Tag: god

So What!

Posted on by Dr. Bacon, PhD in Freedom & Responsibility

Seems like I keep falling back on religion. Probably relative to my education as a folklorist. My PhD was in Occultism and Mythology, both of which relate to religion magnificently. Which is not to throw stones. Folklore is as real as truth can be. While both occultism and mythology are esoteric beliefs and practices, the same can be said of any religious faith.

The full spectrum of religious faiths is magnificent and touches a lot of ideological bases, Judeo-Christianity brings us down to some very reasonable concepts. My pninciple focus, when it comes to personal belief, boils down to Christianity. Another gigantic package of concepts as variable as believing you can a (L.D.S.) to believing your eternal existence will not be as a God but will be eternal. Much to consider but if we boil it down to the “red letters” (words attributed to Jesus), it all comes across as not only quite reasonable but actually doable. 

The only certainty about religious concepts is that we cannot and will never know, while still here on Earth, the truth. Many claim to, but none actually do, “know this church is true.” The Bible tells us “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” 

As a much younger fellow I actually did have a great deal of faith. My parents were wise and carefully taught me that one doesn’t pray to be rich or to beat Brad Dennis in a game of basketball. Prayer is a much more serious and contemplative process. Still, by the time i was eight years old, I knew the the mustard seed scripture was misleading at best, and the true mystery of God and religion came into focus. Now, at the ripe old age of seventy-years, I’ve discovered that when it comes to inspiring action from God, prayer is inches away from worthless. Ninety percent of the time, whatever it is I’m praying for isn’t going to happen. Thus my prayers have been followed by people and critters I love desperately, dying. And massive examples like Rush Limbaugh suffering from cancer and being prayed for by millions of people with far greater faith than mine, yet he died. Not only removing a hero in many minds, but an actual deliverer of Godly principle. Millions of faithful prayers and “nope, sorry.”

On the other hand, I have experienced actual miracles, some of which seem absurd, such as having lost all of my fly-tying tools which I hadn’t used for years, but having experienced an accident which took from me my ability to be an EMT/paramedic, which I was, and left me restrained to a wheel chair. My thought was that I could make a living tying flies. I used to be one of the world’s greatest professional fly-tyers, running High Creek Anglers and tying flies by the hundreds. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my materials and equipment. I searched and searched till finally giving up. At this point I went to the only option left. I prayed! The next day a friend who’d been taking care of chickens on my yard came in with  a box. “Bacon, I think you need to see this. I was feeding chickens when I heard this racket and this box had fallen from the rack.” Guess what was in the box. Yep, my fly-tying equipment and materials! How the good Lord chooses which prayers to answer, or if this was just ridiculous luck, I’ll never know, but there ya go!

All of which brings me back to the point of this article, which is: so what? We can ponder and wonder and scratch our itchy skulls, but based on the vast majority of historical feedback, we’ll never know. Whatever the truth may actually be, those who believe do have certain advantages. 

For one thing, the believer is never alone! While my faith is weak in comparison to that of many I’ve known, I still talk to God. He never talks back, with one exception, and that one time, it was my own voice, in my own head, but it was a definite response to the question I was asking and well outside my inherent wisdom. Still, the point is I am never alone. When I find myself in the presence of no one, I almost always begin chatting at God, and feeling like he’s listening! Prayer also gives one a sense of control. Situations arise in which one can do nothing, nor have any actual affect, yet one can put in one’s word with God, who does have the power and capacity to do whatever he chooses. I don’t know what he’ll do, but knows what I’m hoping or fearing.

Another benefit is the words of Christ. The “Red Letters.” Guidelines for a good life. Instructions on how to live, treat others, and exercise our faith. The Red Letters house the transformative nature of Christianity. Inspiration to avoid bullying, lying, anger, and judgementalism. To engage in acts of kindness. Nothing weird here. No do not wear clothes of more than one material; No no one whose testicles are crushed…; No no praying with your head covered. Just simple wisdom. The red letters of Jesus are more than just words on a page; they are a call to action, a promise of hope, and a glimpse into the heart of God.

