Crying Over Dead Trees

Refernece: YouTube

Deepak Chopra Recalls Last Conversation with Heath

Tuesday January 29, 2008 09:45 AM EST

Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage;

Heath Ledger was tired and emotional before his shocking Jan. 22 death, Deepak Chopra tells PEOPLE.

"He was a little depressed about not having seen his daughter," explained the The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success author, who was with their mutual friend Shekhar Kapur – Ledger's director in the 2002's The Four Feathers – when he spoke to the actor the day before he died. "It was like, 'I'm missing my girl. ... ' He hadn't seen [two-year-old Matilda] over the holidays, he mentioned that."

The 28-year-old Ledger, who was in the midst of shooting The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, also admitted he was having trouble sleeping. "He's a very, very ambitious actor and hard-working guy," said Chopra. "He was still high from the experience [of filming in London] and he hadn't come down ... He was exhausted."

But the actor was still excitedly making plans – agreeing to meet Chopra and Kapur for dinner the following day. The doctor even tried to schedule a massage for Ledger at New York's Chopra Center on that fateful day. But by the time the appointment was confirmed, the actor had already made plans to get a rubdown at his apartment.

When Ledger's body was found in his Manhattan apartment, Chopra heard about it via text message – leaving him to break the news to Kapur. "I had to sit him down and say, 'I'm sorry to tell you this, but we're not going to be having dinner with Heath. He's dead.' " said Chopra. "Shekhar is totally devastated." (The director, who called Ledger "brother," later described the actor as the "most gentle, the most honest, most caring" person.)

Chopra recalled Ledger as a doting dad with a spiritual side. "[Heath] was always questioning about the meaning of existence," he said. "He'd always bring up existential dilemmas and conundrums ... Is there a higher consciousness? What's the meaning of existence?"

That's why, in the end, the best-selling author thinks it's unlikely Ledger could have taken his own life. (The initial autopsy was inconclusive on "cause of death and manner of death;" toxicology results are still pending.)

"He was connected to life and joy," said Chopra. "Joy is the word."

• Reporting by NATASHA STOYNOFF


Reference: People Magazine

Pantheism, New Age & Oprah

Reference: YouTube

What do you call this again?.... Oh yeah, pantheism or even worse.. panatheism... taught by New Agers like Oprah Winfrey and her spiritual gurus Deepak Chopra (author of The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success), Gary Zukav (author of The Dancing Wu Li Masters and Seat of the Soul), and Eric Butterworth (author of Discover the Power Within You), Eckhart Tolle (author of A New Earth and The Power of Now), Marianne Williamson (a host on the satellite radio program Oprah & Friends and author of The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife), and her best friend Gayle King (editor of The Oprah Magazine, and host on the satellite radio program Oprah & Friends).


Reference: YouTube

Depok Chopra says, “The Law of Pure Potentiality could also be called the Law of Unity, because underlying the infinite diversity of life is the unity of one all-pervasive spirit. There is no separation between you and this field of energy. The field of pure potentiality is your own Self.” Chopra then adds, “your true Self, which is your spirit, your soul . . . is immune to criticism, it is unfearful of any challenge, and it feels beneath no one. And yet, it is also humble and feels superior to no one, because it recognizes that every one else is the same Self, the same spirit in different disguises.”

This concept of truth lying deep within each of us as if it were our genetic code is likened to the idea that “God” resides within each of us as an inner guide to show us the way to all truth. There is one truth, but many ways to discover it. You may choose the Christian path; another may choose the Buddhist path, or the Hindu path. It makes little or no difference which path one chooses; according to Oprah they all lead the inquirer to the same truth. God lies within you as your highest self. "You are what you think."

Morality: Part One

Man cannot make a moral framework on which to judge. For man is in himself immoral.

What is Truth? How Can We Determine Morality?

This really addresses the issue from the Garden of Eden when Satan tells Eve that she will surely not die, but she will be like God. It puts us in the question of God's truth versus Satan's truth. Which truth did Adam and Eve choose? Satan's truth. So now we beg the question: Was God telling the truth that they would die? Yes! Death was introduced when Adam and Eve took Satan's lie as truth.

We can see an example of postmodern thinking in President Bill Clinton's statement, "That depends on what your definition of "is" is."

