The following is an essay from Fox News.com’s religious contributor, Father Jonathan Morris.  Its longer then most of my recent entries, but read it all.  I have not directly expressed my spiritual beliefs and many readers have commented on this fact.  I am Roman Catholic.  Posting this essay is, in a way, to challenge readers to ask what God means to them and to further my earlier contention that we have been dumbed-down.  I believe humans are truly spiritual beings; we all have a desire to be spiritually connected.  Being spiritual requires thought, understanding and time.  Our modern hectic lives have made faith and religion obsolete and very un-glamorous. If God can’t fit into a sixty minute TV format we no longer have the brain-power or appropriate reasoning skills to begin to bring Him into our lives.  Read on

 

 

Scientology and Modern Depictions of the Divine

By Father Jonathan Morris

Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley, and Jenna Elfman, among others, have catapulted Scientology to the forefront of post-modern religious expression. Some Hollywood watchers have called the phenomenon the “Kabbalah” of 2007.

It would be to take potshots at Scientology’s more outrageous tenets, but I think it is more fair and helpful to ask what is fueling the craze. I want to approach the question from the opposite direction: what is turning people away from traditional religion?

I think there are lots of reasons, including the scandalous antics of some religious leaders. But, from my experience, the biggest reason is a misconception of who God is in the first place.

Below, I will lead you through a few categories of what I consider to be common and false depictions of the divine. Each, I believe, influences negatively our understanding of God, and therefore makes more attractive the latest craze in religious expression, whatever it may be.

 

1) God the Vending Machine

God the Vending Machine is a machine we use to get what we want. Drop the coins, express our wish, and hope it works. Once we’ve got our product we are back to our busy life and the vending machine is long forgotten. When we don’t receive an instant response, we assume the God machine is broken. We press the buttons harder, just in case, and hit the coin return to get our money back.

2) God the Clockmaker

The clockmaker God is the Supreme Being who sets things in motion, like the inner workings of a good Swiss watch, and leaves us to our own fate. He is “out there somewhere” but is not really in touch with reality. He looks down on the world from a distance and doesn’t really care or just can’t do anything about our problems. He is a bit like us when we watch a bunch of ants fighting a life-and-death combat. At most he is amused, but he surely won’t interfere. He is the watchmaker who got the thing going and now just watches it tick. The wise creator has capped his quill pen and allows us essentially to write our own demise. If the world is to be saved, it’s up to us because God isn’t about to intervene.

3) God of the Buffet

Perhaps the most common depiction of someone like God is what I like to call God of the Buffet. As we go through the buffet line we pick what we want: a salad, a little pasta, roast beef, some potatoes, another veggie, and then some fresh fruit and a little cheesecake to top it off. Likewise we pick out our beliefs. We may take Buddhist meditation, Hindu mysticism, the Jesus figure of love and forgiveness, a touch of New Age, and, of course, we leave out the rules.

In the end, the God of the Buffet boils down to intellectual and religious relativism. It holds that truth is subjective, and so each of us can choose his religion as he likes, all of them being equally valid. Instead of acknowledging that God is perfect, the God of the Buffet is mutable. He is employed as a motivating, comforting, or disciplinary force when it’s convenient. He vanishes when we no longer need belief.

4) God the Cop

He’s the cop just waiting to catch me speeding. If I’m not perfect, he’s against me, and eventually he’ll catch me. He is the wrathful God of fire and brimstone. We subordinate God’s supposed attributes of love and forgiveness to images of a vengeful God—based primarily on recollections of Old Testament accounts.

God is not a father. He is not a mother. He is just an old man ticked off by so much sin. We fear even minor infractions may stir him to strike back, to send a lightening bolt hurling from the heavens. God the Cop keeps us in line by offering punishment and reward. We are much like a puppy that will roll over or beg once he learns that he won’t get a treat if he doesn’t.

5) God as Dessert

God is dessert sitting in the freezer for later. He is the fine china collecting dust in the cabinet that we think we might need for some important dinner party at some point in the future.

