Post 500: My Top 10 Posts

"It’s not the number of followers you have or “likes” you get, it’s the strength of your bond with your followers that indicates how much anyone cares about what you have to say. In this game, the one with the most real relationships wins."

-- Gary Vaynerchuk, Entrepreneur

I have readers that think it's enough to read the intro to my posts to get the gist of where I'm taking it, and they're probably right... probably.  It's when these same people are critical of what I write that problems arise, knowing that they are too lazy to do me the courtesy of reading the post prior to commenting.  It is pretty easy to tell who reads and who doesn't by whether they get it, or not.  For some, though, the mere fact they don't get it is evidence that they really do get it.  I suppose, for them, they would be in denial of their "Aha!" moment.  How many times do each of us deny, outwardly, that which we know in our hearts to be true?  How many of these times do we really think others have bought into our bullshit denials?  Just a thought.

Gary Vaynerchuk is correct in the quote, above, when he says, "it’s the strength of your bond with your followers that indicates how much anyone cares about what you have to say."  Gary is an entrepreneur and, as such, for him business is a "game" to be won.  Thank God I don't have to worry about my blog making money.  For me, this is not some game to be won; it is not me against them.  For me, if I can help even one person along their path, I have accomplished something great.  After 499 posts I can say, with forced humility, I have received many comments of thanks, or agreement, which keep me on my own path.  I have also garnered the occasional constructive criticism, which keeps me humble, and lets me know where there is more work to do.  

One interesting aspect I have found about some of the critics of what I write is... they don't write.  Personally, I don't think many critics actually excel at what they critique.  It reminds me of the old adage, "Those that can, do.  Those that can't, teach."  But, with critics, I find their not knowing their ass from a hole in the ground to be a fairly evident shortcoming to their chosen profession.  Most seem intolerant of anything they don't personally like, and their ego helps to focus on their own transparency.  

Sometimes it's not what you say that matters, it's what you don't say.

- Spongebob Squarepants

I got into the habit, some time back, of trying restaurants which food critics gave bad marks.  I could almost guarantee myself that the meal would be exceptional.  It was the place with high marks one might better avoid.  If you don't have something nice to say, better to just shut the hell up and save face.  Luckily, my critics have been few.  This has allowed me to know them and dictate to whom I will pay the respect of response, and to whom I will simply allow my other readers to form their own opinion about.

I write these posts as much for me as I do to leave some legacy behind for my children, grandchildren, and friends.  I enjoy the task, and I think that's important.  You should love what you do in life, as much as you love the people you do it with, or for.

“It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”

-- Mother Teresa

For my 500th post, I went back through the other 499 to find those which seemed to get the most hits.  I suppose these are my "Top 10 Hits Parade" for the blog.  Four of the ten were from the weekly My Sunday Thought series, but the subjects were varied.  I am always surprised by which post will get mass attention, as it never seems to be the one I would assume.  But, then, I never for a moment thought Russia would account for my second highest number of hits, or that I would have readers in 60 countries around the world.

As you look through the Top 10, I hope you'll find one you might not have read.  Please feel free to click on the link and see if you can tell why it made the list to begin with.  You will note that I have an eleventh post at the bottom, Congregation for Religious Tolerance.   This post holds the number one position for the most hits, and I suppose that is only right since it is the primary driving force behind why I do this, and it would seem you all agree.  

• Joyful Hands
• Friends Along Our Path 
• "Not my circus, not my monkey"
• The Hypocrisy of Acceptance
• The Holocaust: A Museum for Tolerance
• The Path We Take
• Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
• Correlation of High Religiosity In America with Everything Bad - My Response
• Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign!
• Je Ne Sais Quoi
• Congregation for Religious Tolerance

Thank you all for making these first couple of years, and 500 posts, a meaningful task along my personal path.  I will endeavor to not be repetitive in what I blog, but sin is, fortunately, not as varied or my repetitions would be much less.  I have also tried to keep politics out of the blog, which is also difficult in these times of religious persecution which our leaders either ignore or condone through their inaction.

I invite all of my readers, throughout the world, to contact me with their thoughts or concerns, to offer up "Guest Posts" for possible inclusion here, or to offer up topics which they feel are important to them, or might be important to others, for which they would like my humble input.

Thank you all, again, and my God bless believer and unbeliever alike, in the spirit of love, understanding, and tolerance.

You are my reason, and you constantly take my breath away.

“In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took,

but how many moments took your breath away.”

