Thinking like a Believer – Thinking like a free person – a paradox? - Introduction

Rene Descarte is credited with the words “I think, therefore I am”. We are the products of our thinking. What we do, how we act, whether we perceive things as good or bad, whether we find someone believable or not etc are all based on our thoughts.

These thoughts can be considered a collection of ideas and images that has been stored, and we refer to them when faced with new situations. They form the basis of who we are. They can be considered as our foundation.

We need to examine this foundation and determine where it came from, since the source of this foundation is the one we serve every time we think and act.

For most of us alive today, this foundation is from our parents and close friends, education system and the media (which these days means almost exclusively television and magazines and more recently the internet). Our parents would have obtained their ideas in generally the same way we did. Over the decades, the role of grandparents and parents in our lives has been lessened by a variety of factors, leaving the education system and the media as the primary foundation of our thinking. Who controls these, and who do they serve?

This has a greater impact on us than we realize. All of us think of ourselves as good pious people, but on what basis do we arrive at this conclusion. By what do we measure ourselves?

Do we compare ourselves with our friends, relatives, and the popular stars of music and movies? Do we measure our conduct by the way they lead their lives? Have we any idea who they serve?

How has it come to pass that most of us would never use the people we call our “religious” leaders when we wish to measure ourselves? Do we dress like television personalities? Do we partake of activities they enjoy? Has visiting night clubs, experimenting with drugs and being promiscuis become a part of our “culture”?

What does it mean when I say that we need to re-educate ourselves on how to think like a believer; that the foundation of our thinking needs to be examined and redefined.

Let us look a little closer at ourselves. There are many things we may not agree on, while there are others on which there is little or no debate.

For example, we are in agreement that it is good to partake in sport, something that is good for our health, and professional sport is the pinnacle of good health and is very rewarding financially. If we had the capability we would be sports stars too.

We accept that it is wrong to discriminate against other people and laws that outlaw discrimination are important, in fact some do not go far enough.

Paying of taxes is essential to the proper running of the country and those who think otherwise are just criminals trying to create some “diabolical moral” justification for their unwillingness to contribute to the system of which they are beneficiaries.

Firearms are dangerous and no one should be allowed to keep one. Laws outlawing ownership should be enacted and enforced. It is the only way to ensure safety in society.

Our governments do not serve us properly; they allow too many foreigners to enter illegally and then even make their stay here legal. These people take away our jobs. This should not be allowed to happen.

The United Nations Security Council is the most important world body dedicated to the preservation of world peace.  It is a pity that it does not authorize more military interventions so that tyrants and despots, the terrorists, who wish to rule by the gun can be brought to justice.

Speeding limits need to be enforced more visibly so that our roads can be made safer. The limits on some roads are still too high.

I do not think that there would be much disagreement with what I have just said. There would be a great deal of discomfort, I am sure, when you read that if you agreed with any of the above, your foundation of thinking has been corrupted. Go back and look at the list again.

As we explore what it means to think as a believer, and as we begin to understand what it means to think like a free person, we will slowly realize that they are one and the same. The great irony is that many people have abandoned religion because they see it as something that deprives us of our freedom. I have heard people saying they do not wish to be subjugated by anyone and wish nothing else but to be free. Hence they will not allow themselves to be subjugated by any “religion” or “God”.

Think of a person who is thrust into a maze. This maze is different; a wrong turn could cause serious permanent consequences, like physical injury, even death. There is a very limited capacity to retrace our steps. For all intents and purposes, once a path is chosen, we have to follow through even when we realize that we are on the wrong path.

Someone offers us a map which shows the safest way through, one that avoids all the major obstacles, and leads us to the exit with the minimum of difficulty, though for sure, some minor obstacles will have to be overcome. Do we accept this offer or do we refuse because we do not wish to be subjugated or constrained by its guidance. Do we claim that the map makes out passage to “planned” and controlled. Do we seek the excitement of the challenge, and to fail if necessary (which is the most likely outcome without the map).

If this is how we feel about life, then God’s guidance is not for us. However, when we think this way we fail to realize that even following the guidance of the map (God’s guidance) is extremely challenging, more so than without the map, but it does have the added benefit that if we succeed in implementing the guidance, we have a more than even chance of succeeding in our most important purpose on Earth, proving our worthiness of our place in Paradise. With life offering us only one chance at success, who would even think of refusing such guidance?

The reason many of us have rejected religion is that many religious institutions have been infiltrated by agents of satan and what they preach is their own ideas, not the teaching of God. They too practice a system which serves to enslave people just as Democracy does. Their practice has nothing to do with what God wishes for us. In fact, a priest who truly relates God’s message will have no “control” over people. He is a guide helping them understand when they have become enslaved and what they must do to become free. He does not become a slave master himself.

