Mystical Angels

Healing Prayers.... But will it really help? Prayer relaxes us as we invite God into our situation. Prayer reduces stress as we share our burdeds with God. The scientific community now adds intriguing evidence of the power of prayer. After studying the effects of prayer and meditation on patients for more than 30 years, Dr Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School calls prayer and meditation " profound medicine." Spiritual people have long believed in the healing power of prayer and meditation. We have the power from within through prayers. But will it really help? Perhaps you're uneasy about praying for healing for fear it won't work. Prayer always works! It's sometimes God surprises us with the way prayer works. Prayer isn't a catalogue where we select, order, then wait for delivery. It is God's mystical way of changing us through good times and through suffering, God's way of uniting us with that divine part of us-our souls. Spiritual healing continues as we seek forgiveness for whatever separates us from God. God Bless

who can tell me the Hcv spiritual/prayer healing? my big brother caught with the diseases HCV but we did not know and now here is any one who can tell me , how can we heal him with an spiritual or prayer

Do you think that prayer and spiritual healing have a health benefit? If so, support your arguement with at least one research citation. If not, support your argument with at least one opposing research citation.

What is the Hindu spiritual perspective on healing? I am studying to be a counselor and am trying to learn about how people of other faiths approach healing and health care. I appreciate any help you can provide regarding these questions. How to people of the Hindu faith approach healing for illness? What are the critical components for healing (meditation, prayers, etc.)? Would the same apply for addiction counseling and treatment? Is there anything that would be important for a health care provider of a different faith to know? What is the perception of health care providers from different faiths who put their own beliefs aside to put patients needs first?

What is the Muslim spiritual perspective on healing? I am studying to be a counselor and am trying to learn about how people of other faiths approach healing and health care. I appreciate any help you can provide regarding these questions. How to people of the Muslim faith approach healing for illness? What are the critical components for healing (meditation, prayers, etc.)? Would the same apply for addiction counseling and treatment? Is there anything that would be important for a health care provider of a different faith to know? What is the perception of health care providers from different faiths who put their own beliefs aside to put patients needs first?

Spiritual healing...? I asked this before, but I still want to know your opinion about healing through spirits, like John of God. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CiSMWorqWA&mode=related&search= I know you are going to say it is demoniac, it is fake, so on. I think that since Jesus was a healer and He told His disciples to continue His work, I believe we have healers among us. I know healing can be done by prayers and through someone's faith. However, some mediums need to lay hands on the patients and put on all that show for one reason... and the reason is this: that's the way we believe... As human beings, we tend to doubt what our eyes can't see. God has a purpose on putting people like John of God among us. He wants to reach people's hearts. How did people believe in Jesus? By seing with their own eyes the miracles He was performing. If Jesus never used this kind of stuff, would people believe solely on what he was saying? Your opinion and thoughts... John of God is famous because people witness and give testimony. If one gets healed, it is natural to spread the news and it gets even bigger stuff with the media help. However, that doesn't mean he looks forward to fame. He sees hundreds of people per day, working hard for hours and hours, he provides food for everyone and does everything for free. I refuse to accept the idea this is demon stuff, when all he does is help people. One more thing, John of God in portugues is "Joao de Deus" which is a common name for a child, that's not exactly a title he gave himself. Actually he is very humble person and atributes his gift solely to spirits, claiming he is just a tool in spirits' hands. Spirits sent by God.

whats realigion thats out there that belives in spiritual healing? i am a beliver on the spirtial healing of god.i dont belive in taking medicines first of all it only cure the systems and not the problem so i pray to god to make the pain go away.i dont wantmy child reciveing ocupational therphy cause i belive its only a waste of time and that there just taking our money.i belive in the prayers of jesus crist he will over come hes problem and not need to have the ot services but is there a realigion out there were i can belive in the natural heling of jesu christ and not have to recive the services for my child if i feel it isnt heloing him ins school and i jst wanna belive in the prayers to jesus for natural healing?is ther anything wrong with that?cause i am unsatisfied for the school services and so i beging to turn to the prayers to god and it seems to help but the school has asked what religion we are so they can determine if us denying him services in school is a good reason based on our beliefs please help someone.casue i reeally belive in all natural healing of prayers and god listing to to the prayers

does anyone beleive in spiritual healing? does anyone beleive in spiritual healing through candles and prayer, would you please like to share your experiances with me, only real answers please I know alot of you will have a smart *** remark but please keep it to yourself.

Does anyone believe in people with 'energy' for healing? In the past, people would gather and with faith and prayer, people would become healed, but those were not people from all walks of life. I mean, what if we had football stars, psychics, actors, artists, crazies, people who are best at what they do, join in prayer and spiritual healing and try to achevie a higher level ? well what i mean is in the past people would gather around and not all of them might have this power, but if we actually had many high profile, and by that I don't mean just celebrities, but I man all major psychics, etc. I'd like to see it done.. Of course you have to have faith tho.

Healing prayers - all different faiths please!? Hello, I would like to gather a collection of prayers for healing, from all sorts of different faith groups. I have a sister who is in critical condition in hospital, and I would like to say some prayers for her - I consider myself a spiritual person, but I am not tied to a single religion. So my question is, in your faith, what prayer/passage/poem would you reflect on in a time of Recovery. Thank you

Christians, can I ask you a question about spiritual healing? Ok, you've been to church and prayed to be healed of some affliction and God hasn't answered your prayers with a healing. Then a friend recommends a Satanist with a 100% record of healings. Furthermore, the Satanist is willing to help you. Would you take this person up on their offer? Chantal: No it doesn't sound ridiculous. It's a surprising and interesting answer. Noonehome: No it's not pretty arrogant and presumptious of me because I didn't assume God hadn't healed you. If he has then the question doesn't apply to you. The question was a what if...? Please read the whole post correctly next time.

Spiritual Healing, in the form of prayer, loving thoughts and sent healing, does it work? ((((HUG)))) Namaste Peace and Love

Are there any autistic Christian Scientists? Since many people believe autism is caused by the mercury-based preservatives that were in childhood vaccines and, since CSs don't believe in vaccines but rely on spiritual healing and prayer, I was wondering if there has been any study to see if CSs have had any autistic children or what the percentage is in comparison to those who do allow their children to be vaccinated. (please forgive the run-on sentence)

Why isn't spiritual healing part of the Hospital experience? They actually did experiments in USA and parts of Europe where they contrasted the healing experience of someone who combined prayer and a change of lifestyle WITH their treatment options, against those who pursued treatment options WITHOUT prayer and lifestyle changes. The results were really interesting. The first group normally responded well to their treatment and had a far less likely chance of relapse. The second group did not come out as well as the first with approx 30% less success. Mind you, this was not a long-term experiment, so we don't know the outcome over a period of a year. But shouldn't it be universally promoted that a sick person stands a much better chance at making a full recovery if they make provision for their spiritual welfare as well as the physical. What would you do??? There are many sources. This one is the most comprehensive: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efficacy_of_prayer

Does Prayer heal blockages do I need a thereapist or only psychics can remove blockages? My question is I've been told blockages has been placed onto me psychics make it seem like there the only ones that can remove blockages by lighting candles special oils.I feel prayer to God can remove anything if you just ask...I been addicted to psychics for 4 years I'm ready for a new beginning.Please help me and spiritual prayers for renewal is also great...Thank You

I am A devout Catholic but I only believe prayer heals one and helps one on a spiritual level, not a physical? level. Does anyone share the same opinions as me? Science only proves so much. Have you noticed that most of science is made up of THEORIES. Most of the Bible isn't true. Some stories are true. Some are probably just there to provide lessons.

Prayer really is capable of healing the sick.The power of prayer really can help cure the sick.What do you say? The power of prayer really can help cure the sick, according to a new study. A US team from Indiana University, led by religious studies professor Candy Gunther Brown, examined the effects of prayer in Mozambique and Brazil where spiritual healing for the blind and deaf is common. In the African country, a woman named Maryam could not see a hand with two raised fingers from a distance of one foot. But a healer put her hand on Maryam's eyes, hugged her and prayed for a minute. She then held up five fingers, which Maryam was able to count from the same distance, according to researchers, reports the Daily Express. She went on to read the 20/125 line on an eye chart - meaning she had 40 per cent sharpness of vision, if judged against 20/20 or 100 per cent perfect vision. Other visually-impaired people also showed improvement after prayers, the researchers claimed. The team also reported that two deaf subjects showed a 50 decibel improvement in their hearing after spiritual intervention.

Any good spiritual videos website, where spiritual users of world can watch upload share all spiritual videos! Videos website only related to all types of spirituality allow to all relegions and communities to upload their spiritual videos i.e. meditation,yoga,prayers,reaki healing,astrology predictions, tarrot readers,spiritual music,spiritual melodies,miracles, etc..............................

I have a question on an Eye Healing Prayer. PLEASE help me, and answer? I have an eye disease. It's known as a Pterygium. I'm still really young and I love to have fun. However, because of my disease, I do have a low self-confidence and can never look somebody straight in the eyes. I cover one eye with my sidebangs, because if I don't every day I would be questioned on my eye. It's a horrible thing. :( I really hope to seek healing by praying. I found this prayer for eye healing.. it goes : "Dear Sicilian Virgin and Martyr, whom the Church recalls in Eucharistic Prayer I, you valiantly rejected great promises and resisted several threats in remaining faithful to your beloved Lord. For centuries Christians have invoked you particularly when suffering from eye-trouble. So now we implore your assistance on behalf of (Name). We also ask you to teach us to imitate you and to avoid spiritual blindness of any kind. Amen." Can somebody explain this to me? I don't want to just say it without meaning what I'm saying so I need to understand this prayer first. Thank you so much. I HAVE been to a doctor. I had this growth surgically removed. It came back.

How many more child martyrs do we need? Utah Code 76-5-109 Child Abuse – Child Abandonment, Part (6) A parent or legal guardian who provides a child with treatment by spiritual means alone through prayer, in lieu of medical treatment, in accordance with the tenets and practices of an established church or religious denomination of which the parent or legal guardian is a member or adherent shall not, for that reason alone, be considered to have committed an offense under this section. What this section says is that withholding medical treatment is only considered abusive if the parents aren’t religious. So an atheist who doesn’t believe in using medical treatments could be convicted of child abuse for withholding treatment, but a Christian Science adherent who allows their child to die while only using prayer to heal them isn’t guilty of child abuse. Why does our code have this protection of religious ideals in there? Who really thinks this is a good idea to not protect children from parents that would refuse to give them medical treatment for life-threatening conditions, based on religious beliefs or not? How many children need to die before we remove this from our lawbooks? Isn’t “spiritual healing” covered in the very next part or the code? It states, “A parent or guardian of a child does not violate this section by selecting a treatment option for the medical condition of the child, if the treatment option is one that a reasonable parent or guardian would believe to be in the best interest of the child.” This seems to cover faith-based healing to a certain degree where the long-term health and life of the child are not in danger. Relying on prayer to treat a child with minor illnesses can be viewed as reasonable but refusing treatment for fully treatable, life-threatening conditions should not be. This is just Utah but the majority of states have similar laws that protect "spiritual healing."

Have you ever bought an Edgar Cayce Past Life reading from astrology.com? I did 2 years ago. I didn't know much about astrology back then. but it was so true. I am looking over it now and wow, the best $10 spent in my life: On the resourceful side, Eugene, Neptune is the dream dimension which enhances your intuition and urges toward spirituality and mysticism. As Mercury is the mental realm of thought and communication, the merging of your experiences in these two realms of awareness gives you a very intuitive mode of thinking and communicating. You are naturally able to communicate -- with your inner self and with others -- in terms of dream symbols, for instance, and are far more receptive than average to communications and contacts involving the spiritual world. From Neptune, itself a higher octave of ever-creative Venus, you have natural abilities in music, drama and poetry, especially as applied to mystical, mysterious and romantic themes. You could also do well in writing and lecturing about dreams, mysticism, prayer and spiritual healing. So true. I'm great at writing and talking about spiritual healings. "On the more challenging side, Eugene, Neptune is the realm of illusion, and combined with logical, rational Mercury, in your very sensitive thought processes and reactions you are likely to experience difficulties in separating what is truly logical and rational from fantasy and illusion. In other words, at times you tend to live in a visionary dream world in which your mental processes appear to be blurred or weakened by a diffusion of energy. This in turn calls for a greater need to exercise your will toward stronger mental concentration. Recommended are meditation accompanied by yoga breathing and posture, guided imagery and visualization exercises which help in focusing your mind sharply." Hahaha that's why I am called naive. "As you are extremely impressionable and sensitive, alcohol and drugs in any form should be avoided. For the same reason very special care should be taken in opening your psychic senses. Your impressionability and intuitive sensitivity at such times could so overpower your rational mental forces that you might be liable to obsession or possession. Warnings are also needed in the area of deception, as this planetary aspect between Neptune and Mercury can bring difficulties in being deceived by others, as well as deceiving yourself. Absolute honesty with yourself and others at all times, together with a close monitoring of your actions in light of your personal spiritual ideals, would be invaluable." OH YES!!! I learned that the hard way. When I was opening my psychic senses, hell broke loose. I did go into obsession and possesions. OCD. Psychotic disorders. Neptune and Uranus are the most intuitive planets. This is only like 4%. Such a great reading. By the way, its based on astrology. What I just did is copied the aspect of mine Mercury Conjucts Neptune. Both Capricorn. But its abut aspects not signs. That answers my old question; what makes a person spiritual. Well one of the examples at least.

Why go to the doctor when you can be spiritually healed? I'll never understand why theists go to the doctor. Would it not be better to go to a spiritual healer and let him/her heal you through prayer? Benny Hinn was famous for this, wasn't he? Although I believe that there are alternate explanations to this phenomenon, there are those who claim that they've recovered from terminal illness due to spiritual healing (the amount of people who claim this is largely incidental). Having said that, I ask why do theists go to the doctor when there is a "better" alternative? Theists claim that demons and gay can be prayed away, so why not cancer? Cancer should be nothing before a god! Besides, why would an all powerful and benevolent god refuse to heal the truly faithful?

what is your view about rukha d'koodsha? In Dr. Larry Dossey's book, "Healing Words," he discusses the findings of strictly controlled scientific experiments that were conducted in hospitals to determine the effectiveness of prayer in healing. In his well documented research, he discovered that while prayer was able to produce proven scientifically verifiable results, prayer could not be described in terms used to describe the exchange of energy as it is normally defined by science. Dossey writes, "If prayer were a conventional form of energy, it would weaken as distance is increased, and this does not happen. If it were energy, its effects could be shielded, but this has not proven possible. This strongly suggests that prayer does not involve any conventional energy or signal, that it does not travel from here to there, and that it may not go anywhere at all." Dossey continues saying, "If prayer does not go anywhere, then it may simultaneously be present everywhere, enveloping sender, object, and the Almighty all at once." Dossey refers to this quality of omnipresence as 'non-locality' and describes the work of the physicist, John Stewart Bell, who succeeded in proving the existence of non-locality in physics. Dossey tell us, "The non-local view suggests that the mind cannot be limited to specific points in space (brains or bodies,) or in time (the present moment,) but is infinite in time and space; thus, the mind is omnipresent, eternal and immortal. If minds are indeed non-local, this means that they cannot be walled off and separated from one another: at some level they are unitary and one." The ability to heal at a distance, through prayer or through any other means, seems to involve the virtual manipulation of the very fabric of space and time by an unknown component of human consciousness. Dossey suggests that the component of our consciousness that operates through prayer is infinite in time and space, immortal, and eternal. While this speculation has been around for a long time, Dossey's studies in indirect intercessory prayer provide evidence for the existence of the soul. For the first time, science has indirect proof that the 'soul' exists as a non-physical presence within everyone. Dossey's research has not only indirectly proven the existence of the soul, it has also proven that human beings are capable of therapeutic interventions via the soul. While healing accomplished through prayer is non-local, I believe that the spiritual gifts defined in the Bible as Words of Wisdom, Words of Knowledge, Spiritual Discernment, Faith, Healing, Miracles, Prophesy, Diversity of Tongues, and Interpretation of Tongues, may well be the manifest 'local' manifestations of the same healing dynamic that has been scientifically proven through Dossey's research into the non-local therapeutic interventions brought about through intercessory prayer. Perhaps the non-local presence that Dossey discovered is the naphsha, and the mysterious power that translates the prayers of the faithful into therapeutic interventions that can only be described as miracles is rukha d'koodsha. One of the words left untranslated is the Aramaic word 'naphsha.' Naphsha has been unsuccessfully translated as 'life,' 'soul,' 'self,' and 'itself' in English and Greek texts. All attempts to find an equivalent in the symbolism of English language has failed. The reason earlier translators have failed to understand its meaning is simple. Naphsha was the word Jesus used to describe a component of a complex philosophy that formed the basis of a highly developed system of what we now call psychology. Another untranslated term that is central to this system of spiritual psychology among the archaic Jews is 'rukha d'koodsha.' Rukha d'koodsha has been translated as the Holy Spirit. The Aramaic term 'rukh' has been translated as 'spirit,' 'energy,' and 'wind.' The terms 'magnetism' and 'electricity' can also be regarded as descriptive of 'rukha.' The commonality of these terms is in the fact that, while invisible, they produce visible effects. The term 'koodsha' is the Aramaic ancestor of the Hebrew word 'kosher.' While kosher means 'proper' as delineated by the five books of Moses, koodsha is broader and means 'proper as determined by the will of God for man, both known and unknown.' It represents that which is divinely intended for man. It also represents an innate and undetectable, yet tangible force that can be transferred from one human being to another when the human will is aligned with the Will of God. When the two terms combine, they represent the most sacred core concept of archaic Hebrew psychology. Jesus defined denial of rukha d'koodsha as the unforgivable sin. Mary conceived of ruksha d'koodsha. Rukha d'koodsha descended from the sky in the form of a dove following Jesus¹ baptism. Rukha d'koodsha led Jesus into the wilderness to test his strength in the face of adversity. Following the resurrection, Jesus told his Apostles to "Receive rukha d'koodsha."

Would you please send healing and prayer to a wife with faith in Jesus who has a non-believing husband? By God's grace I received the Holy Spirit 6yrs. ago, I have been married for ten yrs. with two beautiful children. I am a Sunday school teacher and pre-school teacher at a church. I'm surrounded by uplifting and encouraging woman. I have a wonderful life. The burden is my unsaved husband, we love each other much. I feel Satan attacking like I'm not doing enough etc. I know I need to pray more for my husband and others including myself. I feel some serious spiritual war fare going on, my co-workers included, almost like panic attacks, questions, and doubt that we've had and there's not an answer for it because non of us have had big changes going on in our lives. Have you people been feeling this too? Please share. Brothers and sisters in Christ, God bless all of you. Thank you!

Christians how strong would you faith be if you had to go threw this kind of life for 7 yrs? some times when I close my eye's i see these eye's and they blink. All sorts of evil faces.....where the heck can a mind come up with this? I mean such demonic faces, how does the mind just get sick and create these image's? I mean these eye's blink... My sickness even has a sense of humor. When I was getting dental work done showing my teeth in x-rays, a low thought said I wish I could show them my teeth. I almost started to laugh and I could not help it. With a image scaring the doctors with these demonic teeth.There has been other signs of humor in this illness, sarcastic humor. What can create humor, doesn't humor need intelligence?Not to mention I have a vile manner of telling people to **** my ****..... over and over in my head. Talk with Jesus I sometimes say it....bugs me, just spits out. I always say I am possessed, because of what happens at the church, getting wiped around and stuff. My mental illness is quite irritated to prayers and worship. The shrink says he has never heard of a sickness communicate with prayer as I talk about. If a pastor ever says those that need spiritual healing over the congregation in a prayer, I put up quite a show with my body and my head. They once prayed this prayer and I was forced to sit down because my head went in a Mad scream back and forth NO way. I was not screaming but noises were coming from me....I guess if you were taken like that you would make a noise as well. so have anyone ever heard of a mental illness like this? Not to mention I have 1000's of voices. The only reason I keep my sanity I believe is because I seek after God and I know in my heart I will be free. How would you be before the lord after 7 yrs like this? The pastors in every church just stare at you. They say you are not demon possessed. I think they are looking for someone like the movie the exorcist? I keep wondering if I should bring some pop corn to the pastor when he just stares at me. I was once on my knees weeping because of all the satanic thoughts being in my head, and I was saying sorry to God for being a very wicked person. I was waling in church at the alter. Baling my eye's out. I stood up and I fell straight to the floor. I was shaking left right and center my whole body, like I was having a seizure, but I was fine in my head. The Christians came over to me and placed their hands over me and tried to cast out the demon. (their Idea). I went from a low pitch to a High pitch. I think I got the whole beat of the cord. I was screaming, or it was screaming. Then they pulled their hands away. I guess I was really loud. I was so confused about what happened I did not want to leave the church. I wanted this demon out of me. Then they called the cops on me....and do not want to try again, and say I am not demon possessed? Why would they say that? I have tried all kinds of church's. The same happens, I am wiped around like a rag doll sometimes. But they say I am not demon possessed. The pastor told me to search the spirit and test it. I called on God and asked if I was possessed if he would show me the spirit and frighten me. That instant a life like picture came to me and I was frightened. I told the pastor this he just shrugged his shoulders and said you are not demon possessed. Talk about NO help from my family when I need them. The only thing good out of all this 7 yr walk is I learned how to love the Lord. SO how would you be with your church and your faith if you had this for 7 yrs and you do not know how to be free? hope you can read it all... no help from my church family....not from people on Y/A. Some Christians have been good to me.

have you ever heard of a mental illness where you see demon face's some times when I close my eye's i see these eye's and they blink. All sorts of evil faces.....where the heck can a mind come up with this? I mean such demonic faces, how does the mind just get sick and create these image's? I mean these eye's blink... My sickness even has a sense of humor. When I was getting dental work done showing my teeth in x-rays, a low thought said I wish I could show them my teeth. I almost started to laugh and I could not help it. With a image scaring the doctors with these demonic teeth.There has been other signs of humor in this illness, sarcastic humor. What can create humor, doesn't humor need intelligence? I always say I am possessed, because of what happens at the church, getting wiped around and stuff. My mental illness is quite irritated to prayers and worship. The shrink says he has never heard of a sickness communicate with prayer as I talk about. If a pastor ever says those that need spiritual healing over the congregation in a prayer, I put up quite a show with my body and my head. They once prayed this prayer and I was forced to sit down because my head went in a Mad scream back and forth NO way. I was not screaming but noices were coming from me....I guess if you were taken like that you would make a noise as well. so have anyone ever heard of a mental illness like this? Not to mention I have 1000's of voices. The only reason I keep my sanity I believe is because I seek after God and I know in my heart I will be free.

Does Christianity have any amends regarding Uriel? In my quest to discover the answeer to a spiritual mystery I have landed upon the Neopagan movement after finding a fraudulent link to the New Age movement (Uriel). As a Unitarian Gnostic, I feel that the Neopagans have abused the religious freedom of the United States for too long. They must come to terms with their own religious beliefs and accept them as they are. They are not entitled to discover new horizons in favor of the old one. If such a reigion exists, it must support the entire community. I have found the answer to this mystery being the fact that a renegade Christian used the spiritual roots of Uriel in order to contrieve the Neopagan and former New Thought movements, into which both are regarded as illegal to practice. If you are a Christian, please place any healing prayers for my fellow Gnostics. I will appreciate it, and God bless you. "In the name of the Lord and Savior would the righteous be rewarded in Heaven with the RIght Hand of God, the Seat of Christ." This question is for Christians only. If you are a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Jew, you are welcome to participate anytime. There are no right or wrong answers to this question, just a kind thought or prayer. If you are a "atheist" or "agnistic," please be polite or say something of kindness. If you are a fringe religious practicioner, this is not the place for you. If you are a Unitarian, welcome and place your words here. This sector will act as an altar for all religions, where the best of all souls can rest and pray. Be loyal to the Lord thy God and stay faithfl to Jesus Christ regardless of your own religion. Just because you believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior does not mean you are a Christian. Even Jews believe! Remember this Rede: Take to heart the Lord fulfill, grant you harm none, do as He would. If you take from the Lor, you must return three times or seven. If you give o the Lord, you will be rewarded threefold. May there be peace for all believrs in God. "For God so loved the World that He gave his Only Begotton Son so not to judge or condemn us but to give us Everlasting Life." I donate this part of my forum to Yahoo! in honor of the world's religions so that no one will be persecuted for his or her beliefs. We all believe in God, and we all strive to be with Him. May God serve justice, for He is our Creator. May we pray in peace as we make our way to Heavn. Mercy be with us as we make our way into 2008 and onward into the new millennium. Since we fight for our rights to believe, let our battles end now!

AIDS Cured ! So many MIRACLE CURES, But How? I request all here to answer My Question in reference to the saved life of a HIV patient Help me confirm if it is a Miracle, Mystery, Lie, Self Healing power of a Human Body, Spiritual Healing, Efficiency of Alternate Therapies, OR What more ? It is like reading NEWS backwards, A person clears HIV infection permanently without treatment "The headline news of mid-Nov of this year, when the British press announced that Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old with AIDS, had apparently been cured" "Diagnosed as HIV-positive three years ago, today he has no trace of the disease in his body - and yet, he’s had no medical treatment whatsoever." source: 1 http://www.wddty.co.uk/web/search/articles.asp?ArtID=23005&DbID=wddty&ArticleFree=true source: 2 http://www.gpinstitute.com/cases/cases.htm Why can't we encourage the last remaining patients among our family & friends to live longer life with our Love, Words, Prayers, Spiritual power OR with vast options of Alternate Therapies for CURE? I expected ANSWERer to be from among survivors of the Disease ! Thx ERIC Todd Dance Eman for your strong faith only in Scientific results Please check this weblink & add comment http://www.unani.com/comparison.htm Thanks Dear Latin T, Es-pat Kindly keep answering positvely as an indirect encouragement to them who don't wish for Eternal LIFE but atleast hope for longer LIFE among all of us Its not a debate to prove someone wrong but its a 'RAY' of hope for the suffering, Which is more interesting to know? 1 How Best they would die? OR 2 How Best they would survive? The LUCKY SIMPSONs His survival is not a 'MEDICAL ERROR' and he is not the only 1, there are INNUMERABLE 'Simpsons' from many countries As a fellow Human why should not we encourage someone who is a legal medical professional 'Alternate THERAPIST' treats MANY & CURE few (atleast accidently) while other professionals keep pronouncing END for all of us with a CHALLENGE I request 2U4 MORE THANKS all of U Recorrection for ERIC, Todd, ... Info about GP Institute INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIV/AIDS G.P. Institute participated in International Conference on HIV/AIDS conducted by Institute for Research in Reproduction(Indian Council of Medical Research) , Indian Society for the Study of Reproduction and Fertility, and University of California, USA. Which is held in Mumbai, India from 16th.December.2001 to 19th.December.2001 and more info at: source: http://www.gpinstitute.com/conferences/Default.htm

AIDS Cured, But How? What are these Miracle Cures? I request all here to answer My Question in reference to the saved life of a HIV patient Help me confirm if it is a Miracle, Mystery, Lie, Self Healing power of a Human Body, Spiritual Healing, Efficiency of Alternate Therapies, OR What more? Try reading this NEWS, It feels like reading NEWS backwards, "The headline news of mid-Nov of this year, when the British press announced that Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old with AIDS, had apparently been cured" "Diagnosed as HIV-positive 3 yrs ago, today he has no trace of the disease in his body - and yet, he’s had no medical treatment whatsoever." source:1 http://www.wddty.co.uk/web/search/articles.asp?ArtID=23005&DbID=wddty&ArticleFree=true source:2 http://www.gpinstitute.com/cases/cases.h... Atleast with respect to Humanity! Why can't we encourage the last remaining patients among our Near & Dear ones to Live longer Life with our Love, Words, Prayers, Spiritual power OR with vast options of Alternate Therapies for CURE ? I expected ANSWERer to be from among survivors of the Disease BUT All Answers look BEST on this page Dear Sharon,Ryan,sirk,Nilly,Curious, Dancin,MELANPARI,mnvikes Kindly answer positvely as an encouragement of LIFE for them who don't wish Eternal LIFE but hope for longer LIFE with all of us We're not a debating to prove someone wrong but expecting RAY of hope for the suffering Which is more interesting to know? 1 How Best they would DIE? OR 2 How Best they would SURVIVE? LUCKY SIMPSONs on earth His survival is not a 'MEDICAL ERROR' and he is not the only 1, there are INNUMERABLE 'Simpsons' from many countries As fellow Humans why not we encourage the Legal Medical Professions in Alternate Therapy too who treat MANY & CURE few (Thank God atleast accidently) unlike other medicos who keep CHALLENGING the END soon Why dont we RESPECT(Big Brother) 3000 yr old option of Herbs in continuation with other latest Modern Treatments RESPECT ALL & LIVE LONGER Yes OR No?

your spiritual thoughts on this quote? 'The Amish do not carry health insurance. The government respects their principles. Christian Scientists want to heal by prayer alone, and the new health-care reform law respects that. Quakers and others object to killing even in wartime, and the government respects that principle for conscientious objectors. By its decision, the Obama administration has failed to show the same respect for the consciences of Catholics and others who object to treating pregnancy as a disease." --Archbishop Timothy Dolan

Is healing for the spiritual man or physical man? I ask this question because recently four months ago I became attacked in my body with swelling in my hands, feet, knees, and shoulders. At the time I didn't know what was taking place, I just thought that maybe I had done too much that may have caused the swelling. I would go to church limping and asking for prayer. The church members and leaders did pray for me, but this thing was not going anywhere. the swelling was getting worst by the day. Finally I decide to go to the doctor to find out what was the cause of the swelling. I was given x-rays of the hands to see if the swelling was caused by lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Tests came back revealing rheumatoid arthritis. I'm thinking how did I get this, I'm not old. I find out that rheumatoid arthritis is not an old age disease, because there are children and babies born with RA, but it is caused when the immune system becomes attacked by its own antibodies that were supposed to protect against viruses and disease but becomes confused thinking that the healthy cells are the enemy cells, and they attack because the cells look alike. Anyway, I took this information back to the church thinking I was doing a good thing, but instead I was made to feel like I had sinned in which this was the reason for the sickness. My question, is healing for the spritit man that whatever is taking place in the physical man will not effect us because our spiritual man has been strenghtened. Everyone has prayed, but yet this thing has not gone anywhere.

Does Jesus Healing really work ? Recently a friend of mine introduced me to a therapy / spiritual healing technique. One of my cousin sister is completely handicapped, she has been bed ridden from childhood, and her current age is 28 years. her brain cells got damaged out of an infection in her very childhood and till day she is not able to do any activity of her own. She is just like a small baby on the bed, and unfortunately cannot even speak or express via any hand or facial movement. All she can do is Smile or Cry. Now, this friend of mine recently told me about spiritual healing. I stay in Mumbai. This spiritual healer is a PASTOR from a group called BORN AGAIN. and the organisations name is Ashirward Prayer Centre, Vasai, where the Said Pastor, Mr. Sebastian works on people who are having problems either physical, and mental. He is said to have healed thousands of people by touching them on their forehead, they fall back and are instantly healed. My friend is a Spiritually inclined person and she is completely in the belief that my sister will come back on her feet again. I am a HINDU. and i am not that Spiritual in nature and so I want to give it a try.I would like to ask the opinion of people on the internet, if they actually have heard / seen / experienced any of this type of healing. Is it hoax, or is a matter of conversion. OR mass hysteria, Hypnosis or any other thing OR is it really effective. I stay at Mumbai _ INDIA. Thanks. any other information, please ask, i will modify my question. Will be grateful.

How can i test myself for the spiritual gift of Healing? oh i didnt know a almost fractured ankle could heal in about 4 days, completley. and how is puring holy water on your ankle and saying a prayer going to mess it up even more? i think i may have the spiritual gift of healing. My sister once sprained her ankle before college evaluations. she would try anything to get her ankle fixed before then. So i told her, why don't you let me heal it. so i put holy water on her ankle and said a prayer asking God to heal her ankle before the evaluations. And she was laughing under her breath the entire time. but the next morning she said her ankle felt a lot better. And when the college evaluations came up, she was ready to play. She plays soccer. I would like to know how you think i could test myself for the spirtual gift of Healing. Please do not answer negitivley or say something that will offend me. Thank you very much. God Bless. F.Y.I- i do have anionting oil, holy water, plenty of crucifixes, frankensense and myhrr insence, and alot more of other God'ly things. lol i love how i said not to say negitive things, and david is somehow determining my spirtual well-being. Obbviously he has a very sad life considering how he went out of his way to talk about me and telling me how i dont have gifts. maybe david should tell more about me, considering he knows so much about me. and to answer your question david, people who have these gifts are humble. they dont go seeking out attention and glory. And if someone did, you think a hospital will let a stranger conduct religious actions on there patients? so maybe david should stop trying to put me down when i know that was just satan trying to keep me from discovering myself in God's eyes! ridiculous

I feel like I am catching something (the Flu perhaps?), can anyone recommend some good prayers to counteract? Honestly, I have sort of noticed that prayer really does work better than a burdensome doctor's visit. In truth, I might just stop going all together and rely on my spiritual medicine to heal me throughout the way. Can I get an amen? :D Um... CHRISTIAN ANSWERS ONLY PLEASE. I don't care what you atheists think, seriously. Get off my question!

AIDS Cured !......what do you think? I request all here to answer My Question in reference to the saved life of a HIV patient Help me confirm if it is a Miracle, Mystery, Lie, Self Healing power of a Human Body, Spiritual Healing, Efficiency of Alternate Therapies, OR What more ? It is like reading NEWS backwards, A person clears HIV infection permanently without treatment "The headline news of mid-Nov of this year, when the British press announced that Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old with AIDS, had apparently been cured" "Diagnosed as HIV-positive three years ago, today he has no trace of the disease in his body - and yet, he’s had no medical treatment whatsoever." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4432564.stm He had ALL the symtoms then they went away!!!!!!!!!! in another article he said his herpes even went Why can't we encourage the last remaining patients among our family & friends to live longer life with our Love, Words, Prayers, Spiritual power OR with vast options of Alternate Therapies for CURE?

HIV CURE......!!!!!! CURED.......? I request all here to answer My Question in reference to the saved life of a HIV patient Help me confirm if it is a Miracle, Mystery, Lie, Self Healing power of a Human Body, Spiritual Healing, Efficiency of Alternate Therapies, OR What more ? It is like reading NEWS backwards, A person clears HIV infection permanently without treatment "The headline news of mid-Nov of this year, when the British press announced that Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old with AIDS, had apparently been cured" "Diagnosed as HIV-positive three years ago, today he has no trace of the disease in his body - and yet, he’s had no medical treatment whatsoever." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4432564.stm He had ALL the symtoms then they went away!!!!!!!!!! in another article he said his herpes even went Why can't we encourage the last remaining patients among our family & friends to live longer life with our Love, Words, Prayers, Spiritual power OR with vast options of Alternate Therapies for CURE?

AIDS Cured !..........................? I request all here to answer My Question in reference to the saved life of a HIV patient Help me confirm if it is a Miracle, Mystery, Lie, Self Healing power of a Human Body, Spiritual Healing, Efficiency of Alternate Therapies, OR What more ? It is like reading NEWS backwards, A person clears HIV infection permanently without treatment "The headline news of mid-Nov of this year, when the British press announced that Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old with AIDS, had apparently been cured" "Diagnosed as HIV-positive three years ago, today he has no trace of the disease in his body - and yet, he’s had no medical treatment whatsoever." http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4432564.stm He had ALL the symtoms then they went away!!!!!!!!!! Why can't we encourage the last remaining patients among our family & friends to live longer life with our Love, Words, Prayers, Spiritual power OR with vast options of Alternate Therapies for CURE?