-- Shing Xiong 

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

My Sunday Thought for December 20, 2015: Time

But there never seems to be enough time

To do the things you want to do

Once you find them

-- Jim Croce, "Time in a Bottle"

There never seems to be enough time.  Of course, you don't realize this when you're young.  I think realization hits somewhere around the middle of your working life when you realize money can buy you everything, but you still empty.  It's the point you admit that no amount of money can buy your way out of that feeling; the time when you ask, "Is this all there is?"

And then you're old.

Never enough time turns to fears of time running out.  You find yourself wondering if forgetting a name is the onset of Alzheimer's, or just old timers.  You silently pray you never lose your mind, because it seems to be the only true friend you've ever had, though the "silent prayer" would be your admission that God is becoming more and more important as your time here winds down.

Every morning brings a new ache, new reminders of your lifetime of bodily abuse.  Breakfast includes meds and aspirin, coffee, and an occasional dose Elijah Craig when the pain just won't let up.  The face you see in the mirror is familiar, yet older.  The hair is becoming easier to brush as it disappears, and you marvel that you still have all your teeth.

You find the questionnaires at doctor's offices humorous.  Name?  Uh... oh, yeah.  Sex?  Yes, please!  Married?  Not if I can help it.  How is your health?  I'm visiting a doctor, how good can it be?  Do you have muscle aches?  Do you drink alcohol?  Do you smoke? Do you get up at night to urinate?  I'm old, you moron; yes to all.  I like to visit older doctors that actually read these things and ask relevant questions concerning my answers.  It makes me feel like I haven't wasted some precious time better spent actually being seen by him.

I find my life, at this point, is more about walks on the beach and through the park.  I find these walks are more about talking with God and making my "shit" right with the Lord.  I find the Bible less important than the message, and the message so much less complicated than "holy" scripture tries to make it.  Love God, love yourself, and do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  How can you elaborate on ten simple commandments enough to fill a book?  You come to realize, as you get older, only man could complicate the simple word of God to such an extreme as to create a book of dubious attribution, questionable intent, and countless contradictions requiring even more explanation and interpretation.

Time? Time is still misunderstood. Physicists try to understand it and philosophers try to explain around it. Time continues to march on while we waste it on research into what and why. Even if we understood it, could we change it? I think not. Time is truly the gift of God and the bane of our existence. Time is what we spend learning to be. Time is full of sadness, happiness, mistakes, failures, success, and realization. Time prepares us for what comes after, and reminds us of what went before. Time is something we learn to cherish, and is a cruel taskmaster. Put time in a bottle? I have found I don't have the time to waste on trying.

I would rather spend it with you.

Take some time to think about time and you might find it is time well spent.  Time is never wasted and time is never lost.  Time and again we find the time to do what's right.  Will we ever understand time?

Only time will tell.

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

God Isn't Repairing Our Failures

We posed the question to all of you on our Facebook page and got a litany of interesting responses. Many of you echoed the sentiments shared by the Daily News, voicing instead that you would like to see our nation’s leaders instead put forth actionable solutions to the problems we face. Many of you also, however, voiced anger at the declaration of the Daily News and advocated for the power of prayer in difficult situations – particularly when a person may not individually be able to take direct action.

-- The Visionary

Why isn't God fixing this?  By "this" we mean problems, and death, caused by people?  Are we to assume God is expected to step in whenever man displays an inept ability to do what is right?  Think about this from a good sense point of view.  Why would you create something requiring constant attention and maintenance?  This would be like a parent giving a house to the children and saying, "Run it into the ground and I'll keep fixing it for you - burn it down and I'll keep rebuilding it."  And, if we wouldn't create it, what makes us think God would?  As stated above, The Visionary, where I found this article, asked this question to their readers.  The gist of the answers is shown in the quote.

I wonder about those who voice anger at any liberal rag touting liberal "godlessness" by stating our leaders need to be fixing this.  Really?  So, let me get this straight, we finally get a liberal newspaper to state something we should all be onboard with and, this time, the religious take on the mantle of the perpetually offended.  Personally, I think what the Daily News did was simply state what any truly spiritual person should already know - God gave us the earth and the heavens, and all the responsibility that comes with.  We are the caretakers so it is our responsibility to make sure it runs properly.

I think you should pray to God, for assistance and for strength to overcome.  We should pray for our many blessings and to give thanks for our successes.  And, most humbly, we should ask forgiveness for our failures, and pray for the strength and the tenacity to find the knowledge to overcome our shortcomings.  I find it a bit immature to go crying to God every time we fail, expecting God to do for us.  We should, all of us, get down on our knees, look to heaven and plead, "Please God, make us not be dumbasses."  What losers we are if it comes to praying for that.  

