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blogging, faith, humor, insanitybytes22, life, Valentines Day
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I thought this post was adorable and right on, Kathryne’s, “Married to God but not a Nun!”
Life hack here, but whether we are single, married, divorced, widowed, always put Jesus first in your life. He just makes everything in our lives, so much better. Our relationship status doesn’t define us, our relationship with Jesus defines us. Also, He can meet our deepest needs in ways people never really can.
As Kathryne said, I have also discovered that He fills many relationship roles in our lives, that there are different seasons of discovering who God is. He’s a good, good Father. He’s a Shepherd. He sticks closer than a Brother. He’s a Great Physician. Healer. Comforter. Friend. Husband.
I’m currently really getting to know the Lord as Judge, not as in judgement like in criminal court, but as judge in the old Hebrew context, judge as the persistent widow went seeking a judge to help her out. Lord, I have suffered an injustice, right these wrongs for me. Repair what has been stolen. Replace what has been lost ten fold over, as you do, as you did for Job. It’s working out too, it’s very mysterious, very supernatural.
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But it’s Valentine’s Day, so I want to speak of Jesus as husband! I began dreaming of Jesus as husband while I was still very young. It made perfect sense to me. People used to tease me as in, she’s obviously married to the Lord. Obviously! Wow, I never received that as a compliment. My bad, but sometimes you get that eye roll, that mocking, that “we know she’s a Christian,” and the hurt, the rejection can blind you to the compliment, the praise.
It’s kind of like that quote about the author who hears, “your book was terrible!” And the author gets stars in his eyes and says, “So you really read my book?” Right? Perception is everything. But you read it, didn’t you? You know who I am….
Anyway, I saw Jesus as husband, and once pondered becoming a nun. I was not Catholic however, which is a huge stumbling block for nun work! However, the idea really appealed to me. I actually have some wonderful experiences with nuns. There’s a dreadful stereotype, many people have been abused by them, but in my own life, I have been really blessed by some positive encounters. The nuns I have encountered were kind of strong, kind of edgy, kind of willing to stand up for what was right, even when no one else would.
I hope I don’t offend anyone with my concept of Jesus as Sweetheart, but it’s the truth. We often have coffee together in the morning. We listen to music, all our favorite songs. We take long walks on the beach. Sometimes we watch the sunset, the full moon reflected on the water. We hold hands and gaze at the stars. I am in a season of rest, of just receiving the goodness of God, just taking it all in, admiring His creation, His romance.
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Did you know that creation is very romantic? That He is very romantic? It’s true. I have stars in my eyes, I have been blindsided by love. It’s an aspect of God I never really understood, never met until fairly recently. Never even saw it coming. Needless to say, it’s a glorious experience and I highly recommend it.
So let me put in a good word for St Valentine. He’s taken quite a beating on social media lately, a saint cloaked in a great deal of mystery and pretty much blamed for everything. We really don’t know a whole lot about him, except he is thought to be the saint of courtly love and epilepsy.
Yes, epilepsy. An odd juxtaposition indeed, but it makes a certain kind of sense. One of my favorites, Chaucer, actually brought Saint Valentine to life, into the public awareness.
Just a side note, I adore Chaucer, met him in 11th grade, the usual way, as in, Do Not Read, it’s absolutely forbidden, terrible man, very risque. I live in an area where the classics are not always appreciated, they often fail the politically correct test. Needless to say I have consumed them all, like a half starved emotional eater, under great duress…..
Happy Valentine’s Day, y’all!
See, there's this thing called biology... 
From what I read and understand IB, your captivated mind has seduced this bronze age man Jesus into the most perfect person who fills all the roles you could ever want in your life, therefore it has become an obsession. It is called “Obsessive Love Disorder” (OLD) and may be linked to other mental health disabilities. One thing is for sure, you will not get done for harassment.
Religious thinking alters the brain chemistry can become addictive, Karl Marx called religion the “opium of the people” Sigmund Freud felt that god was an illusion and worshipers were reverting to the childhood needs of security and forgiveness.
