I don't "think" Mur. I know. It is not my opinion. It is what I know.
That's your problem...your mind is closed to any and all possibilities beyond your own view.
Narcissism?
I understand and conceptualize your entire view as simply one chapter in a book of many chapters. I see all the chapters, you're still stuck in one.
Here's is a story you might remember well... a case in point.
Jimmy & Tammy Faye BakkerWho in America over age 40 doesn't remember them? The plight of Jim Bakker was splashed over the Headlines of every major Newspaper and every Television News Broadcast, coast to coast. He and his wife hosted the most popular Christian Television show in North America. But then disaster struck. He was charged and convicted of numerous business crimes. Who doesn't remember his crying boyish face as he was taken away in hand-cuffs? Convicted and sentenced to serve 45 years in jail.
Over 100 million people can remember that. But how many know
the rest of the story? The other chapters.
Well, he ended up being exonerated of all crimes. All that remained was some back-taxes, which aren't levied under criminal law. Long story, but there's more.
While in jail for 8 years, he wrote a book. While he was writing it he thought he'd be in jail for the rest of his life. Only when he was on his last chapter, to his utter surprise, he was released to freedom.
The title of the book is: "I Was Wrong"
How many people have read it? perhaps a hundred thousand. It wasn't much of a seller. But millions only remember what he was charged of. Millions only remember that he was sentenced to 45 years for criminal fraud- a life sentence for a man his age. And so few in comparison, know he was exonerated.
You may wonder what the book was about. "I Was Wrong"
It was not about him admitting he have committed any crimes. He knew he was "set-up" by people who wanted his Television network destroyed. And he explained the details of all of that nasty Christian back-biter stuff, in a few chapters of his book.
No, rather why he entitled it "I Was Wrong", was that he had come to realize that the "Prosperity Gospel" that he had been preaching for years on National Television, was an incorrect representation of the teachings of 'Jesus". And he felt responsible to apologize to American evangelical Christians for his
error, and implore them to seek after heavenly riches, rather than riches on earth.
Imagine that.
One of the saddest parts of this saga, is that so few Christians have heard or read his greatest message every given.
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I tell this story Mur, to illustrate that there are many chapters. One or two, isn't enough to explain it all.
I know OMF. I was a co-creator. It wasn't
just a discussion forum. That, is but one or two chapters of it.
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You may wonder why I paid so much attention to the Jim Bakker affair. It wasn't because of my beliefs, nor was I a popular fan of his Television show. I watched the odd show as a curiosity. But rather my interest in the Bakker family, arose because I once gave their daughter a
Lolobal, and she bounced on it on live Television. It was one of the best free national advertising we got. I was the entrepreneur who launched that product on the North American market. And so, when I saw the disgrace of Jimmy Bakker as he was ushered off to jail, I became interested in what kind of power struggles might have been at play among Christian Factions.
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I've traveled around the world, Mur. I look at life differently than you. Some people may say, I have my head up in the clouds. And they are right. I do. And from my perspective, the view is amazing, and I can see a lot more from this vantage. It's just part of who I am. C'est la vie. You don't have to persecute me.
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