In other words, I don’t need God now. I’m saving him for later. God and faith require too much time and energy. I want to spend the prime of my life on other things. Not getting too involved in religion also keeps me in the bliss of ignorance. I prefer to live without the guilty conscience that I assume will inevitably accompany the pursuit of religious truth.

God bless, Father Jonathan

 

 

 

 

  

 

i am really okay.

 

i am just sick and tired of being sick and tired

thanks for your concern

What did I do to anger God?

Nice guys finish last

 

I’ve never felt so confined, trapped

Little hope

Little joy

Like a stone in a rushing stream

 

I need an exit strategy

How much more can I take

some friends have worked rather laboriously to set up educational trusts for my kids.  i won't use this "space" for fund raising, so the group created www.stevemeersman.com thanks to everyone involved for thinking about my kids

  

 

 

 

 

The government wants my brain…

 

and spinal cord.  Yes, as a veteran I have been included in the VA's  ALS database.  They already have a sample of my DNA.

 

So, I am asking you, my readers, whether I should allow the VA to remove my central nervous system after I’m done using it.  It's not like I can take it with me.

 

 

 

I don’t like going to the doctor.   I saw the pulmonologist this week.  My respiratory function is in the dirt.  In 3 months my function has gone down by 15%.  So I am down to 31% of expected.   Fortunately I don’t have any “air hunger”, but I have had more aspiration, or food going down the “wrong pipe”. This sucks particularly since I can’t cough.

 

It is very sobering to think that given my current rate of decline, that within the next six months, I will have single digit function.

 

I am going out on a limb.  What I have included in today’s post will cause many readers to call me crazy and maybe un-American.  But consider this…I am a smart guy (I'm a doctor, damn it).  I have learned to be critical of most things I read and hear (my dad always said don’t believe anything you hear and only half of what you see and he said before the internet).  I consider myself to be a scientist; I am socially and politically conservative. I really hate politics.  I also spent 10 years as an Air Force officer.  All that said I can’t get out of my mind the images from 9/11/2001.

 

We have not been told the whole story or maybe not even the real story. 

The first link is to a well done 90 minute film arguing against the official version of the events. Please take the time to watch it.  There are many out there this is the best I've seen.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7866929448192753501&q=loose+change+recut

 

I believe in examining both sides so, below is a link rebutting any conspiracy theory.   This is an audio pod cast.  It answers many question I have. 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/military_law/1227842.html

 

I am worried about this country.  I have written about the dumbing of generations of Americans including mine.  Our government along with big business has been caught in scandal and lies before. But with an overworked, complacent and scared population with a little spin and “Proud to be an American” by Lee Greenwood played a few dozen times it’s easy to not question and move on.  Have a look and listen.  I still am not sure  where I stand.  I simply want you think.

 

 

 

Sometimes
I wish I was brave
I wish I was stronger
I wish I could feel no pain
I wish I was young
I wish I would try
I wish I was honest
I wish I was you not I

‘Cause
I feel so mad
I feel so angry
I feel so callous
So lost, confused, again
I feel so cheap
So used, fabricated
Let’s start over
Let’s start over

Sometimes
I wish I was smart
I wish I made cures for
How people are
I wish I had power
I wish I could leave
I wish I could change the world
For you and me

‘Cause
I feel so mad
I feel so angry
I feel so callous
So lost, confused, again
I feel so cheap
So used, fabricated
Let’s start over
Let’s start over

 

We had a really great weekend.  Today is my 40th birthday.  To celebrate, On Saturday I had lunch with my friend Frank and Bob.  We then proceeded to a local brewery for their annual celebration of beer and general craziness.  This was all to keep me out of the house while a surprise party was being put together.  My wife put together an awesome gathering.  She had been working on the party for many weeks.  Upon our return to the house I was speechless. There were more than 50 people in attendance. Friends, family and neighbors from all over Colorado were here.

