Bad Business to Preach Hate

It’s bad business to preach hate to the choir.

But that is what our misleaders do.

Instead of preaching for an understanding that could lead to peace…

We get friction.. between factions... and it creates more heat than light.

Your leader could have asked you to understand why the NFL players knelt.

He could have acknowledged their legitimate grievance.

But no, he tarred them as uppity and ungrateful; he distorted their message to stoke the fire.

Then he advocated punishment of their free speech. Make America Great Indeed.  Sigh.

He wrapped himself in the flag and said they were insulting the military.

But he was peddling his own fake news: they were actually protesting the black experience.

He could have said… yeah… black lives matter.

No… he said those uppity NFL players should be fired.

Instead of promoting peace and understanding…

He went for hate and disgust.

And he is good at it… there was disgust… on both sides.

The man is disgusting... he provokes disgust.  Why did we invite him to our dinner party?

If your leader leads to disgust…

Your leader is a misleader.

It’s bad business to preach hate to the choir.

Does your pastor endorse this?

Martin Luther... and an intro to Jesus... Light

Exactly 500 years ago, Martin Luther published his 95 Theses. He spawned a Protestant Reformation.

In honor of that event, I greet you with great joy! For today unto us, a Son is re-born: we wish to share Jesus... Light

We wish to share a purer, kinder, gentler, non-toxic belief in Jesus. We disclaim the toxic beliefs and practices of traditional Christianity.

No toxic beliefs are needed. 
All you need is Jesus.

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We believe in Jesus… Light.

Less Rules, More Love.

Ours is an unlimited love Christianity.

Our families come in all shapes, sizes and colors. :)

We welcome anyone!

We strive to judge not.

We aspire to be graceful…

Even when we confront those who would judge in His name.

We believe in freedom for all.

We are Christian Libertarians.

We are Jesus… Light.

We prefer more light and less heat.

Some people say… there ought to be a law!

We more often say… there ought not to be a law!

We endorse the separation of church and state.

We oppose religious legislative efforts.

We object to / discourage / despair at obnoxious “Christian” behavior. Jesus...Light… is a non-toxic Christianity.

We don't need to worship the Bible, all we need is Jesus. We follow the Bible when it leads to love, but not when it leads to judgment.

We want our family to be a safe space for anyone. We believe that more love granted results in more love returned.

Ours is a humane love. Our grace should know no boundaries. Our love for the world doesn’t stop at our borders or faith differences.

Ours is an unlimited love Christianity.

We’d love to have you join our search for more unlimited love through Jesus… Light.

You can read our Bible in minutes:
The Really New Testament of Jesus Light

The Really New Testament of Jesus Light

A Preface

Exactly 500 years ago Martin Luther posted his '95 Theses'. He started a Protestant Revolution and changed the world for the better. We hope to do something similar.

This is a revised Bible for Uncertain Christians, who believe but don’t KNOW. The reality is that none of us really KNOW, all we have are beliefs. We prefer light to heat… This is the Really New Testament of Jesus Light

Written by Marty Miller, inspired by God (at least I believe so :)

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1) In the beginning, God created things… but... hmm... well we don’t really know exactly how... so we won’t make any assertions. We simply say: We choose to believe in God as our creator.

2) And a revelation: in the End… well... we don’t really know how things end either. We will accept our fate on faith.

3) How things started or will end is not as important as how we live now.

For a more optimal life now, we still endorse faith in Jesus…

Belief is empowering!
Some secular confirmation: As Henry Ford is said to have said…
Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you're right.

4) We endorse faith on the hope that its power will be used for more good than evil. Religious power will be used; we want the power to be well directed.

5) When religious power is used to judge, control or oppress… It is the worst kind of evil: sinning in His name. Judge Not!

6) Ours is a freedom-loving faith. We re-assert Martin Luther and the priesthood of the believer.

7) Ours is a simple faith… All you need is Jesus.

