I did some reading of HR3200 and compared it to my own high deductible health care cost situation, which happens to be about the same as people who work for Whole Foods as was described in a recent Wall Street Journal article.

This example is based on answering the question "What could I be earning if it were not for healthcare costs?" I think that's the only way to get around the marketing tricks from both sides - i.e. hidden taxes in the public plan vs employer kick ins towards deductibles on the private side.

According to the plan, premiums in the public option will cost between 1.5% and 11% of income for people earning poverty level income and an income of $88,000 and above. But, to be fair, I think you would have to add the 8% penalty income tax that would come out of an employer not offering private insurance. That makes the public option cost a family 9.5% to 19% of income. Not free, not even terribly cheap.

Based on the high deductible example, a total $12K out of pocket cost (premiums plus deductible) would be about 30% of the income of someone making $30K per year (12/(12+30)), about 20% of income for someone making about 50K per year, and about 17%
for someone making about $60K per year.

Given the public plan, at the same income levels a person would pay about 1.5%+8%=9.5% at a $30K per year income, about 6%+8% = 14% at 50K income, and about 9%+8%=17% at 60K income per year.

So this means the public option is a better deal for people making under $60K, and high deductible private insurance is a better deal for people earning more than $60K per year.

I've heard people say that the government option will drive private insurers out of business. If insurance companies can keep the plans they offer at the same cost levels, I think they will still be a better deal for higher income people, so there's no reason to believe they will be driven out of business.

Dave Miller

I'd like to suggest that the AJC prepare some stories about real people affected by the state of health care today.  I would be happy to be the subject of one of those stories.   

I'm 49, mildly handicapped, was layed off a year ago May, and am about to lose my Cobra coverage in December.  I have a wife and 4 children, I've started a small engineering business to get us through, and I'm working on a career change.  2 of my children have graduated from college this year and are currently uninsured and underemployed.  

I have a bachelors degree in engineering, a Masters in Theological Studies from Emory, and I'm a year away from getting a Masters in Community Counseling from Argosy.   

My small business is expected to take home  maybe $18K this year.  My Cobra costs are about $1000 per month plus the high deductible $6K, plus a percentage of medical costs after that.  I don't qualify for the federal 65% Cobra cost reduction benefit because I was layed off prior to September, 2008.  This year I will spend about $14K for health care before a nickel goes to a doctor of any kind.  My business take home barely covers just our health care costs.  We have savings and investments that supplement my income, but they are being depleted monthly.   

I've applied for private insurance twice with major national health insurance companies, I sent in one appeal, and have been rejected 3 times total, due to preexisting conditions, including my handicap.    I called the state of Georgia insurance commissioner to see if they could help.  They told me to call back in November, and they will offer me 2 choices from major carriers for health insurance.  It wasn't clear whether those choices will cover my family also, and a doctor friend told me that the cost will be much higher than my current Cobra.   

My family and I need affordable health insurance now.  The excuse that the process needs to be slowed down because people can't read fast and well enough is unacceptable.  We elect legislators and their staffs to write, to read, and to pass legislation that meets the needs of Americans.   

The staged stonewalling of discussions of the legislation at the local townhall level is unacceptable as well.  Like everyone else, I want the best bill possible, one that is financially sustainable and covers the needs of everyone.  That means we need everyone's cooperation, democrat and republican.   

thankyou,  

Dave Miller  

 

6/21/09

As I was looking through old photos of my dad and our children when they were much younger, it occurred to me what a priveledge it is to be alive, to love, to work, to play, and to experience all that life has to offer.  It occurred to me that sometimes we're so busy living life, loving, working, and all the rest, that we forget to take the time to appreciate the prescious gift that life itself is.

When I think about my dad, 4 things come to mind:  Love, work, play, and of course jokes. 

My dad loved, more vocally as he grew older, but moreso through actions during his entire life. He loved God, he loved his family and friends, and he loved life, he appreciated the gift that life is.  I don't recall him complaining much if ever about the circumstances that life dealt, rather he was the type to dig in and do whatever was necessary to get along.

He expressed his love of life, God, and family and friends through work, play, and of course through sharing his abundant sense of humour.

