tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52129352005452426542024-03-12T20:55:59.638-07:00New Thought - Spirit Feast - Practical Spirituality - Richard Kent MatthewsYou're growing, changing, moving forward. And you seek like-minded travelers. This spiritually practical and progressive blog is what you've been looking for! Articles (powerful personal growth, opinion, success, Law of Attraction), videos, podcasts, power links, and more. Subscribe now and join the fun. The Light has come...Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.comBlogger420125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-12864595332123740202014-09-09T15:42:00.001-07:002014-09-09T15:44:50.763-07:00New Thought: A Path of Spiritual Awakening <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Presenting Rev. David Alexander, senior minister, New Thought Center for Spiritual Living, Portland, Oregon USA, at Kelowna Center for Spiritual Living, Kelowna, BC, Canada...</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/AbuOWZaRcGY" width="480"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-83567393402055737802013-09-13T15:19:00.001-07:002013-09-13T15:27:19.635-07:00Online Radio: How Religion Can Harm Relationships (with host Jim Stacey)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Join me, along with show host Jim Stacey, in this uplifting and encouraging discussion...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>How Religion Can Harm Relationships</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://cosozo.com/radio-show-episode/how-religion-can-harm-relationships">http://cosozo.com/radio-show-episode/how-religion-can-harm-relationships</a></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74W9Hr74kSpmBRIKSqsEUpGMbL4Qta3vyAQHyxOLdDhxJFrR1aQ8vAWsh5mRlRySxqbwuH0C-vAdbuxJ4_CEsu7TO9nk0mtNUluzhJY6AZuw_EGVvVoMF2sPN9IipltzZ4qYrdty1PUc/s1600/bigstock-senior-mother-interfering-with-16825325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj74W9Hr74kSpmBRIKSqsEUpGMbL4Qta3vyAQHyxOLdDhxJFrR1aQ8vAWsh5mRlRySxqbwuH0C-vAdbuxJ4_CEsu7TO9nk0mtNUluzhJY6AZuw_EGVvVoMF2sPN9IipltzZ4qYrdty1PUc/s320/bigstock-senior-mother-interfering-with-16825325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's less than 50 minutes and, I think, well worth your time.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks, and enjoy!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(Jim's website: <a href="http://thedivineiswithinus.com/divine-within-us/">http://thedivineiswithinus.com/divine-within-us/</a> )</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-32112646846533410482013-07-19T16:28:00.000-07:002013-07-19T16:28:12.874-07:00A Special Report from The Alzheimer's Association International Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYYJ_R8lkisl_3P4G51avHxxNbuB9MUtcneyWU3P4gl754VKmIbyB8dvCQqLodY-809Kz1OtSdmJxTWR2iRkoaCnmCSnepejXFhvY4fxWJS2TxmgQ_SXel6X_764N3XeCU5l-FEEcUsc/s1600/logo_alz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMYYJ_R8lkisl_3P4G51avHxxNbuB9MUtcneyWU3P4gl754VKmIbyB8dvCQqLodY-809Kz1OtSdmJxTWR2iRkoaCnmCSnepejXFhvY4fxWJS2TxmgQ_SXel6X_764N3XeCU5l-FEEcUsc/s320/logo_alz.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.youpresenting.com/2013/07/alzheimers-association-international.html">Alzheimer's Association International Conference 2013: A Very Special Update</a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Thank you for your support!</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-42134039053657895122013-03-20T17:17:00.001-07:002013-03-20T17:27:52.968-07:00Mindfulness: Making Friends With Myself (A Meditation)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9lwBZO88L5I-onn-lC8YQ0JhuGbYUDqukDhy1hzIudUtAfXlhjR3qOGYFPp4c9vp7ZchReZKERyBo-Jb48K1gTrXHrTfarxESvWvixXAba_GSHmvbTCehD8nD2Sh1vPMVWnHbuXdu6Y/s1600/k0510649.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc9lwBZO88L5I-onn-lC8YQ0JhuGbYUDqukDhy1hzIudUtAfXlhjR3qOGYFPp4c9vp7ZchReZKERyBo-Jb48K1gTrXHrTfarxESvWvixXAba_GSHmvbTCehD8nD2Sh1vPMVWnHbuXdu6Y/s1600/k0510649.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><b>So, then, what is mindfulness?</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Mindfulness is more than just being <b>aware</b> of what
we are doing; it’s also an <b>awareness</b> of what we are thinking and feeling. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Mindfulness
allows me to be aware when my mind keeps turning onto some well-worn karmic rut
of worry or fear, inadequacy or pride. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">I
can still spend untold hours, days, or even weeks criticizing myself or
justifying myself, blaming myself or blaming others. Yet I never would think of
making a conscious decision to spend all that time enveloped in self-criticism
or blame. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">It
seems like my thoughts and feelings are out of my control. Sometimes I notice
that my whole day has an undercurrent of worry flowing through it. Worry may be
telling me that some aspect of my life needs attention, yet the activity of
spending the whole day endlessly replaying my fears is a useless waste of my
energy and causes me considerable pain. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Through attention, being willingly and deliberately mindful, I can become aware of how much pain I am
causing myself with my worrying. I then can also see that I have been choosing
to worry and that I have a choice to let go of my worries and return my
awareness to my present activity. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Mindfulness
allows me to see that I can choose to turn toward something positive like trust
rather than worry, choose to forgive rather than blame, choose faith rather
than doubt. <o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">If
I feel despair, it is my choice if I allow myself to turn away from my faith
and project a future without hope. And in each situation, if I am willing to
really look, to see, the gift will appear. It has to. Nothing exists in a vacuum.
</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: Arial;">"<b>By choice</b> I become the conscious observer...of my life, my surroundings, my relationships. I watch to see when I step out of awareness and shift into automatic, allowing old habits to take over and control the situation. In that moment I say, '<b>Halt</b>.' And I regain the command position. In doing so, my life is simpler, more satisfying, and I am in better relationship with my family, my friends, my colleagues, and the community in which I live. And most important, I am in grand relationship with myself."</span></i></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-784012344675250482013-03-16T15:19:00.000-07:002013-03-16T15:24:10.885-07:00Living In Pairs: How to Keep Your Relationship Humming Right Along!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNGAx7WMveiybEqMNk6nicI7zvFtmuL26rhg5rAP9EJ4ZIBE7sjpLtBvihT3U68s7JhelCUChlIUo-LWK0Dd3aiDyrLMf_R4G_Rwa55MzcBZHmmmcNEWsFoyQKPe7mTQjDqu02Qq1cHk/s1600/k12866394.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNGAx7WMveiybEqMNk6nicI7zvFtmuL26rhg5rAP9EJ4ZIBE7sjpLtBvihT3U68s7JhelCUChlIUo-LWK0Dd3aiDyrLMf_R4G_Rwa55MzcBZHmmmcNEWsFoyQKPe7mTQjDqu02Qq1cHk/s1600/k12866394.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes we wonder why our partner might wander or even
consider wandering. It’s hard to read another person’s mind, but if you’re
serious about keeping your current relationship on track and not becoming
another ‘separation statistic,’ here are some powerful tips to help you keep it
all humming…</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
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<ul>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Pay attention and be aware of your partner’s needs.
