The Global Conversation

Looking at Today’s Reality:
IS THIS REALLY AND TRULY
WHAT WE HAVE COME TO?

Written by

Neale Donald Walsch

in

We have a candidate for president of the United States who says of a protestor at one of his campaign events, “I’d like to punch him in the face.”

We have a candidate for president who says of protestors at his events, “I love the old days — you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this? They’d be carried out on a stretcher, folks.”

We have a candidate for president of the United States who told one of his audiences, “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of them, would you? Seriously. OK? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees.”

Is there any hope? Are we really nothing more than a species of sentient beings run amok, blowing up H-bombs under the ground to prove our invincibility, ending criminals’ lives by injection to demonstrate our righteousness, allowing hundreds of children to die of starvation every hour as we defend a global economy that benefits one-tenth of the planet’s population?

Have we so lost our collective mind as to think that the way to stop gun violence is for everybody in the world to carry a gun?

Have we so lost our collective will as to find no way to stop the wars that create refugee crises rendering millions homeless?

Have we so lost our collective morals as to find it actually preferable for divisiveness, rudeness, insults and tasteless verbal bullying to become the hallmark of political leadership?

Is this what we have come to? Gun-toting, fist-pumping, verbal-bashing, jaw-jutting, loud-mouthed intimidators and strong-armed tyrants daring anyone to stand up for what is gentle, peaceful, and—God forbid—loving?

Just asking here.

Comments

53 responses to “Looking at Today’s Reality:
IS THIS REALLY AND TRULY
WHAT WE HAVE COME TO?”

  1. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Humanity is having a global fever, it is going through a spiritual crisis. Collective psychological pus is oozing. It’s not pretty, and it does stink. But it is a healing process. All of the rotten matter is coming to the surface for healing and release. Hatred, fears, etc…all that was previously suppressed, hidden and simmering is now exploding and seen by all. The gates of humanity’s inner hell have been open, and it looks like insanity. It is insanity, temporarily. And it will get a lot worse before it gets better. Be patient and hang on to your hearts and souls if you want to remain sane.

    In the meantime, the oceans are dying, fresh water is rapidly disappearing worldwide and the pentagon is preparing for global resource wars while corporations are salivating (they are people, they can salivate) at the prospect of profiting obscenely from such disappearing resources. Methane is being released from the melting arctic permafrost and the warming arctic sea, speeding global warming in an accelerating closed loop in a manner that mainstream scientists did not see coming.

    The earth will force us to stop. The natural world will save us, by stopping our worldwide civilization dead in its track. And that is not only good but necessary, because such an unintelligent civilization has made it necessary to literally destroy the earth and all life for endless economic growth.

    The clowns who are presently in charge, or who want to run the show, who seek dominant power and who aspire to achieve world domination, will seem truly insignificant, as will their futile political ideologies and ridiculous religious dogmas, their infantile dreams of supremacy, when nature’s powerful voice is heard.

    Beside, when you love and admire an artist, you don’t go out and destroy their work. If you love the Creator, you don’t destroy the creation, period. But if you choose to do so, you ultimately destroy yourself, because you are not separate from the creation. This is a kindergarten lesson that Humanity hat yet to understand and assimilate.

    Reply
    1. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      Amen to ALL you say!

      Reply
      1. mewabe Avatar
        mewabe

        Thanks!

        Reply
        1. AKA Patrick Avatar
          AKA Patrick

          You’re Welcome and May the Force Be With You!

          Reply
  2. Tom Currier Avatar
    Tom Currier

    Thank you Neale, Just the words I’ve been hoping some sane person to say. I’ve been in discomfort for some time and began re-reading your CWG books, and re-invigorating my studies of A course in miracles. Just want to say thanks

    Reply
  3. Stephen mills Avatar
    Stephen mills

    I guess money equals power .And with power you can do and say what you want .Its all so very sad that we have come to this though it does’nt surprise me .

    You mention collective will I just hope more of our young get engaged in politics and get behind Bernie, at least there is hope there. Part of the problem is also the media. I read on one day that Donald Trump had 80 mins of coverage on a particular channel Bernie had 9 mins .

