An Epiphany

I have a friend who claims that she will return here reborn one day The essence of morality bereft of our mortal decay

Payton and I

I have a friend who says that she

will return here reborn one day

The essence of morality

bereft of our mortal decay

 

She claims only those who believe

will be allowed to live here then

This tapestry her god will weave

from all faithful women and men

 

I have a little misgiving

that I pose to a faithful few

What is it makes life worth living

if not the character we hew

 

Tolerance be the holy way

humility tempers us true

So why curtail what others say

as if this world were just for you

Our religions seem a bit grim

even somewhat selfish at best

Save ourselves by worshiping him

and to hell with all of the rest

 

No good man worships another

nor our father wish that from you

He'd rather you helped your brother

as any good father would do

If the Word be Truth let it shine

and echo out over the seas

May the Dreams be both yours and mine

as the winds that blow through the trees

 

Author's Note

Born and raised a Catholic I still find I often think on this conundrum. Why would a god want worship anymore than a father of his children? It would seem counter productive for a god to demand worship of you at the same time telling you as a father to be humble. God did not give me a brain to follow others like sheep. It would be wrong not to use it to question the concepts we hold dear. If this upsets someone I am sorry. Not for the idea but for the injury. I am forced by nature to question all we hold dear.

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

This is a beautifully written and thought-provoking poem. For all of those who worship "God" for the sake of their own skins, forsaking all the rest, I wonder what that same "God" thinks of him being forsaken for all the rest. So many profess to believe; and yet, they try to mold God in the shape of man rather than the other way around.

Take any issue: abortion, same-sex marriage, couples living together before marriage, etc.; and one can clearly see how society as a whole has forsaken "God" in favor of themselves. Even those who act most fervently in the name of their "God," do so for their own selfish reasons that have nothing to do with God.

Beware the man - the beast - as lamb.

[Tate Morgan]

It is funny how god takes on our characteristics isnt it

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Predictable and true. :-)

[Benita-Staebell M - Kin..]

Interesting. Christians are not
heathens if they show no love then they are not a Christian
if they can't love someone who Hates them then either
they are not a Christian or they need God's help but there is a major
problem if we can't love as Jesus loves I can love someone that
hates me because of Jesus a Christian loves not hates there
is some that pretend to be Christians and are not careful someone can love
me or hate me but if they hate mi love them more is how I am hate means no
love and can't imagine not showing love it would kill me.

There is a Hell but it was created for the devil
and his dominos.

PSALMS14:1 THE fool hath said in his heart,
there is no God.


JEREMIAH 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?


JEREMIAH 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

so if they heart is wicked and we have not accepted him
or turned from our sins and we reject him he will Reject us
and you can only pray for those but Atheist Cuss God and say his
name in Vain that is spiting on god when they Say Oh my G I say goodness
or other things that are not cuss words cuss defiles our temples inside of us
The holy Ghost ill not live in a unholy temple and we cause ourselves to go to
hell if we choice to stay in sin and ignore god and live selfishly for us and not for him
or not forgive and repent and that means turn away from sin when we repent
maybe so but many feel Religion will save them it is Jesus the relationship we need not
the religion and the bible isn't a religion may church's are lying and not teaching what they
are supposed to and turning away from the word of god not all of them but there is one's that are.

and I don't trust Religions like catholic Mormon Jehovah
witnesses and many others many are being lied to and even one's will deceive you
and are not following Jesus they are following the devil so I stay
close to god so I am safe witchcraft Pagan is wrong it is doing magic
Spirit guides I thought were safe but I saw more evil then you could
even know just as One's that think Ghost are someone that died
they are Demons they can take any form even a family member
I have seen Hell it is frightening I dreamed about it I felt it
and it was real with seeing and hearing those things people think are ghosts
earth isn't bad this is a cake walk so if it isn't God or a angel I stay away
even Horoscopes Zodiac signs are bad I don't let that predict my life God
tells my past present and Future.

God pushed me away from Catholic
Churches I get bad feelings from them
when you don't feel od there run many Catholics
were taught to pray to Mary and angels like worshiping
I had to learn it was wrong I don't worship angels but through
prayer you can pray to your Guardian Angel but I don't worship
them and I never trusted Confessing to a Priest in a Catholic church
only to Jesus God has always guided me away from the wrong things.

Now if this offends anyone I am sorry not my intention.




a Heathen is
of or pertaining to heathens; pagan.
irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized.

Love the Sinner hate the sin.

I do know God hates evil as he isn't evil
he is pure he is all powerful loving Righteous
god but he is also the Judge what ever he decides
then we can do nothing about it.

But I know nothing has happened as he
is giving one's a chance to repent and turn
from sin and follow him.

[Tate Morgan]

Interesting I am sorry but I am not one blessed by blind faith I shall take my fate with my eyes wide open. Im glad you can find some comfort in the words written by men thousands of years ago. I am not one to place my own fate in their hands though.

