The Catalyst

Salutations,

It seems as if last weeks topic of free will was nothing short of explosive. It’s nothing like challenging religion to get your responses flowing. I was starting to think you all didn’t care. Of course, I got backlash for my stance but it wasn’t anything I didn’t expect. However, what truly surprised me was the support I received. I didn’t expect many of you to agree with me. It is a relief to know that I’m not alone. Sometimes I feel like an island “or peninsula, maybe. Makes no sense. I know, crazy…” Anyway, whether you agreed or disagreed, I was happy to see everyone expressing his or her apodictic* opinions. I don’t mind a person with a different point of view as long as they believe it with all their heart. For all of you who didn’t like last week’s topic of free will, I do apologize however I can’t help how I feel. We are all grown ups and that was a grown up topic. I have set up a blog so if anyone wants to post a rebuttal, feel free. The address is at the bottom. And if you thought last week’s topic was blasphemous, you may want to delete this Catalyst because…well, you’ll see.
Last week, we discussed our free will. Free will is freedom to make YOUR OWN decision. This week I want to talk about God’s will. (I tried to warn you) What is God’s Will for our lives? I’ve struggled with this question. I spent countless Sunday and Tuesday services trying to figure out what exactly is my purpose. I spent so much money buying tapes, books, and DVDs trying to find out what God wanted me to do. I studied the Bible using my Strong’s concordance in an attempt to take a peek into the mind of God. You know what I came up with? Nothing. So one night as I was praying I said, “God, please give me direction. Show me what I’m supposed to do with my life. Beyond that, show me You.” It was a simple request. However, the reply shook me to my core.
God told me that there are so many misconceptions about Him. He said that although people have the best intentions when they give His message, they some times miss the point. You want to know some of these misconceptions? Well, one is that humans are born sinners, evil, and contrary to what is God. If God were the Creator, then why would He create something that is the opposite of Him. If God is our Father, how can His offspring be evil? Sure, our bodies are born through flesh but what about our consciousness? You know consciousness, that part of our mind that has no weight, color, or smell but controls everything we see and do. Our conscious comes from somewhere and saying it comes from our parents is silly beyond words. Some of you may say that we create our own consciousness. That’s true, kind of. I believe we develop our conscious but to say we create our conscious is absolutely outrageous. The Bible says that “as a he (man) thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)”. So if you think of yourself as a sinner, guess what? You are. All you can hope to be in life is a sinner, a good one but a sinner nonetheless (if that makes sense). You don’t deserve anything because you are evil and can’t be anything but evil UNLESS you accept Jesus into year heart (AND go to church every Sunday AND give your money to the building fund AND the children’s church fund AND the pastors new suit and Bentley fund AND on top of that tithe and offering). No other religion will work, just the one you believe. But what if you don’t think of yourself as a sinner? What if you think of your self as giant who can do anything, be anything, and accomplish ANY goal you want? What if you have the courage to stand up for what you believe in and not be a mindless automaton that believes any and everything from somebody with a tailor made suit and charisma. God did not create us to get by until we get to Heaven. He created us to dominate. Do you dominate in your life? If not, as the late Ike Turner would say, what the problem is?
Another misconception, God told me, is that He is separate from us. We, as Humans, think that God is in Heaven looking down on us scrutinizing everything we do, judging us every minute of every day. That’s not God. That’s Santa Clause. God is not separate from us. We couldn’t separate ourselves from God even if we wanted to do so. We are pieces of God. Like I mentioned last week, God is inescapable. He is everywhere we look. God is not holding a grudge over what Adam and Eve did. Humans hold grudges. I don’t know how we could ever think that anything we do will make God emotional. Happiness, jealousy, anger, regret and sadness are emotions humans depend on for direction (unstable ones at that). God is not a person. Surprisingly, He is also not American. He’s not Black. He’s not White. He is actually not even a “He”. I call God “He” because calling him “It” seems weird. I would call Him “She” but I get enough emails. God is, period. God is infinite and any time we define Him we show how ignorant we really are. I know what you are thinking. Well, aren’t you trying to define God? Yes, I’m TRYING to define God. I haven’t come up with a satisfactory definition yet. I know I never will actually define God but the journey to do so is exhilarating.
In our discussion, God showed me so many things. He recommended books that challenged what I knew. He said if I wanted to really get to know God, I would first have to forget what I’ve been conditioned to think. That task was harder than I thought because I had religion drilled in my mind since about 5 years old. I assumed what I knew was the unequivocal “truth”. But in order to see Heaven you must enter as a child. What do children do? They constantly ask questions. If something doesn’t make sense they say so. They keep asking questions until they are satisfied with the answer (Why mommy? Why? Why?). There is one more thing that children do. They rarely take “because I said so” for an answer.

“He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.” - Albert Einstein

Dream Big. Live Bigger.


The All-American
www.rallostyles.com
http://thecatalystexperience.blogspot.com/ (After constant prodding, I’ve set up a blog! Subscribe and invite friends. Vote whether you feel the topic or not. Leave your responses. Make sure you are nice though. My mom reads these. The Catalyst is officially interactive. Now, everyone can share his or her thoughts!)


*Word you’ve never heard…

apodictic /ap-uh-DIK-tik/ adj. – expressing absolute certainty