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” 

--Winston Churchill

God gave us everything we need to succeed.  If you don't make use of the gift God gave you, it would seem to me that would be your problem and not someone else's.  We need to humble ourselves by king ownership of our failures, and not shift blame elsewhere.  God will show us the way, but it is up to us to travel the path.  We all need to get back to an understanding that any failure in our life is our failure, not someone else's.  We also need to understand that any failure in the world is mankind's failure, not God's.  We need to police our own house, and thank God for the opportunity to excel.

“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.”

-- Henry Ford

There are those among us for which everything in life comes easy; everything was handed to them on a silver platter.  Failure for these is devastating.  I think life without the humility of failure breeds an ego that negates any true enjoyment of their success.  It breeds the ego which demands that money can buy everything, as they take all credit while standing shoulders and crushing those who made their dreams reality.   I think, for many, it breeds life without knowledge of faith, love, thanks, understanding and forgiveness.

"Those who have failed are humble. They realize their limits through failure. They get to know so well that they cannot bring success in their lives with only their own strength. Those who have failed learn wonderful lessons through failure. They gain wisdom. They learn about human nature and gain new realizations on life. The most dangerous person is the one who continues to succeed. They are the ones who don’t know what failure is. People like them fall into pride. They are arrogant. In the midst of all of this, they suddenly crumble down at once."

-- Reverend JOSHUA CHOON-MIN KANG

This quote is an excerpt from one of Reverend Joshua Choon -Min Kang's weekly letters to his congregation of the New Life Vision Church entitled, Failure is a Road on the Way to Success.  I have included the link so you can read his short message.  It reminds me of the wealthy industrialist in the early 20th century who, when an employee lost a half million dollars he quipped something to the effect of, "I'm not going to fire him, I just spent $500 thousand dollars training him."  Failure is about learning, not just for the one who fails, but for all around them as well.  

"We failed, but in the good providence of God apparent failure often proves a blessing."

-- Gen. Robert E. Lee

Why does God let innocence die?  Well, for those believing in an afterlife, innocence never really dies then, does it?  And why is it God's fault because we allow innocence to die on our watch?  God gave us the intelligence to create an atomic reaction and we used our lack of good sense to build weapons of mass destruction with it.  God gave us the intelligence to create a gun to hunt and we come up with the slogan, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people."  Nice slogan, because it says it all.  God doesn't kill people, people kill people.  Scripture would try to placate us by saying that, even if we heard the answer, we would not understand it because the innocent are no more.  It would not take away the pain and loss we feel.  Again, we forget that these innocent are not dead, but have found everlasting life, right?  Only their physical shell is dead.  

But what about those things not in our control, like weather?  Hurricanes ravage coastlines all the time, worldwide, and kill people.  The survivors rebuild atop the ruins.  Earthquakes demolish cities, killing thousands, and we rebuild atop the ruins, again and again.  Throughout history we find cities rebuilt atop the ruins of cities. 

"Sometimes it takes a natural disaster to reveal a social disaster."

-- Jim Wallis, writer

Are people really that stupid?  Isn't it all God's fault that we're too stupid to move after, oh, several disasters on the same spot?  We still do it today.  Hell, I just built a house where a house once stood before hurricane Katrina.  How smart is that?  But, I'm not blaming God for what I do.  It is my choice.  I'm one of many idiots living for the next disaster, it is what we do.  

You see, God has a "get out of jail free" card.  He gave mankind the freedom to choose.  In this way, if man chooses poorly, God can sit back and say, "Dumb ass."  And, God would be right.  Not God's monkeys, not God's circus.  God is just here to save those that can be rescued, if we finally burn the big top down.  Will that be our final failure?  No, I don't think so.  It isn't in our nature.  

We will rebuild on the ashes of the old, and continue to give unto God that which is God's.

"Only after disaster can we be resurrected."

-- Chuck Palahniuk, novelist, journalist

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Going to Church

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  "But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  "And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.…

-- Matthew 6:5-7

I don't go to church, unless it is a special occasion and I'm required to attend at the behest of good friends or family. I haven't made church part of my weekly ritual since before I left home for the military. It had nothing to do with Matthew's verse. Truth be told, at eleven years of age I wasn't going to learn Latin so I could understand Sunday Mass, and everything in the Bible, save the Ten Commandments, was totally Greek to me.  No, I wasn't going to learn Greek, either.  My last stint of "scheduled" Sunday Mass was back in 1965, if memory serves. That was when Mother Superior at St. Angeles Catholic School thought I would reap more benefit from a secular educational system.   Yep, at the ripe old age of eleven, I was such a pain in the ass even the Catholic nuns gave up on me. Hey, lucky me!  But this incident would have a lasting impact my young mind, on my view of tolerance and hypocrisy in religion.  Church and I parted ways and I developed a stronger, more personal relationship with Christ and God. 