This also brings up the question that Pontius Pilate asked upon Jesus' trial. Jesus said that he "came to TESTIFY to the truth." And Pilate replied, "What is truth?" Without really wanting a response, but just making a statement. So what is truth? Jesus said he came to bear witness to the truth. In the following articles I will try to get to that conclusion: 'How do we determine morality?'

The following is an excerpt from a dialogue with my friend Anne Hodgkinson,

"Have you heard of the Euthyphro question posed by Socrates? Whether the good is good because it is good (a separate entity) or because God said it was good? I came to the conclusion that it was the latter (because God said it was good). If God's desire for His created things not to be destroyed is part of his personality, then the continuation of His created order is good...God's personality is good (not that God is a personless "force" of good...but that His personality defines what is good). I do not believe any of us truly want destruction (what Satan desires), though we may think we do...some of us just want certain goods without minding if those "good's" require destruction to obtain (C.S. Lewis wrote on this a bit in the beginning of Mere Christianity). As we were made in God's image, we desire not to be destroyed, but to continue existing. And who could know better how His creation should continue to function than God? God does not need to answer to an outside authority of "good" because He is the Creator of everything..."

How do you communicate truth to a world that isn't sure what truth is—or even if truth is? How do you commend spiritual absolutes to people who insist there are none?

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Jesus Christ

The Conscience: Now how do we know right from wrong?

For anyone who believes, God says to His people, "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33).

Romans 2:15
They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness,

Hebrews 10:16
This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,

2 Corinthians 5:10
And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

Questions and Answers

by Dr. David A. DeWitt

Q: What is our conscience?
A: Our conscience is a spiritual ability built into every human being by which we make ethical judgements based on inner moral principles.

Q: How does our conscience work?
A: When we believe certain information (place faith in knowledge), we establish inner laws. These laws may be right or wrong, depending on whether our knowledge is of the truth. As we encounter complex life situations, we apply our inner laws, as a judge deciding a case presented by a prosecutor and a defense attorney. By this, our conscience creates a solution (unique for every situation), which it considers morally right. When we act inconsistent with that judgement, we experience feelings of guilt.

Objective Morality vs. Moral Relativism

This is a recent response to a deist regarding his remark that "maybe God is tricking us and murder is really good... maybe God is good and Satan is bad,"

Research has been done that even a cannibal in an African tribe still knows murder is wrong. I don't believe that murder is wrong just because that's what the bible says. I don't just simply follow the bible because it "works for me," as it were. I'm talking about knowing something that's built-in.

The thing is, everyone thinks their view is right. And some people argue that Christians are intolerant and forcing their views on others. But then aren't they themselves forcing their view that Christians? Something good could offend someone's belief. A good thing could become bad or vice versa. Good then becomes a moral judgement just like Bad is.

The challenge of intolerance is also itself being morally challenged. It's a claim that some moral thing is true. The rule you want to tolerate, but the meaning of that has now shifted to almost mean the opposite now than it used to be. So if you're intolerant then you've done something wrong. This is moral relativism.

You can judge the validity of a moral principle by putting the principle in action, as it were. Your question if "murder is really good" is saying that that people can make up morality on their own views is a homicide detectives worst nightmare: someone who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience--a sociopath.

If there is no objective morality then there is no moral intuition on which to act. If morals are relative then you would have to say that Hitler, Stalin, and Mao were right in their own state of mind of moral intuition. Even if I believe what I believe is true, I'm wrong. Even if I happen to approve of your view or don't believe in your view, I'm wrong. If moral relativism is true then we live in a world in which nothing is wrong. Nothing evil. Nothing is worthy of praise or blame. There is no injustice or justice, in which I'm intolerant. Who can believe that? Who can live that way? No one can and no one truly believes that way!

That's like one guy cutting in line at the cue for tickets to the football game and some guy yelling out "Hey! you can't... do... that.... nevermind... my comment is my own point of view." People become passive aggressive. It's a good reason to do whatever you want. Moral relativism is a bankrupt view.

If there is one moral rule that applies to us that is not physical. There is one non-physical reality that science cannot know. That's the liberating idea. What gives force to this world's law of nature? The best explanation for moral rules isn't a happening by chance. It is by someone: A moral ruler. A moral law giver.

