Friday, September 12, 2014

God is good?

I always like the speculations about what sort of personality God is, or for the non-believers, what do all of these God of Abraham worshippers believe to be the personality of the God they profess to love and follow. I was reading Isaiah 48 recently and liked how snarky God came off:

I foretold the former things long ago,
    my mouth announced them and I made them known;
    then suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.
4 For I knew how stubborn you were;
    your neck muscles were iron,
    your forehead was bronze.
5 Therefore I told you these things long ago;
    before they happened I announced them to you
so that you could not say,
    ‘My images brought them about;
    my wooden image and metal god ordained them.’
6 You have heard these things; look at them all.
    Will you not admit them?
“From now on I will tell you of new things,
    of hidden things unknown to you.
7 They are created now, and not long ago;
    you have not heard of them before today.
So you cannot say,
    ‘Yes, I knew of them.’
8 You have neither heard nor understood;
    from of old your ears have not been open.
Well do I know how treacherous you are;
    you were called a rebel from birth.
9 For my own name’s sake I delay my wrath;
    for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you,
    so as not to destroy you completely.
10 See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
    I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this.
    How can I let myself be defamed?
    I will not yield my glory to another.

Basically, the only reason God told you all of these things were going to happen is so he could get the glory -- so you wouldn't say, that wasn't you God, that was my graven image that did those things. And the only reason that God is not destroying us completely is for his own sake, not for ours. 

I also like people to acknowledge my power, will set up elaborate schemes to demonstrate my power, and then will sometimes show mercy to people, for no other reason than because it gives me glory to still have them under my power than to be completely destroyed

136 comments:

  1. This is why the jews with their god will be eradicated.

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  2. So ME basically thinks she's godlike. Lol.

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  3. Must be a rather vain, pompous dude? Leo-like, in zodiak terms. Most psychos don´t care what others think of them, thats an issue for folks using ponds as mirrors..

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  4. I would like some specific schemes ME, thats very vague

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  5. Okay do your research. Satan is the good guy. Jesus heals because he has the power of satan to cast out 'the evil spirits'.

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  6. Like a parent with unruly kids, God is making sure everyone knows who is in charge.

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  7. The Bible is a book of PROGRESSIVE revelation. God has to relate to
    His creation as infants. He has to walk them through GRADUALLY.
    It's like the grade school system. You have to master the lessons of one
    grade before you advance to the next.
    "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," because it can lead you into
    trouble on the one hand and not take you out of trouble.
    That's the reason why God doesn't want the Human Race to advance too
    rapidly. It's the purpose of the Tower Of Babel story. Man can't unite-yet.
    The reason for "The Law" (The Ten Commandments) was to establish
    some marginal control over man, but it was slated to fail.
    God ultimately abolished the unworkable Ten Commandments and
    incarnated in fleshly form (Jesus Christ) and kept the laws perfectly for
    Humanity.

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    1. None of which will change the fact that you're going to hell.

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  8. It was God's plan to reconcile sinful Human Beings to Himself.
    Christ is God's "peace offering" so to be reconciled to God, we must
    accept Jesus Christ.
    The reason why the world is such a miserable place is because most
    Human's lack spiritual discernment and feel they must compete against
    others for resources. It doesn't occur to them that cooperation would
    give them everything they need.
    God has a specific timetable to implament His plans. Until He does, the
    Human Being is justified through faith. This "faith" is contigent on
    whether God doles it out to the specific individual. God alone knows
    when a particular person will recieve this "faith." It can't be taught by
    conventional means. It comes DIRECTLY from God via The Holy Spirit.
    Everyone is destined to recieve The Holy Spirit in this life OR the next,
    but only God knows when.

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    1. I hope & yearn for heaven one day. There's gotta be something way better beyond this. I like your God talking Anon. You grasp the Scriptures well. Some other stuff is kinda odd. But nonetheless, we're all odd. :-). I had a conversation the other day about Casey Anthony to my husband. He's like, "honey, um mm, why are you bringing her up." I read she might have been sexually abused by her father and she was trained to lie each time, switch it off like nothing ever happened from a young age, just continue on like everything's ok. Some say, her child drowned accidently in the pool. There was no evidence found in Caseys Anthonys vehicle. I bet my last bottom dollar that her father has something to do with covering up the grand daughters body when she was found in the pool dead, lifeless, and panicked... and it all spiralled in a web of lies. Lie after lie within the family unit. How she switched it all on and off can make sense with the trauma of being sexually abuse. But that's huge huge speculation and another side we've never heard of, sounds a bit absurd, but I wouldn't doubt if it's true in many ways. She hides in seclusion. Is scared of society. Ya I felt it, I felt empathy for her.

      I read her last week because I wanted to grasp a little what you were saying about her Anon. I needed to feel your zest. Lol. Idk, I just look at Casey Anthonys dad and can image him sticking his cocktail in her mouth. His fake tears, how could my daughter fabricate such lies? You probably created her that way buddy. I know to some it's totally disgusting, and it should be, no doubt, , but the reality - many girls face sexually abuse trauma by the hands of their own fathers or close relative.

      Call me crazy,, but something says her father is not innocent. Ok my speculation done. Lol

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    2. O Anon, this one's a good read too. And more of a credible source. See what you started in me. Lol. It's ok though, im kinda curious about her life now and if she's really innocent. Then you hear the opposing side, and it's back to square one.

      http://abcnews.go.com/US/casey-anthony-reveals-theory-caylees-death-psychological-evaluations/story?id=15340391

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    3. Anon, Very well put. I am not conventionally religious, but I do believe that there's a coherent intelligence at work, an invisible Spirit that binds all sentient specks together, for good and for ill. That's why the Golden rule in all spiritual practice rocks the ages with: Do unto others.

      Superchick, Thank you for sharing your ideas on the Anthony case. I think you're onto to something. Watching the players on TV, the whole family seethed with the defensiveness of dark secrets.

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  9. I'm always amazed that with modern science, so many people still want any part of religion. Yet it still causes wars and countless other atrocities, but people still flock to it as if they're all giant masochists who can't get enough of their abuser.

    Can't say I'm not impressed, though. It still causes massive destruction millennia after it was conjured up.

    N

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    1. And now I will use "Appeal to Ignorance". Modern science still hasn't disproved God, so what makes you so sure their isn't one.

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    2. Tii:

      I prefer dealing with facts, not feelings or outrageous theories when it comes to dealing with things I have to decide are real or not.

      Technically, there's no way to actually prove it one way or another, but all things considered, there's just so little that proves his existence that I can't justify believing in him.

      Anecdotally, religion and "God" have had nothing but a profoundly destructive impact on my life. So if it all happens to be real, I'll pass just the same anyway. The juxtaposition between my life as a believer vs. my life as an atheist is like night and day. Am I bitter? You better believe it. But it's better than the way I was before!

      N

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  10. god is good if you are a pedophile priest

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  11. Great Scripture and post ME I definitely see a cluster b personality God. I always tell my partner that. God's a fuckin sociopath in this type of setting, then he pulls his empathy mercy card, then the rage card. We are all made in his image and I love him. He's perfect, even if I think he's way out there in left field at times, It's all for a greater good usually. He's almost like a saintly sociopath-borderline-narcisstic-histronic. Hey, hey, look at me! Worship me! And he's worthy of it! Lol. My heart loves the Christ. That mercy is divine and intoxicating to me, draws me in... Always will be to me.