    There are some great progressives in American politics Elizabeth Warren to name one and the movement is growing thanks to Bernie and his campaign which is not funded by corporations and billionaires . We know the system is broke but we do not know how to fix it so the loudest voices drown out sane conversation and debate . It’s all very egocentric and childish . Trump is like a villain in a Batman comic book . The only thing is he’s not the joker ,he is deadly serious .Thats very grim and deeply troubling .

    Reply
    1. mewabe Avatar
      mewabe

      The sad thing is, if Bernie does not get elected, Crump will probably defeat Hillary, because many will not vote for the establishment candidate Hillary. Beside, the American electorate constantly switches between a Democrat and Republican President. This is the most politically misinformed (should we say brainwashed?) public in the world, apart perhaps from North Korea. Poor education and the media are responsible, along with a cultural abhorrence of anything that approaches intellectualism or even intelligence, the standards of which are very low in America.
      It appears that this nation is ripe for fascism.

      It might be of interest to some to learn that part of the Republican ideology matches the church of satan dogma to a tee, as both believe that society should be governed by the principle of the survival of the fittest, of social Darwinism, and that the weak (the poor, etc) should be left to suffer the consequences of their misfortunes, which include suffering and death. In this worldview, compassion and forgiveness are considered mistakes and are not welcome. Interestingly, the right wing Republicans base this perspective on their understanding of Christianity. The irony would be lost on them!

      Reply
  4. Ronald Cogan Avatar
    Ronald Cogan

    Isn’t this part of the process, humanity, remembering how to create? We have to use the process that we have created, and do the best we can. We need to look at the big picture, and I feel that we are all Gods, remembering just that— so we can, get closer to being who we really are. So know matter how bad this life seems, we need to look at it from a positive perspective. A loving perspective, and that is not easy to do. But if we keep in mind that we are experiencing everything perfectly, then hopefully we will start to remember, WHO WE REALLY ARE. love ya all. Ron

    Reply
  5. Spiritual_Annie Avatar
    Spiritual_Annie

    If what you want, Neale, is an honest answer… Yes, yes, and yes. This is where we currently are. But, that does not mean that all hope is lost. Hope is never lost unless and until we all give up and give in.

    I’ve long thought that the people of the world (including Americans themselves) need to lose their blinders when it comes to what America has really become. The “land of the free and the home of the brave” hasn’t rung true for us in a very long time… if ever. Our streets haven’t ever been paved with gold except for those few elite who became so grotesquely wealthy at the expense of others.

    We bully our way into the Middle East (and elsewhere) with our unjustified preemptive wars in order to protect the wealthy and force our “democratic” (and so-called “christian”) beliefs on others, so why shouldn’t a foul-mouthed, bigoted bully who’s a member of that elite not be a front-runner in our presidential election? In my opinion, if Donald Trump does anything at all for the majority of Americans, it will be to expose who we have become to the world entire, including ourselves. But by exposing who it is we’ve collectively become—therein lies the solution, for one can only heal those things of which one is aware.

    However, someone I respect and admire has reminded me more than once (and I’m paraphrasing), our current world crises aren’t political, and so cannot and will not be solved by political means. To my mind, our political crisis merely reflects our national crisis and world crises. And (paraphrasing again), it should never be underestimated what a small group of dedicated people, who are willing to do the work to create beneficial change for us all, can accomplish.

    Therein lies our collective hope.

    Much Love and Many Blessings,

    ~Annie

    Reply
    1. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      My question is, and has been for sometime now: Is the Middle East in our jurisdiction?

      Reply
  6. Awareness Avatar
    Awareness

    Dear Neale Donald Walsch, I suggest that you send copies of “Conversations with God” (including audio) to all the US presidential aspirants 🙂 We are afterall co-creators in all of this and therefore all collectively responsible 🙂 You have power to change something when you accept responsibility and respond accordingly 🙂 Your response in this case Neale is to write to all the presidential candidates inviting them to consider the teachings in “Conversations with God” 🙂

    Bless ALL 🙂

    Reply
  7. Daniel Endy Avatar
    Daniel Endy

    The paradox is that to our desire to rid the world of things is our main issue. When see only brothers and sisters, when we embrace and love everything, then things will really change. Hatred and violence will vanish when we discover the power of Love.

    Reply
  8. Marko Avatar
    Marko

    This is not what we have become, but a part of us have. Those that support a rude, crude, immature billionaire. Others, many others support say his opposite, Bernie Sanders whose very popular with the spiritual crowd.