Christian Faith and Spiritualism? I have been reading that in the Christian Faith, that Spiritualism and Spiritual Healing is classed as demonic activity which can cause one to become dangerously exposed to Satan. Many years back. I underwent major surgery for a condition which took a long time to recover from; along with much discomfort included. The doctors prescribed a drug which was having a bad effect on me, yet it was only when I was taken to a Spiritualist Church one Sunday, that I received a message from my Grandmother; who passed away a long time before, to go back to my Doctor and find out the long term effects of this drug? I did so, only to find that over a long term basis, which I was being prescribed, it would possibly destroy my liver or even kill me. I had the prescription changed to find my recovery from the operation became more effective and speedy. At a much later date, I was in great discomfort and pain from this condition, again I was referred to the Spiritualist Church and their Healing, whereby, after a prayer to the Lord above, the Healer placed their hand over the affected area and the pain and discomfort stopped, from which it never returned in it's severity again. Much later on, my young Niece who is staying with us, had a serious Heart condition and was awaiting open heart surgery. At one stage, her condition and strength became so low, I was desperately concerned for her safety that I took her to the Spiritual Healer and later even her own Doctor was amazed at her sudden improvement whilst she still awaited surgery. My long awaited question is. With the true evidence I have given above, can somebody out there please indicate to me where the Satanic or Demonic activity apply?

science rejects fact? Millions of people have had psychic and spiritual experiences. These people are from all walks of life, all cultures and different centuries. Yet give similar accounts to each other. Thousands have been tested and studied using modern technology and found mentally stable, physically fit, not lying or delusional. Indicating that their expereinces are what they say. Miracles have occured after faith healing, prayer or some type of experience which can not be explained by science. Yet science has often rejected these observations and test results while accepting as fact other things for which they have far less proof. Believe it or not the nature of consciousness is one such example. It can not be scientifically explained but theories about it are often presented as fact even though scientists know these theories are incomplete and flawed. The aswsumption that all scientist reject spirituality and Psychic phenomena is in error. Sir Isaac Newton, the father of modern physics is well known for his connection in researching and writing papers supporting the paranormal and oestoteric matters. Marie curie and husband, discovere of radiation also researched and were involved in the paranormal. Modern day Quantum physicists are explaining some paranormal experiences that go way beyond most newtonian science. Newton new as dd and do many scientist that there is far more unknown and unexplained than science has yet dealt with.

Do Christians take the Healing and Miracle Power of Jesus seriously? Unbelievers will always deny that God heals, even amputees, even completely dead corpses. Anything that didn't happen under an Atheist's nose didn't happen- unless, of course, it was Evolution. The Bible prophesied that "In The Last Days shall come scorners...yadda, yadda, yadda..." We know that Unbelievers will always disbelieve, down to the Last Second, when they absolutely have to admit that there are some things they don't know nothing about. Okay. What is the excuse of Christians, who claim to believe Jesus healed every case of sickness, disease, maiming, and death that was brought to his attention. The victims did not have extensive knowledge of "Positive Thinking." They didn't have the benefit of fifteen years of schooling, with theological training, and so on. They were just people with needs, who approached someone who wanted to help them, and could. My experience with supposed Christians is that they are too lazy to seriously dig into what they believe and why they believe it, the closer it gets to Miracles and Healing. It is enough for them to believe that these things happened to some Ancient People thousands of years before they were born. They are even prepared to die defending those beliefs. But it is amazing how many millions are prepared to die, or let supposed loved ones suffer agony and death, rather than APPLY THEIR BELIEFS AND DEVELOP HEALING POWERS THEMSELVES. I had no immunity to malaria (a potentially fatal, insect-borne disease), having been brought up where the disease didn't exist. For eight years or so, I survived with the use of the drugs available, until their side-effects became almost worse than the disease, and were doing nothing. Then I got saved, and gave my heart to Jesus, and was baptized with The Holy Ghost, and healed myself through prayer, without using any drugs. (I have known people on my campus who had the finest medical treatment their money could buy- one flew out to Europe for treatment- who died of this disease.) So, no one can tell me that there is nothing to healing. My explanation would be that the Spiritual Power in Christianity boosted or supplemented my immune system- until I learned to heal myself through detoxification (i.e. fasting), which involves nothing spiritual at all, after I left the Pentecostal Organization that tried to tell me they now owned me. (I fell seriously sick almost immediately.) I personally have never attempted healing that requires gross physical replacement, while I have, through my own spirituality research, uncovered several techniques that would apply. However, no Christian I have ever spoken to (including pastors and suffering Christian laymen) have the slightest interest in learning how to heal anything and everything. I cannot give my views away for free. I am considering *paying* Christians to look at them.) I have not attempted to start a church or publish books because I have always despised the use of these tactics to "make money." However, no one respects my principles. Whenever I find someone new to talk to, certain people, even pastors, take them aside and give them a little talk, and then they never talk about it with me any further. Being trained in science (short of diploma or degree level) I can appreciate how Divine Healing is an extremely important miracle, that people who should know better simply take for granted. The energy required to materialize, say, a little finger, or annihilate a cancer, would, if released, crater a large city. Any sort of creative miracle healing involves the synthesis of maybe hundreds of complex chemical substances- which all have to be replicated perfectly, without error, or they could kill the body. Raising the dead involves the transformation of probably thousands of parameters throughout a whole body- all of which have to be done right, or the corpse stays dead. I get very irritated when people talk about this as if it were of no more consequence than them blowing their nose! They say rubbish like, "Since Brother X raised three people from the dead, he's become a snob!" "He became lifted up with pride!" (No! They became lowered with envy!) "He won't come to hear our favorite pastor speak, he says, "How many dead has HE raised?" Then there are the possibilities raised by transmutation and spontaneous creation of matter and energy involved in Jesus' transforming water into not just wine, but *quality* wine. Do you know how many chemical substances are involved in making something that looks and tastes like good wine? This cannot be just ethyl alcohol glucose, and fructose! Yet, Christians, supposedly educated in science, just gloss over this example of Divine Power and say, even in as many words, "*We* don't need to know how to do that!" Tool after tool is thrown in the gutter and spat upon! (A famous Pentecostal Pastor in our country was out of gas (a potentially fatal experience at night), and he prayed and God told him to tell his driver to do it in th (Interrupted by electric power cut.) the fuel tank, and he did, and it became fuel. Another pastor was in the same jam. He said, "Hallelujah! I'll do what Brother Adeboye did!" He did. His engine knocked.) What is especially galling is that there was an American dropout who took one section of Jesus' Gospel and emphasized exercise of its fundamental principles out of all proportion, and made unprecedented discoveries that embarrass Academic Scientists to this day, and built him a $100 million empire by the time of his death. He uncovered unheard-of Secrets of the Mind and Universe, which the Christian Church ought to know about, but mostly don't even want to know anything about- until someone writes a book about it that is reviewed on "Oprah." Evangelist T. L. Osborn was probably the first to film Christian miracle healings. Now I find, there are several to be found on YOUtube. It is important that we do not limit our knowledge to Atheistic and Satanic "Science, so-called." Instant-Healing of unequal length legs: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtoosvGIqYs Slow Healing of amputated stumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHAf3W3iPPY&feature=related Gordon Lindsay in his MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT series (THE WORKING OF MIRACLES,) recounted a case where some ignorant fellow was about to be prayed for by a powerful lady evangelist. She could see that something was wrong with one of his eyes, but could not imagine what it was. "Do you believe Jesus can heal your eye?" she asked- not having time to ask anything else, it being a *long* prayer queue. The boy replied, "Yes!" She prayed for him that he be able to see through his impaired eye. This happened immediately. The lady evangelist later learned, that the reason why the young man could not see through that eye, was because it was made of glass. This miracle was continuous, and lengthy examination of the case was made. For instance, they found that he could see with the eye removed! The above case was the first I heard of this miracle being repeated by Christians. The basis would be that the Spirit Body does not need flesh in order to see. Therefore one need only find and engage the appropriate trigger to activate these senses at the Physical Universe level. This would be proof that the spirit indeed exists. The denial of which is the necessary first step in Materialistic Deception. Where these sorts of miracles have been documents, the documents are simply buried, or destroyed. I once testified to a blind Law student in our Pentecostal Fellowship, but whose condition nobody else seemed to care about. I quickly found that he could not be instructed, and was not motivated to do his own research. He was interested to hear about Gordon Lindsay's "Glass Eye" testimony, but insisted that he was just as much spiritual as myself or anyone! When I mentioned baptism of the Holy Ghost, he said huffily, that he already had "that experience." He graduated but never healed.

What is your view on mental and emotional healing? I am not proud of the way I acted this weekend I was very impatient and unloving to my nephew and niece, I apologized to the parties involved but I felt like the lowest from of life on the planet. I felt led to pray and ask God to forgive me on my sins and I wept and I asked God to give me the power and the strength to fogive others including myself. I surrendered everything to the Lord and I felt relief and peace and I feel I can go forward in God. My question is in Biblical times people were healed out in the open by Jesus and were delivered from thier infirmities. Does God work in other ways like when I am in my prayer closet and in secret as the book of Matthew? How come the Lord does not heal in the same way as when he walked the earth and what is your view on mental, spiritual and emotional healing?

What is the connection between religious belief and mental illness? Please see details before reporting this? This question is asked in all sincerity and is not meant to "stir the pot" or cause upset. Please read the details before answering. Thank you. Those of you who know me know that I have been an atheist nearly all my life. In the last few years I've become more "spiritual" and have developed a belief in souls, angels, miracles, an afterlife ... These beliefs are directly linked to incidents that I feel go so far beyond coincidence that it must have been divine intervention. In my own instance, it is the belief that I met an angel, and that her prayers healed my toddler son of his night terrors. I really *did* speak with this woman -- there is a witness. But was her single prayer and the cessation of my son's torment an act of miraculous healing? Or a coincidence? If it helps, this woman introduced herself as a Wiccan High Priestess. Guideposts magazine is filled with such stories, and there are countless books, movies and "documentaries" on the subject, all of which I find fascinating. Does it stand to reason that each of these people (myself included) are deluded in some way? Or did these events really happen? I have only recently been diagnosed bipolar, and my psychiatrist remarked that "many bipolars tend to get religious in their middle years." He made this statement without having any idea of my spiritual beliefs -- we had not discussed this. So, what I'm wondering is -- since many bipolars and others with mental illness tend to "get religion" in their middle years -- Why is this? What is the connection between mental illness and religious belief or experience? Please, don't be insulting in your answers. There are many millions or possibly billions of us who have had "experiences" and truly believe their validity with all our hearts. We can't all be delusional or insane. I'm just trying to understand why this happens. I suppose I should have asked this question while in my psychiatrist's office, but after receiving my diagnosis I was too stunned to speak. Wrath ... I deny nothing. The question was: "What is the link between religious belief and mental illness?" There's is definitely a link in my instance. So what is it? I asked that you be respectful because sarcasm and insult are not helpful. ((((Fallen Angel)))) ((((Ambivalent Laughter)))) ((((ZERO)))) I think I know who you are. :) I don't give thumbs down. ((((Confirmed atheist)))) (((((Glow Wings))))) ((((Kaseypink)))) ((((Goinmad)))) ((((JC))))

Do you believe in the healing powers of prayer and meditation? For those of you familiar with Esther Sternberg, she, along with many other specialists, proposes that the act of 'feeling spiritual' may play a large role in mental health. This theory would suggest that the Bible Belt would contain the happiest and mentally healthiest people. However, according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the most stressful states were found in the Southeast, including Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and other states located in the Bible Belt. Seeing as how many studies have proven a correlation between prayer/meditation and mental health, what else could account for the mental state of these religious areas? Is it that religiosity does not necessarily denote spirituality, or could this be assigned to another variable, such as poverty? The subject of my question regards mental health, not physical well-being. People who neglect to seek proper health care for their children because of a belief in a higher power do not apply to my question. Additionally, the question does not pertain to a god, simply the act of prayer/meditation.

Spirituality in nursing from a non-Christian perspective? Hi, I'm a nursing student enrolled in the course "Spirituality in Nursing." I am supposed to interview 3 people from a faith other than my own. The paper deals with healing and if spirituality/religiosity influences healing. Most of the time, in the circumstances I've seen with the health care field, focus is on curing the body, not healing the whole person: physically, emotionally and spiritually. My questions I am supposed to ask are: (1) What is your spiritual perspective on healing? (is healing solely a physical process or does it involve elements of a person's spirit?) (2) What are the critical components of healing, such as prayer, meditation, belief, etc? (Does prayer, meditation, belief in a higher power help the progression of healing?) (3) What is important to you when you are cared for by health care providers whose spiritual beliefs differ from yours? (Do you appreciate efforts to find out your spiritual/religious views and how those needs can be met in the hospital?) (4) How do you view health care providers who are able to let go of their own beliefs in the interest of your beliefs and practices? Thanks, Jen

Need some questions answered on spirituality and health care from different religions.? I am doing an essay and need some insight from different religions. I need the following questions answered. Just like your doing an interview. I don't know too many religious people and need the help. Thanks!! a) What is your spiritual perspective on healing? b) What are the critical components of healing, such as prayer, meditation, belief, etc? c) What is important to people of a particular faith when cared for by health care providers whose spiritual beliefs differ from their own? d) How do patients view health care providers who are able to let go of their own beliefs in the interest of the beliefs and practices of the patient?

Can an Adventist hospital legally not hire me because I am an atheist? Can they ask me about my beliefs? Just curious. I want to apply for a job at the local Adventist hospital, but the job application is asking fairly personal questions about my views on their religious practices. I don't know how to answer them without revealing my own lack of faith in a God. I am respectful of their beliefs. I would have no problem working in such an environment, but I'm not going to pretend I'm religious when I am not. Will this hurt my chances at a position with this company? Can they legally refuse me a position because I do not share their religious beliefs? Examples: "Our healthcare mission is to share God's love by providing physical, mental and spiritual healing. Please give two examples of how you would help accomplish our mission if you are selected to work here." "Some of our employees choose to have prayer with patients or other employees. This is a practice that is supported by our company. How do you feel about employees having prayer with patients and fellow employees?" "Many meetings begin with a spiritual thought or prayer. How do you feel about attending meetings where that would occur?" For the record, I grew up in a Christian household. My father passed away in 2006 due to cancer, but while he was alive, I saw how much his religious beliefs helped him get through it all. I'm not at uncomfortable with the idea of others using prayer for "spiritual healing" and the like. I strongly believe that for many individuals it provides great comfort, strength, and unity. I'm not uncomfortable with their questions. I'm wondering if there's much of a point of me applying, or if it's common for people to apply (and be hired) at religious institutions when they themselves are not religious. I'm also thinking ahead to an interview. Could they ask me in a straight-forward manner about my religious beliefs? Somewhere in the application it said that they were looking forward to discussing their mission statement with me during the interview. It just seems... off.

Atheists, do you really think depression can be completely cured just by taking anti-convulsant medication? There is a spiritual aspect to depression that is caused by sin and that can only be cured by God, whether it be through prayer, fasting, miraculous healing, or some other means.

Why are so many people...? Who obviously don't believe in God and believe in an imaginary friend instead even on the spiritual/religion board? Let me just give you a little snip-it of why I'm here. 3 months ago I was healed through prayer healing. I was not incontrol of any of my muscles due to constant spasams and I couldn't even pick my 2 year old up or tie his shoes. During the prayer I stopped shaking and haven't shaken since. And after I asked my question about prayer healing wanting to help another loved one, and recieving a few wise acre comments the phone rang and what do you know I have been informed that there is a class on it at a near by church and a friend of mine wanted me to go with her. God is powerful and he hears all. He answers all even though we may not like the answer. It can't always be yes. I pray that the few of you on here that are afraid of not controling your life that you will find that with God you are not left with wanting. God provides all things.

Religious cause dead in more children Colorado Children's Deaths Rekindle Debate on Religion By MICHAEL JANOFSKY ENVER, Feb. 20 — The deaths over the last two years of three Colorado children whose parents denied them medical treatment on religious grounds has fueled support for state legislation that would prevent parents from using their religion as a defense against prosecution. The parents of all three children belong to the General Assembly and Church of the First Born, a small denomination that believes in prayer, rather than medical treatment, to cure illnesses and disabilities. Largely as a result of intense lobbying by the Church of Christ, Scientist, which also favors prayer over medicine, Colorado and 45 other states have statutes that allow parents to use their religious beliefs as a defense against prosecution for withholding medical treatment from their children. The exceptions are Hawaii, Massachusetts, Nebraska and North Carolina. But with evidence that dozens of other children of parents with similar beliefs may have died in the last 25 years in Colorado, this state has become one of the first to consider eliminating the religious exemption, which its opponents say sanctifies a form of child abuse. The effort has rekindled a debate here, pitting religious freedom against the rights of children. "I don't think freedom of religion should allow a child to die for not getting proper medical care," said State Senator Bob Hagedorn, a Democrat who is leading support in the Senate for a bill now under review in the House. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that parents do not have an absolute right to deny their children medical treatment on religious grounds, saying in a 1944 decision that while parents "may be free to become martyrs themselves," "it does not follow they are free, in identical circumstances, to make martyrs of their children." The court reprised the same thought in a 1990 case. But legal experts say that state and local officials have not seen the Supreme Court language as a clear directive for prosecution of child abuse and homicide cases. Congress did little to clarify the issue with a 1974 directive that required states receiving federal money for child abuse and prevention programs to have an exemption for parents who substitute spiritual healing for medical care. The requirement was rescinded nine years later, but by then, most states had enacted their religious exceptions, which effectively allow parents to treat ailing children through prayer without fear of prosecution if something goes wrong. Then in 1996, Congress seemed to reverse itself in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, saying there was no federal requirement that a child must be provided "any medical service or treatment against the religious beliefs of the parent or legal guardian." In Colorado, for example, prosecutors have always been able to bring civil charges against parents who deny their children medical help under state civil laws. But few have, said State Representative Kay L. Alexander, the House Republican sponsoring the measure, which was approved 8 to 3 by the Criminal Justice Committee. Ms. Alexander said the exemption in the criminal code "has had a chilling effect" on local district attorneys. Leaders from many of the dozens of churches that favor prayer over treatment say they have ample proof their spiritual healing works as effectively as a visit to a doctor. Marvin Peterson, an elder of the church to which the families of the three dead children belong, said a member recently fell off a ladder and cracked open her skull. After elders prayed and anointed her with oil, he said, she recovered. "I've seen people healed of cancer, seen it with my own eyes," Mr. Peterson said, taking strong exception to critics who characterize the church as a cult. "We believe that if it's the Lord's will, you will rise up." While few critics of Mr. Peterson's church and other like-minded denominations argue with the right of parents to choose the manner of treatment for themselves, they assert that children have constitutional guarantees to medical care. For years, Rita Swan has been one of the leading voices on their behalf as founder of Children's Health Care Is a Legal Duty, an organization based in Sioux City, Iowa, that lobbies for removing the state exemptions. Once a Christian Scientist, Mrs. Swan said that in 1977 a church "practitioner" — a member who is paid to pray — told her and her husband after several weeks of prayer that their 17-month-old son, Matthew, was suffering from a broken bone. Since Christian Scientists are allowed to consult doctors for broken bones, the Swans took Matthew to a hospital, only to learn he was suffering from spinal meningitis. He died a week later. Mrs. Swan and Dr. Seth M. Asser, a pediatrician in San Diego, released a study in 1998 that found 172 cases of children dying between 1975 and 1995, more than 30 of them in Colorado, after their parents failed to get them medical treatment on religious grounds. Mr. Peterson responded, "Children also die in hospitals every day." Prosecutors have been loath to bring charges in many cases because of the ambiguities of the law and what they say are well-intentioned actions of parents whose religious beliefs are so strong that they prefer to put their children in the hands of God, rather than a doctor. Frank Daniel, the Mesa County district attorney, had jurisdiction in the cases of the three Colorado children who died. He won a conviction for criminally negligent child abuse, a felony, in 1999 against the parents of an 18-day-old infant who died of meningitis. He declined to prosecute the parents of a 3-day-old infant who died of a heart defect. He said today that he had yet decided what to do in the latest case, involving Amanda Bates, a 13-year-old girl who died of complications of diabetes two weeks ago. The county coroner, Robert Kurtzman, ruled her death a homicide. Copyright February 21, 2001 The New York Times Company Also see Religious cult won't acknowledge Child! Killing Children over religion Sullivan County Tennessee Exposed Homepage Terrorism Guestbook E-Mail Visitors since March 2002

Is this story legit 'Study on Prayer reveals correlation'? http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/02/health/he-prayer2 Scroll down to 'Early research' I've pasted what it says below Early research Cardiologist Randolph Byrd did the first major clinical study on distant healing at San Francisco General Hospital in 1988. He divided 393 heart patients into two groups. One group received prayers from Christians outside the hospital; the other did not. His study, published in the Southern Medical Journal, found that the patients who were not prayed for needed more medication and were more likely to suffer complications. While it had flaws, the study garnered considerable attention. Since then investigators have continued to look at the possible effects of remote prayer and similar distant healing techniques in the treatment of heart disease, AIDS and other illnesses as well as infertility. Numerous experiments involving prayer and distant healing have also been done involving animals and plants. One such study found that healers can increase the healing rate of wounds in mice. “Critics often complain that if you see positive results in humans it is because of positive thinking, or the placebo response,” said Dr. Larry Dossey, a retired internist in Santa Fe, N.M., and author of numerous books on spirituality and healing. “Microbes don’t think positively, and are not subject to the placebo response.” In the early ’90s, Elisabeth Targ and colleagues at the California Pacific Medical Center studied the effects of distant healing on 20 AIDS patients. Schlitz, who worked with Targ (who died of a brain tumor in 2002), said the study found those receiving prayer survived in greater numbers, got sick less often and recovered faster than those who did not. A follow-up study of 40 patients found similar results. At about the same time, Duke University’s Krucoff was leading a small but unusual experiment to determine if cardiac patients would recover faster after angioplasty surgery if they received any of several intangible (noetic) treatments. His study compared the results of healing touch, stress relaxation and distant healing with standard care. Spiritual healers from around the world – including Jews leaving prayers at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Buddhists praying in monasteries in Nepal and France, Carmelite nuns in Baltimore offering prayers during vespers, and Moravians, Baptists and fundamental Christians praying during church – each simultaneously prayed for one of several designated groups in the study. All of the groups did better than the standard care group, with those receiving distant prayers doing best. He has since completed a larger, multi-site study. That study – the largest to date – is currently under review for publication in a medical journal. ----------------- Odd because when I tried to find some of this research myself all I found was http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=duke+university+study+prayer&btnG=Search

Healing by means of prayer and meditation? I have met a number of people from all religious backgrounds who have sincerely told me their life stories about how they suffered from mild to life threatening diseases and when all forms of medication and doctors failed them , or due to poverty when they were unable to consult a doctor or get any treatment , how their faith in God , prayer and Meditation made them well or reduced the severity of the illness they suffered from. I know many of you sceptics here will laugh at it and use everything under the sun to debunk such views, but instead of laughing at them dont you think that you must be happy that they have got well and now have a chance of enjoying life again? A leading surgeon once told me that now medical science while developing new drugs and medical tests are also doing what they can to encourage people with illnesses to develop some spiritual , philosophical as well as meditative approach towards their lives while seeking medical treatment. wot do you say to that? wind, I have met amputees who told me that they have learned to walk on crutches and even on wheel chairs wot do you say to that?

Spiritual healing, non -religious quote? "Breathe is like a prayer, it asks for steady peace in and out of the body. While the heartbeat is beating like music of a steady drum. Such is the rhyhm of life, it is not too fast, or too slow, it is balanced, and sails through on a boat of change and understanding winds." What do you think of this statement My friend posted it, I found it interesting breath * i spelled it wrong sorry =)

Mental Disorder and Jinns...? Salamu Alaykum, I have suffered from a mental disorder, Trichotillomania, for 5 and a half years now (from the age of 12). It is classified as an 'OCD Spectrum' disorder by psychologists. According to science, it is due to a mutation on the gene, thus making it a genetic disorder. I would like to know 3 things: 1) Are genetic disorders a test, or a punishment from Allah (swt)? (I don't understand how it can be a test, as it is 'genetic' and uncontrollable. Especially as a Muslim female ( I am also Indian), it is very hard for me, in the sense that I don't even feel 'feminine' anymore, or even 'worthy' of marrying in the future.) 2) Could my mental disorder be due to Jinn influence? E.g. a Jinn gave Nazr, or 'possessed' me somehow (as it controls my actions - since I can't even control my own actions whenever I'm pulling my hair out?). Also - How can I get RID of the Jinn that is causing this? 3) How can i heal from this - without the need of medical help? (please read further to see my reason for this). With regards to the second question, I would just like to add some additional information. I had been given a taweez a year ago by a Mowlana, for depression (as I suffer from Depression and severe anxiety disorder). The taweez didn't work (I don't believe in the taweez, but Allah). I recently stopped wearing the taweez when I found out that it was 'shirk' to wear taweez. Also, I have 'seen' and 'spoken' to jinns without knowing that they were jinns. Five and a half years ago, (before the onset of my mental disorders), a jinn came to me in the form of my sister and always spoke to me whenever i woke up from sleep in the mornings. this happened for 7 days nonstop. it stopped when i realised that i was actually speaking to a jinn and not my sister. Also, I have a 'burining' and 'hot' and 'congested' feeling in my head all the time - like a neverending headache. I wash it with water to cool it and stand outside in the cold air, but, although my body is freezing, my headache (the burning feeling etc) is still there. Also, i see jinns frequently - especially in my dreams. They are always trying to intimidate me and scare me in my dreams. I read my five daily prayers, and read Quran when I can. I also read Ayatul Kursi after every fardh salah and before i go to sleep. I keep clean, and my house is clean - I do not live by a graveyard or any dumpsite etc. I have suffered so long and hard from depression, anxiety disoder and Trichotillomania; no one but Allah can acknowledge, and help me. I understand that much. However, it seems as though my mental disorders are going from bad to worse. I do not wish to seek medical help, since i wish to go into a science course which expects its students to be 'healthy mentally, physically and socially' - and my mental illness will appear on my health record, jeopardizing my chance of educating in my field of interest. Also, i have hard, and witnessed myself, that seeing psychologists and taking drugs do not help for mental disorders. I only wish for a SPIRITUAL healing. I want to know if there is anyway for me to get rid of this problem and how. Jazakallah for your help. May Allah reward you.

creepy faith healer-ever happen to you? my mother takes us to her "friends" house every year to be doted in by this Himalayan haler. It couldn't be so bad if she would tell me when we were going, or that it was not essentially a Brain washing intervention about god. this is creepy religion, and it has no base in reality. I have to be semi naked with the healer who puts oil on my body and says prayers and moves energies. The whole time my mother is telling me im doing something wrong, and always right before we go shs screaming and belittling my sisters and i, as usual. I know that spiritual healing is good for some people, but as an atheist its torture, especially since the host's dog is untrained and pee's inside-disgusting. And the people involved are my borderline-personality ocd mother, my sisters, my moms "friend" who is her old english teacher and a reborn hippie-christian, the Himalayan healer (who is sooo close to our family but still calls me the wrong name every time i see her) and this mid-30's girl who clings to religion because she has no love life(no, that's what she asks for every gathering- help with her love life. Ever got dragged through one of these things unwillingly? willingly? sorry for misspellings ^-^ the healer is a woman-she doesnt molest me, i never ask for help for my period or womanly thing just in case it involves touching somewhere;as a precaution i just ask every year for stress relief "from god" and she gives me a massage and puts crystals on my head chanting. and i refused to turn over so she knows now that i wont. but yes, its definetely a crutch.

What are some ways to spiritually cleanse or re-energize yourself after being in contact with negativity? Esp. if you are constant contact with negative or draining people in a sometimes hostile or unwelcoming work environment or neighborhood. Usually meditation, prayer, spiritual reading, writing, and healing visualizations work for me. Teaching continues to be energizing because I love it and my students so much. But lately I just feel that the toxicity at work (my supervisor and one of the other supervisors, both borderline) and in my downtown neighborhood is starting to get to me. I just want to sleep and surf the net in my spare time. I will be leaving my job and moving in August, but I believe in living life in the here and now. Because I have an immune disorder that is exacerbated by stress, my health has suffered off and on. I want my energy back, and I don't feel that my fatigue is strictly physical. I fear becoming as negative as some of the people I encounter on a daily basis or becoming a hermit, or burned out. I need some tips in the meantime. Much thanks.

What do you think about this? "Using prayer to bless someone whom is sick can make the sick feel comforted which in turn can help in the healing process. Although I do not understand all the ways of spiritual medicine, I do think that when used on someone who believes it adds to the ability to heal." Natalie points out that it is difficult to measure the effects of spiritual healing. It is! There is a book I just love that I will share information from with the rest of you throughout the class. It is called In Our Own Voices: Four Centuries of American Women’s Religious Writing. It is a compilation of letters, documents and sermons written by and about women dating back to the 1600s. As we talk about holistic healing practices I want to share with you what one Apache healer had to say about the surge in popularity of Native American medicine. She said: A lot of it is fake today. You can tell the fake medicine from the real. A lot of people will copy you. [. . .] You have to do it with dignity, with faith, and if you don’t have that you are not performing right. Anybody can copy a sweat; anybody can copy a ceremony or dance; anybody can copy these things, but if they don’t have the essence, it’s no use; it’s no good; it’s a waste of time; it’s a waste of money; it’s just a lot of hogwash – because the end result is what you look at after you’ve performed something. The end result shows the truth. (Begay, n.d.) What do you think this “essence” is that Begay talks about? What is it that gives ritual meaning? If someone can copy a ritual, how is it fake? What do you think she means by the “end result?” What is she talking about? Why does it matter? Reference Begay, M. (1995) An Apache medicine woman. In R.R. Ruether & R.S. Keller (Eds.), In our own voices: four centuries of American women’s religious writing. (pp. 398-401) New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Was 1990 perhaps the single best year for Metal? Think of just a few of the albums released that year: Slayer- Seasons in the Abyss Megadeth - Rust in Peace Anthrax- Persistence of Time Queensryche - Empire Pantera- Cowboys from Hell Judas Priest -Painkiller Death Angel - Act III AC/DC - The Razors Edge Alice in Chains - Facelift Death - Spiritual Healing Testament - Souls of Black Sadus - Swallowed in Black Annihilator - Never, Neverland Suicidal Tendencies - Lights...Camera...Revolution! Blind Guardian - Kreator - Coma of Souls Forbidden - Twisted into Form Exodus - Impact is Imminent and those are just the ones I own....... add to it Iced Earth releases their debut, Dark Tranquility, At The Gates, In Flames, Opeth, Type O Negative, Kyuss and Fear Factory were all formed that year........ Unfortunately, Iron Maiden also released No Prayer for the Dying that year... but hey.. we can't have everything, can we? MQ- If 1990 was not the banner year for Metal, what was, and why? MQ2- Favorite album of 1990? Track? BQ- Any Metal related coolness you can relate about 1990? Awesome band forming.. particular concert memory, etc? *should read: Blind Guardian - Tales from the Twilight World ***CRAP! I don't have "The Real Thing anymore?!?!??! What happened to it????? @Sookie.. hey it's all good... you know we Metalheads try to hook people anyway we can... and Facelift is great. Thanks for coming out to play though! =] @Phatzwave.. and so was your answer. Good job convincing everyone. *claps*

What are your favorite metal albums of 1990?Choose in this list.? "painkiller"JUDAS PRIEST "no prayer for the dying"IRON MAIDEN "razors edge"AC/DC "tyr"BLACK SABBATH "locked up the wolfes"DIO "the eye"KING DIAMOND "heading for tomorrow"GAMMA RAY "faceless world"UDO "flesh and blood"POISON "empire"QUEENSRYCHE "seasons in the abyss"SLAYER "rust in peace"MEGADETH "persistence of time"ANTHRAX "souls of black"TESTAMENT "vulgar display of power"PANTERA "impact is imminent"EXODUS "coma of souls"KREATOR "never neverland"ANNIHILATOR "act III"DEATH ANGEL "cracked brain"DESTRUCTION "better off dead"SODOM "american way"SACRED REICH "twisted into form"FORBIDDEN "meaning of life"TANKARD "weapons of our warfare"DELIVERANCE "beethoven on speed"THE GREAT KAT "spiritual healing"DEATH "cause of death"OBITUARY "deicide"DEICIDE "lef hand path"ENTOMBED "harmony corruption"NAPALM DEATH "final holocaust"MASSACRA "psychological torment"NO RETURN "neverending destiny"AGRESSOR "cheery pie"WARRANT

What are your favorites metal/hard rock albums of 1990?Choose in this list.? Results on http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/groupedephantasmagoria/ painkiller JUDAS PRIEST rust in peace MEGADETH seasons in the abyss SLAYER cowboys from hell PANTERA razors edge AC/DC no prayer for the dying IRON MAIDEN souls of black TESTAMENT persistence of time ANTHRAX the eye KING DIAMOND locked up the wolves DIO tyr BLACK SABBATH never neverland ANNIHILATOR empire QUEENSRYCHE act III DEATH ANGEL coma of souls KREATOR spiritual healing DEATH beethoven on speed THE GREAT KAT harmony corruption NAPALM DEATH the american way SACRED REICH better off dead SODOM faceless world UDO twisted into form FORBIDDEN impact is imminent EXODUS final holocaust MASSACRA neverending destiny AGRESSOR cause of death OBITUARY heading for tomoroow GAMMA RAY left hand path ENTOMBED deicide DEICIDE cracked brain DESTRUCTION the meaning of life TANKARD weapons of our warfare DELIVERANCE cherry pie WARRANT psychological torment NO RETURN crazy world SCORPIONS flesh and blood POISON rev it up VIXEN detonator RATT facelift ALICE IN CHAINS lights camera revolution SUICIDAL TENDENCIES eaten back to life CANNIBAL CORPSE nemesis CELTIC FROST hammerheart BATHORY blaze of glory JON BON JOVI slaves and masters DEEP PURPLE pornograffiti EXTREME tattoed millionnaire BRUCE DICKINSON eclipse YNGWIE MALMSTEEN danzig II DANZIG soulside journey DARKTHRONE when the storm comes down FLOTSAM AND JETSAM decay of humanity DESPAIR tales from the twilight world BLIND GUARDIAN

Should doctors be allowed to offer prayer to their patients? Following this article... http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jun/29/doctors-can-pray-for-patients What do you think? Should doctors be allowed to offer prayer and spiritual support to their patients, or should they be focusing on their job - actual physical healing?

Why is it that even when truly faithful Christians earnestly pray for a physical healing, it does not happen? Even Bible believing, faithful, spiritual Christians who pray hard know that terminal cases of cancer cannot be healed through any amount of faithful prayer. And we cannot simply justify this by saying that they "were not faithful enough". Should modern Christians simply except the fact that they cannot make these things happen through prayer? This does not mean that we can't love God, believe in Him, and be thankful for many things. But we have to know that we cannot make miracles happen. Or can we?

Should i confess this sin? As a Christian Non-denominational are we supposed to confess our sins with our spiritual brother and sisters in order to get healing? I know that our sins get forgiven my God but in order to get real healing, does that mean that we must confess them? James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. What should i do if someone that i love as my number 2 has done something illegal to me? Should i confess on that and have him be in jail or should i just have great mercy on him and forgive and have him ask God to forgive him? I have prayed to God to show me what he wants me to do but what are your thoughts on this?