    I never thought I'd say that, I doubted he even existed for awhile. That's why this blog striked me to enter, because of your faith in Him. And how your open-minded with other walks of faith and maybe even people who have no faith in the Christ -- but it's our neighbour nonetheless! And j usually see his representation in them We must love them. And I'm not talking about the fuzzy kinda love. It's the unwavering- faithful-consistency that's beautiful. That's God. And yes, I fall short of this. :( We must sound kinda odd to some when we start the God talking, lol.

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    1. I think people that speak for God are guilty of projecting their stuff onto God. I love the saying-

      "God made man in His image, and man has returned the favor."

      If you look at the sheer number of writers, topics, time frames, literary genres, and cultures that exist in about the Judeo Christian/ Mormon/Muslim deity you have plenty of potential to take an obscure passage and find some mind blowing stuff.

      People freak out about the internet containing too much information about them (both their electronic trail and stuff others may have added). But those electronic records represent just part of who we are. Context is everything. Well take that dynamic and multiply it by a million. Any one thing a person says represents "God" needs to be taken with a piece of Salt the size of Lot's wife (for all you bible nerds, teehee- I went to Sunday school too).

      The only thing I know is that when people start speaking for God things get manipulative and f***ed up fast. The bible is a point of reference. But it's not God. So as far as scripture sounding sociopathic in some places- yeah- of course! Acting like you have a monopoly on God in the sense you alone know what he is thinking certainly shows delusions of grandeur if not full sociopathic tendencies.

      I don't think God is overly concerned with what we think. He's like Popeye "I am what I am"- what we project onto Him and then use as self justification for our megalomaniacal acts is where the trouble begins.

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    2. Just saw this. Love this. Well stated Mackarooh, I enjoy reflecting on your thoughts.....nodding, yes, yes and yes! And context means everything when reading that big book or else.. like ya said, things get manipulative and fucked up fast. Lol. True.

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  12. I'm not sure I will understand one day, why people believe in god...
    What I'm sure about is that some people need a framework in their life and then religion is helping. But Social departments, psychology can help too...
    I guess religion is the only place where you are not juged for what you did or how you behave, nice place for socios...
    Religion might be also the only loving mother that some people would have.

    But about god and all his dids...mmmmm...

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    1. Though I myself believe in God, I perfectly understand where you're coming from. I've had many moments where I've thought "This makes no sense no matter where you look at it from. It's all bullshit to flock people up like sheep." Then out of nowhere, days, weeks, or months after I've given up my faith I notice something incredible, something that you can only call pure incredible luck because there is no way it could happen otherwise. You can bet that for a sociopath it takes some pretty crazy shit to call something incredible. Then after witnessing the event, I'm just left there thinking "Damn... Nigger really must exist, and he likes to show off with big openings too."

      Anyways Lala, some pretty crazy awesome things sometimes happen in people's lives, thing that reaffirm their faith in God whenever they start to stray. Some other things may be less obvious, I'm sure you've witness many of the less obvious things but, like many you probably put it aside as just a coincidence and no big deal. A quote from Einstein that fits nicely along with that thought, "Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous."

      But the great thing about God is, unlike what most people would like to believe (because it makes things easier and more acceptable for them), God doesn't ask you to worship, believe, and love him by getting on your knees with your arms in the air claiming "Jesus I trust in You! Lord I love you! God I believe in you!" I'm not saying that doing those things is bad but, how easy would it if that was all we needed. If your actions are the causes and effects of love, and you enjoy all aspects of life, you're doing a lot more believing in God (who is Love and Life) than many of those so called pious "That's like a preacher who only respects sunday morning, and not saturday night" -SOJA.

      Anyways, maybe you might not be so quick as to say that you believe in God per se but, what if you disregarded the word "God" or replaced it. Correct me if I'm wrong but, from some of your previous posts I seem to understand that you're a person who enjoys giving and receiving love, as well as someone who has great respect for life. So, would it be incorrect of me to say you believe in love and life? What about Love and Life in their purest form, and the sense of oneness that would emerge from that if everyone could just get together to love their neighbor and respect life? If the answer is still yes, you might disagree but, I'd say you believe in God in his purest and truest form. Not "God" the puppeteer that lives in the clouds looking down on his children, shouting out rules from thunder, punishing when they are bad, and rewarding them when they are "good" because they bowed down and praised him before going to sleep last night. Instead you believe in God, whom people seem to forget is Love and Life because they are so worked up on trying to impose their doctrines on others that they have completely forgotten and blemished what God truly is.

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    2. I'd also like to point out that believing in Religion does not mean believing in God.

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    3. Tii, I agree with your points that religion doesn't mean believing in God, and that science cannot disprove God, although it certainly can disprove literal interpretations of the Bible, for instance.

      I also agree that coincidence or incredibly unlikely things one notices happen in life. The point is that your very existence in any second is incredibly unlikely too, at least the way I see it.

      Just start with the chaos in the Big Bang, get to the randomness in the formation of galaxies, the formation of the earth, and the appearance of humans by random mutation and selection, and then to your very own birth, your entire life history, who you happened to meet, what you happened to eat for breakfast this morning -- so you see it is so unlikely to be the way you are at this precise moment.

      It is but one out of an infinitude of unlikely possibilities. There is nothing special about one moment in time vs. any other. They are all incredibly unlikely or coincidental if you will. I think this could be what Einstein meant.

      Does that fit in with your views?

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    4. Bring it on brother Tii, preach brother preach! Well said! Let love conquer....no matter if one believes in God or not. Love and respect for life (your neighbour) is what matters most...that's the gospel in its true form.

      I also enjoy hearing Mach when she writes about the things of God. It's refreshing! Everyone's perceptions are fascinating to listen too! :)

      Let the church doors remain open please. Even just for a little while....

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    5. Mach,
      Now that you mention it, maybe Einstein was talking about the whole rather than specific details, your thought sound like they woyld match Einsteins better.

      The current Bible might as well have been written by ny nephew. It's been translated from word of mouth, into countless numbers of languages, not to mention that with each new edition Churches add, remove, and change passages to satisfy their opinion on some beliefs. Maybe the few translations were closer to the truth but, the current Bibles in circulation are a reflection of the beliefs of the denomination that printed it. I give very little importance to the Bible anymore. While I do agree with many of the parables (I find that they are a clever way to teach lessons), and the existence of Jesus, the only other reasons why I read the Bible is for social knowledge, entertainment, and cool quotes that make you look badass when you have them memorized.

      I believe in theistic evolution, so the theory of evolution is still whatI follow (Catholics are taught to view genesis as a metsphor in m as ny chapters). Though I really couldn't care less whether the beginning was as sudden as the Bible shows or if it's the result of infinite coincidences.

      Anyways, yes it still fits my view, I don't see why it. Shouldn't.

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    6. "I believe in theistic evolution, so the theory of evolution is still whatI follow (Catholics are taught to view genesis as a metsphor in m as ny chapters). Though I really couldn't care less whether the beginning was as sudden as the Bible shows or if it's the result of infinite coincidences."

      Perfection. I'm along the same principal. I've always believed they worked simultaneously together.

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    8. God would be too complex and we have no evidence of its existence. God sounds extremely unlikely in terms of Occam's razor..

      I'm kind of disappointed that some sociopaths are religious. I mean, if you are an atheist sociopath pretending to be religious to manipulate people and increase human suffering, I can understand, I'm doing the same. But if you really believe on it... this is somewhat disappointing.

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    9. Tii, since you are a religious person, and I'm not, I'm interested in your view of how some people are responding to the notion that the character of God may be sociopathic, or that some writers of the Bible were perhaps sociopaths.

