Assuming you do not understand betting saloon wagering, you’ll find more about this topic here — Generally speaking a gaming establishment is a house that organizes games. Guests are invited to relax going for slot machines or a slew of other games of luck. Betting house games ordinarily have well calculated probabilities constituting them that maintain that the gambling hall keeps up its over the gamers.

A large number gaming room games can incite you into being habituated quickly. We can look at the famous slot-machine, a coin operated appliance with 3 or more drums which pivot when a crank affixed to it is tugged. This gadget by and large pays up with reference to a combination of pictures perceptible on the information screen of the machine. Lamentably, gambling house pastimes tend to push the illusion of control, tricking the player — the participant is endowed judgments, but actually they won’t ever realistically nix the player’s statistical odds. This is precipitated by the betting room never refunding the full stake as expected. This process is repeatedly noticeable in popular casino games like seven card stud, dice, roulette or blackjack.

Five-card stud is genuinely a very fashionable casino game. The gaming aficionados, playing with guarded hands, make bets into a central pot that is ultimately paid out to the last gamester in possession of the winning set of cards. (As everybody knows, the shameless bluffing hand may well prevail too.) Much the same as seven-card stud poker, blackjack is also a highly fashionable casino game. A generous portion of its reputation is owed to the mix of luck and cunning and choice making, and a system called “counting”. The aforementioned is a pretty complex strategy in which gamers can actually turn the probabilities of the game to give them the upper hand by both wagering and systematic decisions correlating with the cards deployed.

“Craps” is another well-known wagering game based on the roll of two dice. Players are betting on the score of one cycle, or on a succession of spins on 2 dice. In contrast to blackjack, there is no available bona fide winner system punters could profit by to improve the odds. Roulette is another crowd pulling casino game of luck — a croupier twists a roulette wheel accomodating a set of precisely thirtyseven (European roulette) or precisely thirtyeight (as in American roulette) uniquely tagged chambers in which the rolling ball will settle, thus revealing the winning number If our gamer wagers on a particular number which wins meaning they’ve got a lucky hand, the guaranteed ward is 35:1, the wager proper is paid back. Thus in total the pledge itself is multiplied by a factor of thirty-six.

It’s recommended that you try to be very much wary however, for such casino betting games are indisputably addiction forming. So many lives have probably been wasted as a result of gambling & even if it surely might be entertaining, try to govern your gaming.

internet gambling

The Passion of The Christ has caused a lot of discussions. Some people accuse the film to be anti-Semitic or that it has the potential to incite hatred and violence towards Jews. Other people object mainly to Mel Gibson’s gruesome depiction of Jesus Christ’s last 12 hours on earth in his latest film: The Passion Of The Christ. Though these are of importance, we should not allow Christ’s main message to drown and be set aside in favor of our discussions of religion, politics, film-comparisons, film-critiques and censorship. We should take this opportunity to remember what it was that Jesus Christ died for. Perhaps we can re-think and re-learn the message He may have been trying to tell us two thousand years ago.

I would have preferred this paper to discuss only the main teaching of Christ and how it relates to us today; however I feel that I should address the two most popular discussions regarding the film before I can continue on. Was it anti-Semitic? I don’t believe the film was anti-Semitic. The Jews had to make a decision then and they did it no differently to how we, as a society, conduct our affairs today. In the latter part of this document, I argue that there is no reason for non-Jews to blame the Jews for what had happened. Was the gore and violence of the film appropriate? Yes. I think that the gore and violence of the film was important in illustrating the sacrifice that Jesus had to make, and was willing to take, so that we would understand what he had been trying to tell us all along. The pain and suffering he had endured shows the amount of strength that is required to love - completely and truly.

Regardless of what your religious beliefs are, or whether you have a religion or not, let me first ask you to assume, just for this paper, to forget religion. Forget the notion that Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Forget the notion that he was sent here by a Divine Power. Let us just assume that he was a mortal man, made of flesh and blood, just like you and me. He saw the world differently however. He interpreted information, his experiences and his emotions differently to how most of us process our internal and external environments. As a result, he gained immense wisdom and knowledge beyond the comprehension of most of us. He tried to tell us something. He tried to share with us what he knew.

The main teachings of Jesus Christ revolve around the core idea of LOVE. Love everything. Love everybody. Even your enemies! If they hit you on one cheek, turn the other cheek. Like Buddha’s message: Do NOT do unto others what you would NOT like others do unto you. Be compassionate towards all beings. That was what they taught: LOVE.

