GOD .... Reality And Truth .... Part 1

Before I begin, if this doesn't get shared on Facebook or retweeted on Twitter, I'd be shocked. I am known to many, especially my closest friends, as someone who tells the truth and speaks about reality. That's how I write my non-fictional narrative style books. But I also enjoy writing fiction which is different. My closest friends and family rely on that ability when we speak. I believe that knowing the truth is far less hurtful then living a lie, just to find the truth out much later when it will hurt even more. In this two part series, you will read the truth, the facts as we all know them. You don't have to agree with them, but you have to accept the truth. For many, the Christmas season is a very holy time of the year. In many religions it represents the birth of Jesus Christ. The cross in which he was crucified on is often times referred to in some bible versions as a tree. Hence, the original meaning of why a Christmas tree is erected. Has that meaning been lost over the centuries? Have we lost the real meaning of Christmas? People cannot profess their faith, react upon their beliefs when its just convenient for them. More on that in Part 2. Before we get into that discussion, we must qualify certain things. Let's look at the first amendment courtesy of Wikipedia.

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Why is this so important? It speaks to freedom. The freedom that this country has always stood for. The freedom that our soldiers serve and died for. Is there anything more important? There are many religions and spiritual beliefs. Many people are spiritual, but not religious. What does that mean, you'll have to wait for part 2 for that answer. Many religions are based on culture, and many different beliefs are within the same culture. Regardless, they all have the right to practice their faith freely, expressively, without prosecution, within the confines of the law of course. They should not be judged or harassed in any manner due to their beliefs. Great concept in writing isn't it? Does it actually happen? Is it always our reality? Is it always true, and if so, is it the truth? The answer is simple; no. Read the paper, go on the internet, social media, watch the news. Somewhere I promise you will see or read something that proves that point.

Something different than what people know is hard for many to accept. They feel their way is the only way. If I'm Catholic, that;s the only real religion, if I'm Christian, there is no other. It's like saying only your mothers tomato sauce is good. It's a learned behavior. Only one side of the issue. I don't care what religious belief or spirituality anyone practices. There will be those that are non-accepting of it. Mostly because they don't know it. How can they understand it? We know what we are taught, and we teach what we were taught, there's the vicious circle. How do we break it? Knowledge and education. True, but that was taken out of schools many years ago, and even then, it was not equal. People must be open-minded and willing to understand the ways of others that may be different than our own. The other problem stems from how people with certain beliefs choose to express their views. There are good and bad in everything. All those that believe in a particular faith, should not be lumped into one basket and labeled as bad because of a few rotten apples. Now that we have established that point, let's get to the topic.

God, a word that is used to represent a belief in something or someone. It represents faith. What is faith? Faith is a complete trust or confidence in someone or something or a strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Faith is something you either have and believe in, or you don't. There is no walking the fence on this one. You can't believe in it just when it suits your needs. Many people do not develop or find faith until later in life for various reasons. Age, personal experience, death, or a witness to an event that to them was a miracle. Working in pre-hospital medicine my entire adult life, I have even seen an Atheist pray for God to help them before they die. Remember I told you about truth and reality? For others, maybe never. Faith, as with God, is something that cannot be seen, touched or smelled. You simply believe it exists and you believe in something that represents it such as God. Faith is not logical. Unlike science based evidence that is based on pure logic, where the scientific findings proves the facts. With faith, you have to believe that there is a reason. You don't need to understand it. Honestly you can't. Because the truth is, no ones really ever knows until they die. There are some that are walking that line and go to physics, or mediums. Taking nothing away from them because I know nothing about the gift. To make a statement such as, they are fakes, or frauds would not be acceptable without facts. Can we assume that possibly there are people that have genuine instincts, and those that are fakes, yes. That's a fact of life.