      Also which parables do you like?

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    10. I identify as devoutly agnostic - in my younger years I flirted with fundamental and even radical agnosticism. ;-)

      I like the notion that Til puts forward of love and life being the expressions of god. For me, my children would be that - and in a way, I guess they do bring me closer to something that might be called god.

      I do sometimes get a feeling of being connected to something more - one "place" this happens for me sometimes is, corny as it sounds, surfing at sunset - paddling outside the breakers and just watching the sun go down and the light play off the cliffs. Mmmm...a thin slice of heaven (I may have to go surfing tomorrow... *grin*).

      I envy people of faith. In some dark times I've wished that I had the type of faith that people talk about. I just don't. In those times, it's just me.

      I have to say that I'm a little surprised at how many folks here are religious. It's not good or bad, mind you - just didn't see it coming.

      Happy Weekend!

      HLH

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    11. Anon 6:18 PM,
      God isn't as complex as people like to make him seem.what is so complex about him. By the way it's not that there is no evidence of him, it's that YOU do not have any evidence of him. I have my evidence, some that if I told you about you'd think I'm making things up. Out of many atheist friends who have said the same thing you did, 9.9 out of ten have replied "Alright I call bullshit on that". The 0.1 left was someone who replied "I mean I guess it could be true but, I'm inclined to doubt it until I myself see it." So what is the point of evidence if you won't believe it. It's like a man accusing someone of murder because he clearly saw it, and a few other witnesses who come foward have seen it too but, the judge of the jury, and the lawyers reply "You see that may be true. You could be right but, I didn't see it myself so I still think tou guys are lying." No use of arguing there, it comes down to faith. "À chaque pain son fromage".

      Doc,
      I highly doubt that God is sociopathic. I assume that you guys are speaking of the Old Testament God, I would call him more of a tyrant than a sociopath. He lives outside of the law, he makes the laws, he is the laws, whether or not he abides by them is his own business and isn't for others to judge, sense he is the judge. What peasant would dare confront a lord or king about his activities. "My lord you made it illegal to drink past 8 at night but, you yourself drink until the wee hours od the night. Isn't that wrong?" I doubt any peasant would approach his king or lors about such a thing. The king made the laws for the people, why would the king who makes the law stand under me the law. Though, that doesn't mean that the king doesn't care for his country or for his people.
      My favorite parable is about the servant who is forgiven his debts by the king but, has someone who owes him get punished for not being able to pay back.

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    12. Tii, thx for your parable, I'll look it up. I think that the general opinion is that the vast majority of big time tyrants were sociopaths. Are you saying that since God in the old testament is a tyrant, then he can't have a sociopathic character? The evidence seems to go the other way.

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    13. I'm not saying that he doesn't have sociopathic characteristics. What I'm saying is that if someone lives outside or our moral codes, norms, and rules, he can't really be labelled sociopath. Let's say a sociopath is the last remaining living being on Earth, aside for plants and vegetation, can he be labelled "sociopath"? What I mean is, if someone isn't subject to moral societal rules, he can't really be a sociopath, since he isn't breaking any of these rules, they didn't apply to him in the first place.

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    14. Tii, about " he can't really be a sociopath, since he isn't breaking any of these [moral] rules," are you saying that to be a sociopath you have to break moral rules?

      I'd say that if a sociopath was the last remaining person, then yeah he'd still be a sociopath.

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    15. "if someone isn't subject to moral societal rules, he can't really be a sociopath, since he isn't breaking any of these rules, they didn't apply to him in the first place."

      Then you also can not claim that God is "good" or "lovely" because these things are limited to human perceptions and moral societal rules that didn't apply to him.

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    16. *don't
      (my original language is not a Western language...)

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    17. Doc,
      Yes I would say that to be a sociopath you have to break some unwritten moral rules. Not necessarily all of them, but a few that most people like to hold on to, e.g, "you shouldn't trick or manipulate people into doing things" "you shouldn't fantasize about killing people" "you should lie, hurt, or treat people like toys" "you should have feelings and be attached to people and things". At least that's how I see it, if I guessed wrong then I really don't see why people fuss over sociopaths so much. Of course, I'd say there's a limit to how much, and how far you break these rules before being labeled though.

      Anon 11:26,
      You got me cornered, I tip my hat to you, I don't know how to respond to that. That is assuming that we are speaking of God the man in the clouds as told by the Bible, which is what I was referring to when I mentioned a tyrant (Old Testament God). Though, I myself don't believe that God is a Santa Clause looking old man who wears a toga, and has a castle in the sky (<--- There's a movie called Castle in the Sky). God to me is an manifestation of love and life, and not a grumpy old man that likes things to go his way.

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    18. I'll just keep it at that, short and simple. If I had to go deeper into the details of my views, thoughts, and opinion on the subject, there would be a none stop flow of posts. Next thing you know there would be a book titled "Confessions of a Religious Sociopath" by Tii coming to your local bookstores and libraries.

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    19. Tii and others, in order to keep my posts short and simple, I have posted an article "Why Sociopathy is not a Personality Disorder" on my blog at http://scificentralsociopathy.blogspot.ca/2014/09/why-sociopathy-is-not-personality.html

      I would greatly appreciate feedback or criticism from this community.

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  13. For all those atheists and agnostics like myself, the text of the Bible and character of God still have interest as categorical descriptions of human behavior -- what we imagine could be possible based on how we relate to ourselves and others.

    It's one thing to have a belief in God, it's another to comprehend his character.

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  14. ..."where you are not juged"...but if you are gay or pregnant without a husband...it would not be the same :D

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    1. I definitely did a double take when you wrote that earlier. I'd argue that religious people are more likely to judge me than non-religious people. But then again, I think there's something self-righteous and narcissistic in believing in a god that gives a dead rat's tutu about what you do, being that the universe is so expansive and you are one of 7 billion specks on the face of the Earth. Leads to feelings of superiority more often than not, from my experience. Bleh.

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  15. Yes it is interesting to understand the meaning of it, the purpose, the phenomenon...

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    1. LaLa, I'd go a bit further: if one interprets the character of God as sociopathic, then from a non-religious scientific pov, the writers of the Bible had a deep understanding of sociopathy. Indeed it is hard to imagine, in this case, that at least some were not sociopaths themselves.

      How's that for a turn-around for the bible-thumpers -- no criticism here, some of my best friends are.

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    2. oh, and just for laughs, it is well-known that people with strong sociopathic traits preferentially end up in positions of power. They also end up preferentially in prison (a human hell for many).

      Since God is the most powerful being, and the Devil administers Hell as all powerful there, the chances are overwhelmingly likely that both God and the Devil are beings with strong sociopathic traits.

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    3. What is strange is why socios would be under the power on this god entity?
      Is he symbolicaly the only "one" who can stop them, the ultimate power, like the mother?
      Or do they want to be in competition with god power?

      As I've seen, Socios are more searching for a framework to learn to be different, better...it doesn't mean it would work, but at least some of them try...for 5 minutes every 4 years, at least...

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    4. LaLa, if you look back over many of Tii's engrossing texts -- well he writes that he and God relate to each other as equals, with mutual respect.

      To me, some of Tiis texts as portrayal of human experiences are as deep as I find for the Bible as a text. Indeed I look at it the same way I could look at descriptions of individual characters relation to themselves and others in 19th century english novels. That's also why I'd like to post some excerpts, here and there on my blog. So just email me one day if it is ok with you, or Tii or anyone here. It's better for you to contact me than the other way around.