He believed that it is the only philosophy that will allow us all to achieve harmony and happiness in our universe and in our lives. No amount of hate should be allowed every day and in every way that we conduct ourselves. No matter what happens, we must not hate or wish malicious thoughts towards anything or anybody.

To spread that message, he spoke about it when he could, where he could. People flocked to the mountains and in the temples where he preached. A lot of his ideas fascinated people. They were new, bizarre and sometimes his ideas went against basic human instincts and the prevailing beliefs that people had at the time. He was a leader, like a shepherd guiding his herd of sheep. He led with utmost integrity.

We have had a lot of leaders in the past, now and we will continue to follow them in the future. They tell us one thing but they do not have the strength and courage it takes to refuse to do another. They contradict themselves and their ideals.

Is it only our leaders, celebrities and other prominent members of our society - whom we read about in the papers - who are at fault? No. Their faults are our faults. How is that? Because we still believe that it is OK to hate or express negative emotions towards others whom we feel have done us wrong or will do us wrong. We, as people, still exhibit little signs of compassion, consideration, thoughtfulness and understanding towards other people and other beings.

We experience negative emotions towards other people when they mock us, when they ridicule us, when they bully us, when they humiliate us, when they deny us justice or fairness, when they torture us, when they kill or threaten to kill our loved ones, or when they deny us anything else that we consider to be our ‘human rights’.

“Of course”, we say. “That’s natural!”

That is exactly my point! Jesus Christ had to endure all that and yet he had gone through his last twelve hours without displaying any signs of anger, hatred, disappointment, greed or fear. In fact, during his crucifixion, he still asked that his enemies be forgiven for they knew not what they were doing. Who among us has the courage, strength and wisdom to be able to accept our predicaments like that?

Jesus Christ has shown us that we must love even our enemies, be wise enough to increase our capacity to understand and show compassion towards all beings…regardless of what happens.

The Jews at the time had to make a decision: to kill Jesus or not. What would have been the right thing for them to do? They did not know. If you were a common person in the streets of Jerusalem at that time and you were asked what you would like to happen to Jesus, what would you have said? For a lot of people, the information they had of Jesus Christ was very sketchy. He was whispered to be The Messiah. He had many controversial ideas but he seemed very wise and he had helped ease the misery of a lot of people. At the same time, Jesus was also accused of being a liar, a madman, a witch and a blasphemer. He had made Lazarus come back to life, walked on water and he had turned water into wine. Would you have believed those miracles? If they were not true, why would people have made them up? If they were true then definitely, Jesus was no ordinary man. And if he had powers like that, what else was he capable of doing? What if he was the Devil in disguise? Maybe it was right that he be killed while his threat could still be subdued. There were so many people chanting for his death. Surely their reasoning would not have been baseless.

It was not an easy decision for any person or any group of people to make. Even Pontius Pilate who was in a position to have all the information in the land to make a decision, was torn what to do with Jesus. Pilate was like the President of the United States, with all the advisers, intelligence agencies and reporters at his disposal. Yet, he did not know what he was supposed to do.

The decision came to pass to crucify Jesus. The High Priests were threatened of him. Pontius Pilate weighed his decision and allowed the people to make the choice for him. Those who were most vocal and more aggressive in their belief that Jesus Christ ought to die, got their way that day. There may have been people who probably felt strongly against it but they were not willing or able to do anything to stop it. Others were not there probably because they allowed themselves to be in a position where they knew too little information to have an opinion at a time when it was crucial that they did. Sadly, many may not just have cared.

Think of all current issues we face. There are some of us who choose FOR or AGAINST a motion. Others do not choose, however, by not choosing, they have also made a choice. As one global voice, we are all divided in our opinions towards most of these issues. And only with hindsight, can we truly assess the impact of the choices we have made. It is the same dilemma that the Jews faced then.

Should we look outside ourselves to see whom we can blame for the killing of Jesus? No. The Jews killed Jesus, a fellow Jew, but how different are we when we kill or hurt our own? How different are we when we allow others to suffer because it was not our problem or because we did not yet know enough about the problem?

Added with our inability to be wiser than we are to accept and feel compassion towards all beings, it was our ‘human nature’ to hate and inflict pain and suffering on others that crucified Jesus Christ. That ‘human nature’ still remains unchanged even after two thousand years. What Jerusalem was then is what the world is now. And it will be that way forever…until we change.

Marquez Comelab is the author of the book: The Part-Time Currency Trader. It is a guide for working men and women interested in trading currencies in the forex market. It explains everything you need to know to create your own trading methodology; touching on the basics and preparation before expanding onto the topics of market analysis, tools, trading systems, risk management strategies, discipline and psychology. See: http://marquezcomelab.com. His other articles can also be found at http://thefreedomtochoose.com; along with other helpful trading, business, investing and self-improvement articles.

