 
### Four Elements of God

Rod Martin, Jr.

" _I see a clock, but I cannot envision the clockmaker. The human mind is unable to conceive of the four dimensions, so how can it conceive of a God, before whom a thousand years and a thousand dimensions are as one?"—from_ Cosmic Religion: with Other Opinions and Aphorisms _(1931), Albert Einstein, pub. Covici-Friede._

Smashwords Edition  
July 2020  
Published by Tharsis Highlands Publishing  
<https://tharsishighlands.wordpress.com/books/>  
Copyright 2020 Rod Martin, Jr.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof in any form.

### Acknowledgements

Cover photographs (CC0) via Pixabay.

Love: father and baby #22194 by PublicDomainPictures.

Responsibility: rice cultivation #4165415 by HoangTuan_photography.

Humility: helping to climb #1807524 by sasint.

Confidence: climbing #2264698 by wallace769.

Cover design by Rod Martin, Jr.

### Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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### Spirituality

_Proof of God,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_The Science of Miracles,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_The Art of Forgiveness,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_Enemies of Christ,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_The Bible's Hidden Wisdom: God's Reason for Noah's Flood,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_Spirit is Digital, Science is Analog,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

### _Climate Basics_ series

_Climate Basics: Nothing to Fear,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.—an Amazon #1 Bestseller

_Deserts & Droughts: How Does Land Ever Get Water?_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

### _Shining a Light_ series

_Dirt Ordinary: Shining a Light on Conspiracies,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_Favorable Incompetence: Shining a Light on 9/11,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

_Thermophobia: Shining a Light on Global Warming,_ by Rod Martin, Jr.

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### Contents

Introduction: Walking With God

Chapter 1: Unconditional Love

Chapter 2: Perfect Responsibility

Chapter 3: Utter Humility

Chapter 4: Fearless Confidence

Chapter 5: Loving Responsibility

Chapter 6: Humble Confidence

Chapter 7: Other Spiritual Dimensions

Chapter 8: Forgiveness

Chapter 9: Miracles

Chapter 10: Death in the Garden

Chapter 11: Everlasting Life

Chapter 12: Getting Closer to God

Afterword

Appendix

About the Author

Other Books

Connect

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### Introduction: Walking With God

" _And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24)._

Walking with God is a form of bliss unlike any experienced by mortal man. When such bliss is encountered, the individual ceases to be human and takes on the identity as a spiritual child of God, imbued with immortal traits.

What is such bliss like? How can a mere human relate to unquenchable satisfaction?

Let us start with a simple comparison. Solving physical hunger is only a temporary happiness. The stomach will once again grow empty. On the other hand, the "bread" of God can satisfy forever, so long as we remain walking with the Heavenly Father. This form of satisfaction can be permanent so long as we maintain our commitment to Him.

Walking with God is a gift of grace—a gift we must wish for ourselves and for everyone else. Such a wish is part of love, humility and responsibility. But we must wish for this gift with the full confidence of faith. We need all of the spiritual power we can gather to help us achieve this.

Even after dozens of miracles, the spirit is willing, but the flesh remains weak. As Christ said, the way is narrow and difficult, yet there are Modern Pharisees who tell others that the path is easy and the understanding of scripture is effortless. How did the Pharisees of Christ's day get it all so horribly wrong; and why are the Modern Pharisees repeating some of their same mistakes? Why then did Christ teach with parables that frequently confused those who listened? Was it not to provoke humility that scripture is inherently and intentionally difficult? After all, the ways of spirit are not so easily described in the languages of man. These earthly languages were meant for physical things and can only dimly reflect our relationship with the Heavenly Father.

Walking with God is no easy task. It remains more difficult than most can imagine. The intention to walk the path must be refreshed with new understanding which can only come with the meek humility of someone hungry to learn God's next lesson. For we must understand this: anyone who knows not the full mind of God, has yet more to learn. So many people, by their false confidence in their own understanding of scripture, are pretending an omniscience they do not possess.

I am afraid they have far more to learn and have insufficient humility to accomplish that task. This warning goes for countless millions of Christians who have not yet made it, but think they have. Some are even following the master of this world, while believing that a moment's affirmation to follow Christ is all that was needed. Christ's parable of the waiting brides comes to mind, showing that a brief, initial commitment is not enough, especially if the individual is caught cheating when God and Christ decide that it is time for the next, big, spiritual move.

The blessings offered by God are numerous and profound.

I have tasted these blessings numerous times, but weep that they are not yet a permanent fixture in my life. Only by the grace of God have I ever been in His presence.

Because of my own sins, I have clung to that which tries to be first in my life—the boasting, egotistical master of this world—the ego self that wishes to remain separate from, and thus unloving toward others. I weep because of that separation—that chasm that makes me more like Cain and not enough like Abel.

Each of us must be willing to give up all that we think we know. This is the fearless confidence in the Lord and humility to His will—not to the teachings of men—but to the truth that will help us take the next step toward Christ's promise. Those who fear to leave their current comfort will be cheating themselves of that promise, as surely as anyone who sits down on the road, thinking that they have already arrived.

" _Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves" (Matthew 7:13–15)._

" _Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" (2 Corinthians 3:3–8)_

Yet, the Modern Pharisee, like the atheist who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, look to the ink, rather than to the spirit.

Finding the spirit of scripture takes work, yet too many find it sufficient to skim the surface, literal meaning—the shape of the ink. And too many are filled with hubris, rather than humility. If we learn nothing else, here, we need to learn this deeper sense of humility to God and what He wants to teach us—not humility to men and to their feeble interpretation of this potent set of truths. The ideas and interpretations of man can lead us astray. And even after we walk on water, the Lord has much yet to teach us.

### Clues Hiding in Plain Sight

Jesus Christ gave us all the clues we need. This book before you adds nothing to the lessons of Christ except that of another way of looking at what Jesus has already taught us. Remember that the way is narrow. It wasn't made to be easy; this is why we need God's grace and the help of the Holy Spirit.

To the spirit, the path is clear, but too often ego gets involved. We may listen to others and seek their counsel instead of going directly to God. And thus we are led astray.

But what of this book? Is it as perfect as scripture? The answer is quite simple: No, not even close. So, why write it?

First, let us look at some simple facts. No one knows all that God knows. So, it should be perfectly obvious that every single one of us has more to learn. One of the key benefits of humility to God—and _not_ to the interpretations of men—is that we can learn more. None of us should be willing to risk salvation on the hopes that one individual (or even a large group of individuals) is right in their interpretation of scripture. We need to remain fearless in stirring up the discussion, confident that God will guide us.

The purpose of this work, then, is to provoke the Holy Spirit so that our true self will awaken. By the end of this book, spirit should be sufficiently stirred to provoke questions of the Heavenly Father. The book's purpose is to help us shake off the lies and half-truths that have polluted the church for the last 1,700 years. It is the hope of your author that these words will help shed more spiritual light and life onto the path toward God. If this work does nothing else, it should stir up the water of life around us, unsticking our attachment to our current, comfortable location on the road. We each have a long way yet to go, no matter how many miracles we have performed.

It is our spiritual responsibility to go as far as we can go to get closer to the Heavenly Father.

We need to be fully capable of the miracles Christ did and even greater ones. We should become capable of healing, of walking on water when the need arises, of starting and stopping storms as Christ did, of moving mountains, and even of giving up our physical bodies while maintaining continuity of spiritual consciousness.

### Understanding the Elements is Understanding the Basics

Just as scientists must know and understand the 4 elements of God's creation—space, time, energy and mass—in order more perfectly to study this physical reality, we must understand the 4 elements of God and spirit in order to find ourselves walking with Him.

The Greeks poorly understood the 4 physical elements, thinking them to be air, water, fire and earth (Empedocles)—and thus they were unable to make the advances found in the modern world. So, too, a poor understanding of God's 4 spiritual elements will make it more difficult to walk with Him.

With the truer understanding of the 4 physical elements, scientists and engineers are able to describe all material dimensions of God's physical creation—velocity, acceleration, area, volume, density, force, power and more.

With a more perfect understanding of God's 4 spiritual elements, we can derive all the dimensions of spirit—compassion, faith, generosity, gratitude, competence and others.

### What to Expect from This Book

In this short volume, we will be looking not only at scripture, but its active application to the world around us. We will start to see the open gateway connecting the physical world to the spiritual realm.

In the chapters to come, we will be looking at the four elements and how they apply to God, marriage, work and life in general. We will also be looking more closely at how each element can be developed within ourselves.

There is no mystery about these four elements. Scripture is full of lessons about these four things:

  * Unconditional love,

  * Perfect responsibility,

  * Utter humility, and

  * Fearless confidence.

From these, we derive other dimensions which we can expand into our lives—things like generosity, gratitude, compassion, faith, competence, taking charge, healing, forgiveness and miracles.

In Chapter 5, we start to look at combinations of these elements, beginning with Loving Responsibility. Chapter 6 tackles the somewhat enigmatic topic of Humble Confidence.

Other spiritual dimensions combine God's four elements in different ways to give us the traits which define what it means to be following Christ. These we discuss in Chapter 7. And combining all four can give us the ability to forgive and to perform other miracles.

Forgiveness is an activity about which many people talk, but too few truly understand. So often, people will say that they forgive, but they cannot forget, thus revealing that they have not truly forgiven, and certainly have no understanding of its true meaning. We clear up the longstanding confusion on this important topic in Chapter 8.

Philosophers have, through the centuries, figured that the Age of Miracles ended not long after Christ walked the Earth. Chapter 9 shows how horribly wrong is this misconception—this spiritual excuse for selfish incompetence.

Chapter 10 grapples with the Death in the Garden of Heaven, sometimes called Eden. We shine a light of understanding on this important event and how it relates to the topic of Chapter 11, Christ's promise of Everlasting Life.

We end the book, coming full circle, in Chapter 12, to the topic with which we started: Walking with God. And in order to walk with Him, we need to get closer to Him. We will see even more clearly exactly what is our relationship to Him.

Though this tiny book does not answer all of our questions, hopefully it can provide sufficient food for thought and spirit to open new doors of understanding that will provoke the Holy Spirit into helping us take the next few steps on the path back home.

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### Chapter 1: Unconditional Love

" _He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love" (1 John 4:8)._

Love is closeness.

Love is the viewpoint of others as ourselves—generous to them, humble to their needs, grateful for the responsibility we must take for them, and confident that God will sustain us while we sustain others. This is a viewpoint that God always takes, for this is His essence.

God wants us to be like Him—to love unconditionally. He wants us to give our love without expecting anything in return. For us, love should never be scarce. God is a source of infinite abundance, not scarcity. Abundance of this attitude is pure, true love. Anything less is tainted with selfishness and is not of the spirit. Finding the distinction, here, between physical love—even that of a mother for her child—and spiritual love, is difficult and full of potential mistakes. This is why humility is so necessary. But fearing mistakes is too easy, so we need confidence in God to guide us. And confidence can become arrogance, so we need humility to help us there, too. In all, we need to make the effort to shed effort, and to find the effortlessness of spirit. This is true responsibility.

When we view others as ourselves, we are tearing down the walls that separate us. We are opening our hearts to become at-one with the Heavenly Father, for our brethren are also a part of God. We are loving our brethren as much as ourselves, giving to them that which we desire most.