Had I paid any attention to scripture, I probably could have saved myself, the church, and the holy sisters of St. Angeles, two years of undeserved punishment. After all, according to Matthew, a church is pretty much peopled by hypocrites. But me bringing my new found knowledge of Matthew to the attention of the Mother Superior, especially in the guise of an excuse to blow off going to church, certainly would have earned me a trip to the confessional, followed by some serious penance from the venerable, Irish, Father Lane, no doubt. But, isn't mind control a major point, throughout history, of a religious place of worship?

It would seem, whether Christian, Jew, or Muslim, our places of worship have been used often for controlling the minds of the faithful.  Gentle sermons by Jesus morphed, over two thousand years, into tirades of fire and brimstone.  Fear of God, fun, and happiness would suck the life and the love of God from most people's spirituality.  It almost seems as if life, marriage, misery, taxes, more taxes, death, inheritance taxes, and final judgment were all mankind had to look forward to.  Couldn't we look forward to forgiveness?  Of course!  That's where confession and massive penance came into play, at least for those of us that couldn't afford to just get a wave of the hand and a "pass."  

Mafia bosses were generous when it came to donations for the church, as a steady flow of cash would seem to garner a blind eye, from the local priest, for any indiscretions, like snuffing out the lives of your competition or those who "wornged" you.  If sins were confessed one could look forward to divine forgiveness granted through the priest’s absolution, as long as the sinner made good "some satisfaction" for the sin. For most of us peons this satisfaction would mean saying penance until hell froze over. For the mafia dons, and the filthy rich, this could be accomplished with a healthy donation toward a "new roof" for the church.  

But, this kind of hypocritical give and take is historical for temples, churches, synagogues, and even mosques.  Money could always buy your way into heaven because, well, who are we to judge the servant of another?  It is before their own master they must stand or fall, correct?  

So religion could use this excuse to take bad money and do good with it, at least we would hope.  Historically, however, we have seen priests, ministers, imams, and rabbis, living in the lap of luxury while suffering around them continued unabated.  Bring on the gold, pass the basket, send in those dollars, and let us build an even grander monument to the glory of God.  But, If we listen to Matthew, is would seem this isn't what Christ asked us to do, nor is it what God really wanted, is it?

"Going to church doesn't make you a better person any more than standing in a garage makes you a car."

-- John Wayne

Does going to church make us a better person?  Does being a better person make us a righteous person?  Does being a righteous person make us a better person?  When do we ever find the time to just develop our personal relationship with God?  

My earliest memories of "Sunday go ta meetin," was having to put on our "Sunday best."  Bodies were bathed, hair was cut and combed, and suits were laid out so we wouldn't be an embarrassment.  To whom were we trying to impress, Jo Bag O'Doughnuts and the entire Bag O'Doughnuts clan?  The priest?  Or was it to impress Jesus and God, et al?  Who were we supposed to really there to impress?  I always go back to what Matthew said, "When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men."  

Somehow I think God would overlook one's wardrobe if one's heart was in the right place while praying, and, according to Matthew, that place is in one's own "inner room."

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

My Sunday Thought for December 13, 2015: Little Green Men

"What makes you think they're gonna care about a bunch of lifers who found God at the ass-end of space?" 

-- Ripley, "Alien III"

Ever wonder what's at the ass-end of space?  Hundreds of scientists research it. Hundreds of writers fictionalize it.  The entertainment industry spends an enormous amount of money producing movies about it.  So, we must care about it, right?  But, is the destination as interesting as the journey?  The science behind the journey is what keeps me in awe.  Anyone can fly from Los Angeles to New York, but why would you want to fly for hours from some big, overpriced, overcrowded, traffic gridlocked west coast tourist trap, to visit the big, overpriced, overcrowded, traffic gridlocked rotting apple, tourist trap?  What if you could be there in the blink of an eye, and be home for dinner?

This is where I would usually jump in with my "it's all about the journey" spiel, and if we're discussing a trip from L.A. to N.Y.C., the spiel would be pertinent.  But to get to the ass-end of space will require us to sleep through the trip like astronautsicles in a freezer.  When we finally get to the ass-end of space we'll either find the popsicle stick God shoved up it, or a sign saying "UNDER CONSTRUCTION - AWAITING COSMIC DEBRIS," and under this statement, in much smaller print, we'll read, "Thank you for your patience, God."

