-home memories of my brother Mark, who was four years older than me. He loved to fish and hunt with our dad. Often he and I were assigned the chore of washing the kitchen floor. He would scrub, then rinse out the rag and hand it to me to dry and shine the floor with it. More often than not, this ended in a free-for-all. Rather than simply wringing the cloth dry and then handing it to me, Mark would call out and then toss it, sopping wet, in my face. Today, instead of bursting into tears and lunging at him, I cherish the memory, because Mark is no longer with us.

Mark had a brilliant mind and, when he was old enough, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and joined the Seabees, where he became a member of a construction battalion. Upon his discharge from the Service, he entered college and became a successful engineer.

Then there were just two of us at home on Adler Street, Aaron and me.

When I reflect upon the year that I was born, 1929, the start of the Great Depression, and recall hearing so may stories from others about those difficult times, I realize I was graced even then in that I didn’t know enough to be negatively affected by our everyday hardships.

For example, we had no indoor plumbing, and yet thought nothing of going to the outhouse in any and all types of weather or, for that matter, of taking a bath in the tin tub after heating the water on the stove. It never occurred to me to be unhappy when my mother made some of my dresses from another relative’s hand-me-down clothes; instead I was pleased and proud that she had made them for me.

Whenever we sat down to dinner, even though our dad came home exhausted from working in the mines, he always waited until everyone else was served before he took his portion. In spite of our poverty, there was always enough food, as Mom was a good and resourceful cook. Every Wednesday the house smelled wonderful; that was the day she baked bread, and sometime even fried some of the dough, covering it with sugar for a special treat. Even now, just thinking about the taste makes my mouth water.

Growing up in Enon, we children had the opportunity to earn some extra money in the summertime by picking blueberries. It was necessary to get up at five in the morning and walk up into the mountains with pails attached to our belts. In later years Mom would make us laugh by telling stories of how each of her children reacted to this chore.

“Mary Lucille,” she would say, “Made every excuse, even feigned illness, so she wouldn’t have to go out and pick berries.”

Mark, on the other hand, was a good worker, and he always came home with his pail filled. As for me, I was filled with pride to hear Bobba say, “Look what a good girl Elenka is! She not only comes home with her pails filled, but then she starts cleaning the house for her mother.”

Even at an early age I made every effort to do my part so as to please those around me.

Aaron and I, as the youngest and only four years apart in age, were very close. However, as with all siblings, we had our differences, especially when it came to our choice of radio programs. In those days there was no television in our house, and only one radio. Every Saturday afternoon, the rest of us grew annoyed with Aaron as we were literally forced to listen to the opera being broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Until today, I wonder how he found these broadcasts, and where he developed this passion for opera. Living in a small mining town, he had never been exposed to that beauty; it simply was not a part of our culture.

Yet Aaron loved that music so much that when he was in the eighth grade he walked all the way to the next town(a good ten-mile hike)to hear Patrice Munsel, a noted opera star, perform. Today, in these quite different times, we realize he converted many of us. My husband and I appreciate and love the music; time and again we have attended the opera with him.

Aaron also had a brilliant mind; he excelled in high school and became a member of the National Honor Society. As for picking blueberries? He did not do much of that, perhaps because once he was old enough our mother began working in the sewing factory and money was a bit more available. In fact our parents were able to pay Aaron’s tuition at a nearby high school which was considered to be academically superior to the one in our borough.

Our high school years were quite different from those of teenagers today. Our parents were quite strict, and we had a 9:00 p.m. curfew. In my junior year of high school in 1946, I was finally allowed to attend the dances which were held in a hall about six blocks from our house. Consequently, the course of my life was set in April of that year when I caught sight of a young man entering the hall. I could not help staring at him because I thought he was the best looking man I had ever seen.

Shortly thereafter, even though I thought I looked very young in my bobby sox and broomstick skirt(the fashion of the day)I was thrilled when this handsome man asked me to dance. As we slowly circled the hall, I learned that his name was Bruce and he had just been discharged from the Army. I was awestruck when he told me he had fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

When the dance was over he asked to take me home, but at first I politely refused, knowing my mother would not approve of my getting into his car. Once I explained my dilemma, Bruce offered to walk me home. That was the beginning of a romance that has lasted until today.

We often share a laugh with our children when we tell them about the first time I was finally allowed to ride home with him following the dance. We sat together, parked in front of my house, steam gathering on the car windows as we kissed. My mother must have spotted us as soon as she looked out the front window, because in an instant the door flew open and she came storming down the walk in her flannel nightgown. Just as quickly she yanked the car door open, reached inside and, holding me by the ear, pulled me out of the car.

Despite that bad beginning, however, as the weeks passed my mother apparently became persuaded that Bruce was an honorable young man and I really liked him, and so I was able to invite him into the house. Of course, once my parents met him they allowed me to date. Later that summer both sets of parents met as well, and the meeting resulted in a fine and lasting friendship.

In the Fall of that year, Bruce entered college and I began my senior year of high school. I was thrilled to bring him to my prom, and even more excited to attend a dance with him at the University of Scranton. We were engaged in 1948, and were so eager to be together all the time that we were married in 1949, just a year before he graduated from the university to begin his career in accounting.

Our first apartment was near Bru’s parents’ house, and I loved visiting with his mom and learning how to prepare his favorite foods. Bru was an only child, and so early on he and I planned to have a child. In the following year we were heartbroken when I miscarried, and then learned that because of a problem with my female organs it was unlikely I could ever become pregnant again. When faced with that possibility, I was told that perhaps surgery could alleviate the condition. In consequence, in the hope of conceiving a child, we decided to go forward with the operation.

Following surgery, as the months passed, I prayed in the fashion I always had, just as I believed all Catholics did, I made novenas to St. Ann and the Blessed Mother. Because in those times before Vatican Council II, we as Catholics did not read the Bible, our knowledge of Jesus, except for His birth and His death on the Cross, was limited. As a result, instead of seeing St. Ann and Blessed Mary as intercessors, we prayed directly to them.

This is a very important point that I wish to make. In fear of mortal sin, no one in our family was ever allowed to miss Mass, but beyond that all of our prayers were directed to the Mother of Jesus. In fact, during the month of May, which was dedicated to her, we erected altars in our homes, prayed the rosary and said special Novena prayers before them. Little did I realize at that time how much my understanding would change years later.

Bruce and I were filled with joy when our son David was born in October of 1951. He was followed two years later by our second son, Jonathan and, five years afterwards, by our daughter Ria.

In that span of time conditions in Enon and the surrounding towns and cities changed tremendously. Numerous industries set up factories in the area, offering employment opportunities to many. Even on Adler Street, much to everyone’s glee, outhouses became obsolete. I recall how pleased and special I felt when our dad built a small powder room in our basement and there was no longer any need to venture outdoors. The former dirt road was paved, and soon cars raced up and down its length. I often wonder what Bobba would have thought if she had lived to see that transformation.

Bru worked hard setting up his own accounting practice, and we were able to build a beautiful, two-story colonial house right on the border between Enon and the next town. We were a happy family, and whenever we were able we took wonderful trips with the children. One of our first was to bring the three of them to the place in Canada where Bru and I had spent our honeymoon. At the time, David was ten, Jonathan eight and Ria was three. Each evening at dinner, the boys looked so proper in their Eton suits and bow ties while Ria looked beautiful in her starched organdy dress.

Another time we took a trip to Radio City in New York, followed by dinner at the then famous Mama Leone’s restaurant. One memory never fails to make me smile. We had just finished eating a sumptuous meal and the boys, who were unfamiliar with finger bowls, watched as the waiter set the finger bowls on the table. Simultaneously they bellowed out loudly enough to be heard throughout the entire restaurant, “No, no, we don’t want any! We just can’t eat any more soup.”

Even at that age, though, Jonathan always attempted to be prim and proper. Yet another time when we were out to dinner and it was his turn to give the waiter his order, he very seriously said, “I would like some breastless bone of chicken, thank you.”

The waiter managed to conceal his laughter, but Bruce and I had a hard time meeting each other’s eyes.

Growing up, the boys were very different from each other in many respects, but both were musically talented; David played the piano and Jonathan the violin. Often at socials and family gatherings they were called upon to entertain, and we were quite proud of them.

All three of our children attended the parochial school in a nearby town. It was there that we met a priest who is still one of our best friends today. Father Vinnie, as we continue to call him even though he is now a monsignor, is an important part of our lives. When the children were in the lower grades, he administered the Sacraments to them. He also married David and his wife Jan, as well as Ria and her husband Bobby. He would prove to be my guide and mentor through what was about to become the new focus of my life.

Years later, during that time of crisis in my life in 1977, as I reflected upon the lives of our three children and what wonderful young adults they had grown into, I decided they could not be at the heart of my unrest. Our daughter Ria was attending college and our twenty-six- and twenty-four-year-old sons were already making their way in the world.

Having gone through my mental checklist and found nothing outside myself that was causing my unrest, I determined that the restlessness was necessarily rooted in my very core. I began to wonder, could this sense of deprivation have something to do with my relationship with God?

