Below are the 4 most recent journal entries recorded in tiny_hierophany's LiveJournal:

Friday, November 25th, 2005
8:39 pm	The predestination problem..... PT 1 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he[c] predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. (eph 1:4-6) Here is why I write these words, not just this article... The whole thing... this is one of my major problems with Jehovah God. You want to know who created evil in the world? In the christian world? It was God. God created Satan, who rebelled against God. God created Man, who rebelled against God. God created the source of his rebellion- both the woman and the fruit. God knew that the snake was in the garden, God knew the snake would tempt, God knew that Adam and Eve would fall- all before he made them. That is the beauty of predestination. Why would he do it? why would he make those to suffer? for his own Glory- Paul explains that too. (romans 9:14-21) 14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."[f] 16It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."[g] 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. 19One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" 20But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "[h] 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? According to the above text, and other scriptures in the bible, God hardened the heart of Pharaoh so that his own glory, God's glory could be seen. If pharaoh had given into the demands of Moses to let his people go upon the first or second plague then God's glory could not be fully realized. It was only upon inflecting all of the diseases and plagues upon egypt that God's true "glory" could be revealed, a glory dipped in blood and suffering. But who are we to question this? God made us all, some for noble purposes and some for common use- the KJV even uses stronger language here- some unto honor and some unto dishonor. If this was true, then that would mean that I was not "chosen" by god to be one of his, that I will burn in hell, not because i wasnt good eneough, not because I didnt want to be his, no he chose me not to choose him. Furthermore, one can conclude that the above situation is merely a hint at the big picture, God chose to harden Pharaoh's heart so tha this glory could be revealed- then too did god allow sin to happen and rebelion to take place so that his Glory could be revealed? Yes. God is the reason for suffering, hell, damnation, gnashing of teeth. God is the reason for all these filthy things that have ever happened. God chose the children who would die in tsnunamies, the mothers to die at cheyrnoble, and the men and women who died in those two towers several years ago- He chooses our choices, and then blames us when we choose incorrectly. And thats why, in the christian point of view at least, God is responsible for evil more on this later. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 24th, 2005
4:17 pm	The long road home. Jan and I were talking the other day, mostly about my beliefs and where I have come from, and where I am going. She asked me if I thought I would ever return back to christendom, or another organized religion. The answer was a definitive no. What's interesting about the question is that it wasnt the first time it had been asked. When Jan and I first dated she asked me the some question- a little over a year ago now... And the answer then was yes- I believed I would eventually return to christianity. At the time I still believed in Jesus, The trinity, etc- I just didnt know what to do with those beliefs. I'm not sure what the defining moment was, but some time this year I finally was able to break free from my former beliefs, I was able to free my self from the thinking of the christian mind. I use that terminology because to me that is EXACTLY what it was- freedom. I dont know where I am going exactly, but I know that for once in my life it wont be out of fear. You see, fear has been my greatest motivator for being religious. I have always been "spiritual", pretty much always believing in some form of God throughout my entire life. It has been a fear of what awated me in the after life that has kept me within the context of traditional chrisitanity. It has always been something akin of the "catch all" theory.... If I believe in Jesus, and the christians are right i'll go to heaven, if the buddhists are right i'll go to nirvanah or be reincarnated because I tried to be good, if the athiests are right then its all a joke anyway- that kind of thinking. In fact, I remember vividly being convinced that the Jehovah's witnesses were right- I had never seen anybody so devoted to understandting their bible (that was my perception at the time, now a days I am convinced that they know their religion- and not their bible). It was through my friendship with Jeremy and his JW family that I eventually told my mom I was going to become a JW. I was twelve, and I told her I was afraid of going to hell- I cried a lot (btw- JW dont believe in hell, they believe in Sheol, the grave, for those who are not saved). My mom told me I wasnt allowed to become JW and I should stop hanging out with that family. Eventually, when I was sixteen or so I asked Jesus into my heart in a youth group. I was one of many kids who were converted during a youth revival of sorts during the late 80s and early 90s. Organizations such as youth dynamics, teans for christ, and local youth groups flurished during this time period... as far as I know they still do. Still, I did all of this because I was afraid of burning in hell, I was afraid of what would await me in the after life. I think the concepts in christianity really appealed to me, the concepts that I deserved hell no matter what, and that its only through the grace of God that we are allowed into heaven. I always believed I was meant for hell- i just didnt want to go there. Eventually toward the end of high school I sort of left the active chrstiaan life. i still believed in Jesus but I wasnt practicing, Like many people in the united states I professed Jesus as my savior and practiced heathen living- it makes for great guilt. five and a half years ago, when Kobe was born I again commited my life to christ, and eventually found myself a member of a church in MV called the Gathering. During my time with the Gathering I became a very active participant, I ended up living in a house owned by the church, worked for the church and eventually became a Decon and studied to be an Elder (a pastor). It was once again that heathen lifestyle that was my downfall- and I was asked to leave the deaconship. I was so angered by the method and the other accusations that were not correct I left the church all together. Still, I figured I would eventually be back. Now? Now I no longer think that Jesus is the savior that he said he was. I no longer believe that he is the way the truth and the life, I no longer believe that no one will go to heaven but through him, and I'm not sure I believe in a heaven. I am just asking questions now a days, looking for proof, looking for something. I believe there is something out there- I believe there is a God/Goddess/Gods/spirit/something (which will be refered from here on out as the Godhead) I just dont know what it is, and I'm going to take my time to try and figure it out. This journal will be used for that purpose. I am going to use it to record my journey, to express my findings, and to ask my questions. I will also have some fun stuff like the theology word of the week- but thats not the purpose of this place, the purpose is to figure out what is out there. If this isnt for you? feel free to unfriend me- i wont take it personally, and I know were still friends. The articles will probably be long and long winded- The resolution will probably be nill, and for most the subject will be boring. But for me? Its a single driving force. (Comment on this)
3:26 pm	Theology Word of the Week Hierophany: Any purported appearance or experience of the sacred, such as that described in the burning bush episode (Exod 3). A hierophany is when the "Sacred" World breaks into profane space or time. This can take many shapes and forms but can be tied together by a unified thought, that a hierophany is something that pierces the normal world and breaks out of standard laws of space and physics. As noted above miracles such as the burning bush could be considered a hierophany, since in the above situation the bush- while it appeared to be burning- was not consumed by the fire, thus showing Moses that this was an act of God. Other documented hierophanys could include the the land bridge that allowed the jews to escape egypt or the turning of water into wine. One must be careful not to confuse a hierophany wth a theophany. A theophany is an occurance when a God/Godess appears in the profane world. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 10th, 2005
5:51 pm	Hey There! This is a friends only journal, unfortunately its out of necessity. If you want to read it please comment here and let me know who you are and why you wanna hang out in cyberspace with me. (7 Comments |Comment on this)