God is liberty. That simple.
Don’t let anyone tell you
this is not a Christian Nation, the philosophy of the Christian Tradition,
which is rooted in the Jewish tradition, leads to liberty. Why? Because the truth works.
There are three basic
motivating factors, food, sleep and sex. Keep that in mind, very
important. Now, consider all the wild animal shows you watch on
big brother, and how vicious the wild world is. It’s tough to make a living, it
just is. It’s kill or be killed. It run for you life, till you can’t run no
more, then somebody eats you. That’s the way it is. The laws of evolution (?), it’s
the way it works. Those animals are at liberty. Get it.
Now, man is by nature a
social creature, so he is going to be drawn together in groups. Groups, or on
his own, has to provide for food sleep and sex. This isn’t easy in a wild world,
with all the fussing and fighting and regardless, the stronger would prevail.
That’s the laws of evolution (?), that’s the way they work. That’s liberty.
Now God set us on a path
contrary to the law of evolution and gave us a set of rules, which if obeyed,
provides for food, sleep and sex. In other words, a man is at liberty to do as
he chooses, because he will choose goodness, over himself. Not always an easy
thing to do, but when practiced, leads to liberty and prosperity. Quite a
different picture from the liberty of the wild kingdom. Either way you’re free,
what’s it going to be? Consider these rules…..
I am the Lord
thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt
By revealing himself to us
as the one true God, we are by default empowered, which in turn brings peace of
mind. Empowered because we understand that we answer to no one except God;
therefore you cannot enslave me because I belong to the one true God, and I
cannot serve his greater Glory if I am enslaved. Nor shall I be molested or led
astray because God has shone me the way, and no other, regardless of rank can
change that which God has put in place, thus God gives me rank over the wicked.
If I can adhere to this teaching, I am granted purpose and meaning in my life,
to seek and serve him who has created me and has revealed himself to me. And
with these things in place, I can’t help but have peace of mind, for what else
can matter? I am given authority to be alive, to protect myself and be my own
person.
You shall not
carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the
earth below or in the waters beneath the earth: you shall not bow down before
them or worship them. For I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting
punishment for their fathers’ wickedness on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation, but bestowing mercy down to the
thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my
commandments.
This one is tuff, and can be
confusing if not approached properly. First of all it has nothing to do with
figurines, statues, stain class windows or any of these things, and if you
follow me, I’ll show you why. First let us take at look at these things, statues,
figurines, paintings, stain glass. The ability to create such things is a great
talent, with a compulsive desire to create. We can only assume this talent is a
gift from God. So the question arises, why would God give to man a
compulsive desire to create such things? Well, one reason the Church offers up
is: this ability is a form of language, to communicate things that otherwise
would not be communicated. Art is a language, no different than music, math and
linguistics. While linguistics tends to be confined to a particular culture or
peoples, art and music tend to be universal. Artwork was used extensively by
the early Church to communicate the life of Christ to people whose language was
different from those teaching. It was also used to tell the gospels stories
among people who couldn’t read. This commandment played a big part in forming the
way the Hebrews looked at and responded to the world around them. God didn’t
say you couldn’t have a figurine, he said you (sin is personal) could not make
it an idol, which is an abstract idea, thus introducing the Jews
to the abstract, the beginning of creative and critical
thinking. But in a larger sense, when the world became an
overwhelming experience, because of rising water in a flood, a volcanic
eruption, an earthquake, a tornado, a large meteor from the sky, what ever was
to come along, the Jews could be sure it wasn’t God, it was part of God’s
creation, but God was bigger and beyond whatever it was. (Geneses 1.1 In the
beginning God created the heavens and the earth). With this idea in place, it
can be concluded that all things belong to God, and therefore unfold according
to God’s plan, a single plan, one God. Without the fear of false gods or idols to hinder you, or limit your thinking: this plan
could be understood with a study of the truth, thus the birth of the modern idea of science.
Plainly said, it simply forces us to think big!
You shall not
take the name of your Lord thy God in vain.
Just what does this mean, vain: 1. without real significance, value or
importance. In other words, without
knowing you said it, where there is no thought of God. When I was seven, my
father bought me a BB gun and gave it to me with a few rules. One of these
rules were “you can’t shoot song birds, if I catch you shooting song birds,
it’s your ass.” Well I learned one bird from another because when my Dad said
it’s your ass, I knew what he meant, and I knew he meant it! At the time I
thought Dad liked songbirds, but I’m a grown man now and my Dad is dead. He
didn’t give a damn about a song bird, I know that now, he wanted to make sure
that I always knew what was in my sights before I pulled the trigger. In the
same way God, by denying us the use of his name without cause, which he finds
offensive, has demanded we be present to who we are, what we say and what we
do. That we be actors in this life and not spectators. That we be true to thy
own self.
