Self-Esteem is Made to be Broken

Posted on February 19, 2013 by Lee — 11 Comments

Megan Thode

Megan Thode believes that Lehigh University owes her a B.

When instead she received a C+ in a class critical to her intended career as a professional counselor, she challenged the grade through the usual university channels. She even called in her father, Lehigh University finance professor Stephen Thode, to support her case.

The university stuck by Professor Amanda Carr, who had given the C+ grade based on Thode’s poor showing in class.

So Thode took the next logical step.

No, she didn’t re-take the class. She sued the university for $1.3 million. Her claim: that’s how much money she would lose in her career because the C+ grade prevented her from completing her Master’s degree in counseling and human services and becoming a state-certified counselor.

And here’s the kicker: Thode was attending the school tuition-free because of her father’s teaching position there. The university had even given her an on-campus job.

Unfortunately for Ms. Thode, she failed in court as well.

Megan Thode learned the hard way that she’s not so special after all.

I’m not so sure about the old saying, “Rules are made to be broken.” But here’s a new version:

Self-esteem is made to be broken.

For more on the perils and pitfalls of self-esteem, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: children, emotional intelligence, God, Lehigh University, love, Megan Thode, neighbor, psychology, self-esteem, self-image, service, spiritual rebirth, spirituality
Posted in Current Events, Spiritual Growth

Man, Woman, and the Two Creation Stories of Genesis

Posted on February 18, 2013 by Lee — 51 Comments

A reader named Kim left a long and thoughtful comment on my previous post, “What are the Roles of Men and Women toward Each Other and in Society?” This post is a response to that comment—which I’ll quote for you in a minute.

In my previous post I said:

From a literary perspective, Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 were not originally meant to be read sequentially. Each is a self-contained creation myth telling its own story. These two ancient creation stories were collected from two different oral traditions, written down, and placed one after the other in the Bible. Despite the valiant efforts of Biblical literalists to harmonize the two as if they were two different angles on same story, they simply don’t agree with each other in the overall order in which God created things or in the details of exactly how God created the earth and all the plants, animals, and humans that populate it.

That paragraph is a compact and simplified version of a very complicated reality. We won’t get into all the complications here. But in order to respond to Kim, we need to look more closely at the two very different creation stories contained in the first two chapters of Genesis. What we’ll find is that attempts to collapse these two stories into one story on a literal level run into serious complications and contradictions.

But as I said in the very next paragraph of my previous post:

From a symbolic and spiritual perspective, though, the two stories harmonize perfectly. They are like two different verses of the same song. The story of the seven days of creation in Genesis 1 and the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2 represent two different phases of human spiritual and social development, one following after the other.

In other words, a literal reading of Genesis 1 and 2 doesn’t work very well. But a spiritual reading gives us great enlightenment on the human condition in general, and on the relationship between man and woman in particular.

First, let’s let Kim speak.

For more on the two creation stories in Genesis, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Adam, Creation, Eve, female submission, gender equality, gender roles, Genesis, male dominance, man, marriage, the Bible, woman
Posted in Sex Marriage Relationships, The Bible Re-Viewed

What are the Roles of Men and Women toward Each Other and in Society?

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Lee — 89 Comments

Man + Woman = Confusion?

There are few issues so hotly debated in today’s society as the roles of men and women toward each other and in society. The arguments range all the way from those who maintain that man is created to rule and woman to serve, to those who maintain that there are no significant differences between men and women besides the physical differences required for human reproduction. In other words, we humans are mightily confused about the roles of women and men!

Traditionalists in the largely Christian parts of the world often point to the Bible in support of their view that man is meant to be in charge and woman is meant to serve man. But a look at how men and women were first created tells a slightly different story!

In many ways, the roles of men and women have not changed all that much over the centuries. Yet today, in this era of change, one thing is new: both women and men have far more choice as to what roles they will play and what they will devote their lives to. The grip of church and state on our personal lives has loosened—and this opens up new possibilities for how men and women will relate to one another, and how we will each contribute to society.

For more on this confusing subject, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Adam, Creation, Eve, female submission, gender equality, gender roles, male dominance, man, marriage, psychology, the Bible, woman, yin yang
Posted in The Bible Re-Viewed

Curses or Consequences: Did God Really Curse Adam and Eve?

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Lee — 57 Comments

There’s an idea afoot that God cursed Adam and Eve because they disobeyed him.