Christians with chronic illness need to know there is a source for healing beyond secular medicine that does not follow the pattern or knowledge of this world. That source is spiritual and comes from God! But there is a problem. Millions of Christians are being robbed the gift of spiritual healing through spiritual malpractice.

Numerous Christian traditions (doctrines) hold that the time of miraculous healing, spiritual healing, or by whatever name it is known by, is over. These traditions claim the time of divine healing, anointing with oil and laying on of hands ended when the last Apostle died. With this kind of teaching, no wonder there is so much confusion, sickness and suffering.

Those who make the claim that God no longer intervenes in this world through spiritual healing need to ask themselves one question. From who did this claim originate, God or Satan? If from God, then His will be done. But what if this teaching is not from God? Suppose it is from Satan whispering in the ear of man that God has ended spiritual healing. What then? What is the consequence of believing and teaching such a doctrine?

Such a doctrine and Church leaders who proclaim it would be responsible for denying millions of chronically ill Christians the gift of spiritual healing. For elders, pastors and Church clergy are all charged with the spiritual oversight of their flocks. The doctrines they teach have real consequences.

Spiritual Malpractice:

Canon Mark Pearson, author of Christian Healing, put it this way, “To keep the ministry of healing from God’s people because it happens not to interest Church leaders of a given congregation is as much spiritual malpractice as it would be medical malpractice for a hospital to refuse to treat heart attacks because the staff preferred only to treat pneumonia.”

Spiritual malpractice is a serious charge, because those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). More importantly, think of the millions of people who may have gone to an early grave, all because they believed God no longer heals.

The Church today is but a shadow of the godly influence it once enjoyed, due largely to the unclean spirit that whispered in the ear of man that God is out of the healing business. It is a lie from the father of lies.

Creating Confusion::

Many Church leaders today teach that healing must be instantaneous, something that is immediate to be called a miracle. But God’s Word does not limit spiritual healing to the instantaneous. The word “miracle” simply means of divine or supernatural intervention. All healing is divine and miraculous by its nature (Exodus 15:26).

The view held that spiritual healing must be instantaneous to be a miracle has led many Christians to abandon their faith in God to heal altogether. They reason: Almost no one is instantly healed of chronic illness; therefore, whatever healing may occur must happen through physical means beyond the direct intervention of God. Can you see the fallacy here?

Without the direct intervention of God, could there be healing of any kind? God’s Holy Word tells us that God is Yehovah-rapha, God our healer. But just for a moment, imagine that God has turned His back on healing the sick.

You fall sick with illness. The doctors tell you there is nothing more they can do. You are not expected to survive. What a bleak picture! Not because the doctors tell you that they can’t help you, but because God is out of the picture.

Friend, this is what happens many times a day in churches all across the land: Churches turn the sick in the body of Christ out to the world. God has not abandoned His children as their healer; Churches have abandoned God as our healer!

When the teachers of the law wanted to know by what power or name the Apostle, Peter, administered spiritual healing to a crippled man, Peter replied…

“It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed…Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” - Acts 4:10-12 (NIV)

Notice that Peter made no distinction between the man’s healing and salvation, because both are found in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (the Gospel). Although the men Peter addressed did not want to believe him, they nevertheless understood his statement. Why can’t we? Peter said this man was healed, not because he (Peter) is an Apostle, one of a select group of men, but because of the healing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

What a statement! This is the crux of the cross, the absolute beginning and end for all healing, be it physical or spiritual. Nothing has happened to change this truth since Peter spoke those words 2,000 years ago. For just as God intends freedom from oppression for all mankind, so too is God’s intention for spiritual healing through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Jim Lynn is the publisher of God’s Healing Word, a free newsletter, and author of the book, “The Miracle of Healing in Your Church Today.” Visit: http://godshealingword.org

Where does one stand when others will not listen? The thought on an issue is so diverse the reality you state sounds like any other statement. The ideal you give is buried and considered to be at best an opinion. When all others you meet states a truth you know in your heart is a lie but they don’t accept your fact? You give to them the facts of your side of the matter. Still they reject its validity and retain their viewpoint of the issue. How does one change the reality of their statements, which to them is as gold? The faith conveyed in their views as a secure home with comforts. The thought to them of releasing the grip on that believed a betrayal to their well being. The end result of any effort by you is fear to them. The fear summoning forth anger that drives to terminate the giver of the outside view. Isn’t this the cup, which hung Jesus on the cross? The story fact which destroyed the prophets of old?