      When I first saw this post I was aghast, oh God, not religion again. But character portrayals fascinate me these days, so it's a good one.

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    5. Definitely doc, I believe many writers of the bible were probably sociopathic, borderline etc, but it wasn't labelled how we do it today. Many weren't.

      Samson was probably a sociopath.
      King David probably a borderline. O the list goes on. Lol

      Abraham?
      Moses? Haha
      Oh I'm done my fun now. Must go. Later :)

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    6. Hi Superchick, yeah one could have fun with analyzing biblical texts, as well as texts here...
      About "It's better for you to contact me than the other way around." -- I don't mean better from a moral point of view, but better in terms of practise in anthropology -- which is to be non-intrusive lest one's intrusions modify what people in those cultures or communities would otherwise do in uncontrolled ways, so you miss the picture.

      On the other hand some communities are much more open than others, so if one is welcomed in as a pseudo-antropologist, well that's different and the only way to learn about such communities and communicate that to others.

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    7. I'm not sure about the analysis that says that Bible writers were Socios.
      As I know, it all happend in very trouble time for the civilisation, with no framework to refer to.
      That's why I guess it was so successfull.
      Religion becomes much more important for people in trouble.

      To my idea there is not any god, it is just a way to transcend the unknow, invisible, what is bigger than us. Mostly every human being have the feeling to be part of a "all" quite unknown. But we don't need to call it god or anything else.

      Before Bible's god there was already many gods...nearly since the begining of times.

      I'm more interested with Jesus, and all the leaders.
      To me, if he has really existed, he is a man who had a strong vision...and was ready to die for it.
      Maybe he was driving change in a very confused society, and that's why people followed him.

      I think that roman imperators and local governers at that time and place were much more socios.

      I quite like the tv program "Rome", because for once, it shows a very violent world, surely more close to reality than any peplum film!




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    8. Well stated Lala. Those are all good reflective thoughts and questions to ponder on. :)

      Doc,

      "On the other hand some communities are much more open than others, so if one is welcomed in as a pseudo-antropologist, well that's different and the only way to learn about such communities and communicate that to others."

      I'm italian, and I always thought if my parents would have not immigrated over into Canada, I probably would have not met some of the criteria for borderline. I always thought I was just born in the wrong community. Where as over there, ( italian culture) is very welcoming and social. The women hold hands to show their affection to one another and walk the streets hand in hand. It's natural, over here its looks as though your a lesbian. Which is fine and all..
      Unlike here. It's just a different way of life.

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  16. This is blasphemous M.E.! Really? You being a Mormon knowing that they believe in the celestial kingdom & one can become God. What was Jesus life like? from how he was born to the life he lead serving people. To compare a socio to God or Gods.. this is Ridicolous & i'm sure whomever can become a God has had their time of service to others, humility & not Narcissism and socio traits!!

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    1. Anon, may I ask: how is it ridiculous and blasphemous? Socio traits, & narcissistic traits is just human traits amplified. We all have them. Why is that so bad if God displays these same traits as us.. Many sociopaths and narcissistic individuals also display humility and servant hood. Take the business man CEO for an example; who's an aspd individual and manages to give hundreds of jobs to people. He may be in a position of power, but he delegates positions underneath him and keeps people employed to provide for their families. Isn't that servanthood? But I guess you can see Jesus as something else, maybe as him just washing people's feet. Idk. But there are different faces and characteristics personalities about the Christ also. Look at how he talks "You brood of vipers." It's open to interpretation. I see a bold Christ too, specially when he was talking to the highly religious leaders of the day who quoted scripture- and law- and stuck in their legalism.
      :)

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    2. Anon, may I ask: how is it ridiculous and blasphemous? Socio traits, & narcissistic traits is just human traits amplified. We all have them. Why is that so bad if God displays these same traits as us.. Many sociopaths and narcissistic individuals also display humility and servant hood. Take the business man CEO for an example; who's an aspd individual and manages to give hundreds of jobs to people. He may be in a position of power, but he delegates positions underneath him and keeps people employed to provide for their families. Isn't that servanthood? But I guess you can see Jesus as something else, maybe as him just washing people's feet. Idk. But there are different faces and characteristics personalities about the Christ also. Look at how he talks "You brood of vipers." It's open to interpretation. I see a bold Christ too, specially when he was talking to the highly religious leaders of the day who quoted scripture- and law- and stuck in their legalism.
      :)

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    3. Power is not a bad thing in itself. What is important is how you use it and for which purpose.
      You can use your power to bring goodness to the world. The problem is if you use it only for yourself when you should use it for somthing else!
      Everybody has power at his own level, this very true with socios...ME might feel powerfull but she might be ridiculous for another socio much more powerfull.
      This is what empaths found ridiculous...to feel yourself much powerfull when infact you have nearly nothing than the dream to be powerfull.
      And to be very clear, the quest for power is a neverending one, and its not feeding or filling any inside emptyness. And for sure will not repair the lack of love or relation when you were child.
      In this case power is a wrong way....

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    4. It's not the power that is the bad thing.. its the type of person who has it and a socio would misuse that power for evil. God has earned that power & uses it wisely. God can even be provoked in anger but he has righteous anger. His intentions & teachings are righteous. I don't see that here. At all.

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    5. Anon: I fully agree with "there's just so little that proves his existence that I can't justify believing in him" and Occam's Razor and all that. I find it impossible to believe in a God, but that doesn't mean I exclude such a being, whatever any person individually believes God is or is not.

      LaLa: I agree with the sentiments of most of what you write except "and its not feeding or filling any inside emptyness". I do believe that sociopaths, when they interact with others and seek power, do have emotions, wants and what they think are needs -- they are just of a different complexion that what most people have and maybe of different intensities too in different people.

      I am interested in what drives people to want power.

      Anon: "God can even be provoked in anger but he has righteous anger. His intentions & teachings are righteous." It seems like a simple observation that socios have fundamentally different notions and relationship to morality, right and wrong, cultural standards, good and evil, etc.

      Either one wants to understand that or one does not. My view is that it is comprehensible to some degree for others, like myself, who are not socios.

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    6. If there is good - there is evil. Opposition always exists. People better smarten up & start recognizing. Jamie aka M.E. can spin it however she wants to try & get others to buy in that socio is a good thing to have or that it's a positive thing. Hell to the No it's not. It does not even have to be religion. Hitler gained power & look where it all went. Hell in a hand basket, he even committed suicide once he lost his power. You may have it for a season. Evil power will destruct.

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    7. HITLER WAS NOT A SOCIOPATH.

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    8. THERE IS THE GOOD SOCIOPATH. (ex. good cop)
      AND THE BAD SOCIOPATH. (ex. bad cop)

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    9. Anon 5:16

      Please, do tell us again, why is socio not a good thing (or if you desire, why is it a bad thing?).

      And what's the connection between socio being a bad thing and religion anyway? In your post, I don't follow.

      And then again, how are you so certain that Hitler was a socio? Seems more like narc to me

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    10. Alpharius, what an interesting name. I like your questions, and here's another one:

      What difference does it make if Hitler were a sociopath or a narc or any other label. Hitler wore a moustache. Are we to conclude anything about all men who wear moustaches because Hitler wore one too?

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    11. ^LOL, his little moustache, and he does spits when he talks.

      We all have the potential to do good and evil, no ones exempt from this. For others it comes more naturally - the good, maybe others have to work on it.

      Its which one you choose to feed, and which one you just choose to starve.