You can't deny that when you look deep down inside yourself you know that you've done something wrong, that you've violated something and you want forgiveness. Deep down inside you know that there is truth. There is something better than this life. I know this because I used to be an agnostic. And what Jesus offers is a solution and forgiveness.
Maybe you're objecting Jesus because there is all this evil in the world. I don't know, maybe you help me understand what you mean. Tell me what you think right and wrong is. How do you personally determine right from wrong? What is justice for you?

Reference: RelationalConcepts.org

Junior Idols

Innocence lost: the dark side of Akihabara

by metropolis.co.jp

The crowd in the Ishimaru Soft event space in Akihabara sits anxiously awaiting the arrival of an idol, whose most recent DVD they purchased for the right to meet her. Led on by the MC, the 50 or so middle-aged men call out in unison: “Mana-chan!” After two more calls, she appears—a girl of 13, looking dazed and sheepish. As the cameras zoom in, she strips down to her bikini, which drapes on her under-developed form.

Mana is a “low teen” pursuing a career as a model. As abhorrent as it may sound, children as young as 2 who are billed as “junior idols” release photo books and DVDs. Insofar as the models do not expose their breasts or genitals, this is not against the law. But the way scantily clad kids blow on flutes and lick ice cream cones in front of the camera has raised eyebrows at home and abroad.

The idol industry in Japan in general is estimated at ¥60 billion annually, and junior idols shift some 3 million photo books and DVDs per year. There are countless websites (such as Pure Little Sister Club) and a syndicated magazine (Moecco) catering to fans.

This trend began in the ’90s, when columnist Akio Nakamori coined the term chidol, or child idol, to describe the sudden increase of young models. The neologism fell out of favor and was replaced by “junior idol,” which shifts the emphasis from childhood and links the phenomenon with legitimate up-and-coming idols.

In Akihabara, long known for its stock of lolicon (Lolita Complex) and “little sister” movies and magazines, the number of shops advertising idol DVDs marked U-15 (under-15) has quietly increased.

“This is a gray area in Japan, but the residents of Akihabara and I find it reprehensible,” says Takaya Kobayashi, 54, a Chiyoda Ward councilman.

But at places such as Oimoya, located right on Akihabara’s main street of Chuo Dori, fans crowd around merchandise displays featuring underage girls.

“Looking at junior idols soothes me,” explains Shigure Akagi, 45, an artist who says he draws inspiration from these products. “I do not have children of my own, so seeing them makes me happy.”

He isn’t the only one. Mr., the most eccentric member of Takashi Murakami’s stable of pop artists, admits he suffers from lolicon, and recruited junior idols to star in his 2008 film, Nobody Dies.
Ostensibly, the parents who sign their daughters to be junior idols are hoping they achieve mainstream fame like Mr.’s girls. And it isn’t impossible. Saaya Irie, for example, was cast in Hell Girl and other TV programs after her stint as a child model.

Legally, this is a dark shade of gray. A 1999 Japanese law bans children in depictions of sex, genital touching and “arousing” nudity, but junior idols manage to skirt these issues. In 2002, Japan signed the UN’s Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, which bans “any representation, by whatever means, of real or simulated explicit sexual activities or any representation of the sexual parts of a child for primarily sexual purposes.” Defenders say images of junior idols are not for “primarily” sexual purposes. Indeed, scenes in these DVDs can be as harmless as family travel videos. Just not always.

In April 2008, UNICEF distributed a petition with 21,000 signatures asking Japan to curb junior idols and lolicon anime. In November, at an international meeting in Brazil, Japan was condemned as “The Nation of Child Porn.” Japan and Russia, the organizers say, are the only G8 nations that have not taken action against child exploitation.

Japanese authorities fire back that it is hard to define what is and isn’t art, and that policing the small, independent publishers and video companies is tough. Meanwhile, the numbers show that Japan is, in reality, a safe place for kids: there were 754 reported cases of sexual abuse in 2000, compared to 89,500 in the United States. This could, however, be due to underreporting, or the fact that the official age of consent can be 13 in some places.

Junior idols sell raw innocence—a major commodity today.

What's next?

