and he will curse you to your face.’ 12 The Lord replied, saying: ‘Behold! All that he has is now in your control….’” [At that, Satan watched as God kicked his spiritual mutt across the street in anger, if only because that horned bitch from hell’s kitchen had it coming.]
However, there is more. There is the matter of those words as spoken by God to Lucifer regarding Job when first he challenged him. According to the Franklin Dictionary, the word ‘consider,’ means: “(2) To give thoughtful attention to.”
You must understand that; and for the Almighty to have even said this, particularly when put in the face of his nemesis as a challenge regarding someone’s life, means there exists a colossal discrepancy in believing that those who seek refuge in him as God, will find it. All of which, nullifies the entire point of the story of Job: with this point being that those who conform to God’s will are blessed individuals. That is because; and as proven to a terrible fault through the man Job, his servants and his family; we learn otherwise. Yes. There is what “they” want you knowing when it comes to “what I will:” then there is the truth. The beautiful thing about truth, whether it tells us what we want to hear or not, is that it can never lie to us. To argue otherwise is folly.
As for us, it’s all about overcoming the curse of Egor Norance. Have you ever had the misfortune, of running into him? Haven’t we all. Seems he’s never far away, and always showing up for dinner uninvited. Not only that, but at the worst possible moment when you least expect him. Worse yet, is that he’s always dragging around that prick Murphy. Ah, but he is. See Acts 28:26 where Jesus said of this problem child and the company he keeps: “In seeing, you will not see. In hearing, you will not hear. And being made foolish and ignorant (I Corinthians 1:20) after the likeness of your Father who art in heaven (Genesis 1:26,) you will be led astray (Matthew 13:19) because you know not what you worship (St. John 4:22,) neither will you understand why.”
Please tell me you get it now, in that, I am completing the overall picture one written puzzle piece at a time through the art of juxtaposition, as defined by accountability. Furthermore; and more importantly; is that I’m doing it by allowing the Bible to speak for itself. Otherwise, it’s a lot like saying that certain verses only pertain to certain situations. But only then, if that’s what you choose to believe. Even so, everyone knows that the Bible is, at best, a contentious source of inspiration. We know this to be true because it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get two people to agree on anything, much less scripture, no matter where, how, or under what pretense they gather. Again, you are either and eye for an eye kind of person, or one who opts for turning the other cheek it cannot be both unless hypocrisy is now a new form of religion.
Speaking of which…
At last count, there were something like twenty or so major religions “gracing” this planet of ours. Of those twenty or so groups, all of them have given birth to a myriad of spin-offs. These byproducts of religion are further subdivided into two-hundred and seventy larger groups, along with thirty-four thousand or so smaller separate Christian groups, acting as breakaways. All because they couldn’t agree on, you guessed it: scripture. And that, dear reader, is a helluva lot of religion all claiming inspiration from the same book. So yes: a contentious source of inspiration to say the least.
However, what no one is telling you is what these breakaway groups did that set them apart from all others. Why, they reinterpreted if not rewrote the Bible in order to get it to say what they want it to say—of course! Ah, but they did. And now you know why the KJV even exists. It is, after all, just another version of the Bible: albeit one whose truths are more closely adhered to than anything modern (which is why I refer to it so often.)
As far as that goes, here are some of the more notable versions of the Bible in existence, with all of them claiming some sort of exclusive right to the mind of God. To begin, we have the Torah as written by Moses. Then there is the Kethuvim (to mean, The Writings.) Then we have the Latin Translation. Next, we have the Nevi’im. Then there is the Septuagint, written around 250 A.D. Then there is the Vulgate, written around 400 A.D. Then there is Martin Luther’s version of it, written around 1534 A.D. Then there is, as you know, the King James Version of it, written in 1611 A.D. Next, we have Darby’s Translation of 1867, with revisions in 1872 and 1884. Then there is Young’s Literal Translation of 1898. Next, we have Weymouth’s New Testament of 1913. Then there is the Revised Standard Version of 1952. Next, we have the New International Version, or NIV, written in the 1960’s, and again revised in the 1970’s. Next, we have that book calling itself Good News for Modern Man. Then there is Webster’s Translation of 1983. And, lest we forget, there is the Qur’an. That’s right: the Qur’an. (More about this later.)
The odd thing here though, is that every last one of these breakaway groups all claim exclusive rights as far as being correct in their faith goes. But let us pray for the sorry bastards, anyway. Moreover is that, “theirs” is the only way to get to heaven so too bad so sad for all you schmucks out there thinking yours is the only road to redemption. All because, if you didn’t “kiss the Son/Sun” and do at least three Hail Mary’s while facing east five times a day in order to offer your heave offering as a thanksgiving unto God, along with unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried, while waving palm branches around on Palm Sunday, along with ash rubbed into your forehead as you spin counterclockwise in seven concentric circles while kissing his feet with each and every revo-lution… What was it again, that Einstein said about this? Oh! That’s right. It was, “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius—and a lot of courage—to move in the opposite direction.”
Ah huh.
But let us continue, even despite, the threat of developing OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.)
And yes. If you must know: I am of the opinion that religion, and not spirituality, is a form of mental illness. But that’s just me. However; and by books end; I think that you too, will agree. You may, at this very moment, however, find that particular thought repulsive swearing to yourself that your faith can withstand any onslaught, no matter the hanky entangling it. Right? All I can say about that for now is: just you wait and see. Why? Because when you know what I know, you will know everything that I know, is why. This is one of those situations where you can’t say how you will react until you get there.
Even so, once you know the truth of a thing, there can be no going back. Again, that is the beauty of an epiphany. And yes. Some epiphanies are just that way, acting as one-way reality portals. Should you still be of the opinion that your faith in God will remain not only intact but stronger for having endured, I would just bet that at one time in your life your conviction regarding Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and yes even the tooth fairy, was just as strong. So, what changed? Answer: you stepped through a one-way reality portal as you matured and became more self-aware. And what is maturity, I ask you: but a higher level of consciousness as manifested by a series of epiphanies that opened your mind up, to a world of new possibilities?
Eureka!
Until then, or until such time, try explaining what other form of social medium allows its participants to run around worshipping something that no one has ever personally seen, heard from, or touched? Who then goes on to subsidize this particular belief system with federal tax dollars through “faith based loans,” but then revokes your loan privileges if they find out you think he’s been talking back to you? Worse yet is that everyone, to include you, not only allows for, but actually justifies the killing of other fellow human beings in his name. Truth is, we do most of our dirty work in the name of God. This is how we justify our actions as a fearful species that scampers about under a darker pretense, so as to avoid having to take any responsibility for them. Ah, but we do. We always have. And yes. The Bible is no different, and operates on this exact same principal.
And they say I’m crazy…
Oh!