### Love is the Primary Element of God

God created man before the universe existed. Only when God rested did His Word have persistence, manifested as physical reality in the dimension we know of as "time." This is the nature of miracles and the discovery of truth (see Chapter 8, "Miracles," for more information on this).

In the language of spirit, there is no single word which more closely matches the truth of God's character—His true nature. But human words are imperfect. Thus, the need to discuss these 4 elements of God and how they interrelate.

### Unconditional Love in Marriage

Marriage is the joining of two to become one. The love each partner gives must be complete and unconditional. In other words, each partner must not give love on the condition that they get love in return.

Putting conditions on love automatically makes it selfish and thus no longer true love.

When the modern relationship has each partner meeting the other "halfway," this means that they are holding something back. That remains a dark example of selfishness. Instead, each partner must give 100%.

Some may cry, "But what if I lose myself? Giving 100% sounds scary!"

" _For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25)._

" _Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it" (Luke 17:33)._

### Unconditional Love at Work

Unconditional love at work compels us to maintain integrity, honesty and faithful service. Such an attitude prevents us from cheating, stealing or otherwise becoming unethical toward our employer or their boss, the customer.

One type of work environment makes it difficult to maintain such unconditional love, because it contains heavy elements of duplicitous hypocrisy. This involves all publicly-traded corporations and many privately-owned companies. Why these groups remain problematic will be clear in a moment, but this claim of fact requires some explanation.

There are two forms of capitalism, and capitalism is merely a tool that can be used or abused, like a hammer or a screwdriver. Leftist Capitalism—an unrecognized phenomenon, but quite real, nonetheless—focuses on centralized power and the collective, serving the shareholder (their apparent boss), and all too frequently betraying the customer (their true boss). The corporation and its shareholders should serve the customer and their needs, but instead, the corporation serves only the shareholders' needs for more profit. In fact, publicly-traded corporations are required to place the shareholders above the customers, yet the source of funds for those profits only come from the customers. This two-faced betrayal makes publicly-traded corporations some of the most evil groups on the planet. They are rewarded for lying, bribing, endangering lives and even killing thousands of their own customers, if profits can be increased by doing so.

One of the most obvious examples of this is the Medical Industrial Complex. They have been instrumental in having cures outlawed. Even mentioning the word "cure" has been outlawed in some instances. Cures betray profits. A cured patient will not spend nearly as much as a patient who suffers for decades, spending monthly amounts on expensive medicines. Thus, the paradigm used by the Medical Industrial Complex is that of Disease Maintenance, rather than Health Maintenance.

Take a few moments to let this dangerous distinction sink in. While most doctors entered their profession with more altruistic intent, the lies under which they are operating make them slaves of evil, rather than warriors of good.

The Military Industrial Complex is another example. They don't make nearly the profits if there is peace. So, their executives secretly desire war. Not to do so is criminal, because they have a fiduciary duty to their shareholders to produce more profits, and they can only produce such profits if there is a war, or multiple wars.

Free Market Capitalism also works for profits, but uses a different approach. It relies on ingenuity and freedom, plus responsibility. Leftist Capitalism relies on size, the collective and government regulations to make it more difficult for their Free Market competition to operate. Leftist Capitalists hate Free Market Capitalists. And some privately-owned corporations behave just like the publicly-traded variety—using government power to cripple their competition, rather than depending on hard work and ingenuity.

Unconditional love in the workplace can sometimes be difficult to maintain, especially when working for a publicly-traded corporation. Morals are held by them to be relative, rather than absolute. The temptation exists for employees to do great evil in order to get ahead. Thus, the good person is required to walk a tightrope—avoiding the commission of evil while serving their employer well. This should remind us of the story of Joseph, in Genesis, and the story of Moses a few centuries later. When Joseph refused to worship foreign gods, he was maintaining his integrity, while doing his best to serve his master. He valued his integrity to God far more than his own life.

So too must we value our own integrity to God and His commandments far more than our own employment at any corporation. We must give our love to our employer unconditionally, but within the guidelines of a higher priority: Our love of God and His laws.

### Unconditional Love in Life

One common phrase found in our modern society says to follow our hearts. For most humans, this generates more tragedy, because the heart cannot be trusted. The heart is full of egoistic desire.

" _The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? 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" (Jeremiah 17:9–10)._

When we love others as ourselves, we automatically wish for them everything that we could desire for ourselves.

But we need to do this without blindness of any kind. We should not take in anyone and everyone simply to put on a show of compassion and generosity. Befriending the hard-hearted murderer, for instance, could result in the death of everyone in our family and household. Such love must be given with wisdom, not incompetent blindness.

Thus, Jesus was able to avoid the traps set by the most evil around him, until the right time for his submission to their evil intent. Thus, Jesus was able to pick the right betrayer in Judas Iscariot. And thus, Jesus was able to perform his one act of violence at the right time to provoke the evil hearts within the temple. All of these things done by Jesus Christ were acts of unconditional love.

Some people we encounter are not ready for the Holy Spirit. In fact, they will devour us with their evil, if they can. Yet, we still need to give them unconditional love. When we do, we open the doorway for them to wake up as our spiritual brethren. This potential is not always realized, but only God knows who will cultivate the seeds of truth.

Sometimes, it takes three or four generations for the source of great evil to become sufficiently softened to begin to learn the lessons of spirit. We found out this truth in the book of Numbers.

" _The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (Numbers 14:18)._

### Unconditional Love as Ourselves

Approaching life as an ambassador of unconditional love, we are representing God, for He is love.

When others have differing views of life, of the world and of philosophy, we need to applaud their search for answers and to nudge them away from attachment to any set of relative truths. All steps along the path to Absolute Truth are valuable so long as we don't become stuck in any one location. This applies to the Taoist, the Buddhist, the Southern Baptist, the Catholic and even the atheist.

We need to love the person—not their identity or behavior.

When our focus is on what is truly important—unconditional love for our fellows and even our enemies—we help them dissolve all that stands in between them and God.

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### Chapter 2: Perfect Responsibility

" _And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32)._

" _But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Matthew 5:39)._

" _For every man shall bear his own burden" (Galatians 6:5)._

Responsibility is love as cause—the perfection of cause without a spec of effect to taint its purity.

We humans naturally admire the hero who selflessly gives of himself to take responsibility for a problem. But responsibility is not truly a burden; instead, it is love in action.

Too often people confuse responsibility with blame. These two things are virtual opposites. Blame is a negative attitude of shifting accountability to someone else so that they are burdened. It is inward looking, or selfish. Blame is shirking responsibility; not assigning responsibility. And responsibility is a positive attitude of taking the driver's seat for the benefit of all. Responsibility is heroic and selfless. It is outward looking.

When Christ stood on the cross, he was taking responsibility for the acts of others against him. He was also taking responsibility for all of the sins of everyone else, not only in the past, but also in the present and in the future. He was leading by example. He was taking 100% responsibility.

In the dark relationship between a victim and a perpetrator, neither party is taking responsibility. And when a victim takes 100% responsibility for what the perpetrator has done to them, they cease to be a victim by definition. When the victim is entirely responsible for the crimes against them, they are showing divine generosity in turning the other cheek. This is their gift to the perpetrator—not resisting evil, but dissolving it with love.

Any notion that Jesus was a victim on the cross is entirely misguided and wrong. He was completely in the driver's seat, doing what needed to be done to help all his friends on Earth. He was in control when he chose Judas as his special disciple, knowing full well that the young follower would betray the man that Christ wore. Jesus was in control when he whipped the moneychangers at the temple, knowing full well that his act would galvanize the temple priests against him.

Christ's responsibility was huge, but he was leading by example. If we are to follow him, we need to take full responsibility for all sins, just as he did.

### Perfect Responsibility in Marriage

When divorce happens, blame is frequently involved. With responsibility, divorce would never happen. With unconditional love, perfect responsibility would result, and divorce would never happen.

### Perfect Responsibility at Work

Why is it that we admire the selfless hero, and despise the whining, selfish coward? It has a lot to do with responsibility. The hero takes responsibility for the entire situation. It doesn't matter who caused a problem; the hero takes on that problem and resolves it terminatedly.

In the workplace, the hero isn't after credit or a promotion, but will gladly take on more responsibility if given the opportunity. The hero knows that the viewpoint of responsibility is one of competence and solving problems, rather than creating new ones.

### Perfect Responsibility in Life

Part of responsibility in life includes knowing the language of evil. We need to know how egoism can twist the ideals of Truth so that evil seems compatible with them. But that's just it; evil only _seems_ compatible. In truth, it isn't; evil is the opposite of Truth and a barrier to achieving it.

As Christ said, knowing the Truth will set us free; evil will keep us enslaved. Truth is spiritual and pure; evil is physical and fraught with dichotomous complexities.

Take, for instance, the controversial topic of capital punishment. The word "capital" comes from the Latin for "head," and thus "capital punishment" can include the removal of the head as punishment. In other words, capital punishment is the death penalty.

The forces of evil condemn Christians for being, "for the death penalty" and "against abortion," declaring the two values to be a form of hypocrisy—hating life on the one hand and loving life on the other. They have a point! And that is why their lies gain traction. This is why some turn away from Christianity, because there is logic to the lies of evil. But evil is against the foundation of all logic—God's Truth.

We must love life in all cases, but we must also be responsible.

If a madman were spraying a crowd of people with gunfire, and if we possessed a firearm for protection, would we take him out, or let him continue to kill others? What is the more loving and responsible thing to do?

If a madman is in chains and confined to prison, should we desire his death? If so, why? Would it be retribution? Vengeance? Avoiding the costs to keep him in prison? None of these are sufficient reasons for his death. And all judgment is up to God. We must value life even when the individual despises our compassion.

What does executing the madman achieve? Does it let him off easy with a quick death? Does it endanger others by letting him be born again to commit new crimes? What if he were to learn his lesson? What if prison was reformed to be a burdensome cost to the prisoner and not to others? How much is gained if the madman were to give up evil and to cling to God? Not every evil person will do this. But who is man to judge, when only God knows their heart? Did not Saul the tax collector and murderer of Christians find redemption?

We see again the "sins of the fathers."

" _The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (Numbers 14:18)._

Yet, the Lord, through his prophet Ezekiel, clarified the "sins of the fathers" passage:

" _As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity. Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him" (Ezekiel 18:18–20)._

So, we see that there is a difference between Numbers 14:18 and Ezekiel 18:18–20. Knowing that the spirit of scripture is truth, we need further clarification for our understanding.

And our Lord, Christ, clarified this even further, by letting us know the greater dimension of God's children, by telling his disciples that Elijah (Elias) had indeed come again:

" _And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist" (Matthew 17:9–13)._

We have many examples of evil in the world, including examples of sweet-sounding treachery, like that of President Barack Hussein Obama, who pretended to be a Christian before being elected into the highest office, but then ridiculed the teachings of Christ. He mocked the idea of turning the other cheek, clearly demonstrating his lack of understanding.

An individual can turn the other cheek by taking full responsibility for the actions of those who attack them. The leader of a nation has different responsibilities. Obama did not understand the difference between an individual and a nation. And he did not understand the simple wisdom in scripture. For a leader who takes full responsibility, with reliance on God, will become like King Asa against the million Ethiopians.

