I am not religious. My 93 year old grandmother has called me on numerous occasions with hopes that I will consider “saving my life and the lives of my children.” I've dealt with religion for nearly three decades. Truth is, I've never been religious, I was simply born into a highly religious Jehovah's Witness cipher. I was never baptized as it was a conscious decision of mine. Something about going door to door preaching “the truth” to people and warning them of actions not pleasing to God was all to morbid for me. The word “religion” is derived from “religare” which means “to bind”. My grandmother has been religious for over sixty years and having faith in God has given her the necessary peace of mind she had searched years, months and days for. The difference is, walking years, months and days in my shoes only helped me arrive at the fact that praying to this “Supreme Deity” I never met was the wrong flavor in my cup of coffee. My grandmother thinks that I've lost my mind by the way she speaks in every conversation. Her outlook is there's no way I can provide for my children without daily worship. I remain respectful despite my feelings of wanting to tell her to mind her business. I know she loves me and I understand that she is taught that by spreading the message, she can potentially save my life. I can't knock it, she's doing HER duty. So, sharing the same blood, I stand strong and do MY duty. Our last conversation though was my last straw. Usually I tell her I'm not interested, and I know for self that over the last three decades, had I have had a change of heart, I'd know who to contact. This time, I politely explained how offensive it was for her to judge how I raise my children and that I am not a neglectful mother, I don't party every evening leaving my children at home, I have a full-time job, I don't break the law, I pay my bills and I am responsible without religion being an every day part of my existence. She did back off and had to respect it. I remember I had the same conversation with my Father awhile back. Its amazing that people think you have to fear God to act righteous. Is this a blog to bash Christians? No it is not. See, I spent years (especially the last four) examining different ciphers of “truth” and I take pride in being able to say, I'm not mad anymore. I used to avoid Witnesses at all costs because I wasn't feeling their approach. Negatives seem overwhelming when you refuse to focus on a person's positives, so I decided to strip off the old personality like that which is mentioned in Colossians 3:9,10. Unlike baptism, I've welcomed a righteous set of principles into my life, so I must do everything right and exact. In a sense however, choosing a righteous path is not all that different from choosing to be baptized. Its the process of renewal – of cleansing one's self. I'm dealing with accurate knowledge by choice, not by force. Interestingly enough I always liked certain bible scriptures. Regardless of what a person will tell you, there is plenty of Truth in the Bible. Many people seem to hold the theory that if you read the bible, you are religious. Well, I don't support that way of thinking. After all, as a civilized person, my duty is to teach the “science of EVERYTHING in life” and I cannot teach what I have not put into practice for self. I will admit that living in a religious household kept me from having run-ins with the law, it instilled a sense of compassion and I am extremely grateful for that. I can't speak for all religious people, but many Jehovah's Witnesses go hard. Many are trustworthy. If I needed something done in my home, I would hire one. In the Spring of 2010 I registered for two religion courses, Religions of the World and Religion, Meaning & Knowledge. My goal for 2010 is to find common similarities and stop being so overly concerned about why we don't see eye to eye. Per the New World Translation Bible 1 Timothy 4:16 reads “Pay attention to yourself and to your teachings. Stay by these things for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who will listen to you.” Paying attention to my thoughts is what helped me realize that my duty is to stay educated, take care of my children and teach others in which ever manner possible. I'm not posting signs saying that religious people are crazy, because most of the ones I KNOW are working hard citizens trying to find their place in this world hoping for the day when this wicked system of things comes to an end and they receive everlasting happiness. Who doesn't want that?! I on the contrary am working on everlasting happiness in the present, the here and now. Take a look at Luke 19:43, it reads “...days will come upon you when your enemies will build around you a fortification with pointed stakes and will encircle you...” and this scripture is the truth regardless of what walk of life you originate from. In 120, in the build degree in the knowledge to “culture the cipher”, we recognize that within any given cipher there will be “currents REAL cold” and they will be swift and changeable. Notice the degree doesn't build on semi-cool currents or chilly currents, it says REAL cold indicating that at some point in our ciphers we will have to cultivate our foundations because if we don't we allow others to bring down what we worked so hard to build up. A perfect example is 1 Corinthians 6:9,10 , “Do not be misled. Neither fornicators nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes nor men who lie with men, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God's Kingdom.” Being that the planet Earth is the home of Islam, then that means I am symbolically part of God's Kingdom. Point blank, the original Blackman is God, the owner of the planet Earth and since he knows every square inch, he's not letting any nonsense into his cipher. I know for a fact I don't want one single idolaters, thief, drunkard or extortioner near my family. On TV and on the Internet its become popular to see men lie with men. They have popularized the true meaning of a filthy affair. So just because I draw up aspects in the bible to modern day happenings doesn't mean I wish to convert. I'm using multiple resources to show and prove that this system as we know it will corrupt us unless we take stand. Refusing to get on my knees and pray shouldn't offend anyone religious. After all, we have more in common than you probably realize, our outlook varies, that's all. Accurate knowledge is a rather redundant phrase being that knowledge is never inaccurate. Our perception of what knowledge is sometimes may be inaccurate, but knowledge itself is not. Seek the truth however you have to find it, even if it means you have to study concepts you once shun.
You never know where it will land you.
Peace.