My dad was the hardest working person I ever knew.  Work was never a burden for him, he loved to work.  Even at age 69, when he was needed, he worked long days, sometimes from 6:00 AM to 10:00 at night, for many days in a row.  Neighbors told me know he would push his snowblower up and down the block, cleaning off neighbor's sidewalks.  He did it because he loved doing it.

This didn't mean he was an absent father.  When my sister and I were young, 8 to 10 years old, he started taking us to work with him, sharing his love of work with us.  We priced merchandise, stocked shelves, and helped do inventories.  By the time I was 16, many of our friends were working with us as well, at a place called Sickroom Service, where my dad was a manager.  His love of life through work extended beyond our family, to everyone who knew him.

Dad also loved to play.  My mom loved to play board games and imagination games, and dad would play those with us when we were younger.  As we got older, he shared his love of ping pong and most of all horse shoes with us as well.  He taught us when and how to reverse the spin of a ping pong ball to make it suddenly accelerate to blurring speeds, catching opponents off guard.  And playing horse shoes with him was a priveledge.  He had a unique style, he would toss the shoe so that it turned one and one half times and flipped once, most of the time right around the stake.  He threw ringers most of the time, and double ringers much of the time.  The clang of horse shoes would be heard late into the summer evenings in our neighborhood, when he and my grandpa Leonard would routinely stack ringers on top of each other, cancelling each other out, all the while laughing and grinning.  And just as with work, many of our young friends experienced the joy of playing with and learning from dad.

And, of course, our dad loved a good joke.  He loved a bad joke even better.  Whenever we drove past a railroad track, he would ask "do you know how we can tell a train has been here?  It left its tracks!"  Whenever we drove past a grave yard, dad would ask, "Do you know why they put a fence around there?  Because people are dieing to get in!"

There was a time in 1984 when Stacey and I were moving to a house in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and dad and mom and a lot of other friends were there to help.  Annette's late husband Tom Pokrzywinski had brought a book entitled " the world's most tasteless jokes."  Tom was amazed to hear dad filling in the punchlines of almost every joke before they could be read. 

I can't repeat most of the jokes he told in this sacred setting, but I can share some of the setups and punchlines to the jokes he told.  So, to honor the memory of my father, Dale Miller, here they are:

"I smell pancakes."

"Mr. Eagle, how high are we?"

"No thanks, I'm just looking around."

"I enjoy it, but it scares the hell out of the dog."

"Shh, I think its going to land!"

"They hide good, don't they?"

"1 to hold the pan, 4 to shake the stove."

"1 to hold the bulb, 2 to spin the ladder."

"How fast was that calf going when it it that cow?"

"You don't expect me to blow in the same end you did,  do you?"

"Only if you get your thumbs caught."

And, by all accounts, from the last joke he told, while in the emergency room:  " No, but it keeps me from licking my lips."

So there you have it.  Dale Miller loved life, and he shared his love of life, through his work, play, and through jokes.  He lives in eternity now, with his mother Leona and his son in law Tom and all who have gone on before him.  Happily, he lives on through many of us as well, all the lives he has touched, and many of the lives we touch as we pass his gifts along to others, as we work, as we play and as we share his gift of good humor.

Amen.

Unpublished, © David J. Miller 2002

 

Jesus Christ, I do love you.

I reach out to you from across the ages.

I am sorry that you suffered so and then died.

But I cannot understand your sacrifice.

You say, or those who follow you say, that you died for me.

How does your dieing help me?

Some say that God demanded blood.  I have trouble understanding

                God as bloodthirsty.

Some say that Humanity demands the blood of God, in exchange

for the fallenness, the death, that is part of mortal existance,

part of God's creation.

I can believe this.  I can believe in bloodthirsty humans.  I can participate

                in the rage against the God who lets us die.  Who lets us suffer.

The God of the prophets who sends armies to dash children against steps,

and to murder every animal, every child, every woman, and every man

in a city. 

This is Holy War.  War at the hands of a vengeful, murderous God.  War which

                is justified by God.

And so it seems, God IS bloodthirsty.  And yet, still this I cannot understand.

My inner being rejects this.  My inner being rejects the words of those

                Prophets,  who, in their agonized sense of loss, in their pain,

                In their utter shattered chaos, called upon God to justify their agony.