But how could that be? I wondered. How could such a thought even enter my mind? In my smugness, I attempted to point out to myself that this just could not be the cause of my restlessness. Why, I went to church every Sunday and even on Holy Days. I said the rosary and, before receiving Holy Communion, I did go to confession. In addition, I always participated in all of the activities at our church, serving at the dinners held as fundraisers, sometimes working at bingo. In fact, I could not, would not allow myself to believe that my relationship with God could be the cause of my unrest. Yet as the months passed, in some of my quiet moments, it seemed I heard my inner self accusing me.

But Ellen, I heard myself say, Do you have a close relationship with God? Do you really know Him?

I was taken aback by that question and, in seeking an answer, I realized that, yes, I was a good Roman Catholic, I did obey the laws of the Church, but as for knowing God in a close personal way, I had never given that any thought. I could truthfully say I did not have that type of personal relationship with God, and it seemed that just going to church was not the solution. Maybe, I decided, that was the reason I had begun church hopping.

Then again, maybe Vatican II had had something to do with that skipping around. Twelve years had passed since the Council had ended, and changes ordained in its deliberations were being implemented in the Church, changes which I had welcomed and was excited about, and I had wanted to attend Mass where those changes were in place.

For example, the Mass had become our prime form of worship and we the people, the Church, were allowed to participate, as the words were no longer spoken in Latin but in our own language, the vernacular of the people. It was also incredibly exciting the first time I took the Body and Blood of Christ into my own hands at the Eucharist. Then, too, at Mass I experienced a sense of community in exchanging the sign of peace with the people around me.

My reflection pointed out to me that the Mass was not what I had been searching for, because I already had it. Instead, I came to realize that the “something more” I was looking for in my life must be the Someone who is my God. I wanted to get to know Him in a personal way.

That stream of thought brought to mind our very good friend Father Vinnie, who was also my spiritual advisor. If he were here, I mused, instead of in Rome where he was pursuing his doctorate in theology, I knew he could have helped me; he would have pointed me in the right direction. It was he, after all, who had first introduced Bruce and me to the ways opened to all at the Vatican Council. I reminisced about how proud I had been when Father selected Bruce to be one of the first lectors in our parish. He was among the first lay persons able to stand in our sanctuary and read the scripture passages designated for that Sunday’s Mass. What an exciting time to live in!

Over the years we had developed a close relationship with Father Vinnie; it was he who had administered the Sacrament of the Eucharist to Ria at her first Holy Communion, and he was also present when the bishop confirmed our sons Jonathan and David. Yes, I was sure if he had been there at this time of my soul-searching, he could have helped me to understand and quiet my inner restlessness.

My thoughts about the return of our priest friend to Rome evoked a flood of memories, one of which was when Father Vinnie helped coordinate a wonderful trip to Italy for our family in 1967. Through his efforts and those of an acquaintance he had made during his seminary days at the North American College in the Vatican, we had been afforded a very special time in the audience hall in Castel Gandolfo, the summer residence of the Pope.

1967: Italy

Arrangements were made for us to hire a driver, Remo Velli, who knew the region well and who had been of service to many in the Vatican. Remo proved to be compassionate as well as competent. When our daughter Ria, then nine years old, complained of an upset stomach, my husband, who speaks fluent Italian, mentioned the problem to Remo, who stopped on our way to purchase some medicine to ease her tummy troubles.

Needless to say, we were quite pleased, as then we were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery unperturbed as we drove up into the mountains. We soaked in more beauty as we walked into the center of the charming little town in Lazio where the Pope’s summer residence is located. We saw the townspeople sitting at tables in the square, enjoying each other’s company as they sipped their beverages and the men smoked their pipes.

When we finally entered the audience hall, we were surprised to see our driver up on the stage conferring with a group of cardinals. Apparently he was well known to them. We were further amazed when he came forward and invited us to take seats closer to the stage. However, we decided to remain where we were; we thought our seats on the aisle would afford us a better view of Pope Paul VI as he passed by.

At that point all eyes were riveted on the back of the hall where the Pope would enter; the excitement was almost palpable. After some time, amid shouts of welcome, we caught sight of the Holy Father. Though he looked frail, he smiled and reached out to the people from the chair in which he was being carried on the shoulders of some men. For Catholics like me, it was a thrilling and awe-filled moment!

We were quite pleased with our decision to remain in our original seats, for we were close enough to almost touch him. Then, wonder of wonders, as he passed by he did grasp and hold onto our son David’s hand. Moments later, when the Holy Father moved on, there was a look of awe on everyone’s face, especially that of our sixteen-year-old son David, who appeared dazed.

“Mom,” he said. “I can’t believe I was holding the Pope’s hand! He held on so tight my ring almost slipped off!”

After the audience, bubbling with excitement, we left the hall and made our way to the car. We marveled at our good fortune, to think that we had had seats in an area where we could literally touch the Pope’s hand! In a short time we caught sight of our driver, who was carrying a very large box in his arms. Immediately Bruce told him of our good fortune. Instead of putting the box into the trunk, he turned to us and asked if we would like to take a picture with him and Ria holding on to the box. He went on to explain that the box contained some of the Holy Father’s clothing. Needless to say, Bruce immediately took the picture. Later, on our way back to Rome, our driver told us it was part of his duty to deliver the garments to an order of nuns inside the city who laundered them.

Today, as I reflect on those awesome events(the Pope clasping David’s hand, and then being in the car bringing the Holy Father’s clothing to be laundered)I could see that the Lord was preparing me for even greater happenings in my life.

Remembering that wonderful visit to Castel Gandolfo, I recalled yet other memories of that 1967 trip. Some days after our encounter with His Holiness, Bruce was filled with anticipation as we approached and entered the small town of Perticano, the birthplace of his mother. The town, nestled between some towering mountains, appeared to be unchanged from the earliest of times. We immediately caught sight of the communal oven located in the very center of town, made of stone and brick, that had been constructed at least a hundred years before. Bruce’s mother shared a memory with us once. She recalled seeing her own mother and grandmother baking bread and roasting meats in that very same oven. Certainly that shared activity fostered comm- unity in this lovely little town.

At the time we visited, there was no hotel in the town, and we stayed with Bruce’s relatives. Each morning our daughter Ria would run outdoors to catch sight of some of the women in kerchiefs and aprons as they led their geese through the streets; she also delighted in seeing the chickens, goats and other animals as they freely roamed about. Even though the language barrier was a problem for the children and me, we were made to feel most welcome.

On one of those days, though we hated to leave, we took an excursion to the nearby ancient city of Gubbio, parts of which, we knew, had literally been built into the hills and at the base of Monte Ingino, a towering mountain. The city not only looked like a page out of the past but was, in fact, unchanged for centuries, and it remained that way because of a law which prohibited the residents from altering the exteriors of their buildings.

A car could barely pass through the narrow cobble-stoned streets. The passages, constructed hundreds of years before, did accommodate a horse and carriage, the mode of transportation at that time.

In 1967, there was yet another way to ascend Monte Ingino, the site of the Basilica of Santo Ubaldo, a famed tourist attraction, and that was by cable car. When I caught sight of it, a shiver of fear ran through me. I had imagined it would be similar to the kind of car Bruce and I had ridden in to ascend some mountains in the Alps, but I noticed there was a distinct difference. The cars used to ascend the mountain in Switzerland had been enclosed, whereas those in Gubbio were open to the elements.

There was, however, no fear in the children; they could hardly wait to get into the cars, especially sixteen-year-old David and Jonathan who, at fourteen, had that same taste for excitement.

As for me, I knew I wanted to visit the Basilica, and I had no choice except to hop into the car with Bruce. When we finally began ascending the mountain, I closed my eyes, but the children’s escapades began. The two brothers loved their sister and, like playful bear cubs, they incessantly, lovingly teased her. Consequently her squeals of delight resounded in the open spaces between the mountains as they scrambled about, causing the car to rock. As we climbed higher and higher, Bruce held onto my hand and also kept a close eye on the children.

When the cable car at last came to a stop, I did breathe a sigh of relief as I hurriedly stepped out. The scene which confronted us was breathtaking; from that height the buildings below looked like the miniature ones we place around our Christmas tree.

After a short climb, we entered the Basilica of Santo Ubaldo. Amid the seemingly hundreds of burning candles, we could see the prominently situated reason for the tourists’ visits. There in the center of the church, high atop the altar, rested a glass enclosure which contained the uncorrupted body of Saint Ubaldo. He was attired in his miter and the full regalia of a bishop of his time. Certainly, it was a sight to behold.

I did not realize it at the time, but that trip to Gubbio played an important role in preparing me for future participation in God’s plan. Once again, though, looking back, I can see God’s leading.

As we left the basilica, I did not look forward to the cable car ride down the mountain, but I was more than pleased with our visit. I thought to myself that in time it would be interesting to learn about the life of Santo Ubaldo and also that of the City of Gubbio.

I may not have been looking forward to the cable car ride but, on the other hand, the children were eagerly awaiting its departure so that they could continue with what seemed to them to be a great adventure. And have it they did; Bruce and I were not too pleased when the boys proceeded to shake the car from side to side as we descended, but their sister was delighted. I could barely wait to reach the bottom, not only to set my feet on firm ground, but to get to one of the city’s numerous restaurants; we had been told that the food was delicious.