Christ died on the cross to take full responsibility for all the sins of the world—past sins, those of the present, and even those of the future. But Christ led by example. He wanted us to follow that example. Though we do not necessarily have to follow him literally—dying on the cross—we need to be willing to do that if the need ever arises. We also have to take full responsibility for the sins of others—those sins directly against us, those sins we have done to others, and the sins of others against others. If we don't do this, we are not truly following Christ. Instead, we are hedging our responsibility, and keeping our distance from God.

### Perfect Responsibility as Ourselves

A responsible executive will never blame others, but will take the full burden for anything that goes wrong. Yet, they will dish out praise to others for helping to make great successes.

The attitude of responsibility is one of empowerment—the opposite of whining victimhood. The selfish coward will blame others and rarely will get anything of true value accomplished. The hero who takes responsibility, gets things done—sometimes impossible things.

The kind of world we get depends greatly on the level of responsibility we each take. If only 0.001% of us take responsibility, then the Earth will eventually descend into chaos. But even if the Earth is in shambles, and only 10% of us take 100% responsibility, conditions will rapidly improve.

### Truth and Responsibility

Jesus said that by knowing the truth of something we are set free from it. This "truth" is another word for taking responsibility for that thing or condition, in its entirety.

When we take full responsibility for something, we are first shining the light of spiritual awareness on it, and then taking the reigns of creativity for that event or condition. If someone attacks us, we can take full responsibility for their attack. In reality, we are doing the attack ourselves for that is the viewpoint of responsibility for the act. This is the essence of turning the other cheek; we are giving to them with loving generosity that which the desire. And when we take 100% responsibility for the acts of others against us, we instantly cease to be a victim. The reason is simple. A victim is never the source of that which they receive that ends up making them a victim. But one who takes full responsibility becomes source, just as our Father in Heaven is Source of all.

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### Chapter 3: Utter Humility

" _For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8–9)._

Humility is love in stillness.

Humility is turning our focus away from self and toward others and their needs.

Humility is the antidote to egoism. It may well be the easiest path to awakening our spiritual self. Every time we freak out over some danger, or give in to some other temptation, we are strengthening our reliance on the physical, false, ego self—a cog in the machine.

### Utter Humility in Marriage

A humble man listens to the council of his partner and wife. A humble wife looks to her husband to lead the family toward prosperity.

Humility creates harmony. Humility lends itself to more listening and helps to eliminate arguments.

### Utter Humility at Work

A good servant does everything he or she can to help their employer succeed. They remain humble to those needs and approach the task of helping with great joy.

Thus, Joseph, though a slave unjustly sold by his own brothers, could stand by his master, Potifar, even when the master's wife lied about Joseph's sexual advances.

### Utter Humility in Life

Remaining humble allows us to learn. Humility is the empty cup of space in the mind for receiving new knowledge. Without it, we find ourselves becoming blind with the certainty of limited knowledge.

Ego loves to be first and seeks certainty even without the require justification for that certainty. Thus, ego will claim to be first when it is not; ego will claim to know, when it does not; and ego will claim to be right, when its acts are criminal and thoroughly evil. And thus, civilization without spirit will descend into the lowest common denominator—the evil selfishness of ego.

Again, humility is the antidote to ego. This is because humility is a spiritual (discontinuous or unreasonable) trait.

### Utter Humility as Ourselves

Humility gives us the potential for infinite power over physical reality. At even the smallest amounts of self-importance or self-loathing, ego overpowers us and we find ourselves with zero power.

In that infinitely thin window at zero ego—utter humility—we find the jump from zero power to infinite power, because we are walking with God. But with utter humility, we have zero selfishness, so that we cannot use that power for evil.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 4: Fearless Confidence

" _For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken" (Proverbs 3:26)._

Confidence is love as accomplishment.

" _And God said, Let there be light: and there was light" (Genesis 1:3)._

God's confidence comes with no hesitation or uncertainty. There is no doubt or equivocation.

### Fearless Confidence in Marriage

Tragedy and difficulty in a marriage is not something that is rare. These things happen with sufficient frequency to make many people seek relief through divorce. They cannot see the future potential of a resolution to their perception of current or chronic pain.

They are trapped in the painful now and remain incapable of rising above it.

When we maintain confidence in God, any difficulties in marriage seem small and thus become manageable and even bearable. Closeness to God diminishes all suffering.

Fearless confidence in marriage is not defined by our attitude toward ourselves, but by our attitude toward God and His ability to help us through difficulties. Such confidence tells us that no matter what happens with our spouse, we will be sustained by the Lord. He is our shoulder upon which to lean when our spouse is too weak or distracted to help.

### Fearless Confidence at Work

An employer appreciates the employee who can get the job done. If that job is an honorable and ethical task, then the employee becomes a hero with the accomplishment.

### Fearless Confidence in Life

The life of the timid individual remains a travesty of cowardly selfishness. The individual continues to be worried about harm to self or outcomes that will jeopardize future security or success. Such people tend to be fearful for their own safety, nervous about unpredictability, suspicious of the happiness of others and desirous of controlling the behaviors of others. These are the control freaks who lead to loss of liberties and increases in individual injustice.

Those who are fearlessly confident don't need to control others. They can tolerate great freedom of movement and unpredictability. They don't view random action as dangerous. To them, God is all they need to sustain them emotionally.

### Fearless Confidence as Ourselves

With the perfection of fearless confidence, we stand on the solid ground of God's grace. Even if the mountains become as waves tossed in a storm, the calm hand of the Lord will guide us through it all. Our individual life and physical body no longer are important.

We can take responsibility for our bodies and those of our family members. These are righteous actions. But we are no longer tortured by unpredictable outcomes. When faced with great danger, we remain generous to everyone else that they make it out alive. We wish for them everything that we would wish for ourselves, but they all can have it before we have it for ourselves. Our confidence in God sustains us while we sustain others.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 5: Loving Responsibility

" _Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ (Galatians" 6:2)._

" _For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16)._

" _But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" (1 John 3:17)._

Combining two elements—like combining oxygen and hydrogen to create water—generates a third, compound element. Loving Responsibility is equivalent to Compassion. It is love in action, but with extra emphasis on love. The responsibility we take is aimed at helping someone else resolve a problem they are facing.

Failing to help is not very compassionate. Neither is a failure to finish what we start when we set out to assist someone.

Love guides us to give to others. Responsibility guides us to find the truth that sets them free from their burdens. Thus, true compassion is achieved.

### Loving Responsibility in Marriage

Giving 100% to our life partner is our solemn duty. Our compassion must not be shackled or sullied with selfishness. Marriage converts two individuals into "one flesh." For many, this is not an easy lesson to understand.

Our culture is full of poetry, motion pictures, television programs, talk show discussions and other forms of information that portray "love" as something complex, with all manner of conditions. In the literature, love can lead to pain, heartache, betrayal, jealousy and mistrust. But the "love" of which these sources speak is not True Love, but _selfish need_.

True Love is close to God, so suffering tends not to exist. Selfish need resides at a great distance from God and is thus full of suffering.

### Loving Responsibility at Work

A job or career involves donating our time and skills to someone else by providing a service or by creating products that add value to a community.

By adding value, we are increasing the worth of all of civilization. As compensation, we are able to buy the things that help our selves and family members survive and thrive.

With compassion—loving responsibility—we perform our work with grateful enthusiasm, happy to make our work the best it can possibly be. This is part of the art called "professionalism."

### Loving Responsibility in Life

When we are going through great hardships in our lives, such frustrations and difficulties tend to focus our attention on our own problems. This is a natural, but frequently unhealthy reaction.

Quite often, such dreadful feelings are extinguished by turning our attention toward helping others. If we do this willingly and with gratitude, then personal suffering diminishes greatly. When we do this with resentment, then suffering is magnified, because our focus is still on the separate, egoistic self which resides at a greater distance from God.

When strings are attached, it's not real compassion.

### Loving Responsibility as Ourselves

When we become compassionate, we are spending our time helping others resolve their own difficulties. We give up the importance we place on spending our time for separate, more self-centered purposes, and donate our time to the needs of others outside of ourselves.

By this we are manipulating both time and space. Love brings us closer and true, unselfish responsibility makes time fly.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 6: Humble Confidence

" _And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel" (Matthew 8:5–10)._

Combining Utter Humility with Fearless Confidence may seem to be a contradiction at first glance, but it's not. The trick is in assigning the vectors of intention to the proper targets. Humble confidence is equivalent to Faith. It is confidence without ego getting involved.

Humility is aimed at ego to subdue it, because without this trait, confidence too quickly descends into arrogance and intellectual blindness.

Confidence is aimed not at the knowledge we hold, but the relative utility of that knowledge and our ability to learn more, because we have the humility to receive new knowledge. Confidence is also aimed at God, Himself, because we rely on Him for everything—knowledge, reasoning, logic and the physical and spiritual realities upon which they are all based.

Time doesn't exist without the humble confidence to give up our attachment to a creation. We are humble to God's ability to say, "No," to our request, yet confident that He can say, "Yes," and deliver exactly as requested. To the uninitiated, this can look awfully tempting to ego—the master of this world. But humility is the antidote to ego.

With humility, we feel perfectly willing for everyone else in the universe to get what we want before we get it. For that for which we ask is unimportant. Any importance is the attitude of ego, thus with utter humility, we find it easy to give up importance.

If anything becomes important, then it may take a lifetime or two to achieve it. If we give up importance, then it might take zero time to achieve.

One Christian minister accused your author of being "New Age" with this wisdom, and dismissed it out of hand. But this is not "New Age;" it is decidedly Old Age wisdom. This is ancient wisdom—the very material from which the entire universe was created. That the minister did not recognize this for what it truly was only shows that he has remained at least partially blind to the Word of God and to the spirit of its meaning—blinded by the ink and not seeing its true spirit.

" _Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass._

" _Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil._

" _For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth (Psalm 37:7–9)._

" _Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)._

Remember: Jesus did not have to wait a century or two in order to walk on water, to heal the sick, or even to feed the multitudes. Importance is struggle; faith is effortless.

Faith is righteous confidence, instead of its darker cousin—arrogance.

Confidence may seem to be the active ingredient in this pair, but that is a physical-centric bias and a gross misunderstanding. Without humility, we would have no time. God's creation would have no persistence.

We know that God is non-physical. In other words, He consists of no matter, no energy, no space and no time.

The New Age mystics talk of things having a vibration that can be low or high. And they speak of spiritual things as having a higher vibration. This is muddy thinking on their part, because spirit does not have a vibration. A vibration is physical, because it has a period—a measure of time—and movement—energy changing positions in space. Spirit is _none_ of these things.

One online Christian group posted on Facebook a meme about faith that showed the silhouette of a man pushing against a huge boulder. The caption said something like, Faith doesn't make it easy. Faith makes it possible.

This is a corruption of the entire idea of faith in its original meaning—the way Christ used it. Getting to faith may be difficult, but once we have attained faith, everything becomes effortless. This is why faith the size of a mustard seed is all one needs to move a mountain or an entire galaxy.

Faith, as we are discussing here, is not "belief." Faith is a perfected state of utter humility and fearless confidence. Belief, on the other hand, is an imperfect state on the dichotomous spectrum from doubt to strong, but mortal confidence. Belief is a physical condition; not a spiritual state. Faith is entirely spiritual.