If you pass on and none of this turns out to be true, so what? The life you lived wss inspired.

~Bacon

Is There a God?

Posted on by Dr. Bacon, PhD in Freedom & Responsibility

The big question: Is there a God? And, ultimately, what difference does it make? My religious experience is as weird as it is rich and full. I understand the concept of faith because as a youth, I had it. The strong belief in something without requiring proof. I knew as surely as I knew anything that God was there and that when I prayed, I was talking to God. In the years since, my faith has degraded to hope, and even that is sketchy. The simple and certain fact is that if there is no God, it doesn’t matter. There would be no eternity of regret or happiness, nor anything else of a cognitive nature. It would simply be lights out. The possibilities, on the other hand, if there is a God, are endless, from an eternity of bliss, to becoming one with all others, depending on the faith you follow. But in terms of how it affects us here in the life we know, whether there actually is a God or not, makes no difference. Millions of prayers offered by the most pious among us, go unanswered. Rush Limbaugh dies of cancer, Islam continues to expand and grow, millions die of starvation, thousands of children go missing, still, the praying continues.

Whaever the reality may be in terms of God’s actual existance, the belief in a God, is, on the other hand, a completely different matter. We’ve recently been going through a period during which the belief in God has been fading significantly. A period that illuminates for us the value that resides in belief. Consider the ideology that has spread worldwide, which we refer to as “liberalism,” although it has nothing to do with what liberalism is. The father of classic liberalism was John Locke, an English philosopher from the late 1600s. His was a concept that emphasizes individual rights, liberty, and the cooperation of the governed. Where modern “liberalism” differs from his ideal rests in his idea that our rights are natural. (Recommended reading: “Two Treatises of Government ~John Locke) Locke listed the right to life, liberty, and property. Thomas Jefferson substituted happiness for property to extend importance to matters beyond personal wealth. In classical liberalism, these rights were seen as granted by God and thereby beyond the authority of government to remove or modify them. Modern liberals, on the other hand, have a much more complex view, but place government at the head of not only protecting and distributing these rights, but in deciding what these rights are. They being defined and directed by one’s government. A concept that is imperative in the promotion of communism, thus the importance of atheism in the ideologies of Marx, Lenin, Castro, Stalin, Che Guevara…

While moving away from the Godly premise in terms of rights, we also moved away from Godly concepts in terms of behavior. With no God and no scriptural significance to sway us, things like population lose spiritual significance. Rather than spiritual entities, people have nothing to elevate themselves above anything else. Thus your little girl has no more value than a canary, outside of your personal feelings towards her. Abortion, rather than being the sin of murdering unborn human beings, is sold as a positive. Good for the mothers, good for the child who might be born to negative circumstances, and good for society at large. Since 1973 well over 65 million unborn children have been murdered in America alone! Over  20 million worldwide so far this year! We have leftist politicians working to force American taxpayers to fund abortions worldwide! 

We also have the very people who claim an affinity for feminism supporting the prejudiced action of allowing men to compete against women in athletics. Somehow, they labor under the illusion that a man wanting to be a woman makes it so. It is both amusing and horrifying that liberals asked to define and describe what a woman is. can’t (won’t) do so. “A woman is anyone who wants to be a woman.” To these amazing geniuses, X and Y chromosomes are irrelevant. Being a woman, to them has nothing to do with the ability to have a baby, nothing to do with the menstrual cycle, and nothing to do with having a vagina.

I love watching Charlie Kirk interviewing students on university campuses, asking the question, “What is a woman?” Very rarely does one of them come up with an answer that has anything to do with reality. To the children on our university campuses, a woman is a person who calls him/her/itself a woman. They do have the wisdom to note that calling oneself a walrus is absurd, but that absurdity ends when it comes to the difference between men and women. Who would’ve imagined a time in which, or a population for whom, defining what a woman would become so difficult? 