Having stored away those treasured memories from more than a decade earlier, I realized that I was still plagued with an unexplained restlessness. There was, however, one major difference in my thoughts since I had begun to experience this restlessness, I now knew what was causing it. I knew I desired something more in my life and had come to understand that the something I was longing for had to do with the Someone who is God. I wondered how this could be resolved satisfactorily, and what course would be necessary to facilitate the solution. Shortly thereafter, a clue surfaced:

I recalled when Father Vinnie had been in our parish he had most likely helped stir up that longing when he conducted some adult education classes. My thirst to seek more knowledge about God had definitely been triggered; there was so much I didn’t know. A subsequent bible course I had taken made me more aware of the same void and thirst within me. That void seemed to be deepening, and left me with the question: Was learning more about God the answer for me?

I remembered also that, prior to our friend’s return to Rome, I had briefly touched upon my growing unrest with him. At the time he suggested I join a Charismatic prayer group which was gathering at a renewal center in Oakdale, not far from my home. However, at that time the bit of advice had slipped my mind. I did not go to Oakdale. Now, almost a year later, my unrest had become a spiritual crisis.

In retrospect, it is clear that I was not in tune with God’s plan at that time. However, perhaps back then it was not yet time for me to become involved in that renewal movement.

Copyright 2008 Ellen Chaksil. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Chapter Two: The First Man

This project began with the ambitious, but sincere goal of trying to explain some of the “myths” of the book of Genesis, dealing with each event as a separate story, and a separate project. The one basic assumption held throughout the book was that the book of Genesis is historically accurate, but that our traditional interpretations of the events described by it, were not accurate. If we could only interpret it correctly, it would fit with what we know to be true according to scientific data.

As the narrative progressed, a feeling was sensed that, instead of my determining the course of the book; the book was pulling me in a direction different from the path that was originally set out. Separate, seemingly unrelated, events were coming together and seemed to be pointing to a storyline that had previously gone unnoticed. The great events of Genesis were all connected by a common theme that is not casually revealed but was definitely present in the beginning, in the garden.

Earlier Biblical scholars, who did not have the benefit of modern research, and new knowledge that has just recently come to light, had missed it. The act of writing about it was revealing details that would help explain some of those mysteries, such as the flood of Noah, a better understanding of why the world had to be destroyed, the possibility of using DNA to find out who the REAL Adam was, the unexplained explosion of technology around 2200 BC, and the central reason for everything that happened in the book of Genesis.

There seemed to be present the undercurrent of a story that had remained hidden and untold until such a time when we were ready to accept and understand it. That time appears to be the present age. It seemed that the entire book of Genesis was playing out on a much grander scale than had, at first, been imagined.

If someone said to you that every word of the book of Genesis in the Old Testament is an accurate description historically of what happened between 3000 and 6000 years ago, most likely you would say “It’s just not possible”. There may even be some people of faith who would agree. Some have already concluded that the stories were either exaggerated tales or were misunderstood by the human writers of the books. Yet many good people of faith feel that the book is inspired, and struggle to hold on to the idea that the stories of the flood and other fantastic tales that were told to them in Sunday school are true and accurate.

Those who accept the standard “intellectually elite” position on evolution would say that the truth lies in the archeology and abundant physical evidence that man began to emerge from the animal kingdom around 2 million years ago.
What if you were told that both groups are right and that there is a way to explain how both versions of man’s creation could be true without violating the truth of the Bible? Is it possible that there is an explanation that would satisfy anyone who is searching for the truth and has an open mind? Most likely you would have serious doubts about any hypothesis or explanation that tried to cover so much ground.

The basic premise of this book was always that every word in the Book of Genesis is both true and accurate. Like others, this author had problems relating the incredible “stories” heard in Sunday school, to what had been taught in my studies of science and history. Instead of falling on one side of the fence or the other as usually happens in an issue so divided, the decision was made to reserve final judgment until enough evidence could be gathered to reconcile the issue.

It seemed certain that neither side knew all there was to know on the subject. It also seemed likely that the ingenuity of man would someday shed light on this and all other mysteries. Surely a way could be found to “explain” the book of Genesis without violating either the laws of God or the physical laws of the universe. It appeared that there was enough uncertainty in both arguments to allow for re-interpretation of the “facts”.

This author gets very upset when someone of high academic or religious standing says, “The Bible is not to be used as a history book”. I believe that they have given up too soon. Contrary to the position that some authors have taken, that Genesis is simply a beautiful allegory, I don’t believe God wrote the book of Genesis just to make a beautiful story for our entertainment! Either it is true and accurate or it is false. Truth does not belong exclusively to a category of science or religion. The truth, like water, will find its own level wherever it falls.

In the process of writing this book, which began as a collection of notes gathered from years of pondering the “mysteries” of the Old Testament, I stumbled, either accidentally or with some “outside help”, upon some insights, that we will cover in detail later, which could well explain these stories logically, and reconcile the differences between the “science” version of the creation of man and the Genesis version. There were always many things that I couldn’t explain, but I had faith that in time the truth would reveal itself, either through new discoveries or more informed insight.

It has to be understood by the reader that certain “interpretations” of facts will have to be radically changed for this to work, because many very intelligent people have worked on this problem over the last century and failed. The reason for this failure is two-fold. Either they didn’t have the courage to explore alternate interpretations of the Bible for fear of breaking tradition, or lacked the imagination to see them.
To accomplish this task, some of my most cherished ideas of religious tradition had to give way to new perspectives that have become possible only in the last 30 years. I reluctantly gave up on these views only when it was realized that the evidence was overwhelmingly against them and that it was possible that the traditional interpretation wasn’t what the original scriptures actually said anyway.

Alternately, some of the most respected and accepted opinions of science had to be compromised to some extent to allow for a hypothesis that proposes what most scientists find objectionable, that the Bible really is a true and accurate record of history.

There is a familiar saying that, “If you continue to do as you have always done, you can expect to get what you’ve always gotten.”

Any explanation that would bring together such opposing views of man and his role in the universe as science and religion, would naturally have to be something we have never imagined or tried before, else we would “get what we have always gotten”.

What happened next was unexpected to say the least. If my understanding of the story that was unfolding before me was true, it would dramatically change our perception of who we are and how “modern” man came to be. I have to confess that what I experienced internally was a certain amount of fear. Fear that this story was bigger than my ability to tell it.
Thus begins a story about God and His creation that, since writing it, has caused to emerge a strong feeling that I have stumbled onto the REAL truth about what happened 6000 years ago when a new form of man appeared, almost overnight, out of the darkness of ignorance, on the verge of an age of civilization and reason.

Each of the following “insights” will be discussed in-depth in later chapters.

The first “breakthrough”, or insight came while writing about the Garden of Eden and its relationship to the Creation and all subsequent events. This idea was only the beginning but probably is the one that set the tone for all that follows.

The first two chapters of Genesis describe two different events, separated in time by billions of years.

When the idea first occurred I re-examined my understanding of those events, and was suddenly stunned with a ‘What if …” type of thought process that demanded a closer look to see if the scriptures that followed supported this idea all along. Maybe we just didn’t notice it.

What if the book of Genesis, chapters 1 and 2, was describing two different events separated by a great span of time? Scholars have wondered for a long time why the creation story was repeated starting in Genesis 2:4 and have debated the reason for centuries. We have always assumed that the two chapters were the same event, but that the second account in chapter 2 was simply a closer look at the creation of man.

What if the events in Chapter 1 concerning the creation of the heavens and the Earth took place billions of years ago, and the events of Chapter 2 actually took place only 6000 years ago as a second “creation” event?  If true, then Genesis 1 and parts of 2 seem to reflect the modern scientific view of creation while from Genesis 2:4 on, describes the traditional religious view. The science community insists that the universe is over 14 billion years old and the Earth is 4.5 billion years old, while fundamentalist Christians say man and history only began 6000 years ago, according to the Bible. Interpreting chapters 1 and 2 this way seems to say that both are right!
If that is true, then Adam would truly be the first man by the Bible’s definition and still allow for the existence of all the creatures described in our science books as having evolved, including a creature the science books call  “early man”.

Of course, the argument against this is that the Bible talks of the creation taking 6 days. There is a flood of irrefutable evidence that all of creation is billions of years old. The “days” mentioned in the Bible were spoken of as a time period before there was a “day” to measure it by on earth. We now define a day as the time it takes for the Earth to rotate once. What was the length of a day before man defined it this way? Using that as the standard, a day could have been any period of time before the Earth existed. Even the Bible supports this idea by declaring in several places that God’s time is not the same as man’s time, and that a day could be 1000 years.

There is a way that the 6 days can be true and still be compatible with science as we know it.

At the moment of creation, scientists say that an event took place that they call “The Big Bang”. This explosion resulted in the universe being created by an enormous expansion of not only matter, but space itself, so that everything that we can observe today was begun by this event. Space is a dimension, such as length, width, and height. It is hard to imaging space itself expanding but that is what they say happened. If space is a dimension and expanded, why not time itself, which is also a dimension, as accepted by most scientists and mathematicians? The idea of time expanding is one that I have not seen in any  papers or research theories, yet it is logical, since science says that “everything” expanded at the moment of the Big Bang.

When we blow up a balloon, the first breath of air seems to inflate it more than any other because further inflation results in less noticeable increases, until at maximum size, another breath is hardly noticeable. If time expanded in this way, like space and matter, then time should have expanded much faster in the earlier period of the universe than the present. The result would be that time ran faster then and is gradually slowing down as the universe ages., like a balloon that slowly reaches it maximum size.