Do your best to meet them without sacrificing your own integrity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How did you behave when you were wooing your partner?
Do those same things now.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> </span>Find ways to make sex more fun. Use your imagination.
The brain is the largest and most powerful sex organ.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look for and make opportunities to listen…and to talk
when necessary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Romance should never die. Send cards, gifts, flowers.
Date again!</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Avoid high-risk situations. Discuss this with your
partner and ask him/her to do the same. You know what this means. Like not allowing
yourself to be tempted…</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be polite. Say nice things both to and about your
partner, in public, and privately.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spend regular alone time together.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Greet your partner when he/she comes through the
door. Don’t just take them for granted.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Show how glad you are to see him/her. Do it with
gusto, energy, sincerity.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recommit to your shared values. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Accept that you are responsible for your own
well-being while at the same time allowing your partner to treat you well. And
do the same in return.</span></li>
<li><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Be proactive in nurturing your relationship. It’s the
most important investment you’ll make. Give it the time and attention it truly
deserves.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Look for a thousand ways to express appreciation and
respect.</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> And let your partner know he/she is safe with you,
including secrets, esteem issues, physical conditions, and spiritual
challenges.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Relationships are never easy. But the more we commit to
making them work, the better they’ll be and the more satisfied we’ll be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Only you can decide if it’s worth it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is, right?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-20429195072351560872013-03-02T15:18:00.003-08:002013-03-02T15:22:19.959-08:00I Just Don’t Know, Or, When Ignorance Is A Blessing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo538IvjHL2SBI__gEYO64DXtYMALOMXFdudZyA11OguDA5JkYSxojrEfk0ERykI9c6tA7Ww8N6-79cP8K6zJEPCX0GqT_aW4rqBe1YjcQmkv6GrnOyX7EYLneiV2Zt8S5j63B0nh_rqY/s1600/k3423769.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo538IvjHL2SBI__gEYO64DXtYMALOMXFdudZyA11OguDA5JkYSxojrEfk0ERykI9c6tA7Ww8N6-79cP8K6zJEPCX0GqT_aW4rqBe1YjcQmkv6GrnOyX7EYLneiV2Zt8S5j63B0nh_rqY/s1600/k3423769.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mystery...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">“The greatest enemy of knowledge is
not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” -Stephen Hawking</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Each
morning, I wake up ignorant. And each morning, I say a word of gratitude for
that amazing reality.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">There was
time, not too long ago, that I would have said it’s possible to actually know
something about life, about the world, about the universe. Now I realize it’s a
continual awakening, that every moment of existence presents new and powerful
challenges to the status quo, to my personal view of things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">That’s how
it should be. Anything less would be stagnation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I sit in
this room, in front of this computer, a very different person than I was even
just a few short years ago. I think differently, I look differently, even my
tastes in furniture and books and people have changed. If I were under a
microscope, I could see myself changing. But I’m not, so I make an assumption.
Hope I’m right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">As long as
I draw breath, I will marvel at all that comes my way, mysterious though it is.
Then, one day, I’ll simply close down, disappear. The journey will end and I
will make room for all kinds of new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">And that
will be much OK, too. The idea of eternal existence as the same person has
never really appealed to me. I think, though, that the energy that made me what
I am all these years will still be around. It was here to make me when I
arrived, so why would I think it would just go poof? In some way, I will remain
and maybe even rise again in some new form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">But I
won’t know for certain that I’ve done it before. In fact, I won’t have done it
before. It, I, the universe will all be brand new.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Such is
life. Such is the Mystery.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;">“Today, I open my mind and my heart
to whatever presents itself to me. And I will use it, even abuse it, but
definitely release it as the day draws to a close. Whatever remains tomorrow, I
will use again. And release again. And I will share myself with the world. I
remain ‘eternally’ grateful.”<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-11647055277582611062013-02-20T15:24:00.002-08:002013-02-20T15:39:29.942-08:00The Pope: God's Chosen, or Devil Incarnate? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rr9lrtuxIxadpB2e0khYXdlt8aLqqVvcyCuuO_IgjU3vVYLDJ3j9Ytdbhu8ieGFsjH3lSu40nYKvwBFYn1QKAYAvI03JoQUQ0oLuLpzxh2EFWA8X4WoVWL6E8GM6RgV2rzU2zmfkWjU/s1600/k7696365.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2rr9lrtuxIxadpB2e0khYXdlt8aLqqVvcyCuuO_IgjU3vVYLDJ3j9Ytdbhu8ieGFsjH3lSu40nYKvwBFYn1QKAYAvI03JoQUQ0oLuLpzxh2EFWA8X4WoVWL6E8GM6RgV2rzU2zmfkWjU/s1600/k7696365.jpg" /></a></div>
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heresy of heresies...</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Protestant world has been calling the Papacy a grand and blasphemous heresy for centuries. This site will expose to you why such a call has been long and loud. Read it with a certain amount of detachment, if you can. It's detailed, extensive, and utterly amazing how determined the 'true' (read evangelical Protestant) church is to convince the world that the Roman Catholic Church is the spawn of Satan, The Book of Revelation's Whore of Babylon. Here's just a taste from the publisher of the site: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"You will be genuinely shocked at what the author unveils! The first study gives ample Biblical as well as historic proof that the Apostle Peter <u>could not possibly</u> have been the first pope. I do allude to this reality in many areas on my site already using similar facts. However, I do appreciate the way this study puts all that data in one place. If you have not the time to read it all, suffice it to say there are two verses in the Word of God that expose this Vatican lie with childlike ease....."</span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, get a glass of wine, a bit of cracker (or whatever), click on the link just below this line, and have a very good, and hopefully, enlightening read...</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.remnantofgod.org/pope1.htm">The REAL First Pope</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-15468751544977097542013-02-12T11:08:00.000-08:002013-02-12T11:09:52.409-08:00Special News Release: Constitutional Amendment Introduced in Congress Ensuring Rights for People, Not Corporations<br />
<br />