Another of the great mysteries is teaching children that they can and should choose their sex. Allowing children who are too young to know what sexual preference is, or even to care about it, and convincing them that they should be the sex that they aren’t. Jimmy plays with Barbie dolls so, obviously, we much cut off his penis and put him on a hormone regimen, doing irreparable damage to the child upon whom it is applied. Turning little girls into boys presents a much more complicated problem, but that doesn’t stop ‘em.

This absurd concept that there is no real difference between men and women brings us to the ludicrous position we are in right now, in which men are allowed to compete against women in sports! Thus we have women’s athletic records be crushed by men pretending to be women. A concept so absurd it’s not only difficult for a rational, cognative person to comprehend, it is dangerous for the female athletes being forced to compete against men. The solution seems simple, just refuse to compete. However we are talking about girls whose life’s ambition has been to compete. To simply sit out events is out of the question. Her athletic record is corrupted, and beyond that, in the bizarre Marxist educational world we suffer with today, these ladies are punished! We have cases here in America in which a female athlete who refused to compete against a man has been disqualified! 

All of this is as pure a form of discrimination as one could imagine. This fits in nicely with the history of the demonicrat party in America, which entered the Civil War to keep Black Americans in slavery. Who fought to keep both Black and female Americans from voting. Who went to absurd lengths in the attempt to stop the passage of the Civil Rights Amendments. Going as far as using firehoses and attack dogs against children! Of course, they now claim that Republicans have since become Demonicrats and vice versa in one of the most easily disprovable lies ever foisted upon American society.

“Some are evil, some are stupid, some are evil AND stupid… There exist people on earth who are just plain evil, who will destroy other people’s lives for their own personal gain.  That describes the Democratic Party leadership” (Mark Lewis – townhall.com). There are those, including me, who feel like this evil is inspired by something rather dark and of a purely spiritual nature. Were there some way to apply logic to the absurdities, the battle against civil rights, the boys can be girls nonsense, the drive to abort as many children as possible, but there is no sane logic to apply. As an old biker (NO, not the spandex variety), I’m not one you’d expect to see things from a religious perspective, but I don’t know where else to look. When I refer to them as demonic-rats, it’s well beyond humorous mudslinging, it’s the only suitable logic I can see. 

Don’t get me wrong, as an academic, I became friends with many demonicrats who seem to be fine and intelligent people, but they all have one thing in common. While they get along with me very well (I’m guessing that has something to do with me being a long haired, disabled hippie in a wheelchair), they won’t even attempt to discuss their liberal viewpoints. They just roll their eyes, say, “oh Bacon,” and walk away. These aren’t mean, evil, or stupid people, as one would expect them to be based on the ideology they support. They are fine, wonderful people.

Interestingly, as a biker, I’ve had a lot of friends who are genuine outlaws, yet their political ideology is quite the opposite of that of the academics. They organize in groups to support ideals such as Bikers Against Child Abuse, and Bikers for Trump (both of which I’m a member of). The concepts the liberals hold are looked upon as a joke. There is no way a male biker would compete against a woman in a physical competition, with the possible exception of drinking whiskey. It doesn’t take much imagination to visualize the biker reaction to the sexual mutilation of children!

Which of these groups would a belief in God affect? And, what effect would that have upon this country? And what are we to do? Pray!

~Bacon

Don’t miss the opportunity. Work from home!

Biblical Ponderations

Posted on by Dr. Bacon, PhD in Freedom & Responsibility

Tis rather odd that I, a lifelong outlaw who always imagined himself a biker (NO, not the spandex variety), find myself as a writer focusing so much attention on matters Biblical. My upbringing was unusual, to say the least. Born to a non-LDS family in an almost completely LDS town, in an almost completely LDS state. The mystery of it all, distilled by the experiences the situation provoked, left me rather doubtful of, yet fascinated by Biblical concepts. I pendulated toward and away from the religious ideals that were the ideological foundation that my friends and I grew up surrounded by. I ended up quite solidly grounded in the fantasy of being an outlaw. I did have a rather close brush with religion during which I actually and honestly qualified for a Temple Recommend, got “sealed” with my wife, and began attending Temple ceremonies, which ended up scaring me away. Tis a long irrelevant story. In any case, like many who fall away from LDS doctrine, I drifted towards atheism to the point of claiming to be one, which I never was.

