Thursday, February 19, 2009

Introduction

Welcome to the 'Truth-seekers' website.
For the great enemy of truth is very often not the lie-- deliberate, contrived, and dishonest-- but the myth-- persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought. [John F Kennedy]
These essays are aimed to open minds to think beyond the constraints of 'conventional wisdom'; to venture into realms dismissed and denigrated by the exalted 'experts;' to question everything you think you know about this world you live in.

Those are lofty goals, and not exclusive to this site. I harbor no grand illusions about changing the world; I’m just driven to try to reach as many enquiring minds as possible. I have to trust that those who are meant to have their myths challenged will see these messages.


Proceed with me on a journey into risky territory, the frontiers of common sense reality. Leave your excess baggage at the gate-- your precious preconceptions of what the world must be; and take only your latent ability to discern truth when you sense it... to force your mind to think outside the neat boxes of pre-packaged 'information' served up by your friendly, commercial news outlets. For it is high time to cast off the numbing illusions of the masters of this world, and to see what is really happening before our eyes.

In the interest of full, honest disclosure, I make the following declaration. Every view of the world is biased-- it must be, for we are human, not divine. The question is always 'What is this writer's bias?' This is not one of those raving websites that boldly promises that their outrageous views are infallible, 100% 'truth.' We all know that is nonsense! What I promise is that I've studied widely, over many years, gone down numerous dead ends, given fair hearing to a lot of far-out ideas... and in the end, I am compelled by intellectual honesty (almost against my inclination) to accept the authentic Christ-based paradigm. I deliberately avoid stating 'Christian' because I believe most of what is proclaimed or understood to be Christian is, in fact, mostly garbage! I hate to be so blunt, but what else can one call the self-contradictory melange of scriptural truth and error, Old Testament mixed with New, oil and water, that is slickly packaged and sold as doctrine? But I get ahead of myself. Listen, even if you are an avowed atheist, at least be willing to explore something new. After all-- you must have found this site for a reason!
From this introduction, I suggest you go to the Index of essays, and click on the title of one that interests you. Ideally, the essays should be read in chronological (date) order, from earliest to latest, but in any case, each is intended to stand on its own.
These are the main themes that my essays deal with:

1. Conspiracy
Many people are starting to become concerned about the stability of their world. They've heard some claims that a ‘conspiracy’ is behind much of the troubling news. Others dismiss such theories as absurd. But, could it be true? Join a skeptic who considers the matter, with no particular axe to grind.

2. End of the World?

You can find any number of websites talking about 'the coming Apocalypse' or predicting the soon End of the World. Could there be something to it? As an amateur student of 'end times' speculation for many years, I've got some unsettling conclusions on the topic. Forewarned is fore-armed!

3. Religion- (reflections of a Christian and former church-goer)

A lot of sincere Christians are finding a strange stirring in their souls calling them to leave the church they now attend. And go... where? These essays are aimed at giving guidance about what it means and what to do... from one who's taken the leap. Also, there are several Bible studies intended to help readers get a new insight into scripture.

Religion has always been a contentious point among humans. Today, we can add the new ‘religion’ of science to the fracas. They all claim ‘truth,’ yet that’s obviously impossible. Can we ever distinguish fact from confabulation? Anyone with a curious mind-- atheist or religious-- is invited to join my enquiry.
You may not agree; but before you fire off a comment-- do some serious study, thinking, and praying!

4. Resources
These essays are intended to help the reader to make the paradigm shift... from the comfortable, familiar world of illusion, to the brave, new world of reality. They aim to assist in seeing thru the 'Matrix;' learning to recognize the awful, omnipresent stench of BS emanating from all our trusted media outlets and government officials. Most of the material comes from my own, hard-won, life experiences.

5. Society and Miscellaneous
Those essays that don't fit into one of the previous 4 categories will be filed under one of these general headings. 'Society' includes my comments on the economic situation; 'miscellaneous' includes some of my letters to the editors of various newspapers.