    From a CwG point of view, who do we desire, want & choose to be in face of this? That is the question. Do we want to live in the problem or solution?

    If thoughts are creative & life is creative using thoughts & emotions as the tools to create, what is it we desire to create? As we name that, we work & play toward that.

    Reply
    1. mewabe Avatar
      mewabe

      I think a vast majority of Americans want the same things. Most Americans are not extreme in their ideological beliefs. Unfortunately our so-called leaders do what they do best: divide and conquer, keeping the population distracted, extremely divided and emotionally involved with petty issues while they, and their corporate masters, loot our world.

      There is no voice out there to remind people of what they have in common, and to define solutions that would actually benefit everyone. Bernie is great and the best Washington has to offer, apart from Elizabeth Warren, but he is still a politician. This world needs someone who can transcend politics, transcend religions, transcend everything to get to the core of what we need to change our world.

      Reply
      1. Marko Avatar
        Marko

        “This world needs a new breed of people who can transcend politics, transcend religions, transcend everything to get to the core of what we need to change our world.”

        I guess that would be us. 🙂

        Reply
        1. mewabe Avatar
          mewabe

          I knew you would say this and of course I agree 🙂

          Reply
      2. AKA Patrick Avatar
        AKA Patrick

        To transcend that, as NDW says, politics needs to be spiritualized. The SIMILARITIES, not the differences between humans needs to be emphasized. That’s why I have and help in every way I can a family in another country. I have informally adopted them and am working very hard to go there finally to retire and help them raise their children.

        Reply
  9. Evie Lynne Avatar
    Evie Lynne

    well I guess I shall add my weird 2cents….when I step back and get a much broader perspective, I see Trump as a blessing for several reasons…1- far too many believe that racism is just something that happens in ‘those’ neighborhoods…well they are now becoming aware that it is rampant in this country and they are getting their heads out of the sand to do something…2- He is making it blatantly obvious that the main objective of both parties has absolutely nothing to do with the good of the people…its all about getting their party in…3- in truth trump and Hilary (Republicans and Democrats) are just different sides of the same coin…and no matter what the rhetoric is, dig deep enough and you can see they are both funded by the same people…So as I see it the man is waking people up to see the dark side of it all…and they are discovering the only way to conquer dark is with light…of course I could be totally off and as my son says ‘seeing the world thru rainbows and unicorns”…and if I am please don’t crush my illusion…I much prefer it to sitting in a room full of venomous people spewing hate for the hater…lol

    Reply
    1. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      Evie, Trump and his co-author Robert T. Kiyosaki jointly wrote a book entitled “Why
      We Want You To Be Rich”. (The You they refer to here is the American public.) They are saying that Social Security creates an entitlement mentality on the part of the public. (I’m on Social Security, so that caused me to immediately sit up and take notice.) Folks need to understand that the government cannot take care of us–NO government can. We need to learn to take care of ourselves. As Spirit, we have the capability to create matter out of thin air. NDW’s first CWG book expresses the idea exactly so. (Page 26, end of first paragraph). Although I myself have a long way to go with that one, I do believe it. We just need to remember who we are.
      After all, Jesus did such things readily.

      Reply
      1. Evie Lynne Avatar
        Evie Lynne

        interesting…both your comment and the timing of it…i have come to this place in my life where i am questioning why any thing matters anymore…i have become pretty much void of all emotion except saddness…i feel like i am just biding my time…i used to feel so passionate about spreading the light…i really believed something wonderful was right around the corner and i was helping to bring it about…now i just feel tired and drained…im sure it is just some kind of energy flux that will pass…perhaps this is my sign and its time to re-read CWG1 again…thank you 🙂

        Reply
        1. AKA Patrick Avatar
          AKA Patrick

          Evie, of course, re-reading CWG1 won’t hurt, but in short, realize we all have to have sufficient self-esteem to negotiate all the “garbage” which happens in our lives. What helped me most to regain mine, was realizing we are all children of God, and He made us perfect, whether we believe it or not. He loves Us, whether we know it or not. He BELIEVES in Us too, whether we believe it or not. Now how could we really be inadequate if those things just listed are all TRUE? There is NO way we could be inadequate! The foreign man whom I have adopted (along with his wonderful family) felt very inadequate too I’m sure when the consular officer in his country wouldn’t let him come back to the US, even though the Immigration Judge was quite willing for him to come back and complete school. I had to work for several years with him to help him regain some semblance of meaningfulness in his Life. And I can’t take full credit for all of it either, as God chose to help him meet the wonderful lady who is now his wife. The best advice I can give is simply: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, no matter who else does or doesn’t. It’s all about YOU!