My religious evolution led through years of intense study of Christian philosophy and Biblical study, yet my level of doubt left me an agnostic, all of which guided me toward my interest in and study of folklore (BS in creative writing, MA in Humanities/Folklore, PhD in Humanities/Mythology and Occultism). 

My interest in politics in the form of classical liberalism is inherent. John Locke, the father of liberalism, who wouldn’t recognize the “liberalism” being promoted on our university campuses and our media (propagandia), hugely inspired our Founders. John Locke’s justification of revolt was based on what he perceived as our natural rights. The tasty concept that our rights are inherent and not granted by a government. Our Declaration of Independence can be said to have condensed Locke’s fundamental argument into a few hundred words. It also reveals the true nature of the Founders, which was based on Christianity and/or deism. From the highly spiritual proposition of our Declaration of Independence, the founders moved on to secularism in setting up the boundaries of our government, the Constitution.

Be that as it may, my political interest led me to a deeper consideration of the motivations behind what I see as one of the most corrupt, self-interested organizations on the planet, the Democrat party. Whatever one thinks of Judeo-Christian concepts, the Democrat party is organized against those concepts. A civil war to maintain slavery, A battle to restrict Black and female Americans from voting, the Trail of Tears, the Palmer Raids, Japanese internment camps, fire hoses and dogs used against children during the demonicrat fight against civil rights for Black America, the list goes on and on. And currently, the battle to support, finance and expand abortion; girls can be boys and boys can be girls, and we’ll cut off penises and administer hormone treatments to children too young to know or care about sexual preference; men allowed to compete against women in athletic events, what the Hell logic or rational justifies any of that?

An important consideration, which is an element of all existence, is that nothing happens without cause. Darwin’s finches adapted for a reason that had nothing to do with the ideological concept of evolution. The finches didn’t become snails, nor did lizards become finches. There are a lot of nonsensical explanations for the Civil War, i.e., States’ rights, but it was fought in the attempt to maintain slavery. From there, the democrats (I’ll refer to them as demonicrats) moved on to attempting to prohibit Black and female Americans from voting, the development of the KKK to bring their racist discrimination to a new, and even lower, level. Wherever my agnosticism had taken me, it became obvious that there had to be an evil involved that is beyond simple ignorance and stupidity. A hatred from outside the realm of human reasoning. As one investigates the mystery, it becomes apparent that, like it or not, Satan fits the bill quite nicely.

In light of that concept, the absurdities begin to make more sense. There is absolutely no logic nor justification for sexually mutilating children too young to know or care about sexual preference. It is certainly a pure evidence of the presence of an evil force driving people to an absurdity no imagination is likely to muster on its own.

All of which illuminates the irrational hatred held by demonicrats and others for Donald Trump. Before his first run, he was respected and held in a positive light by most Americans, but after his trip down the escalator, he found himself in a world of hatred difficult to comprehend. A hatred that has come to be called “Trump derangement syndrome.” As a political commentator, I spend hours interacting with people who hate Donald Trump, and in all these interactions, I push for some logic. “Why do you hate Donald Trump?” “What has he done that justifies you despising him as you do?” In nine years, in hundreds of discussions, I’ve not gotten a single logical explanation. Plenty of name-calling, “he’s a liar,” “he’s a misogynist,” “he’s a fascist,” (most not knowing what a fascist is), “he’s a threat to democracy,” “he’s an egotistical asshole,” but in all that time, not a single attempt at an actual explanation. In any non-political exchange, such is not the case. Most people can explain why they don’t like the Beatles without employing insults.