America's teen idol scene isn't too far behind Japan. Just look at the popstar idols like Lady Gaga and how she influences the way pre-teens dress nowadays. No shame, and no morals. Disgusting!

Is God Evil?

Edited on Saturday, August 27th 2011 for accuracy.

In Isaiah 45:7, God plainly says, "I make peace and create evil." What do we do with a statement like this? Is it possible that a good God can create evil? "If God exists, why is there evil in this World?"

The Problem of Evil

(click for video)

Philosophically there are two things we need to bear in mind. When you say something is evil, you assume there is something good. When you assume something is good, then you assume there is moral law by which to differentiate what is good and evil. And if you assume there is a moral law then you must ultimately deposit there is a moral law giver. But that’s not what your question offers. It is trying to disprove and not prove a moral law giver (God). If there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law, and if there is no moral law, then there is no good, and if there is no good then there is no evil. And the question really self-destructs in terms of objectivity of an objective rule to measure good and evil. You see, the question in fact affirms there is a moral framework exists in life.

Now if you’re addressing the issue of evil and why God allow it, let me explain something: God has a plan to get rid of evil, but not yet. In order for him to prove himself as good, there must be evil. How does God show us evil? By showing us that we are not good; if we were good, then we’d be God. In order to understand evil, we must look at what is the origin of evil. The original creation was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). There was no sin, no evil, no pain, and no death. Yet today the world is permeated with sin, evil, pain, and death. What brought these about? Scripture indicates that the turn downward came the moment Adam and Eve used their God-given free will to choose to disobey God (Genesis 3).

The Origin of Evil and God's Ultimate Purpose for Allowing it

Some people wonder why God couldn't have created humans in such a way that we would never sin, thus avoiding evil altogether. The fact is, such a scenario would mean that we were not truly human. We would require that God create robots who would act only in programmed ways—like a chatty doll whose string you pull and it says, “I love you.” Who would want that? There would never be any love there. Love is voluntary. God could have made us like robots, but we would have ceased to be men. God apparently thought it worth the risk of creating us as we are. In this sense, we have to realise that Satan is on a leash, and can only go so far as to whispering in our ears evil thoughts. Satan does not have the power that God has, therefore cannot be God or good as you mentioned in your challenge.

As Ravi Zacharias would say, “Love cannot be programmed; it must be freely expressed.” God wanted Adam and all humanity to show love by freely choosing obedience. This is why God gave Adam and all other humans a free will. Norman Geisler is correct in saying that “forced love is rape; and God is not a divine rapist. He will not do anything to coerce their decision.” A free choice, however, leaves the possibility of a wrong choice. As J.B. Phillips put it, “Evil is inherent in the risky gift of free will.”

When a woman has been raped, it has been the ultimate desecration and plunder of a human being because it has taken that which is the most private, sacred and invaded and violated experience. It defies human expectation.

The fact that humans used God-given free choice to disobey God did not take God by surprise. C.S. Lewis suggests that God in his omniscience “saw that from a world of free creatures, even though they fell, he could work out . . . a deeper happiness and fuller splendour than any world of automata would admit.” Or, as Geisler has put it so well, the theist does not have to claim that our present world is the best of all possible worlds, but it is the best way to the best possible world:

“If God is to both preserve freedom and defeat evil, then this is the best way to do it. Freedom is preserved in that each person makes his own free choice to determine his destiny. Evil is overcome in that, once those who reject God are separated from the others, the decisions of all are made permanent. Those who choose God will be confirmed in it, and sin will cease. Those who reject God are in eternal quarantine and cannot upset the perfect world that has come about. The ultimate goal of a perfect world with free creatures will have been achieved, but the way to get there requires that those who abuse their freedom be cast out.”

Doesn’t this reflect how our justice system works?

A critically important factor involved in the suggestion that this may not be the best possible world but it is the best way to the best possible world is that God is not finished yet.
In view of the scriptural facts, we may conclude that God’s plan had the potential for evil when he bestowed on humans the freedom of choice, but the actual origin of evil came as a result of a man who directed his will away from God and toward his own selfish desires. Norman Geisler and Jess Amanu note, “Whereas God created the fact of freedom, humans perform the acts of freedom. God made evil possible; creatures make it actual.” Ever since Adam and Eve made evil actual on that first occasion in the Garden of Eden, a sin nature has been passed on to every man and woman (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:22), and it is out of the sin nature that we today continue to use our free will to make evil actual (Mark 7:20-23).