Alexander Coppedge TPAC manager www.tpacmindfood.com

Thou Shalt Not
Romans 2:19-2:20 (NIV, NIRV, TNIV, KJV)

Thou Shalt Not. Have you ever read the Ten Commandments and paused at the words, “Thou Shalt Not?”I have read many an artical condemning Ministers for speaking out against, sin, unrighteousness, life styles contrary to the Commandments of God and Christ, and believe it or not, these condemnations are coming not from the unsaved but the Christian. So I thought about the scriptures and the words “Thou Shalt Not?” Words have become a weapon for many who don’t understand the “Thou Shalt Not of scripture, such as, “Love one another, Judge not that ye shall not be judged, God loves everyone, Jesus loves all man so let the LIFESTYLES of those people be allright.I don’t understand why Preachers use specific passages in the Bible to make their point,Preachers are either Far Right or Far Left,We cant single out organizations because of what they believe and teach, people of alternate lifestyles can be Christians too.” Words,Words,Words. Many are using the Word of God to justify the unrighteousness of others, so lets see some words from God. Mark 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye. Matthew 15:3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? Matthew 22:35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,………
Rom 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Rom 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Rom 2:25 For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Rom 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
Rom 2:27 And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?
Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Mat 22:38 This is the first and great commandment. “Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, “Thou shalt not…..”:
Mat 19:18 ……. Jesus said, Thou shalt do no….., Thou shalt not……, Thou shalt not……, Thou shalt not……, Lets look a little closer at some of Gods Words.
1. Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition. Have many Christians, as did the Pharisies, become wrapped up in Traditions. Not looking into scripture any further that the Crucification and Resurrection of Christ. Have they stopped at Salvation and Baptism and neglected the Weightier matters of The Gospel of Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ does not stop at John. The Gospel of Jesus starts at Genesis and ends with Revelations. 2.which ye have delivered. Many Christians are making the Mistake of allowing others, whom are lost, to live alternate lifestyles and alternate religions, without speaking out against the unrighteousness and sinfulness of their choices, not trying to warn them of the consequences of their actions. Mankind has the right to make His own choice, weather to believe or not to believe in Gods word, but Jesus commanded us to warn them, not to keep silent or fight for them to remain lost. Thats right, I said, Fight for them to remain Lost.When Christians dictate to the Ministers of God, what to preach and what not to Preach, we become Transgressers of the Law of God.
3.transgress the commandment of God What are the Commandments of God, are they guidelines for Christians to live by or are they points that can be changed or debated among ourselves? We Cannot follow after the Traditions of Man, we are only subject to the Laws of Man that are Lawful to us, that do not deter us from worshiping God. Lets read a little from Isaiah. Isaiah 1:16-21 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land:
But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD.” God is asking the Same thing today, in this time of Debate, Uproar, Division and Indecision. Our Lord wants all to come to Him, sit down with His Words and Reason with Him on what His commandments and Laws are for Salvation and Propagation of The Gospel. Reason with Him on what we as Christians are supposed to be doing, and especially on what we are not to be doing, that the Gospel be not Blamed.
4.tempting him, Satan tempeted Jesus time and time again, His temptation of Christ did not stop at the discussions in the wilderness, as some are led to believe, but thru the entire Life of Jesus up to and including His Crusifiction. We as Christians are tempted each and every day to fight for equal rights for lifestyles that are against the Commandments of God, that we are bound to uphold. We cannot express views to the world that are contrary to the Word of God, that we hold sacred. By doing so we become a partaker of their sin and there- by become transgressers of the Law. Reference Matthew 4:1 -11., Luke 4:1-13. Look at the words in Luke 4:13, ….”for a season” Phi 1:17 But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel. 5.An instructor of the foolish, Going against the will of God for His Children make us a teacher of the foolish and a teacher of false doctrine. 6.form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. Many that are trying to use the words, “Judge not and Love one another, to justify unrighteousness, have a form of knowledge and only a small grasp of the truth in Gods word.
7. Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
8. Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? 9.thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
10. breaking the law dishonourest thou God? Are those that speak out for the civil rights of others to live an un-godly life actually dishonoring God? Let me ask a question to everyone here that disagree with me this day, What would have happened to the City of Nineveh, and its people, if Jonah had stood up for the rights of the people to live un-godly? Was not the Commandment of God to Jonah to Cry against it?
Jonah 1:2 Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. Jonah 3:3 So Jonah arose, and went unto Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days’ journey.
Jonah 3:4 And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown. Jonah 3:9 Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?
Jonah 3:10 And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not. Is not our commandment from God today, to “cry against it; ” Shout loud against,evil,unrighteousness,traditions of man, Cry against the spirit of anti-christ, shout atop the house tops that the wrath of God will be against all that reject Jesus as His Son, that the wrath of God will be against all that reject the lifestyle that God ordained, that the wrath of God will be against all that refuse to believe His Word. What would have happened to Nineva if Jonah didn’t shout a warning to repent of their lifestyle? God would have destroyed it from the top to the bottom with fire and total destruction. And what of Jonah, The blood of all, men, women and Children, would have been on His hands. We today, as with Jonah, are not judging people but we as with him are crying against their evil. If crying out the warning, if putting a light on the spirit of anti-christ, if standing up against ungodliness, makes me a judge, then I am Guilty, if you also do these things then consider yourself also guilty.Then if you consider us guilty, consider Jesus and God , Himself, guilty for standing up and being herd, for proclaiming that no unrighteousness, no sin, nothing that speaks a lie, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. So in conclusion, the next time you read the words,”Thou Shalt Not” remember what you have heard here today, don’t waver from the truth but stand up and declair,That God is God and Jesus is The Son of God and Thou shalt not means exactly what it says. ars. This is a Letter responce I had written to a regional newspaper. Why was, Sodom,Gomorrah,Admah,Zeboim,Lasha, The Roman Empire,Hitler, just to name a few, Destroyed By God? Was it because He just didnt like them or was it because, their sin and unrightiousness became intollerable in Gods sight? John said; For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Lifestyle, sexual preference and “Judge not that you be not judged” have become words used by many as excuses to ignore the truth. If stateing the truth is judgment then I am guilty. If all I can do in this life is to warn people of the spirit of antichrist then my life is worth giveing. Which would be a greater sin, ignoreing the spirit of antichrist or speaking out against it? Does Jesus hate? Yes.Look at Revelations 2:1 thru 3:22. When Israel was obedient to God they flurished, when they were disobedient they were punished. Far right far left are just words, which was God? Are we to judge God on His Rightiousness on His Laws or are we to warn people of His Wrath?Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! Isaiah 5:20,21