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    12. @Dots: It does not make any difference, of course it doesn't. I was just pointing it out as idle out loud thinking, and no, just because Hitler wore a moustache it does not make everyone possessing a moustache inherently bad (or good for that matter, a moustache is a moustache and nothing more).

      However, now that you mention it, I do find it a funny coincidence that some of the worst dictators DID actually have moustaches (Lenin, Stalin, yes, Hitler, Emperor Hirohito, Ho Chi Minh, maybe Saddam). But no, I will not generalize it to the entirety of moustached people, it's just a moustache. Einstein had one too, and I don't think anyone here can doubt his contributions to science, or even better, Nikola Tesla.

      Are you familiar with my pseudonim?

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  17. Religion seems to attract the worst kinds.

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  18. It is surprising to me that some sociopaths here appear to believe in god. No doubt north America has its share of sociopathic preachers, but I had always assumed they were lying to their flock, and that they did not see their rule applying to their own self.

    I often say that I wish I could believe in god - I was raised a catholic - but that my intellect does not allow me. And to me, sociopaths come very close to being pure intellect. Hence the surprise of hearing that sociopaths can believe in god. I am not surprised they want to follow a religion, as a religion is a good code to live by and they need such a code if they want to be high functioning, but just the faith itself...
    To me, God is not an entity but a concept. God encompasses all that we cannot yet explain.

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    1. Religious people are such an easy target.

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  19. Many years ago I saw an English film about a wealthy boy's
    relationship with his mysterious uncle. The boy never knew the uncle
    personally, but the uncle controlled the boy's purse strings.
    When the boy reached a certain age, the uncle subjected the boy to a
    number of hazardous and seemingly pointless tests. Because the boy
    didn't know the uncle first hand, and what the motive for the "tests"
    were, he thought that the uncle wanted to harm him. Another words, he
    was in the dark about the uncle. Needless to say he resented his uncle.
    It all culminated in one final dangerous test. The boy passed the test, and the uncle finally revealed his identity. This all happened in rapid
    sucession. The boy heaved a sigh of relief and came to see that the
    uncle actually had his best interests at heart. The movie concludes with
    the rich uncle tooling away in his airplane. Happy ending.
    This is what our relationship with God is like. The purpose for our present
    trails will be revealed and we will be GREATFULL for all the neceassary
    lessons we have to learn. We can't escape misery but we can cope with
    misery. Just surrender your life to Christ.

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  20. I've read through most of the comments, and for myself, it doesn't matter if you believe in the god I profess, it never has, you all our like little mini representations of the Christ to me. Each and everyone bring forth some type of fruit to the table, and I enjoy tasting it. I've always said that to my partner, I like the Christ in her, but I also like the Christ in him. Usually I see it in people who don't profess in any type of religion, but live a life of life and love like Tii mentioned. We all have different representations of a Christ in our mind. My flower is support to bloom how it will, just like the flower beside me will bloom in its own way. Peace to you all. We have races out at our home this weekend. So were all pumped to venture in with the community.

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    1. Superchick, I could relate to what you write except for the one word "Christ". I have been to services and mass events with friends. I find the images of Christ on a cross, all with blood, and elevated with what I see as a death cult -- well I find it repulsive -- that image of a man dying on a cross.

      I am not looking for salvation either.
      I'd say the same as for the parable of the servant who couldn't pay his debt and also could not forgive. If I take the words God or Christ out of that and replace them with other sets of words then I can relate. Because we all are tortured in the end if we cannot forgive others. It's a blessing of the universe that we are forgiven too.

      But the image of Christ to me is repulsive, ugly and grotesque.

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    2. Whats healing, sanctifying and beautiful to one, can be repulsive and offensive to another. I get it doc. Point taken. :-)) live in which way feels most comfortable and edifying to you. Its special either way.

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    3. I enjoy the buddah's teachings too. There are so many good religions out there and not so good ones. Even the bible can be used as a weapon or it can be used for freedom. Too many people I believe, use it as a weapon. Spiritual discernment must be applied, or else, meaning and context is twisted too easily. The parables is what draws me in the most.

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    4. Me too Superchick, the parables -- I wonder how socios relate to some of those.

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  21. This thread opens up two pandora's boxes at the same time:

    First God, or religion, or the Bible as a text -- it's a mix of apathy, strong opinions, deep beliefs (or lack of them), controversy, projections, etc. of which there have been endless debate through out the last millenia.

    Then you add sociopathy to that -- with no agreed definition of what a sociopath is. It's not in the DSM. It's not AsPD or any of the other PDs because very few of the items on the long checklists of symptoms indicating PD are relevant to what I see people write about themselves as socios... the dsm only describes disorders, not the variety of human experiences of themselves and others. That's why sociopathy is not there.

    Putting this mess together looks like a rorschach test throwing random, sometimes triggering, big ideas around in people's heads. Or for some it just looks idiotic beyond belief.

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  22. Interesting conversation. Making tough executive decisions in times of chaos, whether to reward or punish, is certainly a trait of the divine, well documented in all religions. I imagine god, as Yahweh, as the CEO of the universe.

    www.haas.berkley.edu/faculty/papers/chatman_narcissism.pdf.

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  23. The christan God angers psychos, to feel peer-pressure to kneel down in front of him makes them mad. THEY are more capable, THEY should be the chosen one, HE cannot tell THEM what to do! Eh, well, so they imagine, their opinions..

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    1. Are you sure you don't mean god angers narcissists? Sounds more like it.

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  24. God gave man a comodimum of free will. Man, for the most part,
    misuses his free will. Unless there is a tremendous self confidence
    defict, he lives for self agrandizement. He does what he needs to do to
    succeed. He forms alliances with others who have the same objective,
    (Safety in numbers) and opposes anyone in his way.
    God gave men certain codes to live his life by, but God is not around
    (In a way that man can sense) to enforce them.
    God DOES exist (Because it takes life to make life). You can't get
    "something" from "nothing."
    Man makes vows to "reform" himself, but those vows rarely come to
    fruitation because of man's egotistic and carnalistic nature. (Not only sex.) Threat of punishment holds MOST in check, NOT their "good"
    natures.
    So man must become "Born Again." He must become "A new creation in
    Christ," by turning his life over to Christ.
    Christ did ALL the heavy lifting. You only have to accept the gift.
    Hyprocisy? It's all due to the ego. Even self professed Christians have to
    work on this area.

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    1. Hi June, that article is a heavy lift but intriguing. To explore your analogy God is the "CEO of the universe" -- what's the payoff for God. What's the currency? And what's the payoff for the employees of the CEO -- and what's the payoff for the company as an 'entity' that even has free speech rights?

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    2. Hi Dr.SciFi,

      I was partly joking . . . but your questions are too interesting not to reply.

      I suspect we share a love of science fiction. ;-) Do you write? I know lots of sci-fi writers.

      At the risk of sounding like a lunatic, I will try to answer your questions.

      The payoff, as I humbly see it, is based on a personal belief of mine regarding the origins of religious stories in which the messiah, god's son must die and be reborn. I meditated on the sacrifice of an enlightened being, the 'son of heaven' and the big bang, and began to imagine that eons ago there was a singularity of eternal consciousness. It decided (because it was bored?) that It wanted to diversify itself in order to experience Itself being born, growing old and dying in as many different forms (guises) as possible. (God in this version of the universe does play dice; we are but one result of this crap shot.)