<div class="rtecenter" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: center;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<img alt="" src="https://movetoamend.org/sites/default/files/we-the-people-logo-no-box.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; cursor: move; height: 132px; max-width: 100%; width: 400px;" /></div>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<strong style="font-weight: 700;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: </strong>Monday, February 11, 2013</div>
</div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<strong style="font-weight: 700;">CONTACT: </strong></div>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/themes/amend/images/star-gray.png); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Glenn Turner, 917-817-3396, <span id="7fcabfe4911afec8b5b8fd80ef54fc7b1cfad1d3"><a class="mailto" href="mailto:glenn@ripplestrategies.com" style="color: #1a4c7f; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">glenn@ripplestrategies.com</a><span class="mailto" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/modules/extlink/mailto.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 12px;"></span></span> ,</li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/themes/amend/images/star-gray.png); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Shayna Samuels, 718-541-4785, <span id="b605c87554ef12002a17312a2b9fd78634a2745c"><a class="mailto" href="mailto:shayna@ripplestrategies.com" style="color: #1a4c7f; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">shayna@ripplestrategies.com</a><span class="mailto" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/modules/extlink/mailto.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 12px;"></span></span></li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/themes/amend/images/star-gray.png); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">On the ground in DC: Ben Manski, 707-269-0984, <span id="f27deb562d912bee070e222199916a83d683e193"><a class="mailto" href="mailto:press@movetoamend.org" style="color: #1a4c7f; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">press@movetoamend.org</a><span class="mailto" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/modules/extlink/mailto.png); background-origin: initial; background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; padding-right: 12px;"></span></span></li>
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Constitutional Amendment Introduced in Congress Ensuring Rights for People, Not Corporations</h2>
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Reps. Nolan & Pocan Respond to Hundreds of Local Resolutions Calling for “We the People” Amendment</h3>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 1em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
(Washington D.C.) - The movement for constitutional reforms that would end what organizers call “corporate rule” has arrived in the chambers of Congress. This morning, two members of the U.S. House of Representatives joined Move to Amend by announcing their sponsorship of the “<a href="http://www.WeThePeopleAmendment.org/" style="color: #1a4c7f; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">We the People Amendment</a>,” which clearly and unequivocally states that:</div>
</div>
<ol style="list-style-type: decimal; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="list-style-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/themes/amend/images/star-gray.png); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Rights recognized under the Constitution belong to human beings only, and not to government-created artificial legal entities such as corporations and limited liability companies; and </li>
<li style="list-style-image: url(https://movetoamend.org/sites/all/themes/amend/images/star-gray.png); margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Political campaign spending is not a form of speech protected under the First Amendment.</li>
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In making the announcement, lead sponsor Rep. Rick Nolan (DFL-Minnesota), said: “It’s time to take the shaping and molding of public policy out of corporate boardrooms, away from the corporate lobbyists, and put it back in city halls – back with county boards and state legislatures – and back in the Congress where it belongs.”</div>
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Ben Manski, a spokesperson for Move to Amend, agreed, saying: “Today, members of Congress join a movement that insists on the fundamental equality of all Americans, and that rejects the idea that the corporate class should have special protections against We the People.”</div>
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The Move to Amend coalition was formed in 2009 in preparation for the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision. Today, the coalition of nearly 260,000 people and hundreds of organizations has helped to pass nearly 500 resolutions in municipalities and local governments across the country calling on the state and federal governments to adopt this amendment.</div>
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The Move to Amend coalition makes a point of differentiating themselves from the other proposals that have come forward in response to <em style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Citizens United</em>. "In every single community where Americans have had the opportunity to call for a Constitutional amendment to outlaw corporate personhood, they have seized it and voted yes overwhelmingly, stated George Friday, Move to Amend spokesperson. “The <em style="font-style: italic; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Citizens United</em>decision is not the cause, it is a symptom. We must remove big money and special interests from the legal and political process entirely."</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-39337452273909515482013-02-10T15:31:00.001-08:002013-02-10T15:47:08.383-08:00Rattling Chains: The Art--and Joy--of Being the Best Heretic Ever!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Burning the certainty....</td></tr>
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Sheepwalk: The practice of following blindly</h2>
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<em><strong>Heresy:</strong> Unorthodoxy; any opinions or doctrines at variance with the official or orthodox position. A belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion</em>.</div>
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Heresy is my very favorite word and I do everything I can to make sure I practice it well…and with regularity. Am I the only one? I think not.</div>
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All of the religions of the world have groups within them that could be accurately called heretics. Many Catholics roundly criticize the heresy known as the Assumption of Mary. And, since the Vatican supports this dogma, those who call it heresy are themselves called heretics.<br />
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<i>(In case you didn't know, the Assumption of Mary dogma is not Biblical, as most Catholics and all Protestants know. And for those of you who aren't aware of what it even is, it's simple: Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken bodily into heaven and never experienced earthly death. She remained a virgin her entire life and is considered sinless.</i>)</div>
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The Holy Rollers (I can use that term; I used to be one of them!) are called heretics by the conservative Protestant churches. The Jehovah’s Witnesses are called heretics by almost all of the rest of Christendom; so are the Mormons. Methodists are verging on heresy if you’re a Southern Baptist. And Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, and all the other Orthodoxes have their lists of heresies as well. </div>
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And, of course, ultra-conservative fundamentalist Far Right Christians, both in the U.S. and around the world, consider ALL other forms of Christianity as either heresy or bordering on it.<br />