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Sermons International
www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/

Are you like many older adult males? Noticing your area around the middle is inflating or just drifting due south. Is there too much stomach for too little pants waist? Are you understanding that your years of TV and remote control, devouring snacks and chugging brews has finally done you in, and you are wearing love handles? Have you lost your 6 pack abs? You are not alone in this kettle of fish and there is hope for you.

If you want to melt away the big belly to reveal the muscle you should start some abs workouts (http://absworkout.biz). This is advantageous for both sexes as better abs result in fewer lower back problems. When you tone up one you fortify the other. There are simple exercises to get rid of the love handles, such as sit ups and crunches.

Targeting the lower back just try lying down on the stomach. Raising your feet and knees off of the floor and lightly kicking your legs as if you were swimming. Do repetitions of 15 seconds action, resting 30 seconds.

While you’re at it, why not cut down on the sodium intake. It is accepted to link sodium and salt rich foods with heart troubles and risk of stroke. Sodium can bring on water retention which can in turn add to the tummy fat. Don’t add extra salt to foods and avoid processed foods. A fat tummy can also be diminished by drinking water. Water not only helps to keep the body hydrated, it also aids your body to metabolize stored fat into energy and cuts your appetite.

A great idea would be to stop the boozing to cut caloric intake. Most of us are let down that we can’t use alcoholic drinks to replace water. Alcoholic beverages contain a lot of what is referred to empty calories which have a tendency to get lodged around the stomach area resulting in excessive fat. No need to eliminate alcohol altogether, just keep a tally of the quantity you consume and cut it back; same method as reducing the amount you eat.

“I have a hard time with the concept of God. I was not brought up in a religious family. I believe there is something beyond myself, but I just don’t know how to think of it or experience it.”

“I was brought up in family where God was portrayed as judgmental and punishing. I can’t even hear the word ‘God’ without feeling anxious. How am I supposed to open to God when I believe that God is controlling?”

“How can I believe in God when there are so many bad things that happen to people? If there really is a God, then why does He let these things happen?”

“God as a man just does not work for me. The men in my life have been mostly angry and controlling. I don’t feel safe opening to a male god.”

These are a few of the many comments I hear from my clients as I work with helping them open to a personal source of spiritual guidance.

The New Testament is very clear regarding what God is:

John 4:24
“God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

1 John 4:8
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

1 John 4:16
“God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

John tells us that “God is Spirit” and “God is love.” He tells us that when we are being loving, we are within God and God is within us.