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LOL! Obsessive love disorder? Well that’s a new one! So, if this is what it means to be disordered, than I highly recommend it. Glad to know Jesus won’t charge me with harassment. That’s actually kind of funny, stalking God! I think He is more than capable of handling me. In fact, I think he might even enjoy my obsession.
As to the opium of the masses, sheesh, now you want me to take advice from Karl Marx? How about, “she who has the most high, needs no other high?” That would include any high a Marxist might be selling. There’s a good reason why they always try to ban religion.
As to Sigmund, did you know he once obsessively dissected 300 eels? Yep, he went a bit crazy trying to find their testicles, but I’m supposed to be the crazy one? 🙂
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Good response. That brain chemistry thing just keeps popping up.
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The brain thing keeps popping up because this is where it all happens Randy, in your brain, not your heart. You must realise we all believe we know it all, we all have what we consider good reasons and emotional feelings that tell us what the truth is and what is going on in life, but the others, those who disagree with us are totally wrong and do not understand.
You will say that is exactly what I am doing, and you may be right, however I also understand the source of humans experiences can only come from one place, the human computer. This is not just an idea of mine, it has gone well beyond that point, this is through neuroscience and the area of neurotheology that tries to lay the groundwork for a new kind of scientific and theological dialogue and finds many positives of religious beliefs. You may find this interesting, from a doctor who is a professor of religious studies and theist, or you will dismiss it due to your emotional thoughts and infallible knowledge.
https://www.npr.org/2010/12/15/132078267/neurotheology-where-religion-and-science-collide
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I find no problem with the paper. I would find a problem with the gradual evolution of a simple brain to a brain with such awesome still to be discovered capabilities.
If the brain is designed by God, it only makes sense that human beings (made in the image of God) would be able to discover ways to utilize the built in strengths it possesses.
Thanks for pointing me to the article.
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Thanks for your reply, but have you ever considered that the brain had evolved into designing gods? The biological evolutionary basic principles have held firmly as facts for over a hundred and fifty years and are well supported by the DNA biological sciences.
Logic tells us all including most Christians who will not deny that ancient stone age man invented many gods and deities to explain the natural events on the planet. Modern man has evolved from here over many millions of years with religious intent becoming an inherent nature of man such as all of our other emotional responses.
Of course this science is why religions and creationists have also pushed back against the old age of the planet and cannot accept the science even though it is well established beyond any doubt.
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Inventing God’s does not even begin to prove that a creator doesn’t exist. DNA evidence in all its complexity points to a creator. Do you ever wonder how something as complex as a one cell organism could form without a plan?
If you found a box of microchips on your front step, and they were the most powerful ever known, would you for one second doubt that someone had created them? Even if no one ever discovered who did it?
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Inventing gods is a fact that proves that man is capable of doing that, so what makes any of them real?
When you consider about 60 million chemical compounds are known and between ten quadrillion vigintillion and one-hundred thousand quadrillion vigintillion atoms in the known observable universe along with 118 known chemical elements and given the many thousands of molecular structures and the environmental conditions on Earth millions of years ago I would consider there is a strong chance of a single cell forming.
I am sorry to say Randy but I believe scientists may have discovered the common ancestor that unites all life on Earth called “Luca,” take some time and take a look at this link.
Even if you scoff at this, just remember they did just that when Darwin first suggested the evolutionary principles 150 years ago, the scientists will yet again confirm the Bible is a story inspired by bronze age superstitious men.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/scientists-find-luca-a-single-cell-bacterium-like-organism-that-is-the-common-ancestor-of-all-life-a7157176.html
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I took some time and took a look. “Luca” in Spanish means 1000 pesos which equals about 53.87. I’m not sure this article was worth 53.87 as far as having a convincing argument.
Back to that first thing, all those really big numbers of atoms and chemical compounds, and maybe add some lightning and an asteroid or meteorite, and Poof! Zam! Pow! And there you have it. A simple organism of life, with the ability to receive nourishment, remove waste, and reproduce?
You do have faith after all!
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I did not expect you to be convinced with the article Randy, after all it is scientific progress into dismantling your faith.