But that’s not what the Bible says.

The whole story unfolds in Genesis chapter 3.

God had said to Adam, “You may freely eat of every tree in the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you may not eat, for on the day that you eat of it you will certainly die.” (Genesis 2:16–17).

Eve Tempted by the Serpent, by William Blake

However, after God created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs, and the two of them became husband and wife, that crafty old serpent (really, just a glorified snake) got busy.

That’s where we pick up the story in Genesis 3.

Though Adam was in the garden with Eve, the serpent ignored him completely. Instead, he went to work on Eve: “Did God really say, ‘You may not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Notice the not-so-subtle twisting of God’s words. God had really said, “You may freely eat of every tree in the garden” . . . except one. The serpent ignored that completely, and focused Eve’s attention on that one tree as if it were the only tree in the garden.

Now, some people have complained that God told Adam, not Eve, not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yes, that’s true. But clearly Adam had told his wife: Eve was well aware of God’s prohibition. She replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You may not eat of it, nor may you touch it, or you will die” (Genesis 3:2–3). (Ahem! There’s a little trick here about which tree is in the middle of the garden!)

“You will certainly not die,” the serpent said, “for God knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And in fact, that tree did look mighty tempting to Eve. She ate some of its fruit. (The Bible says nothing about an apple!) Then she gave some to her husband, and he ate it too.

Just as the serpent said, their eyes were opened . . . and they realized with horror that they were naked.

Hold on! That’s not quite what the serpent advertised!

For more on serpents, curses, and consequences, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Adam, curses, Eve, Garden of Eden, God, nakedness, pain, serpent, spiritual rebirth, spirituality, the Bible, tree of knowledge of good and evil, tree of life
Posted in The Bible Re-Viewed

Strip Search Prank Calls, Domestic Violence: Evil Loves Deception

Posted on February 6, 2013 by Lee — 14 Comments

Warning: This article discusses fictional portrayals and real incidents of sexual assault, abusive relationships, and domestic violence.

The movie “Compliance,” with Dreama Walker

Last week Annette and I watched the movie “Compliance,” a controversial and disturbing 2012 American thriller written and directed by Craig Zobel.

The movie is set in a small-town fast food restaurant on a busy Friday evening. Things are not going well for manager Sandra Fromme (played by Ann Dowd). And they are about to get a whole lot worse.

Sandra receives a phone call from an “Officer Daniels” (Pat Healy). He tells her that the police have received a verified complaint that one of her employees stole some money from a customer’s purse that day. The employee is described as a blonde female approximately nineteen years old.

Sandra: “Becky?”

Officer Daniels: “Becky. Yeah, we have her name as Rebecca. That’s right, Becky.”

The voice on the phone exudes calm authority.

For more on the marriage of convenience between evil and deception, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: abusive relationships, authority, compliance, Craig Zobel, deception, domestic violence, evil, falsity, Louise Ogborn, prank calls, sex, Stanley Milgram, strip search, violence
Posted in Pain and Suffering, Popular Culture

What does Jesus Mean when He Says we Must be Born Again?

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Lee — 104 Comments

How Can I Be Reborn?

“No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.”

What the heck does that mean? People who ask you, “Have you been born again?” think that they’ve got it all figured out . . . and that you probably don’t. But there’s no need to argue with them.

When Jesus spoke these words about being born again, he followed them up by talking about being “born of the spirit.” He was talking about spiritual rebirth.

What does that mean?

It means becoming a new person.

We all have our faults and flaws. Some of them are obvious, some are hidden. When we engage in them knowingly and intentionally, they are called “sins.” The only way we can become reborn as a new person is to stop engaging in wrong and hurtful desires, thoughts, and actions, and start living from new and better motives and views of life.

This requires a lifelong process of learning, self-examination, prayer, and a conscious effort to put our old self off and our new self on. Rebirth may start with the conversion experience that some people call being “born again,” but it then continues for the rest of our life.

For a step-by-step guide to becoming reborn as a new person, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: born again, Emanuel Swedenborg, evil, Jesus Christ, Nicodemus, reformation, regeneration, repentance, self help, spiritual rebirth, spirituality, the Bible
Posted in Spiritual Growth, The Bible Re-Viewed

Video Games, Virtual Reality, and Spiritual Reality

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Lee — 44 Comments

Palestinian children playing computer games

Video games are in the news again in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut school shootings. As explored in a recent piece on WBUR radio titled, “My Son, The Dragon Slayer: The Risks And Rewards Of Growing Up Gaming,” the debate over positive vs. negative effects of video games on children and adults rages on.