I am writing a book about HEALING EXPERIENCES. I'm gathering honest stories and experiences and taking sugge I am preparing to write a book about healing experiences. Although I am a primary care physician (Internal Medicine, Board-Certified) by training and temperament, I have over the last few years found that the current medical model of tests and treatments and “pill for an ill” leaves a lot to be desired. I think that the better way of healing already exists; it is inside each and every one of us, waiting to be tapped. Your participation, submissions; advice, and suggestions are invited and sincerely valued. Here’s what I’m looking for: “Miracles”. Recovery of illnesses or any conditions – physical or mental, emotional or social -- through spiritual experience of any kind, prayer, meditation, yoga, chanting, education, philosophy, discipline, breathing, contemplation, 12-steps, church, temple, ashram or anything else I missed. The kind of action on your part that could only come from something new happening inside, an evolution of thought or understanding. Mark A. LaPorta MD

What are your favorites metal/hard rock albums of 1990?Choose in this list.? Results on http://fr.groups.yahoo.com/group/groupedephantasmagoria/ painkiller JUDAS PRIEST rust in peace MEGADETH seasons in the abyss SLAYER cowboys from hell PANTERA razors edge AC/DC no prayer for the dying IRON MAIDEN persistence of time ANTHRAX the eye KING DIAMOND empire QUEENSRYCHE never neverland ANNIHILATOR souls of black TESTAMENT act III DEATH ANGEL crazy world SCORPIONS locked up the wolves DIO tyr BLACK SABBATH coma of souls KREATOR spiritual healing DEATH heading for tomorrow GAMMA RAY flesh and blood POISON left hand path ENTOMBED cause of death OBITUARY impact is imminent EXODUS cherry pie WARRANT rev it up VIXEN deicide DEICIDE better off dead SODOM faceless world UDO harmony corruption NAPALM DEATH twisted into form FORBIDDEN the american way SACRED REICH the meaning of life TANKARD beethoven on speed THE GREAT KAT cracked brain DESTRUCTION final holocaust MASSACRA weapons of our warfare DELIVERANCE detonator RATT blaze of glory JON BON JOVI slaves and masters DEEP PURPLE when the storm comes down FLOTSAM AND JETSAM decay of humanity DESPAIR nemesis CELTIC FROST hammerheart BATHORY soulside journey DARKTHRONE facelift ALICE IN CHAINS tales from the twilight world BLIND GUARDIAN tattoed millionnaire BRUCE DICKINSON eater back to life CANNIBAL CORPSE danzig II DANZIG pornograffiti EXTREME eclipse YNGWIE MALMSTEEN lights camera revolution SUICIDAL TENDENCIES never ending destiny AGRESSOR psychological torment NO RETURN

If God hates homosexuality, why didn't he change me? A few years ago, before I accepted my sexuality, I was afraid of my recurring lust over other men and decided to do something about it. I was raised Catholic, so I was taught that Homosexuality was a grave sin. I thought, like many Christians, that if I prayed to God, he would heal me of my "problem". I went to numerous spiritual retreats, had many encounters with God, participated in many inner-healing dynamics and prayer circles, and nothing worked. Why didn't God change me? Eventually, I learned that God loves me for who I am, like a true father should love-- unconditionally. I'm sure that if Homosexuality was a sin, he would have changed me when he had the chance, because who I'm attracted to is completely out of my control. His will be done. Pretending to be straight and "praying and willing the gay away" only brought misery and self-hate to my life. There are more important things than who you sleep with, like the amount of joy you bring in the lives of others and how much good you do in the world. Those are things that make God smile. But I had given my life and soul to God! I Accepted Jesus Christ as my savior! I did EVERYTHING you say I need to do, and STILL I am attracted to men. Why is it so hard for some of you to believe this? I had given 100% of my heart, body and soul to God, but to this day I'm STILL gay! If it was his will, my homosexuality would have been erased! BUT IT WAS NOT! Jesus himself always stuck by the castaways of Jewish society, the proistitutes, lepers, cripples, he spoke of love and compassion- even for your enemies! "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.". Gandhi was right.

What has the Southern Medical Journal Indiana University have news on that is so earth shaking? Have you read this as yet? Scientific Study of Healing at Iris Ministries Shows Proximity Key to Success of Healing Prayer News Release (August 6, 2010) "One subject, an elderly Mozambican woman named Maryam, initially reported that she could not see a person's hand, with two upraised fingers, from a distance of one foot. A healing practitioner put her hand on Maryam's eyes, hugged her and prayed for less than a minute; then the person held five fingers in front of Maryam, who was able to count them and even read the 20/125 line on a vision chart." (Bloomington, Indiana)—Findings reported on August 5 from a new international study of healing prayer suggest that prayer for another person's healing just might help—especially if the one praying is physically near the person being prayed for. Candy Gunther Brown, an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington, led the study of "proximal intercessory prayer" for healing. It will be published in the September 2010 issue of the Southern Medical Journal. baptism adn healing prayer by Iris MinistriesThe study, titled "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Prayer (STEPP) on Auditory and Visual Impairments in Rural Mozambique," measured surprising improvements in vision and hearing in economically disadvantaged areas where eyeglasses and hearing aids are not readily available. (Photo: Iris Ministries) "We chose to investigate 'proximal' prayer because that is how a lot of prayer for healing is actually practiced by Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians around the world," Brown said. "These constitute the fastest-growing Christian subgroups globally, with some 500 million adherents, and they are among those most likely to pray expectantly for healing." Brown and her colleagues carried out the study as part of a larger research program, funded by the John Templeton Foundation Flame of Love Project, on the cultural significance and experience of spiritual healing practices. As editor of a forthcoming book on Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing (Oxford University Press, scheduled for release January 2011), Brown has made an in-depth, seven-year study of how Pentecostals worldwide pray for healing. Although Pentecostals often pray for their own healing and request distant intercessory prayer, they consider proximal prayer to be particularly efficacious and emphasize the importance of physical proximity and human touch in praying effectively for healing. "When people feel that they have a serious need for healing, they are willing to try almost anything," Brown said. "If they feel that a particular religious or spiritual practice healed them, they are much more likely to become an adherent. This phenomenon, more than any other, accounts for the growth of these Christian subgroups globally." Brown and her colleagues studied the activities of the healing groups Iris Ministries and Global Awakening in Mozambique and Brazil because of their reputation as hotspots of specialized prayer for those with hearing and vision impairments. The researchers used an audiometer and vision charts to evaluate 14 rural Mozambican subjects who reported impaired hearing and 11 who reported impaired vision, both before and after the subjects received proximal intercessory prayer (PIP). The study focused on hearing and vision because it is possible to measure them with hearing machines and vision charts, allowing a more direct measure of improvement than simply asking people whether they feel better. Subjects exhibited improved hearing and vision that was statistically significant after PIP was administered. Two subjects with impaired hearing reduced the threshold at which they could detect sound by 50 decibels. Three subjects had their tested vision improve from 20/400 or worse to 20/80 or better. These improvements are much larger than those typically found in suggestion and hypnosis studies. Brown recounted that one subject, an elderly Mozambican woman named Maryam, initially reported that she could not see a person's hand, with two upraised fingers, from a distance of one foot. A healing practitioner put her hand on Maryam's eyes, hugged her and prayed for less than a minute; then the person held five fingers in front of Maryam, who was able to count them and even read the 20/125 line on a vision chart. Dr. John Peteet, a professor at Harvard Medical School, similarly commented in an editorial in the current issue of the Southern Medical Journal: "Whatever their views about the efficacy of healing prayer and about whether it belongs in the armamentarium of medicine, clinicians and Believers share core commitments to healing whenever it is possible, and to meaningful acceptance when it is not." Source: Indiana University - Southern Medical Journal

How Religious / Spiritual are you? You can take this quiz and find out how Religious/Spiritual you are. http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=criteria-art-living-matrix-how-religiousspiritual-are-you http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/quizshow.php?title=criteria-art-living-matrix-how-religiousspiritual-are-you&quesnum=1 Art of Living Matrix helps to identify areas for improvement, deal with stress, unlock your fullest potential and enhance all aspects of our life. The simple questionnaire helps you to identify specific areas where you can heal and harmonize the body, mind and spirit, skills to handle the mind and negative emotions and practical wisdom to improve relationships. The quiz has 20 Questions identified to improve your God Consciousness. 1) If you score more than 17 out of 20 correctly, you are getting close to the Enlightenment and Self Realization of the God consciousness. 2) If you score more than 13 out of 20 correctly, you are a very Religious and Spiritual Person. Prayer for Universal Peace and Harmony - say YES to divine pure love say YES to loving ALL. say YES to forgive ALL whatever needs to be forgiven say YES to helping all - whatever help is needed say YES to action without desires, without expecting results say YES to action in the name of your favorite God, the Holy Spirit say YES to YOUR innermost fire of LOVE and accept the HUGE flow of LOVE that IS possible to flow through ALL OF YOU PRACTICE all above positive affirmations in all possible situations of life and as a positive result you will see progress in your process of LEARNING to LOVE and practice that ever increasing purity of love in all new upcoming and existing situations of YOUR life. May all the beings in all the worlds be happy; Peace, peace and peace be everywhere.

I want to write a book about HEALING EXPERIENCES, perhaps SHAMANISM: MIRACLES. See www.mymedicaladvocate.com? I am preparing to write a book about healing experiences. Although I am a primary care physician (Internal Medicine, Board-Certified) by training and temperament, I have over the last few years found that the current medical model of tests and treatments and “pill for an ill” leaves a lot to be desired. I think that the better way of healing already exists; it is inside each and every one of us, waiting to be tapped. Your participation, submissions; advice, and suggestions are invited and sincerely valued. Here’s what I’m looking for: “Miracles”. Recovery of illnesses or any conditions – physical or mental, emotional or social -- through spiritual experience of any kind, prayer, meditation, yoga, chanting, education, philosophy, discipline, breathing, contemplation, 12-steps, church, temple, ashram or anything else I missed. The kind of action on your part that could only come from something new happening inside, an evolution of thought or understanding. Mark A. LaPorta MD

faith in God has healing powers? true of false? 8:5-13 This centurion was a heathen, a Roman soldier. Though he was a soldier, yet he was a godly man. No man's calling or place will be an excuse for unbelief and sin. See how he states his servant's case. We should concern ourselves for the souls of our children and servants, who are spiritually sick, who feel not spiritual evils, who know not that which is spiritually good; and we should bring them to Christ by faith and prayers. Observe his self-abasement. Humble souls are made more humble by Christ's gracious dealings with them. Observe his great faith. The more diffident we are of ourselves, the stronger will be our confidence in Christ. Herein the centurion owns him to have Divine power, and a full command of all the creatures and powers of nature, as a master over his servants. Such servants we all should be to God; we must go and come, according to the directions of his word and the disposals of his providence. But when the Son of man comes he finds little faith, therefore he finds little fruit. An outward profession may cause us to be called children of the kingdom; but if we rest in that, and have nothing else to show, we shall be cast out. The servant got a cure of his disease, and the master got the approval of his faith. What was said to him, is said to all, Believe, and ye shall receive; only believe. See the power of Christ, and the power of faith. The healing of our souls is at once the effect and evidence of our interest in the blood of Christ. Matthew 9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, "Daughter, take courage; your faith has made you well." At once the woman was made well. Matthew 9:29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, "It shall be done to you according to your faith." (NASB ©1995) Believe Believed Captain Centurion Depart Faith Hast Healed Hour Moment Peace Precisely Recovered Selfsame Servant Believe Believed Captain Centurion Depart Healed Hour Jesus Moment Peace Precisely Recovered Selfsame Servant Time Way Young Believe Believed Captain Centurion Depart Healed Hour Jesus Moment Peace Precisely Recovered Selfsame Servant Time Way Young And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Go. 4 Ec 9:7 Mr 7:29 Joh 4:50 and as. 9:29,30 15:28 17:20 Mr 9:23 And his. Joh 4:52,53 Bible Gateway: Matthew Chapter 8 Verse 13 NIV ESV NKJV NLT KJV Message Amplified Alphabetical: And as at be believed centurion done for Go have healed his hour It Jesus just moment said servant shall that the Then to very was will would you New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org. GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Quotations are used by permission. Copyright 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. NT Gospels: Matthew 8:13 Jesus said to the centurion Go your (Matt. Mat Mt) Christian Bible Study Resources, Dictionary, Concordance and Search Tools Matthew 8:13 Bible Software Matthew 8:13 Multilingual Bible Matthew 8 Parallel Chapters Online Bible

Do you use prayer as a way of not dealing with the problems in your life? I have heard this many times... "give it to God"... "Offer it up to Him"... "God has a plan"... "God will take care of this"... Whereas God may help and support us, shouldn't we do our own spiritual work and healing? When things get too difficult or uncomfortable do you just pass your problem on to God and do nothing? Do you find yourself wondering why God never answers your prayers?

Ok I am Going to Ask? For prayer! For all fellow christians out there to just lift up a prayer sometime today or this week for me and my family--God knows what is going on, and I just would truly appreciate more prayer! There is definately spiritual warfare going on in my home and I really need some good solid powerful prayer! I never give up on prayer, for I know that God hears the prayers of those who love Him.....as He says: James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. -Thank you so much!

my dr. wants to refer me to a spiritual intuitive in british columbia..do you know anything about this modalit i was an r.n. for 20 years, in 1990, bedrest for 6 years, called chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia...presently i have severe endocrine imbalance, possible addison's disease, ms, asthma, etc. i was 36, now 52..very little will to live...i trust my dr. of 10 years, and said yes, but no nothing about spiritual intuitives(he had done some workshops with him, and phoned today and asked if a patient came to mind, and in my shape, he suggested me...i am a minister's daughter, frightened of evil, devil.etc..and want to make sure this isn't a spiritual negative thing. Apparently a student in toronto would phone me, ask questions, and set up a time for healing..at that time, there would be no phone contact, prayer,etc., but another patient did this, and had some considerable healing changes in her body, and she had forgotten about the appointment at the time..then told mel, my dr. thanks for listening dianne

Spiritual experiences from LDS people? Let's show people that our prayers our answered and the preisthood really does heal. Give some experiences.

Do you think these parents should go to jail and have their other children removed from their care? Abusing Children in the Name of God By Shawn F. Peters A hemophilic boy in Pennsylvania bleeds to death over a period of two days from a small cut on his foot. An Indiana girl dies after a malignant tumor sprouts from her skull and grows so enormous that it’s nearly the size of her head. A boy in Massachusetts succumbs to a bowel obstruction. (His cries of pain are so loud that neighbors are forced to shut their windows to block out the sound.) None of these children benefit from the readily-available medical treatments that might save their lives, or at least mitigate their suffering. Because the tenets of their parents’ religious faiths mandate it, their ailments are treated by prayer rather than medical science. The results are tragic. It is difficult to determine precisely how many children in the United States lose their lives every year as the result of the phenomenon that has come to be known as religion-based medical neglect. A landmark study published in the journal Pediatrics uncovered more than 150 reported fatalities over a 10-year period – a tally that one of the study’s authors later said represented only “the tip of the iceberg” of a surprisingly pervasive problem. Assessing whether forms of religion-related child abuse pose a greater risk to children than more widely publicized threats, such as ritual satanic abuse, a wide-ranging study funded by the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect concluded that “there are more children actually being abused in the name of God than in the name of Satan.” Since the late nineteenth century, hundreds of such instances of abuse have resulted in tangled criminal litigation. The parents charged in these cases – many of them Christian Scientists or members of small Christian churches that ground their doctrines in narrowly literal interpretations of the Bible – often have argued that the First Amendment safeguards their decision to adhere to their faiths’ religious traditions and treat their ailing children solely by spiritual means. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have balked at the notion that constitutional protections for religious liberty provide an absolute bar to state regulation of religious conduct, particularly when that behavior puts the safety of children at risk. Their task often has been complicated, however, by murky state manslaughter and abuse statutes that appear to provide exemptions for religious healing practices. Arguing that they were “Christians first, citizens afterward,” a prominent Christian spiritual healer once urged his followers to disregard secular laws that might compel them to forsake their religious beliefs regarding healing. Such is the dilemma that confronts parents who choose to treat their sick or injured children with prayer instead of medicine. Not only must they safeguard the health of their sons and daughters; they also must try to reconcile their devotion to God with their duties as citizens in a society that boasts a long and sometimes checkered history of regulating uncommon religious conduct. Defining these obligations through the enforcement of secular laws – especially ones that are constitutionally fuzzy – can be a complicated business. Moreover, there is no guarantee that it will deter devout and stubborn parents from engaging in religious practices that endanger the health of their children. But the alternative – simply ignoring the suffering of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our nation’s churches – seems unconscionable. Shawn Francis Peters’ latest book, "When Prayer Fails: Faith Healing, Children, and the Law," was published in October by Oxford University Press. He teaches at the University of Wisconsin-Madison White Tornado: Why are you making this personal? Yes, I am pro choice and rather flattered that you follow my posts. I don't see a relationship between pro chice and this question unless it is that pro life interest and protection ends at birth.

I had a very strange and kind of scary experience. Does aural cleansing exist? What about spiritual cleansing? First off, I am a very spiritual person and I believe that God has blessed some people with special abilities. I believe 100% in the paranormal. That said, I was approached in a mall by a woman who said I had a black outer aura and that I had a lot of negativity surrounding me. She then went on to discuss things with me that had taken place in my life. I do believe she has abilities and is very much in touch with spirits, auras, energy. She said she was going to meditate for me to find out where the negativity is coming from. She did the meditation and had me meet with her to discuss her discoveries. She asked me to bring a grapefruit. She basically told me that there was so much negativity in my life that she needed to do more meditating to help me heal. She asked me to bring a grapefruit to the meeting. I did, and she then sat me on the floor and started reciting prayers and said that any negativity would manifest itself in the grapefruit. While I sat down, I heard her standing above me and it sounded like she was peeling the grapefruit slowly but I didn't pay any more attention. Then she rubbed it on my back and recited more prayers to pull the negativity from me. Once she was done, she asked me to step on the grapefruit. I stepped on the grapefruit to squash it. She picked it up and showed me a tiny snake (serpent she called) that was inside the grapefruit. Here's where I have a problem. I heard the citrus being pierced while I was on the ground and believe that she put the snake there. I don't believe it just appeared. However, I'm worried that what she did was some kind of spell or curse because I wasn't going to give her money. I'm scared. How do I cleanse myself of this. All I wanted was clarity. Why do gifted people choose to take advantage for money? I understand making a living for survival, but what she asked for was $3,000. This is crazy, and I won't pay it. I just wonder if a curse was put on me. Help! Thank you all for your feedback. I truly appreciate it and feel more at peace. I've been sad and seeking clarity for some time, and I guess I was vulnerable--especially because she knew details about my life that I never shared with her. Sometimes I feel lost in this world like I don't belong and desperately seek answers. Some friends talked to me about reincarnation/past lives and that I may be trying to sort out these old issues and that these feelings can be linked to other lives. Who knows? I am open to the idea. What I took from this experience is knowledge and resources from Yahoo contributors. Thank you very much. I know that I am on the right path and just have to have more faith in myself. I believe in positive energy and that we work with the universe to create beautiful lives. She gave me two candles to burn. I am throwing them away and not giving any more energy to her.

What do you think these "22 Commandents" from the 80s? "22 Commandments" For The New Age Ann Waldrum 1. You shall learn of Honesty and attempt to heal your fear of it, to use this in daily living. 2. You shall learn to Love Unconditionally--beginning with yourself. 3. You shall help all people in your worlds come to physical healing. 4. You shall dwell on things of high and pure energy in others and self to change Earth. 5. You will learn and practice Pure Service -- unconditional and with love energy. 6. You will release Judgment into the Void--You will see, identify and choose for yourself Only. 7. You will Recognize One God --the God that corresponds to your vision. 8. You will destroy no one in any way -- through gossip -- through killing their gifts -- discouraging self love by injuring the physical body by foreign substance -- incorrect foods -- incorrect labor. 9. You will use your mind in the way the Source prepared -- by faithfulness of prayer -- by study and spiritual growth. 10. You will learn self discipline so that you respond to the Earth with wisdom. 11. You will take full responsibility for your own life -- blaming no other. 12. You will seek to learn about your God -- seeing the Connection clearly. 13. You will be known for your Gentleness, your Loyalty, your Kindness, according to your beliefs. 14. You will grow in Peace by change of attitude and understanding of others. 15. You will learn to respond and act from the Highest Center of Inner God -- the Love Response. 16. You will learn to Love All Mankind by seeing the Highest in all people without exception. 17. You will promote the healing of Mind, Body, and Spirit by teaching and living the belief in Man's Divinity. 18. You will show faithfulness in your study of yourself and your persona (masks) in order to Free All Parts of Self. 19. You will Live your life as ordained by your faithfulness to the Truth, as you understand the Truth. 20. You will Speak in Love, Honesty and Wisdom. 21. You will Think in Love, Honesty and Wisdom. 22. You will live in Moderation (Balance) in All Areas of your life. I didn't write the 22, they are part of my Library. They were written nearly a quarter century ago.

Does everyone with spiritual gifts speak in tounges? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? (1Corinthians 12:30) I interpret 1 Corinthians 13:8 to mean that tounges and prophecy will cease when we are in heaven, but I can't say that I speak in tounges, or use prayer language. I don't know of any biblical support for baptism of the Holy Spirit and the initial evidence of speaking in tounges, but I believe in all the spritual gifts for today's believers. So what is the biblical basis for initial evidence of speaking in tounges? Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. (1Corinthians 13:8)

my wife of many years is really getting into religion, talking in tongues, healing, spending 3 nights a week? at prayer groups or Bible study, plus most of Sunday at church. they meet at our house, have prayer chain letters circulating, mostly with women or a husband of a woman or two will go along. I have taken up going to mineral and gem clubs the nights she is gone and most of Saturdays. and cut rocks and make jewelry. She is going deeper into the spiritual world and saying God is telling her to do or say this or that to certain people. I feel she is losing her balance with life. I am not religious and only love her for who she is. I don't care about these beliefs. I don't make any big deal about all of it. Lately, things are getting strained and she raises her hands to God and prays aloud when I disagree with her as though that will help me agree with her Will this ever reach a conclusion and we can enjoy ourselves as we once did?? why run for the divorce ? several have mentioned divorce, wouldn't that be against her religious beliefs? But the 10 yr mark is coming next year and that means the judge would handle it differently and award her spousal support along with half of my pension, social security, The Bible says, "wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord." But "Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them." I'll try this one

Flight 1549 and Prayer? A recent question claims that, "Flight 1549 150 passengers and Not all were Christians but every single one was praying to God." Link to question: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AueAv23NoJuB27OMSeMml2Xsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090212131415AA0SfLF&show=7#profile-info-7sEFufRbaa The source given for that statement was this link from the Christian Science Monitor: http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0121/p19s01-hfcs.html The text on this link, copied verbatim is as follows: --- The man in the feed store said, "Yeah, they had a great pilot, but I believe God's hand was what guided the plane so they were all saved." He was referring to last week's "miracle on the Hudson," when 150 passengers and the crew of US Airways flight 1549 survived a crash landing on the Hudson River in New York City. In the moments right after the crash, several posts on The New York Times website called for prayer, and early reports spoke of people on board praying. In an interview with the Boston Herald, one man on board declared, "I was praying ..." (Jan. 17). Openly referring to prayer isn't always seen as popular, yet this man and others who spoke about their thoughts – along with the people who posted calls for prayer on websites – clearly felt this was the most important thing to do at that moment. And their trust was not in vain. Complex as that situation was, the desire was fairly straightforward: save lives. What if we could use this powerful experience as a lens through which we can view other problems around the world: the economic crisis, the AIDS pandemic in Africa, continuing instability in the Middle East, to mention a few. Suppose we could leave personal opinions aside and turn to God with as much fervor about those things, and diligently refuse to accept any other outcome than healing? The book of James in the Bible includes this promise: "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (5:16). During the plane's flight and the rescue efforts afterward, much happened that could be considered the result of prayer, that prayer did indeed "avail much" – the pilot's skillful and steady water landing, the relative calm after the crash and the way passengers left the aircraft, the fact that the pilot and others could check to make sure everyone was off, the speed and intelligence of the rescue personnel. Our fervent prayers for other, even more complex world problems can bring out these qualities in those who are decisionmakers in those places. Wisdom, love, strength, patience, intelligence, honesty – qualities like these are needed wherever there is distress. And they are always present, because God, Spirit – their source – is always present. Each of us, as God's idea, has access to these qualities anytime, not just in emergencies. But in times of great need, prayer that recognizes their presence will cut through the fog of fear and doubt that may surround us. This fog dissipates before our conviction that God is good, that He is all-powerful, and that He hears us. Monitor founder Mary Baker Eddy confirmed this point in her book "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures." She wrote, "The prayer that reforms the sinner and heals the sick is an absolute faith that all things are possible to God, – a spiritual understanding of Him, an unselfed love" (p. 1). Unselfed love is love that doesn't seek anything in return. It's the kind of love that Christ Jesus expressed when he was healing and saving people. We're each able to express to some degree this love toward others. It's likely that many of the people who called for prayer during the US Airways flight and the aftermath were motivated by unselfed love. Unselfed love adds a deeper dimension to our prayers because it removes our personal opinions about possible outcomes and turns us wholeheartedly to God's care. This "spiritual understanding of God" shows us that He is Love, and His purposes are never served by evil or suffering. With this knowledge at hand, our prayers become clearer in their conviction that God is ever present. Even if our prayers don't apparently contribute to dramatic "saves" as in the case of the passengers and crew on Flight 1549, we can trust that our care for humanity has the ability to help and save to whatever degree we can give up opinions and let God lead the way. Then, our "effectual fervent" prayers will indeed avail much. --- Where in this article does it say that every single person was praying? It mentions, "early reports spoke of people on board praying." But that does not denote "every single one." So, where is the source for this statement?

Can astral projection cause victims to feel as though they have schizophrenia? People who astral project wish to deceive people who see them in their spiritual form and don't really know anything about astral projection/astral travel into thinking they are schizophrenic (hearing voices, seeing hallucinations) when in reality, these people are sane. Schizophrenics are just victims of people who have nothing better to do with their time than to haunt other people and invade their personal homes causing them to think their house is haunted by ghosts (the living dead) or that they need to take expensive anti psychotics such as Risperadol or Zyprexa. Is the medical establishment in on this too? Can prayer to Christ heal these schizophrenics who are victims of the evil eye? Does race/ethnicity/culture/background/language play a factor in this, meaning are these attacks racially motivated?

Are spiritual healing after prayer in some church Real? How true are they? Is it like some who cannot walk , suddenly can walk after recieving prayer. Are all this scandal? Where can I find more information from any website that verify or study all these cases? See this site http://www.goodnewssingapore.com/ for more stories.

Should nurses be allowed to pray for there patients or use prayer as "spiritual healing"?

youtube links for 528mhz frequency , healing music or any spiritual songs.? please send youtube links to depression healing, mood elevating , soul clensing or religious/spiritual music/songs/prayers. thanks. please dont send full lists , just send the best few songs u know ...

Christians: Do you need prayers against Spiritual Warfare? Daily Prayers of Protection Pray them in this order. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command a hedge of protection to be around my home and property today and I ask that warrior angels would be placed to stand guard at any holes that might be in that hedge. *Holes in the hedge can be caused by yet to be dealt with sin, trauma or wounding in the lives of the people who dwell in the home. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command any free, unbound, or wandering spirits to get out beyond that hedge of protection now. In the name of Jesus Christ, I ask that warrior angels be placed at the doorways and access points to my home and property today that would keep out any free, unbound or wandering spirits that would try to access my home and property today. I ask for warrior angels that would bind and separate from their functions any demons attached to any individuals entering my home and property today. * An access point could be cable TV, internet, telephone or other communication devices in the home, power hookup, water supply or heat source. Father God, I ask for a spiritual umbrella of protection over me and a spiritual hedge of protection around me. I place the full armour of God on me, and I ask that the light of the Lord Jesus shine through me this day. Note: I strongly recommend praying Ephesians 6 daily over yourself and meditating on the scripture often. Eph 6: 13-17 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. If you are plagued by nightmares, restless nights sleeping and a sense of uneasiness in your bedroom, pray this before going to bed each night. Father God, I ask that you would send warrior angels at the bedposts of my bed. (Alternatively, the corners of your bed if you don't have a bedpost) and I declare that YOU are the Lord of my nights. Praying for Children/spouse Daily pray: 1. Father God, I ask that you would send your angels to bind up any and all demons which have rights and grounds to my children and that you do that right now. 2. I command that all demons that have rights and grounds to my children be completely separated from all their functions, now. I command that any demons that have any business to do with my wife/children/husband today that you come through me first. (In other words, if the enemy has a bone to pick, go pick on someone his own size). 3. Father God, please place a barrier of protection around each one of my children right now and Lord Jesus, I ask that you would come today, at any time necessary, to deal with any and all spirit beings which might attempt to harass my children/spouse. 4. Pray Ephesians 6 over your children. Another Prayer for Daily Protection for Christians Dear Heavenly Father, I pray this prayer in the power of the Holy Spirit In the name of Jesus Christ, I bind, rebuke and bring to no effect, all division, discord, disunity, strife, anger, wrath, murder, criticism, condemnation, pride, envy, jealousy, gossip, slander, evil speaking, complaining, lying, false teaching, false gifts, false manifestations, lying signs and wonders, poverty, fear of lack, fear spirits, murmuring spirits, hindering spirits, retaliatory spirits, deceiving spirits, religious spirits, occult spirits, witchcraft spirits (including Jezebel, Delilah and Apollyon) and spirits of antichrist I bind all curses that have been spoken against me. I bless those who curse me, and pray blessings on those who despiteful use me. I bind all spoken judgment made against me and judgments I have made against others I bind the power of negative words from others, and I bind and render useless all prayers not inspired by the Holy Spirit; whether psychic, soul force, witchcraft or counterfeit tongues that have been prayed against me. I am God's child. I resist the devil. No weapon formed against me shall prosper. I put on the whole armor of God. I take authority over this day, in Jesus' name. Let it be prosperous for me, let me walk in your love, Lord. The Holy Spirit leads and guides me today, I discern between the righteous and the wicked. I take authority over Satan and all his demons, and those people who are influenced by them. I declare Satan is under my feet and remain there all day. I am the righteous of God in Christ Jesus. I am God's property. Satan you are bound from my family, my mind, my body, my home and my finances. I confess that I am healed and whole. I flourish, I am long lived, stable, durable, incorruptible, fruitful, virtuous, full of peace, patience and love. Whatsoever I set my hand to do shall prosper, for God supplies all my needs. I have all authority over Satan, all demons, and beasts of the field. God, I pray for the ministry that you have for me. Anoint me, God, for all you have called me to do for you. I call forth divine appointments, open doors of opportunity, God ordained encounters and ministry positions. I claim a hedge of protection around myself, spouse and children throughout this day and night. I ask you God, in the name of Jesus to dispatch angels to surround me, my spouse and my children today, and to put them throughout my house and around our cars, souls and bodies. I ask angels to protect my house from any intrusion and to protect me and my family from any harmful demonic or other physical or mental attacks. I ask this prayer in the name of Jesus AMEN.

MUSLIMS: How is your spiritual walk compared with Christians? Is it better or worse? As a Muslim, when you see Christians, do you see their spiritual walk as better,same, or worse? Do Christians seem to encounter the supernatural (God) more so in their lives or do Muslims (through miracles, prophecies, divine healing, feelings of divine ecstasy)? Do Christians seem more moral or less moral than Muslims? Do Christians seem more joyful than Muslims or less? Do Christians have their prayers more answered or do Muslims? Does Christians spiritual walk seem any different? Same? Better? Worse?

