Questioning Beliefs

“I can believe things that are true and things that aren't true and I can believe things where nobody knows if they're true or not.

I can believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny and the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis and Mister Ed. Listen - I believe that people are perfectable, that knowledge is infinite, that the world is run by secret banking cartels and is visited by aliens on a regular basis, nice ones that look like wrinkled lemurs and bad ones who mutilate cattle and want our water and our women.

I believe that the future sucks and I believe that the future rocks and I believe that one day White Buffalo Woman is going to come back and kick everyone's ass. I believe that all men are just overgrown boys with deep problems communicating and that the decline in good sex in America is coincident with the decline in drive-in movie theaters from state to state.

I believe that all politicians are unprincipled crooks and I still believe that they are better than the alternative. I believe that California is going to sink into the sea when the big one comes, while Florida is going to dissolve into madness and alligators and toxic waste.

I believe that antibacterial soap is destroying our resistance to dirt and disease so that one day we'll all be wiped out by the common cold like martians in War of the Worlds.

I believe that the greatest poets of the last century were Edith Sitwell and Don Marquis, that jade is dried dragon sperm, and that thousands of years ago in a former life I was a one-armed Siberian shaman.

I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumble bee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself.

I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck.

I believe that anyone who says sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too.

I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a baby's right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system.

I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”

-- Neil Gaiman, American Gods

Can overly indecisiveness people have stability in life?

They would have to decide to do so, which might present a problem.

What is the significance of accepting my weaknesses and limitations in establishing my worth, power, and strength?

There is balance in everything. The non-acceptance of weaknesses and limitations will make your worth, power, and strength questionable since “non-acceptance” is, itself, a weakness and limiting. To tout your own perfection is to invite your enemies to search out your weaknesses and limitations for exploitation. 

What are the most terrible types of lies?

Lies about other people. One, they hurt the people they aimed at, and, two, the lies say more about the perpetrator than the people the lies are about.

“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

What's your reason for not separating the people who are fighting?

A “fight” requires two willing participants, one on one. A brawl is a fight with multiple participants. But, in a fight, If both people are willing participants, then they are intent on mopping the floor with testosterone and I see no reason to break up what they both seem intent on finishing. It is a guy thing. To clarify, someone being “beat up” is not a fight, it is an ass whipping that one is not a willing participant to, and I would step in to separate them, if possible. 

If according to psychology that every stalker can change, then why do people say that they don't change?

Nothing is absolute, especially when it comes to personal choice. Look at what your question states: …"every stalker can change". This doesn’t mean they do. It is a choice they must make. Some do.  Most don't.

How can we show our accountability in the things we do? 

Ownership. We make choices and, sometimes, those choices don’t always go the way we’d like them to. Only you are accountable for the choices you make. If you have a solid ethical code you will hold yourself up for accountability. It may not feel good, but it will garner the respect of others and it might set you up as a good example for others to emulate.

Why do some people say "stick with what you know" when you want to do new things?

Ignorance or concern. They are trying to hold you back from being all you can be, or they are afraid of you failing. Either is bad. People should be encouraged to do new things and expand their knowledge. They might fail, and this is okay since failure is one of the best ways we learn. Never let someone tell you to not fail, or you will never learn to move forward. 

“I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”

-- Plato, The Republic

How can I get motivated to try to watch at least one movie every day?

Porn. Just saying.

What is the most misunderstood thing about you? Why is it misunderstood?

My spirituality. People have preconceived notions of what to expect, and it takes many of them by surprise when I talk good sense to them in plain language. I might curse or use off-color language, but the message gets across because of this. I don’t try to be somebody I’m not, and people seem to be attracted to this.

Have you ever used “with great power comes great responsibility” in your life?

When I was in military intelligence, I had the responsibility to manage 30–40 personnel and ensure we always rated excellent during our readiness inspections. In all of this, I also had to garner their respect in order to get the job done.

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man's life, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”

-- George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Can people who rely solely on critical thinking ever find God?

No one can ever find God, in life. God is a matter of faith, and faith is a belief in something for which there is little or no proof. But, if "critical" thinking has done anything for me, it has strengthened my faith, not lessened it. It has shown me the hidden agenda of organized religions, the faults, and given me a better perspective of Christianity.

Scripture is history, and history gives us an insight into the mindset of the times. Is “Holy Scripture” the Word of God? I have come to believe that scripture is nothing more than an explanation, a user guide for the only easy-to-understand Word of God, written in stone - the Ten Commandments. No guide or explanation is necessary, yet “religion” found a need to put together a collection of explanations and stories, and to pick and choose which of these they deemed worth keeping, of being included in the history they wanted to share. One must be critical in order to, not find God, but, to find truth in faith.

Who do you make the most sacrifices for?

My mother. As she approaches 90, her memory is feeling the weakness of her many years. I try my best to do for her. After all, she sacrificed for me for twenty years, the least I can do is return the favor.

How do you survive when your life has no meaning at all and evil people are trying to gain power and control over you and laughing at the hell you're going through?

I make good choices. Your life is all about choices. If you allow evil people to gain control, this is a conscious choice you make. Better you should make better choices and laugh at their inept attempts to control you. Strive to be happy at all times and those who seek to control will not find benefit in their efforts.

“You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life.”

-- Albert Camus 

What's your early morning quote?

“Wake up each morning and thank God for the gift of another day in paradise and another chance to excel in life.”

What are some thoughts you have and that make very much sense to you, but when you tell them to people, they call you crazy?

Time does not exist. Time is simply a human construct designed to give structure to this plane of existence. And, yet, well-renowned physicists would agree that time does not exist, at least not as we understand it.  They caught up to me.  I've been saying this for some time.

Is most advice given merely regurgitated beliefs by other people which may or may not be accurate or worthy of being repeated?

Oh, my God! I certainly hope not. I try not to "regurgitate" other people’s crap. I figure I’ve learned enough original crap of my own after 67 years of living in this existence. Most of it was from making bad choices. I like to share what I went through, what I learned, and how I rose above it all by making better choices.

My advice is my opinion, and opinions are like assholes… everybody has one. The only thing I ask is that, if you don’t agree with mine, have the big brass ones to float your own opinion out there. It’s so easy for people to “armchair quarterback” when they risk nothing on the field of battle. I find this most often with the League of the Perpetually Offended, God bless their little hearts.  There they are, streaking naked down the field of battle, their little "winky" all shrunk up.  Just saying

“I'm constantly saying, 'I read a fascinating article in 'The New Yorker' ... ' I say it so often that sometimes I think I have nothing interesting to say myself, I merely regurgitate 'The New Yorker.'”

-- Emma Donoghue

 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with the United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world-renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as a chaplain at the regional medical center.