      By sacrificing Its singular existence via the big bang, god could experience new life, gather information and evolve. So in a supreme act, It exploded itself into infinite pieces -- each speck containing one precious divine spark of Itself. (I am pantheist.) I believe that this memory of the big bang is alive and well inside our bodies and is the reason so many religions preach the idea of a divine being being crucified for the sake of all living things. In occult circles, the cross on which Christ was crucified represents the 'cross of material matter' on which every living human soul is staked. The soul, which contains god's eternal spark thus finds material existence both a blessing and a curse. But the payoff within this scheme may be very great: god gave up his singular existence in order to create the universe and all of life, expanding and diversifying Itself into new ways of being, fully intending to reunite the infinitely scattered pieces of Itself when the time is ripe.

      The common everyday currency: Life. The extraordinary currency is, I would assume, beyond my comprehension. Perhaps each spark hidden within each life form has its own unique journey to make, a living story that god absorbs into Its omnipotent heart upon the death of the individual. Thus god is eternal but not unchanging: our lives expand Its knowledge and experience of Itself. So I think these stories of dying for god, being the sacrifice, originate within the bio-memory our cells and collective unconscious of the big bang.

      The employees' payoff is that if we live consciously with It in our heart, we feel in touch with the divine throughout our messy, material lives. We Do Unto Others as we would ourselves, because on some level we know they ARE ourselves and god (Jesus talked about the poor being Himself). When we return to It at the end of life, I believe the payoff is extraordinary. Enlightenment. Co-habitation in awareness with cosmic intelligence.

      As for your last Q: "What's the payoff for the company as an 'entity' that even has free speech right?" I don't know precisely what you mean but it did make me laugh.

      As for the article, what I found the most interesting is the fact that during times of tough executive decisions -- like a General ordering his troops forward knowing some of them will die -- it is the empaths who are most likely to wring their hands and do nothing until it's too late, whereas the socio, who has less feeling, can make tough choices without losing any sleep. I suspect that nature would not have allowed the socio gene to continue were it not in some way necessary to the survival of the human race. This site is helping me understand this dynamic and much, much more. God in the old testament speaks and acts very much like a pissed off socio, ordering the slaughter of men, women, children; so maybe, just maybe, socios are embodying some of those pieces of old Yahweh.

      Now that I've confirmed my weirdness, I hope to God no one dials car 87.

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    3. Hey June, about "Do you write?", well I am writing now and yeah I write a bunch and have done so about different things for decades.

      "I know lots of sci-fi writers." Well I guess now you 'know' another one - depending on a definition of scifi and what it means to know someone posting as we do anonymously. I enjoy reading what you write.

      "At the risk of sounding like a lunatic" -- I am so glad to find people willing to say that and plow right ahead anyway.

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    4. ps June, about the relationship of the Big Bang to our very existence, there are 2 factoids about it that might fit in or not with your description.

      The two main consequences of the Big Bang from a physics point of view are: (a) it gave rise to matter and therefore the material world including our embodiments and (b) it gave rise to the 'arrow of time'.

      The laws of physics are exactly the same if one runs them forward or backward, but nature is not like that -- that's called the arrow of time.

      The reason is that the singularity of the big bang is when time began. it's the reason the arrow of time exists. it's what makes our birth seem different from our death...

      but the difference between let's say conventional notions of the big bang and what you describe as God's sacrifice (which otherwise look rather similar to me) is that nothing had to die for the big bang to occur.

      Indeed in that context, in the absence of time, in the absence of space or matter, death is not definable as an event pre-ceeding the birth of the universe in a big bang.

      "Thus god is eternal but not unchanging: our lives expand Its knowledge and experience of Itself. " I'd replace 'god' with 'the universe' :)

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    5. Hello Doc! A couple of comments on the Big Bang -

      I vaguely recall from my undergrad days, the notion of Entropy and the arrow of time run into a few problems as well when you start talking about quantum mechanics. We don't often hear people talk about Schrodinger's Cat un-dying when discussing it. There are a whole slew of new views on this - Max Tegmark's The Mathematical Universe does a nice job, I thought, of giving a fair overview..

      For me it's the element of consciousness that is at the intersection of the two view that you and Ms. Harvey are discussing. If one considers the all of the particles (more or less) are created at the big bang, and over time (whatever that is - entropy is a part of the answer to be sure...) then condense into these collections that process information (information theory is central to this line of thought). Tegmark's assertion is that consciousness is how information "feels" to certain collections of particles. ...not entirely satisfying to me, but feels like it's starting to head in the right direction...

      For another interesting view on a god that brings some scientific thought to the matter, give the Rama series by Arthur C Clark a gander. Among the reference standards of speculative fiction for me.

      Cheers!

      HLHaller

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    6. Thank you for being tolerant, Doctor Sci Fi. And for the compliment regarding my writing. fyi, I've been trying to reply to this post for some time . . . it says it's publishing, but so far, nothing has posted. Hopefully, you'll get this.

      Regarding the "arrow of time", I would imagine that an eternal, omnipotent being would play very well outside the box, i.e., beyond the known laws of physics. I know I would, given the chance.

      HLHaller: I live your comment and Tegmark's assertion about consciousness being a 'feeling.' The definition of the word 'feeling' comes across quite different.

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  25. What's the point of 'free-will' if you're constantly forced to conform and practice 'self-control'.

    You aren't free at all.

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    1. Either one is free or one is not. There is nothing in between. Saying "you aren't free at all" is meaningless.

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    2. @8:37
      Almost as meaningless as your existence.

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    3. my existence is meaningless. your's is too. so is anyone's.

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    4. @12:36
      You should probably kill yourself now.

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    5. the fact that my life is meaningless to me does not give a reason to kill myself. And anyway suggesting someone else kill themselves on line or anywhere else is sad.

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    6. @1:03
      Almost as sad as your life.

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    7. comic strips are meaningless too. I don't read them because they are meaningful, i read them because they are funny or entertaining. Life is not any more meaningful or meaningless than death. therefore meaningfulness is not a way to distinguish that choice. But you know i won't suggest you kill yourself even though nothing you write is entertaining.

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    8. @1:11
      Would you please stop posting in my thread you fucking creep.

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    9. Anons who wrote "You should probably kill yourself now", "fucking creep", "almost as sad as your life". Is there anything else you want to add?

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    10. @1:28
      Thanks for ruining my potentially interesting thread with all your meaninglessness.

      You may now continue living out your meaningless existence for no reason.

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    11. do you "practice 'self-control'?"

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    12. I do enjoy these exchanges - it looks like poor schmuck named Anonymous is arguing with themselves.

      Makes me giggle.

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    13. @6:52
      Looks like I did my good deed for the day.

      Make an autistic person laugh: Check.

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    14. Win - Win. :-)

      Keep up the good work.

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  26. I'm curious; ME do you find your interpretation more cold than what God is saying? Or am I projecting? I too have felt as you described, but after seeing you interpretation, it appears colder. Strange.

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  27. I am an empiricist. Fact: I can't walk through a wall. Neither can you. There is no empirical evidence for the existence of God. None, whatsoever.

    People praise God and pray to God. I have known people in abusive relationships. Usually women, but it happens to heterosexual males and it happens to queer men and lesbians. The abused person thinks, "Somehow I am at fault. If I were a better person and try harder to please the person who abuses me [who may or may not be a sociopath], they well be nicer to me. Sometimes the abused person breaks away. Sometimes they get murdered. Sometimes they drift from one abuser to another. Everyone's different.

    As far as I can see, religious believers are just like people in abusive relationships. If God created everything, and God is love, and so on,why do so many of us suffer? Why is there so much evil in the world?

    "I have cancer. I will praise God and pray to God to heal me."

    "My spouse is cheating on me. I will praise God and pray to God to make him/her be faithful and love me."