The Bible says that God’s time is different to man’s time, therefore the description of time in Genesis would be according to God’s “clock” until time is established by man on the earth. If time ran faster in the universe early on, than now, but God’s clock is consistent, then while 1 billion years were passing in moments just after the creation of the universe, perhaps only one day was passing on God’s “heavenly” clock. As the universe, and creation, progressed further, this difference would diminish to where perhaps on the seventh day of God’s clock, only 1 million years of earth’s time passed. This would allow time for all the processes to take place that our science book say happened.

We still don’t know how our clock compares with God’s clock today but the bible 3000 years ago said that one day of God’s time was equal to 1000 years of man’s time.
If science says that man began as a  species on earth 2 million years ago, which was the 6th day on God’s clock, then we would have no conflict between the two.
At this point I began to understand another important concept.

There existed a primitive creature that the science community calls “man”, before Adam, that lived in great numbers around the world, outside of Eden.

This thought-provoking proposal, and perhaps the most controversial, is that there was a form of man that existed for millennia on this earth before Adam and that the man spoken of by the Bible in the Garden of Eden and afterward, was not the same creature as the man we read about in our science books of that time. They were two separate species and lived independently in different areas of the world.

If we read the Bible “literally”, man was created from the dust of Eden, not as a preexisting creature. Throughout our history we have taken the name for our species,” man”, from the Bible, and only in the last 150 years has the science community taken that term and applied it to a creature that did not originate in the Garden of Eden. Our science textbooks speak of man as the creature that was born out of evolutionary processes over two million years ago.

Is it possible that the two creatures may not be the same? Is it also possible that, since we don’t have all the characteristics that Adam had,  “modern man” as we know him didn’t exist until around 5000 years ago when the descendants of Adam (and Noah) mixed with primitive “man” who was already here, and created a new species? That new species is us, or modern man.

It is clear from the Bible that we are different from Adam, and I believe that we are also different from the species of man described in our classrooms as Homo sapiens, the man who dominated the Earth around 10,000 B. C. Could it be that the conflict between creationism and evolution is simply a matter of definitions, that the term “man” is used to apply to two different creatures and depends on whose definition you accept?

We speak of “man” today as if everything that ever lived that walked upright and made tools was “man”. That is the modern view. We have to realize that when the Bible speaks of “man” it is only referring to someone who is a descendent of Adam. Biblical scholars have talked of a “divine spark” that God put in Adam that is present in everyone who is a descendent of him. Genesis calls it the “Breath of Life”.  It is very possible that the “divine spark” is a genetic signature that becomes a part of everyone that is a descendant of Adam, and that it will only be discovered when we are able to fully understand the entire genetic code of the human race.

If we take the view that the term “man” can apply to two different creatures that were very different from each other, but lived in the same period of time, all kinds of possibilities open up and some of the greatest mysteries of the Bible are “solved”.

When Genesis 4: verses 16 and 17 state that Cain left Eden and took a wife, we now have an explanation for where she came from. The “man”, Cain, the Bible refers to, took a wife from among the creatures that our science books call “man”. These creatures look very much like modern man but lacked the genetic “Breath of Life” that God implanted in Adam. The passage above is conspicuous by its lack of information as to where the wife came from and does not say that she was of Adam, perhaps by design.

The scriptures that follow support this theory. Genesis 4:20-24 gives in detail the contributions that Cain’s descendants make to later history, such as music, iron and metalworking, etc. If all of his descendants had perished in the flood, this would have been unimportant and meaningless, as their work would have perished with them. Why bother to include this as part of the narrative if it is irrelevant or untrue?

The truth is that after Cain left Eden to dwell among the “primitive” man of our science textbooks, his descendants were spared the catastrophe of the flood, which was confined to the area called Eden. As I will show in detail later this was “the world” that was destroyed and not the whole planet Earth. God did truly destroy “man whom I have created” because the creatures living outside of Eden were not considered to be “man” by God, and were not destroyed. The phrase “that I have created” is only referring to the creation in the Garden of Eden, God’s final creation on planet earth. This was “the world” referred to in Genesis 7.

The “other” men are the creatures referred to in Genesis 1:26 when God said “Let us make man in our image”. This creature would eventually become man by God’s plan but was only the first step in the process of man’s creation. The final phase of this plan would take place when Adam’s descendants mixed his genes with those of this creature. Adam was not this man, but was the man God created from dust in the garden. Only then would “Modern Man” emerge and finally be present on the earth.

Stated another way, when the Bible says Adam was the first man, it is using God’s definition of man as created in the garden, and is correct, by definition. By this standard, Adam didn’t even have to look like us to be “man”. When our children read about “early man” in their science books, and those books say that the first man began about two million years ago, they are accepting science’s definition of “man”, not God’s. Who then was the “true” man if they were different? My argument is that both groups are right within their definitions of “man”. Modern Man is neither of these creatures but the result of the mixing of their genes.

As we shall see later, they were two very different creatures, both of which had some of the features of modern man, but in some ways both were very different from man today.

We read about Adam and his immediate descendents and think of them as normal, like you and me. Read Genesis more carefully concerning their characteristics and you will see that they were not like you and me. Specifically, the race of man from Adam to Noah and his immediate descendents was a very unusual “man” by today’s, or any period’s standards, in his longevity, immunity to disease, his ability to communicate with God, and other characteristics we will go into later.

If we accept the premise that God had something special intended for the “primitive” man that existed outside the garden, then this era suddenly becomes tremendously important. The period between the end of the Flood and the beginning of civilization was starting to take on a complexity and character that could legitimately be called a blueprint for the future of man
What happened then could not have succeeded without a great deal of coordination and forethought as to how it would be implemented. Its scope was to include every race and people on the planet.

The plan, at least in part, began when God said, “Let us create man in our image”. At that time there was no creature that resembled modern man alive. Science tells us that a creature they call Australopithecus suddenly appeared, and through the process of evolution, and in the millennia of time, developed into a form that resembled modern man.

God’s plan was to create a superior human being called Adam, instruct him to multiply and “replenish”, or repopulate, the Earth. What did He mean by “repopulate” the earth? In time Adam’s descendants would mix with the inferior habitants of this world to produce a race of beings that would develop a technological society and arrive at the point we now know and enjoy as the modern world.

A secondary meaning for the word replenish is to “replace”. The word replenish, as used here, was a command to re-populate the earth with a new kind of man that was to replace the previous or primitive race that had descended from Australopithecus. Re-populate means that there was something here before man.

The reason for this plan, and the end result, would be to create a large enough population of this “modern man”, as we now call him, from which to extract only those who are worthy to enter into what the Bible calls “The Kingdom of God”.

Jesus consistently referred to this domain and emphasized that it required not only understanding, but also a sensitivity and grasp of morals that the primitive man could never have achieved. It would be hard to see how anyone could argue how His message of “Love thy neighbor, and even thy enemy” could have impacted the world of man 10,000 years ago, yet this simple phrase is still affecting man’s thinking and is debated today. This was an idea that could not have come through evolution or the primitive man. This is proof that something in man had changed.

Misinterpretations of the message have admittedly resulted in some disastrously misguided efforts such as the Spanish inquisition, the Crusades, and the Salem witch trials. This is an indication that some of the primitive man who lacked understanding of the “love” message is still present in all of us.

This coordinated effort to introduce civilization and reason to the world of man will never appear in any school textbook because it would support the “religious” view of creation. The official position of the science community is still that civilization and progress all happened by accident through a few key developments in agriculture. They admit that these are still a puzzle, and are at a loss to explain the explosion of knowledge and language that took place just after the time of the flood, around 4500 years ago. During this period, man invented language, written alphabets, studied mathematics, learned to smelt iron, learned music, and constructed the first cities made of bricks. All of this occurred within a space of only 300 years!

When the “Eden” man mixed with “primitive man” after the flood, the very nature of man as a species was changed, as the genes of these “enhanced humans’, direct descendants of Adam, were assimilated into the gene pool of the existing creatures that science calls ‘man’. The result was a new form of man that was intelligent, artistic, and very creative. The bipedal hominid of our science books that had roamed the Earth for more than two million years was now changed to be a moral creature with the “divine spark”, at least in theory, if not in practice.

At this point a realization set in for what was becoming clearer with each chapter. I developed a deeper appreciation of the fact that everyone walking around on the Earth today has some of the genes, and is a descendant of, a real person named Adam. And, since those genes came directly from God, we could even call ourselves “children of God”.  We will find out later that some individuals even assigned an element of “divinity” to that title. Also, as “children of God” we acquired a “right of inheritance”. That right, as is true in all inheritances, is only valid if we claim it.

That right of inheritance makes us eligible for consideration to become members of the “Kingdom of God”. This helps to explain the verse in John 1: 12 and 13 in the New Testament concerning our right to be called “Sons of God”. It also confirms that every individual is special and is important to God because we all have his stamp, or seal of ownership, within us. I believe that this stamp, or brand, of God is contained in our DNA.

Is it possible that the writers of the New Testament had access to knowledge of this part of our history that we have not yet realized? There are several instances of the word “mystery” or “mysteries” being used in the New Testament to refer to knowledge that we will have at some point in the future.

