HOP ON THIS ONE

It's Easter Sunday morning and I'm torn between writing about the strange rituals of Organized religions or the more ridiculous pagan rituals of Easter Bunny worship. I'm really not sure which one is sillier......and I'm really not sure which one generates more revenue.

But at least a healthy portion of the revenue generated from religious rituals.....goes to the needy and the poor......doesn't it?

Maybe they should let the Easter Bunny handle the distribution of the funds. That would give him a higher sense of responsibility and make his presence just a bit more important than the secret hiding of chicken eggs, that if aren't found, will smell like the moral fiber of MOST religious leaders.

I know "MOST RELIGIOUS LEADERS" is a very strong statement and possibly a strong exaggeration....but I'm blown away by what I see on a world wide basis when it comes to people of power and control within the religious community.....and this is Easter Sunday so them who dish it out, can take it in.

SO THEM THAT DISH IT OUT, CAN TAKE IT IN.....I love it when I start quoting Rocky.

It seems that every RL (religious leader) is working overtime to protect his, or her (but I'm not sure how many hers there are in this category) own ass and the doctrines of his, or her chosen path of worship....which I know is not an individual path but a path that has been laid out in order that SOMEONE WILL FOLLOW....and hopefully lots of someones so that the fellowship of monetary means will be healthy.

I'm never going to pick on Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad or those wacky early Prophets from the Old testament.....(well maybe a little bit on those guys and perhaps a touch on Mohammad) because most of the modern rituals and beliefs are based on TRANSLATIONS. And when translations are being conducted and written...it turns out that additions and changes are added and created in order to make things work for a modern thinking person.....from the 3rd to the 8th century.

THE RULES AND REGULATIONS WRITTEN IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WERE WRITTEN BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE......WELL HOW CAN I PUT THIS.....PEOPLE WERE.....NUTS.

PLEASE NOTE THAT HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTION HAS ONLY BEEN SHOWING SIGNS OF COGNISANT BEHAVIOR FOR ABOUT 25,000 YEARS AND ONLY IN THE LAST 8,OOO HAS THERE BEEN INDICATIONS OF CONDUCTING BEHAVIOR THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED CIVILIZED.

WE ARE A VERY YOUNG SPECIES, IN RELATIONSHIP TO THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT THIS PLANET HAS SUSTAINED LIFE.

VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY YOUNG.

AND THE RULES THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE BY THE SCRIBES....FROM A TIME WHERE NOTHING WAS WRITTEN OR READ.....(NOTHING)....ARE RULES THAT WERE NECESSARY SO THAT PEOPLE WOULD HAVE SOME RULES PUT IN PLACE.

FAIRLY SIMPLE CONCEPT.....EVEN THOUGH I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO KNOW WHY THE TEN BASIC RULES WERE JOINED BY THE 15,000 OTHER RULES THAT JEWISH ORTHODOX GENTS THOUGHT WERE ALSO IMPORTANT.....AND TO THIS DAY STILL THINK ARE IMPORTANT.

THEN ALONG CAME JESUS TO BRING ANOTHER MESSAGE.....ONE A LOT SIMPLER THAN THE PREVIOUS RULES AND ONE THAT EVERYBODY COULD UNDERSTAND....A SIMPLE MESSAGE OF LOVE AND A MESSAGE ABOUT THE CREATOR ALSO BEING ABOUT LOVE.....AND THEN IT GOT TWISTED INTO........WHAT IT IS TODAY.

ORGANIZATIONS WHO CLAIM THAT THE ONLY WAY IS THROUGH THEIR ORGANIZATION....and the message was lost.

AND ONCE THAT MESSAGE GOT LOST IT OPENED A DOOR FOR NUMEROUS OTHER MESSAGES BY STRANGE PEOPLE WHO SAW THAT ANYTHING GOES WHEN IT COMES TO STARTING AN ORGANIZATION THAT CLAIMS TO KNOW GOD'S WILL.

IF YOU CARE ABOUT KNOWING WHAT MESSAGE JESUS BROUGHT, YOU JUST HAVE TO READ THE GOSPEL BY THOMAS.

THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS HERE.....NOW.....ALWAYS. AND LOVE IS THE WAY TO KNOW IT.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
LOVE YOURSELF
BECAUSE GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT CRAZY FREAKIN THINGS YOU THINK AND DO.

IF YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF
THEN YOU WON'T BE DOING ANYTHING THAT RESEMBLES ANYTHING THAT MIGHT HAVE TO RESULT IN SOMEONE TELLING YOU TO STOP THAT BEHAVIOR.

NO ONE WILL ARREST YOU
NO ONE WILL HURT YOU
NO ONE WILL PUT YOU IN CHAINS

IF YOU LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
IF YOU LOVE YOURSELF

PRETTY SIMPLE SIMON....OR PRETTY SIMPLE JESUS.

THE MESSAGE WAS INTENDED TO NEUTRALIZE THE RULES THAT WERE PUT IN PLACE WHEN MOSES WAS TRYING TO CONTROL A FLOCK OF PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTEMPTING TO FEEL THEIR FREEDOM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 700 YEARS.

THE MESSAGE WAS TRANSLATED FROM ARAMAIC TO HEBREW TO GREEK TO GERMANIC TO ENGLISH AND ON AND ON AND ON.

THE REASON THAT ALL ORGANIZED CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS DO NOT PROMOTE THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS IS BECAUSE IT REDUCES THE NEED FOR ANY ORGANIZATION WHEN IT COMES TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND UNDERSTANDING.