Which brings us back to the Biblical aspect of all of this. On October 6, Israelis were living in a time of peace. A time that was obliterated by the horrendous, inhumane terrorist attack on October 7. “For I will give the command, and I will shake the people of Israel among all the nations as grain is shaken in a sieve, and not a pebble will reach the ground.” (Amos 9:9) “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3) And what is going on in the world today? What will become of the leftist anti-Semites on our university campuses? The anti-Semites in our Congress?

And the desperately hated Donald Trump delivers unwavering support for Israel. “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15) The way of demonicrats seems rather obviously inspired from below.

~Bacon

Don’t miss the opportunity. Work from home!

Tolerance

Posted on by Dr. Bacon, PhD in Freedom & Responsibility

Sadly, I’ve been pretty intolerant of what I refer to as “demonicrats.” The fact is that as an academic, I’ve been surrounded by commie-libs a great deal of the time. While I still believe the father of the demonicrat religion is Satan, that doesn’t make his followers evil so much as misguided, and I can think of no exceptions to the fact that my commie-lib friends, and yes, I’ve even got family who are members, are magnificent, caring, and loving people.

I’ve attempted to get various people to explain what it is that attracts them to the faith. So far, not even one has attempted to make an explanation. They say, “Oh Bacon,” roll their eyes and move forward in their arena of ideology. When I get specific, “what’s the deal with abortion?” they get angry. No specifics, just anger. “Reproductive freedom?” What the Hell is that? The right to have sex and murder the result? I suppose it is unfortunate that a woman becomes responsible for a life other than her own when she becomes pregnant, but that is indeed the case. More respect is given to an adopted pup than to an unborn human being.

Forgetting about all the obvious and healthy organizations working specifically for Satan, what’s going on is nothing new. Dante’s poem, “The Divine Comedy,” tracks a descent through nine levels of Hell. Many of the figures in his poem were real life politicians of his day. More than 200 people were executed for witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trial era. Religious persons doing the devil’s work. Daniel Defoe, famous for “Robinson Crusoe,” also wrote, “The Political History of the Devil,” where he claims that Lucifer manipulates world events and politics both in his own form and by possessing the minds and bodies of his allies. He saw the Catholic Church as friends and coworkers of the devil, and held the Crusades as evidence.

At the head of this argument lies the question, does Satan exist? Like most everything in the spiritual world, we don’t, and can’t, know. The evidence, however, seems rather potent. Look at what’s happening in our “liberal” world. It’s very moniker, “liberal” is stolen from a purely capitalistic and free-market oriented ideology which they’ve bastardized into the complete opposite of that defining principle. Looking at Biblical principles, liberalism is steadfastly against them all. The Democrat party’s number one apparent principle, they refer to as “reproductive rights,” which I and the Bible, see not as a right, rather a series of responsibilities.

Assuming, as I do, that there is a Satan, doesn’t leave us in the dark. The debate we undergo today which ridicules spirituality of a deistic nature, hasn’t always been the case, thus history of the concept of Satan is ample. To begin with, a title he has earned, The Father of Lies: John tells us that Satan “has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44). Satan disguises himself in illusions of righteousness and light. “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). One of the factors of Marxism which make it so dangerous is it’s denial of the existence of God, which it replaces with the existence of government which it predicts will devolve itself out of existence. I know, I know, absurd. 

Those who don’t believe in any of this find themselves victim to another of Satan’s majesties, he blinds the minds of unbelievers. Thus he not only spreads the lies, he hides the truth. The result of which we so commonly see around us in the world today, a ridicule of the concept of righteousness. The concept of being morally correct and justifiable is seen as jocular by people who, for example place no value on the core aspects of ones given sexuality. “He plays with Barbie dolls so it’s apparent we should remove his penis. She likes to climb trees so we must perform the most absurd form of surgery to give her a penis (a weird non functional version of one) and a full course of hormone treatments.” All of this while knowing that once having gone through puberty this sexual curiosity typically comes to a natural end. In spite of the decades of women’s rights battles, we now have men competing against women in athletic competitions! What could be more absurd and repercussive? If the trend continues, I’m afraid we’ll soon find out.