          Reply
  10. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    One more quick comment: Crump is rising out of populous resentment. It is the resentment of a certain class of Americans against the cultural elite (not the financial elite obviously), meaning intellectuals, artists, liberals, hipsters, minorities, those who are said by conservatives to control society and who in Crump’s and his supporters’ minds have ruined America, starting in the 1960’s. It is the resentment of those who for some reason feel less. It is a very dangerous crowd indeed.
    One of Crumps’ last statement was “It’s payback time.” This frames the situation quite well. We may be on the brink of the rise of what is called proto-fascism. This must be taken seriously, Crump is not just a clown, he is an angry man who knows how to exploit the anger and resentment of his supporters.

    Don’t underestimate this, or history will repeat itself.

    Reply
  11. Christopher Toft Avatar
    Christopher Toft

    Go to youtube and look up the original 1956 version of the film 1984. At 24 and a half minutes in you get the two minute hate meeting. It’s terrifyingly like contempporary polictics…

    Reply
    1. mewabe Avatar
      mewabe

      “…obedience through terror…”
      You nailed it! State terror is no better than any other kind of terror. Unfortunately this is what has ruled the so-called civilized world for centuries. Authority is a mental disease.

      Reply
      1. Christopher Toft Avatar
        Christopher Toft

        “Authority is a mental disease.” I want that T shirt but I think people would miss the point and assume I was:

        A: An overgrown teenager. Or

        B: An aging hippy.

        Reply
        1. mewabe Avatar
          mewabe

          Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. The way I understand it from my own observations, fear and feelings of powerlessness are the main motivators for those who seek authority, control and dominant power, which is a large portion of humanity. We can understand the fear, but unless a person is ready to face their own demons, there is not much that can be done to help such individuals who choose to be blind and deaf to the workings of their own inner world.
          I think authority and dominant power are forms of abuse.
          I do think that it is necessary to not resist but ignore authority (resisting makes it stronger), because in spiritual terms authority is a mistake and irrelevant.
          I had a personal experience with authority once: I ignored it completely when I was drafted in the army, paid some price for it (ended up in the stockade for 6 months), but I refused to be turned into a mindless and obedient puppet. I simply ignored every single “order”, and just said no. I still had 2 months to go in the stockade when they finally let me go, saying that they could not change me so the top commander decided to give up.
          Humans are very much into the chain of command, the pecking order. I am not. I think that it is an animal drive, a bit primitive and fear based. Spiritual evolution will make all this unnecessary. We just need to be patient I guess, and keep our own standards and our own sanity.

          Reply
          1. Christopher Toft Avatar
            Christopher Toft

            Hmmm, I agree that resisting authority just makes it stronger, because in resisting it we are simply making it real though us/them thinking. Totally agree with pretty much all you said here. I guess it comes back to me and moving past from my own feelings of fear and powerlessness. Thanks mate. Kudos for not letting the army control you!

          2. mewabe Avatar
            mewabe

            Thanks Christopher!

          3. Marko Avatar
            Marko

            “Spiritual evolution will make all this unnecessary. We just need to be patient I guess, and keep our own standards and our own sanity. When humanity is ready, it will change.” Yep.

        2. AKA Patrick Avatar
          AKA Patrick

          Don’t deny your Divinity!

          Reply
      2. AKA Patrick Avatar
        AKA Patrick

        Authority actually means “authorship, or originator”. The only true authority
        (authorship) is God. To the material world authority means “power”. I have contended for years that before one can run for ANY political office one MUST undergo and PASS a mental health exam to prove he/she is sane.

        Reply
    2. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      There is no good; there is no bad; there is only God.

      Reply
  12. Stu Peters Avatar
    Stu Peters

    Yep, the USA has bombed its way round the world for the last 20 years or so. Violence is endemic in the USA, the citizens seem to shoot each other for fun. Clinton will be elected; she is the Queen of Darkness with so much blood and misery on her hands so the planet will have more wars, more lies, more filth to look forward to. I lived in Arizona for 5 years and found that the corruption and violence more than equalled my prevuous sojourn in Nigeria. Honestly, what do you expect?