What do you think of worship of the Earth,or these prayers,...? Gaia ~ a Living Prayer Wheel! E-mail this Global Event to a Friend Join our newsletter for news and updates THE 14th Annual SOLAR WAVE 2008 ~ Phase Two The Living Gaia Prayer Wheel Activation! Equinox ~ September 22nd, 2008 ~ 1 to 3 PM your local time all across the Earth. This is a Joyful Invitation to the Awakening Masses of Gaia to come together in ONE UNIFIED HEART to Activate our Planet as a LIVING GAIA PRAYER WHEEL! We Invite all to join together with like-minded, heart-centered souls to create an Unstoppable Tidal Solar Wave of Light and Positive Mass Awareness, to harmonize all discordant energy on Gaia, and to initiate a spontaneous Awakening of Humanity! With the Power and Light of the Creator that is within each of us, we can usher in the age of PEACE, HARMONY, LOVE, COMPASSION & IMPECCABILITY, that has been prophesized by many ancient traditions. This will all occur during the powerful window of unlimited opportunity at Equinox, and is combined with the multiplying potential of 13:30 LOCAL SIDEREAL TIME, and the grace filled rotation of the Earth as a living Prayer Wheel. "Again and again some people in the crowd wake up. They have no ground in the crowd . . . they emerge according to much broader laws . . . and carry strange customs with them . . . and demand room for bold gestures. The future speaks ruthlessly through them". - Rilke What is the catch you ask? Does it sound to good to be true? The fact is . . . that there is no catch. This opportunity is free, green and supports all living things! There is a powerful time each day on the planetary grid where our 6th sense abilities are 400% times more effective. When we use this knowledge and join together at this powerful time, our efforts will be multiplied within the harmonizing effects of Equinox. We can heal the Earth and Awaken Humanity! Have you ever felt like you were here on the Earth for a Special Purpose? Do you feel that you are potentially . . . THE VERY ONE . . . that could help tip the balance of our dimension back into the LIGHT? You are RIGHT! You are the ONE! . . . but do you want proof? You will not have proof unless you are willing to go out on a limb, be bold, and believe in the light that you know we are. Are you ready to prove that you are that powerful, and that we can heal the Earth and Awaken humanity? Keep reading ~ The Ancient one and the Earth have a plan. Ancient traditions understand that the EQUINOX is a powerful time to initiate changes in our material world and shift into a new reality. On Equinox, the Earth and the Sun are in perfect balance and harmony, as the sun is centered between the Northern and Southern hemispheres, and centered between Heaven and Earth. This creates a sacred cross of balancing energy that naturally harmonizes the planet and humanity. For 24 hours, the Earth heals itself in this balancing energy of a Solar Wave. The Tibetans understand the power of spinning the Prayer Wheel to send healing energy across the planet. Could it be that the Prayer wheel is a representation of the spinning Earth? Native American cultures know that the medicine wheel is a reflection of the Earth. The medicine wheel is used for ceremony to heal and bring balance back to the Earth. So why not use the Earth herself? Equinox Graphic courtesy of Mid-Atlantic Geomancy (MAG) http://www.geomancy.org For the last 14 years, thousands upon thousands of light workers, peacekeepers, shamans, healers, gods and goddesses, angels and saints from around the globe have joined together to work with powerful Equinox energy in a 24 hour Solar Wave of Light and creative potential. But this event is nothing new. Ancient ones knew about this powerful time and have used it to balance and harmonize discordant energy for eons. The fact that the masses are now becoming aware of this time of great potential is a huge sign that we are, in fact, on the brink of planetary awakening. This year a group of ancient ones called the Star Elders, say that we are ready to evolve this year's Solar Wave to a Stellar Wave! This year the Star Elders call us to work with the Equinox but to also add a hugely multiplying potential . . . a specific local sidereal time (LST a.k.a. Star Time) to synchronize our global efforts to reclaim paradise. Are you in? What is (LST) Local Sidereal Time you ask? Local Sidereal Time (LST) is an Astronomy term, referring to how the planet is oriented relative to the position of the stars. It is a measure of the passing of the center of our galaxy (the Milky Way) overhead. Sidereal time is STELLAR TIME and is approximately 3 minutes, 56 seconds shorter than a solar day. LST is a measure of time independent of the Sun's cycles. Thus, Local Sidereal Time (LST) moves backward in solar time about four minutes a day, two hours a month and one day a year. Anywhere you are on the planet, at the same LST time you will see the same stars overhead. Example . . . your favorite star will set 4 minutes earlier each night. So why do you care about this? Read on and you will! The Cognitive Sciences Laboratory in Palo Alto, California, made some exciting discoveries. They studied a group that had natural clairvoyant, clairsentient, clairaudient, ESP abilities. They discovered that during a specific window of time, that their test group was more accurate by 400% and more in their abilities to "see" or predict events. When scientists examined the accuracy of thousands of ESP predictions, along with the documented times that these anomalous cognitions took place, they were stunned. The precognitive cycle coincided with a particular Local Sidereal Time or LST. Scientists discovered that peak efficiency for ESP was repeatedly at 13:30 LST. Working with 13:30 LST could lead to more efficient uses of one's psychic talents and energy work. This means that every 23 hours and 56 minutes, humanity has a unique doorway open to them to see through and work with energies that could heal the world! The Star Elders say that if we can "see" through this doorway, we can also "project light and healing energy" through the doorway and can radically change our world. When we project visions of a brilliant future and send healing energies, we can change the world and reclaim paradise. The peak of the 13:30 LST window of opportunity is about 2-3 hours long (see chart). When we consciously work with the energy of heightened harmonious Equinox energies, and combine it with 13:30 LST, we have an immeasurable amount of potential to make our dreams come true for ourselves, our communities, and our planet. It is only a couple of hours! Do you have time to change the world? It sounds great doesn't it? But why stop there? What if we could make this event even more powerful? The Star Elders say that enough people are working in the light that we have pushed their ancient Mayan prophesies up by 4 years . . . making 2008 the year that we can shift the world and humanity back into the light. So here is how the Star Elders suggest that we create a 24 hour "Living Gaia Prayer Wheel" where we have a 400% more stellar potential to change the world and reclaim paradise. WHAT CAN YOU DO? . . . because the EARTH NEEDS YOU! This is why YOU are so important. What do you think the potential would be if we got the entire light worker / energy healer community working with 13:30 LST on Equinox? Are you ready to go out on that limb yet? What The Star Elders are asking us to do is to synchronize our local planetary family with major global action. What they are suggesting is that together, we use the harmonizing effects of Equinox, and combined it with 13:30 LST potential, and send a Solar Wave out over the Earth over a 24 hour period. It sounds impossible, but it is not. Let me explain . . . Somewhere on the planet, right now, it is 13:30 LST. Every single moment there is a place on Earth that is in the window of the LST time of 13:30. When we each work with our local LST time window, we will create a 24 hour wave of light across the planet filled with powerful healing energy. Just as the prayer wheel spins to send out it prayers, we will be doing the same thing but by using the spin of the Earth instead. We will create a 24 hour tidal wave of powerful, transforming, healing light, creating a positive vision for a brilliant future. This is YOUR TIME to put to action all the healing talents and spiritual truths you have taken such great care to learn and develop. At your local time window of 1 to 3 PM on September 22nd, give the world ALL the LIGHT and LOVE and COMPASSION you have! Send your HEART out to humanity, the planet, and all life. Send your knowingness that paradise is here right now, and act as if that vision has been realized. Use your highest, purest intentions, and remember that the truth is not out there . . . it is within YOU. It is time to quit dreaming and hoping that the world will change and suffering will stop. As Gandhi said . . . "We must BE the change that we want to see in the world!" KNOW that it is so . . . And it will be. By using the Earth as a living prayer wheel, combined with the intensified powerful of the 13:30 LST time window, inside the thinned veils of harmonizing Equinox, there is nothing that can stop us now. Remember "We are made of Stars" (a song by Moby) This is where YOU and all of your networking comes into play. On September 22nd, plan your modest gathering, or dream big and plan a huge event with all your like minded family. Work within the 2 hour time window and do your work as Spirit guides you. Remember to act locally, but think globally. ~~ That's it! ~~ On September 22nd, 2008 with your masterful networking help, we can encourage the entire global population of healers and light workers to catch the Solar Wave to manifest the Earth as a Living Gaia Prayer Wheel. Are we ready to enter Paradise on Earth and Awaken as Living Masters? OH YES WE ARE! We were born for this day! NETWORK THIS EVENT! Please send this invitation to all your relations everywhere. Network the Solar Wave. Talk about the Solar Wave. Plan an event in your living room, or fill a stadium! Remember we are only separated by 6 degrees of separation. So if you send this to 6 people, we can reach the entire conscious community of the planet! Or if you are a hard core net worker, and want to leave no room for doubt, send this to everyone you know, and let's get the entire world unified and working together to reclaim paradise! Remember . . . when two or more are gathered together in a common focus, the power to change the world is multiplied a thousand times more than if one person was doing it alone. Dream BIG! Source, Apparent Association between Effect Size in Free Response Anomalous Cognition Experiments and Local Sidereal Time, by S. James P. Spottiswoode, published in the Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol. II, No. 2, 1997. You can find it at www.jsasoc.com/library.html . There is an excellent sidereal time clock for Windows PC at http://www.radiosky.com/sidclockdownload.html UPDATES Did you notice that we are CHANGING THE WORLD? The illusionary powers of the world know they are loosing the battle! Light will and is prevailing. Since "Phase One" of the Solar Wave 2008 in March, in which we began to incorporate the use of the 13:30 LST times to increase our effectiveness in manifesting light on Earth by 400%, the web sites that helped us discover each of our 13:30 LST times were mysteriously taken down (Hmmmm. Very interesting). Most of these were government based sites. It is apparent that they have become aware that light workers were using the same techniques that they are. The big difference here is that light workers are using the 13:30 LST times to awaken and set free the hearts, and minds of humanity. Because these sites have shut down, we do not have the convenience of easily obtaining the exact 13:30 LST time conversions for our areas. There are ways of finding the exact peak 13:30 moment, but it is complicated. So were are opting out for an easy 13:30 LST time window . . . 1 to 3 PM your local time, where everyone can work to create a WAVE of POWERFUL LIGHT across the EARTH. Since our March/Equinox 2008 Solar Wave Event, we have felt a HUGE acceleration in our personal lives and in the global community! The Star Elders say that the power we felt in March was just a warm-up for what we will feel this September on Equinox. So here we go . . . we invite you to join in on phase two of the 13:30 LST light and love blast that will bring the balance and harmony back to our dimension once again. Blessing to you all ~ With Love ~ Aluna Joy Our favorite play list right now is ... "Raise Your Hands" by Pat Monahan ... "We Are All Made of Stars" by Moby, and a softer one, "Let Me" by Paul Schwartz. You can still downloaded this free LST clock to watch for your 13:30 each day. http://www.radiosky.com/sidclockdownload.html You can listen to an interview The 2012 Chronicles ~ Equinox and the SOLAR WAVE. (needs Quick Time or another media player) THANK YOU TO ALL THE AWESOME SUPPORTERS OF THE SOLAR WAVE 2008 Patti Cota-Robles of ERA OF PEACE www.eraofpeace.org for her impeccable message and great support. DaVid of the THE LIGHT PARTY www.lightparty.com/ Over the years, DaVid has been a great supporter of the Solar Wave with his HUGE network base. My Ol' Bliss Buddy and Inca Addict… STAR of STAR FLOWER ESSENCES ~ http://www.starfloweressences.com Who has been with the Solar Wave from the beginning, 14 years ago, and gives from her heart! Her essences are amazing! Daniel and CIRCLE OF SOUND http://www.circleofsound.org/ Daniel is a amazing being of impeccable trust and light. The Circle of Sound will be in ceremony with their seasonal Global Harmonization Ceremony which they do every Equinox and Solstice. They will be priming the energy for the Solar Wave, on Equinox, March 20th. CHILDREN OF THE SUN http://www.childrenofthesun.tv are new additions to the Solar Wave this year. They work with moon cycles to re-connect the planet and humanity. They will also be working with the 13:30 time on March 21st! They have been a huge help in networking. We are looking forward to getting to know them better. THANK YOU ONE AND ALL ACROSS THE PLANET, IN ADVANCE… for all your work and dedication to making a real difference in the advancement of the LIGHT on this beautiful planet! There are no words of gratitude great enough for YOU! A message from Patti Cota-Robles... This is a critical time, and the forces of imbalance are desperately trying to block Earth's Ascension into the 5th-Dimensional Realms of Light. They know that Lightworkers aren't dumb, so they do not say "I am the sinister force, and I have come to ruin your life." They say "I am god, follow me." Their misinformation and disinformation uses terminology that Lightworkers are familiar with in order to confuse and block activities of Light. Their attempts to block the influx of Light that took place during the Fire the Grid event failed miserably. Much to their dismay, the Lightworkers redoubled their efforts and the influx of Light transcended the greatest expectations of Heaven. Beloved Saint Germain has said that the greatest means of sorcery occurring on Earth at this time is people drawing the attention of the masses to the negativity taking place around the world. Where our attention is, there we are. Whatever we focus on, we empower. Do not empower those thoughtforms by addressing them or disputing them. Just let them go and invoke the I AM Presence of the souls involved to fill them with God Illumination and Divine Truth. That fear-based information has absolutely NO power over the Light, unless we choose to focus on it and empower it with our fears. It is the Divine Intention with which Lightworkers invoke the Light that determines the outcome. When millions of people around the world participate in the Solar Wave with the Divine Intention of Healing discordant energy and lifting Humanity into a higher level of Divine Consciousness, that is exactly what will take place. Remember, THE LIGHT OF GOD IS ALWAYS VICTORIOUS, AND YOU ARE THAT LIGHT. Keep shining your magnificent Light! God Bless ~ Patti Cota-Robles www.eraofpeace.org "We live in an age of prophecy, during which humanity has the opportunity to re-awaken to timeless, inter-dependent relationship with the cosmos. Without a doubt, we are here at this special time to help fulfill an awesome and delicately orchestrated plan to align Earth with the cosmos and humanity with the universal heart. We are here to awaken to the full potential of being authentic aware human beings. It's time to drop your cosmic remote control, get out of that visualization chair, and get to work. Spirit helps those who help themselves. Spirit works right NOW . . . not yesterday . . . not tomorrow. Quit watching what is going on and take action. Use your power to do something about the imbalances in your world." - The Star Elders "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Peace is not something you wish for, it is something you make, something you do, something you are and it is something you give away. EVERYTHING is a PLACEBO! Your belief in it determines the effect Armand "I am only one, but I AM ONE. I cannot do it all, but I will not refuse to do what I can. and what I can do, by the grace of the Creator, I will do." - unknown Please network this invitation all over the Earth. E-mail this Global Event to a Friend Join our newsletter for updates SOLAR WAVE Responses from Phase One. "You who have the light, what are you doing with it?" ~ Paul Claudel We invite all the Guides, Guardians, Angels, Ascended Masters, Shamans and Sages of the LIGHT to assist in this Healing and Awakening of Humanity, Earth and Cosmos. May the shifts be completed in all ~time~space~dimension~past~present~future~body~mind~spirit, 7 days a week ~ 24 hours a day ~ 365 days year! Solar Wave History - Where it all began.... The Solar Wave was an idea born in 1990 while Aluna Joy was on a pilgrimage to Palenque, Mexico. In an amazing overnight stay in the Temple of the Sun, she was taught, or better yet, downloaded with a vision. Aluna Joy was shown a new energy that was coming to the planet that was going to come in energy waves in multiplying voltage. Today, 18 years after the initial vision, the waves are getting too big to ignore. You can read about this experience by reading A PALENQUE STORY

I don't understand this religous question...? Prayer, meditation, or spiritual healing practices should be favored at the exclusion of conventional health treatment (for all serious conditions or certain types of serious conditions). Agree Disagree Not applicable

What is the shortest prayer? Prayer is Not Optional" A layman, at the St Vladimir's Seminary Summer Institute, wrote this sentence as the most important thing he learned all week. Which Words The classical form of the Jesus Prayer is, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The actual words of our short prayers can vary. We might say the classic version of the Jesus Prayer, or we might say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." We may say, "Lord Jesus, have mercy." Or, we might say a Psalm verse, or a Bible quote, or some other prayer. Monks of old said, "Lord, make haste to help me. Lord, make speed to save me," all day long. The history of the Jesus Prayer goes back, as far as we know, to the early sixth century, with Diadochos, who taught that repetition of the prayer leads to inner stillness. Even earlier John Cassian recommended this type of prayer. In the fourth century Egypt, in Nitria, short "arrow" prayers were practiced. Abba Macarius of Egypt said there is no need to waste time with words. It is enough to hold out your hands and say, "Lord, according to your desire and your wisdom, have mercy." If pressed in the struggle, say, "Lord, save me!" or say, "Lord." He knows what is best for us, and will have mercy upon us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pray Ceaselessly We are all called to pray without ceasing, says St. Paul in 1 Thess 5:17. The real questions is, how. The Jesus Prayer provides one good way to pray constantly. In fact, the Jesus Prayer is the most widespread and most specifically Orthodox spiritual prayer, according to Metropolitan Corneanu. Our task is to draw nearer to God. St. Isaac of Syria says that it is impossible to draw near to God by any means other than increasing prayer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Power of the Name Biblically, knowing a person's name gave power over that person. Name was linked with being. In the Old Testament, God would not disclose His name. In the New Testament, Jesus explicitly gives us God's name, Father, and tells us to use the name in prayer. Jesus gives us access to the Godhead through the name. Jesus told His Apostles that they hadn't really used His Name in prayer enough. "Hitherto you have asked nothing in My Name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16:23). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hidden Martyrdom Trying to pray repetitively is an inner asceticism. According to St Ignatius Brianchaninov, trying to pray without ceasing is a "hidden martyrdom." A casual, but profound, example of this came to a small group of high school students. They were visiting a home for unwed mothers. The woman who directs the home spoke to them for a half hour. Because the woman sensed that the students were wondering about her own faith commitment, she said, "Well, you have been here 30 minutes and I have prayed 15 times." She hadn't been out of their sight, nor out of their conversation. Yet, during the active interchange, this woman found the desire, attention, and time, to shoot 15 "arrow" prayers to God. That's keen vigilance. That's a hidden martyrdom, especially when attempted all day long. Prayer requires super-human courage, given the atmosphere of the world today. The whole ensemble of natural energies is in opposition. So says Sophrony. Lions may not eat us for the sake of the Gospel. Rather, our call to martyrdom takes the form of being attentive to the present moment, relying upon God's power always, and doing His will. Our call to martyrdom may not be any easier than death by violence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who can Say the Prayer Clearly, the Jesus Prayer is not only for monks. We are told that the prayer is for cab drivers, social workers, business persons, teachers, professional baseball players (not necessarily used to win a game), psychiatrists. We use the Jesus Prayer to do God's will, not our own bidding. Anyone, everyone can say the Jesus Prayer. The only prerequisites are a keeping of the Commandments, be living member of the Church, and to have a guide. Bishop Kallistos Ware has sound advice for those who simply can't find a suitable guide. "But those who have no personal contact with starets my still practice the Prayer without any fear, so long as they do so only for limited periods - initially, for no more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time - and so long as they make no attempt to interfere with the body's natural rhythms." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When to Pray The Jesus Prayer is recommended in the morning, following our prayer rule, for some period of time, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. If that is impossible, then sometime before noon, or in the evening. This might be called "formal" use of the prayer. The second form of the Jesus Prayer is the "free" use of the prayer. This means at any and all other times of the day, or night. This is especially true for the semi-automatic tasks such as driving, doing dishes, walking, being unable to sleep, etc. The Jesus Prayer is notably useful in time of extreme concern or upset. When alone, we might find it helpful to pray the Jesus Prayer, out loud. This can help lower the distraction level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prayer of the Heart The Jesus Prayer is also called the Prayer of the Heart. In Orthodoxy, the mind and heart are to be used as one. St Theophan tells us to keep our "mind in the heart" at all times. Heart means the physical muscle pumping blood, and emotions/feelings, and the innermost core of the person, the spirit. Heart is associated with the physical organ, but not identical with it. Heart means our innermost chamber, our secret dwelling place where God lives. "The heart is but a small vessel; and yet dragons and lions are there, and there poisonous creatures and all the treasures of wickedness; rough, uneven paths are there, and gaping chasms. There likewise is God, there are the angles, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace; all things are there." So says St. Macarius. Someone said the heart is a dimension of interior consciousness, awareness, where we come in touch with an inner space, a space of no dimensions. This consciousness is timeless, the place where tears reside and deep contact with the present moment abide, and from which restful movement comes. Acting out of our heart means to act lightly, with vigor and enthusiasm. When not in that inner awareness, we are restless, agitated and self-concerned. There is within us a space, a field of the heart, in which we find a Divine Reality, and from which we are called to live. The mind, then, is to descend into that inner sanctuary, by means of the Jesus Prayer or wordless contemplation, and to stay there throughout our active day, and evening. We descend with our mind into our heart, and we live there. The heart is Christ's palace. There, Christ the King comes to take His rest. The photo at the top of the page is a seventeen year old girl [Bethany] who said that, when this was taken, she felt like she was walking "into the silence of the hills." To reach the field of the heart we need outer, and inner, silence, rather like one might experience while gazing upon this scene. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silence Silence is a choice. We choose the things we want to do. These things, then, order and measure our lives. Someone said that Christians "order and measure" their lives from communion to communion. We might also say the Christians "order and measure" their lives from silence to silence. Silence, at its best, is God-awareness. We quiet down our outer and inner lives, and listen to God speak. Someone said that when God speaks, His words are like the sound of a flutter of a bird's wings. We need to be attentive if we are to hear anything. Outer silence is a choice. When my son, in his teen years, rode with me in the family car, we cut a deal. He had the car radio half the time, and I had the car radio half the time. He always chose his half at the beginning of the trip. Like most teens, he wanted his jollies up front. For my half of the ride, I sometimes chose silence, because I like silence. I really didn't do it to cause him pain. He, however, did sometimes have a restless and difficult time of it. Later he did tell me that he enjoyed our quiet evening rides together. Outer silence calms the senses. By contrast, sensory overload and excitement can be addictive. Inner silence can usually be achieved only by substituting one thought for another. Hence, the Jesus Prayer overrides our usual compulsive stream of consciousness about our own anxieties. Beginning with this form of prayer, then we might be led to deeper inner stillness, prayer without words. The caution here is that prayer without words is not heaviness, semi-sleep dullness. Rather, wordless prayer is alive, vigorous God-awareness. A seventeen year old said she learned recently that, "Silence is my friend." Abba Pastor tells us that any trial which comes to us can by conquered by silence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contemplation Contemplation has been described as clear awareness without words. Contemplation is a "seeing clearly." We lay aside thoughts, not to lead to a vacuum or drowsiness, but to inner plenitude. We deny to affirm. Wordless contemplation is not an absence, but a presence, a God-awareness. The aim is to bring us into a direct meeting with a personal God, on God's terms. Inner silence, inner stillness, called hesychia, is experienced by wordless sitting, imageless contemplation. When consciousness strays, a phrase like "Lord Jesus" can be used to bring the mind back, and then the person sits quietly in the presence of the Lord. The desire of wordless sitting awareness is to open oneself to God, to listen to God. Some teachers suggest that if we are able, we spend a half hour of wordless sitting, begun by asking God to teach us to pray, or a Bible quote. Usually this is best done in the morning, upon rising or before noon. If the person is able, a block of the some quiet time is also recommended for the evening. Hopefully, all this is worked out with the direction of a spiritual guide. Both the Jesus Prayer and contemplation make us single-centered, concentrating upon the here and now, focused, one-pointed. The point is God. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changing the Universe Every prayer changes the entire universe. Our every prayer, each prayer, actually changes history, the way God created the world, and all else. God is outside time. God is not "waiting up there" for our prayer, and then He acts. All has already occurred in God. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intercessory Prayer St Therese, a Roman Catholic saint, had difficulty knowing that God heard her prayers for others. As a youth, she decided to put God "to the test" once and for all. Perhaps only a saint can "test" God. She prayed fervently for the salvation of a callused serial killer of women, Henri Pranzini. Pranzini was caught, found guilty and sentenced to the guillotine. During this time, Therese prayed that he be saved, and that she be given a sign that a conversion took place. Pranzini became more arrogant. Therese persisted. On the execution day, Pranzini walked up the steps, put his head onto the block, still jeering. Then, unexpectedly, he lifted up, grabbed the crucifix hanging from the side of the nearby priest, and Pranzini kissed the feet of Christ three times. Pranzini publicly repented. He then put his head back down onto the block, and the guillotine fell. Therese claimed that her prayers were answered. She claimed that her intercessory prayers saved a hardened criminal. Is this really the way intercessory prayer works? In a word, yes. How? The answer to that rests somewhere in God's mysterious ways. What we do know, for certain, is that every prayer for someone else is heard, and in God's goodness, answered, for the other person's good. Every single prayer for another helps that other person, and helps us. The lives of the saints are replete with examples. St Monica, mother of St Augustine, prayed day and night for her son when he was living a wild life. Augustine had, among other activities, fathered a child out of wedlock. Monica was told by her Bishop that "no child of so many tears (prayers) could be lost." Monica's prayers were instrumental in saving Augustine. We are each called to pray, ardently, for our children, family, priest, the Church, country, world. We have a noble and royal vocation, to pray and make an untold difference in the entire cosmos. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Does It Work? Like swimming, we are to "jump in" and just begin. There is a world of difference between thinking, or talking, about quiet prayer, and actually praying. Like beginning swimmers , we only learn by getting wet. The Fathers tell us that, often, the first thing that happens is an experience of darkness and resistance. Then, when we persist, peace begins to replace the darkness. The temptations may become more severe, even temptations to stop the praying, but we sin less. The Fathers tell us that, as we continue to pray and live the commandments, go to Church and listen to our spiritual Father, we can expect to become freed from indecision, upset and hesitation. Our will becomes stronger. We can expect to be available to others in ways we otherwise would not have been, and we will become more effective and creative. Bishop Kallistos Ware says that by spending only a few moments invoking the Divine Name each day, we actually transform all the other remaining moments of the day. In the beginning, there may be no new insights and no pleasant feelings. Was it a waste of time? Not necessarily. By faith, the Christian believes that spending time wanting to pray, and actually praying, does touch a Merciful God. God hears. And, in turn, Divine Truth is known through direct experience, sometimes called intuition. Something is happening, and changing at a deeper level of consciousness, unnoticed. We can expect invisible, subtle snares, sent from Satan, precisely because we have upscaled our efforts, and are turning to God. In a sense, we rouse the enemy to action. St. John Chrysostom says that when we begin to pray we stir the snake (living within us) to action, and that prayer can lay the snake low. There is no ascetic effort more difficult, more painful, than the effort to draw close to God, Sophrony tells us. When we begin to pray, we expend desire and effort. The results are up to God. Real prayer is a gift from God, not the payment for our perspiration. Prayer works in the Unseen Warfare as a power/gift from Jesus, given as a function of our ability to receive it. We increase our ability to receive by asking for the increase, and God grants it as He sees fit, in His tender, all sweet and merciful manner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not Yoga Sitting, saying the Jesus Prayer, or in wordless contemplation, is not Yoga or any far Eastern practice. The difference is the Christian encounter with the living God, Jesus. The postures, techniques and outer form may be similar, but the content is unique in Christian prayer. The content of Christian prayer is Jesus. Sometimes the difference is likened to a priceless painting. We might admire the exquisite frame of the painting, and rightly so. But the frame is not the masterpiece. The similarities of Eastern Yoga and Sufi practice in prayer are the frame, but Christ is the masterpiece, the insides, of the prayer of the Christian. And, that is all the difference in the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Techniques & Psychosomatic Issues The Orthodox understanding of the role of the body in prayer rests upon a sound anthropology. The body, soul and spirit act as a single unit, not divided or split up. Therefore, the body has a role in prayer. How we involve the body can be understood in three ways. Sometimes this is called psychotechniques. 1. Breathing, 2. Inner Exploration, and 3. Posture. Across the centuries, these issues have been explosive. Breathing. Bishop Kallistos Ware says that if we pray the Jesus Prayer for short periods, ten or fifteen minutes at the beginning, then there is no problem matching the words of the prayer to our breath. We are to breath naturally, without playing with the rhythm of the breath. On the inhale, we can say, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God." On the exhale, we can say, "have mercy on me, a sinner." We are to breath and pray slowly and reverently and attentively. Inner Exploration. Inner exploration usually means following our breath into the nostrils, down into the lungs, around the insides, and out. This is unquestioningly, forbidden. The dangers involved in all this cannot be exaggerated. Posture. The usual position, as recommended by Bishop Kallistos Ware, is a comfortable sitting position in a chair. Sometimes standing is recommended. Usually the eyes are kept closed. Posture can take many forms, as long as the postures are reverent. Modern serious and enlightened authors, such as Bishop Ware, St Igantius Brianchaninov and Sophrony all agree that "the fullness of the Jesus Prayer can by practiced without any physical methods at all." In summary, it can be said that physical methods are optional and not at all necessary. Physical techniques are more suitable for beginners, says St Gregory Palamas. Physical techniques are potentially dangerous, and not to be used without a guide. St Theophan suggests, "Make a habit of having the intellect stand in the heart, but not in a physical way." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prayer Rope Orthodox prayer ropes are usually soft and made of wool. The purpose is to help us concentrate, not necessarily to count. In the famous book, The Way of the Pilgrim, the pilgrim said the prayer 2,000, then 6,000, then 12,000 times. Is 12,000 Jesus Prayers better than 2,000? Absolutely not. Quantity has nothing to do with love, and a living relationship with Jesus. The pilgrim did 12,000, no more and no less, as an act of obedience to his spiritual father, not because he was "making progress." He also prayed much because that was his "heart's desire." Every prayer is an act of love, made to the Author of Love, Who is waiting expectantly for our desire, and our acceptance of His Love. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Jesus Prayer as Psychotherapy As medicine, the Jesus Prayer is destructive of the passions and altering of conduct. Just as a doctor places a dressing on a patient's wound, and the dressing works without the patient's knowing how, calling on the Name of God "removes the passions" without our knowing how and why, according to Barsanupius and John. The Holy Name, when repeated quietly, penetrates the soul rather like a drop of oil, spreading out and impregnating a cloth. Our modern translation of "mercy" is limited and insufficient. "Mercy" comes from the Greek eleison. Eleison has the same root as elaion which means olive and olive oil. In the Middle East, olive oil provides physical healing for many sicknesses, particularly respiratory. "Have mercy" means to have "healing oil" on my soul. The Fathers tell us that praying the Sacred Name changes our personality, from overstrain to joy. "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my Name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16:24). The Jesus Prayer functions as therapy, much like healing oil, transforming our personality from overstrain to joy, and by continuing to pray, these changes become permanent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Results of Prayer We don't say the Jesus Prayer, or enter wordless contemplation, to get "some benefit." We don't pray to reduce our stress, or strengthen our immune system, or lose weight, or add years to our life. On the contrary, we enter prayer to follow Christ, to become open to Him. His way is the Way of the Cross.

Does any body believe the prayer of a pastor can heal your disease? spiritual healing

Why is there a law in Wisconsin giving parents the right to kill there kids? where is the morality in that? Wisconsin has an especially backward law that protects the proponents of faith-based medical neglect. State statute 948.03(6) provides an exemption from the law against failing to act to protect children from bodily harm for what is referred to as "Treatment through prayer." The statute says: "A person is not guilty of an offense under this section solely because he or she provides a child with treatment by spiritual means through prayer alone for healing in accordance with the religious method of healing ... in lieu of medical or surgical treatment." . "In Weston, Wisconsin on Sunday, March 23, 2008, 11-year old Madeline Neumann died from diabetes that had gone untreated. According to FOXNews, the last time her parents took her to the doctor was when she was 3-years old. Her parents are not affiliated with any church, but they do have small Bible studies that a few people attended in their home. They called on these people to pray. After Madeline died they assumed that they didn't have enough faith for God to heal their daughter, but believe that God could still resurrect her." http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/678949/are_religious_exemption_laws_killing.html?cat=5 this is the main source for this question; http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=22053 I cannot believe I spelt "their" wrong what a dope!

What are your favorite metal albums of 1990?Choose in this list.? "razors edge"AC/DC "no prayer for the dying"IRON MAIDEN "painkiller"JUDAS PRIEST "tyr"BLACK SABBATH "lock up the wolfes"DIO "heading for tomorrow"GAMMA RAY "the eye"KING DIAMOND "never neverland"ANNIHILATOR "faceless world"UDO "souls of black"TESTAMENT "rust in peace"MEGADETH "seasons in the abyss"SLAYER "persistence of time"ANTHRAX "impact is imminent"EXODUS "twisted into form"FORBIDDEN "coma of souls"KREATOR "better off dead"SODOM "the meaning of life"TANKARD "cracked brain"DESTRUCTION "cowboys from hell"PANTERA "the american way"SACRED REICH "weapons of our warfare"DELIVERANCE "beethoven on speed"THE GREAT KAT "harmony corruption"NAPALM DEATH "cause of death"OBITUARY "spiritual healing"DEATH "deicide"DEICIDE "left hand path"ENTOMBED "final holocaust"MASSACRA "psychological torment"NO RETURN "neverending destiny"AGRESSOR

