Oh ye of little faith

 Taking a break from politics with this post and wanting to focus on the religion or no religion debate.  I recently had a friend on social media return to the platform after many years with a dead page.  In the absence found his faith and began sharing it with others.  He restarted the page and daily shares interesting stories, personal struggles, and positive messages.  The other day he shared a story about a founding member of the Satanic church leaving his position after finding God and realizing he made a mistake.  Long story short this week he has had an overwhelming amount of negative, rude, violent, and all other forms of crap against his sharing of the post.  Comments like "Why do you keep pushing you religion on others", "Stop spreading your lies about Christ, and here is why you are wrong", and others that just hate someone sharing something that brings them peace.  I have often pondered, as I myself have been subjected to such comments and discussions, why people who are Atheist or have no belief in God feel the need to bring someone who is religious down?  Why do they feel it necessary to "prove" to the faithful that God doesn't or cannot exist?

When someone who has belief or faith it can be very hard to show it for fear of being shouted down.  Often the response to the negative reaction is to "prove" God does exist.  This is a mistake.  Just as they cannot prove he doesn't exist we cannot prove that he does.  I had a workmate who was an Atheist and we often had deep intellectual discussions about the topic.  We are both intelligent, both can articulate our positions, and both can know in the end we most likely will not change the other person's mind.  He once asked me if I believed in free will or agency, of course I said yes.  He followed it up by asking if I believed God was also all knowing, of course I said yes.  He then had the gotcha look in his eye.  He said, "If God knows every single choice you will make, is it really your choice?"  This question made me think.  In the end I said both could exist because although he knows what our choices will be he also gives us the freedom to make the choice ourselves.  The idea he would direct every single choice everyone on Earth made is far out there to me.  But the question is still one I contemplate from time to time.

Towards the end of our time working together we had a conversation.  He asked how I knew or could prove with evidence God existed.  I told him I could not provide physical evidence as it was something I just felt.  He chuckled and said, "If there is no evidence then it cannot be true or exist."  After thinking about his position, I had a response.  I said, "You have a wife and two daughters, right?"  He said yes.  I then asked, "Do you love them?" He said, "Of course I do!"  I responded with "Well how do you know you love them?"  He said, "I don't know I just feel it."  And it was that moment he got a look in his eye and knew what I was getting at.  He knew at that moment there was no evidence or proof he loved his wife and daughters, but he felt it.  Shortly after that he came to me and let me know he and his wife had attended a Christian marriage retreat and were looking for a church to attend.  Funny enough his "lack of evidence" argument disappeared when he realized some things on this earth we cannot prove or disprove.  Some things we need to feel and trust they exist.

As a Christian I often get approached by those of little or no faith and asked why I am so convinced and think of my old workmate.  I respond with telling that story.  It is important as people of Faith we remember it is our duty to love everyone as our brothers and sisters.  To treat everyone with respect.  But most of all to share our testimony of the gospel and be willing to withstand the anger, hate and arguments we may face.  Please don't misunderstand by loving and respecting everyone we are not required to agree their lifestyle or try to prove to them why they are wrong.  It is our duty to love them and pray for them, period.  It is ok for someone to have no faith, have faith, question their faith, etc.  What isn't ok is telling people they are going to hell because they haven't found God or have no faith.  In the end we all have agency and the freedom to choose.  As I have told many of my Atheist friends, I would much rather follow a faith and have a church then get to the end and have it be black and nothing than live as though God doesnt exist and get to the end and find out he does.

The Emperor's New Clothes

   As I watched a podcast the other day the speaker was discussing the Transgender movement and the supporters or believers in its authenticity.  She made a comparison to the folk tale, The Emperor's New Clothes.  For those who don't know the tale here is a brief summary:

The Emperor was excessively fond of new clothes.  So much so it slowly began to detract from his duties as Emperor.  One day two Rogues arrived calling themselves weavers.  They began telling the Emperor about their magnificent garments made from elaborate patterns and colors.  The clothes once manufactured would have a wonderful property of remaining invisible to everyone who was unfit for the office he held or was extraordinarily simple in character. "These must, indeed, be splendid clothes" thought the Emperor.  "Had I such a suit, I might at once find out what men in my realms are unfit for their office, and also be able to distinguish the wise from the foolish! So the Emperor paid them large sums of money to begin making him new clothes with this process.  The fakes setup empty looms and worked every night on these garments but in reality did nothing at all.  They demanded the finest silks and purest gold thread, which they pocketed.  The Emperor wanted to see what progress had been made but was embarrassed as he remembered the property infused in the garments.  To avoid risking being exposed as a simpleton or unfit for office he send his faithful old minister to check on the weavers.  The minister arrives and is of course unable to see any clothes.  He fakes seeing it and listens intently as to relay the appearance to the Emperor and thus remain in his position.  The Emperor sends another officer of his court and the same thing happens.  The Emperor then goes himself to see the garments.  He realizes he cannot see it either but exclaims how magnificent they are to avoid being seen as unfit. The rogues have the Emperor strip his clothes off to "put the new ones on." Not one person including the Emperor is willing to be seen as unfit to be honest and express the truth that the clothes do not exist.  He walks about the town as the townspeople shower his "new clothes" with praise until he comes upon a little child.  This child says "But the Emperor has nothing at all on!"  The child's father exclaimed "Listen to the voice of innocence!" But what the child said had been whispered from one person to another.  At last all the people cried out "But he has nothing on at all!" The Emperor was vexed, for he knew the people were right; but he thought the procession must go on now!  And the lords of the bedchamber took greater pains than ever, to appear holding up the train, although, in reality, there was no train to hold.

  I found this a very apt comparison as those of us standing on the reality that men cannot become women and women cannot become men get cancelled, called names like Transphobe or even extremists all so the illusion that is transgenderism can spread.  Not until enough people stand for biological truth and are willing to acknowledge the reality that gender dysphoria is a mental health issue that requires counseling and not hormone replacement therapy and gender assignment surgery will we begin to help those in our lives that need it desperately.  I have sympathy for anyone suffering from these mental health issues.  Just as I would not tell an anorexic they are fat and tell them to ask their doctor for weight loss pills I am unwilling to tell someone with gender dysphoria to go get parts cut off and alter their hormones.  The best love we can give to family or friends struggling with this issue is the support to seek treatment from a qualified Psychologist!

The Trans support has attempted to change the language used, give us new "pronouns" and have begun indoctrinating our kids at a young age.  Any adult has the right to think they are whatever they claim to be but when it comes to "transing kids" I am avidly against it.  As I have said of many left leaning positions these movements are all self-centered and egotistical.  Every single one preaches "how does it make you feel?" "Your feelings need to be validated" "If someone disagrees, they are an ism or phobe" To quote Ben Shapiro "Facts don't care about your feelings."  That is the major flaw in the left's argument, feelings.  Yes, we all have them but when it comes to mental health the feelings of love and caring are pushed aside to protect the persons self-perception.  

Lets embrace facts, biological reality and stop being so self-centered.  Our children, friends and family deserve honesty from us.  We need to care enough to be honest and not hold up the train which fails to exist.

An army of useful idiots

 In today's political culture we find ourselves more divided than ever before.  We place labels and draw lines in the sand.  We have abandoned our faith and embraced an ideology that in no way aligns with the good in the universe.  In 2020 23% of Americans unaffiliated or non-religious, that is seven percent more than the second closest group (Protestants).  36% of adults 18-29 claim no affiliation.  while down from 2016 (38%) the number remains very high and quite disturbing.  Between 2006 and 2016 that number increased from 23% to 38%! So what might be the cause of this loss of faith?

As I ponder this question, I began to think of what changed in our culture.  What have we done differently than all previous years to cause such a drastic increase?  The first thing that comes to mind is the shift in education and what is being taught in schools.  We have seen a drastic rise in CRT and other "woke" concepts.  The idea that America is systemically racist has been plugged into our kids minds for decades now.  The LGBTQIA+ agenda has been hoisted into the limelight and pushed in virtually every form of media.  Kids today are led to question even the most basic of life's realities such as biology.  One in five Gen Z adults identifies with some aspect of the agenda.  In the past decade the percentage of U.S. adults who identify as something other than heterosexual doubled from 3.5% to 7.1%.  Is this because we have fostered an environment where LGBTQ folks are comfortable enough to "come out" or is it that they have been indoctrinated to believe if they feel like they don't fit their bodies they must be something other than their biology?  Teaching acceptance of someone else's views is a great thing and can lead to valuable discussions and an appreciation of different perspectives.  Teaching kids that if they don't feel like themselves as they go through puberty must mean they need to take hormones and go through surgery removing parts of their bodies is not the right path.  In denial of biology the advocates of the LGBTQIA agenda will label anyone who doesn't agree with them a transphobe, homophobe, or some other phobe or ism.  The right label anyone who disagrees with their position groomers or some other pedophile label.  This divides us more and more every day.