The apostle Paul is very vague in a passage that has intrigued Bible scholars for centuries concerning the physical man and the spiritual man. This is contained in Corinthians 2:14, “for the natural man received not the things of the spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him…”. This is followed up by even more specific references to two kinds of man in chapter 15:47, “The first man is from the earth, a man of dust. The second man is from heaven… Just as we have born the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of the man of heaven”.

We could easily substitute the word “genes” for the word “image” in this statement, and retain the same meaning. This is a very powerful and timely statement from someone who had no knowledge of genetics. If the ideas presented in this manuscript are true then we all do bear the genetic image of both the primitive man of the science books as well as the image of the first man, Adam, who, because God “breathed the spirit of life into him”, is the only one who can legitimately be called a “man of heaven”.

There was at this time available to Paul, a library in Egypt, at Alexandria, which contained the sum of all knowledge then known in the ancient world. Perhaps Paul, being a very learned and literate person from that period, had read from texts that were stored in this library. Perhaps he acquired greater knowledge of man’s history after his conversion to Christianity.  It is well known that all of the written documents concerning mankind’s history from the beginning of written language were stored in this library, which was later destroyed by the Romans.

What could we have learned about our early history if those documents had survived to this day? Would we have learned that the flood story in the Bible was true and accurate? Would they tell of the origin of the “mythical” Gods who lifted the ancient civilizations, like Greece, out of the Stone Age? Would we now have a greater appreciation of the Old Testament accuracy if those texts could corroborate its authenticity?

I was now starting to comprehend the importance of the fact that all of the significant events that transformed man from a backward nomadic existence to a literate, cultured, citizen with an urban lifestyle, took place in a very small region of the world between 2200 and 2500 BC, a very short time period in which man and his world were re-invented and set on a course to become what it is today.

The flood of Noah was a local event, confined to a large area called EDEN. Throughout the book of Genesis before chapter 9, this area was referred to as “the world”.

As this document began to take shape, new evidence was just coming to light concerning the flood of Noah. This would later become a crucial piece in the puzzle. It led to a new perspective on that event that helped me to understand much better how and why it happened. I started to fully appreciate the tremendous effect it had on the Earth and the future of man. A full explanation of this event is given in a later chapter.

Even more important to our present society and civilization, it was becoming clear for the first time the staggering importance of the period and the events that took place just after the flood of Noah. This was the period that cast the mold for modern civilization.

The phrase “His way” as used in Genesis 6:12 should be taken to mean His plan, or blueprint for man’s development.

When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, they were unprotected from the elements. Interestingly, it is at this time that the Bible gives us one of the most puzzling passages in the entire book. Genesis 6:1-7 describes beings coming from Heaven who take wives of the daughters of man. This results in offspring that are described as “giants”, who are obviously very different from the race begun by Adam. Because of this genetic corruption of Adam’s line God declares in no uncertain terms “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the Earth…for all flesh had corrupted His WAY on the face of the Earth”.

In reading the passage in Genesis 6:12 that said “God’s way was corrupted” I saw something else that had been passed over. The choosing of the word “way” for this passage is a little strange. When we “have our way” it usually means that we know where we are going. In other words, God had a preconceived plan that was being violated. God didn’t just create the world and put man in it just to see what would develop.

When I thought about that possibility, the events that followed made more sense than before, when we simply thought the word “way” meant His creation.

This significant use of the word “way” is a subtle change that has never been truly recognized, but is extremely important here. The phrase “His Way” did not mean His “Will”, or His “creation”, as we usually interpret it, but was specifically referring to a blueprint for man’s development. The word “way” is derived from a word meaning a “road” or highway such as “The Apian Way”. All roads lead to somewhere that is predetermined. God’s WAY was the plan He had set in motion for man and the Earth, even before He began the Garden project. It became a statement that God had a plan for man that went beyond just creating him and populating the Earth.

It has generally been accepted that the reason God created man was that “He desired companionship”, or “He wanted our love”. While these arguments may be true, they are speculative because we cannot really determine from the Bible why God created the human race. It could also be that God had more specific plans for man that went well beyond anything we could have imagined.

What if man was created for a different reason that we have not yet realized? Until this age of information provided the tools, the knowledge, and the insight to discern it, it has remained hidden from our view. This makes the statement in Genesis that “His way was corrupted upon the Earth…” a much more powerful message than the traditional interpretation that He was just angry that His creation had been defiled. Not only was He angry concerning man’s sinful behavior but their actions were also tearing down the wonderfully complex plan He had begun to execute in the Garden, for the benefit of all Mankind.

With that in mind a story began to play out in my imagination as the book of Genesis started to take on a new life that made more sense in our modern world. I started to realize that a picture was forming of a very detailed and complete story about God’s purpose for man on the Earth that began long ago at the foundation of the world, and is still coming together in our present time. I began to see our present world as not being so separated from the world of 6000 years ago, as the events described in Genesis suddenly became very real.

It is hard today for us to relate to a backward society, like the one that existed at that time, when we are surrounded by creations of our own, the technology and culture that runs our society and our lives. I thought about the intelligence and technology that must have been involved in the creation of The Garden of Eden, and that maybe it still existed on Earth immediately before the flood of Noah. Could it be that the technology that we have today is not entirely the result of our genius, but was predestined to happen long ago, in the time when the future of man was being molded?

For some reason, that we can only speculate about, God began, as the Bible states, at the “foundation of the world”, with his plan for mankind, a time when science tells us was about 4.5 billion years ago, when the earth was “gathered together” from the dust that circled a new sun. He made a deliberate and planned decision to return to a specific time in its development, 6000 years ago, to continue and complete its final phase.

Sometimes the best way to test a hypothesis is to try on the idea, like trying on a coat, and see if there is any contradictory evidence or something that doesn’t “fit”. Lacking this you then examine all the available remaining evidence to see if it supports and ‘reads’ as if your original assumption is true.  If that test proves correct you sometimes find that what remains is an idea that fits your hypothesis like a glove. That was the case here.
This new hypothesis required accepting some basic assumptions that will be described later, assumptions that would go against centuries of tradition, and go against what many had accepted as truth all their lives. The result was a story that was continuous and logical, and had a much more important message for our generation than we had realized.

When the basic form of the plan was first realized, I started to research the hypothesis, looking for supporting evidence. Pieces of the puzzle began to come together, faster than I had expected. With every chapter and idea would come new insight that explained scripture that had been a mystery since I was very young. There had to be a reason that the story was coming together so well.

It was Noah’s descendents who were responsible for the myths of “Gods” in all the great civilizations of the world.

A study of the Gods of different cultures is a part of our history that has never been given the attention it deserved by biblical and historical scholars. Perhaps it is because all historians like to think that they investigate only those ideas that are acceptable to the establishment, and a research project to study “Gods” would border on religion and superstition. Biblical researchers consider such a study as pagan and irreverent.

The Bible clearly describes how the “nations” came to exist, and the role played by Noah’s sons and descendants. Before there were “nations” there were only isolated colonies of nomads and people who could only struggle to hunt for or grow enough food to sustain them. Because of Noah’s descendants these colonies of early humans gained knowledge and gifts of better crops, with more frequent and greater yields, and began to build cities. Historians and science scholars like to pretend that Noah and Genesis chapter 10 never happened.

Another reason that it has not been studied more carefully is for lack of information. To write this book required accepting ideas that would provoke controversy in both the academic and the religious camps. If we are to use all the information available concerning this period in time, we have to combine the knowledge that both groups have gathered concerning the history of man. One of the ideas that we never considered is that there might have been more than one species of man, an idea that has suddenly become acceptable in light of the discovery of the “Hobbits” race in Indonesia in 2004.

The first 3 or 4 generations of Noah’s descendents still had some of the traits of the pure line from Adam to Noah. They lived extremely long lives, were highly intelligent, immune to disease, and knew how to construct things no human had ever constructed before. Considering that the “other” man had a short 30 to 40 year lifespan and limited abilities, how would such a visitor as one of Noah’s grandsons seem to them? He would seem to be a God in their eyes.

It would not be hard to imagine that the Greek legends of human Gods who were strong and had superhuman abilities such as Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, and others, long considered as part of Greek “mythology”, were really stories about actual people who came to them as descendants of Noah. As these “super humans” inter-mixed with the primitive tribes, their offspring by mortal women would be accepted as Gods also, but only as 1/2 Gods, exactly as many accounts describe them, such as the epic of Gilgamesh in ancient Shumer. Gilgamesh was described in clay tablets as being only a 2/3 God. This lead to many royal lines being looked on by the people as divine.

This also explains the attempt of so many Egyptian rulers to keep the illusion alive of being divine and immortal long after these traits had been reduced through marriage and mixing with the original peoples, so as to be almost non-existent.

Had the events not taken place exactly as described here and later in this book, man today would probably still be a backward creature roaming the earth, hunting and gathering food as he did 6000 years ago, very primitive agriculture, no brick cities, and little or no written language.

Finally, but most important to today’s generation, the story I am about to reveal to my readers is a continuing story. That means that it isn’t finished yet. Anyone who can read will acknowledge that we are today experiencing an explosion of knowledge and enlightenment that is unparalleled in history. Yet in many ways it is very similar to what took place around 2500 B.C., just after the flood of Noah. Those events transformed man from a tribal, nomadic, subsistence way of life, into citizens of an age of urbanization and culture.