What was really surprising were the guests who came from around the country. My friend Mike from Virginia flew in for the day as well as our friends the Seales from Utah.  My old friend Tor flew in from California and Laura came from Indiana.  I am still in disbelief over all of the effort put forth by these people to come to my party.  I’ve posted a few pictures from the gathering …thank you all… for everything. 

First a word of caution. This is a long entry, I have been working on it for several days. I have been delayed by additional technical difficulties. This coupled with a week long of gastroenteritis, blogging has not been a priority. So let’s begin with the little quiz.

The following is an 1895 8th-grade final exam from Salina, Kansas. It was taken from the original document on file at the Smoky Valley Genealogical Society and Library in Salina, Kansas, and reprinted by the Salina Journal.

Grammar (Time, one hour)

1. Give nine rules for the use of Capital Letters.

2. Name the Parts of Speech and define those that have no modifications.

3. Define Verse, Stanza and Paragraph.

4. What are the Principal Parts of a verb? Give Principal Parts of do, lie, lay and run.

5. Define Case, Illustrate each Case.

6. What is Punctuation? Give rules for principal marks of Punctuation.

7-10. Write a composition of about 150 words and show therein that you understand the practical use of the rules of grammar.

Arithmetic (Time, 1.25 hours)

1. Name and define the Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic.

2. A wagon box is 2 ft. deep, 10 ft. long and 3 ft. wide. How many bushels of wheat will it hold?

3. If a load of wheat weighs 3,942 lbs., what is it worth at 50 cts. per bu., deducting 1,050 lbs. for tare?

4. District No. 33 has a valuation of $35,000. What is the necessary levy to carry on a school seven months at $50 per month, and have $104 for incidentals?

5. Find cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

5. Find cost of 6,720 lbs. coal at $6.00 per ton.

6. Find the interest of $512.60 for 8 months and 18 days at 7 percent.

7. What is the cost of 40 boards 12 inches wide and 16 ft. long at $.20 per inch?

8. Find bank discount on $300 for 90 days (no grace) at 10 percent.

9. What is the cost of a square farm at $15 per acre, the distance around which is 640 rods?

10. Write a Bank Check, a Promissory Note, and a Receipt.

U.S. History (Time, 45 minutes)

1. Give the epochs into which U.S. History is divided.

2. Give an account of the discovery of America by Columbus.

3. Relate the causes and results of the Revolutionary War.

4. Show the territorial growth of the United States.

5. Tell what you can of the history of Kansas.

6. Describe three of the most prominent battles of the Rebellion.

7. Who were the following Morse, Whitney, Fulton, Bell, Lincoln, Penn, and Howe?

8. Name events connected with the following dates: 1607, 1620, 1800, 1849, and 1865?

Well, how did you do? The exam goes on for another three pages. I know I had some difficulty with these questions and I imagine any eighth grader today would have trouble reading the questions.

The point of starting with this examination is to point out how dumb we have become as Americans.  I believe one of the reasons we have allowed multinational corporations to dominate our lives and destroyed our society and health is because we have been intentionally dumbed down.

There has been a deliberate and methodical movement in this country to create a complacent and pliable citizenry. Our education system since the 1960’s has been modeled after a socialist archetype emphasizing a one-world notion of economy and citizenry. Our collective sense of American history and the sacrifices made by our forefathers in creating this nation been eliminated from the curriculum on purpose.

This might all sound like a lot of internet Conspiracy Theory, but there is a very real paper trail to investigate.

Bob Djurdjevic wrote in the The Washington Times, August 31, 1997…the desecration of America the Beautiful is not a spontaneous event. Nor is a deliberate dumbing down of our nation. It is a multi-pronged process carried out by the Wall Street elite and their vassals in government, education, media and the entertainment industry.  Why would the bankers and industrialists want America to be a nation of "ignorant blunderers or dunderheads," according to Oxford Dictionary's definition of "mutts?" Because such a stupefied population is easier to subjugate by the elite's financial shackles than would be the free-spirited, free-thinking, patriotic, enterprising Americans who had made this country the envy of the world.”

