A Personal Note

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 I’ll just lay it out here just this one time.  I had a life-changing experience that totally changed my theology.  I really believed in a kind of personal salvation, but now I don’t.  My life is devoted to Peace and love and I’ll avoid condemnation except as I said in yesterday’s post.  In a way we are all born saved.  I know this clashes with the teachings of most any religion.  Everyone needs salvation.

Hear me out.  Religion gives us a social structure based on forgiveness and God’s grace.  This is good.  And most religions will admit that murder and the taking of one’s own life might be ultimate sins.  The straight and narrow, as the Apostle Paul called it, is to never do harm.  

I won’t go into my experience with the Divine here except to say it changed my theology.  Knowing what I know is a reflection of my belief.  A path is Peace and love is the only path and most religions teach this.  But too often grace is extended to murderers.  This is the one thing I cannot do.  I must never be one.  God would never forgive me.  This includes self.harm.  A life of Peace includes inner peace for one’s own being.  

If I wanted to be most God-like, I would then overlook ANY sin but these two.  This includes war, which too often is legalized murder.  The good news is most don’t have to worry about murder.  I am not God but have my struggles with some forgiveness.  But it is a goal and I think a noble one at that.  Not taking human life is good.  But why does it happen?  One word or maybe two—it is the ultimate evil.  It is the ultimate goal of evil to destroy what God has made.  This is why I cannot forgive the ultimate evil.  I know God won’t either.

This theology is what led to my heart attack.  The world causes me stress by the way I think now.  Very few believe as I do about murder.  It is often forgiven and sometimes too easily.  It’s the one sin I cannot overlook and I won’t.  Evil is stressful enough.  I don’t enjoy talking about evil.  I’m not sure anyone does.  But evil destroys and love builds.  I prefer to relax with my pipe and focus on love.  It is my path in life.  Including love for myself.  It’s Sunday and I’m smoking my Angel pipe with some Lavish English tobacco.  My coffee this morning is from Stumptown and is the Homestead blend.  Thank you for your time and Peace to each one of you.

Dave

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