[Tate Morgan]

However Benita I am glad you find strength in your own faith

[Benita-Staebell M - KindredPoet]

I am glad it didn't offend you I didn't think it would I was being helpful and
this is a different view on things thank you for sharing. Blessings Kindred poet

[Tate Morgan]

Yes I know I know you well enough to think your views are deeply felt to your own mind. We all wonder why we are here And some of us actually go in search of the answer. It is simply a matter of what your own mind accepts as proof me it is a need to see science prevail as It will in the end i believe. What i like about science is that if lost it is going to be rediscovered as it is a universal truth of fact. I need tangible evidence to sway my emotional logical mind thanks dear

[Benita-Staebell M - KindredPoet]

My Answered prayers are my evidence. But I don't believe in Evolution us coming from Apes I didn't evolve from a animal that is a form of science I like the science where you can test things like Balloons things that are real it is a challenge talking with you I do like that I have you on a prayer list but I am always praying for you :) Blessings. my friend

[Tate Morgan]

Thanks dear my own daughter says that too As she is always praying for me as well. Ill tell you why I think we are all related to animals trees grass you name it .The DNA code is identical in certain places of the code. For many many sequences in a row. For the dna code to be the same In other words for the four elements of the code to be identical in order for many sequences in every living thing tells me that nature invents things once . If they work it doesnt change them .In this case the DNA that regulates say folding proteins Is the same in you as it is in a blade of grass. Once nature gt it right it didnt change it .It simply passed it on. It would be as if i gave you a 1000 combination locks and each had a four number combination and you got all 100 right Not only did you get them right but so did every other life form on the planet from animals to trees.That coupled with the fact that we as humans have less genes than a potato tells me that we have been here a much shorter time than the plants Hence couldnt build up near the genetic diversity that a potato or a grain of rice have

[Benita-Staebell M - KindredPoet]

Animals have a soul as we do but they didn't created us if we have any Similarities it is because god made us and he made the animals try looking at the trees it is like their Branches Are hands praying and reaching high to the heaves I have written about this In a poem you can see the things God made many think animals are Stupid and don't understand us but there is a high amount of them that are not when I talk they understand me they know what I mean when I say god and the things I speak of but humans are the most Intelligent Creatures one's that are not as far as humans is ones that do what they want and act selfish if you get me they think they cause things but it is God we all have Gods DNA and you can see things that look as if they're praying it is Fascinating well Plants Can Adapt and some of us humans can't we weren't made for fear Stress and so much that happens as so many negative like fear Stress and many other things will cause sickness and not eating right but many don't know that stress is cancer and it can kill you just as fear can. yes I agree on plants being here longer. It is nice talking with you. Did you ever have a Aloe Plant at home my mom had one we used it for Wounds and cuts it is amazing still remember having it at home as a child. Animals are very smart all the one's I've had were they smell things we can't and taste more then the human taste buds there is animals that can smell cancer it is Fascinating Kindred poet

[Tate Morgan]

Yes i have owned a aloh plant it is good for healing I respect your views and tip my hat in deference to it

[WE]

You join me in my Catholic in recovery I see , I have a faith unshakable in my creator but I do not believe that he send us to some fire filled pit if we are non believers for I believe in our doubts our faith is at its strongest

[Tate Morgan]

That i can understand For me he created life set it in the rules of nature and let it be to see if it flowered simple as that

[Angel]

One of my very favorite passages in the Bible:

Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

What was so important to Jesus that He gave us a new commandment about it?
That we love one another.
In fact, that love is the hallmark of the true Christian.

[Tate Morgan]

I agree it should be.

[Angel]

Jesus, Who certainly ought to know, says that it is. "by this all men shall know that you are my disciples" seems pretty clear to me.

[Tate Morgan]

Then why don't we discard the Jewish old testament The two sections cannot be reconciled with one another

[Angel]

Perhaps there are a few pieces of the puzzle missing...

[Tate Morgan]

no piece that could be missing could justify the wholesale slaughter of the middinites

[Rogue]

I will throw down my (heathen and heritic) views here.
To me, God is the good, light and love inside of us that we bring and share with others. In a sense we are all God as he is described to us. We too have the power to create life (be it flora or fauna) and to take it away. To bestow grace upon a particular group of people and cast out others, the ability to make change, cause disasters, etc.. It is how we use these abilities that matter. Be it our own conscience on the life we have led that condemns us in the end.
Again, these are merely my hedonistic opinions. :)

This is a very deep and thought provoking write, Tate. We should always question. This is how change is brought about.

[Tate Morgan]

here here to that

[Marie]

He is also jealous, wrathful and condems people to Hell on a whim...
Hey, I can live with that...

[Tate Morgan]

I'll winter in the heavens for the climate and go to hell for the company

[Tomás Ó C..]

Great message here... its not about saving ourselves. Grace will not save us unless accompanied by good deeds!!!

[Tate Morgan]

tomas now thats a thought we can all live with

[SimpleMind]

Wow~ I won't say anything or else I'll be add up in other's hate list.

[Pax]

after reading almost all of the thoughs gathered around in this poem, i felt speechless.. no thoughts have come out, other than that we have talk about religion alot from the past months... so you know my thoughts already :) ~ i can only say from all the thoughts that gathered around, I'm sure the insights of the poem you have shared expound its bournderies in understanding one another's perspective. well thought-out poem, Brilliant!

[Carolann Dowsett]

Worship isn't just about us pleasing God it is for us, when we worship it lifts the despair off us and lifts us to a higher place. It places joy in our hearts and comforts our souls. Most of the bible has been misconstrued by the words and intents of man. Still another wonderful write from you Tate. :)