The Useful Thinker

      Today I feel like taking a break from the series I have been doing on my changing view of the Bible and going into topics more in line with the Taoist spirituality I am living now. Reflection on where we've been is good, and hopefully my reflections will be helpful, but too much reflection makes one forget where they are currently. The most important thing we can be is in the present moment.     Since my awakening , I have discovered myself to be on a spiritual quest. The practice of spirituality that has made the most sense to me is Taoism. However, my awakening has freed me from being narrow-mindedly focused on just one way, as I was previously when I was a Fundamental Baptist. Now, I have the freedom to explore many different belief systems and spiritual practices.     It is always good to open yourself up and experience more than one view on things. One thing I would recommend, especially for young people, is that you travel to another c...

      I grew up Baptist. Not just Baptist either, but Independent, Fundamental, Separated Baptist. I received Jesus Christ as my Saviour at the age of five and was baptized a year later. It was one of the few times I allowed myself to be dunked underwater completely because I had such a fear of putting my head underwater at that age. Growing up like this meant, of course, that I was raised to believe that the Bible is the literal Word of God. All of the stories are true. All of the instruction in the Bible is good for doctrine and practice in the daily life. Nothing was to be questioned, and it contains all of the answers you could possibly ask about life. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? Where do I go from here? All of these questions are answered in the pages of the Bible.     In later years, I lived a year and a half in Utah and zealously argued with the Mormons, trying to convince them of the error of their ways and to trust in Jesus Christ ...

      It has been two years since my awakening, and this is the first year where I have really paid attention to astrology, the equinoxes and solstices, and the path of the sun. It's a little difficult for a neophyte because I know very little of the traditions of these days or how they should be celebrated. What's more, the winter solstice will take place on a Wednesday this year, and I will be working hard that day as usual, so whatever celebration I can do will be muted. Is there anyone else out there who is new to all this? Are you feeling this way too?     Well, I thought I would look into what the Winter Solstice is and how it can be celebrated this year. Apparently, Yule comes from the Norse word Hweol. The Norse apparently believed that the sun was a wheel of fire that spun away from the earth, and then back toward it, and that the Yule was the day that it began to return to earth again. So it is the celebration of the returning of the wheel, a time...

      Growing up in a Fundamentalist Christian home, and living most of my life as an orthodox, Fundamental Baptist, I grew up believing that church history happened a certain way. I clung dogmatically to my belief, which was well researched, and well thought-out. I believed strongly that the Bible was the literal truth and that all events in the Bible happened literally. You can even purchase a chronological Bible that arranges all of the books of the Bible in a chronological fashion to help feed the belief that all of it is true, happening within a certain timeline. Moreover, I believed that after the death of the apostles, the truth they taught continued on as the Bible spread throughout the known world. Even after the Roman Catholic Church began to change the truth of the Bible (so I believed), there were still people who dissented and taught the Gospel down through the ages until the Reformation brought the Gospel truth back into focus on the world stage. Therefore,...

     Last week, my wife and I drove all the way across the great state of Iowa for a very special reason. Before leaving, we stopped at the library where I checked out an audiobook entitled The Tao of Willie , written by Willie Nelson (If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it.) We listened to the entire book along the way. Coming into a park situated by the Missouri River, we met up as planned with a couple of strangers who had a dog, dog food, dog treats, a leash, and a flat pack kennel in tow. Once she has sufficiently calmed down, the German Shepherd was handed off to me and we coaxed her into the back of our silver RAV4, which had been prepared with a blanked just for her. We talked to the couple for a moment, then waved goodbye as they drove away. We were now the owners of a hyper seven-month-old, gold and black bundle of hair and happiness.      Neither one of us is ready for the full responsibility of dog ownership, and for that reason I t...