8) For whosoever believeth in Him… Is probably in pretty good shape. :)

9) We don’t demand that everyone believe in Him… We do not seek such control.

10) We don’t demand allegiance to a sacred text. Not even this one. You can eat bacon-wrapped shrimp at a gay friendly party.  Not a big deal.

You certainly don’t need to worship the entire Bible.

Feel free to believe the previous Bible when it encourages you to love.

Please reject it when it leads you to punish, judge or control.

11) You have a God-given right to believe in God as You wish. No one should take that from You.

12) Nor should You take it from Anyone. Everyone has a right to believe as They wish.

13) We hold these truths as self-evident… Forgiveness is freedom. Retained anger is you cursing yourself. Forgiveness is divine. Feel the divine flow through you as you forgive.

14) Grace is divine. We should extend His divine grace.

15) The fundamental message of Jesus?

Is one of grace: all is forgiven to those who ask!

16) Those who seek His grace…

Are obligated to extend it.

17) We aspire to be Good Samaritans.

When slapped, we should turn the other cheek.

18) We want to go the extra mile…

We don’t want to cast stones.

19) We want to remember… and practice…

Kind words turn away wrath.

20) As our sins are forgiven…

We forgive those of others… even the different. :)

21) This is the path to peace.

Worship this day our God of peace.

Let us spread God’s bounty so that all may thrive.

22) We can live together in prosperity.

Life is good, but we know it can be better.

23) Some once sang: “We’d like to teach the world to sing…”

In perfect harmony”... We say: sing it again, Sam. :)

24) People can choose to believe and live according to their own faith.

We will live and let live and all will be good.

25) Let there be peace on Earth…

And good will toward men… and women… and any other gender identity! :)

26) The End? The partially obsolete Bible implies the future is written. We don’t believe that is true: We believe the future is unwritten.

27) You have choices… our future is uncertain... And what you do matters.

28) We want you to find peace in your heart and soul… And share it with the world.

29) Find the divine… Learn to love and let love.

30) Help us create earthly gardens of prosperity: Give us your tired, your poor huddled masses,  yearning to breathe free…

31) If You have but the faith of a mustard seed… We can move mountains… help us move mountains for peace.

32) Help us direct His and Our power in beautiful, humane ways.

In Jesus name we pray!

Whatever you tax, you discourage... so why do we tax payroll?

The more you tax cigarettes...
The less people smoke.

The higher the toll on the tollway...
The more people look for detours.

So when we tax payroll...
We are discouraging jobs and pay.

We discourage the wrongs things.
We're taxing the wrong thing when we tax payroll.

Growth is Good

When we grow things
Good things happen.

When trees grow
They harvest carbon dioxide.

They also soak up the sun,
Storing the energy in the wood.

So the more things we grow...
The more we clean up our air.

We should grow more things.

Getting Better All The Time... by Piddling Around

There is no shortage of trouble for humanity...

There is much that causes despair.

For many of us, we are rich.

The seemingly intractable problems of the oppressed are not ours.

The task of caring for our Earth...

And the BILLIONS of God-forsaken unfortunates...

It just seems Sisyphean... 

An impossible task... 

But my despair is only temporary... 

Because I have hope.

Because some really big ideas

Will be batted around and will take hold.

And our world will be revolutionized...

By well-directed growth.

Then truth and freedom will prosper.

And greater peace will be found.

We will still have problems...

But homelessness and hunger won't be the scourge of humanity.

The vision of the Uncertain Prophet...

Is 'Directed Growth'

Where we grow a new free world

And solve our most pressing problems.

All of the zealots 

can be granted domains.

Utopias can be pursued.

Anyone can freely migrate.

Murder is unnecessary.

Our climate is controlled.

The prophecy is uncertain.

All it needs is some piddling.

So today I piddle.

And I share some of the vision.

Maybe future readers will piddle, too.

And the vision will be shared and it will spark the revolution.

Life can be beautiful.