How Should Deal With Stress and Anxiety ? Stress is life. Stress is anything that causes mental, physical, or spiritual tension. There is no running away from it. All that matters is how you deal with it. This article does not deal with the factors of stress, anxiety, and depression, nor is it a clinical advice. If you feel depressed, you are not alone. It has been estimated that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians in America are for stress-related problems. This is why it is wise to consult a doctor if you are having physical symptoms of stress. However, here are some tips that can help from a spiritual perspective. Torture. Beatings. Loss of property. The death of loved ones. These were just some of the enormous challenges the Muslims of Makkah faced in the seventh century following their acceptance of Islam in fiercely tribal and polytheistic Makkah. Detention. Harassment. Beatings. Discrimination. Loss of Job. Profiling. Hate Crimes. Constant media attention. Surveillance. These are just some of the challenges Muslims in America today face, post-9/11. Like our predecessors in Makkah, we have begun to face great stress, anxiety, and pressure, more than ever in our recent history on this continent, although Muslims who were brought here as slaves faced worse than what we can even imagine. 1. Ask Him. He Listens: DU`A Turn each anxiety, each fear and each concern into a Dua (supplication). Look at it as another reason to submit to God and be in Sajdah (prostration), during which you are closest to Allah. God listens and already knows what is in your heart, but He wants you to ask Him for what you want. The Prophet said: Allah is angry with those who do not ask Him for anything (Tirmidhi). The Prophet once said that in prayer, he would find rest and relief (Nasai). He would also regularly ask for God's forgiveness and remain in prostration during prayer praising God (Tasbeeh) and asking for His forgiveness (Bukhari). Allah wants you to be specific. The Prophet advised us to ask Allah for exactly what we want instead of making vague Duas. Dua is the essence of worship (the Prophet as quoted in Tirmidhi). "Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loveth not those who trespass beyond bounds. Do not make mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear. And longing (in your hearts): for the mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good" (Quran 7:55-56). 2. Tie your Camel: DO YOUR PART One day Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it. He asked the Bedouin, "Why don't you tie down your camel?" The Bedouin answered, "I put my trust in Allah." The Prophet then said, "Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah" (Tirmidhi). Muslims must never become fatalistic. Although we know only Allah is in control and that He has decreed all things, we are each responsible for making the right choices and doing the right thing in all situations of our lives. We must take action (link to planning articles on SV). We must work to alleviate the hardships we, our families and our communities face. Ask yourself the following questions if you are worried about the state of the world: are you part of the peace movement? Is your Masjid part of the peace movement? Are you part of an interfaith group with an agenda of peace and justice? Are you working with a group fighting discrimination? If your answer is no, it is time that you sat down to plan your share of time and money in finding solutions to the problems you face. "Verily Allah does not change men's condition unless they change their inner selves" (Quran 13: 11). Turn each worry into a Du`a and each Du`a into an action plan. That will show your commitment to your request and will focus your energy in the right direction. 3. Remember that human responsibility is limited While we need to carry out our duty to the best of our abilities, always remember that you don't control the outcome of events. Even the Prophets did not control the outcome of their efforts. Some were successful, others were not. Once you have done your duty, leave the results to Allah. Regardless of the results of your efforts, you will be rewarded for the part you have played. However, never underestimate your abilities. Understand the concept of Barakah (blessings from Allah) and remember that Allah can and Insha Allah will expand them if you are sincerely exerting your energies for the right path. 4. Leave the world behind you FIVE TIMES A DAY Use the five daily prayers as a means to become more Hereafter-oriented and less attached to this temporary world. Start distancing yourself as soon as you hear Adhan, the call to prayer. When you perform Wudu, keep repeating Shahada, the declaration of faith, as water drops slip down your face, hands, arms, and hair. When you stand ready to pray, mentally prepare yourself to leave this world and all of its worries and stresses behind you. Of course, Shaytan will try to distract you during prayer. But whenever this happens, go back and remember Allah. The more you return, the more Allah will reward you for it. Also, make sure your Sajdas (prostrations) are talking Sajdas, in which you are really connecting to God and seeking His Mercy, praising Him, and asking His forgiveness. (link to Sajda article...ramadan page) 5. Seek help through SABR Seek help through Sabr and Salat (Quran 2:45). This instruction from Allah provides us with two critical tools that can ease our worries and pain. Patience and prayer are two oft-neglected stressbusters. Sabr is often translated as patience but it is not just that. It includes self-control, perseverance, endurance, and a focused struggle to achieve one's goal. Unlike patience, which implies resignation, the concept of Sabr includes a duty to remain steadfast to achieve your goals despite all odds. Being patient gives us control in situations where we feel we have little or no control. 'We cannot control what happens to us but we can control our reaction to our circumstances' is the mantra of many modern-day self-help books. Patience helps us keep our mind and attitude towards our difficulties in check. 6. Excuse Me! You are Not Running the World, HE is. It is important to remind ourselves that we don't control all the variables in the world. God does. He is the Wise, the All-Knowing. Sometimes our limited human faculties are not able to comprehend His wisdom behind what happens to us and to others, but knowing that He is in control and that as human beings we submit to His Will, enriches our humanity and enhances our obedience (Uboodiah in Arabic) towards him. Read the story of the encounter of Moses with the mysteries behind God's decision (Quran: 18:60-82). Familiarize yourself with God's 99 Names, which are also known as His Attributes. It is a powerful way of knowing Him. "God-there is no deity save Him, the Ever-Living, the Self-Subsistent Fount of All being. Neither slumber overtakes Him, nor sleep. His is all that is in the heavens and all that is on earth. Who is there that could intercede with Him, unless it be by His leave? He knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them, whereas they cannot attain to aught of His knowledge save that which He wills them to attain. His eternal power overspreads the heavens and the earth, and their upholding wearies Him not. And He alone is truly exalted, tremendous." (Quran 2:255). The Prophet recommended reading this verse, known as Ayat al kursi, after each prayer, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. Once Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, approached the Prophet during a difficult time and he found the Prophet in Sajda, where he kept repeating "Ya Hayy Ya Qayyum", words which are part of this verse. 7. Birds Don't Carry their Food Allah is al Razzaq (the Provider). "How many are the creatures that carry not their own sustenance? It is Allah Who feeds them and you, for He hears and knows all things (Quran 29:60)." By reminding yourself that He is the Provider, you will remember that getting a job or providing for your family in these economically and politically challenging times, when Muslims are often the last to be hired and the first to be fired, is in God's Hands, not yours. As Allah says in the Quran: "And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish His purpose. Verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion (Quran 65:3). 8. God controls Life and Death If you fear for your physical safety and security, remember that only Allah gives life and takes it back and, that He has appointed the time for it. No one can harm you except if Allah wills. As He says in the Quran: "Wherever you are, death will find you out, even if you are in towers built up strong and high!" (Quran 4:78). 9. Remember that life is short It's easy to get caught up in our own stress and anxiety. However, if we remember that our life is short and temporary, and that the everlasting life is in the Hereafter, this will put our worries in perspective. This belief in the transitory nature of the life of this world reminds us that whatever difficulties, trials, anxieties, and grief we suffer in this world are, Insha Allah, something we will only experience for a short period of time. And more importantly, if we handle these tests with patience, Allah will reward us for it. 10. Do Zikr, Allah, Allah! "... without doubt in the remembrance (Zikr) of Allah do hearts find tranquility" (Quran 13:28). If you commute, use your time in Zikr. Pick any Tasbeeh and do that instead of listening to the radio or reading the newspaper. Maybe you can divide it up between Zikr and planning. Personally, I recite the Tasbeeh of "Subhana Allahe wa be hamdihi, subhan Allahil Azeem" 100 times as I drive. The Prophet taught us these two short phrases which are easy to say but will weigh heavy on our scale of good deeds in the Hereafter. When your heart feels heavy with stress or grief, remember Allah and surround yourself with His Zikr. Zikr refers to all forms of the remembrance of Allah, including Salat, Tasbeeh, Tahmeed, Tahleel, making supplication (Dua), and reading Quran. "And your Lord says: 'Call on Me; I will answer your (prayer)..." (Quran 40:60) By remembering Allah in the way He has taught us to, we are more likely to gain acceptance of our prayers and His Mercy in times of difficulty. We are communicating with the only One Who not only Hears and Knows all, but Who can change our situation and give us the patience to deal with our difficulties. "Remember Me, and I shall remember you; be grateful to Me, and deny Me not" (Quran 2:152). 11. Relying on Allah: Tawakkul When you awaken in the morning, thank Allah for giving you life after that short death called sleep. When you step out of your home, say 'in Your Name Allah, I put my trust in Allah, and there is no power or force except with Allah' (Bismillahi Tawakal to al Allah wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa billah). At night, remember Allah, with His praises on your lips. Once you have established a plan you intend to follow through on to deal with a specific issue or problem in your life, put your trust in the most Wise and the All-Knowing. "When you have taken a decision, put your trust in Allah" (Quran 3: 159). Rely on Allah by constantly remembering Him throughout your day. When you lay down to sleep, remember that sleep is death. That is why one of the recommended supplications before going to sleep is "with Your (Allah's) Name I die and become alive". 12. Connect with other human beings You are not alone. Muslims are not alone. We are not suffering in silence. There are millions of good people who are not Muslim with beautiful hearts and minds. These are people who have supported us, individually and collectively, post-9/11, by checking up on us and making sure we are safe. These are individuals and organizations who have spoken up in defense of Muslims as we endured harassment and discrimination. We must think of them, talk to them, connect with them, and pray for them. Through our connections, we will break the chain of isolation that leads to depression and anxiety. 13. Compare your dining table with that of those who don't have as much as you do The Prophet said: Whenever you see someone better than you in wealth, face or figure, you should look at someone who is inferior to you in these respects (so that you may thank Allah for His blessings) (Bukhari, Muslim). Next time you sit down to eat, eye the table carefully. Check out the selection of food, the quality, the taste, the quantity, and then think of the millions of others who don't have even half as much. The Prophet's Hadith reminds us of this so that we can appreciate and thank God for all that we have. Also remember that the Prophet only encouraged us to compare ourselves to others in two respects: in our Islamic knowledge and level of belief in God (Deen). In these two areas, we should compare ourselves with those who have more than what we do. 14. Say it Loud: Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar: Takbirat & Adhan Find a corner of a lake, go out in the wilderness, or even stand on your lawn at your home and call the Adhan with your heart. While driving, instead of listening to the same news over and over again, say Allahu Akbar as loudly as you can or as softly as you want, based on your mood. Year ago, I remember calling Adhan on a Lake Michigan shore in Chicago after sunset as the water gushed against my knees. I was calling it for myself. There was no one else accept the waves after waves of water with their symphony. It was relaxing and meaningful. Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar. 15. Pray in congregation (Jamat) Pray with other people instead of alone. If you can't pray all five prayers in congregation, at least find one or two prayers you can pray with others. If you are away, establish Jamat in your own family. During the Prophet's time, even though the Muslims endured great persecution, including physical beatings, they would sometimes meet on the side of a mountain or valley and tried to pray together. This is a great morale booster. 16. How is your Imam's Dua? Does the Imam at your local mosque make Dua silently or out loud? Ask him to supplicate with the whole congregation. Suggest Duas for him to make. Ask him to make Dua for other people. 17. Work for the Unity of Muslims Bringing Muslims together will not only help the Muslims, but it will also encourage you to focus your energies on something constructive versus zeroing in on and consistently fretting about difficulties you are going through. Invite Muslims from other ethnic groups to your functions. Visit Masjids other than yours in your city. When you meet a Muslim leader, after thanking him for his efforts, ask him what he is doing for Muslim unity. Ask Imams to make Dua for this. These are just small ways you can help yourself and the Muslim community. 18. Sleep the way the Prophet slept End your day on a positive note. Make Wudu, then think of your day. Thank Allah for all the good things you accomplished, like Zikr and Salat. Ask yourself what you did today to bring humanity together and what you did to help Muslims become servants of humanity. For everything positive, say Alhamdu lillah (Praise be to Allah). For everything negative say Astaghfirullah wa atoobo ilayk (I seek Allah's forgiveness and I turn to You [Allah]). Recite the last two chapters of the Quran, thinking and praying as you turn on your right side with your hand below your right cheek, the way the Prophet used to sleep. Then close your day with the name of Allah on your tongue. Insha Allah, you will have a good, restful night. 19. Begin the Day on a Positive Note Get up early. Get up thanking God that He has given you another day. Alhamdu lillahil lazi ahyana bada ma amatana, wa ilaihin Nushoor (Praise be to Allah Who gave us life after death and unto Him will be the return). Invest in an audio tape driven alarm clock so you can get up to the melody of the Quran. Or Let Dawud Wharnsby's joyful notes put you in a good mood. Sing along if you like. Develop your to do list for the day if you didn't do it the night before. Begin with the name of Allah, with Whose name nothing in the heavens or the earth can hurt you. He is the Highest and the Greatest. (Bismillahillazi la yazurru maa ismihi shaiun fil arze wa la fis samae, wahuwal Alee ul Azeem).The Prophet used to say this after every Fajr and Maghrib prayers. 20. Avoid Media Overexposure: Switch from News to Books Don't spend too much time checking out the news on the radio, television or internet. Spend more time reading good books and journals. When you listen to the persistent barrage of bad news, especially relating to Muslims nowadays, you feel not only depressed, but powerless. Cut down media time to reduce your stress and anxiety. It's important to know what's going on but not to an extent that it ruins your day or your mood. (similarly, when you are in a sad mood, refrain from wallowing and listening to sad songs) 21. Pray for Others to Heal Yourself. The Prophet was always concerned about other people, Muslims and non-Muslims, and would regularly pray for them. Praying for others connects you with them and helps you understand their suffering. This in itself has a healing component to it. The Prophet has said that praying for someone who is not present increases love. 22. Make the Quran your Partner Reading and listening to the Quran will help refresh our hearts and our minds. Recite it out loud or in a low voice. Listen to it in the car. When you are praying Nafl or extra prayers, pick it up and use it to recite portions of the Quran you are not as familiar with. Connecting to the Quran means connecting to God. Let it be a means to heal your heart of stress and worries. Invest in different recordings of the Quran and their translations. "O humanity! There has come to you a direction from your Lord and a cure for all [the ills] in men's hearts - and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy" (Quran 10:57). 23. Be thankful to Allah "If you are grateful, I will give you more" (Quran 14:7). Counting our blessings helps us not only be grateful for what we have, but it also reminds us that we are so much better off than millions of others, whether that is in terms of our health, family, financial situation, or other aspects of our life. And being grateful for all we have helps us maintain a positive attitude in the face of worries and challenges we are facing almost daily. 24. Ideals: ONE STEP AT A TIME Ideals are wonderful things to pursue. But do that gradually. Think, prioritize, plan, and move forward. One step at a time. 25. EFFORTS not Results Count in the Eyes of Allah Our success depends on our sincere efforts to the best of our abilities. It is the mercy of Allah that He does not demand results, Alhamdu lillah. He is happy if He finds us making our best sincere effort. Thank you Allah! http://www.imanway.com/en/page.htm

what would be the hypothesis, independent variable and dependent variable of the article? Prayers offered by strangers had no effect on the recovery of people who were undergoing heart surgery, a large and long-awaited study has found. And patients who knew they were being prayed for had a higher rate of post-operative complications like abnormal heart rhythms, perhaps because of the expectations the prayers created, the researchers suggested. Because it is the most scientifically rigorous investigation of whether prayer can heal illness, the study, begun almost a decade ago and involving more than 1,800 patients, has for years been the subject of speculation. The question has been a contentious one among researchers. Proponents have argued that prayer is perhaps the most deeply human response to disease, and that it may relieve suffering by some mechanism that is not yet understood. Skeptics have contended that studying prayer is a waste of money and that it presupposes supernatural intervention, putting it by definition beyond the reach of science. At least 10 studies of the effects of prayer have been carried out in the last six years, with mixed results. The new study was intended to overcome flaws in the earlier investigations. The report was scheduled to appear in The American Heart Journal next week, but the journal's publisher released it online yesterday. In a hurriedly convened news conference, the study's authors, led by Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and director of the Mind/Body Medical Institute near Boston, said that the findings were not the last word on the effects of so-called intercessory prayer. But the results, they said, raised questions about how and whether patients should be told that prayers were being offered for them. "One conclusion from this is that the role of awareness of prayer should be studied further," said Dr. Charles Bethea, a cardiologist at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City and a co-author of the study. Other experts said the study underscored the question of whether prayer was an appropriate subject for scientific study. "The problem with studying religion scientifically is that you do violence to the phenomenon by reducing it to basic elements that can be quantified, and that makes for bad science and bad religion," said Dr. Richard Sloan, a professor of behavioral medicine at Columbia and author of a forthcoming book, "Blind Faith: The Unholy Alliance of Religion and Medicine." The study cost $2.4 million, and most of the money came from the John Templeton Foundation, which supports research into spirituality. The government has spent more than $2.3 million on prayer research since 2000. Dean Marek, a chaplain at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and a co-author of the report, said the study said nothing about the power of personal prayer or about prayers for family members and friends. Working in a large medical center like Mayo, Mr. Marek said, "You hear tons of stories about the power of prayer, and I don't doubt them." In the study, the researchers monitored 1,802 patients at six hospitals who received coronary bypass surgery, in which doctors reroute circulation around a clogged vein or artery. The patients were broken into three groups. Two were prayed for; the third was not. Half the patients who received the prayers were told that they were being prayed for; half were told that they might or might not receive prayers. The researchers asked the members of three congregations — St. Paul's Monastery in St. Paul; the Community of Teresian Carmelites in Worcester, Mass.; and Silent Unity, a Missouri prayer ministry near Kansas City — to deliver the prayers, using the patients' first names and the first initials of their last names. The congregations were told that they could pray in their own ways, but they were instructed to include the phrase, "for a successful surgery with a quick, healthy recovery and no complications." Analyzing complications in the 30 days after the operations, the researchers found no differences between those patients who were prayed for and those who were not. In another of the study's findings, a significantly higher number of the patients who knew that they were being prayed for — 59 percent — suffered complications, compared with 51 percent of those who were uncertain. The authors left open the possibility that this was a chance finding. But they said that being aware of the strangers' prayers also may have caused some of the patients a kind of performance anxiety. "It may have made them uncertain, wondering am I so sick they had to call in their prayer team?" Dr. Bethea said. The study also found that more patients in the uninformed prayer group — 18 percent — suffered major complications, like heart attack or stroke, compared with 13 percent in the group that did not receive prayers. In their report, the researchers suggested that this finding might also be a result of chance. One reason the study was so widely anticipated was that it was led by Dr. Benson, who in his work has emphasized the soothing power of personal prayer and meditation. At least one earlier study found lower complication rates in patients who received intercessory prayers; others found no difference. A 1997 study at the University of New Mexico, involving 40 alcoholics in rehabilitation, found that the men and women who knew they were being prayed for actually fared worse. The new study was rigorously designed to avoid problems like the ones that came up in the earlier studies. But experts said the study could not overcome perhaps the largest obstacle to prayer study: the unknown amount of prayer each person received from friends, families, and congregations around the world who pray daily for the sick and dying. Bob Barth, the spiritual director of Silent Unity, the Missouri prayer ministry, said the findings would not affect the ministry's mission. "A person of faith would say that this study is interesting," Mr. Barth said, "but we've been praying a long time and we've seen prayer work, we know it works, and the research on prayer and spirituality is just getting started."

What is the value of having Jesus manifest to you, and what do you have to do to make him certainly manifest? Most Christians are very happy to go through life and never have Jesus manifest. This is like getting married by mail order or over the phone and never seeing who you are theoretically married to. Maybe have test-tube children you never see. This morning my co-worker told about a girl in the Pentecostal church her son goes to who gave a testimony (about how Jesus was "blessing" her, no doubt) and fell down and died practically instantly. Not only were "Born Again" "Holy Ghost baptized" CHRISTIANS present, but Holy Ghost baptized MEDICAL DOCTORS- one of whom was a published author of a Christian book. (I bought the book because I wanted to know how come he had an accident and it took "Jesus" two years to heal him- and he still walks with a limp. Have never got round to reading it. He is an ordained pastor as several of these abominations are.) The girl could have been suffering from anything from sickle-cell disease to malaria fever, but she would have been unable to say anything but "It is well!" (2nd Kings 4:26), and "I am strong!" (Joel 3:10), which are meaningless unless you have the "Rock Foundation" of having PHYSICALLY DONE all the Righteous Works Commanded by Jesus (Matt. 7:21-29; John 15:6-8). Or unless you know the hypocritical trick pulled by the corrupt Senior Brethren, of availing yourself of the finest medical attention affordable, and "Giving The Glory to God" saying that it was JESUS not medical science that was healing you. I had preached to warn Christians locally of their vulnerability, because the Fool Gospel Clergymen demagogically tell people what they want to hear, and tell them to ignore cases where their doctrine does not work. The commonsense thing to do in a church where the prayers hundreds, even thousands of Holy Ghost baptized members could not save one little girl's life is to LEAVE. ISAIAH 44:20. 20. He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, "Is there not a lie in my right hand?" I HAD A BULLETIN board made, which I used to post messages for anyone to see, giving my spiritual findings explaining how divine healing does and does not work. What The New Birth is and isn't. Holy Ghost baptism, and how to control it. My messages were vandalized when I used the public student boards in the halls on campus, therefore I made my own. My board was vandalized, and my messages stolen. Later on there was a continous crime wave that could have been stopped by the application of my teachings, with several deaths. The hold of these wicked clergymen was so strong, that even facing possible death, no one wants to even look at my recommendations. I do not really care. I do not now, and will never pray for God to give me followers or comrades. People either want this Knowledge, or they want to die without knowing it. It is their choice. These things happen because Christians do not repect Jesus' Least Commandments (Matt. 5:16-20).

Do I talk to my sick friend about miracle healings? I happen to believe they occur and I know of a retreat where prayer is constant and healings are performed (successfully from what I've been told). My friend is very pragmatic and not prone to spiritual issues. Of course that may change as she is looking at a terminal illness. Would discussing the possibilities of a miracle healing help her (because it can work) or would it just make matters worse by giving her false hope, or offending her? Where does one draw the line?

How do you call God? Im new to the concept of God, i didnt believe in Him before. When i pray, i dont know how to call him. Because when hearing/saying "God" i can see an old man with white beard who looks like man. But thats not what i believe he is! I believe that its a spiritual being without gender, omnipotent, present everywhere and that "it" created universal energy that i use for healing. Do you have some suggestions concerning how should i call it in my prayers? Id like to give it some name and not just "higher power" in order to gain better relationship with it. But dont you think its rude to look for name for it just like i would like to name my pet? wont it be angry because i do that? I know its a weird question :-) please dont tell me to call him Jesus or something similar. Thanks!

What is the purpose of Miracles? Many today seem to believe that prayer should entitle them to miraculously healing and that healing is for the purpose of preserving thier physical well-being, but is that what Christ really taught? It is notable that every person healed by Christ eventually died, so what was the purpose of raising Lazzarus from the dead if he later died again? I believe physical healing was and is always used for a spiritual need. Anybody have evidence to the contrary? If you disagree, then tell me what is the purpose of Miracles if not for spiritual needs?

The Scientific Study on Prayer. (Question posted at the end of argument)? A recent study on prayer was conducted. The article reporting its results can be found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html?ex=1301461200&en=4acf338be4900000&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss Basically, the findings were that in two groups of people, one prayed for, the others not prayed for, there was absolutely no difference in healing after open heart surgery. However a third group was prayed for and was TOLD they were being prayed for - and they actually had a higher incidence of complications from surgery. Of course, this doesnt prove that there is no God - but it is compelling evidence that prayers do not seem to work, as there was no difference in results between the two groups that were not told they were being prayed for... This study was commissioned by The Templeton Foundation, who's mottos is "Funding initiatives for spiritual information through science." Many argue that science cannot prove God or His existence, but obviouslyt the Templeton Foundation beleives that science CAN prove it - but they didnt get the results they wanted... My question is this: IF the Templeton Foundation's Prayer study had given different results - results unequivocally showing that the power of prayer is real, would all you Christians still be saying that scientists are wrong and stupid and cant prove the existence of God??? I cant understand why you wont accept science when it proves against you, but you are happy to accept science that agrees with your beleifs....please explain. Im also curious why Ive already received a thumbs down? Is there a grammatical issue with my posting? Or are you again demonstrating that you people cannot stand to see anything that contradicts your beliefs?? Im asking a question for crying out loud!!! Whats the problem?? Immaturity abounds in this place....

A prayer/ritual to help heal a broken heart? I'm tired of being broken hearted about all the times I have been hurt in life....I'd like to get on with it, move on, and try to learn how to love again..... Any suggestions.....all spiritual disciplines welcomed.

Atheists, you humor a believer say a prayer and it works 100% of the time. Would you keep doing it if it workd? DISCLAIMER: I'm NOT a Christian! Pls answer all 3. Thanks! So humor me and hypothetical situation: say someone gives you a prayer, or magickal incantation, or spiritual treatment or affirmation and every time you say it, it works: the light turns green, you get the parking spot, you don't catch the flu, your burns heal instantly, the cute person asks you out, you get unexpected cash etc . etc (work with me here it's hypothetical. you never asked a dead raised, but what the heck that too: you get a zombie back from the dead) MY 3 QUESTIONS: 1-In your mind, what would you tell yourself it was? Coincidence or_____? 2-And (even if you think it's unparallelled coincidences) would you keep doing it, as in "WTF" since it's working and you like the newfound power and want more good "stuff"? Or would you feel it contrary to your atheistic convictions and cut it out? 3-Finally MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION: if the wording was tied to a particular faith and involved "in the name of Jumanji" would you switch that to "in the name of Attila" just to see if worked with any other denomination/faith? Just curious.

why wont god heal amputees? You see and hear about it every day. People claim that they prayed for days, weeks, months or even years on end and suddenly their prayer is answered! So why is it that god won't heal amputees? We've got lots of soldiers coming home from Iraq with missing limbs, and I'm sure most of them have prayed to be healed. So Why won't god heal them and give them their limbs back? I'm also quite sure a lot of these soldiers are deeply religious, and yet god still does not answer them. I'm sure those people in Texas two days ago prayed not to die in a flood, but they did. Why didn't god answer their prayers? I'm sure a least some of the people who died in 9/11 prayed with all their might to be saved from death. Why didn't god answer? My Aunt Kaite, a very deeply spiritual person, prayed like crazy to not die of Alzheimer’s, but god didn't answer her prayers. Three months ago an 8 year old girl was raped and murdered out in Nevada. I'm quite sure she prayed, but god did not answer. -AtheistMan

Can you pray for me? Man of God, Christians, Prayer Warriors! Hello, my name is John, from southern california. I've been having Panic Attack symptoms lately and it really disturbs me. It happens more frequently when I go to sleep. Could you pray for me that I would get well? healed? no more symptoms and that I would stay healthy? satan is trying to over work on me but could you pray for me that I would be strong the midst of my sickness and all the spiritual battles? Thank you~ Take a moment to pray for healing right now if you read this letter..

2nd Chronicles 6:12, Solomans prayer, Pray in agreement with me for the china? earth quake survivers, but first read Solomans prayer in 2Chronicles 6:12 Solomon's Prayer 2 Chron.6: 12: And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: 13: For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, 14: And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: 15: Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. 16: Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. 17: Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. 18: But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built! 19: Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: 20: That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. 21: Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. Be Our Judge In Neighbourly Disputes verse 22 If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; 23: Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteous, by giving him according to his righteousness. Answer Our Prayers in Times of Defeat verse 24: And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; 25: Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. Save Us from Drought verse 26 When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; 27: Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. Save Us from Disease verse 28 If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: 29: Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of ANY man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: 30: Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) 31: That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. Answer the Stranger's Prayer verse 32 Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; 33: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. Grant Us Victory in Battle verse 34 If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name; 35: Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. Towards This City Notice those words '…pray unto thee toward this city.' Here Solomon mentions not just the prayers of his people Israel, but also the direction in which they should face …'towards Jerusalem!' The prophet Daniel followed this instruction whilst a captive in Babylon. Dan:6: 10: Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime. His act signifying that in Jerusalem was the temple; and in the temple was the Holy of Holies; and in the Holy of Holies was the Judgement Seat of LORD God of Israel. In other words, by facing Jerusalem Daniel was bowing before GOD Himself on His throne in heaven! Forgive Us Our Private Sins verse 36 If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; 37: Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; 38: If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: 39: Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. Listen My God! verse 40 Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 41: Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. 42: O LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant. 4. YAHWEH'S ANSWER As mentioned previously, the dedication service described here is a spiritual blueprint. It occurred during the holy month of Ethanim (Tishri). No doubt Yahweh's Temple, His Church, will also be dedicated during this festival month in a soon-coming year. That is why we in Stewarton pay so much attention to the Feast Days of the God of Israel; because the realities they foreshadow will certainly come to pass on the very same Feast days in some future year! Yahweh's Fire & Glory 2 Chron. 7: 1: Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. 2: And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house. 3: And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. The Great Feast As soon as these astonishing events (the 'falling fire' and 'the Glory of the LORD') occurred, a great anthem of praise filled the city of Jerusalem and one of the greatest feasts in all history began. verse 4 Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. 5: And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The Priesthood Took up their Duties verse 6 And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. 7: Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat. 8: Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. 9: And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. 10: And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. 11: Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. 5. YAHWEH'S CONDITIONS No one will doubt but that this was a wonderful prayer and we know that the Holy One of Israel answered it - and will continue to answer it - if His conditions are met. What are those conditions? Let us now study them. 2 Chron.7: 12: And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. 13: If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; 14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; THEN will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. 15: Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 16: For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. 17: And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgements; 18: Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. 19: BUT if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20: Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21: And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22: And it shall be answered, BECAUSE THEY FORSOOK THE LORD GOD OF THEIR FATHERS, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them. SUMMARY For those who have the will to learn and obey, the lessons of Solomon's prayer and Yahweh's response are plain to see and easy to understand. In essence Solomon's prayer tells us, that: In times of trouble we should pray to the LORD God of Israel and He will answer our prayers; provided we repent, forsake our sins and return to the pathway of obedience. This may sound simple enough. But you'll need the power of the Holy Spirit to put it into practice. See the Everlasting Gospel Page for details about Salvation. Now let me summarise what we have learned this morning. Events in Scripture, both in the Old and New Testaments, all have moral as well as prophetic significance; especially for us living in these last days. Those ancient stories all prefigure earth-encompassing events scheduled to take place in the days before the Messiah returns to earth. In Solomon's Temple, the materials, the furniture and even the time of the dedication service, all represent the spiritual Temple of true believers which the Messiah is currently building; and in which the Holy Ghost dwells. The solemn dedication of this Eternal Temple will take place in the seventh holy month in a soon-coming year. That dedication will be followed by a spiritual banquet of unimaginable delight and glory! just as the blueprint of Solomon's temple indicates. Solomon's Prayer lists several circumstances when prayer to Yahveh the God of Israel will also be answered if His conditions are met. Failure to pray in these circumstances will spell disaster. Before I list those circumstances let us never forget that the LORD God of Israel is a Being of exceeding power, wisdom, mercy and kindness. No words can express His love for the human race; even for the vilest sinner. He loves you. He loves me. He loves us all and when He is approached in penitent prayer His mercy knows no bounds. With these thoughts in mind let me list the circumstaces mentioned by king Solomon. When disputes arise between fellow believers, be Thou our Judge. When defeat is inevitable, be Thou our Ally. When disease strikes, be Thou our Physician. When strangers (believing Gentiles) pray, be Thou their God and answer them. When going to battle, be Thou our Champion. When personal sins overtake us, be Thou our Saviour; forgive us and restore us to Thy favour. Listen oh God and answer according to Thy great mercies. Hear us now and always - when we turn to Thee in penitence and prayer. The the Almighty God of Israel answered with fire. His glory then filled the temple and burned up the sacrifice! A mighty shout filled the city of Jerusalem. The LORD God of Israel had come to His Temple. Then began one of the greatest Feast of Tabernacles since time began. A feast at which 142,000 animals were offered to feed the guests who were camped at sites which extended all the way to the river of Egypt! Divine Conditions for Answered Prayer 2 Chron.7: 14: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. ... 19: BUT if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; 20: Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. 21: And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, WHY hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? 22: And it shall be answered, BECAUSE they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them. Let all who hear or read these solemn words, pay close attention to those divine conditions; because they apply to all of us as surely as they applied to Israel of old! And now may the LORD God of Israel grant us all the wisdom to recognise His Truth and the power to put it into practice for His name's sake. Amen. Okay gatita_63109, agreed, ANYMORE AGREERS?, COME ON PEOPLE!!! Oh Lord my God, I lift the earthquake victims in china to you O Most high, I and gatita agree in prayer Lord, asking you to be thou mercifull to those poor people that have suffered great loss and devastation, and are even now still suffering it, Lord go there, and visit them in their time of need Oh God, begin the healing, protect them and deliver them, I pray, help them greatly, In Your great mercy as only You can do Lord bring all nations together in sending them aid and use this for an open door for the gospel to be allowed into this country I pray my God, In Jesus Name I ask You to send money, food, shelter, blankets, water, and all that they would need to eat, drink, and be comforted, even thy word and preachers and teachers, make a giant opening for thy word and cause these people to harden not their hearts to You God, now anything else that I may have missed Lord I ask that anybody who comes across this message on here, agree in prayer and as I leave this open for continued pra yer, I encourage all christians that comes accross this prayer to agree together with me, and that they also feel free to offer up extended prayers to Thee Oh Most High, now I leave these people of china in your hands dear God In Jesus Name, Amen.

What do you think about this kiss I got from God ? After the Lord Jesus healed me of cancer He began to show me how he loves us as His bride. He began to tell me to read to Him the Song of Solomon as a prayer to Him from me.I saw His spiritual love for us and I found in psalms 2.12 where it is commanded us to " Kiss the Son ".I began to ask Him to show me His beautiful face and kiss me as I adored Him with words of worship.This went on for weeks. Finally, one night when it was really late...as I was adoring Him and pleading with him to come and kiss me..I felt His Presence...and saw His cloud of glory...gold in color this time..filled with spicez..pour in through the window. Curtains were blown by His Presence. I felt Him in the room and then His lips kissing mine. I fell on the floor in total bliss. not lying..no drugz...not looking for attention...etc..etc.

Do you agree or disagree with the charges against these parents of reckless homicide? For praying for their daughter to heal from diabetes and not allowing medical intervention. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080429/ap_on_re_us/prayer_death While I do think people are entitled to their beliefs, there comes a point when sheer stupidity gets in the way. Thousands if not millions of people suffer diabetes their entire life and they aren't able to cure it, so why do they think prayer is going to heal it instead and they don't have to do anything else? Modern medicine is not evil like many religions want people to believe and it's not a "spiritual attack" like the mother insisted. Personally I think they should be locked up and the keys thrown away (and any other children they may have taken away for their own safety). People like that should not be allowed to breed. I agree with those who said they are getting off way too easily.