    Reply
    1. mewabe Avatar
      mewabe

      A recent Gallup poll shows that the world regards the US as the greatest threat to world peace by a large margin. Of course this was not reported in the US, where the press is no more free than we are.

      Reply
      1. Stephen mills Avatar
        Stephen mills

        The mainstream media are the biggest problem we face. Crump gets 2 Billion Dollar’s worth of free advertising .And 10 times more air time . Bernie is getting ignored !

        It’s not a participatory system where all peoples understand the manifestos and relevant issues of the candidates .It’s a charade and obsfucation of what’s really important .The democarization of the media with unbiased views and freedom from corporate power is a MUST .
        Bring back the Sherman Anti Trust Act …it could break up monopolies and restore a free press.

        It’s a joke people have no idea what’s going on in the real world.

        Reply
        1. mewabe Avatar
          mewabe

          We are soiling our own bed (the natural environment) while deluding ourselves with thoughts of power and technological control. We are ruining all life while fooling ourselves with concepts of artificial wealth.

          Politicians are at the helm of a sinking ship on which the world is still having a party, and they are as much in denial as the rest of the population. Denial and an addiction to unrealistic beliefs and unsustainable lifestyles are the biggest blocks to change. In the final analysis, drug addicts and alcoholics are only slight caricatures of the rest of us, because all of humanity is addicted and in denial, and as with any addict it will take a very rude awakening and a huge, global, overwhelming crisis for anything to actually change.

          That’s where nature comes in, like a giant thunderstorm, to cleanse and renew, not as a punishment as Christians would have it, but as a necessity to restore balance, as balance is intrinsic to the natural world, to all Divine creation.

          The civilized world has turned reality on its head, calling the man-made world orderly and calling nature chaos. The opposite is true, and nature will remind us, by restoring order and balance. This is not a dogma, it is not an ideology, it is not a belief or a concept, it is not even a prophecy, but a simple fact. No one can escape natural law, and the physical consequences of one’s physical actions.

          Reply
          1. Stephen mills Avatar
            Stephen mills

            I agree with all that you say here .There are consequences to how we live on Earth and the way in which we treat life and Mother Nature . We have to move to sustainability very quickly now .We know that .Will we do it in the next 5-20 years ?

            It’s going to be hard to ween ourself of the fallacy of progress through bigger better more .We are going to have to learn to share Earths resources and use them wisely.Redistribute wealth ,educate in a values lead way and honour our Mother Earth .You know all this off course but who educates the educators ?

          2. AKA Patrick Avatar
            AKA Patrick

            Amen to EVERY point made above.

    2. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      What you say here is one of the reasons the book “The Ugly American” was so popular world-wide several years ago.

      Reply
  13. Bruce La Fountain Avatar
    Bruce La Fountain

    Neale you are a marvelous demonstration of divinity just as each of us are within the endless variations that life has devised.

    So with all this divine variety and its attendant possibilities we still in our own reality have the limitation that comes with the term you used here; proportion.

    The comparison might be that we are a simple droplet of water when we stand alone but can become as mighty as the oceans when we stand together with one purpose.

    Is there really an equation aside from the desperation of potential extinction of our human forms that could pull all of humanity into a proportionally consequential consciousness of purpose?

    All of the majestic names and associated disciplines you have so meticulously laid before us have been with us throughout much of our human evolution yet at this increasingly critical moment on our paths we seem to still be largely self-absorbed in our daily struggle with survival and cannot see much beyond that.

    Most of the entire global economy is centered around getting and being comfortable. We sell and buy anything to each other that will increase our physical or mental comfort never thinking to inquire within ourselves about why we are so uncomfortable.

    Many, such as yourself and Jesus to name a few, have evolved to some level of awareness in this evolutionary experience and are now or have been making improved choices as the process unfolds yet the misinformed, unconscious and largely unaware remain in the majority such that the influence of that brilliance is vastly diluted in the oceans of complete unconsciousness.

    I believe we may be on the verge of a breakthrough for humanity but the time line is not clear or simple. With the understanding that all that ever was as well as all that ever will be is now and will forever be; the contemplation of our impending or potential demise as human forms appears as a paradox on the path of my own evolution.