In the physical world, we find a perfect analogy to this on-off, black-and-white set of conditions—between faith and a lack of faith. This analogy involves the state of pregnancy. A woman is either pregnant or she is not; there is no such thing as 53% pregnant or even 99% pregnant. The condition is either at 0% or 100%. With faith, we either have 0% faith or 100% faith; there is no "try."

### Humble Confidence in Marriage

Any human relationship will have its challenges—marriages more than most. But when both spouses have the humble confidence which define faith, they can overcome all such difficulties.

Humility allows each spouse to give up their own selfish viewpoint. Confidence allows each spouse to feel safe in giving up that selfishness—that God will take care of them.

More than group membership, or even extended family relationships, a marriage is a partnership where each spouse contributes 100% and expects nothing in return. At first glance, that idea of getting nothing seems scary or unfair. But God never complains that His children ignore Him. He is constantly giving to them; but all too frequently, they are not close enough to God to receive His blessings.

A perfect marriage, then, is a reflection of our perfect relationship with God.

### Humble Confidence at Work

Faith can accomplish great things and overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. An employer or customer would cherish the person who can deliver miraculous results. They would honor the confidence and respect the humility of such a person.

### Humble Confidence in Life

Faith gives us a power that is not physical. Any physical foundation can become damaged through earthquakes, meteor impacts, or even through the gargantuan tidal shearing forces of a nearby black hole—grinding even sand grains to dust. The only truly solid foundation, in the sense of security, is one built on the spiritual side of reality. Faith is such a foundation. On the fulcrum of faith we can move the entire universe, rearrange the galaxies, paint all the daisies purple, heal all the world's sick and more.

How can we be certain of these claims? The miracles of Christ and others, plus the author's own replication of miracles, attest to our ability to bend or break the laws of physical reality by specific intention focused on a desired outcome and then allowed, with faith, into the time stream. All of the examples are different only in detail. Spirit is superior to the physical—always.

### Humble Confidence as Ourselves

Faith makes things effortless.

When an athlete finds their self in the "zone," they are expressing the humility of all their hard work and learning, along with the confidence of having done it all before. They have let go of the mortal effort that makes such things more difficult.

Beginner's luck may sometimes be an example of spirit not yet corrupted with the "knowledge of difficulty." When everyone knows that a certain skill is difficult to obtain, a beginner may not be part of that club of "everyone." They may have the innocent humility of playfulness, combined with the attitude that the outcome is unimportant, to produce impossible results. Only later are they shamed into proper effort and difficulty. And what an upside-down state of affairs this is.

Faith makes effortlessness a new standard. With practice, even the skeptics will not be able to knock the newly enlightened off their pedestal of faith.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 7: Other Spiritual Dimensions

" _God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of Heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24)._

Because our languages are imperfect, some of the associations in this chapter may be difficult to understand. In fact, some of these may be inaccurate, because the concepts being discussed are beyond the clumsy vocabulary of English or whatever other human language we might use. The intent, in this chapter, is to approximate, as best as our earthly languages will allow, states of spirituality that we can sense and experience only as spirit.

The very act of reaching for the meanings in this chapter, may help pull the reader in the direction of spiritual awareness, if not already there.

### Loving Humility

Combining Unconditional Love and Utter Humility, we get the element of Gratitude.

" _For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath" (Matthew 13:12)._

The resentful man is focused on not having something. That "something" can be an object, a condition or a result. Because his focus is on lack, he will get more lack.

The grateful man is focused on having something. Because his focus is on abundance, he will get more abundance.

By focus, we are not referring to conscious thought, but subconscious feeling. And this is a skill we can exercise.

A person who has a feeling of dread will tend to get more about which to dread. And if he receives a windfall, he will feel uncomfortable with the win, self-sabotaging so he can return to the more familiar feeling of dread. This does not need to be a permanent trap. The light of awareness will start to modify the person's habit. Repetitive awareness and curiosity about some new point of focus will completely change the person's attitude. And gratitude is the fastest way to achieve that change. Gratitude, first, about having had the opportunity to learn from past mistakes (holding no resentment for them), and then gratitude for the future condition that does not yet exist. This is the individual following in the footsteps of Christ and God by learning to create.

Remember, spirit resides outside of time and space, so any consideration of "future" is meaningless to spirit. When we are grateful as spirit for a condition that does not yet exist, we are creating that condition, whether it be health, wealth, romance or some other desirable circumstance.

Remaining unaware of a tiny feeling of worry is the seed of disaster. Say, for example, that we have this niggling little, subconscious worry that our current good fortune will dry up and reverse course. This hidden worry will yield a reversal of good fortune. When we depend on the current status of something for our feelings, we tend to reinforce our tattered "comfort zone," whether that zone be one of poverty, difficulty, struggle, frustration, mediocrity, success or giant prosperity. This is the "inertia" of personal habit. We can overcome such inertia by letting go and moving into creation mode. And this is exactly where God and Christ want us.

We can use gratitude to maintain prosperity, health and romance, once we've obtained them. We can also use gratitude to guard against old habits and attitudes. Combined with awareness, gratitude can dismiss the old attitudes that do not serve us, and can then help us install new attitudes that do serve us.

### Loving Confidence

Combining Unconditional Love and Fearless Confidence, it seems that we get the power of Healing. This seems to be more than merely healing the physical body. And this is a tentative association that may become improved with more research.

The vector of Love is one of outward intention—giving. The vector of Confidence is one of a solid foundation of certainty for doing anything. Combining these two allows us to heal any condition.

### Responsible Humility

Combining Perfect Responsibility and Utter Humility leads to Taking Charge of any situation.

This is taking on a task without the judgment of that task being a burden. This is what might be missing in politics. Not enough good people are stepping up, thus leaving open the positions of power to selfish psychopaths who naturally lust after power.

Good people don't normally seek positions of power, because such power has no attraction for them. That's their meekness speaking—their humility. But that is imperfect humility, tainted with a bit of selfishness—not wanting to be bothered. This is irresponsibility.

The perfectly humble person will see the need to combine this trait with responsibility, for humility is the attitude of putting the needs of others ahead of our own. When we add Perfect Responsibility, we are Taking Charge of whatever needs to be done.

" _But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace" (Psalm 37:11)._

" _Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth" (Matthew 5:5)._

### Responsible Confidence

Combining Perfect Responsibility and Fearless Confidence we get Competence.

Most people likely don't realize that incompetence is horribly selfish! Don't take this as an insult. Let it guide you. For the incompetent person has not risen to the level of spirit to be perfectly responsible and fearlessly confident to get the job done right.

Christ did not stumble on the storm-thrashed waves of the Sea of Galilee as he approached the wildly rocking boat containing his disciples.

Christ did remark, however, about John the Baptist having become slightly incompetent and a stumbling block for having to ask Jesus if he were the Messiah for whom John was preparing the way. John was also incompetent for having forgotten his own identity as Elijah (Elias) returned. Yet, Jesus also said that John-Elijah was greater than anyone else borne of a woman, but still lesser than the lowest member of Heaven.

" _Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence, and violent people have been raiding it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear" (Matthew 11:11–15, NIV)._

If the saintly person of Elijah could become so incompetent, then how are we ever to enter Heaven? The answer is simple: Through the grace of God's constant intention and generosity toward us.

In order to meet that generosity, we have to persist in perfecting our own four traits so that they match those of God. Our own spirit may be small compared to that of the Lord of All, but we will finally be in harmony with that Divine Source.

### Responsible Gratitude

This is a three-part combination, joining Perfect Responsibility, Unconditional Love and Utter Humility to yield Generosity.

Gratitude is a mind-set of appreciation for our own abundance. Adding Perfect Responsibility to this compels us to share our abundance.

### Conditions for Which We May Not Have Words

There seem to be three combinations that point to spiritual attitudes for which words in English may not exist. This may change with more research. For now, these will have to remain definitions without adequate words to represent them.

### Loving Competence

Or Competent Love. This is also Compassionate Confidence, Confident Compassion, Responsible Healing, or Healing Responsibility.

### Humble Competence

Or Confident Humility. This is also Confident Taking Charge, a Taking Charge type of Confidence, Faithful Responsibility, or Responsible Faith.

This may be equivalent to a form of Heroism that gets the job done, and thus would exclude the hero who fails.

### Grateful Confidence

Or Confident Gratitude. This is also Humble Healing, Healing Humility, Loving Faith, or Faithful Love. This is a combination of Unconditional Love, Utter Humility and Fearless Confidence.

### Combining All Four

Throughout this discussion, we have looked at the four elements of God as if they were distinct and separate. This has helped us understand these traits from a human viewpoint. But the spiritual reality is one where each of these elements overlap with one another and the act of increasing one tends to increase the others as well. Thus, each of these elements does not work in isolation, but always in combination.

By discussing these elements separately, and looking at their various combinations, we can more easily see how we, as humans, can improve our own attitudes toward achieving God's level of perfection. In other words, we can understand more deeply how we may follow His commandments. This can help us dispel certain misconceptions that ego has thrust upon our spiritual lessons, creating confusion or incompetence, like having people believe for nearly 2,000 years that the Age of Miracles had ended.

Combining all four elements may be stated in numerous ways:

  * Loving Responsibility + Humble Confidence

  * Compassionate Faith

  * Loving Humility + Responsible Confidence

  * Grateful Competence

  * Loving Confidence + Responsible Humility

  * Taking Charge by Healing

Each of these amalgams results in the wholeness that is God's attitude toward us. From this wholeness sprang Adam, the Son of God, built to receive God's gifts. And from a desire to have Adam gain all of the traits of the Heavenly Father, God created the physical universe to teach His son the value of giving instead of receiving.

In Chapter 10, we will look at the ancient beginning of our learning with the "Death in the Garden." Chapter 11 takes us to the other end of the learning cycle—the goal of our education, "Everlasting Life" as the whole Son of God—a son who has chosen through free will to be just like the Heavenly Father:

  * Unconditionally Loving,

  * Perfectly Responsible,

  * Utterly Humble, and

  * Fearlessly Confident.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 8: Forgiveness

" _But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15)._

Compassionate faith is equivalent to the production of miracles, which includes forgiveness. Compassionate faith is Loving Responsibility combined with Humble Confidence.

True Forgiveness requires the four elements of God. These are equal to,

  * Compassionate Faith,

  * Competent Generosity, or again,

  * Loving Responsibility + Humble Confidence

Forgiveness is a miracle because it breaks with the continuity of the normal, egoistic reaction to harm or to assault. Forgiveness gives up the ball-and-chain of resentment that tends to trap us in the past. For a more complete discussion on true forgiveness, refer to the book, _The Art of Forgiveness_.

### The Only Unforgivable Sin

" _Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation. Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit" (Mark 3:28–30)._

God is love, so even this sin can be forgiven if the person gives up their blasphemy. So, what does it mean to be "unforgivable?" And what does it mean by "unclean spirit?"

So long as a person berates God or Jesus, they can be forgiven. This is the generosity of God and of Jesus. But someone who berates or disbelieves the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven, because they are hiding the target of forgiveness. How incredibly simple this is!

A lack of awareness is darkness, just as the light created in Genesis 1:3 is the fullness of spiritual awareness. When someone denies the existence of the true self—the spiritual child of God within—that spirit has become wrapped in a second layer of spiritual darkness. The first layer was from the death in the Garden, and the second layer is from this denial. Human free will has thus locked away that child of God, removing it from any possibility of healing forgiveness. This dangerous condition can be undone, but it requires the decision of the individual to give up their blasphemy.