My personal experience is that God is love, peace, joy, and truth, and that God is everywhere, both within us and all around us. When our hearts are open to love, compassion and kindness toward ourselves and others, we experience the fullness of God within us and the safety of being within God.

My experience is that God is always here guiding us toward our highest good. One of the ways I help my clients to access the wisdom that God has for us each and every moment is to imagine a spiritual being that is here just for you. This can be a Teacher, a mentor, a guardian angel, a beloved relative who has passed away, or the highest, wisest part of yourself - your own higher self. By opening to learning with a wise and loving being who wants nothing more than to guide you toward your joy and the full manifestation of yourself, you open to being guided by the love and wisdom of God.

This guidance is your birthright. We were not dumped alone on the planet to fend for ourselves. Yet you will not have an experience of this love and guidance until you open to learning from God. My clients who practice opening to learning with a spiritual source of love and wisdom discover for themselves the truth of God. They are no longer caught in beliefs that do not served them - that God is judgmental, controlling and punishing; that God does not exist; that God will never be there for them personally; that they have to earn God’s love; that God can stop people from harming each other.

You will know God when you open your heart to learning about loving actions toward yourself and others. When your primary intention is to learn about how to love yourself and others, rather than to keep on trying to get love or avoid pain, you will have a personal experience of God.

If the term “God” is a negative trigger for you, then change it to Spirit, or Higher Power, or whatever works for you. God is not a being who cares about a name. God is the ever-present experience of love, compassion, truth, peace and joy that is always available for you whenever you choose to open your heart.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. best-selling author of eight books, and co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: www.innerbonding.com or email her at mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com

Why Do Some Christians Fear Witches?

During my 28 years as a practicing Wiccan, or “witch” if you prefer, I have had occasion to ask myself this difficult question many, many times. With the recent political controversy over the United States Army permitting pagan services to be held on military bases in Texas and around the world, the question suddenly has more than its usual immediacy for me and for my brothers and sisters in Wicca.

First, let me get the usual questions out of the way. Wicca is a real religion, born in the 1950s as a recreation of the Old Religion of Northern Europe, which some believe dates back about 25,000 years. In the mid-1980s, the U.S. Courts accepted Wicca as a legitimate religion and granted us 1st Amendment rights and freedom from taxation. So the point is moot, really. The same U.S. Constitution that protects Christianity protects our religious freedom - and a good thing, too. We are the fastest growing religion of the 20th Century.

We do not believe in an evil deity, and would not worship one if we did. We do not practice human or animal sacrifice. The most sacred commandment our religion demands of us is to harm no one. If you think about that last statement carefully, it pretty well covers most of the Biblical Ten Commandments - the important parts, anyway. Even more important, we do not attempt to convert our friends and neighbors to Wicca. Our faith teaches us that when they are ready for what we have to teach, they will seek us out.

What about me, personally? Am I a New Age nut? Well, that depends on what you mean. I’m an environmentalist, certainly. I am also a feminist. On the other hand, I do not do illegal drugs of any kind. I am a computer technician working for one of the largest employers in the United States. I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer. I am an aspiring science-fiction writer and screenwriter, actively peddling stories and novels to the publishing industry in New York and motion picture scripts to Hollywood. I am a licensed pilot and a licensed aircraft mechanic. I am a licensed private investigator. My favorite hobby is reading physics textbooks, and I apply such knowledge to my science fiction. I am a veteran of the United States Air Force, the United States Air Force Reserve, and the Texas Army National Guard, and during the time I served, I held a top-secret security clearance. I served my country well and was honorably discharged. I’ve been arrested only once in my entire life, as a 17-year-old runaway, and I’ve had a grand total of three traffic tickets in almost thirty years of driving. In what way am I such an evil and dangerous neighbor?

Why have I been forced to practice my religion in secret for most of my life? Why, during my active duty years (early to mid 1970s), was I forced to record “No Pref” on my dog tags? Am I a pacifist? Hardly! Women have never been drafted in the United States, so why would I have enlisted voluntarily (and during the Viet Nam war!) if I were a pacifist?

Why does publishing my real name on this article cause me to risk the loss of my job, vandalism to my home and my car, harm to my animals (and children if I had any)? Does this make any sense to a rational human being?

Where does the knee-jerk hostility to the word “witch” come from?