Because we know no different, we assume they represent God. We can see how wrong they are, and hence are turned away from God. Who would want us to think this way and who do these false clerics really serve?

In the book "Reflections"

I discuss the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup and use it as an introduction to professional sport in general. I will not touch on this topic here any further.

Other chapters look at the question of  Fear and how this relates to our claim to have faith in God.  Prayer is examined in some detail. In “Health and Death” we study our perceptions of these, what God expects us to understand, and how this impacts on what we can expect from our doctors. Lastly, we take a closer look at ourselves.

It will without doubt bring a new perspective to our thinking, and help us review greatly many things which we have taken for granted.

Through our discussions in some of the posts to follow, we will explore some of the other misconceptions that we take for granted and which serve to enslave us with us being none the wiser.

Until then.

"Freedom of Religion" under a "Democracy"

Having touched on the topic of Shariah, we move to the related question of freedom of religion under a Democracy.

It is always a good habit to explain the meaning of the words we use, so that others understand exactly what WE mean, instead of the reader or listener applying their own understanding to our words and getting a totally different understanding from ours.

“Freedom of religion” means my freedom to practice my religion in the way I understand it needs to be practiced without any interference from anyone.

“Democracy” is a system of government, where man makes his own laws, and imposes it upon others. We are told that those in government represent us. However, when we look at the question of representation, we find that my representative is only empowered to do what I mandate, and nothing else. If that representative represents my ward or province, he is duty bound every time he is asked to vote on an issue, to address the people in his ward or province, to obtain the majority view of those he represents and to vote according to that majority view. He is not entitled to vote as he pleases, using his own criteria. Today, members of legislative assemblies either represent themselves, or their party, but they do not represent us, and very often support the adoption of legislation of which we disapprove.

We are told that under a Democracy our freedom of religion is guaranteed. Most people accept this form of government because of this understanding. In our daily lives, praying as and when we please, we believe that this promise has been kept. But has it really?

The first pillar of faith of any believer in God (Jew, Christian, Muslim, or any other) is that there is no God but God, and that God alone is worthy of worship.

How do we understand the word “worship”? The one we “worship” is the one whose injunctions we obey. That means that a Believer obeys Gods guidance alone and no other. God tells us that He alone is worthy of making law and that man is not capable of this. When we follow the dictate of any man, whether a lay person or cleric, priest, moulana, rabbi, pastor, etc, and that person is acting solely as dictated by God, then we too are worshipping God. Should that lay person or cleric have made his own laws, and we follow his dictates, then he is the person we are worshipping. When we make our own laws (create our own interpretation of what is right and wrong, good or bad), and follow them, we are in fact worshipping ourselves.

When parliament makes laws, it has assumed the power and authority of God, and when we obey them, we worship it. This is in terms of God’s guidance to us; it is not my own creation.

Parliament adopted a law called the Constitution which proclaims that it (the Constitution) is the supreme law in the land. That means God and His law is not. When we accept the Constitution, we can no longer qualify as a Believer since we no longer meet the first and most important requirement; we do not accept God alone as worthy of making law, and it is not God alone that we now worship.

Under a Constitutional Democracy, we may only practice our religion to the extent allowed by the law. In effect, the law creates the boundaries of that religion. The “freedom” to practice means the freedom to practice that interpretation of the faith which the law allows us to practice. As such, this does not pass the test of the true meaning of “freedom of religion”. Are there practical implications to this?

As mentioned already, we fail the first test of a believer.

Also, under Gods guidance to all mankind on how we remain free, we are forbidden to impose our values or views on another and to ensure that no one imposes their views upon us. Here we are forced to abide by decisions made by a small group of people. This is a violation of our freedom, and our free will.

A believer is obliged to respond to the call of anyone who is oppressed. Laws bind us and restrict our potential in this regard. In terms of the Anti-terrorism Act, we may not support any organization deemed a “terrorist” organization.

This means that when a country, for example the USA, invades a country illegitimately and occupies it, and deems those resisting the occupation as terrorists, we are forbidden from assisting those who are resisting the occupation.

In practical terms, it means that the members of the French Resistance during the Second Word War were terrorists and everyone who assisted them were likewise terrorists since they were labeled terrorists by the power on the ground  at that time. It means the Americans who fought the British Empire were terrorists since this is what the power at the time considered them to be. It means that those who are currently resisting the occupations of Afghanistan, Somalia and Palestine are terrorists since that is what the powers of the day are calling them.