Those who proclaim that this one passage remains a contradiction with other scripture are not reading it carefully enough. So long as a person hides that which must be healed, then the healing cannot be performed. The Holy Ghost is the true self—the child of God within!

This is why the words of Pope Francis are so distressing on the matter of atheists being able to make it into Heaven. He is entirely wrong and leading his flock astray. And though he never explicitly said that atheists could do this, he implied it very strongly, _and with no ambiguity!_

Atheists deny Heaven and the Holy Ghost. To them, there is no such thing as a non-physical realm of spirit, ruled by God. Though God can forgive all manner of sin, hiding the target of forgiveness makes it impossible to perform that spiritual healing.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 9: Miracles

" _Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it" (John 14:12–14)._

Again, compassionate faith is equivalent to miracles. This is the essence of prayer done well. Forgiveness is only one of many possible miracles, but it is one that remains critical to the proper functioning of society and civilization. Without it, humanity would descend into the lowest common denominator of social interaction—selfishness, egoistic need, and perpetual resentment for wrongs committed.

Miracles require the four elements of God. To perform miracles, we need Compassionate Faith.

Before the universe existed, God created light, for in the beginning,

" _God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness" (Genesis 1:3–4)._

Light is the gift of spiritual awareness shining on all that we perceive. Light is the pathway of truth—the truth that shall set us free. Darkness is the absence of spiritual awareness—the mechanism by which God creates the shackles of persistence, and demonstrated by His act of resting on the final day of creation.

Before the universe existed, God created man. Anyone who has ever performed miracles can look closely at the very act of creating—the prayer that leads to miracles—and know that it all starts as a timeless image that is the "Word" of prayer. When this Word is spoken by spirit—not the body or ego—and given to God, that Word becomes manifest; it gains persistence in the physical time stream. The opposite of this is that of "knowing the truth" of that which is persisting and thus being set free of it, because it now has the persistence removed from it. These two spiritual actions—creation plus resting which gives persistence, and truth plus freedom, remain opposites, much as addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, square and square-root, and derivative and integral, are each pairs of opposite operations.

### Ego, Discontinuity and Infinite Potential

In first-year calculus class in college, the professor drew a graph on the chalk board of a function's derivative consisting of all values of _x_ at _y_ = 0, except for a discontinuity at _x_ = 0; and at _x_ = 0, the value of _y_ was ± ∞ (plus-or-minus infinity). The graph was simply a straight line at the _x_ -axis with a hole at _x_ = 0. The moment he finished drawing that graph, I felt the roof lift off of physical reality and the light of Heaven shone into that classroom, for this was a symbol for something deeply spiritual. This graph was the viewpoint of someone looking at physical reality and at the extremely narrow gateway which leads back to God.

It took me some time to understand completely that which I was seeing drawn so simply in chalk. But ultimately I realized that the _x_ -axis represented all values of ego, and the _y_ -axis represented our potential to connect to God, to ask with prayer and to receive that for which we ask—infinite power, with infinite abundance.

We achieve zero ego through humility to God and to His will. By following His commandments, we are at-one with the Heavenly Father. We are walking with Him and, by doing so, we are able to receive His every gift. And because we are at-one with God, we are at our furthest possible point from mortal suffering.

### Miracles in Our Lives

All obstacles can be overcome with the fullness of true faith—the perfection of both confidence and humility. This humble confidence requires definition. Though we have touched on this in earlier chapters, it bears repeating.

With this attitude of humble confidence, we are humble to the needs of others. In the case of marriage, we are humble to the needs of our spouse. We are also humble to God's commandments. Confidence defines our attitude that God can help us overcome all obstacles.

With unconditional love and perfect responsibility, miracles become possible, because we are, by definition, walking with God, because we are taking on his four elements as our own.

Compassionate faith makes our humble confidence whole. We are aiming our intention outward to help others. We are mimicking the behavior of God, becoming like Him, because we are following His commandments. We are like the prodigal son who has finally returned home.

When we use miracles in a marriage, our bond with our spouse only grows stronger and more complete.

When we use miracles at work or in life, we provide our employers, customers or fellow humans with a level of competent production that is complete, whole and heroic.

By taking such spiritual action, we are following God's commandments to their ultimate end. We become like that same prodigal son returning home to the Garden of Heaven.

### Three Miracles on Wilshire Boulevard

My life has been spent brushing up against miracles and accumulating wisdom regarding this fascinating connection to God.

After nearly four years of explicit experimentation with miracles—only as a part-time activity—I found myself, one day in 1977, suffering the frustration of rush-hour traffic. Normally, I had gotten off work mid-afternoon to pick up my wife from work. I worked at a typography shop near downtown Los Angeles; she worked in Century City, roughly ten miles away.

On that day, a client called, just before I left, to ask that their project be completed early; they needed it that afternoon. So, with gratitude in my heart and generosity in my mind, I told them that it would be done as they requested. I then called my wife to let her know that I would be picking her up far later than usual.

When finally I was on my way, I had the lingering satisfaction of a happy client as I moved slowly toward the river of cars on Wilshire Boulevard.

As I turned onto Wilshire, I had to lower my sun visor to keep the glare out of my eyes. This made it difficult to see the traffic ahead of me, but speeds were averaging less than ten miles per hour. When I had the opportunity, I turned from the right-hand lane into the center lane. This would keep me from being stopped by left-hand turners or right-hand turners struggling to exit Wilshire.

Minutes later, as the sun inched toward the horizon, I had to tug my visor lower and lower to block out once again the glaring sun.

The sluggishness of the traffic was frustrating enough, but the blaring of automobile horns only added to the tension. "Why honk your horn?" I wondered. "Does it work? Does anyone move faster because of it?"

After nearly half an hour, as my car crept toward the Miracle Mile district of Wilshire, a car on the right suddenly swerved sharply, sticking their front left bumper into the tiny space ahead of my vehicle. There had been no warning. Suddenly, I had to throw on my brakes to keep from hitting them.

Even after the car in front of us moved ahead to make space for this intruder, there was no wave of thanks or acknowledgement. "How rude," I thought.

By fits and starts, traffic continued to lurch forward, stopping for long, anxious moments, punctuated with brief intervals of acceleration and braking.

Seconds later, a car on the left swerved sharply, sticking their front right bumper in front of my vehicle. I shook my head in disbelief at the repeat intrusion.

Moments after they had turned completely into the center lane ahead of me, traffic suddenly opened up a little and speeds started to exceed ten miles per hour. I had no desire to chase the bumper of the intruder in front of me, so I let a space open up in front of my car.

Suddenly, a vehicle on the left swerved in front of mine and abruptly threw on its brakes. I had been in the process of accelerating so that the space ahead of my vehicle would not become too large. In a panic, I moved my foot from the accelerator pedal to the brake and jammed down on it with all my strength. I pushed with such ferocity that my body lifted off of the driver's seat. Tires squealed. White smoke rose up around the car from the burning rubber. My vehicle slid forward, closer and closer to this third intruder. I thought for certain that my car would slam into theirs, but my fast reaction time and ferocious intent finally stopped my vehicle, likely with less than an inch between bumpers. I could see the trunk of that other car painfully close.

As traffic again inched forward, I felt a sudden rage build up inside of me. The thought crossed my mind of ramming my vehicle into theirs, crushing it to dust. Then, the consequences of such action clouded my mind with regret and guilt.

Moments later, a fourth car, from the right lane, jammed its corner in front of my vehicle. It only took seconds for it to finish its turn.

Again, I felt rage simmer to a boil.

Seconds later, a fifth car turned from the left lane to block my vehicle with its front right corner.

And within seconds after that vehicle had finished its turn, a sixth vehicle from the right lane turned in front of mine.

"Is the world going crazy?" I asked myself. Then, an insanely odd picture entered my imagination. "If any more vehicles jam in front of mine, I'll have to be going backwards to make room for them."

And suddenly, the incongruity of that image sat there in my mind, firing off neurons like fireworks. My body tingled, raising gooseflesh across my arms, the nape of my neck and the crown of my head.

In my mind's eye, I stood there looking at my frustration as if it were a dark artifact on the floor of an empty room, and realized that I was entirely responsible for that feeling. Not only was I responsible internally for my emotional reaction to the outside stimuli, I was responsible for the actions of those other drivers in contributing to the emotion upon which my mind was so intently focused. I had been creating things in my environment toward which I could flow more of my "comfortable" frustration.

I say "comfortable" frustration, because frustration was the emotion my mind had considered "neutral" up to that point. This was my mental "comfort zone." Later, it would become obvious that I could change that neutral position on the emotional tone scale, but here, on Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, in 1977, I was emotionally loving the feast of frustration.

Intellectually, I hated it, but there it was. I was responsible for every scrap of it.

And now, because I was taking 100% responsibility for the acts of those other drivers against me, I ceased to be a victim. Being a victim became suddenly impossible.

I felt extremely light and blissful. The happiness was beyond smiles and loud "whoops!" of joy. I felt a serenity that had been rare in my life, even with other spiritual breakthroughs before this moment.

This was the first miracle that afternoon. This was a breaking with physical continuity—from the more natural rage at the physical assaults, to the sudden switch to the divine bliss of release. There was no earthly reason for such an abrupt change.

And because I was taking full responsibility for their acts against me, I had entirely and completely forgiven them for their trespasses. This was the second miracle. In a moment, you will understand just how complete was that forgiveness.

All of a sudden, I felt nothing but love for the six drivers who had assaulted my vehicle with theirs, and for all the other drivers on Wilshire Boulevard that afternoon.

Those other drivers could have crashed their vehicles into mine and crushed it into a tiny wad for all I cared. I held no importance for my car or my body. Turning the other cheek was suddenly effortless and full of generosity.

I also felt humble to their needs. I was quite willing for every one of those other drivers to reach their destination ahead of me. Such was the profound sense of love and compassion I felt for them.

In the midst of these rarefied feelings, I also had the sense that I was huge, despite my body's size. I felt as though my shoulders were rubbing against the tops of the skyscrapers along Wilshire Boulevard, and bumping into the clouds.

Lightly, at first, I got the glimmer of an idea. I remembered all of my past experiments with miracles, and wondered about this golden opportunity, in this profound state of spiritual bliss, what experiment I might choose.

I looked at the traffic ahead of me, entirely forgetting the recent assaults. Bliss cannot hold any resentment. I wondered what it might be like to have traffic open up like the Red Sea parting ahead of Moses.

A memory came back to me of an advertisement on television. It showed an executive caught in traffic, looking at his watch and glancing at jet ski rentals next to Lake Shore Drive. The next moment, briefcase in hand, the executive was bouncing across the waves of Lake Michigan toward downtown. The next scene showed him greeted at the door of the executive conference.

"How was your trip?"

"Smooth sailing all the way."

So, I wondered about wide open spaces and smooth sailing all the way to my destination. I got this picture clearly in my mind and offered it up to God, and rested from creating that picture. With the humble confidence of perfect faith, I gave up to God full responsibility for that creation, and with love in my heart, smiled as the car directly ahead of me turned into the bumper-to-bumper traffic to the right. Left and right, one car after another, vehicles turned into those choked outer lanes. Within five seconds, the center lane ahead of me was impossibly empty.