The big numbers I quoted are actual facts. There is a big difference between faith and facts. I do not base my speculation of the first life based on faith, it is simply what may have happened, unlike yourself, you have been sold an ancient peoples creationist story you appear to have swallowed hook line and sinker.
The unfortunate thing for you is that you claim you know exactly what happened, however you have based this claim and your whole being on relentless faith, hope and emotive feelings in some ancient words that describe a magical creator God.
All this conjecture is embraced in an aim to redeem what is more emotional fear based faith of a reward within the ancient supernatural world, nothing more.
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When you say that the big numbers are actual facts, does that mean exactly facts or estimated facts? And the ages, are those exact, or are they also estimates? And if estimates, what is the plus or minus?
And, if you discovered that there was indeed a huge devastating destroying flood over the earth, say 6- 10 thousand years ago, how would that revise your idea of the age of man?
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I do not know if you have any knowledge in chemistry Randy, but if you did you would understand that the numbers are not fixed.
https://cen.acs.org/synthesis/Chemists-discovered-new-compounds-exponential/97/i25
the bonding of atoms and the high numbers of compounds, such as carbon organic compounds known to man currently number more than 9 million.
New found elements have lately been added to the periodic table, Nihonium (Nh), element 113. Moscovium (Mc), element 115. Tennessine (Ts), element 117, Oganesson (Og) element118.
The dating of anything extremely old are always estimated dates, even with all the dating techniques available you can only get accurate to within decades or centuries in many cases. The estimated age of the Earth has been established through dating Earths crust, the moon and meteorites that crashed on Earth and along with the archaeological data give an estimate of 4.54 billion years, give or take 50 million.
Scientific theories are of a huge flood in the Black Sea area and attributing a massive flood to a comet that hit the Earth. Of course if there was evidence of a world flood as you believe this would throw up a whole lot of new questions, not just the age of man.
Of course if you believe your Biblical science of Earth being under ten thousand years old you will call all this data false and call into question the honesty and accuracy of millions of scientists. We can however look forward to newer questions and answers and even more accuracy regarding chemistry and the age of the Earth, that is how science works.
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All good, scientific answers. Thanks for taking the time to answer. Something you said earlier is still sitting in my brain.
If my “religious” experiences are simply chemical stimulation to my evolved brain, how do you know that the learning you received from others and accept as fact are not the results of the same type of chemical stimulation?
One more thing. What if a part of my brain that used to be “dead” has been awakened to a realm that you cannot experience?
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Thank you for your interest Randy, this is a fascinating subject. The stimulation of the brain is not so emotionally captivated for my interest in a subject such as science or military tanks as yours would be in God.
This is because your indulgence has gone beyond this level of interest. The religious process is about worship, mostly driven through powerful positive emotional feelings that make the theist feel good, secure and personal with God, such as God is always with you, God is there for you at any time and you may have thought he even communicated with you and answered your prayers. These articles cover much of this subject.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322539
This article has results of certain studies you may find interesting.
https://www.iflscience.com/brain/conflict-between-religion-and-science-down-warring-brain-networks-study-says/
Another angle on the same subject and if you look around there are many more sites
https://qz.com/852450/the-neuroscience-argument-that-religion-shaped-the-very-structure-of-our-brains/
https://neurosciencenews.com/religion-psychology-cognition-10410/
As you will read the spiritual brain changes, mostly for the better and anyone who meditates can also reap the same benefits as theists.
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One question. Have you experienced any of these brain changes or have you just read the research?
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Glad you mentioned this Randy, it so happens I have, I regularly meditate and have found I have the ability to control anxiety and stress just for starters. I am by no means the guru of meditation, however simple concentration methods and the positive expectations are extremely helpful for well being by boosting health, sleep, happiness and optimism.
The ability to use the mind simply with a positive attitude can heal your body by removing stress. In older cultures the reliance on medical science is often substituted by meditation, especially in the East where they understand that stress, worry and anxiety lowers the bodies ability to fight of illnesses.