The Ground Zero Mosque and a call for Grace

The Christian thing to do is to show grace toward the mosque... and Islam.  Not all Muslims are jihadis; not all Christians were crusaders.


The American thing to do is to show them religious freedom.  Newt Gingrich is willing to sacrifice our religious liberty... our American freedom... because another country is religiously intolerant?  We should not sin because another country sins.


The intelligent thing to do is to communicate and listen.  I have heard Islamic voices calling for peace.  We should listen.


Here is a vote for peace and freedom...


God wants us to be free... it is the path to peace.


your friend,


the Uncertain Prophet


(Thanks to Dr. Smith for this link: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/news.php?viewStory=16536)

A Word to All My Children...

I have decided to become a writer.
I will write fiction... in hopes that it becomes truth.


I have been reading about writing.
The current chapter title: Character is destiny.


The hard-working student?  Gets better grades.
The thief?  Eventually goes to jail.
The paranoid? People do begin to talk...


The book I'm reading is about how to write fiction.
But life is not fiction.


But if fiction is to mirror reality...
Character is destiny.


You have a choice about how to write your character.
You choose it every day.


Do you work toward goals?
How do you advance your story?


What does your character do?
For my character?  I've chosen to write.


We all have a choice.
How to live... how to act.


You get to choose how you will act.
Together our choices... will write the future.


I will tell you my goals and how I will act.
If you wish, tell me your goals... and how you will act.


I want you to feel empowered.
I want you to be proactive.


I you believe in yourself and believe in your strength,
you can make great things happen.


Love,  Dad

The Compromise... A social safety net of scratchy cotton rope

We are a really rich society, but how we care for our poor could possibly bankrupt us.


We can spend our riches better.  We need a safety net, but it shouldn't be comfortable.


So instead of private apartments, welfare recipients could avail themselves of the New Community Shelter (NCS).  Free public housing would be public... not private.


In the NCS, one has access to free shared "youth hostel" style shelter.  In addition, free scrubs and free rations are available.  Adults capable of working will be paid five dollars per hour for twenty to forty hours per week.  


The net effect of the guarantee: an industrious individual could retire debt or save up to $800 / month.


An industrious person could climb out of the safety net and have a private life.

A Combination of Faith and Reason

I want to speak so that many will hear.  I want to speak so that believers will hear.  I want to speak so that skeptics will hear.


I want to speak with a combination of faith and reason.


I want to speak with faith, because belief is empowering.


I want to speak with reason, because we need reason to find our way forward.


God is not opposed to our progress.  God wants us to seek truth.  It will set us free.


God wants us to be free.

Sometimes I am Afraid

Sometimes I am afraid to call myself a prophet.  I am afraid people will say I am a kook.  Because of my fear, I will say I am uncertain.  So, I am an uncertain prophet.


I would like for the secular skeptics to listen to me for a bit.  God, whether real or imagined, is a powerful force in our lives.  The power of God is a huge motivator for many.


We need to invoke the power of God to set us free.  We need the power of the multitudes to make the prophecy happen.  We need to save our Earth from a coming flood.  We need the power of believers to move mountains.


We can dredge our rivers and waterways, and spread it out over the ocean and create floating marshes, farms and forests.  We can calm the oceans inside a ring of floating marshes.  We can be safe on the ocean.


But we can't do it, unless people believe.  We can't do it without the power of the divine.  If people believe it is God's will, we can get this done.


Life can be beautiful.


God wants us to be free.

The Covenant of the Arks

The second most important thing I need to say before I die: We need to heed the Covenant of the Arks.


Long ago, God gave us the Ark of the Covenant.  He also gave us Noah who built an Ark.


Everyone laughed at Noah's folly.  But Noah loaded all sorts of life onto his ark and managed to avoid some serious climate change issues.


Today, we need a million Noahs.  We need a million Noahs to build a million arks.  We need to embrace God's Covenant of the Arks.