Were we not set up in paradise?  Why was the fruit there?  Why were we told

                not to touch it?  Did God not forsee our sin?  Were we not doomed to

                die from the moment of our creation? 

Was not Cain doomed to kill Abel?  What is one to do if God loves one's labors more

                than another's?  Where is the justice in this?

As I rage against the injustice of reality.

I too demand the blood of God.

And meekly God answers, as He always has, yes, yes, the world is fallen, and I

                Created the world.  I give my blood, I give my flesh, as you do every day,

                to the injustice of my own creation.  Be satisfied in this.  Rejoice in this.

My bloodlust satisfied, the blood of my God in my own hands, on my own hands,

I am left empty. 

Bereft. 

Broken.

Jesus Christ, I do love you.

I reach out to you from across the ages.

I am sorry that you suffered so and then died.

Perhaps I can understand your sacrifice.

 

Reading:  Psalm 72

If we want to talk about evangelizing, we first need to understand the word.  So, if we turn to the dictionary, we learn that evangelize in the modern sense means to bring a good message.  The Ev is derived from Eu, which comes from Greek, a prefix meaning good, and is familiar in words like euphoria. 

This leaves the rest of the word Angelize.  Angels are known as messengers, and to share a message is to act like an angel, or to angelize. 

And so, evangelize means simply to share a good message. 

In our recent Christmas Eve services we were reminded repeatedly how in the Gospel of Luke, the good news was shared by the Angels to Shepherds.  We're also told in chapter 2 verses 17 and 18 that upon hearing the good news from the angels, the shepherds "spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." 

Interestingly, dictionary.com says there is an ancient oriental word of unknown specific origin associated with the Greek word Angelos.  The word is Angeros, which means "mounted courier." 

That sounds familiar doesn't it?  Messengers, perhaps  mounted on animals, traveling great distances to share a message?  It's in Matthew's message that we're told about 3 traveling kings, wise men, magi, who were following signs they had seen in the heavens.  Anyone remember whom the magi visited first before going to Bethlehem?  They went to Jerusalem first, and visited with King Herod, and they told King Herod that a new King was being born under the sign of a star in the heavens.

Of course, there were prophets within Judea who were sharing the good news of Christ's birth as well.  Luke tells us that Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, and Mary and Joseph were all prophets, God talked to all of them.  Matthew tells us about another prophet in Jerusalem, named Simeon, who was told about Jesus the Christ.

Even more than that, when Herod asked his Priests and Scribes about the birth of a king, it seems that the Priests and Scribes knew all about it too. 

Isn't it interesting that Jerusalem was filled up with people who were told about the coming of Jesus in a prophetic manner.  But it took foreigners, people outside the Judaic Heritage, to make the birth of Christ known to the leaders.  These oriental magi were not of Judaic heritage.  They were from a foreign oriental land, a different culture and religion, far away. 

With this in mind, lets read the gospel lesson for today, a lesson that has come to be known as "the great Commission."  These are the words that Jesus spoke after his death and resurrection to His disciples on a mountain Galilee...

Reading:  Matt 28:16-20

The commandment is clear, go and make disciples of all nations.  This is interesting, because the Greek word used for Disciple is Mathetes, which is translated as student.

For some reason, when I think of the Great commission, I think of the words "make believers of all nations," but that's inaccurate.  The scripture says make them students, to teach them.  When I think about it, the false memory I carry of the great commission makes no sense, for who can "make," or force someone else to believe?  Faith is a gift from God, a revelation provided by the Holy Spirit.  All we can do is teach, and let God do God's part. 

Back to the word evangelize. Lets just face it, evangelizing has a bad reputation.  And there's a long history of bad attempts at evangelizing on the part of Christians.  When I was a child in school, I was taught about the Crusades, but not in the way that we're being told today.  When I was a child, Richard the Lionhearted went off to Jerusalem to rescue the Holy City from heathen Muslims.  Today people from a foreign culture, that other culture, the Muslim culture, are telling us that the same crusades that we romanticized as children involved the wholesale slaughter of people, families, including women and children. 