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Islam calls many of its own followers heretics. Sunni against Shiite against Sufi. The rest of us are simply infidels.</div>
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And many Hindus are looked upon by other Hindus as heretics, especially if one tries to crawl out of the caste into which they have been cast. </div>
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Funny thing is, even if you come out from among them, declare yourself a heretic, ultimately you become part of just another group called orthodox heretics. Yes, even heretics have their clubs.</div>
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But you probably won’t do that. You’re comfortably ensconced in your tidy little belief system, following the rules or feeling guilty when you break them. Or perhaps bellowing that you no longer believe, but you know you really do. In fact, the louder you are, the angrier you are, the more rebellious you are, the more we know that you still are trapped in the old orthodoxy.</div>
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There’s only one way to be a true heretic. <strong><u>Question everything</u></strong>. Religion, education, government, even, and maybe especially, science. They all have their agendas. And they usually don’t care about yours.</div>
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One final piece of unsolicited advice: Turn off all news. You’re not getting any real info anyway. It’s all done for ratings. Bottom line. Nothing else. You haven't heard the 'whole truth and nothing but the truth' since you first arrived on Planet Earth. And the possibility of that happening any time soon by way of the media is tiny at best.</div>
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Heresy. It’s not easy. It’s not for everyone, especially the faint of heart.</div>
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To question everything, then, is the beginning of freedom.</div>
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Heresy is a calling. Are you in?<br />
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<b>(<i>Note:</i></b><i> In case you might be wondering about heresy in Buddhism, it's an interesting concept. This link will take you to what I think is a pretty fair answer to the possibility:</i> <a href="http://buddhism.about.com/b/2012/05/28/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-buddhist-heretic.htm">Buddhist Heresy</a> ) </div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-55946727264021687902013-02-03T14:26:00.002-08:002013-02-03T14:28:36.610-08:00A Course In Miracles: Truth, Cult, or Something Else? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcouow-fEBytVbmav9rPcPDX00JWQ_UkbNGbVpnhr1kgIaJoE6WjM__HTrNSv1TRsVURdhZbWvxvt9s9h5Blpv7KjhYHNStCNcrQrB2q7i_MCVS7_vxtwOqMZB_yzSc87kbTGUmlkZp7Y/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcouow-fEBytVbmav9rPcPDX00JWQ_UkbNGbVpnhr1kgIaJoE6WjM__HTrNSv1TRsVURdhZbWvxvt9s9h5Blpv7KjhYHNStCNcrQrB2q7i_MCVS7_vxtwOqMZB_yzSc87kbTGUmlkZp7Y/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Some say The Course is blasphemy; others say it saved their life...</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Are you a student of ACIM, or have been curious about it? About three and a half years ago, I wrote a short article on the Course for HubPages, an article submission site, and the comments continue to show up even to this day. It has received many views and is likely the most read of the articles I have submitted to the site. Here's the link to the article if you want to check it out and see what people have to say about it...</span><br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_2104338076"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></a>
<a href="http://richardspeaks.hubpages.com/hub/A-Course-In-Miracles-Truth-or-Cult-A-Student-Responds"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://richardspeaks.hubpages.com/hub/A-Course-In-Miracles-Truth-or-Cult-A-Student-Responds</span></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-740827901250487662013-02-02T13:32:00.002-08:002013-02-02T13:54:52.061-08:00What Bill Cosby Thinks of the World and Why He's Glad He's Almost Done<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvhH2q6pXZ-xCxg9Uovj2KgtFrT6n7bEs7Basu4LAGmsDt7dCfkoWm7CDpQ1i9BEjicz1v-cVcX4MxEUv46H3dwoopJ8LoOP14uUAhoNOSQA2Rtrmcf3SzYlAFl0GgrvLW4KeWZ7VEY8/s1600/k4988104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGvhH2q6pXZ-xCxg9Uovj2KgtFrT6n7bEs7Basu4LAGmsDt7dCfkoWm7CDpQ1i9BEjicz1v-cVcX4MxEUv46H3dwoopJ8LoOP14uUAhoNOSQA2Rtrmcf3SzYlAFl0GgrvLW4KeWZ7VEY8/s1600/k4988104.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><i>(I found this posted to my Facebook page and thought it would be fun to share it here. Give it a read, see what you think--agree or disagree--and share your comments. Thanks.)</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";"><b>Bill Cosby says, "I'm
83 and Tired."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Except for brief
period in the 50's when I was doing my National Service, I've worked hard since
I was 17. Except for some serious health challenges, I put in 50-hour weeks,
and didn't call in sick in nearly 40 years. I made a reasonable salary, but I
didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am. Given the
economy, it looks as though retirement was a bad idea, and I'm tired. Very
tired. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of being
told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my
work ethic. I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I
earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of being
told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read
dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives and daughters for
their family "honor"; of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of
Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers";
of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims
to death for "adultery"; of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little
girls; all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them
to. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of being
told that out of "tolerance for other cultures" we must let Saudi
Arabia and other Arab countries use our oil money to fund mosques and Madrasa
Islamic schools to preach hate in Australia, New Zealand, [the] UK, America,
and Canada while no one from these countries [is] allowed to fund a church,
synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia or any other Arab country to
teach love and tolerance.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of being
told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is
allowed to debate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of being
told that drug addicts have a disease, and I must help support and treat them,
and pay for the damage they do. Did a giant germ rush out of a dark alley, grab
them, and stuff white powder up their noses or stick a needle in their arm
while they tried to fight it off? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm tired of hearing
wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of all parties talking about
innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they
think their only mistake was getting caught. I'm tired of people with a sense
of entitlement, rich or poor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm really tired of
people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions. I'm tired of
hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their
problems. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">I'm also tired and
fed up with seeing young men and women in their teens and early 20's bedeck
themselves in tattoos and face studs, thereby making themselves unemployable
and claiming money from the government. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Yes, I'm damn tired.