All of which brings me back to the bottom line, my commie-lib friends are magnificent, caring, and loving people, so how does it come to this? In looking at human behavior regardless of religious backgrounds we all have our own natural desires and weaknesses, and it is these things that Satan uses against us. Innocent desires such as the need for food or companionship can easily be twisted into overindulgence or unhealthy relational dependence. We all have specific weaknesses which vary greatly from one person to another and which tend to appear in the form of hunger for action which the righteous would consider sinful. One of the principle aspects of our weakness, ironically, lives in our ego and pride, which above all else can easily lead us to justify feeding the fire of Hell, as it were. Even the most righteous of us live in a world of such impressions as “my church is true,” “Pope Francis gives us the word of God.” “I’m right and you’re wrong.” Along with the simple truth that agnosticism or even atheism are also religions just as potent as whatever faith one choses.

So, it all boils down to a trait I’m lacking, tolerance. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another” (John 13:34). “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). “And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’” (Matthew 22:39). Our hope boils down to faith in our reward. So, no matter how bizarre it may seem there is purpose in our divide. Political differences bring out the best and the worst in us. Perhaps an exercise in utilizing his advice, “quick to listen,” and “slow to speak.” “But Jesus knew their thoughts, and said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.’” 

Thus the answer is not hatred nor belittlement, it is conversion. Which brings to mind an experience from fifty years ago. A time at which my political ideology was yet to become a serious consideration. I’d recently heard Rush Limbaugh on the radio (another marvelous story) who had introduced me ideologically to one of his principle inspirations, William F. Buckley, Jr. Shortly after that, I heard Buckley was going to give a presentation at U.S.U. which I attended. His presentation was amazing and miles away from what I expected; such as his opposition to the drug war! After his presentation he did a question and answer session with the students. This was where my eyes were opened. The student would ask a question and Buckley would ponder it with obvious interest and say something like, “I see your point, but,” and here he would give a thoroughly grounded and unemotional response which made the student’s proposal look completely absurd, and this he did without being offensive in any way. I don’t know how this affected others there, but for me this, combined with the absolutely inhumane treatment I’d seen directed at veterans returning from Vietnam, resulted in an absolute conversion to conservatism which has been amplified by everything I’ve witnessed in the political and ideological world ever since.

As a natural born rebel and an outlaw, both ideologically and genetically, tolerance is not an aspect of my nature.

The Mirror’s Verdict (Author Unknown)

I stand before the mirror, a judge most stern,
Scrutinizing every flaw, every turn.
The reflection stares back, a stranger’s face,
Searching for beauty, for a hint of grace.
Society’s standards loom large and tall,
A mountain to climb, an impossible wall.
But in this glass, I seek a kinder view,
A glimpse of the self that I know is true.
Beyond the surface, beneath the skin,
Lies a spirit yearning to be let in.
Acceptance whispers, a gentle breeze,
“Embrace your uniqueness, set yourself free.”
So I reach out, touch the cool reflection,
And begin the journey of self-connection.
For in this struggle, this daily fight,
I’ll learn to see my own inner light.

~Bacon

Don’t miss the opportunity offer!

But Who to Thank?

Posted on by Dr. Bacon, PhD in Freedom & Responsibility, Poet, Ya, I Am

Image

Some of us are thankful for freedom

Others for big brother’s purse.

I’m thankful for Jefferson’s wisdom

And thankful things aren’t even worse.

I’m thankful for my little sister

Souls bleed but this is obverse.

Children, grandchildren, the National Anthem

The ability to converse.

To who is it we are to be thankful?

Who was it that lit the big bang?

What was it that up and exploded?

From what origin does that one hang?

Jesus? God? Allah?

Or is it Caballa?

Perhaps just a useful harangue.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter

The fact is that thanks does exist.

Whatever it is, this “creator”

Will not go by me unkissed.

I guess it’s not odd if I call it God

And I’m thankful too for this tryst.

~Bacon