But how is such a dictatorship of the few over the many possible in the "land of the free," the "greatest democracy on Earth?"

Easy. They buy the politicians. They buy the educators. They buy the media. And then, they tell them what they want Americans to think. And suddenly, America is no longer free.

The entertainment industry is another source of the destructive forces which are tearing apart the fabric of the American society. Just as the drugs are destroying the bodies of Americans, Hollywood, the record companies and the professional sports owners and sponsors are poisoning the minds of America. (nothing against you personally Joe).

Now that I have pigeonholed myself ideologically, let’s look at some evidence. In 1999 the 20 year experience of Christine Iserbyt a former department of education official was published. She has made this tome available free. The 750 page book can be found at http://www.deliberatedumbingdown.com/index.html. It contains dozens of actual government documents which detail the deliberate efforts to create a socialist/one-world  school-to-work system in the United States

As Iserbyt points out, in the 1960's "American education would henceforth concern itself with the importance of the group rather than with the importance of the individual." The purpose of education would shift to focus on the student’s emotional health, rather than academic learning. The mantra of the 1960's was, of course; sex, drugs and rock'n roll.  Drop out, tune in, and turn on. Just about everything that is wrong with America today had its genesis in this decade of youthful self-indulgence."

In 1965, there were two major federal initiatives developed with funding from The Elementary and Secondary Education Act passed that year. One was the 1965-1969 Behavioral Science Teacher Education Program and the other was the publication by the government of "Pacesetters in Innovation", a catalogue of behavior modification programs to be used by the schools.

That’s right: a catalogue of behavior modification programs! We're not talking about programs to teach students anything. We are talking about programs to indoctrinate children passing through the system to believe in values contrary to those on which this nation was based.

The intention was to create a generation or two of Americans who would accept the United Nations, not the United States, as their new "nation", a global nation, one-world government. The last thing the planner wanted was a nation of individuals who could or would actually think for themselves.  In 1960, "Soviet Education Programs: Foundations, Curriculums, Teacher Preparation" was published under the auspices of the US Department of Health, Education and Welfare. It was the blueprint for the US school-to-work restructuring that would take place and it would rely on the "Pavlovian conditioned reflex theory." The mastermind was a psychologist, Dr. B.F. Skinner.

Today's students are taught not to make value judgments about other nations, even if they are authoritarian dictatorships. They may not know where Brazil is on the map, but they "know" all the rain forests are disappearing. They don't know when the Civil War took place or why, but they "know" that all the Founding Fathers were slave-owners. They also "know" that America's history is one of destroying the native Indian nations, taking their land, and exploiting it with farms, mining, and the destruction of whole forests. They cannot tell you what the Bill of Rights is, but they "know" the US is the leading contributor of "greenhouse gases" to the atmosphere, thereby causing global warming. It is a full course of lies. They haven't a clue about the individualism, sacrifice, daring and innovation that made this nation great, nor its political system, and most certainly not its history.

By the 1990's the decades of effort to overturn an education system that taught specific bodies of information and the skills to use them; arithmetic, spelling, history, civics, science had effectively been transformed into today's touchy-feely system. It is a place where a student's feelings of self-esteem are more important than whether they actually know anything other than the specific answers to the test. Thus teachers now "teach to the test" (their paycheck depends on it) rather than provide a broader body of knowledge. It is a place where competition is discouraged as unfair to those less qualified for any reason. It is a place where socialist attitudes and values are the priority, not knowledge.

People have got to get it through their heads that big corporations, multinational corporations, etc. benefit from socialism, believe it or not, because they don't have to compete.  David Rockefeller, made a comment about Communist Angola.  The press asked him "Why would you be interested in setting up an oil refinery in Angola?"   He responded:   "Because we find it much easier to deal with centralized governments and economies... We don't care what their politics are."  So we have to get over the idea that the major corporations are pure capitalists -- especially when we are dealing with multinational corporations which have absolutely no allegiance to any particular country.