But I'm also glad to be 83. Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the
world these people are making. I'm just sorry for my granddaughter and their
children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande";">Thank God I'm on the
way out and not on the way in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #6d6d6d; font-family: Arial;"><i>(Ed. Note: I agree with Mr. Cosby in principle on just about every issue he mentions here, except the one about being glad he's on his way out. I think there's still hope. I'd like to be around long enough to see what may happen. You?)</i></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-86098592650183168242013-01-26T17:09:00.004-08:002013-01-26T17:23:37.087-08:00Holy Double Deity, Batman! The Many Gods Of The Bible<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMabso2b4UzDO1SQMH1CxdRAn7BzBdeLYaorbXylhtqdtwsyM-kavRsLDy2_YdUY5BzEFckQdtq0HXnPWs0TxGejQI4FSz8OjuqgxxLFJrrm7h6BfBFZUP41Jfnyy1ASUYEgVIWvKT_ZQ/s1600/k7501727.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMabso2b4UzDO1SQMH1CxdRAn7BzBdeLYaorbXylhtqdtwsyM-kavRsLDy2_YdUY5BzEFckQdtq0HXnPWs0TxGejQI4FSz8OjuqgxxLFJrrm7h6BfBFZUP41Jfnyy1ASUYEgVIWvKT_ZQ/s1600/k7501727.jpg" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><i>Psalms 82:1: “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods…” and Psalms 86:8: “Among the gods [there is] none like unto thee, O Lord; neither [are there any works] like unto thy works.” KJV</i></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><br /></b></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">s there more than one god mentioned in the Bible? Seems the answer is a very loud YES! Here's a list. Now, don't call me a heretic or blasphemer or such. I'm just showing you what the Bible has to say on the subject. Ready? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Thanks to The Atheist Foundation, Australia <a href="http://www.atheistfoundation.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=878">www.atheistfoundation.org.au/forums/showthread.php?t=878</a> </i></span><br />
<table align="center" border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="1" class="tborder" id="post11288" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #d1d1e1; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(11, 25, 140); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: black; width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td class="alt1" id="td_post_11288" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #f5f5ff; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; color: black; font: normal normal normal 10pt/normal verdana, geneva, lucida, 'lucida grande', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><div id="post_message_11288">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b>Adrammelech</b> II Kings 17:31 Sepharvite God.<br /><b>Anammelech</b> II Kings 17:31 Sepharvite God.<br /><b>Ashima</b> II Kings 17:30 Samaritan Moon Goddess.<br /><b>Ashtoreth</b> I Kings 11:05 Canaanite Goddess.<br /><b>Baal</b> I Kings 18:19 Canaanite God ("Lord") of fertility, vegitation, and storms.<br /><b>Baal-berith</b> Judges 8:33 A regional variation/aspect of Baal.<br /><b>Baal-peor</b> Numbers 25:03 Moabite regional variation/aspect of Baal.<br /><b>Baal-zebub</b> Luke 11:19 Philistine/Ekronian regional variation/aspect of Baal.<br /><b>Baalim</b> I Kings 18:18 Canaanite Gods ("Lords"), a collective of the different aspects of Baa.<br /><b>Bel</b> Isiah 46:01 Assyrian/Babylonian/Sumerian God ("Lord").<br /><b>Chemosh</b> I Kings 11:07 Moabite war God.<br /><b>Dagon</b> I Samuel 05:02 Philistine/Ekronian/Babylonian God of agriculture.<br /><b>Diana of the Ephesians</b> Acts 19:35 Ephesian moon and nature Goddess ("Divine/Brilliant").<br /><b>Jehovah</b> Exodus 6:03 Hebrew God<br /><b>Jupiter</b> Acts 14:12 Roman God (possibly derived from 'Zeus-pater', Father Zeus).<br /><b>Lucifer</b> Isiah 14:12 ("Light-Bearer")<br /><b>Mercurius</b> Acts 14:12 Otherwise known as the Roman God Mercury, God of communication and travel, and messenger of the Gods...which is probably why Paul was called this at Lystra.<br /><b>Milcom</b> I Kings 11:05 Ammonite God<br /><b>Molech</b> I Kings 11:07 Ammonite God, also called Moloch, most probably Baal-Hammon of Carthage.<br /><b>Nebo</b> Isiah 46:01 Assyrian/Babylonian/Chaldean God of wisdom and writing, also called Nabu.<br /><b>Nergal</b> II Kings 17:30 Cuth/Assyrian/Babylonian war and underworld God, also called Meshlamthea.<br /><b>Nibhaz</b> II Kings 17:31 Avites God<br /><b>Nisroch</b> II Kings 19:37 Assyrian God<br /><b>Rimmon</b> II Kings 05:18 Babylonian/Syrian storm God involved (as Ramman) with the Deluge, according to Hebrew texts; also known as Ramman/Rammon.<br /><b>Succoth-benoth</b> II Kings 17:30 Babylonian fertility Goddess ("She Who Produces Seed"), also known as Zarpanitu/Zerpanitum.<br /><b>Tammuz</b> Ezekial 8:14 Assyrian/Babylonian God<br /><b>Tartak</b> II Kings 17:31 Avites God</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-14430955762878369562013-01-19T10:39:00.001-08:002013-01-19T10:39:07.565-08:00Deep Hate and How to End It (Part II)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu6ddN364Iefj7LEr7yJT7SgyUxaR6opsO6_jBNmhMLTKKLP67v0spf78-FzVYcOZ6v5jnHs0VD6FWAFKLNKNdz8w3NgtNfV13Fu8zN7kZx4JlqMiqL_oySxu0ijQwJSvpIWRWpI38Cs/s1600/bxp45607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtu6ddN364Iefj7LEr7yJT7SgyUxaR6opsO6_jBNmhMLTKKLP67v0spf78-FzVYcOZ6v5jnHs0VD6FWAFKLNKNdz8w3NgtNfV13Fu8zN7kZx4JlqMiqL_oySxu0ijQwJSvpIWRWpI38Cs/s1600/bxp45607.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>YOU hold the key...</i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial;">So you think you have no real
power in this world?</span></i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> <o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial;">Think again. It's because of people like you that the
world hasn't totally imploded. And you are needed now more than ever. Don't let
your sense of smallness stop you from changing the world. Step into the role
you've always known was yours to fulfill. Read on and save the world!</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><o:p></o:p></i></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></i></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You play a major part in the
healing of the world. In fact, without you, we may well go down the tubes. But
you won't let that happen. You will take it upon yourself to help the world
open its collective eyes, minds, and hearts. You won't do it by trying to shove
your religious beliefs down our throats; rather, you will reach out your hand
to us in love (respect) and a sincere desire to help. And you will do it in
four simple steps. Again, not necessarily easy steps, but simple nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">First,
you will take charge.</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> You will quit listening to the voices of fear, apathy,
and selfishness that tend to clap around your inner and outer ears, telling you
that you can do nothing to help this useless species called Human. You’ll quit
giving into the habits of laziness and sloth. Oh, you have those habits, if
you're totally honest. But they don't have to be your dictators.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Second,
you will take responsibility.</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> You are a member of the human
family. What happens to one happens to all. Pain, suffering, cruelty, no matter
where they happen in the world, are part of your personal legacy. If you want
them to stop, you must be willing to place yourself squarely in the middle of
the fray. You are related to all of us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Third,
you will take action</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">. This may be the simplest of all. If you knew how many
organizations and groups of all sizes need your help, you would quit the excuse
making and be out there everyday, literally saving the world. Everything—from
environmental causes to political action groups—is clamoring for your
attention. Raise your intellectual and emotional radar, and the right group
will show itself. If you're already involved, intensify!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And
finally, you will take heart.</span></b><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> Remember, the world only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">seems</i> to be falling apart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Hear this: Currently (2013), the
average age in the U.S. is 75-80 years. At the turn of the 20th century, it was
less than 50. Today we have medicines and surgeries and psychological services that
save many more lives than at any time in history. We know how to feed ourselves
better. We are actually doing something about the environment. (It may not seem
or sound like it, but the collective mind is opening.) Even the poorer nations
of the world are getting more attention. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There's a long way to go, but
that's why you're here. Mind you, nothing is yet perfected. Nothing is
completely whole nor the work finished. We have much ahead of us. And we are up
for the challenge, terrorism not withstanding. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">One day, Christian, Jew,
Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and even atheist will recognize our common humanity and
end the conflicts that have kept us at each other's throats for millennia. We
have it within our power right now, this minute, to create the world that the
Mahatma Gandhi spoke of. And he also said that we must be the change we would
see in the world. It rests upon our shoulders. Nothing else will do it for us.