Out there, we will probably find ourselves surrounded by a hundred other alien species, just floating around at the edge of the abyss, scratching their... uh, pointy ears.  And, again, we will probably find that the destination is much less interesting than the beings we meet along the way.  We will find we are just another alien culture.  They'll refer to us, behind our backs, in some derogatory fashion, like the description of us in Star Trek as, "ugly bags of mostly water," their version of "little green men."  Let's make sure we have a multi-colored, multi-cultural, multi-religious, crew.  This will probably screw with their minds, for at least a split second, as we try to explain to them that "all lives matter," a concept they probably accept as a given and will be concerned that we're so concerned about the obvious.

We'll need to get passed this proper name for God issue.  Allah, the Great Spirit, Brahman, Tawa, Wankan Tanka, and Yaweh, to name a few, are really just other names for the one God.  Who is right?  Well, as the Bible says, who are we to judge?  Each of us will stand or fall before our own master, so let's try to get over it.  When we meet whatever awaits us "out there," I'm sure they will also have their own name for their creator.  If we can't accept the cultural diversity of our own thoughts and beliefs, how will we accept the diversity of their thoughts, beliefs, and culture?

Yet there are those who would throw the scripture in our face and vehemently restate that there is only one way to the Kingdom.  And, for mankind, this argument might hold true, even though we can't even seem to agree amongst ourselves which Abrahamic religion is correct, much less include the other religions in on the debate.  I have to ask myself, why would Christ appear to another culture that has no materials to make a cup, no concept of drinking from a cup, nothing to put in the cup to drink even if they could make one, and try to explain to this culture that without a cup to drink from, they will go to hell for all eternity?  "Hell?  What is this hell?" they might ask, as they explain to us that their all benevolent creator gives them everything.  They probably had no concept of evil, until we arrived and introduced it.  We have the capacity to destroy culture just by opening our pie holes and letting loose our years of well intentioned, albeit hypocritical, bullshit.

Sucks being us.

Perhaps we will meet a culture from out there that will be able to explain how simple a concept God really is, and explain it in such a way that all of us can grasp.  But, then, I have to remember who we are.  It really sucks being us.  We have such a great capacity to think, to create, and to love, yet we spend more time trying to get over, to be offended, and to destroy, than we do just trying to get along.  And, if we do grasp the concept, our intrepid crew will have to survive the journey home in time to save us from ourselves.
 

Who in God's great universe would ever want to know us?  We're probably considered a multifaceted game for pari-mutuel betting in some galactic casino.  We are probably an interesting subject for little green xenobiologists and astrobiologists, looking for other advanced alien life throughout the universe.  They have probably decided there is nothing here of any interest, but their insider knowledge forces them to place a bet on Putin to break even, and double down on ISIS to lose.  Hell, would it really surprise us if we were told by an advanced species that we had to leave so they could turn our beautiful, lush planet into their version of a Sandals resort, before we totally destroy it?   

What would you say to a little green guy from space, when you try to explain our concept of God and Christianity?  What would you think when they smile, shake their heads, and simply point up, confused at why we have made a simple concept so difficult as to totally lose the point and wage war over it.  Would it surprise any of us that they are confused by a philosophy that preaches peace, love, understanding, and tolerance, while striving to destroy the very planet that gives us life? Perhaps when they point up, we might want to consider they aren't trying to tell us where they come from.  Maybe they'll be trying to tell us, through their far advanced knowledge of simplicity... there truly is only one way.  How thick will we show them we can be?  But, then, we are only "ugly bags of mostly water."

So, who's gonna care about a bunch of lifers who found God at the ass-end of space?  I would like to think that's the very reason we sent them.  I would like to think we are looking forward to hearing what they found, what they learned, and who they met.  I would like to think we are better than what we are, but...

...we are only human, right?

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

My Sunday Thought for December 6, 2015: Stereotyping Peaceful Islam - Inherently Vicious Pit Bulls?

"Pit Bulls are inherently vicious."  Have you ever heard this mindless tripe?  Have you ever run into a clueless, intolerant person that feels the entire breed of dog should be eradicated for reasons they cannot support with any evidence?  It's kind of like justifying genocide by simply saying, kill them all and let God sort them out.  It's like saying, in the 1930s, that all of Germany's problems were caused by the Jews; that the Jews were the cause of their economic woes and losing World War I, excuses Hitler used, with great success, for eradicating the Jews.