Why is that important? Because if that is true, then perhaps we too, are standing on the threshold of another new age for mankind that will lift him to a higher plateau of achievement and knowledge that we can only begin to imagine.

Copyright 2008 Allen Epling. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt
Forward
My belief is that each of us that has been given the gift of
a successful life (or not so successful) has an obligation
to share our experiences and strengths gained as we live
our lives fully and share the path that led us to our own
personal truths. The reader will find this text is instructive
and inspiring; it offers the reader the benefit of the hills
and pot holes of the author’s road well-traveled as well as
the opportunity to learn from his many challenges and
victories.
As a senior university professor for nearly twenty-five
years, I am often asked to read and edit text books but
seldom have the opportunity to read literature that has
been written by a person that I have known since the day
of his birth and have had the honor of watching him turn
into a fine musician, businessman and now scholar.
Glenn’s book will leave you with no doubt that he has
benefited from discovering and nurturing a personal and
strong relationship with God and how his focus for living
is to follow Jesus Christ’s example and teachings as
close as any human can do.
This book has great utility for those that struggle with the
day-in-and-day-out challenges that face each of us as we

interact with others. When God’s Will is the cornerstone,
all is well; when the individual’s will is the template for
interacting with others it is suggested that there will be
problems on the horizon. Glenn explains in detail how
we can spot many of the negative consequences of selfwill
and prescribes the exact solution.
The reader might keep a Holy Bible close at hand while
reading this fine book as you may be inspired to look up
the various references that inspired Glenn Smith and that
he shares with you.
This book, like an eternal building stands on the concrete
truths found in both the ancient scripture and the more
modern New Testament.
Calvin B. Harris Ph.D.
Sr. Professor, Park University
Founder MSA Inc

Chapter 1
What is Forgiveness?
“Forgiveness ought to be like a canceled note ““
torn in two and burned up so that it never can be
shown against one.” “” Henry Ward Beecher
(18131887),
U.S. Congregational Minister
Have you ever heard someone say, “I will forgive you, but
I will never forget what you did”? Is that forgiveness?
How about this one: “If you apologize first, then I will
forgive you”? Or “I can forgive you for this, but not for
that.” We all do this, thinking that somehow we are in the
right. I suppose, if we look at it from a superficial point of
view, we might be. But is that how God views it? Is this
how God wants us to live? Well then, “What is true
forgiveness anyway?”
To fully understand the concept of forgiveness, we must
first define it. Webster’s dictionary states that to forgive is
to grant relief from payment of a debt. In other words,

when you forgive a debtor, they no longer owe anything
to you, and they are free from that bond. According to
this definition whatever you were bound by, be it a
contract or a promise, when it is forgiven, is no longer in
force.
Here is an example of something that my wife and I did
many years ago. We had sold a mobile home to a very
nice young couple on contract. They had a couple of
children and were just getting started in life. About three
years into the contract, they fell upon hard times and
were struggling to make the payments. After talking to
them and praying about it, we decided to waive all of the
remaining balance and signed over the title to them. We
fully released them from any further obligation for that
contract. This would be an example of forgiveness.
Again from Webster, another definition of forgiveness is
to give up resentment (or the claim for requital) of an
insult, and to cease to feel resentment against the
offender. In this example, you give up your claim to the
offense. This is something that is not done easily. The
problem with resentment is that it usually harms the
offended more than the offender. Here’s a quote from an
unknown author that I really feel puts this in proper
perspective: “Resentment is like a glass of poison that a
man drinks. He then sits down and waits for his enemy to
die.”

Chapter 5
Binding and Loosing
“When you hold resentment toward one another,
you are bound to that person or condition by an
emotional link that is stronger than steel.
Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link
and get free.”
“” Cathleen Ponder, Inspirational Author
In the previous chapter, I mentioned the binding and
loosing concept. In this chapter I want to examine closely
how this can actually affect us.
Have you ever been hurt or offended by someone? Of
course, the answer is yes, we all have. It is a real part of
life that when certain things happen, we become angry.
Sometimes it is something big, like infidelity in marriage

or serious physical abuse. Other times it is relatively
small, like a silly argument over what color to paint the
bedroom. Either way, we end up miffed. It is how we
respond that is important. We all want to have things
resolved and worked out for the best. The problem arises
when we can’t agree on what “the best” is. It is here that
pride enters in, where the need to be right overrides the
need for truth. It”˜s a danger zone for all sorts of bitterness
and resentment. This is where the most damage is done
to relationships. God has a better way, through
forgiveness, but our simple human nature generally
seems to win out and into the abyss we go. Why? How is
it that we choose to trust God with our health, finances,
even our soul, but when it comes to the need for
vindication, we choose to trust ourselves?
I can honestly say that I, again, speak from experience.
Many times in my life I have gone through trials and
troubles that left me wounded and angry. I went looking
for a way to make things right, only to find myself sunk
deep in the mire of bitterness and outright depression.
Always the end result was loss in some form or another.
But, as I have grown in the knowledge of God, I have
begun to learn why this happens, and have seen how
God’s way is infinitely better.
In Matthew 16:19 and 18:18, Jesus said, “What you bind
on earth is bound in Heaven and what you loose on Earth
is loosed in Heaven.” This is most profound when it
comes to offenses.

Imagine being tied to a tree in a hurricane. The wind is
whipping and rain is pounding, yet nothing can be done
to stop it from tearing you apart. Now consider this:
instead of seeking shelter when you knew the storm was
on its way, you chose instead to tie yourself to a tree,
refusing to let go as the storm hit. The damage you
sustained was largely self-inflicted, as your pleas for God
to save you went unanswered. In the end you are
battered and bruised, with a new-found anger at God.
After all, He didn’t answer your cries for help. Of course,
you could have avoided all of it by just releasing yourself
from that tree, and then safely getting into the shelter
before it was too late.
That is how unforgiveness works. We bind ourselves to
someone by a cord of offense, then refuse to let go.
Maybe it’s a friend or a family member, or possibly
someone at work or even in the church. Every time you
see or think of them, you become upset. As the
bitterness sets in, it begins to affect your relationships
with other people. You are now starting to have difficulty
trusting others. As things progress, you look to involve
others in the ordeal. You might even go so far as to
implicate the original person as the source of all of your
troubles.
In the midst of all of this, you cry out to God to heal your
bitterness and to restore peace in your life, all the while
praying for God’s will to be done in the offender’s life.
This prayer, of course, is just a veiled attempt to try to

convince God to mete out some form of punishment on
that person for the great wrong they have done to you.
But when God doesn’t respond, a greater level of
frustration sets in and deeper into the hole of despair you
fall. You seek counsel, therapy, maybe even mood
management drugs, but nothing works. Eventually your
bitterness extends toward God, even causing you to
consider giving up on Him all together. Maybe you don’t
go to that extreme but instead just try to bury the feelings
deep and go about your business as if nothing was ever
wrong. But then it only takes one little thing to set you off
and you are right back where you started. Even time
won’t make it go away.
Why? What you bound is bound! You have bound
yourself to the tree of offense with your own hands, and
you never let go. Somewhere in the process, you chose
not to forgive the person whom you felt wronged you.
Maybe it was just a simple disagreement or an
unresolved argument, but you chose to retain it and
therefore bound it up. And, of course, you didn’t just bind
it here on earth, but also in Heaven. Remember, God will
never violate your will. It’s up to you to submit your will to
God. If you choose to bind yourself to something and not
let go, God is not going to forcibly tear you from it. He will
honor your desire to stay bound. The trouble really
comes when you bind yourself with unforgiveness. At that
point, you are literally binding yourself to sin, as that is
what unforgiveness really is. Sin is the contract with the
devil that leads to death. Although that contract was paid

in full by Jesus at the cross, if you choose to again bind
yourself to it through the sin of unforgiveness, God is
bound to leave you there.
God wants us to always trust Him fully. This means in all
aspects of our lives. If we choose to retain or bind an
offense, we are actually telling God that we don’t want or
need His help in dealing with the situation. It is our pride
that causes us to believe that God must need our help in
order to resolve the issue. For some insane reason, we
can’t see how God can possibly make it all right, without
our involvement. Yet our involvement is the first thing
God wants removed.
God gave me an interesting revelation once during a very
stressful time when I was involved in a dispute with
someone in the church. Things had become rather tense.
At the height of the situation, as I was praying for an
answer, God told me I had to release it and get out of His
way or He could not fully shine His light on the problem.
He then showed me that I was like a large tree, casting a
shadow. God wanted to fully expose something with His
light, but I was in the way. I was preventing Him from
doing what He wanted to do. I had to be literally removed
from the line of God’s light. What I saw was that as I
retained the problem, I was blocking Him. As I bound
myself to the issue, He was bound from it. I had to forgive
before God would move. When I finally let go of the
situation, God moved and the problem was resolved in a
very positive manner. I had to forgive the person, not

because I was right or that there had been some form of
repentance, but because I was blocking God from His
desired purpose. By forgiving unconditionally, I subdued
my pride. Only then was God free to work.
That’s the beauty of God’s way, and it always works out
best for God. If it is best for God, it has to be best for us,
too. By my letting go, I was able to find safe shelter in
God, thus avoiding the storm. Because I didn’t receive
the storm’s damage, I was spared the bitterness and
strife. The end result was a complete restoration with that
person and peace in my soul. Remember, what you bind
is bound, and what you loose is loosed.