The center lane remained that way for the next two minutes as I accelerated up to the speed limit and ran that gauntlet.

This was the third miracle that day.

Thirty-four years later, I suddenly realized that the first six cars to evacuate the center lane ahead of me were the very same vehicles whose drivers had assaulted my car with theirs moments before. My forgiveness had been that complete. This was the forgetting—not of losing my memory, but of losing any importance over that memory. To me, their assaults had become as important as a single dust mote. But their needs had become far greater than my own, in my mind.

It took me decades to understand all that had happened that day. But the more I studied those memories and their details, the more I realized that all of the clues to miracles were already in the Bible. I came to realize that the biblical literalist would never see these things, and my heart ached with sadness at that loss.

I realized that every position on the road to Truth can be valuable. The greatest evil is that of becoming stuck at any one point and remaining attached to any one belief that is not ultimate Truth.

Every individual does not know the Mind of God. Anyone who pretends to know with a certainty any one fact, may or may not be right in their certainty. All too often, their certainty is devoid of the humility that would allow them to "trade up" to a better version of relative truth. Their certainty implies that they are omniscient—a completely indefensible attitude. It should be obvious to any thinking person that evidence to disprove any one idea may exist on any one of the countless septillion planets of our physical universe. And yes, "septillion" is a real number—beyond sextillion, quintillion, quadrillion, trillion, billion and million. Such vastness requires that we remain humble so that we may continue to learn, for there is so much more God wants to teach us.

In fact, this entire universe was created just for us—to help God deliver the most important lessons of all—that of how to be more like Him.

And it all started in the Garden of Heaven—outside of space, time, energy and mass.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 10: Death in the Garden

" _But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Genesis 2:17)._

Genesis contains an apparent paradox on the topic of death. God promised Adam that he would surely die on the day he ate the forbidden fruit. Yet, two chapters later, Genesis tells us that Adam lived for 930 years and had many children after the Garden. The answer to this apparent enigma is rather simple. There is no contradiction. We merely need to read what Jesus told Nicodemus.

" _Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God._

" _Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?_

" _Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God._

" _That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:3–6)._

God began with one son named Adam. From this one son, God received the gift of countless sons and daughters, spread across the Earth—the soul of Adam shattered into millions of pieces.

Why would God allow this tragedy in the Garden of Heaven? Why would Adam ever be tempted to become a physical being, separated from Heaven?

The Heavenly Father knew that He needed a son who would choose to be like Him. Free will was a necessary ingredient in this requirement. Only a child with free will can choose whether or not to follow selfish desire or to follow loving generosity. Only through the test of evil temptation could a soul truly understand what was needed to mature as divine spirit. Some parts of Adam have chosen evil and will be discarded. Some parts have chosen truth and light, and will be included in the new Adam, full of light and the awareness of spiritual truth. The new Adam will possess continuity of consciousness and a form of intelligence beyond logic and reason.

In the Garden, when Adam and Eve were tempted by the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they were given a glimpse of physical ego—the two-sided, limited self of fear and desire, of stupidity-wisdom, indifference-compassion, selfishness-generosity and victim-perpetrator. From Adam's attachment to these two-faced fruits, we get the creation of karma—reaping that which we sow.

We look again at the wisdom known as the "sins of the fathers."

" _The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation" (Numbers 14:18)._

Life comes only with the guarantee that we will have opportunities to learn, even when cut short by circumstances or criminal selfishness. Even when a child is aborted, the spirit knows of these things. Karma is thus an opportunity to learn. Both the Old Testament and New talk of karma in the metaphor of reaping what we sow. Even the Lord's Prayer speaks of these things, for we need to forgive others in order for our Father in Heaven to forgive us.

" _Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword" (Matthew 26:52)._

" _Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7)._

" _But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:35–38)._

So long as we remain physical beings, we will be subject to the Newtonian, or action-reaction laws of physical reality. We are at the effect of karma through the physical, false self of ego—that false, separate self constructed out of the fruit (product) of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil—all of the dichotomies of human attitude.

### The Difference Between Spiritual Death and Physical Death

One point that has generated a great deal of confusion in the Christian community involves this death in the Garden. This confusion has led to an abomination, misinterpreting scripture and the creation of an entire movement of derailed, often egoistic and dogmatic religion—far removed from Christ's original teachings.

Some Christians have conflated the death in the Garden of Heaven with physical death. They are not the same thing.

From this confusion, some have interpreted scripture to mean that physical death did not exist before the events of Genesis 3. This is clearly wrong.

In Genesis 2, God established one of the rules of Heaven:

" _But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:" (Genesis 2:17)._

But we learn three chapters later, after Adam and Eve had been kicked out of the Garden, that Adam had lived for several centuries.

" _And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died" (Genesis 5:5)._

So, what did God mean when He said, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die?" How can Adam live for 930 years, begetting many sons and daughters if he had died on the day he ate of the forbidden fruit? Why would he and his spouse be kicked out of the Garden of Heaven if God had said that death was his due, instead of expulsion?

Clearly, there is something going on here that the biblical literalists are missing—namely that some kind of death that was not the physical death of Adam the human. Eden can only be seen as a spiritual place—the Garden of Heaven. And the death in the Garden is only one of spirit and not of the flesh.

There are many more mysteries in Genesis that are revealed by closer inspection and a humble desire to learn. For instance, the outrageous ages of the early patriarchs are explained by our reintroduction to Adam after the trials of Cain and his descendants:

" _This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;_

" _Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created" (Genesis 5:1–2)._

The first verse describes the creation event in Genesis 1:26, while the second verse describes the creation event in Genesis 2:7. One involved the image of God, while the other involved the dust of the ground. _It should be obvious to anyone that the image of God is not one of dust._

### It should be obvious to anyone that the image of God is not one of dust

Clearly, the two creation events were not the same. This fact is re-emphasized at the start of the Noah's Flood discussion:

" _And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh..." (Genesis 6:3, partial)._

There are two aspects of "man"—one spiritual (image of God) and one of the flesh (dust or physical chemicals).

Why haven't Christian scholars seen this before? Why do so many ignore this? Why does such confusion and wrong interpretation persist? It all has to do with a lack of humility—the primary ingredient required before we can learn anything new.

As we all learn more, we need to remain humble to God and to the infinite wisdom He has to share with us. As long as we remain physical beings, or spiritual beings attached to physical forms, we will always have more to learn. Without humility, we will not be capable of learning.

For more on the deeper meaning to be found in Genesis, see the book, _The Bible's Hidden Wisdom: God's Reason for Noah's Flood._

### The Meaning of Continuity of Consciousness

As children of God, we have the potential to be immortal—or, more accurately, timeless.

As _Homo sapiens,_ we rely on our brains—memory, conscious thought, intelligence—to carry our identities, our knowledge, our beliefs and our intentions. Currently, unawakened spirit is incapable of such continuity of conscious thought.

As spirit, we remain dead. This is because we died in the Garden of Heaven. From the one spiritual form of Adam, we gained the myriad souls of the physical forms which made up the eponymous tribe of Adam.

" _Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created" (Genesis 5:2)._

Clearly, the Adam described in this verse is not the same one described in Genesis 2–3. This Adam is a group—"male and female," "them," "their," and "they." The Death in the Garden of Heaven involved giving up the four elements of God and taking on separate, physical forms. This was a spiritual death that prevented each spark of God from perceiving or acting as spirit. Because the spiritual Son of God had died, the pieces of Adam could not live as children of God. They could not act as spirit, for they were dead.

When one of these _Homo sapiens_ bodies dies, the consciousness, memories, identity and intentions die with it. The spiritual child of God within is still dead and any thoughts or intentions after bodily death remain disjointed and confused. It's like having a nightmare and attempting to do calculations—balancing our checkbook, or learning calculus for the first time. Our thoughts, as spirit remain disorganized and incapable of holding a continuous train of thought. That is why these human bodies are so important to our salvation. These bodies contain sufficient continuity of consciousness to allow us to study and to analyze. We remain capable of learning the lessons of Christ and the commandments of the Heavenly Father, so long as we don't let ego get in the way.

And humility is the antidote to the ego—that part of ourselves that craves to be first.

" _So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen" (Matthew 20:16)._

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 11: Everlasting Life

" _Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Galatians 6:7-8)._

" _And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever" (Genesis 3:22)._

Christ talked of two rewards—the ability to do the miracles he did and even greater, as well as everlasting life. Here, in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve are being denied everlasting life. But why? Could it be that they needed to learn certain lessons, first? Could it be that they needed to give up their childish ways in order to mature as children of God?

Everlasting life involves the four elements of God.

### The Opposite of the Death in the Garden

Just as subtraction and addition are opposite functions, so too are the death in the garden and the rebirth of spirit of which Christ spoke to Nicodemus.

" _Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God._

" _Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?_

" _Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God._

" _That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:3–6)._

And we look again at the fact that multiplication and division remain opposite operations, as do square and square root, and the integral and derivative of functions. Becoming immersed in the darkness of the physical separateness stands in opposition to the Awakening to the Light of God's Truth.

Eventually, we will no longer need these physical bodies or this physical universe for our training.

But do not despair. This physical universe and these human bodies are impermanent and remain only tools of divine purpose.

The everlasting life is one of spirit, just as the fatality in the Garden of Heaven was a spiritual death.