Let me share a quick story with you. One I actually wrote in one of my books. I do not share the things that bother me with family or friends. I can usually allows work them out. Call me lucky. When my father died, it was very difficult for me because not only did I have to make the decision to take him off life support, I also had to make that same decision prior, for my mother when she passed. I never spoke a word to anyone of the pain I was feeling inside. Stopping at church many times, at the cemetery many times, praying every night for months. I could not find closure. I felt lost and empty inside. I was single, in a relatively serious relationship which I lost due to these effects. One day out of the blue I got a call from a gal who got my number from a friend. She actually called many times, and I kept blowing her off because she was a medium and I didn't believe in them. After many calls, I agreed to meet with her. Remember, never once did I speak a word of my troubles to anyone. We met. She told me my father gave her a message to give to me because he didn't want to see me in such pain any longer. I thought she was crazy. She said to me my father told me to tell you some of the people he is with. She gave me names of family members who had past. I thought, how could she know these names. I listened. She said he came to her every day and would not stop until she gave me this message. Of course I asked, what was the message. Still skeptical. She told me my father said not to be in pain anymore. My questioning my decision was the right one to make. He was ready to be with mommy and didn't want to live like that anymore. So stop and move on to live your life. REMEMBER, NO ONE knew what was bothering me, they just thought I missed him. At that exact moment, I was in peace inside and have never doubted that decision since. That was 6 years ago. Truth and reality. To this day we are great friends. She wouldn't take a dime for her time. It was something she just had to do. Was it her, was it God through her, was it my father through her? I don't know and I don't care because I have faith. When you have faith it is not up to you to determine it's path to you, but to accept it.

The term God is a relative term. Meaning, the term God means different things in different cultures. There are many cultures and ways of saying God., and most worship differently to their God. They have different histories and theories as to it's origin. This goes back to early times and cultures. There are still some tribes that practice the old ways of worship from centuries ago. How the Indian culture values the spirits. With that said, they all have one thing in common; faith. They all believe. They believe in their PERCEPTION of their God. Let's face it, can all the scriptures and related materials from every culture and religion be wrong? It's all about our teachings, how we are raised, and how we perceive things. People will also switch "faiths", or "beliefs" as they are sometimes called, for many reasons. Keeping an open mind to these other cultural beliefs is critical in order to respect those that believe differently. Would you not marry some who is Jewish because you're Catholic? Of course not. But years ago, they didn't. So yes, progress has been made. But in the world today with all the terrorism going on and acts of violence and death being performed in the name of a religion, does NOT make the religion in itself, or the people who believe in it bad. It does however make those that perceive it incorrectly, or in a way to use it to justify their deeds animals. Something our society has not yet fully achieved. Understanding. We denounce people as a race and culture if someone from their culture does something destructive in the name of their God.

For years, military men have prayed for good weather in order to be able to kill their enemy. Is this God's intentions? Would God grant you good weather to kill thousands of your enemies and innocent people. Many times the things we all do are in the name of God. Should they be? Our country, America, stands for the good in the world. God stands for good in people, therefore, the assimilation is we stand for the same principals. In this case though, I would say the answer is no. In my opinion, God would rather see people work their issues out and forgive, rather than kill each other. All cultures have some type of ceremonial ritual before battle. They pray for this because they have faith that thinking they are good, or right in their intentions, God will be on their side and their prayers will be answered. Does this make them bad people? Of course not. It's their way of having faith. It's truth, it's reality. If you thought this to be bad, then I guess we are bad as well.

I watched a speech presented by a well know political conservative and very spiritual lady Tomi Lahren from a speaking engagement at Liberty University. After the politics, I found at the end, her concept of God was quite realistic. She spoke to the fact that just because you ask for it, doesn't mean you will receive it. God may have a better plan for you than you have made for yourself. She also commented that she believed that God would not give her things she could not handle. Very good points as you would find most spiritual people believe. I found that quite refreshing coming from a 25 year old women. She boasted on how well she was raised and praised her parents. Some people believe that everything they do is driven by God. All that they receive in life is given to them by God. Those are very strong beliefs. Some physiologists have stated that thought process is due as a result of a person having a positive thinking pattern rather than that of faith or God. I won't debate that because that in itself is a book, not a blog post. The point is, what's the difference. If someone's belief is that strong, is it a bad thing to believe it comes from God? Especially if it makes their faith stronger? Do we have a tendency to over analyze things? Is that over analysis taking adding confusion into the world?

The point of Part 1 was to establish the concept of God, religion, faith and beliefs. People's rights to have them, practice their faith, as well as everyone's responsibility to understand and respect them. Would you expect anything less in return? I think not. In Part 2, which is my favorite part, we will get into the reality and misconceptions. Lets face it. God isn't a Genie in a bottle that we rub three times to get our wish. We will discuss concepts and practices. Heaven and hell. All cultures have them, but can be called something different. Are they just concepts? Things taught to us to frighten us from when we're young? Like getting coal in your Christmas stocking if your bad. What do we ask our God for and why? What happens to our faith when our prayers aren't answered? Are you a full time or part time believer. All of this in Part 2 this Thursday evening. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Please free free to browse the website caesarrondinaauthor.com.

- CJR

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