And each individual is essential.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Take it upon yourself to save
the world. And I will, too. Together, we will make a real difference. Don't let
doubt keep you from the task. The world needs you. You are the key. You are the
one. If you’ve been called for anything, it is this. After all…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Who
are you not to be great?<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-65690200465785845892013-01-13T14:32:00.001-08:002013-01-13T14:33:59.537-08:00Deep Hate and How to End It (Part I)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLycUzGnhKaCCrrFkOd5HKKa0DclxFw10B2GAyFyRWNMCMTLRTUysCiXKx5iexFp3EVe69-YQXQMlufF5E4gYfCfa34Rvysy3aF6QP_YeV5r26OjSKgGEVeMCCtCFkNZhvdjyw7QKGhRA/s1600/u15316411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLycUzGnhKaCCrrFkOd5HKKa0DclxFw10B2GAyFyRWNMCMTLRTUysCiXKx5iexFp3EVe69-YQXQMlufF5E4gYfCfa34Rvysy3aF6QP_YeV5r26OjSKgGEVeMCCtCFkNZhvdjyw7QKGhRA/s1600/u15316411.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><b>Hate</b> is a strong
emotion--stronger than most when it goes deep. It can move individuals, groups,
nations to carry out unimaginable destruction and grief. It already has, down
through the centuries. It continues today--in the forms of terrorism, racism, sexism,
homophobia, child abuse, gun abuse, and more. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Those of us who consider
ourselves civilized have good reason to be scared. It seems as though there is
nothing we can do to halt the growing menace. Our police seem weak, our
governments impotent, our borders unprotected, and more and more 'unbalanced' individuals are armed with high powered weapons fit for the military. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>What hope is there? </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">There's more than hope. And in
this two-part series, you’ll discover how you can help bring hatred to its knees. You
can and must play a major role in bringing sanity back to an insane world. You
have it within you and around you to save this planet and her people, her creatures, her resources. But will
you? Or will you succumb to the fear? No need. You will now have the tools to
turn on the light. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You probably live in a city or
town that has community access TV channels. In my city, there are several.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The other night, I was flipping
through the channels and happened upon a weird little program put on by the
so-called Aryan Nation. This white guy, around 30, was spouting about how the
White race is superior, how he hated Hispanics and Jews in particular, and what
we needed to do to get rid of "the pests." He didn't come right out
and advocate murder and terrorism, but it was definitely implied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">The guy claimed that the White
race had given all its best stuff—technology, literature, music, art—to the
inferior races of Asia, Africa and South America. And they had used it all
against us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>What?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">He said that the other races,
especially Hispanics, were overrunning the United States and turning it into a
Third World country. They only take, he said; they don't really contribute
anything of substance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>What?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">He said that the Jews were
using the US to perpetuate their own agenda, that is, to totally control the
Middle East. They take American money from American banks, that is, American
pockets, to finance their covert operations around the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>What?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Then, in a final bit of rage,
he declared war on Islam. The Muslims, he claimed, were pouring into the US and
setting us up for the internal War of Wars. They were planning on bombing
everything possible to bring the US to its knees. Then, when it was weakened,
the Muslim groups from outside the US could come and take control, demolishing
American democracy—and thus, the democracies all over the world—while setting
up an Islamic theocracy in its place. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>What?</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Growing up in the 1950's, I
encountered a lot of racism. Most of the kids I went to school with were White,
and they thought nothing of telling racist and sexist jokes. Me, too, I'm
afraid. It didn't matter; it wasn't important. We were not told that Black
people, Hispanic people, and Asian people were actually part of the human family.
Oh, we knew they were human in a sense, but they were different from us, less
educated and educable; they were dirty, and caused most of the crime in our
cities. They came in from foreign countries and stole jobs from White people.
And you didn't want your daughter or sister or even son to marry one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Did our schoolteachers seek to
enlighten us with the truth? Did they tell us that these other folks who seemed
so different were actually the same as us, with dreams and hopes and fears? Did
they admonish us to treat people who appeared different with understanding and
friendship?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><i>Hardly. </i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Most of the teachers and
administrators—and our parents—were as prejudice as the kids. That's where we got
it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">And what about our ministers?
Once in a great while, I would hear a preacher mention that we should be
"tolerant" of our darker brothers and sisters, but for the most part,
I rarely heard any truly loving language concerning racially different people
coming from the pulpit. And most of those preachers would never allow a “mixed
marriage” to take place in their church.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Has all that ended? Perhaps to
a small degree, but not completely. We still carry a great deal of prejudice in
our collective hearts. It may seem subtle, but not to those who are still the
recipients of it. And it's not just White people who are prejudice. Americans
of every stripe carry seeds of racism, sexism, homophobia, even ageism. You
don't have to be Caucasian to be mean-spirited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Now, with all the terrorism
reports, all the bombings and shootings in London, New York, Baghdad, Kabul and
Egypt plus Tucson, Aurora, Portland, and Newtown, more and more people
are allowing the old prejudiced mindset to return. "Kill all the Muslims,”
read a sign in downtown Portland and recently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Are the Muslims to blame for
all the world's trouble? Of course not. There is a handful of radicals who are
claiming that they kill in the name of Islam, to destroy the enemies of Islam,
to protect the good names of Allah and Muhammad. But the vast majority of
Muslims, like the vast majority of Christians, Jews, and Hindus, are peace
loving, hard working people. They want the best for their children, for their
neighborhoods, for their nations. A few misguided fundamentalists, who believe
they are doing God's will, are actually setting the world up for a possible letting
of blood unlike anything we have ever experienced in world history. And no one,
including the radicals, will win.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Can we change that scenario? Do
we even want to change it? If we can, how? When? With what?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">You will learn how in Part II.