Then there's that little period in history known as the inquisition.  It lasted from the 1100's through the 1800's, as a means of fighting heresy.  Through the inquisition, protestant Christian movements were brutally suppressed, but also thousands of people were "evangelized," forced into Christianity, from the Jewish and Muslim faiths in Spain and Portugal, under threat of extreme physical torture.  Women who were really the first doctors in society, acting as midwives and healers with knowledge of natural herbal remedies were tortured and killed as well.  This was a dark period for Christian evangelization. 

Modern culture vilifies evangelicals as a bunch of backward, hateful, right wing zealots.  Visions come to mind of TV preachers saying that horrific events like 9/11 and hurricane Katrina were God's justified response to America's sinful ways, preaching hell and damnation from megaphones at the funerals of people who had suffered horribly and died of Aids. 

And in the presidential election of 2008, we learned about a disturbing evangelist who preached the damnation of the United States as a nation for sins committed in the past. 

I think that as Christians, we are collectively taking a breath now and asking ourselves, what is evangelism?  Who are we, what are we called to do?  Are we called to hate all dissenter, people of other faiths, Muslim, Jewish, even Buddhist and Hindu?  Do we want to return to those dark times of inquisition?

This begs a much larger question, perhaps the most important question of all.  How do we tell whether we teach the message of the Holy Spirit, or a message of some other, darker origin?

Allot of people would answer that question by saying that "if its done in the name of Jesus, then its of the Holy Spirit."  But the Gospel of John tells us about 2 Jesus', one who was a murderous Zealot, known as Yeshua Bar Abbas, Barabbas, a Jesus who was called the "Son of the Father," and Yeshua Bin Nazareth, Jesus from Nazareth, who taught us to love one another, to love our neighbors, and even to love our enemies. 

How do we tell?  When does a message come from the Holy Spirit, and when does it come from Satan?  Jesus gave us a clue, a very simple answer.  Can anyone guess?  Here's a hint, it had something to do with a tree.

Right, good trees bear good fruits.  And what are the good fruits?  That's right, from Galatians 5:22, where Paul tells us that the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 

1 John chapter 4 tells us that God is Love, and the gospels tell us that Jesus is God with us, Emanuel, which means that Jesus is Love with us. 

When Jesus told us to love our neighbor, someone asked him who our neighbors are.  In response, Jesus told a story of someone who was outside the Jewish faith, outside the Christian faith, a person of Samaritan heritage, who loved and cared for a person who had fallen on hard times.  Interesting that the evangelizers who brought the message of Christ's birth to Jerusalem were outsiders, the Magi from a far Eastern land, and Christ's good neighbor was a stranger, an outsider, someone from outside the popular religion and culture. 

OK, lets get back to the subject we came to talk about, which is evangelism.  I have a theory about how evangelism has run down so many bad tracks throughout history.  Based on my own experience, I have to say it's pretty easy to evangelize Christ's message to people who have hit the absolute bottom.  They are more than willing to listen, they are happy to listen, and thirsty to learn.  And there are people from Christian, Muslim, Jewish, even Buddhist, new agers, all kinds of people fall on hard times.  The message of hope through Jesus Christ is very welcome when you've hit the bottom, no matter what faith or heritage you come from.

It's a bit more frustrating when you're trying to talk to people who seem perfectly happy in their own faith and culture.  Over a billion Muslim people worship God as Allah.  Millions of Jewish people worship God as Yahweh.  Hundreds of millions of people seek enlightenment through the teachings of Buddha, and almost a billion people offer fruit and grain sacrifices to Krishna and Ganesh and other Hindu deities.  And, some may find it disturbing to know that over a billion people claim to be atheist or agnostic.  And for the most part, a lot of these people at least claim to be perfectly happy in these distinctly non-Christian cultures.

Don't they know how miserable they are without Christ in their lives?  That's what we're taught as Christians, if you're not Christian, you're miserable, and quite possibly doomed to eternal damnation.  It's frustrating to think this way.  In the face of this frustration, evangelicals sometimes take it upon themselves to show others just how miserable they really are. 

Is it any wonder there are so many atheists and agnostics?  We all have relatives who feel it's their job to remind us of all our troubles, and how miserable we really are, even if we happen to be having a brief glimpse at a rare good day.  What do we do when we see those relatives coming?  We tend to run the other way, that's what we do, avoiding them at parties and family gatherings, claiming to prefer to sit at the children's table rather than endure agonizing reminders of our own mistakes at the so called grown ups table. 