But, what does this have to do with stereotyping Islam?  Writing this, I am fully aware of how out in left field it seems.  I'm also aware that many are going to immediately take offense and focus on me comparing Islam to a breed of dog, missing the real point of this post entirely.  The League of the Perpetually Offended will probably be demanding my head on a platter due largely to their own rampant intolerance for anything resembling understanding, reason, or just good sense.  Please understand that the comparison of Pit Bulls with peaceful Islam concerns the misconceptions, nothing else.  Bear with me as I try to fail at bringing this example full circle.

First, let's look at a list of 10 misconceptions about the Pit Bull breed borrowed, with apology, from Arin Greenwood, Animal Welfare Editor, The Huffington Post:

1. Banning Pit Bulls Make People Safer?

2. Pit Bulls Are Inherently Vicious

3. Pit Bulls Are Bred For Fighting

4. They Have Locking Jaws

5. Pit Bulls Aren't Good With Kids

6. They Aren't Safe Around Other Dogs

7. Pit Bulls Can Never Be Trusted With Other Animals

8. Once A Fighting Dog, Always A Fighting Dog

9. All Pit Bulls Eventually Turn On Their Owners

10. Only Bad People Keep Pit Bulls

10 Stereotypes About Pit Bulls That Are Just. Dead. Wrong.

For each of these ten misconceptions, I have heard a similar description for Muslims, and Islam, as a whole.  Try it yourself; replace "Pit Bull" in each statement with Muslim or Islam, as appropriate.  Anything stand out for you?

In her article, for which I have included the link below the 10 misconceptions, Ms. Greenwood makes some telling statements concerning what we have come to learn about the Pit Bull breed:

"Breed identification is nearly impossible... There's no evidence that pit bulls are, in fact, more dangerous than other dogs... The term "pit bull" doesn't actually refer to a specific breed of dog. It's a catch-all term that usually means dogs who are one of a couple of types of terriers... Pit bulls aren't inherently anything, other than dogs with a blocky-shaped head. And of course the shape of a dog's head tells you exactly nothing about that dog's personality... But even those dogs who are bred for fighting can turn out to make great pets once they're free from their abusive environments... A dog being labeled a pit bull tells you nothing about how that pup will be with other dogs... Regardless of breed, good socialization is always recommended, to help dogs play nice... Pit bulls, in the end, are nothing more -- and nothing less -- than dogs. All this being said, there's one stereotype about pit bulls that we can get behind. It is indisputably true that when they're happy and loved, these dogs have the very best smiles."

When you try the exercise of exchanging terms here, we find similarities to what we have come to learn about Islam, to wit:  You can't tell a radical terrorist Muslim from a peaceful one by looking at them.  Visually profiling without additional information foments fear and intolerance.  There is no evidence that Islam is more dangerous than any other religion.  Islamic terrorist has become a "catch-all" term to include all Muslims, peaceful or otherwise, which simply magnifies an Islamophobia which might lead to internment camps with "showers" and furnaces; another Nazi "final solution," and how horrific was that?  

Muslims aren't inherently terrorists any more than children of American neo-Nazi parents are born being racists.  It is something they are taught to be by sociopathic role models.  What a Muslim looks like says nothing of their true beliefs.  There is such a small minority of Islamic extremists wishing to destroy the world, one would think we should assume non-terrorist before we jump to a conclusion and judge the book by its cover.  We have witnessed radical terrorists see the light of reason, the misinterpretation of the Qur'an by radical Imams, and leave the terrorist groups.  We hear their testimony in the media more and more.  Once free from their abusive environments, from the heretical interpretation of their faith, they seem to find, with some assistance from peaceful Islamists, the error of their ways.  Perhaps Islam needs to be more public when they "playing nice" with others, especially in this country where our media doesn't cover the good as much as the bad.

In closing, I'm going to plagiarize Ms. Greenwood's final statement, changing it appropriately, in my attempt to try and bring this post together:  Muslims, in the end, are nothing more -- and nothing less -- than human beings.  All this being said, there is one stereotype about Islam that, I think, we can get behind.  It is indisputably true that when they are happy, loved, and accepted as friends, these people of faith have proven themselves to be the best of us.  They can also have the very best of smiles.

We need to remember the worst of our history, and the best.  We need to remember that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all Abrahamic religions, and all three have suffered from failing humanity at one time or another.  We can try to deny it, but the truth is, whether use God or Allah, our mutual God is the God of Abraham.  As such, where one fails, perhaps we must look all the way back to Abraham in order to see where mistakes have been made.  Or, maybe we just have to look at how badly we have allowed scripture to be interpreted by scholars with agendas not in line with those of the God they profess to believe in.