God will allow us to avoid serious climate change issues if we do so.  We can be free of hunger, war and hurricanes.  That is the Covenant of the Arks.


Build them... and we can save the Earth and create Heaven on Earth.


If we build a vast array of arks, holding not just animals, but plants and all sorts of life, we can make Earth a floating garden paradise.


If we promote life on these floating gardens, we will soak up the sun and carbon dioxide.  We will capture and store the energy of the sun.  If we create this vast array of heat sinks, floating in the tropics and sub-tropics, we can manage global weather patterns and avoid hurricanes.


We can grow more than enough food for the masses.  Give us your tired, your poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free and we will put them to work tending our floating farms.


Instead of fighting over limited amounts of old land, we will effectively grow new free land:  Land that will set us free.  There is no more need for war to fight for control over land.  We will have a New Free World.


A New Free World could be ours if we embrace the Covenant of the Arks.  We could soak up the sun and CO2.  We could promote life of all sorts.  We could create a lush garden paradise.  We could set people free.  Free from hunger, war and hurricanes.


Hurricanes are in essence heat dispersal systems.  The  excess heat on the ocean spins out of control.  The vast array of arks will soak up the heat.  And hurricanes will not spin out of control.


This is the Covenant of the Arks.  This is truth that will set us free.  This is God's will.


We need a million Noahs.  Act on faith and belief.  We can move mountains, if you have but the faith of a mustard seed.


Amen.

A New Take on Uncertainty...

It's been said, "seek ye the truth and the truth will make you free."


Some people say that they have found "the truth", but they use "the truth" they have found to control you... me... us.


If their "truth" makes us less free, it isn't the truth.  Because the truth will make us free, not less free.


God wants us to be free. 

I wish to speak the truth gently...

I wish to speak true
I wish to speak gentle


What I wish for me
I wish for you


I wish to remember
my lack of omniscience.


I wish to live
in peace and humility.


I wish not to control.
I wish to influence.


What I wish for me
I wish for you.


Let us pray for peace.
Let us live with respect for others.


The demonization is polarizing.
The demonization is the path to war.


We are not at war.
Let us refrain from demonization.


Even though 
we could get boffo ratings.


Let us live in peace.
Let us speak gently.


Amen

Values I should share...

Since I think shared values 
are the path to peace


I should share the values
that could lead to peace.


I acknowledge my uncertainty.
So you are free to disagree.


Allowing for disagreement
is a core belief.


No one is omniscient.
No one has perfect knowledge of God or Truth.


So everyone is entitled to believe
As they see fit.


You may be an atheist...
agnostic, or true believer


But we must acknowledge
The limits of our understanding.


So we can't assert that we know the Truth...
But we will assert *belief* in some axioms.


Consider the statement:
God will be with us always.


To a true believer 
This is obviously true.


Belief is empowering
And a harbor in times of trouble.


Belief is a comfort
And a source of sustenance.


Because of this
there will always be believers in God.


Could we get an atheist to say it?
God will be with us always.


An atheist would have trouble saying it.
But here, we give the atheist cover.


Since the atheist is free to understand God 
as the creation of men


and since belief is empowering
and sustaining


it is extremely unlikely that belief in God will die
so any atheist could say:


[Since God is a creation of man and is useful at times]
God will be with us always.


Our goal is to find peace
Our goal is to share values.


And we do so with uncertainty
Without a precise definition of God.


So we offer an imprecise definition of God:
God is good.


The true believer can easily affirm this.
The atheist can consider it a pro-active definition.


So here are some shared values...
some axioms... some unprovable "truths".


There is wisdom in uncertainty.
Everyone is free to understand God as they see fit.


God is good.
God wants to be free.


God doesn't want us to kill each other.
God wants us to live and let live.


God wants us to live in peace.
God doesn't want us to control each other.


Evil has been done in God's name.
We wish to use the power of God for good.


God wants us to be free.
Amen.