Even natural evil—involving earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and the like—is rooted in our wrong use of free choice. We must not forget that we are living in a fallen world, and because of this, we are subject to disasters in the world of nature that would not have occurred had man not rebelled against God in the beginning (Romans 8:20-22). The Gardens of Eden had no natural disasters or death until after the sin of Adam and Eve. There will be no natural disasters or death in the new heaven and earth when God puts an end to evil once and for all (Revelation 21:4).

1. If God is all-good, he will defeat evil.
2. If God is all-powerful, he can defeat evil.
3. Evil is not yet defeated.
4. Therefore, God can and will one day defeat evil.

One day in the future, Christ will return, strip away power from the wicked and hold all men and women accountable for the things they did during their time on earth (Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:11-15). Justice will ultimately prevail. Those who enter eternity without having trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation will understand just how effectively God has dealt with the problem of evil.

Some sceptics may be tempted to refute that it should not take all of human history for an omnipotent God to deal with the problem of evil. God certainly has the option of doing away with all evil immediately—but choosing this option would have definite and fatal implications for each of us. As Paul Little has pointed out, “If God were to stamp out evil today, he would do a complete job. His action would have to include our lies and personal impurities, our lack of love, and our failure to do ‘good.’ Suppose God were to decree that at midnight tonight all evil would be removed from the universe—who of us would still be here after midnight?”

Even though God’s ultimate solution to the problem of evil awaits the future, as I have argued, God has even now taken steps to ensure that evil doesn’t run utterly amok. Indeed, God has given us human government to withstand lawlessness (Romans 13:1-7). God founded the church to be a light in the midst of the darkness, to strengthen God’s people, and even to help restrain the growth of wickedness in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit (e.g., Acts 16:5; 1 Timothy 3:15). In his Word God has given us a moral standard to guide us and keep us on the right path (Pslam 119). He has given us the family unit to bring stability to society (e.g., Proverbs 22:15; 23:13). And much more!

Trusting God in a World of Suffering

There are other inadequate explanations for the problem of evil we could examine, but they are not as prominent today, and space forbids further exploration.

Sometimes we wonder why God allows us to go through certain painful circumstances. But just because we find it difficult to imagine what reasons God could have does not mean that no such reason exists. From our finite human perspective, we are often only able to see a few threads of the great drapery of life and of the will of God. We do not have the full picture. That is why God calls us to trust him (Hebrews 11). God can see the full picture and does not make mistakes. He has a reason for allowing painful circumstances to come our way—even if we cannot grasp it.

If finite humans can discover some good purposes for evil, then surely an infinitely wise God has a good purpose for all suffering. We may not understand that purpose in the temporal ‘now,’ but it nonetheless exists. Our inability to discern why bad things sometimes happen to us does not disprove God’s benevolence, it merely exposes our ignorance.

Romans 8:18
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

(See also 2 Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 12:2; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

Sometimes the ‘good’ that God brings out of our suffering involves drawing us closer to him. [When I was 19, I ended up in the hospital due to a night of drinking. It led me to cry out to God for the first time, just to know that he was there and willing to pick me up and give me a second chance to start life over.] Sometimes the ‘good’ that God brings out of our suffering involves a positive change in our character. Peter refers to this when he says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7; modern paraphrase: “No pain, no gain”).

All this is said with a view emphasizing the need for faith in the midst of this world of suffering. God is most assuredly working out his purpose in our midst, and we must trust him! Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland put it:

“The God of the universe invites us to view life and death from his eternal vantage point. And if we do, we will see how readily it can revolutionize our lives: daily anxieties, emotional hurts, tragedies, our responses and responsibilities to others, possessions, wealth, and even physical pain and death. All of this and much more can be informed and influence by the truths of heaven. The repeated witness of the New Testament is that believers should view all problems, indeed, that entire existence, from what we call the “top-down” perspective: God and his kingdom first, followed by various aspects of our earthly existence.”

Reference: gty.org, Who Made God by Ravi Zacharias and Norman Geisler, p.36-39, 45-47.

10 Ways To NOT Get Saved - Todd Friel