Humans are still evolving in the West when it comes to understanding the power of the brain, meditation has increased in popularity and is the fastest growing trend in America.
https://eocinstitute.org/meditation/how-meditation-cures-you-naturally/
https://www.mindful.org/meditation-is-the-fastest-growing-health-trend-in-america/
I believe I understand were all religious convictions come from and why you have the benefits that you enjoy from your worship, and the brain is the key to everything, a scientific phenomenon where scientists have only just scratched the surface.
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Thank you, dear Gabrielle, for linking to my video and discussing intimacy with Jesus on Valentine’s day. Oh, He is indeed the lover of our souls! As always, your posts make me laugh and touch my heart. You’re a gem.
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That’s neat you are thinking lately of God as Judge, there’s the other side f God as Judge that gives comfort
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Amen, Slim! Exactly. I’m laughing here, but in my neck of the woods, “judgement” means you’re going to jail. We forget sometimes that you can actually “win a judgment” and it can actually be a good thing, the righting of an injustice. That’s really how it was in Biblical days, like with the case of the persistent widow or even King Solomon. Those were women seeking fairness, justice, a redress of their grievances. LOL, they actually wanted to go before the judge! Judges were there to help us. 🙂
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What a helpful insight, really like the women going to the judges reference in your post and comment
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Sklyjd, I am writing this as a comment to IB, because I don’t think you will grasp the meaning of what I say. She will.
The brain (and the mind) are creations of God, and could not possibly have evolved without an intelligent intervention.
When I first experienced what your scientists call “religious euphoria” , I had done nothing to prepare the way.
Because I was teaching a class on the Bible (which I had no skills to do whatsoever), I happened upon a verse that troubled me.
I had never been troubled by a verse from the Bible in my previous 26 years.
I had never considered it as anything more than a religious book (my religion) and it had no effect on me.
This day, “you must be born again” wouldn’t leave my mind.
I pushed it away, tried to forget it, but the next morning it popped up again in my mind.
I had done no meditation, no praying, no conversation.
But, this moment, as I drove, I asked a question in my mind, “What does it mean to be born again?”
Within five minutes, a two physical real papers showed up in my path that spoke to the question.
I read a prayer written by someone else, wanting it to be helpful, believing, but not really believing, and, at that moment, something opened up in my mind that had never been there before.
It was like a light came on, a darkness receded, and I started to change immediately.
It was a new beginning.
I was like a new creation.
I was still me, but I was a different me.
No brain helmet, no electrodes, no drugs, nothing to stimulate the frontal lobes of this previously darkened (by comparison) brain.
I say, it was the finger of God, bringing to life the dead part of my brain that allowed me to begin to “see, hear, and experience” Him.
Maybe, the brain can be artificially stimulated to mimic this, but I promise you, since God is real, so is the part of the spiritual world that encompasses evil, and this segment of spirituality is trying to displace YHWH.
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator….” Romans 1:25
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Amen! You’ve said it well. I’ve written before about how our brains are not simulating an experience, in fact our brains are often part of the problem, part of what blocks us from experiencing God fully.
In the modern West we tend to perceive people as only defined by our brains, kind of as if we were computers. We were once clocks, than steam engines, than factories. It’s kind of fascinating how we will reflect the technology around us and start to perceive ourselves, our own make up in similar ways. So back in the day, allegedly we weren’t really having a spiritual epiphany, because we were just clocks set in motion by our inner parts. Today the perception is that our brains are just like computers. A bit funny, we were once clocks without a watchmaker and today we are computers without a programmer. The point being this is a fruit of modern culture, literature, the narrative we have written in our time and not actual science.
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Very nice. Great explanation. “Computers without a programmer.”
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As I expected Randy, you and IB have just hand waved away the science of the real world.
This amazing light coming and opening of your mind regarding being born again would have been a yearning festering within your subconscious mind, regardless that you tried to forget it with your conscious thoughts, not withstanding the fact that the “born again” verse that troubled you would have been the catalyst by awakening the dominance of the subconscious.