Now lets develop this Idea a
little, this means you are created in such a way, as to be present, anytime
you’re conscience, if you choose to be. This is a very important concept here,
because it brings into play the idea of the will. What is the will? The will is the conscience’s power
over the body. The conscience is confirmed because it can choose contrary to
the way it feels. Thus the will exists because the conscience exists. Now consider this for a moment, look at the world of
mammals, or animals, no were among them do you fine one that can choose
contrary to the way it feels. It’s how they work, it is what makes them work
and respond to the world around it. They are hard wired. If you want to
change an animal’s behavior, you change the way he feels. Yet, among human
beings alone is behavior observed contrary to the way the creature feels, and
indeed, encourages their young to act contrary to the way they feel. Thus, this
is the witness to the will, which in turn is wittiness to the conscience. Now this is very basic, and very simple, you have to
consider it for yourself. Now you might say, well? All the commandments, cause you to know what you are
doing, to be present, yes I agree, but! The second commandment addresses this idea at the
very level of the being, the place in the mind were who and what you are
manifest itself into language, where it can be spoken, are not. This is where
the human being exists, where the gray mass comes forth into language in such
away it can be understood by the conscience, and the conscience of others, if
spoken. This is the very core of your being, and the second commandment demands
you be present, at the guard at all times. Liberty
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath.
God wants a relationship,
with you. Once a week you’re invited into his house. Not you neighbor, not the
holy people in the front row, you. These laws are personal, like your relationship
with God, personal. Ya have a whole day, once a week to think about God. How do
you think about God? Well you can go to Church, and I recommend it. But
consider during the day, if God created everything as we see, hear, smell,
taste and touch it. Then you have to admit, God’s quite an artist. And how do
you know an artist, you study his work, look at it with awe and marvel, and be
grateful you got to see such a thing as this, and spend the day with him. The
amount of time this created to contemplate larger things, leads to larger
things. Growth in oneself. Liberty
Honor Thy
father and thy mother, that your days maybe long upon the earth.
(If you notice, the gift is
attached, “that your days maybe long upon the earth.”) I also look at this and see the foundations of the
Patriarch and the Matriarch, thus creating rank and structure in the family,
which spills over into the community, and into the nation. Empowering parents
to educate their children, thus creating the idea and practice of collective knowledge.
Think about that. This is
the foundation of all education. And you might think it’s aimed at the youth,
but indeed both, because the default is, parent’s be worthy. And we all know, understanding
leads to liberty.
You shall not
kill.
This is the foundation of
the sanctity of life. You can’t kill me because God says you can’t, this makes
me special to God. Thus I am sacred. Now just when was it I became sacred, and
when exactly do I stop being sacred? The original Hebrew word refers to
murder: You can not kill out of conveyances. But if ones lives by the sword,
than one dies by the sword. That is to say, you have the right to defend your
life and what’s yours. Liberty
You shall not
commit adultery.
By default, if you keep this
commandment, you have the foundation of the family; you have the foundation of
trust, because if you can’t trust the one you’re sharing a bed with, children
with, then who can you trust? With whom can you do business? Form alliances?
Trust begins in marriage and indeed is the cornerstone of marriage. Fidelity
helps keep the family free of disease, and this extends into the community.
Fidelity goes along way to keeping peace within a community. The family is the
foundation of many communities, companies, and nations. Without the family you
have tyranny. Marriage defines who’s having sex with
whom, and whose kids are whose. . It establishes a branch, with a history and
tradition of collective knowledge and wisdom which can be passed on and added
to. Sex, being a primary motivator, and if women are recognized as the gift
they are, leads to liberty.
Thou shall not
steal.
This is the foundation of
free enterprise. Simply by denying us the right to steal, by default, you have
the right to possess. To trade, if you can trade, you can build wealth and
trade it for wealth others have built, and thus you can grow as a community,
as a nation. Jesus said ‘give to the poor,’ you cannot give
what you do not possess. Everything we possess comes from obedience to this
commandment. And you have the right to defend what is yours because if you are not
willing to defend it, is it really yours? Liberty
Thou shall not
bear false witness.
This is the foundation of law, of justice. You cannot have justice without
truth, if you are not willing to witness to the truth, then how can you have
justice, and of what use is law. One is depended upon the other. Liberty
Thou shall not
covet thy neighbor goods, harvest, ass, house, nor his wife.
This is the very bedrock of
happiness, if you can keep this commandment, it means you have come to terms
with who and what you are, and you are satisfied and pleased with what God has
done and is doing for you in your life). Liberty
Now do you want to spend
your time consumed with envy, worrying about what your neighbors have and you
do not, what you could be and what you are not. Do you want to spend your time
looking over your shoulder because you are a liar, a cheat, a thief, a killer,
and the people you offended are hunting you down like a dawg, with a price on
your head, with no regard for your life. Do you want to spend your time
worrying about the man who’s wife you abused or running from women who blame
their children on you, or spend your time dripping with disease. Do you want to
spend your time learning everything you need to know from scratch, with no
thought of teaching you, or helping you, to spend your time without the love
and admiration of one’s parents; of ones’ children? Do you want to spend your
time working at your task, with no break, with no time for family, community,
or rest? Do you want to spend your time looking for and trying to satisfy all
the gods the world has put up for you to admire and pay tribute. Do you want to
spend your time in fear of displeasing these strange gods and having their
wrath rain down upon you, because you don’t know who they are, or what to do to
please them, to spend your time in hopelessness, because these gods offer you
nothing beyond your grave? Yes, I do believe these Ten Commandments were indeed
gifts. If you walk thru a cemetery and look at the tombstones, what do you
find? The day a person was born, and the day they died, that’s what you find. A
person’s life is made of time, that’s all you have. If you consider the time,
that simple obedience to these commandments free up, your God has truly given
you the path to liberty. ©
As a note; I do not believe in evolution, I believe "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."
George Henry Nichols
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