    "I was born in Haiti." [One of the worst places in the Western hemisphere. People are starving, people are preyed on by gangs, the water is polluted, the leaders are corrupt,] What do people do? They pray to God. They praise God.

    God is imaginary. If IT existed, it would be a sociopath/psychopath being. It would be our duty (if we were not sociopaths) to oppose IT and to choose not to obey and worship it. Satan was damn fucking right to oppose God and start Hell.

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    1. The belief in god brings a lot of people comfort in that they feel less alone and a bit more in control of their circumstances. You want something to happen? Pray for it. If it happens, it's proof that your prayer was answered (even though that's a biased way to go through life) and if it doesn't happen, it's because "god knows what's best for you". Seems like a good deal. Self-serving, but a good deal. Too bad so many people use their faith to oppress others.

      When I revealed my atheism to an acquaintance, she looked at me like I was a moron and proceeded to smugly ask, "then what do you do when you want something?"

      I work for it! Argh. *facepalm*

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    2. I agree VDP - it is that ability to summon that comfort in times of stress that I envy. I think that on balance, that faith is a "good thing." After many years of soul searching, I came up empty (and don't even have red hair!!! *wink*).

      And yeah, when I hear "put it out there to the universe" a little wave of nausea passes over me and I take a small step back from the person that said it.

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  28. The subject of sociopaths and religion brings up a question I find interesting.

    As I understand the Christian faith, a great deal of emphasis is placed on humility, of surrendering all forms of pride and offering complete submission to God as a servant. Now, I wouldn't describe myself as sociopathic, but I am exceedingly egocentric, and I find this idea of giving up pride and surrendering to a superior being practically impossible. Indeed, the attempt causes me a fair amount of psychological pain.

    Do sociopaths have a similar experience?

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    1. "Genuine articles" foam at the mouth thinking of meek christian deities. And his sterner daddy seems to be an "untolerable tyrant" for folks with the mind-set of wildlife, unruly anarchists at heart. And what church would accept open "proud socios" as members, they surely are the things which the Book warns about, such character? Satans minions or the antichrist..

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    2. a 'genuine article foaming at the mouth.'

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    3. "humility" is difficult. Pretty soon a Christian starts being proud of how humble she is.

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    4. Radical Agnostic, that was funny. Can I ask if you self-identify as a socio or not? How would that be related to agnosticism?

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    5. Dots, thank you for being amused. After much soul searching, I identify by the neologism "Tri-Path." As far as I can self-diagnose without a brain scan and an interview by a mental health expert familiar with psychopath (for example, Dr. Hare), I am 1/3 Psychopath, 1/3 Sociopath, and 1/3 Empath.

      Is there a difference between a psychopath and a sociopath? Which is more dangerous to your safety: a grizzly bear 10 feet from you in the woods or a great white shark 10 feet away from you in the ocean while you are swimming?

      I have done some good deeds, and suffered a slight amount of trauma and distress by seeing someone die in front of me (from a heart attack) about 50 years ago. In my retirement, I volunteer for law enforcement. I have a friend-partner who worked as a prison guard and then prison counselor. I asked him one day, "Jim, did you ever see anyone die violently in a prison riot when you worked as a prison guard [in a major prison in California]? Jim answered, "Oh, yes." I asked, "Did you suffer any PTSD?" I asked him. He answered, "Can't say I ever did?" I asked, "Jim, how do I know that you are not a psychopath yourself?" He answered me, deadpan, "Steve, you don't."

      My experience is not as extensive as his, but I think I may be cut of a similar cloth. How about you? What are you? Why are you here?

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    6. Radical Agnostic, I'm glad that you identify with all three, since none of them are well defined and personalities can be so varied. I learned about this ultimate fact in an intimate relationship with an individual whose personality is seriously disordered. I have all my life been prone to depression.

      About myself, since you ask: It's an ongoing process to come to terms with what happened, try to understand myself and people better and lead a more productive life.

      I like the comments section -- despite the antipathy many have for socios, borderlines or psychopaths -- this one of the more civilized places for contentious matters to be bandied about. There's a self-correction that happens, probably because people's perspectives are so diverse and because some here are intelligent enough to know that their own view is not the ultimate truth.

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  29. Let me explain what's going to happen in the future.
    There is going to be continued unease in the Middle East.
    Many "new" countries are going to araise from these upheavals.
    A group of ten countries are going to surround Israel.
    Iran will reform, because Iran is a secret "good guy." True, religious
    fundamentalists presently control Iran, but that is to end soon.
    Many ancient empires have to be revived. Greece, (Which would include
    Turkey) Syria. Iraq, and Iran. Other "small" countries as well.
    The Palestian problem will be resolved. The Palestians are descendants
    of the Philestines. That's were the name came from. They always lived
    in the region of the present day Gaza Strip. They will be given their own
    independent homeland in the Gaza Strip, AND along the coastline.
    The Israelies will take over the west bank. This will take a long time to
    affect, and there will be much carnage in the interveing years. It can't
    be helped.
    When Iran turns "good" that will do a lot to tamp down on the terrorist
    violence.
    Since God has a plan for mankind, He can't let EVERYTHING do to the
    dogs. Civilazation must continue. It will. I don't suspect that most of the
    people reading this will be alive when Christ returns the second time.
    He will. M.E. will get to make her planets.

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    1. How did you arrive at your enviable talent to predict the future? Does God speak to you or is it something else?

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    2. Have you ever heard of mental illness? I have a sister who is quite convinced that she speaks to God and that IT listens to her. As she never stops talking, I am surprised God has not stuck a sock in her mouth.

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    3. LOL, i have a friend who always tells me "God spoke to me." I show her respect and smile, and tell her to look at things from a logical point of view also. She's a faither charismatic, don't want to put a downer of her faith, but mental illness attracts that kind also. I tell her, hun, get some back bone for your own benefit, these people are using you, telling you how to live, sounds a bit cultish,

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    4. To talk to god is saintly; to have him/her/it reply is.. uh.. interesting.

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    5. Superchick. I have plenty of back bone because there's lot of sociopath in my genetic makeup and in my nurture. My sister is crazier than a hoot owl. I have nothing to do with her except when she provides me a useful service, which she does in a small way about once a month or so. In a very small way, I am a "user." That's pretty 'pathic, but only in a small way.

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    6. Hello radical. Thanks for sharing. :-)
      I was suggesting that to my friend to get some backbone with her church encounters, because just like your sister, my friend is another hoot. A good kind thou, means we'll, but the type of church she's into feeds into her bipolar illness too much. And 2 out of four children in that family are type 1 bipolars, the other one is type 2. All adults now. Not sure why she can't put the two together. Her brother managed to figure it out and is more into the traditional anglican church that's balanced. But as soon as they get into "faith and healing churches" the talk turns weird and feeds the illness more.

      Delete
    7. Hello VooDoo Pork, good to see you again.

      Delete
  30. Allah speaks to people through signs. Reading through a few of these posts it is clear that folks are confused and spreading misguidance. It's pretty funny actually.

    Signs surround us all the time. The entire paradigm is a sign. The normalization of signs is basically what creates our spiritual environment as well as every other sphere we exist in. Because we must survive the physical realm, we are not able to constantly tend to the esoteric. It would just not work very well.

    That being said, most people do not attend to the esoteric AT ALL.

    For a sociopath......it is my opinion that Islam might offer them a method of managing their own conduct. Feelings are not required for the practice of same, logic however is.