So even though its frustrating, we're also asked to recognize Jesus' golden rule, that we're supposed to treat others as we want to be treated, and no one likes being reminded of their own shortcomings. 

So what do we do? 

There is another option to consider.  In Philippians 2, we're told about Jesus' selflessness.  In verse 7 we're told that Jesus "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross!"

Remember how many times Jesus healed someone and told him or her not to tell anyone, just to be grateful?  Consider the possibility that if Jesus chose to work selflessly and quietly during his brief time in the flesh, maybe, just maybe, He continues to do the same thing today for people of other faiths, even sometimes for people of no faith, bringing the fruits of the Spirit without asking for recognition. 

If we consider that possibility, then the job of evangelizing changes.  It's no longer about convincing people of how miserable they are, or even making them miserable to prove our point.  It becomes a task of helping people to recognize that the good things they experience come to them from God, through Christ.

That's a much more pleasant task.  I have a Buddhist friend who I converse with on line quite a bit.  To describe him, I would have to say that he bears the fruits of the Spirit, all of them, love, patience, peace, kindness, gentleness, all of them.  We have talked a great deal about Buddhism and Christianity, in a friendly, respectful manner.  In time, he opened himself up to the possibility that maybe the enlightenment he was seeking within through the Buddhist philosophy was actually the Holy Spirit, revealed through Christ.  My friend remains an adherent to the Buddhist philosophy, but he also remains open to this possibility, that Christ is the true source of enlightenment.

Similarly, I had extensive discussions with a Muslim friend.  Again, our discussions were respectful, friendly, and patient.  In time, my friend began to consider the possibility that the peace and love he sought through his acts of obedience to God in the Muslim religion are made available through the Holy Spirit, revealed through Christ.  My friend remains a practicing Muslim, but he also confesses Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, God with us, revealing God's Grace to him and to a world that needs hope. 

Now, lets reconsider the golden rule in this light.  If someone from another faith came to you and said "you're wrong, you're miserable, you're going to suffer for all eternity unless you believe what I tell you," that wouldn't be very pleasant, would it?  That approach doesn't pass the golden rule test.  Now, imagine someone coming up to you and saying "I'm glad you're having a good day, I believe that God is blessing you through Jesus Christ, and I pray that He continues to do so."  This is a much more pleasant prospect, whether you believe in Jesus Christ or not.  Given that scenario, most people will actually respond with "Thankyou, I hope God continues to bless you as well." 

Some people may recognize that when I quoted Philippians 2, talking of Christ's selflessness, I didn't finish the whole prayer.  In that prayer, we are also told that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  As a devout Christian, I believe this, I preach this, and I love this.  But I'm here to confess that, being human, I also believe that on that day I will learn some new things myself, because I certainly don't know everything.  And until that day, I hope and pray for a world of peace instead of conflict, where the fruits of the Holy Spirit, revealed through Christ, can be celebrated and shared by all people of every faith.

And on the great and glorious day, that early Sunday morning, when Christ appears in victory, I look forward to standing on that beautiful shore, all of us together, all who have gone before, and all who will come after, sharing in the joyful reunion that we are all promised.  Until that day, we are indeed called to teach all the nations, to help all people to recognize that God's Grace is poured out upon all of humanity, all faiths, through the teachings, the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus the Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Amen. 

I've been experimenting with a new meditation practice, based on the Native American Medicine wheel that Balder introduced me to, (see his blog on the subject, great links to a series of videos.) After focusing on calmed, controlled breathing and relaxation, I picture myself in the center of the medicine wheel.  To the north are my thoughts, to the west, my physical being, to the south my emotions, and to the east my spirit. I recognize the connections I have with all creation through these different directions.  Physically with the earth and my genetic family.  Mentally connected with all the authors I've read, all the teachings, and all the people I know.  Emotionaly connected with family, friends, and the world via media.  And Spiritually connected with all living things, indeed all things, all of Creation. Then I think about the line orthoganal to the plane on which I sit, going upwards and downwards.  From upwards I perceive the positive energy of the Holy Spirit flowing into me and through me.  From below, there is the earth supporting my body, but there is also an outward or negative flow of energy. I recognize that when the outward flow of energy excedes the inward flow, I pull energy from the wheel connections around me - sapping those I know and love, drawing on Creation for a sense of fulfillment and balance. Conversely, when the inward flow of energy excedes the outward, the energy of the Holy Spirit flows from me through the wheel to all that I am connected with, physically, mentally, emotionally, and especially Spiritually.  I'm again reminded of St. Francis' prayer "Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace," and I find myself basking in the grace of the Holy Spirit, like sunlight warming me and flowing through me towards those with whom I'm connected.  Peace, Dave EC