The only consistent finding here is that the terrorist is the person who does not see things the way I, who am in power, sees them, and if I wish to occupy his home and he resists, he must be a terrorist. When a law is enacted that allows this sort of interpretation of peoples conduct, with no consideration of who truly is in the right or wrong, we can understand why God tells us that man is incompetent to make laws, and that we live under such a system at our own peril.

Under this system, “might is right” is the defining motto. It is an invitation to everyone to become “the power”. God warns us that He alone is capable of handling power, no one else, and that all power rests with Him alone. Any system that violates this principle serves the purposes of satan. This helps us understand who we truly serve when we accept such a system.

When we are not allowed to act in terms of our own understanding of right or wrong, good or bad, and forced to follow the values set by another, we have lost the essence of a free person and are little different from a slave.

Democracy does not guarantee freedom of religion. On the contrary, it guarantees the direct opposite.

It is we who decide who will rule over us. Do we want people who will protect our free will, or people who will enslave us? That is a decision each of us must make for ourselves.

When a person rejects what is being said here and claims that he can still be a believer and live under the constitution at the same time, this is only possible because the person concerned has created his own definition of a believer, and it is not the one given to us by God. Such a person is in fact worshipping himself and not God.

The question we are faced with is what changes must we make to our system of government, making use of the legal means available to us, to bring about the changes necessary for us to qualify as true believers in God. A more important question is do we have any inclination to become true believers in God, since this issue is only a problem to the true believer and no one else.

Think deeply on these.

Until next time.

Is there such a thing as something being intrinsically “right” or “wrong”, “Good” or “bad”?

Within the issue of piety arises the question of whether there is such a thing as something being intrinsically “right” or “wrong”. Today we are led to believe that each person decides for himself what is best for him, and that there is no such thing as something being inherently “right” or “wrong”. It is the individual and his circumstances that decide this.

This logic and reasoning is not inspired by God. When we think through this carefully, we will understand why we have been misled into thinking this way.

The guidance given to us by God is never compulsory; it is always by way of advice. We exercise our free will and decide whether to accept God’s guidance or not. God never imposes Himself upon those He has created. This becomes self evident when we study God’s relationship with us.

From the outset He has chosen freedom as the best course for us. To this effect He gave us free will. He never forces His guidance upon us.

Prophet Moses (PBUH) asked God to make his people obedient to him. God replied that He did not impose such a compulsion on His creation even concerning Himself. While God guides us to the best possible action we can take, he never imposes His guidance.

How can we put His guidance into perspective? God knows everything and also every possible outcome of every possible decision we make. That being the case, he is in a position to chart the best course for us.

Take the example of a candle. If we knew nothing about fire, God will guide us not to touch it. We may decide to take the advice. If not, we get burnt. This is not punishment, simply the consequences of our bad decision. Every advice of God fits in this category.

In the case of the candle, we can understand the cause (touching the fire) and effect (getting burnt) relationship between the two because they happen together. It is easy for us to make the connection. Many actions, however, produce consequences years or decades later. We are incapable of making the connection and hence we do not learn from our mistakes and continue making them.

God’s advice protects us from these “down the line” consequences, making our life one of the best possible quality overall. Even being consigned to Hell is not punishment, it is what we qualify for based on the decisions we made on Earth. We find a tendency for God to be held responsible for things which are of our own doing, and this is usually promoted by agents of satan.

It is because of these “down the line” consequences that we have the guidance regarding recognizing that God is One, belief in the Prophets (PBUT), His Books, life after death, Day of Judgment, promiscuity, adultery; lying, theft, murder etc. It is our decision whether to accept the advice. By God’s decree, no one can legitimately impose His guidance upon us.

It is this advice from God that we describe as being “right” or “good” and contrary advice as being “wrong” or “bad”. This is not something that falls within our power of discretion. If our lives are contrary to the teaching of God, then we are bad people, and there is no debate on this. Satan acknowledges this and has responded by popularizing being “bad”. Watch the wording on clothing and advertising these days and you will understand what I am saying. We do not become “good” by making “bad” acceptable behaviour.

“Bad” means we are acting in ways that do not promote our progress along piety. It means we will fail in our ultimate quest. “Bad” is not just a word whose meaning we can change to suit our purposes.

There is no obligation on us to choose to be “good” and anyone who tries to impose “good” practice upon another becomes a “bad” person. This is something we need to understand. Freedom as given by God means we have to accept a person’s personal decision to be “bad” and our only recourse against them is when they act in ways which violate our rights. Otherwise what they do is their right as God has granted free will both in pursuing good or bad.