Why are there so many scientific and historical innacuracies in the word of your God? Science and History in the Bible All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.--Lev.11:20 Arguments cannot be answered by personal abuse.... Should it turn out that I am the worst man in the whole world, the story of the flood will remain just as improbable as before, and the contradictions of the Pentateuch will still demand an explanation. -- Robert Ingersoll, Some Mistakes of Moses Genesis The Genesis 1 creation account conflicts with the order of events that are known to science. In Genesis, the earth is created before light and stars, birds and whales before reptiles and insects, and flowering plants before any animals. The true order of events was just the opposite. 1:1-2:3 God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night, on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19). And how could there be "the evening and the morning" on the first day if there was no sun to mark them? 1:3-5 God spends one-sixth of his entire creative effort (the second day) working on a solid firmament. This strange structure, which God calls heaven, is intended to separate the higher waters from the lower waters. 1:6-8 Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). 1:11 God lets "the earth bring forth" the plants, rather than creating them directly. Maybe Genesis is not so anti-evolution after all. 1:11 In an apparent endorsement of astrology, God places the sun, moon, and stars in the firmament so that they can be used "for signs". This, of course, is exactly what astrologers do: read "the signs" in the Zodiac in an effort to predict what will happen on Earth. 1:14 God makes two lights: "the greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night." But the moon is not a light, but only reflects light from the sun. And why, if God made the moon to "rule the night", does it spend half of its time moving through the daytime sky? 1:16 "He made the stars also." God spends a day making light (before making the stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a hard day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions of stars. 1:16 "And God set them [the stars] in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth." 1:17 In verse 11, God "let the earth bring forth" the plants. Now he has the earth "bring forth" the animals as well. So maybe the creationists have it all wrong. Maybe God created livings things through the process of evolution. 1:24 God gave humans dominion over every other living thing on earth. 1:26 God commands us to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth upon the earth." 1:28 "I have given you every herb ... and every tree ... for meat." 1:29 All animals were originally herbivores. Tapeworms, vampire bats, mosquitoes, and barracudas -- all were strict vegetarians, as they were created by God. 1:30 "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." He purposefully designed a system that ensures the suffering and death of all his creatures, parasite and host, predator and prey. 1:31 In Genesis 1 the entire creation takes 6 days, but the universe is at least 12 billion years old, with new stars constantly being formed. 1:31 Humans were not created instantaneously from dust and breath, but evolved over millions of years from simpler life forms. 2:7 After making the animals, God has Adam name them all. The naming of several million species must have kept Adam busy for a while. 2:18-22 God fashions a woman out of one of Adam's ribs. Because of this story, it was commonly believed (and sometimes it is still said today) that males have one less rib than females. When Vesalius showed in 1543 that the number of ribs was the same in males and females, it created a storm of controversy. 2:19 God curses the serpent. From now on the serpent will crawl on his belly and eat dust. One wonders how he got around before -- by hopping on his tail, perhaps? But snakes don't eat dust, do they? 3:14 Because Adam listened to Eve, God cursed the ground and causes thorns and thistles to grow. Before this, according to the (false) Genesis story, plants had no natural defenses. The rose had no thorn, cacti were spineless, holly leaves were smooth, and the nettle had no sting. Foxgloves, oleander, and milkweeds were all perfectly safe to eat. 3:17-18 "There were giants in the earth in those days." Well, I suppose it's good to know that. But why is there no archaeological evidence for the existence of these giants? 6:4 Noah is told to make an ark that is 450 feet long. 6:14-15 Whether by twos or by sevens, Noah takes male and female representatives from each species of "every thing that creepeth upon the earth." 7:8 God opens the "windows of heaven." He does this every time it rains. 7:11 All of the animals boarded the ark "in the selfsame day." 7:13-14 The flood covered the highest mountain tops (Mount Everest?) with fifteen cubits to spare. 7:20 "The windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained." This happens whenever it stops raining. 8:2 Noah sends a dove out to see if there was any dry land. But the dove returns without finding any. Then, just seven days later, the dove goes out again and returns with an olive leaf. But how could an olive tree survive the flood? And if any seeds happened to survive, they certainly wouldn't germinate and grow leaves within a seven day period. 8:8-11 When the animals left the ark, what would they have eaten? There would have been no plants after the ground had been submerged for nearly a year. What would the carnivores have eaten? Whatever prey they ate would have gone extinct. And how did the New World primates or the Australian marsupials find their way back after the flood subsided? 8:19 Noah kills the "clean beasts" and burns their dead bodies for God. According to 7:8 this would have caused the extinction of all "clean" animals since only two of each were taken onto the ark. 8:20-21 "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Although this would have been good advice for the mythical Noah, it is deadly advice for humankind as a whole. Overpopulation is one of our greatest problems, yet there is nothing in the bible to address it. 9:1 According to this verse, all animals fear humans. Although it is true that many do, it is also true that some do not. Sharks and grizzly bears, for example, are generally much less afraid of us than we are of them. 9:2 "Into your hand are they (the animals) delivered." God gave the animals to humans, and they can do whatever they please with them. This verse has been used by bible believers to justify all kinds of cruelty to animals and environmental destruction. 9:2 God is rightly filled with remorse for having killed his creatures. He even puts the rainbow in the sky to remind himself of his promise to the animals not to do it again. But rainbows are caused by the nature of light, the refractive index of water, and the shape of raindrops. There were rainbows billions of years before humans existed. 9:13 Some creationists believe that this verse refers to continental drift, which, they say, began to occur during the days of Pelag (which means "division"), about 100 or so years after the flood. But many other creationists disagree. 10:25 "The whole earth was of one language." But this could not be true, since by this time (around 2400 BCE) there were already many languages, each unintelligible to the others. 11:1, 6 God worries that people could build a tower high enough to reach him (them?) in heaven, and that by so doing they will become omnipotent. 11:4-6 According to the Tower of Babel story, the many human languages were created instantaneously by God. But actually the various languages evolved gradually over long periods of time. 11:9 The ridiculously long lives of the patriarchs. 11:10-32 "And they returned to the land of the Philistines." But the Philistines didn't arrive in the region of Canaan until around 1200 BCE -- 800 years after Abraham's supposed migration from Ur. 21:32, 26:1, 8, 15, 18 Laban learns "by experience" that God has blessed him for Jacob's sake. "By experience" means "by divination", at least that is how most other versions translate this verse. 30:27 Jacob displays his (and God's) knowledge of biology by having goats copulate while looking at streaked rods. The result is streaked baby goats. 30:37-39 God (or an angel) praises Jacob for his fancy genetic work in Gen.30:37-39. 31:11-12 Joseph and his magic divining cup. 44:5, 44:15 Exodus It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 16:35 The Israelite population went from 70 (or 75) to several million in a few hundred years. 1:5,7, 12:37, 38:26 Why are some people born with disabilities? Because God deliberately makes them that way. 4:11 God led the Israelites through the land of the Philistines, hundreds of years before the Philistines were established in Canaan. 13:17 "The manna referred to in the Bible, in Exodus 16:14, seems to have been the dried excrement of Trabutina mannipara, a scale insect that feeds on tamarisk trees." Benjamin B. Normark, The Sex Lives of Scales, Natural History, Sept. 2004. 16:14-15 "In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them." Believers often say that the "days" of creation should be taken allegorically, but this verse is quite clear. God created the universe in six 24 hour days. 20:11 Leviticus The bible says that hares and coneys are unclean because they "chew the cud" but do not part the hoof. But hares and coneys are not ruminants and they do not "chew the cud." 11:5-6 Bats are birds to the biblical God. 11:13, 19 Be sure to watch out for those "other flying creeping things which have four feet." (I wish God wouldn't get so technical!) I guess he must mean four-legged insects. You'd think that since God made the insects, and so many of them (at least several million species), that he would know how many legs they have! 11:23 God's law for lepers: Get two birds. Kill one. Dip the live bird in the blood of the dead one. Sprinkle the blood on the leper seven times, and then let the blood-soaked bird fly off. Next find a lamb and kill it. Wipe some of its blood on the patient's right ear, thumb, and big toe. Sprinkle seven times with oil and wipe some of the oil on his right ear, thumb and big toe. Repeat. Finally kill a couple doves and offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. 14:2-52 Numbers The Israelite population went from seventy (Ex.1:5) to several million (over 600,000 adult males) in just a few generations! 1:45-46 God sends quails to feed his people until they were "two cubits [about a meter] high upon the face of the earth." Taking the "face of the earth" to be a circle with a radius of say 30 kilometers (an approximate day's journey), this would amount to 3 trillion (3x1012) liters of quails. At 2 quails per liter, this would provide a couple million quails for each of several million people. 11:31 God strikes Miriam with leprosy. (In the Bible, leprosy is caused by the wrath of God or the malice of Satan.) 12:10 "And there we saw the giants ... And we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." This statement may have been figurative, hyperbole, typical biblical exaggeration, or an actual description of the sons of Anak, in which case they must have been about 100 meters tall. These are the same giants (the Nephilium) that resulted when the "sons of God" mated with "the daughters of men in Gen.6:4. Of course these superhuman god-men should have been destroyed in the flood. So what are they doing still alive? 13:33 It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 14:33, 32:13 God's cure for snakebite: a brass serpent on a pole. 21:8 God has "the strength of a unicorn." Oh heck, I bet he's even stronger than a unicorn. 23:22, 24:8 Deuteronomy It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 2:7, 8:2, 29:5 "A land of giants: giants dwelt therein in old time." (They must have been much more common back then.) 2:10-11, 20-21 Og, the king of the giants, was a tall man, even by NBA standards. His bed measured 9 by 4 cubits (13.5 feet long and 6 feet wide). 3:11 God promises to cast out seven nations including the Amorites, Canaanites, and the Jebusites. But he was unable to fulfill his promise. These nations were "greater and mightier" than the Israelites, who according to Ex.12:37 and Num.1:45-46 already had numbered several million. So the region, according to the bible, must have had a population of more than twenty million! 7:1 This verse mistakenly says that the hare chews its cud. 14:7-8 To the biblical God, a bat is just an another unclean bird. 14:11, 18 "Their wine is the poison of dragons." I wonder what genus and species the bible is referring to when it mentions dragons. 32:33 Joseph's "horns are like the horns of a unicorn." 33:17 Joshua It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 5:6 In Joshua 8 the Israelites destroy Ai and make it a desolate heap. But Ai was an abandoned city by the time of the Israelites and this story is a myth invented to explain the ruins of an ancient city that the Israelites encountered. See Archaeology and Biblical Accuracy by Farrell Till. 8:1-29 This verse says that Ai was never again occupied after it was destroyed by Joshua. But Nehemiah (7:32) lists it among the cities of Israel at the time of the Babylonian captivity. 8:28 In a divine type of daylight savings time, God makes the sun stand still so that Joshua can get all his killing done before dark. 10:12-13 "And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which as of the remnant of the giants...." 12:4, 18:6 Judges "The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Unless astrology is true, how can the stars affect the outcome of a battle? 5:20 "As the sun ... goeth forth in his might." The sun, according to the bible, goes around the earth. 5:31 1 Samuel "The pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. 2:8 Goliath was ten feet tall ("six cubits and a span"). 17:4 2 Samuel In what is surely a biblical exaggeration, we are told that "the servants of David" killed 20,000 soldiers in one day. And that "the wood [forest] devoured more people that day than the sword devoured." It must have been spooky forest to have devoured more than 20,000 soldiers. There were probably lots of lions and tigers and bears. (Oh my!)18:7-8 The earth shakes, the foundations of heaven move, smoke comes out of God's nostrils, and fire out of his mouth. 22:8-16 How many soldiers did Israel have? This verse says that Judah and Israel had a total of 1,300,000 fighting men (1 Chr.21:5 says 1,570,000) in this battle. Of course, this is a ridiculously high number for a battle between two tribal armies in 1000 BCE. (The United States had about 1.37 million active duty soldiers in 2001.) 24:9 1 Kings This verse implies that the value of p is 3. (The actual value is approximately 3.14159.) 7:23 God creates droughts by causing "heaven to shut up" as a punishment for sin. 8:35 Ever the playful spirit, God withers, and then restores, the hand of king Jeroboam. 13:4 2 Kings Elisha cures a leper, but only after the leper dips himself seven times in the Jordan. 5:14 Elisha not only can cure leprosy, he can also dish it out. Here he makes his servant (Gehazi) and all his descendants lepers forever. 5:27 A dead body is brought to life when it accidentally touches the bones of Elisha. 13:21 Isaiah, with a little help from God, makes the sun move backwards ten degrees. Now that's quite a trick. All at once, the earth stopped spinning and then reversed its direction of rotation. Or maybe the sun traveled around the earth in those days! 20:11 1 Chronicles Some creationists believe that this verse (and Gen.10:25) refers to continental drift, which, they say, began to occur during the days of Pelag (which means "division"), about 100 or so years after the flood. 1:19 "The earth ... shall be stable, that it be not moved." It doesn't spin on its axis or travel about the sun. 16:30 According to this verse David's army had 1,100,000 men from Israel and 470,000 men from Judah, Of course, this numbers is ridiculously high for a battle between two tribal armies in 1000 BCE. (The United States had about 1.37 million active duty soldiers in 2001.) 21:5 David provides Solomon with a fantastically large amount of gold and silver with which to build the temple: 100,000 talents of gold and 1,000,000 talents of silver. Since a talent was about 60 pounds, this would be about 3,000 tons of gold and 30,000 tons of silver. 22:14 King David collects ten thousand drams (or darics) for the construction of the temple in Jerusalem. This is especially interesting since darics were coins named after King Darius I who lived some five hundred years after David. 29:7 As usual, the reported amounts of gold, silver, and iron are grossly exaggerated. (100,000 talents of iron, for example, would be about 34 million kilograms.) 29:7 2 Chronicles Since the molten sea was round with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits, we know that the biblical value of p is 3. (The actual value is approximately 3.14159.) 4:2 Abijah spoke to 1,200,000 soldiers at one time. (He had a really loud voice.) 13:3-4 500,000 soldiers die in a single God-assisted slaughter. 13:16-17 In the largest single God-assisted massacre in the bible, Asa, with God's help, kills one million Ethiopians. 14:8-14 Asa, when he had a foot disease, went to physicians instead of seeking the Lord. (God disapproves of those who seek medical help rather than "seeking the Lord.") 16:12 God makes Uzziah a leper for burning incense without a license. 26:19-21 Esther "Haman thought in his heart." Most people think with their heads, but biblical folks think with their hearts. 6:6 Job The earth rests upon pillars and doesn't move (unless God gets angry or something). 9:6 "Which commandeth the sun, and it riseth not." The earth is fixed and the sun travels about it. 9:7 Heaven is set upon pillars that tremble when God gets mad. 26:11 The earth is set on foundations and it does not move. 38:4-6 God has snow and hail all stored up to use later "in time of trouble." 38:22 God spread out the sky, which is a solid structure, hard and strong like a mirror. 37:18 Ostriches are not cruel and stupid birds who abandon their eggs to die after laying them, as these verses imply. They are, in fact, careful and attentive parents. The male scoops out a hollow for the eggs, which are incubated by the female during the day and the male at night. After the eggs are hatched, they are cared for by the mother for over a month, at which time the chicks can keep up with running adults. 39:13-16 The bible is wrong about ostriches being cruel and inattentive parents (39:13-16). But if they were, whose fault would it be? Why would God deprive them of the tools that are needed to do the job right? 39:17 Bible believers have identified the behemoth as a hippopotamus, dinosaur, wildebeest, or crocodile. But my favorite is the way these verses are translated by Stephen Mitchell: "Look now: the Beast that I made: he eats grass like a bull. Look: the power in his thighs, the pulsing sinews of his belly. His penis stiffens like a pine; his testicles bulge with vigor." 40:15-16 "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? or his tongue with a cord?" 41:1-34 Psalms The earth shakes whenever God really gets mad. 18:7 "The foundations of the world were discovered ... at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils." (The earth is set on firm foundations and does not move -- unless God blows his nose.) 18:15 "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork." 19:1 The sun moves around the earth. 19:4-6 From his seat in heaven, God can see the whole earth and all its inhabitants. (He sits directly above the earth, which is a flat disc below him.) 33:14-15 Diseases are sent by God to punish sin. 38:3 According to the psalmist, snails melt. But they don't, of course, they simply leave a slimy trail as they move along. 58:8 God is so strong that he can break the head of dragons and of leviathan. 74:13-14 God holds the earth up with pillars. 75:3 Another reference to "the foundations of the earth", implying that the earth is fixed and does not move. 82:5 "Thou hast broken Rahab [the sea monster] in pieces." 89:10 "The world also is established, that it cannot be moved." 93:1 "The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved." 96:10 "The Lord ... who healeth all thy diseases." God heals all diseases. Medical science is unnecessary. 103:2-3 "God ... who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain" (The earth is stationary and does not orbit the sun.) 104:5 "In wisdom hast thou made them all." 104:24 God is offended by those who make things with their hands or invent things with their minds. 106:39 "The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works." Then why do nearly all animals die painful deaths from starvation, predation, or disease long before they reach adulthood? 145:9 God "satisfiest the desire of every living thing." But in nature few needs are met and few desires are satisfied. Life is short, hard, cruel, and painful for nearly every living thing. 145:17 "He calleth them all by their names." God knows how many stars there are and knows them all by name. That's pretty impressive since there are 100 billion or so gallaxies, each containing about 100 billion stars. 147:7 "Praise him in the firmament of his power." 150:1 Ecclesiastes "The sun also ariseth" Although this verse is interpreted figuratively today, it was taken literally by virtually all Christians until the Copernican revolution, and was used by the Church to condemn Galileo for teaching the heliocentric heresy. 1:5 "He hath made every thing beautiful." Everything is beautiful in its own way. Parasitic worms, cancer cells, bubonic plague. You just have to look at it from God's eyes. 3:11 "No man can find out the work that God maketh." Science is impossible. We can learn nothing at all about the natural world. 3:11 Isaiah "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...." I wonder what will become of the spiders. Will they be more friendly toward flies? And will the parasitic wasps find another way to feed their larvae? Or will they continue to feed off the living bodies of caterpillars? 11:6, 65:25 "And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 11:8 God will gather up the people of Judea "from the four corners of the earth." In the Bible's view, the earth is flat with four corners. 11:12 According to the Bible, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 13:10 When God gets really angry, he causes earthquakes. 13:13 Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 13:21-22 Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a fiery flying serpent." What ever happened to these fascinating biblical creatures? 14:29 God will turn the earth upside down, knock it off of its foundations, and then shake and bake it until it "reels to and fro like a drunkard." 24:1, 18-20 God will punish the leviathan ("that crooked serpent") with his own sword and will kill the sea dragon. 27:1 Natural disasters (earthquakes, storms, fires, tsunamis) are caused by, and are a sign of, God's wrath. 29:7 Among the many strange creatures mentioned in the Bible that no longer seem to exist is the "fiery flying serpent." 30:6 "The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold." Well, this is one prophecy that will never come true. Since the moon has no light of its own, but only reflects that of the sun, it could never shine like the sun. And the sun will not, at least not while there are humans to see it, shine 7 times as bright as it does now. 30:26 "And the unicorns shall come down with them." 34:7 Dragons and satyrs may not seem real to you, but they did to the author of these verses. 34:13-14 God makes the sun move backwards 10 degrees. Now that's a neat trick! 38:8 The earth is a flat disc that God looks down upon from his throne in heaven. 40:22 Even the dragons honor God. 43:20 God cut Rahab (the sea monster) to pieces, wounded the dragon, and dried up the sea. 51:9-10 Bad people hatch poisonous cockatrice eggs. Whoever eats the eggs will die, and when the eggs are crushed a viper hatches out of them. 59:5 "Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee." Of course the moon doesn't give off light, but only reflects the light from the sun. 60:19 Jeremiah Droughts are punishments from God. 3:3 "I will send serpents, cockatrices among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you." A cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a glance. They are rare nowadays. 8:17 When God gets angry, the earth trembles. (That's what causes earthquakes.) 10:10 The wild asses "snuffed up the wind like dragons." 14:6 The earth is set on foundations and does not move. 31:37 Lamentations Ostriches are not cruel and inattentive parents, as this verse implies. They are, in fact, careful and attentive parents. The male scoops out a hollow for the eggs, which are incubated by the female during the day and the male at night. After the eggs are hatched, they are cared for by the mother for over a month, at which time the chicks can keep up with running adults. 4:3 Ezekiel "The firmament ... the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above." 1:22 The world is flat and has four corners. 7:2 The firmament is over the heads of the cherubim. 10:1 God "will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light." To Ezekiel, the sun is just a little light that can be covered with a cloud, and the moon produces its own light. 32:7 Daniel The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be 606 BCE, at which time Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king of Babylon. It was 597 BCE that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem for the first time (without actually destroying it). By that time Jehohiakim was dead and his son, Jehoiachin, was ruling. 1:1 The stone became "a great mountain" that "filled the whole earth." This could only be possible on a flat, disc-shaped earth. 2:35 Daniel's tree is tall enough to be seen from "the end of all the earth." Only on a flat earth would this be possible. 4:10-11, 20 Apparently, the author of Daniel knew of only two Babylonian kings during the period of the exile: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, who he wrongly thought was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. But Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Awil-Marduk (referred to in the bible as "Evilmerodach" [see 2 Kg.25:27 and Jer.52:31]). In 560 BCE, Amel-Marduk was assassinated by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur. The next and last king of Babylon was Nabonidus who reigned from 556 to 539, when Babylon was conquered by Cyrus. It was Nabonidus, and not Belshazzar, who was the last of the Babylonian kings. Belshazzar was a the son and viceroy of Nabonidus. But he was not a king, and was not the son (or any other relation) of Nebuchadnezzar. 5:2,11,18,22 Darius the Median is a fictitious character whom the author perhaps confused with Darius I of Persia, who came to the throne in 521 BCE, 17 years after the fall of Babylon. The author of Daniel incorrectly makes him the successor of Belshazzar instead of Cyrus. 5:31 To Daniel, the stars are small objects that can fall from the sky and then be "stamped upon." 8:10 "They ... shall shine as the brightness of the firmament." 12:3 Joel "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood." These "signs" were a lot more impressive before the causes of solar and lunar eclipses were understood. 2:31 Amos God destroyed the Amorites who were a race of giants as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. 2:9 It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 2:10 Jonah God makes "a great fish" to swallow Jonah. And Jonah stayed in the fish's belly for three days and three nights. 1:17 "Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." That would make it about 60 miles in diameter -- larger than Los Angeles! 3:3 Micah The earth is set upon strong foundations and therefore does not move. 6:2 Nahum Tornadoes, earthquakes, and fires are caused by God and are signs of his anger. 1:5 Habakkuk "The sun and moon stood still in their habitation." This verse apparently refers to Joshua 10:12-13, where God makes the sun stand still. 3:11 Matthew When was Jesus born? 2:1 "The star ... went before them." If the star "went before them," leading them to Bethlehem, then it couldn't have been a star or any other astronomical object or event. But Matthew couldn't have known that. Everyone at the time thought that stars were just little points of light a short distance above the earth. It'd be no problem to have one hover above a particular place for a while. 2:9 Herod kills all boys in and around Bethlehem that are two years old and under. Such a massacre would certainly have been noted by contemporary historians. Yet not even Josephus, who documented Herod's life in detail, mentioned this event. 2:16 The devil kidnaps Jesus and takes him up to the top of the temple, and then to the top of "an exceedingly high mountain," high enough to see "all the kingdoms of the world." I guess the earth was flat in those days. 4:8 "Behold the fowls of the air...." Jesus says that God feeds them. But, if so, he does one hell of a lousy job at it. Most birds die before leaving the nest, and the few who manage to fly soon die painful deaths of starvation, predation, or disease. If God is caring for them, pray that he stays away from you. 6:26 Speaking of the birds, Jesus asks: "Are ye not much better than they?" This is meant as a rhetorical question, but the answer is far from obvious to me. I guess to Jesus, though, birds are not worth much compared to humans. So you can do whatever the hell you want with (and to) them. 6:26 According to Matthew, people who cannot speak are possessed by the devil. 9:32-33 Jesus gives his disciples "power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness." 10:1 Jesus tells his disciples to perform all the usual tricks: "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils." 10:8 God is involved in the death of every sparrow. He sees to it that they each die painful deaths of starvation, predation, or disease. But don't worry. God will do the same for you. (He thinks that humans are worth much more than sparrows.) 10:29. 31 Jesus casts out a devil from a man who was blind and dumb. (Thos we are unable to see or hear are possessed by devils.) 12:22 Some Christians believe that the natural evil in the world (predators, parasites, pain, death) is due to Satan, not God. 13:28 Jesus is incorrect when he says that the mustard seed is the smallest seed. And since there are no trees in the mustard family, mustard seeds do not grow into "the greatest of all trees." 13:31-32 Jesus cures an epileptic "lunatic" by "rebuking the devil." (Epilepsy is caused by devils.) 17:15-18 "The moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven." Apparently, Jesus believed that the moon produces its own light, and that the stars are lights held in place by a firmament only a few miles above our heads. 24:29 Jesus believed that Noah's flood actually happened. 24:37 When Jesus was crucified, there was three hours of complete darkness "over all the land." And when he died, there was a great earthquake with many corpses walking the streets of Jerusalem. It is strange that there is no record of any of these extraordinary events outside of the gospels. 27:45, 51-53 Mark Jesus is incorrect when he says that the mustard seed is the smallest seed. (The smallest seeds are found among the tropical, epiphytic orchids.) 4:31 "Thy faith hath made thee whole." If you have enough faith, you will never get sick. (Illness is caused by sin and lack of faith. Medical science is unnecessary.) 5:34 Jesus heals a boy with "a dumb spirit" by saying, "Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him." (Sounds like a script from Monty Python, doesn't it?) But how could a deaf spirit hear the words spoken to it? And how could a dumb spirit cry out? 9:17, 25-26 "But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female." Jesus believed that sex and Adam and Eve were created "from the beginning." But the universe is about 13.6 billion years old, the earth 4.6 billion, sex a billion years or so, and humans (depending on how you define "human") for a couple million years. 10:6 "In those days ... the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of heaven shall fall." Of course this is nonsense. The billions of stars will never fall to earth and the moon does not produce its own light. 13:24-25 When Jesus was crucified, there was three hours of complete darkness "over the whole land." It is strange that there is no record of this extraordinary event outside of the gospels. 15:33 Luke When was Jesus born? 2:1 The devil takes Jesus to the top of a mountain and shows him "all the kingdoms of the world." I guess the world was flat in those days. 4:5 Epilepsy is caused by devils. 9:39 People who cannot speak are possessed with devils. 11:14 Illnesses are caused by Satan. 13:11-16 Jesus believed the story of Noah's ark. 17:26-27 Jesus also believes the story about Sodom's destruction. He says, "even thus shall it be in the day the son of man is revealed." This tells us about Jesus' knowledge of science and history. 17:29-32 "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars." 21:25 When Jesus was crucified, there was three hours of complete darkness "over all the earth." It is strange that there is no record of this extraordinary event outside of the gospels. 23:44-45 John "These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing." But no such site is known in history. Some translations (ASV, NAB, NIV, RSV, NRSV) rename Bethabara as Bethany, but Bethany is a suburb of Jerusalem and, therefore, not "beyond the Jordan." 1:28 "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?" Good question, Jesus! He was wrong about creation in Mk.10:6, wrong about the flood in Lk.17:26-27, and wrong about the smallest seed in Mt.13:31-32. So why would anyone believe him when he talks about heaven in Jn.3:16? 3:12 Whoever enters a pool after it is stirred up by angels will be cured of "whatsoever disease he had." 5:4 Jesus believes people are crippled by God as a punishment for sin. He tells a crippled man, after healing him, to "sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." 5:14 The disciples ask Jesus about the cause of a man's blindness. Was it because he or his parents sinned? Jesus said neither had sinned. The man was born blind so that Jesus could show off his powers by curing him of his blindness. 9:1-3 A blind man's sight is restored by washing in the pool of Siloam. 9:7 Acts "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?" This verse was used by a Dominican friar to discourage the use of Galileo's telescope. (Notice the pun on Galileo's name in "men of Galilee".) 1:11 The prophets have spoken "since the world began," which means that humans have been around since the creation of the world. But humans are recent arrivals on an ancient earth. There were no prophets when the earth formed 4.6 billion years ago. 3:21 The sick were healed just by touching the shadow of Peter. 5:15-16 It took the Israelites 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, yet such a journey, even at that time, would have taken no more than ten days. 7:36, 13:18 Sick people are oppressed by the devil. 10:38 Sick people were cured by touching the handkerchief or apron of Paul. And the evil spirits when out of them." 19:12 Paul is bitten by a poisonous snake and yet lives. The "barbarians" who were shipwrecked with him thought he must be a murderer since he was bitten; but then they changed their minds and thought him to be a god since he didn't die. (The snake story is especially interesting since there are no poisonous snakes on Malta, and there is no evidence of their existence in the past.) 28:3-8 Romans The existence and nature of God are self-evident. 1:20 The Religious Right often uses Romans 1:21-25 to condemn environmentalists. 1:21-25 Paul claims that before Adam sinned death did not exist. But, of course, death didn't enter the world a few thousand years ago because of Adam's sin. Death has been a part of life since life first arose (on this planet, at least) a few billion years ago. 5:12 Paul says that everyone, even in his day, had the gospel preached to them. Even the Native Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders? 10:18 1 Corinthians Paul shows his ignorance (and God's) of biology by saying that only dead seeds will germinate. Actually, a seed must be alive to germinate. 15:36 "All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another of beasts." This verse is used by Creationists to argue against both evolution and any attempt to create "human-animal hybrids" or "chimeras." 15:39 "The first man Adam" Young Earth Creationists use this verse to support a literal reading of Genesis. "If we cannot believe in the First Adam, why believe in the Last [Christ]?" 15:45 "And afterward that which is spiritual." Asa Gray, the foremost American botanist in the 19th century and close friend of Charles Darwin, used this verse to support the idea that the Bible is not inconsistent with human evolution. 15:46 2 Corinthians "As the serpent beguiled Eve" Young Earth Creationists use this verse to show that Paul believed the creation story in Gen.3:1-6. 11:3 Ephesians Satan is the "prince of the power of the air." Until modern times Christians believed that Satan was responsible for storms and droughts. 2:2 Colossians "For by him were all things created.... All things were created by him, and for him.... And by him all things consist." Including guinea worms? 1:16-17 1 Timothy "For Adam was first formed, then Eve." Young Earth Creationists use this verse to show that Paul believed the creation story in Gen.2:18-22. 2:13 Avoid science, especially that which disagrees with Paul ("science falsely so called"). Other versions translate this phrase as "false knowledge", which may be more correct. However many fundamentalist Christians still use this verse ("science falsely so called") to justify their rejection of any idea, scientific or otherwise, they believe contradicts the bible. 6:20 Hebrews God set the earth on a foundation; therefore, it does not move. 1:10 James James says that, even in his day, all beasts, birds, serpents, and sea creatures had been tamed by humans. 3:7 If you are sick, rely on the power of prayer. It works every time. 5:14-15 By praying, Elias was able to keep it from raining for three and a half years. 5:17 2 Peter Those who disbelieve in the Bible's creation and flood stories are "willingly ignorant." 3:5 "God ... spared not the old world, but saved Noah." Young Earth Creationists use this verse to show that the New Testament authors believed in the flood story. (So you should too.) 2:4-5 Revelation "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him." This could only happen on a flat earth. 1:7 Jesus holds seven stars in his hand. Of course, it is possible that this is metaphorical. Perhaps. But it is clear from other verses (6:13, 8:10, 12:4) that John thought of stars as being small, perhaps even small enough for Jesus to hold in his hand. 1:16 "Thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created." God created predators, pathogens, and predators for his very own pleasure. One of his favorite species is guinea worms. 4:11 The sixth seal is opened and there is a great earthquake, the sun becomes black, and the moon red, the stars fall from heaven, and mountains and islands move around. 6:12-14 "And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth...." To John, the stars are just little lights a few miles away that can easily fall to the earth. 6:13 John "saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth." Well, I guess that settles it: the earth is flat and square-shaped, or at least quadrilateral in shape. 7:1 An angel threw the censer down to earth, causing thunder, lightning, and earthquakes. 8:5 "And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters." In the bible, stars are just little lights that can fall to the ground from the sky. 8:10 The fourth trumpet smites one third of the sun, moon, and stars. 8:12 "I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth." 9:1 God's witnesses have special powers. They can shut up heaven so that it cannot rain, turn rivers into blood, and smite the earth with plagues "as often as they will." 11:6 The dragon's tail smacks down to earth one third of the stars. To the author of Revelation, the stars are just little lights that can fall to the ground from the sky. 12:4

Should we keep the Feast Days of the Lord forever?

Why do people assume that one is a Christian just because one asks a question in this genre (spirtuality)? I asked a question regarding why did I get cancer and it seemed to attract many Christians to answer. I appreciate and accept their offers of prayers, but I didn't need a diatribe about the Christian bible! Are there not other spiritual people or were they chased away by the Christians? BTW, the cancer started in my colon and spread to my liver. I am 44 and a Believer; I believe many things (including that I will be cured), not necessarily what some others believe. I suppose I might even be considered a Pagan (and thus evil but I don't really much care.) I question the assumption, not the faith. My faith begins with "First do ye no harm." Blessed be, my friends, and thanks for the prayers. I offer mine in return especially, to those also afflicted with cancer. I trust that prayers and good wishes play as big a part in healing as a positive attitude and wise doctors. I've been blessed with all 3.

The Lost Holy Day: Is it Christmas or Easter?