You don't want to miss it. You play a major role.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-21596143638100323842013-01-05T14:15:00.002-08:002013-01-05T14:22:35.329-08:00Hating in the Name of the Lord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aXT_QsCXsJ6rUFYFCmDRY9hEGa4r48KHe4KrApl92ZuWxkOAzt1WpN4bTRlkAFNMMUr2f3gQWBsKvwcDJamdJm6tH0VUx_zqHvt-ioiQKrQdIAZ_YqFZKqbopzDCGVLBL8XVR2A0__Q/s1600/430906_525733590793249_2024468658_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2aXT_QsCXsJ6rUFYFCmDRY9hEGa4r48KHe4KrApl92ZuWxkOAzt1WpN4bTRlkAFNMMUr2f3gQWBsKvwcDJamdJm6tH0VUx_zqHvt-ioiQKrQdIAZ_YqFZKqbopzDCGVLBL8XVR2A0__Q/s320/430906_525733590793249_2024468658_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This showed up on my Facebook page. I was a bit stunned that this "Dr. Linda Roberts," who claims to be a god-fearing Christian, would write such drivel. But, those sort of folks are still out there, it would appear. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I share this for two reasons...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First, hatred is still alive and well in the United States. It can only be conquered, not by more hatred, but by compassion. Compassion means action, which is much more than just a feeling of sympathy or even empathy. True compassion is action, and in this case, it means sharing yourself in positive ways with the world. It's doing the least harm and the most good. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To serve is to win. Period.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Second, I posted this because according to some of my conservative friends, the attitude displayed in the above poster runs rampant among Far Right and ultra conservative political players at all levels of government. Watch them closely. They once caused a civil war in the U.S. If this attitude really is as prevalent as I'm told, another civil war is not necessarily out of the question.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The world is not the same place it was in the 1950s. And neither is the U.S. Please, people. Come out of the darkness. Realize that we all rise, or fall, together. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Love one another, even as I have loved you."</i> Jesus</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>P.S. Roberts' Twitter handle: @godslandgodslaw</b></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-77863286694078672052013-01-02T17:35:00.000-08:002013-01-02T17:37:54.385-08:00Reality Bites: Baby Boomers, Alzheimer's, and You<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPsgTj3FyiEyg4S3Fl62EijysOrsh7Z4jwHMFYSJ1aWB-gTHoyS1h9rXS_lInKNguHzBMvJEABQ4LIVM_T_EdP9bGsHG6IinVGwDWt3wfxvgZlaUKa9H-k3TAGpjyq_b82jrLSIuSwSk/s1600/k4779572.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYPsgTj3FyiEyg4S3Fl62EijysOrsh7Z4jwHMFYSJ1aWB-gTHoyS1h9rXS_lInKNguHzBMvJEABQ4LIVM_T_EdP9bGsHG6IinVGwDWt3wfxvgZlaUKa9H-k3TAGpjyq_b82jrLSIuSwSk/s1600/k4779572.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-1164120495373105557" itemprop="articleBody" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; position: relative; width: 586px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Baby Boomer generation is retiring. And with that mob of retirees comes the greater numbers of those with Alzheimer's Disease. The Alzheimer's Association, in partnership with research facilities and others, is working to help find the cure, or at least a way to soften the symptoms. You can help.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.Alz.org/">www.Alz.org</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-7LhXxU6XAxRFQNpdXZJeuGVrVXx6QrjyzjYj1Ctli9d5GfBq640vJMeTPAldyoE5ezDqdMkpPEJFUPytbn62SwuVdsM24ulh1vvGilT4GY9FtgbaMM-ryB1KSuuNloOwS0v3bq41zg7/s1600/logo_alz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #29aae1; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-7LhXxU6XAxRFQNpdXZJeuGVrVXx6QrjyzjYj1Ctli9d5GfBq640vJMeTPAldyoE5ezDqdMkpPEJFUPytbn62SwuVdsM24ulh1vvGilT4GY9FtgbaMM-ryB1KSuuNloOwS0v3bq41zg7/s320/logo_alz.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.199219) 0px 0px 20px; padding-bottom: 8px; padding-left: 8px; padding-right: 8px; padding-top: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Extra...</b> The <a href="http://www.alz.org/oregon"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Alzheimer's Association of Oregon</span>,</a> located in Portland, has programs and trained facilitators that can share with your organization, group, church, class, and more. Call Sam at 503-416-0213 weekdays.</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-71053054189582431852012-12-25T16:11:00.001-08:002012-12-25T16:13:07.562-08:00Snow Day in Portland 12/18/12<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nK1e817gTyM" width="480"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-27192394119026735082012-12-23T08:45:00.002-08:002012-12-23T08:47:59.752-08:00TEXAS BEER JOINT SUES LOCAL CHURCH OVER LIGHTNING STRIKE!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU94ISHwD3KbDzzlMiME9HyAfdaGiLHn06smvDLzor4k1JzHKzuVCu_te9GQJfvV93aHkKteX2xZP_YGPjTZj0tlnxWlqSv_7sN0FloxbyUea_AW0Mq5uDVVITzL0L5qcQrBxaBE1KsXU/s1600/PHF0021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU94ISHwD3KbDzzlMiME9HyAfdaGiLHn06smvDLzor4k1JzHKzuVCu_te9GQJfvV93aHkKteX2xZP_YGPjTZj0tlnxWlqSv_7sN0FloxbyUea_AW0Mq5uDVVITzL0L5qcQrBxaBE1KsXU/s1600/PHF0021.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">",,,in mysterious ways..."</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #454545; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(I totally stole this little gem from a forwarded email so I have no idea from whence it came. If you're the original author, I hereby give you full credit!)</i></span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This should keep you chuckling for awhile...</span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> A bar called Drummond's (in Mt Vernon, Texas ) began construction on an<u> </u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">expansion of their building, hoping to "grow" their business.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In response, the local Southern Baptist Church started a campaign to<u> </u></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">block the bar from expanding - petitions, prayers, etc.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> About a week before the bar's grand re-opening, a bolt of lightning<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">struck the bar and burned it to the ground!<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Afterward, the church folks were rather smug - bragging about "the power<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">of prayer".<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The angry bar owner eventually sued the church on grounds that the<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">church... "Was ultimately responsible for the demise of his building,<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">through direct actions or indirect means."<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Of course, the church vehemently denied all responsibility or any<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">connection to the building's demise.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> The judge read carefully through the plaintiff's complaint and the<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">defendant's reply.<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> He then opened the hearing by saying:<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> "I don't know how I'm going to decide this, but it appears from the<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">paperwork that what we have here is a bar owner who now believes in the<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">power of prayer, and an entire church congregation that does not."<u></u><u></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> True story!!</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-41493654148221850862012-12-12T09:04:00.000-08:002012-12-12T09:04:51.311-08:00Gunman Kills Two At Clackamas Town Center Mall, Portland, Oregon<br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another deadly shooting, this time in my own back yard... </span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, Dec. 11, 2012, a lone gunman ran into the Clackamas Town Center mall just outside Portland and began shooting. Before he killed himself, he killed two Christmas shoppers and seriously injured a third, who is currently recovering at a local hospital.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the past few years as I have watched gunmen kill people all over America--in theaters, on college and high school campuses, in churches, temples, and of course, shopping malls--I've wondered just how long it would be before it happened here, in Portland. Now it has. And I feel a very personal loss.