The subconscious mind is the background control of us all, it is the unintentional aspect of our lives that scientists have long known is more powerful than our conscious mind and figures in 90% of our brain functions. The reason for this is the conscious mind is not powerful enough to process all the information of reality and fact.
https://www.well.org/mindset/how-your-subconscious-mind-controls-your-behavior/
https://www.newscientist.com/round-up/hack-your-unconscious/
Considering you were heavily involved with scripture as a teacher of the Bible anyway must be considered a serious commitment and a factor whether you agree or not regarding it’s relevance.
Sadly your “finger of God” “new beginning” and “new creation” is simply a result of an extremely powerful brain, not a supernatural occurrence but from our earliest relatives and the evolutionary process has paved this supernatural path over many thousands of years and this process has now taken a secular path in advanced western countries just as a theocratic path has formed in suppressed, poor and uneducated countries.
“since God is real, so is the part of the spiritual world that encompasses evil, and this segment of spirituality is trying to displace YHWH.”
“They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator….” Romans 1:25”
Science is not about displacing God, it is the thousands of years of knowledge that is displacing God. Why would millions of scientists and atheists or non-believers be evil for simply doing science? How do you substantiate the passage you quoted, explain how evil is trying to displace YHWH ? How does this happen and how does it make any sense today outside of the Biblical expressions.
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“Sadly your “finger of God” “new beginning” and “new creation” is simply a result of an extremely powerful brain, not a supernatural occurrence…..”
I always find the things you don’t say, quiet curious, skylyjd. “Sadly?” Why in the world would an atheist be sad about that? It seems you should be quite pleased to have slain the supernatural with your vastly superior wisdom, and yet you are sad.
Good grief, you are so exceedingly transparent and completely lacking self awareness that sometimes my brain just goes numb listening to you.
One last thing, “The subconscious mind is the background control of us all, it is the unintentional aspect of our lives that scientists have long known is more powerful than our conscious mind and figures in 90% of our brain functions.”
This is actually complete rubbish. You should do some research into our vagus nerve. We are actually far more ruled by our own gut bacteria than by our alleged subconscious mind. Ancient people actually understood this long ago, in ways science is only beginning to understand. The old saying, “trust you gut,” originated from Biblical wisdom, not modern science.
Regardless, I’m going to have to insist that you respect people’s testimonies, their spiritual experiences. I’ve had quite enough if your dismissive tone over the years, your constant mockery. Flat out, I don’t care what you think, I’ve seen Him, I’ve felt Him, I’ve experienced Him, and I plan to continue doing so for all of eternity.
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I only say I am sad to say such things because I understand your deep emotional connections to your God. I also know that I will tread on a few Christian toes with my comments as you have basically suggested regardless of how lightly I walk on the egg shells. I guess anything I say that contradicts your faith appears to be mockery to you.
The vagus nerve you mention is amazing and just highlights how amazing and powerful the brain is, but what exactly is complete rubbish, have you anything to the contrary about our subconscious mind?
As you appear to have a closed mind on what are scientific realities and those realities are the basis of my arguments with Randy but I guess you are going to ban me regardless of how I present the content of my arguments. On a note here, I do respect the theist just not their beliefs, same as you, right?
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Thanks! I appreciate you telling me that I have a powerful brain.
After billions of years of evolution, I wonder why we aren’t doing any better to our fellow man.
Of course, since there is no god, we are each completely in charge of our own destiny, right?
My problem is, though, I felt a lot of guilt about how I was so selfish and self-centered.
I thought I was good!
(Oh, and on a side note, I wasn’t a teacher of the Bible. I had been asked, shortly after I returned to the church I had grown up in after several years of absence, to teach the high school Sunday school class. It was my second week. I had read exactly two chapters of one book in probably over 6 years. The kids were bored to death, as was I.)
My powerful brain doesn’t explain me finding two pieces of paper on two piles of trash that seemed to change my life.
But, if you don’t need God, then you aren’t where I was.
Nothing IB or I or anyone else says will make any difference to you.
Thanks for the compliment, though, my brain is much more powerful since “my subconscious took hold” and pointed me to my Creator, my Fixer, my Forgiver, my Friend.
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