*- Guidelines for Posting Responses -*
Your responses to these essays are invited; however, please adhere to these guidelines... or wait until you are able to do so. ;-)
> Please refrain from profanity and personal attacks-- they get you nowhere but the 'delete bin.'
> Keep comments brief and addressed to the issue(s) raised in the essay.
> Most software now includes a spell-checker; learn to use it, and your comments will merit more respect.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Vatican vs Israel-- Clash of Confusion

[Letter to CBC radio program, The Current, re story on the Vatican's problems with Bishop Williamson who impudently questions the 'holocaust gospel.']
[Greetings etc,] Your enquiry into the recent tempest in a teapot over Vatican dealings with Israel raised several glaring anomalies in the common mis-understanding of religion.
For notable example, I heard one of the Catholic apologists state that Vatican-II was about absolving the Jews of blame for the execution of Jesus Christ. That may be so, but it completely contradicts the words found right in the scriptures of the New Testament, which is the holy writ of the Christian faith. Christians, including scholars, seem to be ignorant of several salient facts:
1) the Jews who crucified Jesus accepted full blame for their decision; Matthew 27:25 records "And all the people said, 'His blood shall be on us and on our children!"
2) the disciples of Jesus, most of whom were born Jews, accused their countrymen of murdering Jesus; John 19:23 states "This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and YOU, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross." And Acts 2: 36 says "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom YOU crucified, both Lord and Christ."
3) the Jews do not deny killing Jesus because they regard him as just another prophet in a succession of prophets whom their ancestors had murdered, previously; as written in Acts 7:52, "Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him [Jesus]."
So, while the Roman Catholic Church feels obliged to absolve the Jews for responsibility for the killing of Jesus, the Holy Scripture holds them accountable. Of course, it is pointless to continue 'blaming' anyone for Jesus' death, since he himself told his followers that he gives his life freely, for the benefit of all mankind (John 10:18).
Second, and much more egregious, the Catholic spokesman asserted that Vatican-II further recognized that the Jews' original covenant with God was still valid and provides them with a separate and distinct means of salvation. That belief is entirely antithetical to the fundamental message of the Christian gospel! The well-known verse, John 3:16, says: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." It clearly refers to the whole world, making no distinctions among races or religions. Then, Acts 4:12 confirms that: "there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved."
The New Testament book of Hebrews was written specifically as clarification for Jewish believers about the transition from the former, Sinai covenant (called the 'old covenant') to the new, Christ-centered covenant. In chapter 9, verse 15, it is written: "For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritanceÑnow that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant." The whole book is a careful, forensic explanation of the spiritual reasoning for the change from the Law of Moses to the Law of Love. Most Christians have no clue that this book even exists in their Bible, thanks to a clergy that would rather avoid it than face it honestly.
If the Catholic Church wants to recognize some alternative to the gospel of Christ, then they might as well simply close their doors and shut their church down! What would be the point of it? If Jesus isn't the only channel to the grace of God, then there's simply no need for a Christian Church, period. When will Catholics-- and all other so-called Christians, for that matter-- face the facts found in their own Bible, and either proclaim the authentic gospel, or just shut their apostate system down altogether?
Christians can still acknowledge other beliefs, and maintain dialog with them; but the primacy and uniqueness of Jesus is the foundation of their faith. If you don't accept Jesus as the one way to eternal life, then you aren't a Christian. Listeners may be upset, but they have to ask, then, what is it that makes the Christian faith different or worth believing in. (If your answer is 'the Ten Commandments,' then you are in truly sad shape, and must go back to square zero and start all over again.)
The current controversy underscores the spiritual vacuity of the Roman Catholic Church, and equally, the duplicity of Judaism. How can Jews continue to invoke the 'holocaust' as their free pass to prosecute the extermination of the Palestinians, whose land they usurped? And how can Western journalists keep on mouthing the lies perpetuated by the Jewish lobby groups, while ignoring the legitimate cries of a people apparently given up as a sacrifice by the West to placate their collective conscience for what the Nazis did during the Second World War?
Of course, you will not read this letter on the air, since we seem to be a society that much prefers our cherished fables to truths that may be unpleasant to face. But as a believer in the essence of the Bible, I could not just listen to foolishness without attempting a response.
Sincerely, JK