Not from the word, certainly. “Witch” is a corruption of “witcraft,” or “craft of the wise.” In fact, my religion is sometimes called “The Craft of the Wise,” or just “The Craft.” There is nothing sinister there. Do we practice magic? Yes, most of us do. Do we have supernatural powers? Of course not. Oddly enough, those who believe the practice of magic is so evil are often those who most sincerely believe in faith healing. Just think about that honestly for a moment, and try to explain the difference to me. I’m waiting . . .

Let’s get back to the Craft of the Wise. During the Christian Inquisition, nobody really knows how many accused witches were burned at the stake. It is known, however, that a number of village wise women were accused of witchcraft and burned for curing fevers with nasty stuff like moldy bread. Were they followers of the Old Religion? Probably - although I wasn’t there, and I honestly have no idea. Were they wise? You bet they were! Did you ever hear of penicillin? How many centuries of medical knowledge were lost because of a bunch of frightened priests?

So where did the idea come from that we were (and are) Satanists?

The most obvious answer is that the moldy bread cure worked, and was unexplainable. A number of other herbal and common sense remedies were surprisingly effective, as “alternative” medicine is re-discovering today. The only way the church could admit these cures worked (and it was a little too obvious to deny) without admitting this was a really good thing was to make the claim that the women practicing these cures had made a pact with the Devil. Heavens, they couldn’t be physicians! Medicine was firmly in the hands of the priests, and the practice of medicine was expressly forbidden to women. At the time I write of, formal medicine consisted mostly of applying leeches to the sick.

Were the village wise women the only problem? No. During this early medieval period, when the Christians were converting Northern Europe at sword point, a lot of dirty tricks were played. The country folk, whom we believe to be the ancestors of modern Wicca, worshiped a Goddess we consider the Mother of Life, and a God we call the Horned Hunter, or God of Death. For us, death is merely a door to rebirth, so there is nothing at all fearful for us in a God of Death. In an effort to make non-Christianity something horrible, the monks who drew the medieval Biblical illustrations “borrowed” our Horned Hunter when they drew depictions of the Christian Devil. You needn’t take my word for this. Any educated person knows that the Greek Pan predates Christianity by some considerable period of time. Take a good look at a drawing of Pan in your nearest encyclopedia. Look familiar? He should. You’ve been looking at him in biblical illustrations dating back to your first Sunday school. Pan is the Greek form of our Horned Hunter. They are one and the same god. Read your mythology. Pan was never evil, just playful.

If all that weren’t enough, Exodus 22:18 was horribly mistranslated in the King James Version of the Christian Bible. The original “Suffer not a poisoner to live among you” became “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Some pretty bloodthirsty fundamentalist preachers want to enforce that mistranslation literally, even today. In August of 1999, Rev. Jack Harvey of Killeen, Texas, was quoted as stating publicly that all witches should be killed. He organized a “March Against Wickedness” for that Labor Day Monday in Killeen (which flopped pitifully), and I believe he was hoping and praying it would erupt into real violence, because he advised members of his congregation to carry guns, in case some of us witches decided to snatch his kids.

Can you spell “bizarre?” We would never, of course, kidnap children, but could someone please explain to me why we are supposed to want them? And, in particular, why we would want his offspring? I thought the idea of sacrificing Christian babies was discarded when the Nazis falsely accused the Jews of it. This is more of the same bigoted excrement.

In terms of our current century, Hollywood hasn’t helped us much, either. Sick, twisted individuals who worship evil have always existed, and sadly, I’m afraid they will for a very long time to come. They pervert the Christian cross by inverting it, and sometimes, they invert our sacred symbol, the pentagram, as well. Hollywood directors just can’t seem to get it right, though. They consistently show evil ceremonies prominently displaying the pentagram right side up.

When the pentagram is displayed properly, the symbolism is that of a man standing upright within a circle, meaning uprightness and spirit over flesh. In other traditions, the five points represent the four elements (fire, air, earth, water) surmounted by aether - or spirit. In any case, spirit is on top. Needless to say, the symbolism of an inverted pentagram is obscene to us, just as the symbolism of an inverted cross is obscene to you if you are a Christian. Because most Christians have seen movies in which evil ceremonies were presided over by an upright pentagram, they are upset and frightened when they meet a Wiccan wearing one. That’s understandable enough, but it should be corrected by education.

Other reasons for fear again date back to medieval times. The reasons have mostly been forgotten, but the fear remains. During medieval times, life was unpleasant. In fact, it was downright horrible for the peasants. Christianity taught the peasants that it didn’t matter, that the material world was to be shunned in favor of a reward in the Christian Heaven. Wiccans did not, and do not, agree. I can still remember my first teacher telling me that it would be difficult to cultivate my spiritual nature until at least my basic physical needs - as in food, shelter, warmth - were met. We are taught that achieving success at another’s expense is wrong (remember we are permitted to harm none!), but success in itself is actually a virtue. In medieval times, daring to hope and work for success was dangerous thinking. It might even have led to a collapse of feudalism. So the Christian hatred of that tenet of Wicca was one part envy, one part fear.