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what is the status of Christ in Islam ? Christ in Islam by Ahmed Deedat In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter One : Christian Muslim Responses -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Debate on TV At the end of the debate - "Christianity and Islam" - which appeared on the SABC-TV program "Cross Questions" on Sunday 5th June 1983, the Chairman, Mr. Bill Chalmers commented: "I think it can be said from this discussion that there is, at present, somewhat more accommodation on the Islamic side for the founder of Christianity than there is on the Christian side for the founder of Islam. What the significance of that is, we leave it to you, the viewer, to determine, but I do think you will agree that it is a good thing that we are talking together." "Bill" as he is popularly addressed, without any formalities, on all his programs, by all his panelists, is extremely charming and stupendous in his humility. He is a picture of what the Holy Quran portrays of a good Christian: "...And nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: 'We are Christians': because among these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world. And they are not arrogant." (The Holy Quran 5:82) Jesus - His Status Were the Muslims on the panel trying to placate the viewers out policy, deceit or diplomacy? Nothing of the kind! They were only articulating what God Almighty had commanded them to say in the Holy Quran. As Muslims, they had no choice. They had said in so many words: "We Muslims believe, that Jesus was one of the mightiest messengers of God that he was the Christ, that he was born miraculously without any male intervention (which many modern-day Christians do not believe today), that he gave life to the dead by God's permission and that he healed those born blind and the lepers by god's permission. In fact, no Muslim is a Muslim if he or she does not believe in Jesus!" Pleasant Surprise Over 90% of the people who witnessed this debate must have been pleasantly, but skeptically, surprised. They might have not believed their ears. They must have surmised that the Muslims were playing to the gallery - that they were trying to curry favor with their fellow Christian countrymen; that if the Muslims would say a few good words about Jesus, then in reciprocation the Christians might say a few good words about Muhammed (may the peace and the blessings of God be upon all His righteous servants, Moses, Jesus, Muhammed...etc.); that I scratch your back and you scratch my back - which would be a sham or hypocrisy. Hate Cultivated We cannot blame the Christians for their skepticism. They have been so learned for centuries. They were trained to think the worst of the man Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, and his religion. How aptly did Thomas Carlyle say about his Christian brethren over a hundred and fifty years ago: "The lies which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammed) are disgraceful to ourselves only." We Muslims are partly responsible for this. We have not done anything substantial to remove the cobwebs. Ocean of Christianity South Africa is an ocean of Christianity. If Libya boasts the highest percentage of Muslims on the continent of Africa, then the Republic of South Africa would also be entitled to boast the highest percentage of Christians. In this ocean of Christianity the R.S.A. - the Muslims are barely 2% of the total population. We are a voteless minority - numerically, we count for nothing; politically, we count for nothing; and economically, one white man, as Oppenheimer, could buy out the whole lot of us, lock, stock and barrel. So if we had feigned to appease, we might be excused. But no! We must proclaim our Master's Will; we must declare the Truth, whether we liked it or not. In the words of Jesus: "Seek ye the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Two : Jesus in the Quran -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Christians Unaware The Christian does not know that the true spirit of charity which the Muslim displays, always, towards Jesus and his mother Mary spring from the fountainhead of his faith - the Holy Quran. He does not know that the Muslim does not take the holy name of Jesus, in his own language, without saying Eesa, alaihi assalam ("Jesus, peace be upon him") The Christian does not know that in the Holy Quran Jesus is mentioned twenty five times. For example: "We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit" (The Holy Quran 2:87) "O Mary! God giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary..." (3:45) "...Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than) an apostle of god..." (4:171) "...And in their foot steps we sent Jesus the son of Mary..." (5:46) "And Zakariya and John, and Jesus and Elias: all in the ranks of the righteous." (6:85) Jesus - His Titles Though Jesus is mentioned by name in twenty-five places in the Holy Quran, he is also addressed with respect as: Ibn Maryam, meaning "The son of Mary"; and as the Maseeh (in Hebrew it is the Messiah), which is translated as "Christ". He is also known as Abdullah, "The servant of Allah"; and as Rasul u Allah, the messenger of Allah. He is spoken of as "The Word of God", as "The Spirit of God", as a "Sign of God", and numerous other epithets of honor spread over fifteen different chapters. The Holy Quran honors this mighty messenger of God, and the Muslims have not fallen short over the past fourteen hundred years in doing the same. There is not a single disparaging remark in the entire Quran to which even the most jaundiced among the Christians can take exception. Eesa Latinised to "Jesus" The Holy Quran refers to Jesus as Eesa, and this name is used more times than any other title, because this was his "Christian" name. Actually, his proper name was Eesa (Arabic), or Esau (Hebrew); classical Yeheshua, which the Christian nations of the West latinised as Jesus. Neither the "J" nor the second "s" in the name Jesus is to be found in the original tongue - they are not found in the Semitic languages. The word is very simply "E S A U" a very common Jewish name, used more than sixty times in the very first booklet alone of the Bible, in the part called "Genesis". There was at least one "Jesus" sitting on the "bench" at the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. Josephus the Jewish historian mentions some twenty five Jesus' in his "Book of Antiquities". The New Testament speaks of "Bar-Jesus" a magician and a sorcerer, a false prophet (Acts 13:6); and also "Jesus-Justus" a Christian missionary, a contemporary of Paul (Colossians 4:11). These are distinct from Jesus the son of Mary. Transforming "Esau" to (J)esu(s) - Jesus - makes it unique. This unique (?) name has gone out of currency among the Jews and the Christians from the 2nd century after Christ. Among the Jews, because it came to be a name of ill - repute, the name of one who blasphemed in Jewry; and among the Christians because it came to be the proper name of their God. The Muslim will not hesitate to name his son Eesa because it is an honored name, the name of a righteous servant of the Lord. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Three : Mother And Son -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mary Honored The birth of Jesus Christ is described in two places of the Quran - chapter 3 and chapter 19. Reading from the beginning of his birth, we come across the story of Mary, and the esteemed position which she occupies in the House of Islam, before the actual annunciation of the birth of Jesus is given: "'Behold'! the angels said: 'O Mary! God hath chosen thee and purified thee, and chosen thee above the women of all nations" (3:42) "Chosen thee above the women of all nations." Such an honor is not to be found given to Mary even in the Christian Bible! The verse continues: "O Mary! Worship thy Lord devoutly: prostrate thyself, and bow down (in prayer) with those who bow down." (3:43) Divine Revelation What is the source of this beautiful and sublime recitation which, in its original Arabic, moves men to ecstasy and tears? verse 44 below explains: "This is part of the tidings, of the things unseen, which We reveal unto thee (O Muhammad!) by inspiration: Thou wast not with them when they cast lots with arrows, as to which of them should be charged with the care of Mary: nor wast thou with them when they disputed (the point)." (3:44) Mary's Birth The story is that the maternal grandmother of Jesus, Hannah, had hitherto been barren. She poured out her heart to God: If only God will grant her a child, she would surely dedicate such a child for the service of God in the temple. God granted her prayer and Mary was born. Hannah was disappointed. She was yearning for a son, but instead she delivered a daughter; and in no way is the female like the male, for what she had in mind. What was she to do? She had made a vow to God. She waited for Mary to be big enough to fend for herself. When the time came, Hannah took her darling daughter to the temple, to hand over for temple services. Every priest wanted to be the god-father of this child. They cast lots with arrows for her - like the tossing of the coin - head or tail? eventually she fell to the lot of Zakariya, but not without a dispute. The Source of His Message This was the story. But where did Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, get this knowledge from? He was an Ummi, Arabic for "unlettered". He did not low how to read or write. He is made by God Almighty to answer this very question in the verse above, by saying that it was all by divine inspiration. "No!", says the controversialist. "This is Muhammed's own concoction. He copied his revelations from the Jews and Christians. He plagiarized it. He forged it." Knowing full-well, and believing as we do, that the whole Quran is the veritable Word of God, we will nevertheless agree, for the sake of argument, with the enemies of Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, for a moment, that he wrote it. We can now expect some cooperation from the unbelievers. Ask him: "Have you any qualms in agreeing that Muhammed was an Arab?" Only an ignorant will hesitate to agree. In that case there is no sense in pursuing any discussion. Cut short the talk. Close the book! With the man of reason, we proceed. "That this Arab, in the first instance, was addressing other Arabs. He was not talking to Indian Muslims, Chinese Muslims, or Nigerian Muslims. He was addressing his own people, the Arabs. Whether they agreed with him or not, he told them in the most sublime form, words that were seared into the hearts and minds of his listeners that Mary the mother of Jesus, a Jewess, was chosen above the women of all nations. Not his own mother, nor his wife nor his daughter, nor any other Arab woman, but a Jewess! Can one explain this? Because to everyone his own mother or wife, or daughters would come before other women. Why would the prophet of Islam honor a woman from his opposition! and a Jewess at that! belonging to a race which had been looking down upon his people for three thousand years? Just as they still look down upon their Arab brethren today." Sarah and Hagar The Jews learn, from the Bible, that their father, Abraham, had two wives Sarah and Hagar. They say that they are the children of Abraham through Sarah his legitimate wife; that their Arab brethren have descended through Hagar, a "bondwoman", and that as such, the Arabs are an inferior breed. Will anyone please explain the anomaly as to why Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, if he is the author, chose this Jewess for such high honor? The answer is simple, he had no choice he had no right to speak of his own desire. "It is no less than an inspiration sent down to him." (53:4) The Chapter of Maryam There is a Chapter in the Holy Quran, named Surat u Maryam "Chapter Mary", named in honor of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him; again, such an honor is not to be found given to Mary in the Christian Bible. Out of the 66 books of the Protestants and 73 of the Roman Catholics, not one is named after Mary or her son. You will find books named after Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul and two score more obscure names, but not a single one is that of Mary! If Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, was the author of the Holy Quran, then he would not have failed to include in it with Mary, the mother of Jesus, his own mother Aamina, his dear wife Khadija, or his beloved daughter Fatima. But No! No! This can never be. The Quran is not his handiwork!. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Four : The Good News -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " 'Behold!' the angels said: 'O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him: his name will be Jesus, the son of Mary; held in honor in this world and the hereafter; and (of the company of) those nearest to Allah." (3:45) "Nearest to God," not physically nor geographically, but spiritually. Compare this with "And (Jesus) sat on the right hand of God." (Mark 16:19). The bulk of Christendom has misunderstood this verse as well as many others in the Bible. They imagine the Father (God) sitting on a throne, a glorified chair, and His Son, Jesus, sitting on His right hand side. Can you conjure up the picture? If you do, you have strayed from the true knowledge of God. He is no old Father Christmas. He is beyond the imagination of the mind of man. He exists. He is real, but He is not like anything we can think of, or imagine. In eastern languages "right hand" meant a place of honor, which the Holy Quran more fittingly describes as "In the company of those nearest to Allah." The above verse confirms that Jesus is the Christ. and that he is the Word which God bestowed upon Mary. Again, the Christian reads into these words, a meaning which they do not carry. They equate the word "Christ" with the idea of a god-incarnate; and the "Word" of God to be God. "Christ" Not a Name The word "Christ" is derived from the Hebrew word Messiah, Arabic Maseeh. Root word masaha, meaning "to rub", "to massage", "to anoint". Priests and kings were anointed when being consecrated to their offices. But in its translated Grecian form, "Christ" seems unique: befitting Jesus only. Christians like to translate names into their own language; like Cephas to "Peter" , Messiah to "Christ". How do they do that? Very easily. Messiah in Hebrew means "Anointed". The Greek word for anointed is Christos. Just lop off the 'os' from Christos, and you are left with "Christ"; a unique name! Christos means "Anointed", and anointed means appointed in its religious connotation. Jesus, peace and blessing be upon him, was appointed (anointed) at his baptism by John the Baptist, as God's Messenger. Every prophet of God is so anointed or appointed. The Holy Bible is replete with the "anointed" ones. In the original Hebrew, he was made a Messiah. Let us keep to the English translation "anointed." Not only were prophets and priests and kings anointed (Christos-ed), but horns, and cherubs and lamp-posts also. "I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar ..." (Genesis 31:13) "If the priest that is anointed do sin ..." (Leviticus 4:3) "And Moses... anointed the tabernacle and all things that was therein..." (Leviticus 8:100) "..the Lord shall...exalt the horn of his anointed" (I Samuel 2:10) "Thus saith the Lord to his anointed to Cyrus..." (Isaiah 45:1) "Thou art the anointed cherub..." (Ezekiel 28:14) There are an hundred more such references in the Holy Bible. Every time you come across the word "anointed" in your Bible, you can take it that that word would be christos in the Greek translations, and if you take the same liberty with the word that the Christians have done, you will have Christ Cherub, Christ Cyrus, Christ Priest and Christ Pillar, ...etc. Some Titles Exclusive Although, every prophet of God is an anointed one of God, a Messiah, the title Maseeh or Messiah, or its translation "Christ" is exclusively reserved for Jesus, the son of Mary, in both Islam and in Christianity. This is not unusual in religion. There are certain other honorific titles which may be applied to more than one prophet, yet being made exclusive to one by usage: like "Rasulullah", meaning "Messenger of God", which title is applied to both Moses (19:51) and Jesus (61:6) in the Holy Quran. Yet "Rasullullah" has become synonymous only with Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, among Muslims. Every prophet is indeed a "Friend of God", but its Arabic equivalent "Khalillullah" is exclusively associated with Father Abraham. This does not mean that the others are not God's friends. "Kaleemullah", meaning "One who spoke with Allah" is never used for anyone other than Moses, yet we believe that God spoke with many of His messengers, including Jesus and Muhammed, may the peace and blessings of God be upon all His servants. Associating certain titles with certain personages only, does not make them exclusive or unique in any way. We honor all in varying terms. Whilst the good news was being announced (verse 45 above) Mary was told that her unborn child will be called Jesus, that he would be the Christ, a "Word" from God, and that... "He shall speak to the people in childhood and in maturity. And he shall be (of the company) of the righteous." (3:46) "At length she brought the (babe) to her people carrying him. They said: 'O Mary! truly a strange thing has thou brought!'. 'O sister of Aaron!, thy father was not a man of evil, nor thy mother a woman unchaste!' " (The Holy Quran 19:27-28) Jews Amazed There is no Joseph the carpenter here. The circumstances being peculiar, Mary the mother of Jesus had retired herself to some remote place in the East (19:16). After the birth of the child she returns. A. Yusuf Ali, comments in his popular English translation of the Quran: "The amazement of the people knew no bounds. In any case they were prepared to think the worst of her, as she had disappeared from her kin for some time. But now she comes, shamelessly parading a babe in her arms! How she had disgraced house of Aaron, the fountain of priesthood! "Sister of Aaron": Mary is reminded of her high lineage and the unexceptionable morals of her father and mother. How, they said, she had fallen, and disgraced the name of her progenitors! What could Mary do? How could she explain? Would they, in their censorious mood accept her explanation? All she could do was to point to the child, who, she knew, was no ordinary child. And the child came to her rescue. By a miracle he spoke, defended his mother, and preached to an unbelieving audience." Allah azza wa jall says in the Quran: "But she pointed to the babe. They said: 'How can we talk one who is a child in the cradle?' He (Jesus) said: 'I am indeed a servant of Allah (God) : He hath given me revelation and made me a prophet: 'and He hath made me blessed wheresoever I be, and hath enjoined on me prayer and charity as long as I live. '(He hath made me) kind to my mother, and not overbearing or unblest; 'So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again)'!" (19:29-33) His First Miracle(s) Thus Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, defended his mother from the grave calumny and innuendoes of her enemies. This is the very first miracle attributed to Jesus in the Holy Quran that, he spoke as an infant from his mother's arms. Contrast this with his first miracle in the Christian Bible which occurred when he was over thirty years of age: "And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, 'Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come.' His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now." (John 2:110) Since this miracle, wine has flowed like water in Christendom. Many reason that what was good for the Master is good enough for them. Jesus was no "kill-joy" they say. Didn't he make good potent wine, that even those "well drunk", those whose senses had been dulled could make out the difference ? "That the best was kept for the last.". This was no pure grape juice. It was the same wine that, according to the Christian Bible, enabled the daughters of Lot to seduce their father (Genesis 19:32-33).It was the same wine which the Christian is advised to eschew in Ephesians 5:18 - "And be not drunk with wine..." It is that innocent (?) 1% potency that eventually leads millions down into the gutter. America has 10 million drunkards in the midst of 70 million "born-again" Christians! The Americans call their drunkards "Problem Drinkers". In South Africa, they are called "Alcoholics"; drunkard is too strong a word for people to stomach. But the Prime Minister of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, does not hesitate to call a spade a spade. He says, "I am not prepared to lead nation of drunkards", referring to his own people who drink intoxicants. Whether the water "blushed" or not "seeing" Jesus, we cannot blame him or his disciples for the drinking habits of his contemporaries. For he had truly opined, "have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now" (John 16:12). Mankind had not reached the stage of receiving the whole Truth of Islam. Did he not also say "You cannot put new wine into old bottles"? (Matthew 9:17). "Mother" or "Woman"? According to St. John, in the fourth verse above, describing the marriage feast at Cana, we are told that Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, behaved insolently towards his mother. He calls her "woman," and to rub more salt into the wound he is made to say "what have I to do with thee?" What connection is there between you and me, or what have I got to do with you? Could he have forgotten that this very "woman" had carried him for nine months, and perhaps suckled him for 2 years, and had borne endless insults and injuries on account of him? Is she not his mother? Is there no word in his language for "mother"? Strange as it may seem, that while the missionaries boast about their master's humility, meekness and long-suffering, they call him the "Prince of Peace" and they sing that "he was led to the slaughter like a lamb, and like a sheep who before his shearer is dumb, he opened not his mouth", yet they proudly record in the same breath, that he was ever ready with invectives for the elders of his race, and was always itching for a showdown i.e. if their records are true: "Ye hypocrites!" "Ye wicked and adulterous generation!" "Ye whited sephulcres!" "Ye generation of vipers!" and now to his mother: "Woman..." Jesus Defended Muhammed, salla Allah u alihi wa sallam, the Messenger of God, is made to absolve Jesus from the false charges and calumnies of his enemies. "And He (God Almighty) hath made me (Jesus) kind to my mother, and not overbearing or unblest" (19:31). On receiving the good news of the birth of a righteous son Mary responds: "She said: 'O My Lord! how shall I have a son, when no man hath touched me?" The angel says in reply: "He said: 'Even so: Allah (God) createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a matter He but sayth o it 'Be,' and it is! And Allah (God) will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Torah (Law) and the Gospel," (3:47-48). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Five : Quranic and Biblical Versions -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meeting the Reverend I was visiting the "Bible House" in Johannesburg. Whilst browsing through the stacks of Bibles and religious books, I picked up an Indonesian Bible and had just taken in hand a Greek - English New Testament, a large, expensive volume. I had not realized that I was being observed by the supervisor of the Bible House. Casually, he walked up to me. Perhaps my beard and my Muslim headgear were an attraction and a challenge? He inquired about my interest in that costly volume. I explained that as a student of comparative religion, I had need for such a book. He invited me to have tea with him in his office. It was very kind of him and I accepted. Over the cup of tea, I explained to him the Muslim belief in Jesus, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. I explained to him the high position that Jesus occupied in the House of Islam. He seemed skeptical about what I said. I was amazed at his seeming ignorance, because only retired Reverend gentlemen can become Supervisors of Bible Houses in South Africa. I began reciting from verse 42 of chapters 3 of the Holy Quran: "'Behold!' The angels said: 'O Mary, Allah hath chosen thee...'" I wanted the Reverend to listen, not only to the meaning of the Quran, but also to the music of its cadences when the original Arabic was recited. Rev. Dunkers (for that was his name) sat back and listened with rapt attention to "Allah's Words". When I reached the end of verse 49, the Reverend commented that the Quranic message was like that of his own Bible. He said, he saw no difference between what he behaved as a Christian, and what I had read to him. I said: "that was true". If he had come across these verses in the English language alone without their Arabic equivalent, side by side, he would not have been able to guess in a hundred years that he was reading the Holy Quran. If he were a Protestant, he would have thought that he was reading the Roman Catholic Version, if he had not seen one, or the Jehovah's Witness Version or the Greek Orthodox Version, or the hundred and one other versions that he might not have seen; but he would never have guessed that he was reading the Quranic version. The Christian would be reading here, in the Quran, everything he wanted to hear about Jesus, but in a most noble, elevated and sublime language. He could not help being moved by it. In these eight terse verses from 42 to 49 we are told: (a) That Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virtuous woman, and honored above the women of all nations. (b) That all that was being said was God's own Revelation to mankind. (c) That Jesus was the "Word" of God. (d) That he was the Christ that the Jews were waiting for. (e) That God will empower this Jesus to perform miracles even in infancy. (f) That Jesus was born miraculously, without any male intervention. (g) That God will vouchsafe him Revelation. (h) That he will give life to the dead by God's permission, and that he will heal those born blind and the lepers by God's permission, ... etc. "Chalk and Cheese" The most fervent Christian cannot take exception to a single statement or word here. But the difference between the Biblical and the Quranic narratives is that between "chalk and cheese". "To me they are identical, what is the difference?" the Reverend asked. I know that in their essentials both the stories agree in their details, but when we scrutinize them closely we will discover that the difference between them is staggering. Now compare the miraculous conception as announced in verse 47 of the Holy Quran with what the Holy Bible says: "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, (as husband and wife) she was found with child of the holy ghost."(Matthew 1:18) Master Dramatizer The eminent Billy Graham from the United States of America dramatized this verse in front of 40,000 people in King Park, Durban, with his index finger sticking out and swinging his outstretched arm from right to left, he said: "And the Holy Ghost came and impregnated Mary!" On the other hand St. Luke tells us the very same thing but less crudely. He says, that when the annunciation was made, Mary was perturbed. Her natural reaction was : "How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" (Luke 1:34) meaning sexually. The Quranic narrative is: "She said: O my Lord! how shall I have a son when no man hath touched me?" (3:47) meaning sexually. In essence there is no difference between these two statements "seeing I know not a man" and "when no man hath touched me". Both the quotations have an identical meaning. It is simply a choice of different words meaning the same thing. But the respective replies to Mary's plea in the two Books (the Quran and the Bible) are revealing. The Biblical Version Says the Bible: "And the angle answered and said into her : 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee" (Luke 1:35) Can't you see that you are giving the atheist, the skeptic, the agnostic a stick to beat you with? They may well ask "How did the Holy Ghost come upon Mary?" "How did the Highest overshadow her?" We know that literally it does not mean that: that it was an immaculate conception, but the language used here, is distasteful. Now contrast this with the language of the Quran: The Quranic Version "He said (the angel says in reply): 'Even so: Allah (God) createth what He willeth: when He hath decreed a plan, He but saith to it, 'Be,' and it is!' " (3:47) This is the Muslim concept of the birth of Jesus. For God to create a Jesus, without a human father, He merely has to will it. If He wants to create a million Jesus' without fathers or mothers, He merely wills them into existence. He does not have to take seeds and transfer them, like men or animals by contact or artificial insemination . He wills everything into being by His word of command "Be" and "It is". There is nothing new in what I am telling you, I reminded the Reverend. It is in the very first Book of your Holy Bible, Genesis 1:3 "And God said..." What did He say? He said "Be" and "It was". He did not have to articulate the words. This is our way of understanding the word "Be", that He willed everything into being. Choice for His Daughter "Between these two versions of the birth of Jesus, the Quranic version and the Biblical version, which would you prefer to give your daughter ?" I asked the supervisor of the Bible House. He bowed his head down in humility and admitted "The Quranic Version." How can "a forgery" or "an imitation", as it is alleged of the Quran, be better than the genuine, the original, as it is claimed for the Bible? It can never be, unless this Revelation to Muhammed is what it, itself, claims to be viz. The pure and holy Word of God! There are a hundred different tests that the unprejudiced seeker after truth can apply to the Holy Quran and it will qualify with flying colors to being a Message from on High. Like Adam Does the miraculous birth of Jesus make him a God or a "begotten" son of God? No! says the Holy Quran: "The similitude of Jesus before Allah (God) is that of Adam; He created him from dust then said to him: 'Be', and he was." (3:59) Yusuf Ali, comments in his notes in the Quran translation: "After a description of the high position which Jesus occupies as a prophet in the preceding verses we have a repudiation of the dogma that he was God, or the son of God, or any thing more than man. If it is said that he was born without a human father, Adam was also so born. Indeed Adam was born without either a human father or mother. As far as our physical bodies are concerned they are mere dust. In God's sight Jesus was as dust just as Adam was or humanity is. The greatness of Jesus arose from the divine command 'Be': for after that he was more than dust a great spiritual leader and teacher" The logic of it is that, if being born without a male parent entitles Jesus to being equated with God, then, Adam would have a greater right to such honor, and this no Christian would readily concede. Thus, the Muslim is made to repudiate the Christian blasphemy. Further, if the Christian splits hairs by arguing that Adam was "created" from the dust of the ground, whereas Jesus was immaculately "begotten" in the womb of Mary, then let us remind him that, even according to his own false standards, there is yet another person greater than Jesus, in his own Bible . Who is this superman? Paul's Innovation "For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God... Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life..." (Hebrews 7:1,3) Here is a candidate for Divinity itself, for only God Almighty could possess these qualities. Adam had a beginning (in the garden), Jesus had a beginning (in the stable); Adam had an end and, claim the Christians, so had Jesus "and he gave up the ghost". But where is Melchisedec? Perhaps he is hibernating somewhere like Rip Van Winkel (a fairy tale character who slept for many ages.) And what is this "Hebrews"? It is the name of one of the Books of the Holy Bible, authored by the gallant St. Paul, the self appointed thirteenth apostle of Christ. Jesus had twelve apostles, but one of them (Judas) had the Devil in him. So the vacancy had to be filled, because of the "twelve" thrones in heaven which had to be occupied by his disciples to judge the children of Israel (Luke 22:30). Saul was a renegade Jew, and the Christians changed his name to "Paul", probably because "Saul" sounds Jewish. This St. Paul made such a fine mess of the teachings of Jesus, peace blessings be upon him, that he earned for himself the second most coveted position of "The Most Influential Men of History" in the monumental work of Michael H. Hart: The 100 or The Top Hundred or the Greatest Hundred in History. Paul outclasses even Jesus because, according to Michael Hart, Paul was the real founder of present day Christianity. The honor of creating Christianity had to be shared between Paul and Jesus, and Paul won because he wrote more Books of the Bible than any other single author, whereas Jesus did not write a single word. Paul needed no inspiration to write his hyperboles here and in the rest of his Epistles. Did not Hitler's Minister of Propaganda Goebbels say: "The bigger the lie the more likely it is to be believed'? But the amazing thing about this exaggeration is that no Christian seems to have read it. Every learned man to whom I have shown this verse to, seemed to be seeing it for the first time. They appear dumbfounded, as described by the fitting words of Jesus: "...seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Matthew 13:13) The Holy Quran also contains a verse which fittingly describes this well cultivated sickness: "Deaf, dumb and blind, will they not return (to the path)." (2:18) The Sons of God The Muslim takes strong exception to the Christian dogma that "Jesus is the only begotten son, begotten not made". This is what the Christian is made to repeat from childhood in his catechism. I have asked learned Christians, again and again as to what they are really trying to emphasize, when they say: "Begotten not made". They know that according to their own God given (?) records, God has sons by the tons: "...Adam, which was the son of God."(Luke 3:38) "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair... And when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them..." (Genesis 6: 2,4) "...Israel is My son, even My firstborn:" (Exodus 4:22) "...for I (God) am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn." (Jeremiah 31:9) "...the Lord hath said unto me (David): 'Thou art My son: this day have I begotten thee." (Psalms 2:7) "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." (Romans 18:14) Can't you see that in the language of the Jew, every righteous person, every Tom, Dick and Harry who followed the Will and Plan of God, was a "Son of God". It was a metaphorical descriptive term commonly used among the Jews. The Christian agrees with this reasoning, but goes on to say: "but Jesus was not like that". Adam was made by God. Every living thing was made by God, He is the Lord, Cherisher and Sustainer of all. Metaphorically speaking therefore God is the Father of all. But Jesus was the "begotten" son of God, not a created son of God ? Begotten Means "Sired"! In my forty years of practical experience in talking to learned Christians, not a single one has opened his mouth to hazard an explanation of the phrase "begotten not made". It had to be an American who dared to explain. He said : "It means, sired by God." "What!?" I exploded : "Sired by God?" "No, no!" he said, "I am only trying to explain the meaning, I do not believe that God really sired a son." The sensible Christian says that the words do not literally mean what they say. Then why do you say it? Why are you creating unnecessary conflict between the 1,200,000,000 Christians and a thousand million Muslims of the world in making senseless statements? Reason for Objection The Muslim takes exception to the word "begotten", because begetting is an animal act, belonging to the lower animal functions of sex. How can we attribute such a lowly capacity to God? Metaphorically we are all the children of God, the good and the bad, and Jesus would be closer to being the son of God than any one of us, because he would be more faithful to God then any one of us can ever be. From that point of view he is preeminently the son of God. Although this pernicious word "begotten" has now unceremoniously been thrown out of the "Most Accurate" version of the Bible, the Revised Standard Version (R.S.V.), its ghost still lingers on in the Christian mind, both black and white. Through its insidious brainwashing the white man is made to feel superior to his black Christian brother of the same Church and Denomination. And in turn, the black man is given a permanent inferiority complex through this dogma. Brain-washed Inferiority The human mind can't help reasoning that since the "begotten son" of an African will look like an African, and that of a Chinaman as a Chinese, and that of an Indian like an Indian: so the begotten son of God aught naturally to look like God. Billions of beautiful pictures and replicas of this "only begotten son of God" are put in peoples hands. He looks like a European with blonde hair, blue eyes and handsome features like e one I saw in the "King of Kings" or "The Day of Triumph" or "Jesus of Nazareth". Remember Jeffrey Hunter? The "Savior" of the Christian is more like a German than a Jew with his polly nose. So naturally, if the son is a white man, the father would also be a white man (God?). Hence the darker skinned races of the earth subconsciously have the feeling of inferiory ingrained in their souls as God's "step children". No amount of face creams, skin lighteners and hair straighteners will erase the inferiority. God is neither black nor white. He is beyond the imagination of the mind of man. Break the mental shackles of a Caucasian (white) man-god, and you have broken the shackles of a permanent inferiority. But intellectual bondages are harder to shatter: the slave himself fights to retain them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Six : Answer to Christian Dilemmas -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Christ in Islam" is really Christ in the Quran: and the Holy Quran has something definite to say about every aberration of Christianity. The Quran absolves Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, from all the false charges of his enemies as well as the misplaced infatuation of his followers. His enemies allege that he blasphemed against God by claiming Divinity. His misguided followers claim that he did avow Divinity, but that was not blasphemy because he was God. What does the Quran say ? Addressing both the Jews and the Christians, Allah says: "O People of the Book! commit no excesses in your religion: nor say of Allah (God) aught but the truth. Christ Jesus son of Mary was (no more than) a messenger of Allah (God), and His Word, which he bestowed on Mary, and a Spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah (God) and His messengers..." (4:171) Going to Extremes "O People of the Book" is a very respectful title with which the Jews and the Christians are addressed in the Holy Quran. In other words, Allah is saying "O Learned People!", "O People with a Scripture!" According to their own boast, the Jews and the Christians prided themselves over the Arabs, who had no Scripture before the Quran. As a learned people, Allah pulls up both the contending religionists for going to either extremes as regards the personality of Christ. The Jews made certain insinuations about the legitimacy of Jesus and charged him of blasphemy by twisting his words. The Christians read other meanings into his words; wrench words out of their context to make him God. The modern day Christian, the hot - gospeller, the Bible thumper, uses harsher words and cruder approaches to win over a convert to his blasphemies. He says: (a) "Either Jesus is God or a liar" (b) "Either Jesus is God or a lunatic" (c) "Either Jesus is God or an impostor" These are his words, words culled from Christian literature. Since no man of charity, Muslim or otherwise, can condemn Christ so harshly as the Christian challenges him to do, perforce he must keep non-committal. He thinks he must make a choice between one or the other of these silly extremes. It does not occur to him that there is an alternative to this Christian conundrum. Sensible Alternative Is it not possible that Jesus is simply what he claimed to be, a prophet, like so many other prophets that passed away before him? Even that he is one of the greatest of them, a mighty miracle worker, a great spiritual teacher and guide - the Messiah!. Why only God or Lunatic? Is "lunacy" the opposite of "Divinity" in Christianity? What is the antonym of God? Will some clever Christian answer? The Quran lays bare the true position of Christ in a single verse, followed by a note by Yusuf Ali's: "That he was the son of a woman, Mary, and therefore a man;" "But a messenger, a man with a mission from Allah (God), and therefore entitled to honor." "A Word bestowed on Mary, for he was created by Allah's word 'Be', and he was;"(3:59). A spirit proceeding from Allah (God), but not Allah: his life and mission were more limited than in the case of some other messengers, though we must pay equal honor to him as a prophet of Allah. The doctrines of Trinity, equality with God, and sons, are repudiated as blasphemies. Allah (God) is independent of all needs and has no need of a son to manage His affairs. The Gospel of John (whoever wrote it) has put a great deal of Alexandrian Gnostic mysticism round the doctrine of the Word (Greek, Logos), but it is simply explained here." Jesus Questioned Reproduced below are verses 119 to 121 from the Chapter of Maeda (chapter 5 of the Quran) depicting the scene of Judgment Day, when Allah will question Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, regarding the misdirected zeal of his supposed followers in worshipping him and his mother: and his response, "And behold! Allah will say: 'O Jesus the son of Mary! Didst thou say unto men, take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah?' He will say: 'Glory to Thee! never could I say what I had no right (to say). Had I said such a thing, Thou wouldst indeed have known it. Thou knowest what is in my heart, Thou I know not what is in Thine. For Thou knowest in full all that is hidden. 'Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'; and I was a witness over them whilst I dwelt amongst them; when Thou didst take me up Thou wast the Watcher over them, and Thou art a witness to all things. 'If Thou dost punish them, they are Thy servant: If Thou dost forgive them, Thou art the Exalted in power, the Wise.'" (5:116-118) Claimed No Divinity If this is the statement of truth from the All-Knowing, that "Never said I to them aught except what Thou didst command me to say, to wit, 'Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord'", then how do the Christians justify worshipping Jesus? There is not a single unequivocal statement throughout the Bible, in all its 66 volumes of the Protestant versions, or in the 73 volumes of the Roman Catholic versions, where Jesus claims to be God or where he says "worship me". Nowhere does he say that he and God Almighty "are one" and "the same person." The last phrase above "one and the same person" tickles many a "hot-gospeller" and "Bible-thumper," not excluding the Doctor of Divinity and the Professor of Theology. Even the new converts to Christianity have memorized these verses. They are programmed to rattle off verses out of context, upon which they can hang their faith. The words "are one" activates the mind by association of memories. "Yes", say the Trinitarians, the worshippers of three gods in one God, and one God in three gods, "Jesus did claim to be God!" Where? Reverend at the Table I had taken Rev. Morris D.D. and his wife, to lunch at the "Golden Peacock." While at the table, during the course of our mutual sharing of knowledge, the opportunity arose to ask, "Where?" And without a murmur he quoted, "I and my father are one" to imply that God and Jesus were one and the same person. That Jesus here claims to be God. The verse quoted was well known to me, but it was being quoted out of context. It did not carry the meaning that the Doctor was imagining, so I asked him, "What is the context?" Choked on "Context" The Reverend stopped eating and began staring at me. I said, "Why? Don't you know the context?", "You see, what you have quoted is the text, I want to know the context, the text that goes with it, before or after." Here was an Englishman (Canadian), a paid servant of the Presbyterian Church, a Doctor of Divinity, and it appeared that I was trying to teach him English. Of course he knew what "context" meant. But like the rest of his compatriots, he had not studied the sense in which Jesus had uttered the words. In my forty years of experience, this text had been thrown at me hundreds of times, but not a single learned Christian had ever attempted to hazard a guess as to its real meaning. They always start fumbling for their Bibles. The Doctor did not have one with him. When they do start going for their Bibles, I stop them in their stride: "Surely, you know what you are quoting?", "Surely, you know your Bible?" After reading this, I hope some "born-again" Christians will rectify this deficiency. But I doubt that my Muslim readers will ever come across one in their lifetime who could give them the context. What is the Context? It is unfair on the part of the Reverend, having failed to provide the context, then to ask me, "Do you know the context?" "Of course," I said. "Then, what is it?" asked my learned friend. I said, "That which you have quoted is the text of John chapter 10, verse 30. To get at the context, we have to begin from verse 23 which reads: 23. "and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade." (John 10:23). John, or whoever he was, who wrote this story, does not tell us the reason for Jesus tempting the Devil by walking alone in the lion's den. For we do not expect the Jews to miss a golden opportunity to get even with Jesus. Perhaps, he was emboldened by the manner in which he had literally whipped the Jews single-handed in the Temple, and upset the tables of the money changers at the beginning of his ministry (John 2:15). 24. "The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." (John 10:24). They surrounded him. Brandishing their fingers in his face, they began accusing him and provoking him; saying that he had not put forth his claim plainly enough, clearly enough. That he was talking ambiguously. They were trying to work themselves into a frenzy to assault him. In fact, their real complaint was that they did not like his method of preaching, his invectives, the manner in which he condemned them for their formalism, their ceremonialism, their going for the letter of the law and forgetting the spirit. But Jesus could not afford to provoke them any further there were too many and they were itching for a fight. Discretion is the better part of valor. In a conciliatory spirit, befitting the occasion: 25. "Jesus answered, I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me," 26. "but you do not believe because you are not my sheep." (John 10:25-26). Jesus rebuts the false charge of his enemies that he was ambiguous in his claims to being the Messiah that they were waiting for. He says that he did tell them clearly enough, yet they would not listen to him, but: 27. "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." 28. "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." 29. "My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.." (John 10:29). How can anyone be so blind as not to see the exactness of the ending of the last two verses. But spiritual blinkers are more impervious than physical defects. He is telling the Jews and recording for posterity, the real unity or relationship between the Father and the son. The most crucial verse: 30. "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30). One in what? In their Omniscience? In their Nature? In their Omnipotence? No! One in purpose! That once a believer has accepted faith, the Messenger sees to it that he remains in faith, and God Almighty also sees to it that he remains in faith. This is the purpose of the "Father" and the "son" and the "Holy Ghost" and of every man and every woman of faith. Let the same John explain his Gnostic mystic verbiage. "That they all may be one as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us..." "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one..."(John 17:20-22) If Jesus is "one" with God, and if that "oneness" makes him God, then the traitor Judas, and the doubting Thomas, and the satanic Peter, plus the other nine who deserted him when he was most in need are God(s), because the same "oneness" which he claimed with God in John 10:30, now he claims for all "who forsook him and fled" (Mark 14:50). All "ye of little faith" (Matthew 8:26). All "O faithless and perverse generation" (Luke 9:41). Where and when will the Christian blasphemy end? The expression "I and my Father are one," was very innocent, meaning nothing more than a common purpose with God. But the Jews were looking for trouble and any excuse will not do, therefore, 31. "Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him," 32. "but Jesus said to them, I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" 33. "The Jews answered him, saying : 'For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself a God.'" (John 10:31-33). In verse 24 above the Jews falsely alleged that Jesus was talking ambiguously. When that charge was ably refuted, they then accused him of blasphemy which is like treason in the spiritual realm. So they say that Jesus is claiming to be God "I and the Father are one". The Christians agree with the Jews in this that Jesus did make such a claim; but differ in that it was not blasphemy because the Christians say that he was God and was entitled to own up to his Divinity. The Christians and the Jews are both agreed that the utterance is serious. To one as an excuse for good "redemption", and to the other as an excuse for good "riddance". Between the two, let the poor Jesus die. But Jesus refuses to co-operate in this game, so: 34. "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your Law, `I have said you are gods'?" 35. "If he called them `gods,' to whom the word of God came --and the Scripture cannot be broken--," 36. "what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, `I am God's Son'?" (John 10:34-36). Why "Your Law"? He is a bit sarcastic in verse 34, but in any event, why does he say: "Your Law"? Is it not also his Law? Didn't he say: "Think not that I am come to destroy the Law of the prophets: I am come not to destroy, but to fulfill (the Law). For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass away, one Jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:1718). "You are Gods" "You are gods:" He is obviously quoting from the 82nd Psalm , verse 6, "I have said, ye are gods: and all of you are the children of the most High." Jesus, continues: "If he (i.e. God Almighty) called them gods, unto whom the word of God came (meaning that the prophets of God were called 'gods') and the scripture cannot be broken..." (John 10:35), in other words he is saying: "you can't contradict me!" Jesus knows his Scripture; he speaks with authority; and he reasons with his enemies that: "If good men, holy men, prophets of God are being addressed as 'gods' in our Books of Authority, with which you find no fault, then why do you take exception to me? When the only claim I make for myself is far inferior in our language, viz. 'A son of God' as against others being called 'gods' by God Himself. Even if I (Jesus) described myself as 'god' in our language, according to Hebrew usage, you could find no fault with me." This is the plain reading of Christian Scripture. I am giving no interpretations of my own or some esoteric meaning to words! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Seven : "In The Beginning" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Where does Jesus say: 'I am God,' or 'I am equal to God,' or 'Worship me'?" I asked the Rev. Morris again. He took a deep breath and took another try. He quoted the most oft-repeated verse of the Christian Bible - John 1:1. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Please note, these are not the words of Jesus. They are the words of John (or whoever wrote them). Acknowledged by every erudite Christian scholar of the Bible as being the words of another Jew, Philo of Alexandria, who had written them even before John and Jesus were born. And Philo claimed no divine inspiration for them. No matter what mystical meaning that Philo had woven around these words (which our John has plagiarized), we will accept them for what they are worth. Greek not Hebrew Since the manuscripts of the 27 Books of the New Testament are in Greek, a Christian sect has produced its own version and has even changed the name of this selection of 27 Books to Christian Greek Scriptures ! I asked the Reverend whether he knew Greek? "Yes," he said, He had studied Greek for 5 years before qualification. I asked him what was the Greek word for "God" the first time it occurs in the quotation "and the Word was With God"? He kept staring, but didn't answer. So I said, the word was Hotheos, which literally means "The God". Since the European (including the North American) has evolved a system of using capital letters to start a proper noun and small letters for common nouns, we would accept his giving a capital "G" for God; in other words Hotheos is rendered "the god" which in turn is rendered "God". "Now tell me, what is the Greek word for "God" in the second occurrence in your quotation - "and the Word was God"? The Reverend still kept silent. Not that he did not know Greek, or that he had lied, but he knew more than that; the game was up. I said : "the word was Tontheos, which means "a god". According to your own system of translating you aught to have spelt this word 'God' a second time with a small 'g' i.e. 'god', and not 'God' with a capital 'G'; in other words Tontheos is rendered "a god". Both of these, "god" or "a god" are correct. I told the Reverend: "But in 2 Corinthians 4:4 you have dishonestly reversed your system by using a small 'g' when spelling 'God' "(and the devil is) the god of this world." The Greek word for "the god" is Hotheos the same as in John 1:1. "Why have you not been consistent in your translations ?" "If Paul was inspired to write hotheos the God for the Devil, why don't you use that capital 'G'?" And in the Old Testament, the Lord said unto Moses: "See, I have made thee a god to Pharoah" (Exodus 7:1). "Why do you use a small 'g' for 'God' when referring to Moses instead of a capital 'G' as you do for a mere word 'Word' - "and the Word was God."? "Why do you do this? Why do you play fast and loose with the Word of God?" I asked the reverend. He said, "I didn't do it." I said, "I know, but I am talking about the vested interests of Christianity, who are hell-bent to deify Christ, by using capital letters here and small letters there, to deceive the unwary masses who think that every letter, every comma and full stop and the capital and small letters were dictated by God (Capital 'G' here!)." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter Eight : What is Left ------------------------------------------------------------------------