As I said in my previous two-part article, “What Does the Bible Say about Video Games? Part 1 and Part 2, I believe there is more depth to video gaming than meets the eye.

In fact, I’m going to put it right out there:

I believe that video games are a reflection of spiritual reality.

For more on video games and spiritual reality, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: death, heaven, hell, material world, online games, physical reality, spiritual reality, spiritual rebirth, spiritual world, spirituality, video games, virtual reality
Posted in Sports and Recreation

Heaven and Hell, by Emanuel Swedenborg

Posted on January 23, 2013 by Lee — 22 Comments

Do you wonder what happens after we die?

Who doesn’t!?

Here is the most extensive eyewitness account of the spiritual world ever published:

Heaven and Hell
By Emanuel Swedenborg

Heaven and Hell was originally published in Latin in 1758. I recommend the New Century Edition linked here for the most readable and accurate modern translation. It is also available in a deluxe hardcover edition.

For further description and review, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Bernhard Lang, death, Emanuel Swedenborg, George F. Dole, heaven, Heaven and Hell, hell, Jonathan S. Rose, religion, Robert H. Kirven, spirituality
Posted in Books and Literature, The Afterlife

Where is the Proof of the Afterlife?

Posted on January 20, 2013 by Lee — 338 Comments

For a video reading of this article on YouTube, click here.

In a comment on my recent article, “If God is Love, Why all the Pain and Suffering?” a reader named Mike wrote:

All good and fine but where is the proof there is life after we die? You contend that there is suffering in this material world but our spirit will go on to another world after this one. Where is the proof? Not enough to just believe blindly (like communism or some other ism).

Great question! Let’s talk about it.

First, as you have gathered from my earlier article, I believe that the afterlife is not in this physical world after some future Last Judgment, as some people think. Instead, I believe it is in a spiritual world that is entirely distinct from the physical world.

Obviously, for that to be true there would have to be a spiritual world. So let’s broaden the question:

Where is the proof that the spiritual world exists?

Now, I assume that by “proof” you mean conclusive evidence by which one person could demonstrate to another person that the spiritual world definitely exists. Is that a reasonable assumption?

If so, then the answer is:

There is no proof that the spiritual world exists.

In fact, God has specifically designed the universe and the human mind so that it is impossible for one person to prove to another person that the spiritual world exists. This is to protect the very same freedom that I talked about in the “Pain and Suffering” article.

But here’s the real kicker:

There is also no proof that the material world exists.

For more on proof and reality, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: Eben Alexander, Emanuel Swedenborg, heaven, Heaven and Hell, near-death experiences, philosophy, science, spirituality, Steve Jobs, the material world, the spiritual world
Posted in The Afterlife

If God is Love, Why all the Pain and Suffering?

Posted on January 18, 2013 by Lee — 38 Comments

How could a loving God allow so much evil?

All it takes is a glance at the top stories in the daily news to show us that there is an awful lot of death, destruction, pain, and suffering in our world. Perhaps God is not paying attention. Perhaps God is punishing us for our sins. Either way, it doesn’t make God look all that good.

However, much of the evil in human life is self-inflicted. Through greed, desire for power, or simply a focus on our own pleasure and well-being, we bring most of the evils in our world down upon ourselves. Unfortunately, many innocent people suffer in the process.

Why does God allow it? And is God doing anything about it?

God’s tolerance of evil has to do with preserving human freedom, and not interfering with the results of our freely made choices. God wants human beings who can choose for themselves how to live, and whether to return God’s love.

As for whether God is doing anything about it, a better question might be whether we are doing anything about it. God is continually urging us to express active love and compassion for our fellow human beings. Are we listening?

For more on God’s love in the face of human pain and suffering, please click here to read on.

Tagged with: death, evil, God, justice, love, natural disasters, pain, poverty, punishment, suffering, violence, war
Posted in All About God, Pain and Suffering

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Man + Woman = Confusion?

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How Can I Be Reborn?

“No one can see the kingdom of God without being born again.”

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Do you wonder what happens after we die?

Who doesn’t!?

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How could a loving God allow so much evil?

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