Copyright 2008 Glenn Smith Jr. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

Excerpt

Preface: BUY THIS BOOK!

I believe I am qualified to write this book about God and Son. I have lived with them for over seventy years-
as a boy and a man, a layman in the pew and a priest in the pulpit, a celibate and a married man (with church permission), a man with authority and a man opposed to authority, a man who once gloried in the right answers (I have a doctorate in Sacred Theology) and a man whose final comfort is in his questions (I have this book as evidence).

From 1950 to 1970 I was a seminary student and a priest. From 1970 to 1980 I was an anti-poverty and anti-war activist. (I remember those years as “my life on the road” with Jesus). From 1980 to 2000 I taught Religious Studies in a Roman Catholic College and in 2000 I retired as Professor Emeritus.  From 2000 until God knows when I have been pondering.

My pondering led to questions and doubts which I came to call “Rude Awakenings”. I called them “Awakenings” because only now was I becoming aware that I could escape the fear of hell and the image of God as the almighty white guy with a beard, making threats and promising rewards. I called my questions “Rude” because they were offensive to pious ears, and, at times, even to mine.

God help me if I give the impression I am writing to you from high moral ground when I write about my ten years as an activist against war and for the poor. I gave only a decade of my life trying to put down the mighty by living with and working with the lowly. And I did so on the cheap. I just happened to be an angry celibate forty year old man at a time when my anger could be harnessed to religious and political movements that dominated the 1970′s in North and South America. I was always on the fringe of this mighty saga. But the saga did not remain on the fringe of me. Thus this book about God and Son.

Where am I taking you? Why am I taking you there? How am I going to take you there? What kind of rude questions am I asking?

Where am I taking you?
I am taking you where pious believers fear to tread, where peace and justice mean more than heaven and hell; where God as “the mystery” means more than God as “the almighty”; where questions about God and Son are revered more than the so-called answers.

The questions are rude:
1. Why is God not an almighty presence on our planet?
2. Why is the Son so unlike the Father?
3. Why always with the creeds when we worship?
Why not “Lord, we believe, help our unbelief”?
4. Why do we not sing “Nobody knows God’s name”?

Why am I taking you there?
Planet earth will not be well served by Christianity in the cliff-hanging third millennium of the Christian calendar if Christians continue to live mostly by what John 3:16 says about God and Son at the expense of what Luke 4:18 tells us.

In 3:16 John quotes himself. He would have us believe God so loved the world that he sent Jesus to save only those who believed in Jesus.
In 4:18 Luke quotes Jesus who would have us believe that God so loved the world that he sent Jesus to serve those for whom life is a bitch and then it ends.

You should know that bible quotes are part of a sacred story not of a precise history. Thus the difference in what Jesus supposedly said about his mission and what John supposedly said about Jesus’ mission.

The world in the third millennium needs more Luke 4:18 Christians than it does John 3:16 Christians. It needs Christians who believe Jesus was sent to do something wonderful for planet earth not to save only those who believe in him and let the others and the planet go to hell. It needs Christians who believe it is by living the Luke text that a follower of Jesus takes up the cross of Jesus. It needs more Jesus believers who take seriously the last parable of Jesus: depart from me you accursed sinner for when I was hungry you did not see the hungry one as me.

Jesus’ parable on judgment is not a proof of the existence of hell but proof that Jesus was madder than hell when about to be crucified. He had been knocking himself out for the least and they were still not being treated as if they were Jesus.  Worse yet, his mission to them was about to be stopped. The feet that took him to the least and the hands that fed and healed them were soon to be nailed to two planks of wood. That’s when he lost his temper and told the parable about hell. Christianity needs believers who believe Jesus is still madder than hell that the least on planet earth are not treated as if they were Jesus.

The community of Jesus has always and everywhere lacked the ardor and tenacity of the ministry of Jesus to the wretched and huddling masses.  Belief in treating them as if they were Jesus is not a belief included in any of the Christian creeds. A Christian must believe in God as almighty, in Jesus as divine, in the resurrection of the dead but not in treating the least as if they were Jesus.
The words of Jesus have been about as effective as those of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

If things have not been going well for humanity on planet earth you can figure it out for yourselves.

How will I take you to where I want to take you?
I write as a friend talking to friends. But I do not rely on the day to day language I use with friends. Writing a book is like writing in another language. One must use words and put sentences together in a way that will hold the attention of countless readers. My words and sentences add up to a light hearted, heavy-handed, and devoutly devastating swipe at long held traditions about God and Son. That should hold your attention.

I rely heavily on stories about my personal experiences with God and Son. There is nothing more powerful than a story to make a point. That is why the bible is so popular.
It is a book of stories based on the religious experiences of two communities who have earned the respect and reverence of countless millions down through the centuries.

What kind of rude questions am I asking?
1.  When reciting the creed at Sunday worship should I profess my faith in God only as “the Father” and only as “the Almighty”?
Look where this restriction has taken us. We have come to imagine God mostly as an all-powerful white man with a beard who knows when we’ve been good or bad and who has prepared a cruel and unforgiving punishment for those who are bad. That’s as almighty as almighty can get!

There is something unseemly about God as proclaiming “power is my name, power is my game.” That belief reminds me of a cartoon in The New Yorker. It shows an elderly white man with a beard about to hurl a bolt of lightning from heaven. Three females, “the Zeusettes”, are singing: “He’s got a fist full of lightnin’ and he’s gonna cut loose! He’s the man with a plan! He’s the cat they call Zeus.”

As a nation under the image of God as the Almighty we anointed “˜the bomb’ as our almighty prince of peace: “We got a fist full of lightnin’ and we are ready to cut loose”. But now the Prince has lost its power to protect us. Now we are more vulnerable than ever.
Other nations under God as the Almighty are waging war more and more in the name of God and less and less in the name of national sovereignty. It had wrongly been assumed that the modern world had put an end to that nonsense.

2. Must I imagine God as almost always angry about something or other?  Should I relate to God as being “touchy” about what my Church insists are wrong beliefs and bad behavior?  Don’t these hurt us more than they hurt God? Shouldn’t God feel anguish and concern about our “sins” rather than anger? Why should masturbation, missing mass, or membership in the wrong community of faith send anyone to hell? Have we fashioned an image of a God who has such poor self esteem, such a fragile ego that “He” so easily feels “offended” by what we do or fail to do? Being that touchy would make life as miserable for God as it is for us.

Being quick to anger and harsh in punishment sounds like bad parenting to me. That image of God calls to mind the sign I saw posted in a diner in Maine: “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”

3. Is it wrong to imagine God as “Love Unstoppable”? Any public attempt to do that has always been condemned as a heresy. And yet, even given free will, is it not a pious probing to imagine divine love as a weapon of mass seduction? Is it not true piety to imagine that the power of divine love is the mystery? Is it not an act of faith and hope to imagine that God has a way of taking care of justice without resorting to eternal unforgiveness and everlasting pain? Just because there was a Hitler does not mean there has to be a hell.

4. Does justice without hell sound too wishy-washy? Would you say then that the only thing that keeps belief in heaven from being wishy-washy is the belief that you get there and I don’t, or vice-versa? Should we thank God for our belief in hell since it helps us believe in heaven without being seen as being wishy-washy?  Now there’s a worrisome thought.
Here’s a scary thought. If hell was first populated by angels who were kicked out of heaven what security do we have in heaven?
This is even scarier. If God is an all-loving Father and if hell is as advertised then God as the architect and CEO of hell must be the most miserable S.O.B. who ever lived. Why would the CEO of hell insist that we call him “Father”?

5. Does God as advertised, have a list of hell-worthy sins? Why do not all faiths follow the same list?  Suppose two women, one catholic and the other protestant, both practicing birth control, are both killed instantly in a car accident. Does the catholic go to hell while the protestant goes to heaven? Or do they both go to hell but only the protestant is surprised?

6. Why does Christian preaching and teaching on hell not feature Jesus’ last parable, told shortly before his death? It was Jesus’ final version of what to expect at judgment time. Jesus was a man about to die, and not merely posing as a man about to die. His parable was for himself as well as his listeners: “I am ready to face my father in heaven. I treated the least as if they were me.”
How can his last parable count for so little?

In asking these very rude questions I am reminded of the cartoon showing a preacher in the pulpit announcing to the congregation: “No sermon for you today. You are all going to hell anyway.”

My questions are not expressions of disdain for mother Church. I would be a liar if I said I am not proud of her vigorous intellectual life and am not moved by her ancient rituals- especially her liturgical chants (words by King David and music by Pope Gregory). And I would be an ungrateful wretch if I did not confess that without mother Church I would not have had my long and rewarding life with God. She made it possible for me to become a devout believer in a divine presence and a divine good will at work in my life. Indeed, it may be that I can write this book only because my church raised me in a way that makes writing this book possible. As a wise philosopher once noted: “One repays a teacher badly if one always remains a pupil.”