    Are we just kidding around or being lazy? Will we step out of character at the most critical juncture and save ourselves realizing that we have been here before and simply love the theater of it all?

    Or maybe we each inherently know that an encore performance is just over the horizon regardless of how the last act turns out. We all seem so to revel in play acting.

    As you know the late Buckminister Fuller wrote a book about the critical path we are now on and how our choices will shape humanities future.

    I like what he said here but not enough of us truly believe it to be possible.

    “For the first time in history it is now possible to take care of everybody at a higher standard of living than any have ever known. Only ten years ago the ‘more with less’ technology reached the point where this could be done. All humanity now has the option of becoming enduringly successful.” – Buckminster Fuller, 1980.

    Enduringly successful as physical intellectual beings or as spiritual beings?

    It would seem that as spiritual beings we cannot fail in either case, since we are indeed all that there is on this critical path.

    Thank you so much for this forum without it I would be left to my own devices and feeling much less than all powerful in the question of my own potential to be a part of the solution.

    Reply
    1. AKA Patrick Avatar
      AKA Patrick

      And of course being part of the solution is much preferable to being part of the problem.

      Reply
  14. Mannie Raijmakers-Geerling Avatar
    Mannie Raijmakers-Geerling

    I am from the Netherlands but I never would vote for somebody like Donald Trump. I think he is a hate speecher just like a politician we have here in the Netherlands, Geert Wilders. The last thing we need in de world in somebody like him for president.

    Reply
    1. Joni Avatar
      Joni

      Mannie, I think you should be more worried about what is going on in your own country with rape and murder being ignored. If we are to love each other we will have to deal with this violence which to me is more important than Donald Trump’s outspoken and wild manner. He isn’t cutting throats, raping women and children and abusing them.

      Reply
  15. hempwise Avatar
    hempwise

    Still think the Media is part of the problem ,most people get there information from a handful of media corporations that are owned by the billionaires .This distorts and filters what most people receive as there day to day reality.
    We are in fact being taught not to question and just accept their narrative .The internet is helping of course but obviously not enough. According to the mainstream media this week Bernie Sanders is out of the race because he lost in Arizona ( narrowly may i add and with possible voter fraud,and time delays to vote as well )to Hillary Clinton. This spin and complete refusal to tell the truth about the bigger picture is a complete disservice to the American public and keeps them in the dark as intended .

    A free press is vital to Democracy as intended by Thomas Jefferson .

    Reply
  16. Sander Viergevert Avatar
    Sander Viergevert

    My answer:
    Be the Source
    Start to help your community, without wishing to get something back
    Fromout pure BEINGNESS
    Step in process of God, lose your ego

    I am from the Netherlands and I think Donald Trump is just a clown, not funny to say but very problematic. But we have Geert Wilders, also creates separation, judgement, us and them psychology. in stead of oneness psychology.

    Reply
    1. Stephen mills Avatar
      Stephen mills

      Watching the Scottish politicians debate this evening its definitely the later . But do politicians hold any power .Have the people had enough of them regurgitatating the same old arguments and continuing the status quo .
      In Scotland 500 people own 50% of the land .What does this do the spirit of the nation ? Does this benefit the people or the land owners ,banks and house builders .All 3 make huge profits on the backs of the people .The young have no chance of owning their own homes as there are no affordable property’s .The landlords are making a killing .Not producing anything of value just owning property or land !! Inequality is a massive issue even in one of the richest countries on Earth .

      Does this get debated ? No apart from the Green Party advocating a land value tax to level the playing field .Frustrating living in one of the most feudal countries on Earth in the 21st century.
      My 2 cents worth this evening …

      Reply
      1. AKA Patrick Avatar
        AKA Patrick

        Interesting to note, as well, wherever one resides, the so-called owners aren’t the REAL owners. ONLY God owns the Earth. No one else!

        Reply
  17. Patrick Gannon Avatar
    Patrick Gannon

    Neale, in your weekend newsletter, you once again insinuated that the Catholic Church no longer teaches that Hell is real, by referring to a speech John Paul gave back in July 1999. It means nothing. The Catechism has not changed. They still teach a physical Hell to their minions – I participate in a couple Catholic blogs, and I know that Hell is still the RCC’s biggest stick. I think you do a disservice when you mention this speech, because it has not changed what they teach. I’ll cut/paste the catechism below, so people can see exactly what it says. It has not changed since the Pope’s speech.