Initially, it was very difficult for me to reconcile what I had been reading and the experience of my children starting school. They attend the same schools now that I did. I have personally achieved quite a bit and most of my friends are informed and forward thinking. My children seem to be challenged. But my perspective is skewed. Our school district is one of the best in the nation. Even with excellent teachers and administrators we are under the influence of centralization of education. Just last week there was a proposal to take many important decision making tasks from our school board and give them to the superintendent and state administrative groups.  What made our schools great in the early part of the twentieth century was local control. But the department of education has an agenda to centralize education of our children.  Have you heard of no child left behind? This is the latest attempt to push the socialist agenda and it’s working. Teaching it to the lowest achieving students and teaching for the test are destroying our schools.

So what can be done?  I really don’t have an answer.  I don’t want to think about this too much in my current state of health.  I simply want those who read this to begin thinking about this catastrophe which is occurring right before our eyes.  The system needs to be fixed and in an attempt to make a suggestion I have found one interesting excerpt.  In the January/February 2001 issue of The American Enterprise, devoted to why so few schools succeed while the majority fails, Karl Zinsmeister writes that "it's extremely interesting how many common traits are shared by the successful schools we profile. A remarkably similar basic formula applies in almost all of these places: high demands on students, strict discipline, a strong and unapologetic moral component, including a respect for religion, an emphasis on teaching intellectual basics, a preference for time-tested books and curricula, clear standards of dress, grooming, and comportment, and an insistence on politeness, respect and courtesy." So let’s make these changes in our local schools…yea right!! Not in our lifetime with all the political correctness which dominates our world.

That’s enough for now.  Stay tuned t for the next installment.

I am back working with voice recognition software.  I hope to continue using this for quite some time.  The Dasher program I was using before is good for quick e-mail responses but it is still fairly slow.  I would like to thank everyone for your comments.  I do read all of them and try to respond to most.  Because typing is very difficult I can only do a few each day. 

 

My mind has been drawn in an interesting direction lately. A lot of people with Lou Gehrig’s disease dedicate their time and efforts to fundraising for research. This is an excellent use of one’s time. These activities create real dollars that can be used to find out what causes this disease and potentially find a cure. It also raises awareness. Because this disease is so rare many people understand what it is about.  Every year the ALS Association holds walking events to get to raise money and awareness. I would encourage anyone participate in one of these walks if there’s one in your area.

 

I have begun to think about my disease in a different light. Research is vital. One day I know, there will be a treatment and possible cure for this terrible disease. I have done some very informal research and have found some interesting facts regarding not only Lou Gehrig’s disease but other maladies of our modern life. Besides motor neuron disease, there has been a dramatic upswing in the level of obesity, cancers and autism and our nation and other developed countries. But before the industrial revolution motor neuron disease was essential unheard of. Is clear from casual observation and well done scientific documentation that obesity is also a product of this modern age. Autism in children is now thought to occur in 1 in 166 individuals.

 

These are just a few of the many illnesses which have arisen from our modern civilization. Let me say right now, this is beginning to sound like the beginning of a Michael Moore documentary or something from Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth (in actual fact I have never seen anything from the fat Michael or Gore’s film).  I do not align myself with any Swedish car driving, tree hugging Greenpeace-type organizations.  I actually enjoy all of what modern America has given me. From the ability to speak into my computer and write this to the specialized vehicle into a transport me from place to place, I love all of modern world. But being forced into retirement and reading about and really studying what our modern lifestyle has done to us and the burden we have placed on the environment has begun to weighing heavier on my mind. There is a price to pay.  These issues are far too complex to discuss in a single entry. My goal today was to introduce this idea and force myself to look into it further. I intend to educate the readers of this and perhaps plant the seed in someone’s mind.

 

Here are just a few quick ideas on this subject.

--Much research into Lou Gehrig’s disease points to the fact that there is some toxic cause. Some substance in the environment when experienced by a susceptible individual leads to the symptom complex that it is known as ALS.  It could very well and is likely to be a common substance.  There is a high incidence of  Lou Gehrig’s disease in military members which is very curious and has not yet been explained. 