Another envy/fear combination had to do with the fact that Wicca is fun. The Old Religion is filled with laughter and playfulness. Our ceremonies are wonderful parties, full of happy tipsiness and flirtation. By comparison, medieval Christian practices were rather grim. Somehow, the Christians who were trying to convert us had to convince us that slipping off into the woods for a bonfire and a roaring good time wasn’t such a good idea. Do what they would, though, they couldn’t get us to give up our fun. Quite logically under the circumstances, they “borrowed” from us. The use of song and chants in ritual (although why the church couldn’t manage happy song, I can’t say), incense (borrowed from Mithraic ritual)- even some actual elements of ritual itself. You can hear echoes of our cakes and ale ceremony in Christian Communion. Oh, I don’t doubt that Jesus of Nazareth had bread and wine during his Last Supper! That’s as may be, but I don’t think the contents of his last meal became a central part of Christian ceremonies until Christianity clashed with the Old Religion in Europe.

Where did Jesus get the idea in the first place? Mithras, who died following a ritual meal of bread and wine? Or the cakes and ale of the Old Religion? Scary question, isn’t it? For the record, I believe it was Mithras, as he was the secret god of many of the Roman troops occupying Palestine at the time of Jesus of Nazareth. Nevertheless, enough Roman troops were European “barbarians” that it is just possible that some elements of our faith were known to Jesus himself.

20th Century Christian practices never struck me as being a barrel of laughs, either. Wiccans are still having fun. So there is bound to be some ongoing envy, if not outright fear.

Please do not misunderstand. I am not bashing Christians! Those who practice their faith honestly have no part in this hatred and fanaticism. Most are decent men and women, and I am proud to call many of them my friends. When the Rev. Jack Harvey called for a Christian boycott of the Armed Forces over this pagan worship controversy, Rev. Pat Robertson had the courage to publicly withdraw from the boycott and state it was wrong. I refer only to the dignified lack of humor in the Christian faith as it has been practiced down through the centuries. It does not speak to my heart at all.

Also, if I am to be completely honest, I must admit that pagans aren’t completely innocent in the dirty tricks department. The so-called Cult of Mary, which existed within Roman Catholicism for so many centuries, was actually a secret form of “safe” Goddess worship.

I wonder how many Christians know how many of their holidays were originally ours?

Samhain, our New Year celebration, when the walls between the worlds are at their thinnest and our beloved dead walk and feast among us, became Christian All Hallows or Halloween. One ceremony used by pagans to encourage a rich crop (although not at Samhain, which is after the harvest) was the sweeping of brooms over the planted fields. To early Christians watching from a distance, it must have looked like the witches were riding on the brooms or trying to do so. Since Samhain was known to be the witches’ most important holiday, witches riding on broomsticks became the symbol of Halloween. Not so surprising at all.

Yule, or the winter solstice, when we celebrate the birth of the Sun God to Mother Earth and Father Time, was borrowed for the birthday of the Christian Jesus. Most Christian scholars agree that Jesus was actually born in the spring. The Yule log, the tree, and even the Nativity Crche were originally pagan customs. If you have Wiccan friends, and you thought they were only protecting themselves by displaying a Nativity Crche at Christmas, you were wrong. We had Nativity Crches long before you came along to convert us!

Imbolc, our festival of light, when we celebrate the start of the Mother’s return to us, along with the birth of new lambs and flowers awakening under the snow, became Christian Candlemas.

Beltane, our famous (and infamous) fertility celebration when we leap the bonfires in joy at the arrival of summer, became May Day, famous for playful fertility celebrations throughout the Christian world.

Lammas, or August 1st, when we celebrate the fruitfulness of the land - well, how many Christians have celebrated the rich harvest to come down through the centuries?

There are many, many more examples of “borrowing.”

And therein lies the real root of the problem.

The thing a few fanatical Christians fear most of all is being forced to admit our kinship, because after nearly 2,000 years of borrowing, we aren’t so very different anymore.

About the Author

At a tiny 5′1″, Kathryn A. Graham is a licensed private investigator, pilot, aircraft mechanic and handgun instructor in Texas. Also a prolific author, she has written numerous articles, short stories and a science fiction novel. http://www.kathrynagraham.com/

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