This Sunday, stop looking upon all of Islam, misdiagnosing it, as some rabid dog in need of euthanasia.  Instead, try utilizing the technology at hand for more than playing games, social media, or some immoral pastime.  Look up articles on the Islam, by the Islam, that condemns terrorism and the killing of innocence.  Learn about the other Islam, the vast majority of Islam, the Islam of peace.  See if you can change your close minded, one-sided opinion, and open the door to - maybe.

How cool might that be?    

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Talking Face-to-Face? What a Concept!

Face-to-face interaction (less often, face-to-face communication or face-to-face discourse) is a concept in sociology, linguistics, media and communication studies describing social interaction carried out without any mediating technology. Sociologist Erving Goffman in his classic 1959 book "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life" defined face-to-face interaction as "the reciprocal influence of individuals upon one another's actions when in one another's immediate physical presence".

-- Wikipedia, "Face to Face Interaction"

A friend of mine posted this photograph on her social media page.  The concept is a point I harp on constantly and, you guessed it, I'm going to beat the dead horse, again, face-to-face communication.

Teenagers?  Oh, how we'd love to put this ridicule on the young.  Unfortunately, you can see this scene with elderly people in any restaurant.  Loss of ability to communicate face-to-face is not a malady infecting just our youth.  It is a social grace we have been eroding away at since Innocenzo Manzetti came up with the idea of the "speaking telegraph" in 1844.

All of my friends give me grief over the fact that I still have a "flip" phone.  I carry my flip phone everywhere, and there is a reason for it.  I carry it at my mother's request so, in the event of an emergency, if anything were to happen to her or dad, I can be reached.  That's it.  If I could do away with it, I would.  When I'm out and about I am enjoying personal time.  I do not want you to call me.  If I wanted you to call me, I'd be at home, or talking to you face-to-face.  But, technology tugs at all of us.  Some of us kick and fight against it like a child at bedtime.  We don't want to go!  We are the Luddites of our day.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love new technology.  I think technology has it's place in making our lives easier.  I just think we need to temper our love of technology with the realization it has the ability to destroy our humanness.  We risk letting the technology rule us as in some science fiction movie.  We risk our fiction becoming our reality without learning the moral of the story.   The more we allow technology, the industry behind it, and our own lack of moderation, to control our lives, the more we risk being controlled.  We risk becoming the emotionless machines we use.

Unlike Prince, we need to re-learn how to party like its 1995.  We need to keep technology in its place.  We need to learn to keep our technology in our pockets when we're out in public.  The whole point of being out in public is to interact face-to-face with other people out in public.  This doesn't mean walking around with an earpiece, talking to yourself like some simpleton or an elderly person with dementia.

Take the damned Blue Tooth out of your ear so we know when you're talking to us.  If someone ever causes an accident, injuring someone close to me, because they were on the phone or texting, they had better die in the accident because I will probably beat them to death with their own device when I see them.  I wish it amazed me that people incapable of multitasking get behind the wheel of a 4000 pound vehicle, speed it up to 65 mph, and proceed to do something other than drive.  Put your makeup on at home, finish your phone calls, finish your lunch, and beat the crap out of your relationship, prior to getting behind the wheel of a two ton weapon of mass destruction.

Just saying.

When you have dinner together at night, or any meal for that matter, turn off the boob-tube and the cell phones, sit at the dinner table with plates, napkins and silverware, you know, like civilized human beings.  Try talking with each other about plans for the day, or the day's events.  Exchange anecdotes that may have occurred.  Anecdote?  Look it up, that's why you carry a tablet.  Remember? 

I remember when a tablet was something you wrote on, you know, with a pen not a stylus.  A pen was the writing implement that ink actually flowed from in order to make a mark.  This was back in the day when you actually had to know how to spell, do math... in your head, and, God forbid, talk to someone face-to-face.  It won't be long before your significant other finds it more gratifying to make love to a machine, or an artificial intelligence, like Gigolo Joe. 

Or, are they already?

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."

Hope in the Face of Terror?

 

One would pray for much hope in the face of worldwide terrorism, and we find it if we look.  The problem stems from the fact that we have to look for it when it should be slapping us in the face as soundly as the terrorism it would contradict.

"Hundreds of Norwegian Muslims have formed a human shield around a Synagogue in the country’s capital as a symbol of solidarity with the city’s Jewish community.

Over 1,000 Muslims chanted “No to anti-Semitism, no to Islamophobia” as they formed what they called a “ring of peace” around the Jewish place of worship."

Not many have heard this story from February of 2015.  Go to this link, Ring of Peace, and educate yourself.