THE REASON THAT ORGANIZED ISLAMIC RELIGIONS DO NOT PROMOTE THE GOSPELS OF THOMAS IS BECAUSE THE GOSPEL OF THOMAS WASN'T WRITTEN BY MOHAMMAD.

EASTER SUNDAY WORSHIP JUST WOULDN'T BE THE SAME and I'm really not against groups of people getting together and singing the praises of GOD. That actually seems like a fun idea and an idea that has it's place in modern society.

WHAT I OBJECT TO IS THE SIMPLE FACT THAT THOSE PEOPLE GETTING TOGETHER IN THOSE PLACES....BELIEVE THAT THEIR PLACES ARE THE ONLY PLACES WHERE ONE CAN HAVE THE EXPERIENCE OF KNOWING AND LOVING GOD.

I THINK THE PROBLEM FORMED FROM MAKING A HUMAN INTO A GOD.

WHICH, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT......MIGHT BE THE OBVIOUS FLAW WITH ANY AND ALL TYPES OF WORSHIP THAT ARE DIRECTED TOWARDS A PHYSICAL BEING....WHETHER IT BE A PERSON OR A GOAT OR A DUCK OR A BUNNY OR A COW OR A TREE OR A ROCK OR A TV SHOW OR A SPORTS STAR OR A NOVELIST OR A MOTHER OR A FATHER OR A POET OR A DOCTOR OR A POLITICIAN OR A MICROSOFT OR APPLE FOUNDER OR A SCIENTIST OR A SINGER OR A DANCER OR A BOOK.

OBVIOUSLY THE LIST COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON AND ON AND ON....BUT HOPEFULLY YOU GET MY POINT.

I SAY HOPEFULLY BECAUSE FROM ONE PERSON TO THE NEXT THE HUMAN BRAIN EVOLUTIONARY STAGE IS UNIQUE. THERE HAS NOT BEEN A MASS EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN THE HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS...IT TAKES PLACE ONE BRAIN AT A TIME....UNTIL THE PROCESS IS COMPLETE.

I DON'T SEE THE NEXT HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY MENTAL GROWTH PROCESS BEING COMPLETE UNTIL.....

AND I CAN SAY THIS WITHOUT HESITATION......UNTIL.......GOD ONLY KNOWS.

BUT I CAN GUESS BY USING HISTORICAL DATA....

25,000 YEARS AGO MAN WAS HAPPY TO FIND AN EGG OF ANY SHAPE OR SIZE.
AND THEN HE DREW A PICTURE OF IT ON A CAVE WALL WITH THE BLOOD FROM THE BISON THAT HE HAD KILLED THAT MORNING. BISON AND EGGS FOR BREAKFAST

HIS NEIGHBOR CAME OVER TO SEE THE PAINTING ON THE WALL AND KILLED THE PAINTER AND TOOK HIS TWO WIVES BACK TO HIS CAVE AND ATE THEM.

10,000 YEARS AGO MAN STARTED DECORATING HIS HUT THAT WAS MADE FROM MUD AND CLAY AND HE STARTED MAKING PICTURES AND LETTERS ON SMALL PIECES OF ANYTHING, THAT COULD BE TRANSPORTED FROM ONE AREA TO THE NEXT.

THOSE CAVE WALLS WERE HARD TO MOVE AROUND.....SO INFORMATION STARTED BECOMING MOBILE.

2,000 YEARS AGO MAN WAS PROGRESSING TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS BY HIS ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE ON NUMEROUS LEVELS....AND BY HIS ABILITY TO SHARE THE COMMUNICATIONS.

READING AND WRITING WERE BECOMING NORMAL EXPERIENCES....NOT JUST SOMETHING FOR THE ELITE AND POWERFUL. NORMAL PEOPLE WERE DEVELOPING SKILLS OF THE MIND.

TODAY...WE HAVE WHAT WE HAVE....AND I DON'T NEED TO EXPLAIN WHAT WE HAVE BECAUSE YOU CAN READ ABOUT IT YOURSELF.

WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO AT THIS EXACT MOMENT IS PREDICT WHEN THE NEXT LEVEL OF HUMAN EVOLUTIONARY THOUGHT PROCESS WILL BE COMPLETE.

MY GUESS, FROM HISTORICAL TIME FRAMES OF PREVIOUS ADVANCEMENT....IS ABOUT 5000 YEARS FROM NOW....WHICH IS A LOT BETTER THAN WHAT I THOUGHT A FEW YEARS AGO. A FEW YEARS AGO I THOUGHT IT WOULD TAKE ANOTHER 25,000....BUT I'M ENCOURAGED BY MANY MANY THINGS AND MANY MANY MINDS.

7007 SHOULD ABOUT DO IT.

AND THAT'S PLENTY OF TIME TO ENJOY HIDING EASTER EGGS AND THINKING THAT SOMEONE ROSE FROM THE DEAD

THE MESSAGE THAT JESUS BROUGHT DID NOT HAVE TO BE SUBSTANTIATED BY SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN. IT WAS A MESSAGE OF LOVE

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR
LOVE YOURSELF
BECAUSE THE CREATOR LOVES YOU

AFTER THAT....IT'S ALL ONE BIG FREAKIN EASTER EGG HUNT.

HAVE A NICE DAY, even if you can't find eggs or decide where you want to love God.....where you are at this exact moment is a pretty good place to start.

MICHAEL TIMOTHY MC ALEVEY