If we choose to be “good”, we must manifest this in our life and hope that it would inspire others to adopt our way of life as their own. We do not become “good” by pointing out the “bad” in others. Doing this causes us to become “bad”.

Freedom as given by God means we mind our own business and no one has any right to mind ours; that we can forcibly stop anyone from minding our business (by use of force if necessary), but that we respond to someone when they issue a call for help.

The true worshipper of God uses the guidance of God as the foundation of his thinking. All decisions and ideas are built on this. This is the only way to protect against the evil suggestions of satan that make “bad” appear good, and “wrong” appear “right” and we will fall for this deception unless we have the foundation to recognize the truth.

Until next time.

Creation, the product of Intelligent Design

Having explored one explanation for our existence on Earth, we now turn to the other. Here I will give a brief outline and elaborate on specifics in subsequent posts. This is perhaps the most ill-informed aspect of our lives, and this is not because of neglect or accident.

This post and those to follow presents a truth that has been kept from us.

There is a Creator who is responsible for everything and whom we address by the name “God”.

God created the heavens and earth as a single unit then separated them. Heaven here refers to the stars. Earth, we are informed, was created prior to humans, and in anticipation of our living here. Our presence on Earth is not a punishment but part of the overall plan.

Angels were created from light and without free will. Ginn are produced from fire and humans from clay. The body of the first human was created from clay which was sourced from Earth. Ginn and human are endowed with free will, the ability to act on their own reasoning. With free will comes a responsibility and accountability. We will be judged fairly. Everything is recorded and this evidence will be produced and used.

We have a purpose, an objective for being on earth. We will be judged on whether this objective was fulfilled (judgement day). Success will be rewarded.

Our concept of time is very limited. What we see as thousands of years may be a single day in “celestial time”, or time as described by God.

Consequently, the existence of man on Earth, from the first to the last may be played out in what may be one day, or even a part of one day, but we may see it as millions of years. This has great implications for our understanding of our presence here, and how God has ensured that we all will be treated with absolute justice.

We can perceive the presence of God.

Think of a group of architects given a project to design and create a model of a city so large that it covers the whole planet. Each architect creates his own impression. If the individual is known to us, we may see in his work signs of his handiwork. There are certain features which he usually incorporates in his designs. Each individual has his own unique points by which we can identify him.

While no architect is physically within the model, by studying his work we can ascertain the presence of the architect, both in the unique design and actual presence of the model.

Our universe is no different. By studying it with an honest and open mind, we see God’s presence everywhere, even though God is not physically within the structures we are studying.

The time of the birth and death of each individual is predetermined, something no one can change.

We will be tested, but no one will be given a test greater than they can bear. This is a promise.

The world has been created for us. We are created to function well here, and have senses that allow us to interact with this world, but no sense can perceive God. Despite this, he has made it possible for us to learn of His presence and to be aware of this with total conviction. This is one of His miracles.

He guides us so that we may succeed in our objective. He guides us so that we may be free. If we become enslaved, the fault is ours alone. God guides us but He is not a physical part of the world. What becomes of this universe is due to our actions, or inactions, and not because of God or the absence of God.

We will only be held accountable for our own actions, not the actions of others.

There is only one God inspired “religion”. Keep an open mind on the answer and not to try and preempt what I will be saying in the future. What I can say is that in all probability you fall within the category of one who is a part of this “religion” and that this fact will come as a surprise even to yourself.

Satan is an avowed enemy of man, one who has promised to subjugate man, and there is nothing we can do to change his mind. We either impose our superiority, or submit to him. No compromise is possible.

God never imposes upon us. His guidance comes as recommendations. We may choose to embrace them or reject them. The consequences we face are the result of the decisions we made.

God guides us how to live with other humans so that we may all be free.

If we adhere to a belief that is contrary to what I have just described, then it is one that is not inspired by God. If aspects of our belief contradict, then these have been tampered with leaving us with a false understanding.

Satan and his agents have infiltrated every aspect of our lives; the sciences, politics, commerce and industry, military, religion, education, media and entertainment and as a result we have become enslaved. This has been achieved through a change in our perspective of what constitutes right and wrong, by a change in our understanding of our origin, and a change which causes us to think with the thoughts and understandings of satan, and not that of God.

Our primary objective should be to learn how to once again think with the understanding and mind of a believer; to restructure the foundation of our understanding of this world and our purpose here so that the decisions we make are founded on the correct reasoning and the outcomes we seek will further our own well being, and not that of our greatest enemy, satan himself.

Think on these. In subsequent posts I will elaborate on specifics, and on those aspects you wish me to comment on.