With our decision to become spirit instead of physical ego, we will gain the continuity of spiritual consciousness that no longer requires the human crutch in order to think, to observe and to plan.

~~~<>~~~

### Chapter 12: Getting Closer to God

" _Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded" (James 4:8)._

When we give up selfish ego, we open the door to loving others, just as God loves us. We open the door to taking responsibility for everything, just as our Heavenly Father does. With humility we open the door to learning new things and to helping others with their needs. And with fearless confidence in God's power, we lean on him while we allow others to lean on us.

Getting closer to God involves all four elements. When we move beyond mere mortal traits of relative love, relative responsibility, relative humility and relative confidence, we find the point of perfection which moves us from zero to infinity.

### Cleansing Our Own Minds and Hearts

" _This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)._

Chocolate cake, ice cream, winning first place honors, sex, getting that high-paying job—each of these can act as a lure. Ego declaring any one of them to be "important" will automatically make it a source of temptation. Following after any one of them for the sake of self-satisfaction remains a decision to be a cog in the machine of physical reality. It is easy to desire that which is pleasurable. It is easy to consume the pleasurable. And it is easy to wish for ourselves a life filled with the pleasurable.

Pleasure is not the evil. Our personal judgment of pleasure as "important" is evil. Selfishness is evil. Our intention to put our own needs ahead of those of others is evil, for it moves us further from God.

If we wish pleasure for others, we could be good or we could be evil. It depends on the intent. If we wish pleasure for others in order to corrupt their integrity, then we are being evil. If we wish pleasure for others so that they no longer suffer, then we can be good. But even there, we have no guarantee. Ego can commandeer even the most benign of intentions.

Only God knows our hearts—far better than we do ourselves. That's why humility remains vital in everything we do. We have to remain constant in our desire to learn more about ourselves and how we can improve.

### Cleansing Ourselves Before Entering the Temple

Don't pray with an unclean heart. Before reciting a prayer to God, whether it be the Lord's prayer or some other, we first need to cleanse our hearts. We can do this by scanning our recent past for any actions, intentions or judgments that are selfish or otherwise tainted with ego or separateness. Take that evil and confess it to God. Give it up. Turn our spiritual backs on it. Any harsh words spoken, any resentment felt, any dark feeling—give them up.

Find our own true, spiritual selves and nudge them awake. Once we've done this, it becomes easier and easier to know when we have done this. Sometimes, this may be accompanied by a tingling sensation, but not all tingles are spiritual. Sometimes, this may be accompanied by a feeling of relaxation that we are no longer trying to hide something, even from ourselves.

If we ever find ourselves critical of others, then some little evil has been missed, but stirred up. Our attention remains on it, while conscious awareness resides elsewhere. We need to find what that "little evil" was and confess it to God.

Only when we have cleaned our Temple can we awaken the Holy Spirit for an effective prayer to God.

Repetition of a prayer while asleep as spirit is empty of meaning and impotent of reach. Such repetition, while we remain unclean, will be a wasted effort, for it has the inability to launch into spiritual space.

### Jesus, Alone With God, Praying in the Wilderness

The devil knows us intimately. The devil is the master of the physical realm, for he can see every extreme in the dichotomies borne out of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The devil knows every doubt and every scrap of confidence. He knows the highest wisdom and the lowest stupidity. And he can see the victim in every perpetrator who suffers from past injustice, and, at the same time, can see the perpetrator in every victim who rages to make others understand.

Jesus overcame the devil before beginning his ministry.

" _Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil._

" _And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred._

" _And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread._

" _But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God._

" _Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,_

" _And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone._

" _Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God._

" _Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;_

" _And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me._

" _Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve._

" _Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him" (Matthew 4:1–11)._

From the behavior of the devil, we can see that he is boastful and self-centered. The devil appeals to the fears and desires of others, tempting them to seek pleasure or to escape from injury within the physical realm. This is the nature of the ego. And Jesus turned his back on egoistic things.

Later, after the death of his cousin, John the Baptist, Jesus went into the wilderness, but was followed by a multitude. After spending time with them, healing their sick, they needed food and, with five loaves and two fishes, Jesus fed the thousands.

" _And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away._

" _And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone._

" _But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary._

" _And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea._

" _And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear._

" _But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid._

" _And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water._

" _And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus._

" _But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me._

" _And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?_

" _And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased" (Matthew 14:22–32)._

Before joining his disciples, Jesus had been in the wilderness, praying, alone with God. And later, as he walked out onto the Sea of Galilee, a storm threatened the small ship which contained his friends.

After Jesus had caught up with them, Peter had walked on water, if only for a moment, before doubt had set in. But Jesus saved him, scolding him for his lack of faith.

And when they were both in the ship, the storm ceased, for it was no longer needed.

The lesson from these two events is that we must prepare ourselves to hold the perfection of humble confidence—faith—required to walk on water, to bring up the storm, when needed, and to set it aside when the need was done. We learn that this preparation involves turning our backs on ego, setting it aside, and perfecting our accomplishment of the four elements of God.

### We Are All Potentially Sons of God

Just as Adam was the first Son of God, and King David was also the Son of God, each of us can be a Son of God, because we were made in His image. All we need do is to awaken our true self by perfecting the four elements of God and thus moving closer to the Heavenly Father.

" _Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain" (Philippians 2:14–16)._

### Darkest Hours and Inspiration

Desperation is one of the motivations of the physical self. In our darkest hours, we tend to do selfish, evil things, unless we rely on God to sustain us. And if we rely on God, then we are frequently guided, not by desperation, but by inspiration.

Inspiration is spirit finding a solution that we might not ever find through physical means. Inspiration (in + spirit) bypasses all physical channels to go directly to that which is needed.

### Staying Away From the Unclean

The closer we come to God, the more painful it becomes to engage with sources of temptation. We feel the distance between us and God, and we sense that distance as a direct source of suffering.

With practice, however, we will be able to walk through the valley of temptation and remain unmoved by its details. Like Christ, we will be able to supper with thieves and prostitutes without becoming like them. We take on greater wisdom, being able to discern which thieves truly want help for spiritual awakening and which ones are merely looking for an easy victim.

### Building Our Spiritual Stamina

By being critically aware of each thought and feeling, we can manage our own behavior. Awareness is part of taking responsibility, and perfect responsibility yields truth that sets us free from an old habit.

At first, we may need to repeat the awareness vector, digging deeper each time until the act of shining the light of awareness becomes automatic. When that happens, all the related elements of darkness tend to catch fire, becoming a new source of light. Eventually, we need only cast our awareness in the direction of a spot of darkness and it completely disappears—it and everything attached to it.

As we practice letting go of attachments to desires and fears, we start to operate more of the time as spirit, instead of as a body or as ego.

And as we build on our familiarity with spiritual activity, any desire to return to a life of temptation begins to fade.

### Weathering the Storm of Temptation

The physical realm can be seductive. The pain of illness or injury is very real. So are the pleasures of our physical existence.

With the four elements of God, we can strengthen ourselves to weather any storm, no matter what the temptation—anger, rage, frustration, sex, chocolate, alcohol, power and countless others.

### Building on the Four Elements of God

Every one of God's commandments is directed at the maturation of His children.

Though God's children died in the Garden of Heaven in the moment Adam and Eve decided to become separate, false and egoistic selves, their death was not destined to remain a permanent state. Instead, their temptation and spiritual death were part of the long and arduous road toward a singular decision: Whether or not to remain physical, and to follow the master of this world—ego—or to reawaken as mature, spiritual beings, and to take on the four elements of God as their own.

Once each of us has tasted the Truth of our own divine heritage, we will have the ability and direction to strengthen our understanding of these four elements. We will have the ability to strengthen these spiritual skills and to build our spiritual stamina. We will have the ability to work on stabilizing those skills so that we no longer need to rely on the crutch of physical continuity of consciousness.

### Self-Responsibility vs. Selfishness

One confusion many people have involves the actions of taking care of self or our families.

Certainly, taking care of self can seem selfish, but it need not be egoistic. The more our attention is on loving others and humility to their needs, then we can take care of our selves as an act of responsibility rather than egoistic selfishness.

### Responsible Prosperity vs. Greed

" _For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10)._

God is the source of all prosperity. As a tool of righteousness, prosperity can be used to do great good. As a ball-and-chain of desire, prosperity can lead us to do great evil. The critical difference is that which resides in our hearts. For we must understand the real lesson in scripture: Money is not evil; but the love of money—the egoism of selfish desire—this is at the root of all possible evil.

If, in all righteousness, we were to make millions of dollars and use that prosperity for the good of others, with a clean heart and a clear conscience, then the money is good because its attainment and purpose are good. If anyone accumulates great wealth so they can achieve great things for others, but only for the sake of pride, then their heart is unclean, their conscience darkened by self-imposed ignorance.

If prosperity is created from the infinite abundance of God, then it has no importance other than as a tool of love, responsibility, humility to the needs of others, and confidence that God will take care of us. Even if we were to become the world's first multi-quadrillionaire, such wealth would not be obscene unless we clung to it selfishly. By the same token, if we gave it away to impress others with our generosity, we would also be guilty of evil.

On the other hand, giving such prosperity away with all humility and wisdom, we can achieve divine good.

God, the source of that prosperity, can give us another equal or greater portion of such prosperity. Remember the story of Job?

### Benign Power vs. Tyranny

" _Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men..." (Lord Acton [1834–1902], in a letter to Anglican bishop Mandell Creighton, April 5, 1887)._

" _Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve" (Matthew 4:8–10)._

" _This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:12–14)._

So, we see that the tarnished man may cling to power, justifying it as if he might some day do good with that power. But Christ, knowing that such things are unimportant, told the devil that he was not tempted by power. He told his disciples that love is demonstrated by giving up one's life for his friends.

### Recognizing the Fruit a Tree Bears

" _Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:15–20)._

We need to be capable of recognizing the minions of evil. Even as your author writes this, he is wondering if he is, in any way or fashion, an unwitting minion of evil. Being given a gift by God and hiding it under a basket is itself sinful. Risking damnation by sharing that gift to the best of our abilities remains far better. Better, still, is the competence and humble confidence that delivers good works from the shared gift.

### Righteousness in a Storm of Evil

The lies are thick in our modern world. Evil is becoming more open and smug. More and more, the minions of evil are calling good "bad," and the bad "good."

The forces of evil have divided the world into two false halves, each one defined by evil as having traits that appeal to a third of humanity. This leaves another third floundering in confusion and undecided. In America, for instance, these are the Democrats, the Republicans and the independents. Evil colors the Democrats as compassionate, logical and champions of the little guy, while it colors the Republicans as righteous, religious, patriotic and champions of the companies that create prosperity. Evil also paints the Democrats as baby killers, totalitarians and collectivists, while the Republicans are warmongers, bigots, racists and illogically believers in the impossible.

There are just enough truths in each portrayal to attract a certain group of individuals. There are just enough lies to make the opposition hate them.

Many good people on both sides are thus taught to hate one another. They call each other names, denigrate their character by calling them "idiots" or worse. They have lost their compassion, because they see the other side as irredeemable and evil.

In this storm of emotional selfishness, it remains difficult to teach others to be compassionate and to love unconditionally. Things like forgiveness seem impossible, because taking responsibility for the crimes of others against us feels so foreign and unfair.

Even most Christians have become tainted with a lack of love and a growing sense of their own superiority. One Christian group of biblical literalists, for instance, rejected discussing scripture with your author because they were "right," but could not be bothered to discuss why. This demonstrates either their lack of Love in not wanting to share the good word, or their lack of Humility in receiving the good word. In either case, they were demonstrating their lack of Responsibility and possibly the weakness in their level of Confidence in their own viewpoint.

Now, more than ever, we need people to learn these four elements so that they can help to heal the world of the growing evil.

A Great Storm is upon us and we need both God and Christ more than ever.

### Heaven on Earth: Temporary?

" _And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh..." (Genesis 6:3)._

There is something implied in this passage that many who read it miss. The implication involves the word "also." The phrase is: "also flesh." If man is "also flesh," then he is something else, too. That something else was described in Genesis 1:26: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness...." The flesh came later as described in Genesis 2:7: "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." What is this "dust of the ground?" Could it be the physical, chemical elements found in nature? Could it be that Genesis 2:7 is describing the one, most important species: _Homo sapiens?_ It should be obvious that God is no _Homo sapiens_. The image of God is not that of the advanced animal which sits at the top of the hierarchy of life.

God will not always strive with these _Homo sapiens_ bodies, for they are merely temporary vehicles that we must not treat as important. We must be responsible, yes, but we must not let the bodies rule over us as spiritual children of God. It is our spiritual nature that gives us the prohibition against graven images. Physical symbols distract us from that which is truly important—our spiritual nature, not our physical nature.

" _For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25)._

### Continuity of Consciousness and the Purpose of Civilization

God created this species— _Homo sapiens_ —so that we would have sufficient continuity of consciousness to think about and to study the problems of finding our way back to being born again as spirit.

But primitive hunter-gatherers have insufficient free time to ponder such deep topics, because they spend virtually all of their waking hours searching for food—especially during the difficult millennia of the glacial periods of the current Ice Age. Interglacial periods, like the current Holocene, and the previous Eemian, have allowed humans a chance to do more than merely survive. So, God has helped us move toward civilization, to free up some of us to do research, to develop writing, to keep records and to perform scholarship. God even protected the future formation of civilization by destroying a competing species that would have ruined the upcoming possibility of civilization (see _The Bible's Hidden Wisdom_ for more on this).

Civilization was not created for our own enjoyment or for our own egoistic development. These breakthroughs were not to showcase our intellectual prowess, but to help us see beyond ego and selfishness.

### Our Purpose is to Walk With God

Did God create us in order to have a loving companion? Was the entire physical universe a temptation to our free will so that we could choose whether or not to be with God? For in choosing to give, rather than to receive, we become more like God—loving, generous, grateful, responsible, compassionate, humble, faithful and confident.

" _I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35)._

Through love, we tear down the walls between our selfish, separate, egoistic selves and become at-one with others, as if they were ourselves. We love them despite their crimes against us. We condemn the crime, but not the criminal, for only God can decide who will be discarded, and who is pure enough to be included in the restitution of the spiritual son lost in the Garden of Heaven.

When we give up our own, individual, separate selves, we become a part of the Whole that is the original child of God. Only then will we be completely at-one with the Heavenly Father, walking with Him in all His glory.