 
From another on-line discussion forum, this conversation took place netween
Nov 3 and Nov 15 2008.

In response to dialog about Salvation in the context of Christianity, a Muslim asks:

Is this means that God forgive sins of christians automatically or God overlook/disregard sins of christians.

what are God`s commandments in Christianity??

Is Judaism considered one of these religions??

Dave Miller Answer:

This goes to the core of what I understand to be the biggest philosophical difference between Christianity and Islam or Judaism.

Christians (myself included) believe that good works flow from the Holy Spirit, not from any merit that any individual holds.

Good works don't bring anyone closer to God, they are a sign that the Holy Spirit is working within the lives of individuals. This understand gives all the glory to God, where I believe it belongs.

Christian scripture demonstrates that God works through anyone God wants to, sinner or saint, and God has the power to invite anyone, even murderers like the Apostle Paul once was, into sainthood.

From that perspective, the question of "who does God forgive?" has no merit, because God chooses whom God Wills, good or bad, and its by God's Grace we are saved, not by our own works.

Peace,

David

Muslim Response:

- Muslims also believe that any person by his good works can not compel or force God to accept him.
But muslims believe that God will drive all after resurrection from death to The Great Day of Judgement in which everyone will get his rights according to what his belief and what he did(toward God and others) ie benificial or harmfull to himself and others

- Do you believe that both fair and unfair will drived to This Court and everyone will get his rights(or tormented) regardless the name of his religion??

DM:

In Matthew 9, Jesus equated sin with illness, and healing with being
forgiven.

As both Christian and Muslim scripture says, the day of judgement will be painful for those who are unjust, but the pain will be a part of God's healing Grace, poured out upon all nations and all peoples
as was promised to Abraham (Gen 22:18.) Sometimes, the healing process is painful, that's a fact, but in the end, all of Creation will be reconciled unto God (Col 1:19.)

Matthew 9:

1Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. 2Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven."
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!"

4Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? 5Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? 6But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." 7And the man got up and went home. 8When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

Gen 22:

18And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Collosians 1:

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

M:

Peace on you,
Dave Miller
I agree with you. Also I believe that all people will examined in The Great Day of Judgement but the examination for Jews, Christians, and Muslims will be more difficult than that of ignorant nations because they are given a duty to declare the message of God to all in the world.

DM:

You may have a point my friend, if the message is one of love, peace, and hope.

Peace upon you as well.

M:

Satan and his assistants are our enemies, we must fight them to liberate those who submit them

DM:

This is very true, but the question is, what weapons are to be used?

Hatred, violence, and killing only begets more hatred, violence, and killing. Satan wins.

This is why Jesus' radical message of "loving enemies" is the only weapon that is effective. God's Will is that we be as much like God as possible, and God is all loving and all merciful.

Yes, God is a consuming fire, a flaming sword as well. It is no accident that the enemies of God are consumed by their own evil, this is God's Will, this is God's consuming fire in action, consuming the evil that dwells in the hearts of people.

If we add evil to evil the fire grows and consumes us as well. If we practice love as our weapon of choice, then the fires will be extinguished or burn themselves out, and God's Grace will reign, and those who are surrounded and trapped by evil will be liberated.

M:

The same weapons of unjusts

Practically peace is only wish and will not founded at all. It is a continuous war between fairs and unfairs who don`t respect peacefull behaviour ,this is will of God

Peace will founded only in absence of ambition in hearts of all and weapon in hands of all
The greed the desire is the cause of fighting
Can you remove it from human soul??