    A sociopath faces the same challenges in that logical analysis that anyone else does. I have little doubt that there are some very good sociopaths who use their blessings (lack of the bias called "emotion" and "feeling"). My advice to those that know they have this issue at work, would benefit a great deal from a thorough study of Islam.

    As for predicting the future of the ME....hmm. Having lived there for more than half of my adult life...I would say that the predictions above are um...well. Let's say this....what is happening in the world right now is the oppressed are taking their rights back from the oppressors. This is a pattern repeated throughout time.

    I think the challenge for sociopaths is the decision to refrain from being Oppressors and surely there are many sociopathic individuals amongst us that are Oppressors because they constantly take the rights of others illegally i.e. through manipulation, lying, spiritual assault via mind control, etc.

    I actually think that an intelligent sociopath stands a very good chance of embracing Islam and relinquishing the rights that they have illegally taken from others. Islam would serve that person to avoid becoming an oppressor in future relationships if they began to study and practice Islam i.e. the LAW.

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    1. Mary, to put it succinctly, "I think all religious belief is full of shit." From a logical point of view, agnosticism makes the most sense. It amuses me to consider my atheism as my "faith," because it jerks religious believers around (my sociopath nature). The basic rule I follow (practical ethics) is, "I will tolerate your faith (Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, whateverism) if you tolerate my faith, atheism. As I have not practiced killing (as far as I know I have never murdered another human being) I would not be very adept at killing other human beings if motivated to do so for reasons of self defense. I am sure with practice, I could become reasonably "good" at it if the situation came up.

      I have known Muslims in the Untied States. All the ones I encountered were reasonably empathic human beings. 90-99% of the population is, no matter what brand of nonsense they believe in. You're probably OK, but your participation at this web site makes me a little suspicious of you.

      Delete
    2. I'm not a Muslim but I like Islam.

      I like the idea that millions of Muslims are worshiping a pedophile and a mass murderer (the prophet Mohammed). But then again I'm a misanthrope...what is your excuse?

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    3. Well, if it means more sociopaths will blow themselves up I'm all for it.

      P.S. Your sign says you're an idiot.

      Delete
  31. I learned everything I know from the Bible and Bible experts.
    Prophecy is an intrinsic part of the Bible. For example, many experts
    predicited the in gathering of the Jews in Israel many years before it
    happened in 1948. There were plenty of predictions that the Jews were
    going to return to Israel.
    In the early years of "modern" Israel's history, they easily beat back the
    surrounding armies. But in the last 20 years or so, they have not been so
    sucessful. The reason for this is, God wants to speed up the timetable for
    prophecy. The Jews left the Gaza Strip, and that was part of God's plan.
    The Palestians are NOT Arab. The Palestians are the modern day
    descendants of the Philestians, the ancient enemies of the Jews. They
    always resided in the same geographic area of "Palestine." The name was durived from "Philestine." When the Jews were kicked out of Israel.
    the "Philestines" moved eastward and assumed control of the land.
    When the Jews came back, they pushed them into the Gaza strip. They
    had adopted Islamic and Arab culture.
    Many of the pressing problems of the Middle East will end once the
    Palestians get their homeland. If you live long enough you will see many
    changes. God's plans are right on schedule.

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    1. Anonymous (9-16), If you learned "everything you know" from the Bible, you know practically nothing How do you survive? Does it tell you in the Bible not to cross the street against a red light? I dare you to show me anything in the Bible about traffic lights and motorized vehicles.

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  32. Is the "dark & brooding" fictive main character from the True Detective tv-series meant to be a "sociopathic philosopher"?

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  33. What I mean is, I learned everything pertaining to Christian and
    prophetic matters from the Bible.
    True, I don't know much about "practical" day to day matters. That's one
    reason among many others, why my "earthly future" insn't too bright.
    I fully expect to come to an horrific end. Today perhaps. I just don't have
    the preperation, stomach, or strength for a "practical" 9 to 5 existence.
    But God's promises are LONG RANGE. Once a person get's past the
    unpleasent hump that they have to die, they're basicially home free.
    Every event promised in the Bible will occur to the dotting of the I and the
    crossing of the T.

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    1. I have not watched true detective.. However, can you say who you are (fake name please) and why you came to this site? You are emotional, and it is a good skill to have, if you don't let it overwhelm you. You have to manage it.

      I am not here to rescue you. Nobody is. You have to rescue yourself. And from your words I infer you can have a productive and enjoyable life. It is up to you. You can learn from bad feelings if you so choose.

      Even perhaps you will be able, in time, to shed Christian or any other religious beliefs. But this might be way down the road.

      Delete
    2. One does not have to keep bees to be a Bee-Keeper..

      Delete
  34. You might enjoy this song as an unorthodox take on the Incarnation, and for the bloody taste below the morality tale.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd8sirz99zo

    ReplyDelete
  35. Anonymous (1-17-14): As I live in a mostly Christian culture, many Christians have tried to "sell" Christianity to me. What do they offer? Bull shit. If you are a plant, and the bull shit has been composted, bull shit is perhaps a nutritious diet. Or, if you are an earthworm, you probably think bull shit is nutritious.

    Let's run it through the compost heap of logic and skepticism. What are you selling? 1. Probably telling me that I will go to Heaven or avoid going to Hell. a) There is no empirical evidence whatsoever that humans survive after we die. The feeblest claim is the Near Death Experience claim (NDE). People who are revived from death claim to have an experience of "Going Toward the Light." Empirically, this is much more likely an illusion created by your neurons as they approach "System Shut Down," and is influenced by your cultural memes about Heaven. I had a "New Age influenced)" aunt who told me she had a NDE experience after open heart surgery. Eventually, she really died for real. I hope she "got to the light," but I am pretty sure she is absolutely NOTHING. There is no there there.

    Secondly, let's run this through the "follow this logic to the logical conclusion" analysis. What happens when you get to Heaven? You sit on a cloud and sing hymns and bask in the presence of God? For ETERNITY? Perhaps it's because I am a "Tri-Path" but I am easily bored. I don't want to die, but I can't imagine anything keeping me happy and interested FOREVER. I think religious believers who prate about "eternity" have no idea what the word really means. The only thing that might keep me happy that long would be an endless heroin high or something equivalent. (I have never tried heroin, so I am speaking metaphorically, but if you are not an idiot, perhaps you understand what I am saying.

    Secondly, most humans have an intrinsic sense of "right and wrong." I have enough empathy in my tri-path makeup to have a sense of right and wrong. Life is not fair. My life is getting close to its end and I have relatively little to complain about, but billions of humans live lives of undeserved suffering and agony. Our psychology responds to the idea of a great Father or Mother (depending on your preferred illusion) that balances the books after death, but it's bullshit to me.

    Third, religion is a great way to get together with other people and babble to each other about your favorite illusion. We are social animals. It's something to do. Serve and spread the bullshit.

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    1. Ah, radical agnostic! I completely get you. Nice to see you on this site. Religion is good to get friends when you need some. A social club. Maybe I will use it one day if I feel lonely. Meh. Maybe not.

      And yes. I believe most humans have an intrinsic sense of right and wrong. That is why we do not need religion. Are we dreamers?

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    2. Thanks, old and wise. I am getting older by the day (half way through 70 years) and getting more foolish and more senile by the minute.

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  36. Are you able to imagine a God that could say such things out of a stark truth rather than being a sociopath? It's true that people often create God in their own image, but if you believe God exists and that He is perfect, then I think the answer to your question is to conclude there are aspects of you that you should accept as an empathic response to abuse.

    ReplyDelete

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