What do you think of the following letter defending Barack Obama? I would like to thank you for this opportunity to defend my candidate and his religious preference. Nobody is perfect. It is always a matter of the lesser evils when we vote, isn't it? "We are One Nation, ..... One People ......united under the constitution of the United States of America!" Obama does not bring "religion" into his politics. I like that! There will be less and less traces of that mentality in the future of politics. In 1974 Gerald Ford and congress attempted to status quo "Christianity" as the mainstream religion of the United States. Through their actions, many non Christians have been oppressed, been pushed down in our society to the enslavement of organized social engine organizations that beat their chest that they are the chosen ones, they are the saved ones. I was raised to a converted (was Protestant) mother and a Catholic(would not take communion) father. And I went to parochial(Catholic) school that taught me the most cruel severe spiritual terrorism that anyone could ever be taught to spread to others. While these social organizations enjoy teaching that we should help one another in charity(something I admire about them), they do it in a very sick fashion sometimes. They taught me, at the age or 6-18, to tell other non catholics that they and their families would suffer eternally in some damnation, in hell fire, in some godforsaken separation from the Love of God! Soooooo sick! And to use a 6 or 7 year old boy to do this! Right here in the good ole PURE US of A! This happened all the while while I was being physically abused by my father and mother, sometimes being beaten by hairbrushes and strapping on occasion for my father's nitpicking children's offenses in our family. He was under pressure, having been raised by an intolerant non communicative father himself and having guarded German prisoners in WWII where he became abandoned (similar to how the Nazis programmed their SS in WWII) , hardened to the terrible physical abuses he had to witness...the daily beatings of enlisted prisoners of that camp that would go unchallenged by the US guards who were ordered not to interfere unless somebody was actually killed, actually died in their witness. That unanswered unresolved, un counseled witness made him an abuser to us as children later in his adult life. He and we are victims of circumstance, unfolding chaos in this modern world that pauses before being able to blanket us in a warmth of comfort that we seek to functionally cooperate with one another in sometimes less that desirable circumstances to do so. The Pledge of Allegiance, using the term "God" is a farce. We all don't believe in one God! If you ask enough questions of any "so called" believer, you will find that, more often than not, these believers do not agree on what God is. Very often their answers end in programmed "It's a mystery!", without any due consideration of logic! If you say there is One God, all knowing and ever present, then how can any logical mind conclude that this God can ever separate from itself? EVER? That obviously is the ONE thing that ONE God cannot do! So let me tell you, Mister Man, if God cannot separate from God's self, then Eternal Damnation is a big lie! The biggest LIE EVER put upon mankind! It is a lie purported by all Judeo Christian, Islamic,....you name it, any religion that says it exists and says there is One God! It is a lie from Jesus! Although people and organizations lie about this, they are in no less peril from it, either here or in any afterlife sense! We all do the best that we can! Jesus recognized this when he said, "Greater works than these that I do will they do who come after me, for I go unto my Father!", meaning that each of us makes mistakes on this earth, witnessable mistakes, even while doing our best, and if we can see each other as we are in heaven better than, with more love(time is unlimited in heaven....you can get that way)...then if we follow our imaginations of how things would be in such a circumstance, we can act accordingly and improve our human lot, healing one another instead of killing one another or building unresolved emotional stress upon one another one after the other. My personal relationship with Jesus Christ is unique. I tell you I am not a Christian because I do not profess or acknowledge...in fact I refute the infallibility of a man named Jesus Christ who is reported to have lived here on this earth 2000+ years ago. I believe that in heaven, that is what Jesus would want me to do. Since I see faults that he did, I do not repeat those faults. I am not of parts. that I can recognize, of my fathers the devil or demons or hurtful behaviors of my ancestry. I have resolved as many of them as I can and I continue to resolve them with resolve, even while being attacked by their grandchildren because they know not what they do. My daughter has cancer from her addictions to tanning, poor diet and her rebellion against the ways I taught her to live, brought on by the chaos of the religious peer pressures and media to dumb down what truth came from her father. My son is in jail on cocaine related charges, again, a rebeller against his father. Perhaps society will change enough to teach these children, to validate their father's teachings and not to bring hardship upon that father to punish that father (that worships heavenly spirit) .........and his family for the truth he shared with the world! I do not bow to the false God of eternal damnation promise or spiritual terror. I only follow leaders that do that when I am under threat of not being able to survive or help my family survive when I realize that if I don't cave into the Magisterium temporarily, an immediate, in this lifetime, suffering will take place that will kill or dismember one of my family's members! This is spiritual terror. I am a survivor! But this religion thing is about common sense, logic, isn't it? Would you want me to stand beside you, saying "One God" in that pledge, when you and I do not agree on what that God is, and therefore that Oneness is false? That was lieing last time I checked! What is it to you? Or have you also learned to lie about lieing? lol I am a Forgive Affirmed Spirit. I am not a Christian, nor a Muslim, nor a Jew, nor a Mormon, nor a Church of Christ, nor a Baptist, nor a Methodist.....I am a Forgive Affirmed Spirit! You can read about Forgive Affirmed Spirit on Yahoo Questions and Answers under the search for it or search for "skahhh", my name under Yahoo. I am truly skahhhed and I share my skahhhs there with you. It sounds like scar for a reason. It is not important to single me out for my scars, rather that you each find your own scars and forgive them, share them with one another. Then they can become resolved, then we can have One Real Godlikeness that we can all concentrate on, that means something, that means healing to all of us! I believe Mr Obama believes like I do, but realizes that he must associate with something politically to align himself with the voting public. But I could be wrong here. If he does believe in eternal damnation, then I disagree with him, but he is still the hope of this country. He has a voice that cries out for American Values, the way I think they should be cried out for. He has the energy to cry out for the oppressed and the potential to recognize the economic crisis that is before us. The meaningful jobs are going away. Technology is quickly eating up the necessity for labor and if we don't get a handle on this real quick, millions of people are going to starve and die, right here in this country. Prior to this time, and perhaps for a time longer until our government realizes what it is up against, Governments have used wars as economic stimulus! Sooner or later this has to change or we will destroy each other on earth beyond repair! Idealistic differences are going to need to be discussed and consensused without killing one another physically. The hope of this happening may be in the US population building it's democratic spirit within it's constitution! The part of "our God" that we can agree on, that blessed us with this document is truly AMAZING, AWESOME! I could pledge allegiance to that part of God! Would you permit me to say that in the pledge? Can you hear me now? "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under that part of God that we all agree on that allowed us to form the the Constitution of the United States of America,... for which this Nation stands, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!"? Hmmm.... I didn't think you would. You take your time and think a little more about this. You are grown adults. Words mean something, people. As we are from the Creation Energy, Image, the imagination that invented, imploded the Golden dust of the ages, mixed with temperature changes and the moisture that came about from those trapped changes of the dust and therefore the formation of our original slime that became human and evolved through creation to this point, we are parts of that creation/creator, and as such our words are from that Creation energy, hence our words are Words of God! No utterance can be but from that source else there is no source! I do not condone killing. I have never heard Obama EVER say he condoned killing! For you to say he condoned killing of Americans because he may not be of your church...to draw that conclusion is pure hatred! I despise that kind of hate. I will do everything in my power to subdue it and fight spiritually, mentally, emotionally, all the while defending my physical health as much as possible and the health of my loved ones as much as possible against the dumbing down of political thought and spiritual genocide that occurs from the spread of Eternal Damnation as some sort of contorted bipolar truth! I love this life. I love the people in it. I love it so much that I will lay down my thoughts for you and yours as plain as I can put them. I use my energy to do so. I know, and you probably know of noone who has done this plainer than I have. I would like to meet them if you do. They and I can hash this out. Always need a few more in this battle for functional truth. Muslims believe in Allah. They are just as contorted as Christians. They claim that Allah is only good! They claim that everything came from Allah. Well, I got news for them, unless you call everything good, then evil came from Allah too if that is what you call your Creation Energy. One source is one source, no matter how you cut it! So each of these religions lives a lie. Now the question to me is, who has the ability to cut to the chase, to use words and to write words and to re author democracy to fit all of us, without undue killing, a person brainwashed in Eternal Damnation from one side, or a person who can see through both sides? I think it is the latter. I think Obama has some foresight you will never get from any other status quo candidate! I admire any man who questions his faith openly and who can show that he is on a path to becoming a unifier of gracious loving spirit and who does so by his actions. Obama has done that. Obama wants retirees making less than 50k per year to pay NO TAX. If the immediate economic finances dictate that we have to pay people double minimum wage, what will your retirement be worth? You better be thinking things over, because this guy has done some thinking and if you waste your vote, it might be too late to head things in a functional direction! Many a person has been killed over religion. Many a person has fought in a war on the side of Christianity. If you go to Vietnam, 3 million Vietnamese were killed by our country. If you go to Iraq, how many Iraqis have died in this latest war? Oh I realize we are scared and we think they want to kill us. We get worried about that ..."Am I willing to die, to martyr for my religion?" complex they tried to brainwash into our minds in Catholic school. But millions more have died at the hands of so called Christians, than probably any other religion! We don't mean to kill others, but we, like Muslims, spend so much time memorizing scriptures and prayers that we fail, from time driven humanity to learn foreign language and find a way for all of us to agree, yet. This is how God, Creation, placed us here. Our purpose....apparently for the entertainment of how we are in spirit in that Creation energy to give us a break from all knowing boredom? Again, I am glad for this Barack Hussein Obama. He wants to actively pursue Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan! If we know where he is let's go get him! I agree! That's my political spouting for this day! Healing be unto you and yours and me and mine In Forgive Affirmed Spirit Skip Heilmann The following is a letter I got from a concerned friend about my support for Obama After one of the messages that Skip wrote, you might like to forward this missive to him. He plans to support Mr. Obama. I don't trust the slime from the word "Go!" For a start, I find that anything to do with Islam is totally repugnant to me. Living among those people for the better part of 4 years of my life gave me a deeper understanding of what they think of any person who does not absolutely adhere to their beliefs. Their credo is "Convert or die." Additionally, they have the option of lying as well. In my opinion, one of the most glossed over aspects of Islam is that it is OK to lie to a "non-believer" ( a.k.a. INFIDEL). I personally can find no source that can either confirm or deny this claim that I am making about Islam. Regardless, as the basis of a so-called "religion of peace," any lying doesn't cut it with me. I know of no other religion that teaches lying as a means to an end so openly. Fault any other religion in the world for various reasons all one wishes to, but don't forget that it's not a problem for Muslim people to lie. I did as the message mentioned and found this bit of information at the Snopes site: http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/muslim.asp In essence, Snopes.com points out that the claims are either exaggerated or false. To my way of thinking, again this all depends on how one wishes to view the issue. Let's face it, the Democrats are desperate. For Democrats, it's either "Billary" or some other questionable kook! Obama? PUH-leeze! Surely we can do better than that!? Truthfully, again to my way of thinking, if there is even the slightest question of being somehow having even so "little" as an "exaggerated" claim regarding some aspect of a candidate's fitness for "high office" ... it is sufficient to discount or discredit the efficacy of that candidate. Sadly, our country has degenerated sufficiently that we will soon deteriorate into the same kind of thing that ancient Rome became ... another has-been "super-power." Like Rome, this country will probably degerate to the extent that it will no longer hold faithful to the principles of the founders of this country. For a start, the "politically correct" folks have pretty much thrashed and trashed the more conservative elements of our society in the name of "freedom." So, there you have my opinion. Reader's Digest version? I wouldn't vote for ANY Democrat if that person was the ONLY candidate! What makes anyone think I would waste my time voting for a Democrat knowing the likes of Clinton (which strangely enough rhymes with Peron, the former El Presidente of Argentina) are still given credence by our media? A total waste. I'm convinced that most Americans are clueless enough they will vote for those candidates if for no other reason than I have never found myself in agreement with the "majority" here in the US. The beef, wordwran, is that religious discrimination is alive and well in the United States and is contorted and hateful agains people who can make a real functional difference in our society! Aaron, God is not unique to the Jews or the Christians! But I do think there was a sense of a Creator Energy. The word energy, as in cosmic energy was not generally accepted by general mankind until recently. So, the idea of Cosmic Creation, of a belonging to that Cosmic Creation is an evolving, unfolding one that recognizes as time goes by, that we are not all zombies spitting anything that our pastors tell us....some of it creates inequities that are one sided on the sides of the social engine belongers, the donating members of the traditionalist fundamentalist Eternal Damnation worshipping religious organizations! Times have changed and more and more people have found themselves thinking for themselves and bringing out their inner "Words of God" that threaten the there to fore presentations of their previous masters whom they memorized. The point is, religion, what and who God is, what and how nature is connected, what and how Creation is in us and about us is changing. America is changing. We no longer have a complacent majority sitting on the sidelines with no opinion except that they do want a quality of life and some equality. America has to change with that or it will be defunct in a short period of time.

will god answer my prayer?will he have mercy on me? This may be too long but i just need to know what ya'll think.The thing is,i have a stuttering problem since childhood.And im praying day and night(crying out to god)asking him to heal this stuttering problem of mine,to have mercy on me and i have total faith in him that he will answer my prayers.Soon in my school im going to have a speech class that everyone is suppose to have in order to graduate.And im soo scared cuz i dont know how i will be able to talk in front of public since i get nervous really fast.Let me tell ya'll,once this paster came to my house and suprisingly he knew EVERYTHING ABOUT ME.He knew i stutter,he knew about my life,and more.So he asked me to read the bible.After that he held me and told me that"i know everything about you"and he told me too.I was shocked and asked him how he knew so much about me,and he told me that its these spiritual feelings he had.So i know since that day that my god is watching me.But will god answer my prayers?will he have mercy on me?? One more thing,i tried to do fasting so many times but whenever i try to,something happens that errupts my fasting so i feel god doesnt wants me to do fasting??

muslims:what do you know about ISLAMIC MEDICINE ? The spiritual care involves the acts of worship. The problem is that Iman cannot be translated into belief, nor Salaat into prayer, Nor Wadu into washing hand, face and feet nor; Sawm into fasting nor Sakat into charity nor Haii into pilgrimage to Mecca. T'hey are entitles in themselves. A. Iman:The belief in God is the first and foremost important need for spiritual stability. Belief in God includes belief in his aU attributes, his angels, his books, the day of judgement, the heaven and hell and belief that - all good and bad is within his reach. Imam Rumi has called faith being superior to prayers. In illness, according to Imam Ghazai, the awareness of God increases and man becomes closer to God by realizing his own weakness. Without true belief, neither our prayer, nor charity, nor fasting nor pilgrimage will be accepted. The essence of belief is to rid ourselves of all false Gods around us, or within us, and to worship no one except God alone. B.Salat: There are three health aspects of Salat I. Wadu: Washing all the exposed areas of the body, hand, feet, face, mouth, nostrils etc. 5 times a day is a healthy preventive procedure. Hand washing is being emphasized more and more in hospitals now in order to prevent spread of germs. However non-Muslims did not know that hand- washing is so important - it has been ordered in Qu'ran (5:7) 1400 years ago. And for complete cleanliness bathing is advised (4:43) 2. Recitation of Quran: Has a healing effect on body, mind and heart. These healing effects are due to the effect of sound (Echo) and the meaning. The letter Alif resounds unto the Echoes to heart and the letter YA resounds unto Echoes to the pineal gland in the brain. "O Mankind: There has come to you a direction front your Lord and a healing for the (disease) in your hearts - and for those who believe a guidance and mercy !!" 10:57 "We sent down in the Quran that which is healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss". The movement in Salaat are mild, uniform, and involve all muscles and joints. The caloric output is desired to keep the energy balance." 17:82 C: Zakat (Charity): The word itself means purification and growth. Here it is meant to imply the purification of legitimately earned wealth. Many of our crimes are committed with money or for love of money, and in the love of money one becomes violent in behavior. And he is violent in his love of wealth: 100:8 In Islam the ownership of wealth belongs to God. We are the disposer of that trust. Therefore, this concept establishes peace at heart and our behavior in the loss of money or unusual gain, In either way, we thank God. D. Sawm: The Islamic fasting: Islamic fasting is prescribed as way training of our mind, and body in self-restraints. "O you who believe is prescribed to you, as it was prescribed to those before you, so that you can learn self-restraint." 2:183 Therefore, during the period of fast one may not only get rid of nibbling food, coffee, smoking but also of anger and excessive sexual passion. In fact, the fast not only gives rest to stomach but also stabilizes the secretion of harmones which control our behavior. E. Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca): The morale is Prophet lbrahim's submission and absolute surrender to God's will, the opportunity for repentance, and the social and political gathering of the Ummah depecting brotherhood, and equality. However this can be used for programming and testing us for physical endurance, a requirement for all able men and women. The long walks, the heat, the sun, the thirst, the physical exercise, etc. is to remind us of the day of judgement. We should perform Hajj when young and physically well rather than wait for the old age. We should keep ourselves in good shape before and years after the Hajj.http://www.islam-usa.com/im6.html

to person who saw JESUS walk by her/him readk, don t fear men persecution? john 14;27 THEREABOUT JESUS WILL SHOW HIMSELF TO YOU. john 1 said..the WORD is GOD and jesus is the WORD. so the more WORD you ate and drank your spirit man "LIGHT UP"(glory) and where there is GLORY..there is PRESENCE OF JESUS. welcome to the upper room of acts of apostles!! someday in prayer of holy tongues, you will be greatly amazied...of being john 16:15 you did not chose me, but I have CHOSEN YOU..... a pure heart rises us up higher and higher. enoch was holy and pure.and never died. being in the word of GOD..cleanse us. in the spiritual realms is the world all around us. thy is why the kingdom of GOD is at hand...all around us. so when we pray in love by faith with truth in spirit nature..the prayer of a righteous man/woman avail much..for the sick, for the blind.for the deaf..for the nation.forthe leaders in schools..at work..in politics.on and on...faith worketh by love. he who abide in love abide in GOD. and GOD is with them/abide in them. and in this state of obedience/love..prayers are heard. and honored. worship praise petiton/prayers thanksgiving and worship/praise again. are a basic of entering into heaven BOLDLY(the blood of JESUS sancified us) to enter heaven..holy of holies. only priest can enter that realms..and you've entered. GOD IS LOVE..there is no darkness (shadow) in him. fear is darkness..unbelief is darkness. that why folks did't get a healing from JESUS when JESUS gone to his HOMETOWN. be weary of legalistic..condemning christians. their hearts are STONE COLD..opposite of GOD. they may speak words of GOD..ect..but GOD is LOVE..not hate or judge or condemning..the blood took care of SINS once and for all..it is FINISH! NOW..he want us..to help build the church, with truth that set us free..with wisdom..to help guide us..to maintain right standing in our SOUL..our spirit are saved..but our soul..get us offtrack..and open doors to diseases, poverty..oppression of the devil..ect. eph 4 said.about apostles, prophet(ess) ect..will PERFECT THE CHURCH..logically..you are growing into that spiritual governmental postion..as you eat and drink the words of GOD..remember..stay IN LOVE to OGD>.to others and well self respect..there is NO CONDEMNATION in christ..(romans 8:1).and the law of the spirit of LIFE(love, truth, faith.ect0 IN CHRIST has made you/me/us free from the law of SIN (curses) and death(fear). fear and faaith is the like of west and east..they can't work together. LOVE liberate us from fear. faith in HIS LOVE keep us in safety (ps 91,103, 23) RMmartin2u@aol.com if need of it. your vison is part of a prophecy of young men/women will have vision. you are on track of His WILL in your life. be humble. and a blesser to others..resist condemning others..lust live the idiots. or the proud one. pray for their heart's eyes-ears to hear the truth..like the parable of the seed, hard heart recieve no truth..some truth get in.but pressure of satan..the world..and men..choke out the words of LIFE/love/truth..till their heart is PLOWED UP..nohting happens..but when the HEART is HUMBLE they they got clear sight and hearing to hear and accept the truth..to liberate their soul and body and spirit.

Is prayer optional? "Prayer is Not Optional" A layman, at the St Vladimir's Seminary Summer Institute, wrote this sentence as the most important thing he learned all week. Which Words The classical form of the Jesus Prayer is, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The actual words of our short prayers can vary. We might say the classic version of the Jesus Prayer, or we might say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." We may say, "Lord Jesus, have mercy." Or, we might say a Psalm verse, or a Bible quote, or some other prayer. Monks of old said, "Lord, make haste to help me. Lord, make speed to save me," all day long. The history of the Jesus Prayer goes back, as far as we know, to the early sixth century, with Diadochos, who taught that repetition of the prayer leads to inner stillness. Even earlier John Cassian recommended this type of prayer. In the fourth century Egypt, in Nitria, short "arrow" prayers were practiced. Abba Macarius of Egypt said there is no need to waste time with words. It is enough to hold out your hands and say, "Lord, according to your desire and your wisdom, have mercy." If pressed in the struggle, say, "Lord, save me!" or say, "Lord." He knows what is best for us, and will have mercy upon us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pray Ceaselessly We are all called to pray without ceasing, says St. Paul in 1 Thess 5:17. The real questions is, how. The Jesus Prayer provides one good way to pray constantly. In fact, the Jesus Prayer is the most widespread and most specifically Orthodox spiritual prayer, according to Metropolitan Corneanu. Our task is to draw nearer to God. St. Isaac of Syria says that it is impossible to draw near to God by any means other than increasing prayer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Power of the Name Biblically, knowing a person's name gave power over that person. Name was linked with being. In the Old Testament, God would not disclose His name. In the New Testament, Jesus explicitly gives us God's name, Father, and tells us to use the name in prayer. Jesus gives us access to the Godhead through the name. Jesus told His Apostles that they hadn't really used His Name in prayer enough. "Hitherto you have asked nothing in My Name; ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16:23). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hidden Martyrdom Trying to pray repetitively is an inner asceticism. According to St Ignatius Brianchaninov, trying to pray without ceasing is a "hidden martyrdom." A casual, but profound, example of this came to a small group of high school students. They were visiting a home for unwed mothers. The woman who directs the home spoke to them for a half hour. Because the woman sensed that the students were wondering about her own faith commitment, she said, "Well, you have been here 30 minutes and I have prayed 15 times." She hadn't been out of their sight, nor out of their conversation. Yet, during the active interchange, this woman found the desire, attention, and time, to shoot 15 "arrow" prayers to God. That's keen vigilance. That's a hidden martyrdom, especially when attempted all day long. Prayer requires super-human courage, given the atmosphere of the world today. The whole ensemble of natural energies is in opposition. So says Sophrony. Lions may not eat us for the sake of the Gospel. Rather, our call to martyrdom takes the form of being attentive to the present moment, relying upon God's power always, and doing His will. Our call to martyrdom may not be any easier than death by violence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Who can Say the Prayer Clearly, the Jesus Prayer is not only for monks. We are told that the prayer is for cab drivers, social workers, business persons, teachers, professional baseball players (not necessarily used to win a game), psychiatrists. We use the Jesus Prayer to do God's will, not our own bidding. Anyone, everyone can say the Jesus Prayer. The only prerequisites are a keeping of the Commandments, be living member of the Church, and to have a guide. Bishop Kallistos Ware has sound advice for those who simply can't find a suitable guide. "But those who have no personal contact with starets my still practice the Prayer without any fear, so long as they do so only for limited periods - initially, for no more than ten or fifteen minutes at a time - and so long as they make no attempt to interfere with the body's natural rhythms." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When to Pray The Jesus Prayer is recommended in the morning, following our prayer rule, for some period of time, perhaps 10 or 15 minutes. If that is impossible, then sometime before noon, or in the evening. This might be called "formal" use of the prayer. The second form of the Jesus Prayer is the "free" use of the prayer. This means at any and all other times of the day, or night. This is especially true for the semi-automatic tasks such as driving, doing dishes, walking, being unable to sleep, etc. The Jesus Prayer is notably useful in time of extreme concern or upset. When alone, we might find it helpful to pray the Jesus Prayer, out loud. This can help lower the distraction level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prayer of the Heart The Jesus Prayer is also called the Prayer of the Heart. In Orthodoxy, the mind and heart are to be used as one. St Theophan tells us to keep our "mind in the heart" at all times. Heart means the physical muscle pumping blood, and emotions/feelings, and the innermost core of the person, the spirit. Heart is associated with the physical organ, but not identical with it. Heart means our innermost chamber, our secret dwelling place where God lives. "The heart is but a small vessel; and yet dragons and lions are there, and there poisonous creatures and all the treasures of wickedness; rough, uneven paths are there, and gaping chasms. There likewise is God, there are the angles, the heavenly cities and the treasures of grace; all things are there." So says St. Macarius. Someone said the heart is a dimension of interior consciousness, awareness, where we come in touch with an inner space, a space of no dimensions. This consciousness is timeless, the place where tears reside and deep contact with the present moment abide, and from which restful movement comes. Acting out of our heart means to act lightly, with vigor and enthusiasm. When not in that inner awareness, we are restless, agitated and self-concerned. There is within us a space, a field of the heart, in which we find a Divine Reality, and from which we are called to live. The mind, then, is to descend into that inner sanctuary, by means of the Jesus Prayer or wordless contemplation, and to stay there throughout our active day, and evening. We descend with our mind into our heart, and we live there. The heart is Christ's palace. There, Christ the King comes to take His rest. The photo at the top of the page is a seventeen year old girl [Bethany] who said that, when this was taken, she felt like she was walking "into the silence of the hills." To reach the field of the heart we need outer, and inner, silence, rather like one might experience while gazing upon this scene. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Silence Silence is a choice. We choose the things we want to do. These things, then, order and measure our lives. Someone said that Christians "order and measure" their lives from communion to communion. We might also say the Christians "order and measure" their lives from silence to silence. Silence, at its best, is God-awareness. We quiet down our outer and inner lives, and listen to God speak. Someone said that when God speaks, His words are like the sound of a flutter of a bird's wings. We need to be attentive if we are to hear anything. Outer silence is a choice. When my son, in his teen years, rode with me in the family car, we cut a deal. He had the car radio half the time, and I had the car radio half the time. He always chose his half at the beginning of the trip. Like most teens, he wanted his jollies up front. For my half of the ride, I sometimes chose silence, because I like silence. I really didn't do it to cause him pain. He, however, did sometimes have a restless and difficult time of it. Later he did tell me that he enjoyed our quiet evening rides together. Outer silence calms the senses. By contrast, sensory overload and excitement can be addictive. Inner silence can usually be achieved only by substituting one thought for another. Hence, the Jesus Prayer overrides our usual compulsive stream of consciousness about our own anxieties. Beginning with this form of prayer, then we might be led to deeper inner stillness, prayer without words. The caution here is that prayer without words is not heaviness, semi-sleep dullness. Rather, wordless prayer is alive, vigorous God-awareness. A seventeen year old said she learned recently that, "Silence is my friend." Abba Pastor tells us that any trial which comes to us can by conquered by silence. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contemplation Contemplation has been described as clear awareness without words. Contemplation is a "seeing clearly." We lay aside thoughts, not to lead to a vacuum or drowsiness, but to inner plenitude. We deny to affirm. Wordless contemplation is not an absence, but a presence, a God-awareness. The aim is to bring us into a direct meeting with a personal God, on God's terms. Inner silence, inner stillness, called hesychia, is experienced by wordless sitting, imageless contemplation. When consciousness strays, a phrase like "Lord Jesus" can be used to bring the mind back, and then the person sits quietly in the presence of the Lord. The desire of wordless sitting awareness is to open oneself to God, to listen to God. Some teachers suggest that if we are able, we spend a half hour of wordless sitting, begun by asking God to teach us to pray, or a Bible quote. Usually this is best done in the morning, upon rising or before noon. If the person is able, a block of the some quiet time is also recommended for the evening. Hopefully, all this is worked out with the direction of a spiritual guide. Both the Jesus Prayer and contemplation make us single-centered, concentrating upon the here and now, focused, one-pointed. The point is God. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Changing the Universe Every prayer changes the entire universe. Our every prayer, each prayer, actually changes history, the way God created the world, and all else. God is outside time. God is not "waiting up there" for our prayer, and then He acts. All has already occurred in God. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intercessory Prayer St Therese, a Roman Catholic saint, had difficulty knowing that God heard her prayers for others. As a youth, she decided to put God "to the test" once and for all. Perhaps only a saint can "test" God. She prayed fervently for the salvation of a callused serial killer of women, Henri Pranzini. Pranzini was caught, found guilty and sentenced to the guillotine. During this time, Therese prayed that he be saved, and that she be given a sign that a conversion took place. Pranzini became more arrogant. Therese persisted. On the execution day, Pranzini walked up the steps, put his head onto the block, still jeering. Then, unexpectedly, he lifted up, grabbed the crucifix hanging from the side of the nearby priest, and Pranzini kissed the feet of Christ three times. Pranzini publicly repented. He then put his head back down onto the block, and the guillotine fell. Therese claimed that her prayers were answered. She claimed that her intercessory prayers saved a hardened criminal. Is this really the way intercessory prayer works? In a word, yes. How? The answer to that rests somewhere in God's mysterious ways. What we do know, for certain, is that every prayer for someone else is heard, and in God's goodness, answered, for the other person's good. Every single prayer for another helps that other person, and helps us. The lives of the saints are replete with examples. St Monica, mother of St Augustine, prayed day and night for her son when he was living a wild life. Augustine had, among other activities, fathered a child out of wedlock. Monica was told by her Bishop that "no child of so many tears (prayers) could be lost." Monica's prayers were instrumental in saving Augustine. We are each called to pray, ardently, for our children, family, priest, the Church, country, world. We have a noble and royal vocation, to pray and make an untold difference in the entire cosmos. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Does It Work? Like swimming, we are to "jump in" and just begin. There is a world of difference between thinking, or talking, about quiet prayer, and actually praying. Like beginning swimmers , we only learn by getting wet. The Fathers tell us that, often, the first thing that happens is an experience of darkness and resistance. Then, when we persist, peace begins to replace the darkness. The temptations may become more severe, even temptations to stop the praying, but we sin less. The Fathers tell us that, as we continue to pray and live the commandments, go to Church and listen to our spiritual Father, we can expect to become freed from indecision, upset and hesitation. Our will becomes stronger. We can expect to be available to others in ways we otherwise would not have been, and we will become more effective and creative. Bishop Kallistos Ware says that by spending only a few moments invoking the Divine Name each day, we actually transform all the other remaining moments of the day. In the beginning, there may be no new insights and no pleasant feelings. Was it a waste of time? Not necessarily. By faith, the Christian believes that spending time wanting to pray, and actually praying, does touch a Merciful God. God hears. And, in turn, Divine Truth is known through direct experience, sometimes called intuition. Something is happening, and changing at a deeper level of consciousness, unnoticed. We can expect invisible, subtle snares, sent from Satan, precisely because we have upscaled our efforts, and are turning to God. In a sense, we rouse the enemy to action. St. John Chrysostom says that when we begin to pray we stir the snake (living within us) to action, and that prayer can lay the snake low. There is no ascetic effort more difficult, more painful, than the effort to draw close to God, Sophrony tells us. When we begin to pray, we expend desire and effort. The results are up to God. Real prayer is a gift from God, not the payment for our perspiration. Prayer works in the Unseen Warfare as a power/gift from Jesus, given as a function of our ability to receive it. We increase our ability to receive by asking for the increase, and God grants it as He sees fit, in His tender, all sweet and merciful manner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not Yoga Sitting, saying the Jesus Prayer, or in wordless contemplation, is not Yoga or any far Eastern practice. The difference is the Christian encounter with the living God, Jesus. The postures, techniques and outer form may be similar, but the content is unique in Christian prayer. The content of Christian prayer is Jesus. Sometimes the difference is likened to a priceless painting. We might admire the exquisite frame of the painting, and rightly so. But the frame is not the masterpiece. The similarities of Eastern Yoga and Sufi practice in prayer are the frame, but Christ is the masterpiece, the insides, of the prayer of the Christian. And, that is all the difference in the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Techniques & Psychosomatic Issues The Orthodox understanding of the role of the body in prayer rests upon a sound anthropology. The body, soul and spirit act as a single unit, not divided or split up. Therefore, the body has a role in prayer. How we involve the body can be understood in three ways. Sometimes this is called psychotechniques. 1. Breathing, 2. Inner Exploration, and 3. Posture. Across the centuries, these issues have been explosive. Breathing. Bishop Kallistos Ware says that if we pray the Jesus Prayer for short periods, ten or fifteen minutes at the beginning, then there is no problem matching the words of the prayer to our breath. We are to breath naturally, without playing with the rhythm of the breath. On the inhale, we can say, "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God." On the exhale, we can say, "have mercy on me, a sinner." We are to breath and pray slowly and reverently and attentively. Inner Exploration. Inner exploration usually means following our breath into the nostrils, down into the lungs, around the insides, and out. This is unquestioningly, forbidden. The dangers involved in all this cannot be exaggerated. Posture. The usual position, as recommended by Bishop Kallistos Ware, is a comfortable sitting position in a chair. Sometimes standing is recommended. Usually the eyes are kept closed. Posture can take many forms, as long as the postures are reverent. Modern serious and enlightened authors, such as Bishop Ware, St Igantius Brianchaninov and Sophrony all agree that "the fullness of the Jesus Prayer can by practiced without any physical methods at all." In summary, it can be said that physical methods are optional and not at all necessary. Physical techniques are more suitable for beginners, says St Gregory Palamas. Physical techniques are potentially dangerous, and not to be used without a guide. St Theophan suggests, "Make a habit of having the intellect stand in the heart, but not in a physical way." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prayer Rope Orthodox prayer ropes are usually soft and made of wool. The purpose is to help us concentrate, not necessarily to count. In the famous book, The Way of the Pilgrim, the pilgrim said the prayer 2,000, then 6,000, then 12,000 times. Is 12,000 Jesus Prayers better than 2,000? Absolutely not. Quantity has nothing to do with love, and a living relationship with Jesus. The pilgrim did 12,000, no more and no less, as an act of obedience to his spiritual father, not because he was "making progress." He also prayed much because that was his "heart's desire." Every prayer is an act of love, made to the Author of Love, Who is waiting expectantly for our desire, and our acceptance of His Love. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Jesus Prayer as Psychotherapy As medicine, the Jesus Prayer is destructive of the passions and altering of conduct. Just as a doctor places a dressing on a patient's wound, and the dressing works without the patient's knowing how, calling on the Name of God "removes the passions" without our knowing how and why, according to Barsanupius and John. The Holy Name, when repeated quietly, penetrates the soul rather like a drop of oil, spreading out and impregnating a cloth. Our modern translation of "mercy" is limited and insufficient. "Mercy" comes from the Greek eleison. Eleison has the same root as elaion which means olive and olive oil. In the Middle East, olive oil provides physical healing for many sicknesses, particularly respiratory. "Have mercy" means to have "healing oil" on my soul. The Fathers tell us that praying the Sacred Name changes our personality, from overstrain to joy. "Hitherto you have asked nothing in my Name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn 16:24). The Jesus Prayer functions as therapy, much like healing oil, transforming our personality from overstrain to joy, and by continuing to pray, these changes become permanent. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Results of Prayer We don't say the Jesus Prayer, or enter wordless contemplation, to get "some benefit." We don't pray to reduce our stress, or strengthen our immune system, or lose weight, or add years to our life. On the contrary, we enter prayer to follow Christ, to become open to Him. His way is the Way of the Cross. [ Back to top ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary © 1996-2008 All Rights Reserved +1.914.961.8313, info@svots.edu