Jesus by himself failed

DM:

I'm afraid this is where we part ways.

Peace is a reality, and Jesus succeeded, as did others. The peace of Christ dwells in the hearts of millions of people. Have you ever heard of Martin Luther King, Ghandi or the Dhali Lama? Jesus' methods work, and it has been proven over and over.

On the other hand, methods of war have proven ineffective over and over. The only things accomplished by war are death and destruction, mostly of innocent people.

It takes alot more bravery to pursue and practice peace than it does to take up weapons. Taking up a weapon is a natural animal instinct, not a Divine inspiration.

This is my opinion, many Christians disagree with me as well. But still I hold on to hope for this world and Christ's message of peace becoming the rule instead of the exception.

Peace,

David

(Dialog shifts to the meaning of Trinity in the Christian context)

Muslim Question:

For the third time
Trinity as a word or its explaining is not mentioned in Quran but Quran says that those who believe in God as a 3rd of three(ie equality of three ) or those who believe that jesus is God, are disbeliever

Is this a christian belief or not?? Y or N

Dave Miller's Answer:

No Christian believes that God is divided into 3 beings. God is One.

Just as you are one person who may appear as a family person when with your family, a business person when conducting business, and a faithful person when participating in worship.

God is One.

The Triune interpretation acknowledges the limited ability of humans to grasp the full Glory of God, who is at once All Mighty and All Powerful and beyond our understanding, and also willing to be revealed through Human form and Self Sacrifice, and willing to be in relationship with humanity through intimate Spiritual Communion.

Muslim:

1- Quran in this verse does not say(christians who) but says those who
2- Quran says: God(father) is a 3rd of three i.e. there are two others equal to God(father)

some of you say:
God (1)= 1+1+1=1

others say
God(1)= 1x1x1=1
where 1 may be God(father), son or holy spirit

In these equations God is 3rd of three equal things
------------
Notice that christian as a word is not mentioned in Quran at all

DM:

The Quran was written based on exposure to a particular
understanding of "People of the Book" (Christians) at a particular
time in history.

Equations don't work. Try 3 facets of the same diamond.

M:

Why you restrict it to 3 facets?? others may add sun, other may add water, others may add angels like Gabriel and Mechael others may
add earthquakes others may add kings as Pharoahs of Ancient Egypt and so on according religion??

DM:

Great question. I hold to these 3 facets because the Scripture and Faith that I hold as sacred describes God in these 3 facets.

While its true that others may claim other facets of the same Living Creator all Merciful God, Christian scripture gives signs for recognizing the authentic presence of the One True God. And these signs are the fruits of the Spirit, as described in Galations 5:24.

Because I have Moslem and Buddhist and Hindu brothers and sisters who produce the Fruits of the Spirit (peace, love, patience, kindness, gentleness, self control,) I can tell that the Holy Spirit is working through them, whether they are aware of it or not.

Likewise, I have Christian brothers and sisters who bear the fruits of hatred and rudeness and advocate for violence and war, and I can tell that the Holy Spirit does not work through them, but rather Satan does, disguising himself, acting as the false god that he is.

You know my friend, Christian scripture even refers to 2 Jesus's, Jesus the one called Messiah (Yeshua Shem Meschach), and Jesus the son of the father (Yeshua Bar Abbas.) One advocated peace and love between friends and enemies alike, and the other advocated violence and killing.

Based on name and words alone, we cannot know whom we serve. We need to look to the Fruits of the Spirit to know whom we are serving, whether the God of peace, love, and mercy, or the god of hatred, selfishness, and violence.

Peace,

Dave Miller

(end of dialog)

Just some random thoughts on the subject to share here.

Being In the Moment:

When I reflect on my favorite moments, my favorite activities, things I romanticize, I recognize that those moments and activities can be described in terms of being immersed in the moment.  Whether its playing a game with my family or sitting in front of a crackling fire, or reading or writing, or even cooking or working, praying or practicing Tai Chi or meditation, (the list goes on and on!) its being immersed in the moment that makes it special.  Unaware of things past or present, only there in the moment.