    I mention this because Trump is a symbol of fear, and fear is still the biggest product of the Abrahamic religions. You are not helping to face the problem when you give a pass to the organization that is responsible for creating the fear that creates the Trumps of the world in the first place. The RCC teaches that Hell is real, and they teach it, particularly on blogs that seem to be oriented to third world nations and less educated people. Please stop giving the RCC a pass. I understand that religions, including yours, extend professional courtesy to each other (and unify when it comes to non-believers!), but if you really care about the problem, you’ll point out that The New Spirituality does not give a pass to the RCC when it comes to Hell… Read this as though you were an 11 year old kid again… like we both did.

    ==============================================
    IV. HELL

    1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: “He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell.”

    1034 Jesus often speaks of “Gehenna” of “the unquenchable fire” reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be converted, where both soul and body can be lost.614 Jesus solemnly proclaims that he “will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire,”615 and that he will pronounce the condemnation: “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire!”616

    1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.”617 The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

    1036 The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an urgent call to conversion: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”618

    Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where “men will weep and gnash their teeth.”619

    1037 God predestines no one to go to hell;620 for this, a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church implores the mercy of God, who does not want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance”:621

    Father, accept this offering
    from your whole family.
    Grant us your peace in this life,
    save us from final damnation,
    and count us among those you have chosen.622
    ==============================================

    That’s the chapter on Hell. You really have to stretch to believe that there isn’t some gawdawful pain involved, and when I was a child they told us our skin burned off from the outside and was constantly replenished from below. The RCC loves pictures that depict Hell, such as Botticelli’s “Inferno.”

    This kind of fear will give you an endless supply of Donald Trumps, willing to leverage that fear for their own personal benefit. Stop giving the RCC a pass. Please stop referring to that vague speech, which I would also be happy to cut/paste. Nothing has changed for the better, and it may be sliding in the other direction regardless of the marketing “face” the new Pope is putting on. He is very careful not to say anything that counters doctrine… They are in a jam. They made the mistake of accepting the possibility of evolution and that kills original sin, which does away with the very basis for the religion. I see no objective evidence for gods, theirs or yours, but yours provides a stepping stone to rationality, so I can’t object to it but so much, though it still encourages people to lie to themselves and believe things that the brain knows it has no evidence for. At some point, we all have to face that fear, for it is the only fear that is justified because truly, we don’t know what happens, if anything, and that’s all there is to it.

    Reply
    1. mewabe Avatar
      mewabe

      There is no doubt that there is a lot of fear in the world. Almost everyone is afraid of everything, especially in America. It gets very tiresome to live among such fearful and paranoid people. But why fear death, for example? If there is life after death, then, great we are still here. If not, there is no one to regret it, to think “darn, I wish I was still around, I am going to miss me.”

      So what is the problem? I don’t get it.

      Either way, it works for me. As they say in Indian country, only the mountains last.

      Reply
  18. mewabe Avatar
    mewabe

    Here is a little prediction:
    If the Donald gets elected, many Americans will become expatriates. They will move to Europe, Canada, Ecuador, Argentina, etc.
    Unless he closes all the borders…with a 20 foot wall and some alligators in a moat.
    Which is always possible…

    Reply
    1. Stephen mills Avatar
      Stephen mills

      That’s funny ,all the women will leave too .

      Reply
  19. Jim Thompson Avatar
    Jim Thompson

    Love the books(read 5). Believe in them. Aren’t you judging Trump. Most politicians are difficult to judge because you can trust NOTHING they say. I feel Trump is honest even at his lowest. That is something you can not say for the others. As for guns the world would be a better place with none. However I fear the government with all the guns is worse than every individual having their own gun. The latter is more comfortable to work with than the former.

    Reply
  20. AKA Patrick Avatar
    AKA Patrick

    It’s fairly well known that history repeats itself…UNLESS we change it.! And we CAN….. Neale has shown us how. Trump is beholden to no one, as he’s fronted his campaign basically with his own money. One of the basic problems with the American political system is that most all candidates are beholden to those who contribute to their campaign. That in itself makes them puppets. Is that what is best for the American public, or any other citizen of the world for that matter? Clearly, NO!

    Reply

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