I am not a religious idealist. I know the sins of my church as well as her enemies. But I do not sing their song: “‘Tis a pity she’s a whore.”  I can live with the sins of my mother, even those of the fetid fourteenth century when she was more an agent of corruption than of sanctification. I have even learned to live with her centuries of harping that she was the only true Church.

I can live with the weaknesses of my mother the church, except the one lamented in this book: “˜Tis a pity her doctrines and rituals give so much to God as all mighty and so little to God as all mystery, and so much to Jesus as “the Christ” and so little to Jesus as “the Nazarene”.

I am not a rationalist bigot. In questioning the reverence given to God as an almighty presence I do not suggest that God never cures a cancer. I do say cures will almost never, if ever, be done by God as an almighty show-off. There are no Divine “Ta-dahs!” No restoring legs blasted to bits by roadside bombs. That is not going to happen. I am at peace with my belief that it is not an almighty presence but a hidden godly presence we should revere, love and cherish, day in and day out. I believe it is the holy will of God not to be present to us as “the almighty”.

I am not a flaming liberal. I know that our stories and beliefs about the risen and glorified Christ have given and are giving peace and joy to countless millions. I was one of them for most of my life. I too lived my life of faith revering the Christ for what he can do for me. For me, the good that Jesus did in his road ministry had been interred with his bones.

I am not an ex-Catholic or former Catholic. I am a retired Roman Catholic. The meager pension that keeps my faith alive is provided by the Nazarene’s road ministry to the kingdom on earth.

I am a man of faith who in good faith reveres his questions and doubts. They reflect my determination to make my faith as honest, straightforward, and personal as possible.
Believe me; I can understand if you do not want to go where my “Rude Awakenings” take you. I was in my fifties before I dared to go there and decided to stay there. Only in my seventies was I ready to publish the story of my religious experience of God and Son.

I almost did not publish this book because of the fear of going to hell if I shared my questions and doubts with others. I decided not to give into that fear. That decision may seem foolish. It is foolish. Where eternal damnation is at stake it seems best to play it safe, as is the custom among pious and not so pious believers.
But I have no choice. Like any serious believer I am moved not just to keep the faith but share it, even more so having been a priest and professor. It will not be too long before I meet God. If God is all-knowing, as advertised, “He” already knows what is in my heart, what I have put in writing, what I am determined to publish. When we meet, face to face so to speak, I have no choice but to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Faking it before God will do me no good whatsoever.

There is no use moaning and groaning or quaking and shaking about the rude questions I am asking. In fact, I take great comfort in the two gospel accounts which have Jesus dying with a very rude question on his lips: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Yes, rude questions can be prayers). I am no Jesus but as a follower I cannot be faulted for taking heart in these two gospel accounts of the very last words of Jesus.

Permission to publish:
I would not give myself permission to publish this book about God if I believed God had written a book about God. Or if I believed God had an obviously godly hand in the biblical books about God, as in the kind of hand that could make two instant adults. I believe God was behind the making of the bible as much as he was behind the making of the universe, way behind.

Nor would I write this book about God if I felt obligated to refer to God, a pure spirit, always and only as a male. I usually refer to God as “He” only because it is customary. Even today, in our progressive culture, it is still not O.K. to refer to God as “She.” I personally believe that in referring to the incomprehensible divine presence in our life “mother” is as good as “father”, “breast” is as good as “rock”, “tears” are as good as “fire”, “womb” is as good as “fortress”- and yes, “pubic triangle” is as good as the “traditional triangle” that for far too long has highlighted God as a masculine presence among us.

We should not reinforce the decisions of the men who run our church even though we obey them for the common good.

Some practical matters:
1. PRAYER:
While at prayer, should we not try harder to love our enemies? Should we ever ask for God’s help in killing them when things have gotten out of hand and the killing machine has been unleashed?
While at prayer, should we not try harder to be practical? Does it not make sense to pray for leaders here and abroad who do not talk and act like a Louis L’Amour cowboy, leaders who are quick to boast: “I’ll handle the shovel that puts dirt on your grave and the gun that puts you there”? Now more than ever do we not need leaders who are not trigger-happy?
Google “The War Prayer” by Mark Twain. That should help you in your prayers.

2. WAR:
In the Big Picture, Warriors go into battle willing to die for the defense of the nation that sent them there.
In the Little Picture, those in the field of fire do not always have such noble sentiments. They die in self-defense and in defense of their comrades, especially in a war that is suspect and controversial.
In my lifetime our country fought in two wars that were vastly unpopular with many if not most of its citizens. Both were fought because of over zealous and misguided reactions by our leaders due mostly to wrongly placed threats to national security. And that is putting it kindly. What kind of a democracy is this if that dire situation continues?
Our country no longer professes to believe that slavery, segregation, and sexism are OK with God and Son. When will it bite the bullet on militarism? It is time to take a closer look at war, at the way we assume war is inevitable, at the way we fight our wars, at the reasons we go to war. Have we been O.K. with God on all counts? It is time to begin to imagine a world without war. It is time to confess that even mother earth suffers our violence. Is it not true that in this we are without shame?

3. JESUS:
Why has Jesus’ birthday hymn “Peace on earth” not put an end to war? What could the angels at Bethlehem have been thinking? Silly song! What do angels know about life on planet earth?
Why has Jesus’ kingdom prayer for “daily bread” not put an end to hunger? What could Jesus have been thinking in praying for food for all, food worthy of Our Father’s table? Silly man! Or was he? Did he believe something we have not yet learned to believe?

4. OUR TROOPS:
Does “Support our troops” only and always mean “Support our war”? Is such a claim a graceless deception? Most likely many of our troops would prefer we get them out of this war. No doubt, the Support Slogan, though it may serve to kill more troops, gives comfort to those who want to be assured that a loved one’s body or some of its parts were not given “in vain”. This kind of pain killer reminds me of the oft-used pain killer given to parents when a child dies “in vain”, as in a five year old girl run over by a cement truck while riding her new birthday bicycle: “It is the will of God.”
Not that there is anything wrong with these pain killers. Any piety that can help anyone get through the dark night of despair is O.K. by me, even if it prolongs a war or puts God’s good name in a bad light. But to take one pain killer as patriotism and the other as theology is an abomination before God and country. I would suggest that the “Patriots” who chant “Support our Troops” read Walt Whitman on the Civil War:

“I saw battle-corpses, myriads of them”¦.
But I saw they were not as was thought,
They themselves were fully at rest, they suffer’d not,
“¦ the armies that remain’d suffer’d.”

4. OUR WORSHIP:
While at worship, whether we worship on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, should we not try to be humble? When the going gets tough have not each of the three great Revelation Religions given good reason for doubting their boasts about being highly favored by God?  Israel and Islam have made the land of milk and honey a land of blood and gore. Christianity has long been divided against itself and has helped shape a nation that is much better at bombing nations than baptizing them. What’s that all about?

5. THE ALMIGHTY:
Should we revere God as “The Almighty” if God is clearly determined to let the chips fall where they may?  No Rabbi was sent by God to threaten Hitler as in the story of Moses threatening Pharaoh: “Let my people go, or else.” Our post 9/11 nation, still struggling with racism and sexism, will not be blessed with an African-American devout Muslim immigrant woman sent by God to be our unifying president. Such mighty signs would make the case that God wants to be revered as “The Almighty”. That case has yet to be made, except, of course, in our sacred stories.

6. GOOD FRIDAY:
Why is the Friday on which Jesus was crucified called “Good”? Is it because we favor the story that tells us that while Friday was bad for Jesus it was good for us, that the whips and nails which opened his body at that very moment opened the gates of heaven, saved sinners?
Another story suggests Jesus died fighting for the little guys against the big guys, suggesting that Friday should be called BAD Friday because the big guys won that battle and because that Friday was bad both for Jesus and for us.
7. GRANDCHILDREN:
While talking to your grandchildren about religion, try to be cautious, especially after reading this book. While writing it I was very cautious when my eight year old granddaughter called me on the phone.
Grandpa Jim, how did religion get started?

She still believed in Adam, Eve, and Santa. I could not tell her all three were fictional. So I shared with her a word-picture that went something like this:

Imagine yourself in a world with very few people, and everyone lives out in the open, almost like animals. It is a lonely world. You hardly know how to talk and there are very few people to talk to and they are scattered all over the place. It is a hard world to live in. You know very little about getting food or making clothes or building shelter. It is a scary world to live in. You are afraid of the dark, the cold, floods, fire, lightning, earthquakes, wild animals and dreams. It is an awesome world to look at, with its sun, moon, stars, mountains and oceans. It is a mysterious world to live in, for it gives freely and takes away just as freely. Who or what is behind this giving and this taking?  How powerful they or it must be. How can we get their help and appease their anger?  Eventually “help from above” was called God and belief in that help was called religion. God loving us and our loving God as well as one another was believed to be the highest form of
religion.
Some day my granddaughter will, I trust, learn to see the Adam and Eve story in light of my explanation. Hopefully, it will not be too rude of an awakening for her, that she will learn to read the bible as a book of stories not of facts.

Now, on to the story of my life with God and Son.
This is my story and I’m sticking to it.

Read more about Escape from Hell and the Almighty White Guy with a Beard and James La Croce HERE.

Copyright 2008 James La Croce. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.