I have had the distasteful pleasure of confronting two gentlemen of late, one I know quite well and the other a total stranger.  Both have an attitude toward Islam that the only good Muslim is a dead one.  I would like to hand each of them a machete and a five year old Muslim child.  I will stand there with a pistol and wait for them to strike, at which time I will shoot them, per their beliefs, for becoming what they fear most.  Would they understand why they, also, would have to be shot?  When do we cross the line from civilized, to being as bad, or worse, as what we fight against?

Iman Siddiqi is a second year political science major student at University of California, Irvine.  This is an excerpt from his article in the campus newspaper New University.  You can read the entire article at this link, and I do hope you will:  A message of Hope in the Face of Terror.

"Islam emphasizes the importance of human life. The Qur’an equates killing a single person to killing all of mankind. Muslim jurists throughout the world consider the violation of public safety to be a violation of God’s right (Haq Allah), which is a severe crime under Islamic principles of justice.

In September 2014, Muslim scholars from around the world gathered to publish a detailed open letter to ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi and his followers condemning the actions of the militant group and refuting the group’s entire ideology, with extensive citations from the Qur’an, the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Islamic history. The letter did not receive mainstream media coverage, but can be downloaded in several languages online."

We are but human animals.  You can educate us, ordain us, steep us in peaceful religious faiths and spiritual philosophies, and still we find the capacity to destroy that which we build.  What other creature on this world has the capacity to feel lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, and actually justify feeling them - all at the same time?  We can, and it is not something to brag about.  

So how do we bring ourselves to justify hatred against our fellow man?  Muhammad Asad wrote, Origins of Poisoning of the Western Mind Against Islam.  In his opening paragraph he asks, "When it comes to Islam – Western equanimity is almost invariably disturbed by an emotional bias. Is it perhaps, I sometimes wonder, because the values of Islam are close enough to those of the West to constitute a potential challenge to many Western concepts of spiritual and social life?"  

I don't think so.  But I do think his short discussion on the origins of this poisoning of our minds against Islam has some merit.  I have included the link, above, for those wishing to read his page long article.

Is there hope, for us, in the face of this terror?  Is there hope for Islam to rise with us against the enemy at our gates?  Each of us needs to reacquaint ourselves with morality.  Each of us needs to look deep into the eyes on the face of innocence and ask if we are truly capable of some heinous, bloody, act of insane violence against a small defenseless child.  Does our God, does Allah, really excuse these acts of violence against the innocence and beauty in the world our God created for us?  If, sadly, your answer is yes, we will probably meet you on a future field of battle.  

We have met the enemy, and it is us. 

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path." 

My Sunday Thought for November 29, 2015: Your Path

How do you a thing into one piece?

What is the Way?  Ordinary mind is the Way.  If you try to direct yourself toward it, you go away from it.  Thus it is with Zen, thus it is with life.

You must free your mind to let your body create.

This Sunday Thought is just that - a thought.  Like most thoughts I have, I need to consider it makes little sense to anyone but me.  I have been admonished by several readers for stating things too confusing for young people to understand.  Personally, I think if we hadn't "grown up" we'd be able to understand so much more.  Most of us, it seems, would certainly be happier.

I get messages from people talking about their struggle to find their particular path in life.  They seem amazed when I laugh and inform them they are searching for something they already have.  They want to find love, not realizing simply initiating the search was proof they already have.  They want to be happy, not knowing they already are.  They want to find God, not realizing God is already with them.  

The minute we took our first breath we were already placed upon our path.  With life we were endowed with all we would ever need to make the most of it.  We spend most of our time trying to find what we haven't lost, and not nearly enough time recognizing we already have it.  Our minds are filled with greed, ambition, jealousy, basically the seven deadly sins.  We need to free our minds to allow ourselves to create.  Consider the adage, "Only the blind man truly sees."  

Your path, the Way, is not something you can know or not know - it just is.  It is confusing for many to be told, the Way that can be described is not the eternal Way.  How do you describe the indescribable? 

  

What we see is only our perception of what we know, and what we know is so very insignificant to what is.  

Take a moment this weekend to empty your mind of all the elephant shit that clutters it, and consider the path you are on.  Empty your mind of all the greed, ambition, jealousy, and such.  For a moment in time, allow yourself to just be.  You might learn something.  You might not.  

It is what it is.

How do you cut a thing into one piece?  Consider a terrorist that would cut a child a five year old child in half for not renouncing her faith.  Who is stronger, the terrorist with the sword or the child's with her faith?  The terrorist knows how to cut something in two, yet is lost as to how to cut something into one.  Are we only that which we perceive, or are we more?

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth. After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.

Frank Anthony Villari (aka, Pastor Tony)

Pastor Tony is founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance and author/editor of the Congregation's official blog site, "The Path."