 

--And why are so many children experiencing symptoms of autism?  A condition which was so rare in the past now is seen in no fewer than five children in my kids elementary school, statistics would lead us to believe. Interesting, two very complex neurologic maladies being recognized in higher numbers than in the past.

 

--The incidence of cancer is also on the rise. There must be some environmental force driving this as well.

 

--Americans are getting fatter. I spent many years dealing with obesity and performing gastric bypass operations. Anyone who says that an overweight person is just lazy and stupid has not spent any time with an overweight person. This condition is as complex as any of those I’ve just listed above. There might not be a definite connection between environmental misuse and obesity but it is a true modern malady.

 

All of these conditions are in some way related to our modern life style. So here it is, I point my finger at the modern multinational corporation. The group of companies responsible for making the United States in the most powerful nation in the world is also to blame for our failing health.  Now I’m sounding like a liberal free thinker, right.  Along with taking a hard look at what these giant corporations have done to our world (and our grandchildren’s grandchildren’s world) it will be interesting to see what the so called “sustainability movement” has done to our political stances as well. I encourage you to spend a few minutes surfing for your own ideas on this subject and stay tuned for the rest of my essay.

 

 

 

We found a new male Wheaten terrier puppy.  His name is Finnegan O’Ryne or Finn for short.  He is a happy little guy; our other Wheaten, Roxy, is taking his being around pretty well.

 It nice to have my family back in town. They had a great time in New Hampshire. Thanks to everyone there for all your hospitality. My brother and sister in law took very care of me while they were away. I saw my pulmonologist today. My respitory function is somewhat worse, about fifty percent of what is normal.

 Finally I have discovered a very cool composition tool. It is called Dasher (http://www.dasher.org.uk/) it’s an Open Source program which means it is free for anyone to use. I have found it easier to write with then windows XP’s on-screen keyboard

I have been moving it around under a black cloud of despair and discouragement. It is hard to believe that I could feel so lonely when I’m surrounded by loving and caring people.  A mind trapped in a worthless body.

 

Several things have led to this new low in my mood. An on going urinary infection reminds me that I am now dependent on a rubber tube to urinate. I have grown very tired of complaining about this situation. But, the spasms are real and I feel very poorly when I have a fever.  A recent trip to the shopping mall served to depress me even more. In one store the attendant asked if I wanted to try anything on.  I laughed silently. First, I have not been able to dress myself for the better part of the year. Secondly, any investment in close would be a very poor investment. We used to joke during in my surgery residency, when someone would be given a very bad cancer diagnosis that the patient should not buy any large jars of mayonnaise.  The same goes for me buying clothes, why spend money on something which I have a closet full of and don’t get a chance to wear. Someone once told me (attempting to make this situation more positive) if it makes you feel better when you buy something then go ahead and do it. I have to disagree with this sentiment. My kids need new school clothes, not me.   The other thing about shopping malls is all of the mirrors. Seeing my reflection is very depressing. My oily skin and shrunken in shoulders do nothing for my self esteem. All of this riding on the giant power wheelchair, believe me if it were you, you would not like what you saw in the mirror.

 

We had quite a blowout at my house the other night.  It all stemmed from an argument amongst my children regarding it whose turn it was to feed me. What an unpleasant situation. The one thing I can do well is to chew and swallow.  I have a good appetite and really want to eat most of the time.  I really do need help getting food to my mouth.  Of course they were just being kids bickering about doing a chore. But it was all I could take.  My voice is still strong and I made the entire family cry. This disease as turned me into a monster.

 

If you were to graph the level of my dependence upon others this would be an up-curving line. The level of contribution to my family is also a line on a graph, but it’s downward sloping. I am very near the point where these two lines cross. How long after these lines intersect is it worth carrying on?  I have grown very tired of asking for assistance with every activity and motion I make.  I don’t feel I have made any positive contribution to my children in months, I have nothing to give and require every thing from everyone.

 

It takes me several hours to produce these short entries. They have become more negative and less inspired.   This might be one of the last