Romanticizing:

When I reflect on my favorite activites, which in retrospect includes just about everything I do (what a blessing to realize that!) I reflect with a sense of romantic wistfulness.  Reflecting on the romantic comes from the perspective of observing the scene from the outside, real time or in one's memory.  Romanticisim is not only reflecting on our own experiences, but reflecting on the experiences of the "other" we witness, whether children playing, actors performing, birds singing, or mountain streams splashing,

Perhaps that's why we refer to movies as being "romantic." To witness, to empathize, to experience vicariously, or re-experience through memory, or even to witness something that has never happened or may happen through imagination is romantic. 

Interestingly, at least for me, the moment I begin to interact with the children, splash in the stream, interrupt a chess game between two friends, (or get up for popcorn during a movie), I become a part of the scene and I'm no longer a witness, the experience is no longer romantic.  Later on, when I re-experience it in my memory, look at photographs perhaps or reflect on activities of the day, the reflection is romantic, but the experience itself while its happening is in the moment.

Mindfulness:

The practical initial motivation for exploring mindfulness comes from realizing we're not really experiencing what we're doing at all.  Even the joy of being "in the moment" is taken away when the mind is on the next activity or worry rather than the "here and now."  The initial motivation for practicing mindfulness is to experience the joy of being fully in the moment. 

A next step, perhaps, is to combine the romantic with the moment, to both experience and appreciate the moment at the same time.  We generally don't appreciate the moment while we're in it, if we're lucky we remember it later and perhaps romanticize it.  But perhaps a next step for mindfulness is the combination of experience and appreciation "real time." 

There's nothing quite like the "wow" that comes from experiencing the moment, and recognizing the experience of the moment at the same time.  Its not as easy as it seems, it takes practice.  It may be easy for someone  to experience the "in the moment" of cooking, but to taste, touch, smell, to feel the act of cooking while performing the act can be difficult, indeed it can be overwhelming.  It requires an openness from the perspective of all senses, including the "executive cognition" that directs the activity of cooking. 

Same thing when experiencing something like Tai Chi.  With practice it may become relatively easy to take a form or position, and to flow from one form or position to the next.  But to recognize and appreciate the "doing" while in the midst of the "moment," that can be mind blowing.  Again, sights, tastes, smells, feelings, physical and emotional, Spirituality and motivation, all the dimensions that form the doing, to be aware and appreciative of it all while in the midst of doing, it can be a mind expanding experience. 

I don't know if this makes any sense, but its something I've noticed with my own evolving practice of meditation and mindfulness.  The practice was apealing at first because the joy of experiencing the moment was being robbed from me, due ot the worries of the other distractions.  I was quite happy to enjoy "the moment" again and to recognize that joy re-emerging in my soul, a joy I hadn't experienced since childhood. Children don't think about what toy they are going to play with next, they experience the toy they are playing with in the moment.  The recognition was a romantic moment for me, the wistful reflection on the joys after they were experienced.

But to both experience the moment and to recognize and appreciate the moment at the same time rather than later, that's another dimension altogether.  As mortals we study history, and on very rare occasions we recognize ourselves as a part of history unfolding.  Its like history and the moment come together at one point.  With the practice of mindfulness, this sensation happens more regularly, being a part of the moment and experiencing the moment, recognizing the multidimensioned joy and even gravity of the moment at the same time. 

I guess one might say that time collapses while experiencing the moment in this way, in the practice of mindfulness.  History and the moment, the doing and the reflecting, become as one. 

There, enough rambling, again, just some random wistful romantic thoughts on the subject. 

Dave EC

It seems that the age old tradition of ascension to power through assassination is alive and well in the 21st century United States. Only the weapons of choice have changed. Conveniently, the dirty business of doing away with leaders physically has given way to the much cleaner, legal practice of character assasination. Beware, anyone who knows anyone who made some bad choices in the 1960's, anyone who knows or is related to anyone of the Islam faith, and anyone who knows anyone of Iranian descent. Americans only trust lilly white Alaskans who speak with an upper midwestern accent. You betcha!

To be truly fearless would probably be a symptom of psychopathy, however, to have "rational fear" and still act fearlessly means to be willing to respond to and trust in the Spirit when prompted to "go boldly" into places (physical and metaphysical) that seem uncomfortable or at times even dangerous, for the benefit of others.