The second thing I thought about was the desire to dig our heels in politically.  If you are on the right and support our Constitution and the freedoms it grants you are labelled MAGA and a white supremacist.  If you are on the left and want progressive change you get labelled a communist or socialist.   Our "leaders" choose a side and we have seen the rise of anti-American politicians in the form of the squad.  Congress members speaking in public forums about overthrowing America because we are inherently racist and transphobic.  They advocate for removing the statues of our founding father, changing the curriculum of history to fit the 1619 narrative, and throwing out the Constitution and starting over.  This is 100% the wrong idea.  Do Racists exist, yes in every ethnicity.  Do homophobes exist, yes in every walk of life.  Do white supremacist exist, yes but not in the numbers we are led to believe.  So why would our leaders push narratives that only work to divide us further?

The Super Bowl was yesterday and every single story I watched or background of a player revolved around their race.  We had a black national anthem, 2 black QB's, the legends from each team were all African Americans, we had Rihana perform, and most of the commercials played into the woke agenda.  What does any of that have to do with football?  Nothing.  All of the athletes in the Super Bowl were elite athletes.  The league patronized one minority group as to not be dubbed racist.  It isn't just the NFL either, the NHL had pride night a few weeks ago and teams wore rainbow colored jerseys during the pre-skate to show unity for the LGBTQ agenda.  There was one player who chose to stay in the locker room, just like the BLM athletes, and was drug through the mud and told to "Go back to his country" all because his religion (Russian Ortodox) does not believe in homosexuality.  The NHL patronizing to the LGBTQ agenda was meant to advocate inclusivness and the result was the same "inclusive" people demanding this player bow down or be cancelled.  

The point of this blog is to point out that it isnt one side or the other doing the damage.  Both sides socially and politically  are building an army of useful idiots.  An army of people who will listen to them and repeat the slogans and agenda without educating themselves on the topic.  That is why you see so many slogan, talking point, misinformation and such going around.  People need to take time and hear all sides of the argument and for their own opinions.  On almost every topic you will hear me state my position by saying "In my research" "The statistics show" or "There are studies that say."  What you will rarely if ever hear is "I feel" or "I believe." The lefts arguments come from feelings not facts.  The rights arguments come from "facts" but slanted to their belief.  Very few people actually listen to all sides and form educated opinions.  Do your best to avoid becoming a useful idiot before it is too late!

And now a musical interlude

 On this lazy Sunday I decided instead of my usual political thoughts and feelings I would share a little about another side of me, Music!  For me music has always been a safe space for processing and expressing feelings.  I cannot tell you how often as I am driving a song comes on the radio and my mind immediately relays an important life event or situation from my past.  On days when I am battling depression, anger, stress, etc. I find solace and comfort in music.  Music is the one thing in my life which has never let me down or made me feel like I wasn't worth it.  It has always been there.  In my darkest times and my brightest days, it is there.  My head has a constant running soundtrack in it.  

Have any of you ever been having a terrible day and then that 1 song comes on and everything aligns in your world?  Every single time my Spotify playlist knows what my mind needs to realign.  The energy that music emits has a very unique way of working with our brain waves and leveling us out.

Another thing I do with music is host concerts and shows.  I had the opportunity to go out for a 2-week tour and ended up being the emcee each night.  I had a blast.  The shows I have hosted have felt like home.  If I had one wish it would be to be in a financial position to own a music venue and host shows every single day!  Music is my happy place.  Yes planning, organizing, paying for it and all the rest is super stressful but the night of the show when all the work pays off there is nothing like it!  No feeling in the world compares to live music.  The energy, lights and vibe all put my energy in line.  

I am going to try and take a post once a month or so and go off script from politics.  Hopefully you guys enjoy these and those as I enjoy it all.  Please share and like the blog so I can increase views and participation in this effort.