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every Friday, around 11:30 a.m., my best friend Iris and I have coffee together at Starbuck's in the Barnes and Noble store at the Clackamas mall. It's only a few steps and one level down from the mall food court, where most of the shooting took place. We chat about our week, talk about the families, have a scone or a bagel and a grande coffee, and generally have a wonderful time together. It's a highlight of the week for both of us.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That has now changed. This coming Friday, if the mall has reopened, we will have a very different experience--that is, if we decide to have our coffee there. I know we'll return eventually, but for now, maybe not. All I can think about is the families of the two people who died. Their holiday season is over.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The 2nd Amendment and assault weapons in the hands of the citizenry. Wow. What an issue, eh? I bet you have an opinion. Share it with me, if you will.</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-57221146653031014502012-12-09T08:34:00.000-08:002012-12-09T08:37:50.750-08:00Christmas--The Most Pagan of Holidays<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 21px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s this simple… </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Christmas is a stolen holiday. That’s right. It was stolen centuries ago from the pagans by the Catholic Church. Why? Because the newly converted Christians were resistant to giving up their old ways. That’s why the tree, the elves, and the presents came along with the Mass.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, when you’re sitting around, opening gifts, singing carols, and drinking nog, remember: You owe the whole thing to the world of paganism.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy holidays!</span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-40893286739963972962012-11-27T14:59:00.001-08:002012-11-27T15:00:23.323-08:00Many Congrats to My Jobs Class Participants!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012, is the final session of a seven-week job skills course I have been facilitating for Easter Seals of Oregon. The group is an over-55, determined, motivated bunch of folks who have slugged it through with me lo! these many weeks. They tell me they have received much. I know I have as well.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I congratulate them on completing the course. Back into the world, now, people. The jobs await!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>(By the way, Easter Seals Oregon has asked me to do the class again for another group of eager job seekers. Soon...)</i></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-26247013741823440822012-11-23T08:30:00.001-08:002012-11-23T08:30:35.201-08:00Remember The First Americans This Thanksgiving. Thanks.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Please take time to remember the many Native Americans who have given their lives for this </div>
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country, both in the beginning and during all wars. They were at the first Thanksgiving.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-23814121825039183332012-11-19T14:29:00.002-08:002012-11-19T14:30:51.907-08:00New World Day - December 22, 2012 - A Fresh Start!<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From <a href="http://YouPresenting.com/">YouPresenting.com</a> blog:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The world, according to some, will come to an end on Dec. 21, 2012. Not all are doomsdayers. Some say it will be a new consciousness, a new world order. Others think it will be knocked off its axis by a comet or asteroid. Still others think it will be due to some natural catastrophe, like an undersea volcano going off. Well...</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unless I get hit by lightning, a truck, or a coronary blast, I believe I will awaken bright eyed and bushy tailed on the morning of 12/22/12. You, too, more than likely. This is an opportunity to make a fresh start.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With that in mind, I highly recommend a new holiday--New World Day--which should in fact replace Christmas, a stolen pagan holiday, that can rightly be moved into the summer months. After all, it gets pretty chilly in the Judaean hills in December. Too chilly to have been born in a manger. Plus, shepherds were not keeping watch over their flocks by night in that month, either. Move it to June or July. Much more fitting, don't you think?</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, New World Day it is. A new respect, a new understanding, a new peace--politically, spiritually, personally. One more chance to make one more try.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Mayans would be satisfied, I believe. I know I am.</span><br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-48279102990710214842012-11-09T20:51:00.002-08:002012-11-09T20:53:23.098-08:00In Support of Marriage Equality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, Christian, what does your Bible say about the way you treat gay people?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;">"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10).</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; line-height: 17px;"> </span></b></i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">So, love neighbor as self, said Jesus. On this hangs the entire Law.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Let this be a wake-up call. Support <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-zelinsky/marriage-equality-2012-election_b_2086292.html">marriage equality</a>.</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5212935200545242654.post-6828787687525668322012-10-27T14:44:00.003-07:002012-11-09T20:50:32.252-08:00Lost Freedoms: A Conservative White House and Your Fate<br />
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<span data-mce-style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>If you truly believe in freedom and social justice, please know that...</b></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;"></span><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">The new Supreme Court under a conservative White House will take away a woman's right to choose, reinstate ban on gays in military, consider overturning Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, and give religion a greater say in public policy (including a personhood amendment that will limit your contraception choices and no abortion in any circumstance, including rape, incest, and the life of the mother, plus an anti-marriage equality amendment to the US Constitution, ensconcing prejudice in that noble document forever). They will open Citizens United even wider, and will dismiss most challenges to corporate drilling in national parks and wetlands. </span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">And a conservative White House will continue to outsource jobs and lower taxes on the very rich. They will also eventually privatize all schools, prisons, Medicare, Social Security, and Veteran's Benefits. Medicaid will be a thing of the past. They will slash education funding and eliminate all healthcare benefits currently provided by both state and federal agencies. Worst of all, the new cabinet will be made up those same Bush era people who got us into two wars we have yet to pay for, justified torture and the killing of thousands of civilians, and caused the nation to nearly go into complete bankruptcy by 2008, bleeding 800,000 jobs just in the last month before the election. And then, insult added to injury, they bailed out the very CEOs who kicked the nation in the teeth in the first place. They'll do it again, you can 'bank' on that.</span></span></div>
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<strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One final insult: War is big business to a conservative administration. </span></strong></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">That's what's in store if you return a conservative administration to the White House. </span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;">For your own sake and sanity, </span></span></div>
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<span data-mce-style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span data-mce-style="color: #333333;" style="color: #333333;"><br /></span><span data-mce-style="color: #333333; font-size: x-large;" style="color: #333333; font-size: large;"><b>Don't. </b></span></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">© Richard Kent Matthews</div>Richard Kent Matthewshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00916318306394525388noreply@blogger.com0