~~~<>~~~

### Afterword

" _Again, the kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it" (Matthew 13:45–46)._

### More Opposites—Analogy of Colors

As I was nearing the completion of this book, an analogy came to me in a waking dream. I saw the three primary colors of light contrasted with the three primary colors of ink.

In the CMYK system of inks, the three primary colors are, with black (K),

  * cyan (C),

  * magenta (M), and

  * yellow (Y).

Combining these colors subtracts light which would otherwise strike white paper and bounce off. Cyan and yellow combine to create green. Magenta and yellow combine to form red. And magenta and cyan combine to create blue. Combining all three creates a muddy, grayish color approximating an absence of light. This is an imperfect system that requires a fourth ink of black to give us the deep shadows found in realistic photographs.

In the realm of projected light, the three primary colors (RGB) are,

  * red (R),

  * green (G), and

  * blue (B).

Combining red and green generates the color yellow. Mixing green and blue creates cyan. And blending red and blue forms magenta. Putting all three together creates white.

As we can see, both systems are opposites. The secondary colors in one system are the primary colors in the other system. And combining all three from each system will approximate the opposites of no light (black) in one, and full light (white) in the other.

This waking dream helped to trigger inspiration for recognition of yet another pattern.

### A Deeper Understanding of the Elements

Writing this book has opened my eyes to even more than the original concept of the simple list of four elements of God and spirit. Throughout my 70 years, the very act of teaching has simultaneously remained one of learning—a happy circumstance for which I remain deeply grateful.

I had started only with the four simple elements discovered from the details of several miracles, but especially one set of miracles on Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles in 1977. As I started to write this book, I realized that combining these elements generated still other elements, like the dimensions of modern science, or like the chemical combination of atoms of various types.

The true test of any idea or hypothesis is in its usability and applicability in the world around us, whether that world is the physical side of reality or the spiritual half.

Looking at the patterns of these four elements and comparing them with the four elements of physical reality, I began to wonder if the physical elements were the opposites of the spiritual elements. Consider the following comparisons:

  * When there is more space between us, our love is weaker.

  * In order to create persistence (time), we relinquish responsibility.

  * Energy is motion, or its potential; humility is stillness.

  * The more mass there is, the more it stops things from moving; confidence is accomplishment, or "go," the opposite of "stop."

Pure love is an absence of space.

Pure responsibility is an absence of time.

Pure humility requires no energy.

Pure confidence cannot be stopped by any amount of mass.

### The Four Physical Elements Challenging the Four Elements of God

Space allows separation which is the opposite of love. In this sense, the physical dimension of space is indeed anti-love, for the more space there is between us, the weaker is our love through physical means. Spirit bypasses all space.

Time requires giving up responsibility so that a thing persists. Thus, time is indeed anti-responsibility. And truth is the act of taking full responsibility. So, returning to spirit is the responsible thing to do. The popular truism that "time flies when we're having fun," takes on an entirely new dimension, because we zoom past all time when having the ultimate in fun—that of returning to the Heavenly Father.

Energy boasts that it can do things and thus gives up humility. In this way, energy is anti-humility. Spirit transcends any and all need for energy to get things done. As Christ said, faith the size of a mustard seed (very tiny, indeed) can move mountains or even greater things—like entire galactic clusters.

Mass stifles confidence by creating a well from which escape is increasingly impossible. The extremes of mass include something called a black hole, from which even light is incapable of escaping. Thus, mass is indeed anti-confidence. Yet, spirit is not affected by such a warp of space created by extremes of mass.

So, it seems the pattern of this physical universe is a perfect, dark mirror of God's four elements. Thus, the physical universe seems to be a training ground for spirit. Give up mass and we can have infinite confidence. Give up energy and we can find infinite humility. Give up time and we can reclaim responsibility, becoming free once again—as responsibility is the very act of knowing the truth. And giving up space allows us to come together in the most intimate way possible—as divine spirit and children of the Most High—recombining in full oneness, through love, humility, responsibility and confidence, to become once again the original Son of God, and, at that future date, the fully mature companion to the Heavenly Father.

###

Other books to consider:

### More on Spirituality

_The Bible's Hidden Wisdom: God's Reason for Noah's Flood,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. God had been angry that something had derailed His purpose for man. The Flood was His solution and He was satisfied that the crimes committed by man could never be done again. But hasn't man continued to be violent and corrupt? This book explores biblical meaning and discovers many secrets that had lain dormant in the Bible for thousands of years, including the specific target of the Flood, the meaning of the mark placed upon Cain, and the Kabbalist's Tree of Life template embedded in two chapters of Genesis.

_Enemies of Christ,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. Ravening wolves pretend to be shepherds for Christ and lead men away with half-truths and lies. The time has come to reveal these enemies for who and what they are.

_The Art of Forgiveness,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. The very nature of true forgiveness is one of spirit, breaking with the continuity of ordinary resentment. This is the original book to describe the four elements of God.

_The Science of Miracles,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. With a lifetime of spiritual experiences, the author wanted to document for the world the details of his experiments with spiritual action and the four elements that made those miracles possible.

_Proof of God,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. Proof of a hypothesis can be achieved by direct measurement or by a chain of solid reasoning. Since God is not physical in any way, the proof in this book requires a host of evidence and reasoning based on that evidence.

### Self-Help and Self-Empowerment

_The Spark of Creativity: How to Unleash a Flood of Ideas That Matter, Right Now,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. Overcoming writer's block and every other possible barrier to your own creativity.

_Taking Charge: How to assert positive control over your own emotions,_ by Rod Martin, Jr. It's all about taking charge of your life.

Discount available on most ebook titles at <http://TharsisHighlands.WordPress.com/books/>.

~~~<>~~~

### Appendix

About Rod Martin, Jr.

Rod Martin, Jr. was born into a religious family in West Texas. His mother was the daughter of a Southern Baptist minister. His father was a student of Eastern mysticism and philosophy, frequently reading of reincarnation and karma, but also from the Bible. His father had been a high school science teacher and manager of a NASA contract division at Doc. Inc., College Park, Maryland. The family was also one of high intelligence. Mr. Martin was the oldest of four brothers, but the least intelligent—borderline genius by some accounts, with an IQ of 139. Because his younger brothers all had higher IQs (169, 149, 200+), Rod Martin, Jr. had to scramble to keep up. Later, he came to realize that what he lacked in intelligence, he could make up with humility and a hunger to learn. He discovered that humility and patience allowed him to see patterns that others had missed.

Mr. Martin went on to study art, electronic engineering, climate science, software engineering, computer science, Buddhism, Judaism, the Kabbalah, and non-denominational Christianity. He also has been a lifelong, avid amateur astronomer.

With a life full of experiences, he has had many opportunities to increase his understanding of reality and truth.

His first career involved graphic arts, including professional typography, fine art, and matte paintings for a Hollywood film. He enjoyed several one-person shows of his space-related art.

With the proliferation of personal computers, Mr. Martin switched careers to that of computer systems and software engineering. He gained a bachelors degree _summa cum laude_ in computer information technology, and worked for Control Data Corporation, Ceridian Payroll, Bank of America, Global Database Marketing and IPRO Tech.

From a lasting love of stars and astronomy, he created 3D space software, "Stars in the NeighborHood," available online.

He currently resides in the Philippines with his wife, Juvy.

He has taught mathematics, information technology, critical thinking and professional ethics at Benedicto College, Mandaue City, Cebu. He continues to teach online and to write.

~~~<>~~~

### Other Books by Rod Martin, Jr.

**Publisher: Tharsis Highlands  
**<https://tharsishighlands.wordpress.com/books/>

### Non-Fiction (as Rod Martin, Jr.)

Science, History and Critical Thinking

_Dirt Ordinary: Shining a Light on Conspiracies,_ Tharsis Highlands (2015)  
_Favorable Incompetence: Shining a Light on 9/11,_ Tharsis Highlands (2015)  
_Thermophobia: Shining a Light on Global Warming,_ Tharsis Highlands (2016)  
_Red Line—Carbon Dioxide: How humans saved all life on Earth by burning fossil fuels,_ Tharsis Highlands (2016)  
_The Science of Miracles: How Scientific Method Can Be Applied to Spiritual Phenomena,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Climate Basics: Nothing to Fear,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Deserts & Droughts: How Does Land Ever Get Water?_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Proof of God,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Spirit is Digital—Science is Analog: Discovering where miracles and logic intersect,_ Tharsis Highlands (2019)  
_Proof of Atlantis? Evidence of Plato's Lost Island Empire,_ Mission: Atlantis series, Tharsis Highlands (2019)  
_Mission: Atlantis — Scientific evidence of Plato's lost island empire,_ Tharsis Highlands (2020)

Self-Help and How-To

_The Art of Forgiveness,_ Tharsis Highlands (2012, 2015) _  
Taking Charge: How to Assert Positive Control Over Your Own Emotions,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_The Spark of Creativity,_ Tharsis Highlands (2014)  
_The Science of Miracles: How Scientific Method Can Be Applied to Spiritual Phenomena,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Four Elements of God,_ Tharsis Highlands (2020)

Spirituality and Philosophy

_The Art of Forgiveness,_ Tharsis Highlands (2012, 2015)  
_The Bible's Hidden Wisdom: God's Reason for Noah's Flood,_ Tharsis Highlands (2014)  
_Enemies of Christ: The Need to Protect Our Own Salvation from Ravening Wolves,_ Tharsis Highlands (2015, 2019)  
_The Science of Miracles: How Scientific Method Can Be Applied to Spiritual Phenomena,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Proof of God,_ Tharsis Highlands (2018)  
_Spirit is Digital—Science is Analog: Discovering where miracles and logic intersect,_ Tharsis Highlands (2019)  
_Four Elements of God,_ Tharsis Highlands (2020)

### Science Fiction (as Carl Martin)

_Touch the Stars: Emergence,_ with John Dalmas, Tor (1983), _expanded_ Tharsis Highlands (2012)  
_Touch the Stars: Diaspora,_ Tharsis Highlands (2014)  
_Entropy's Children,_ anthology of short fiction, Tharsis Highlands (2014)  
_Gods and Dragons,_ Book 1 of _Edge of Remembrance,_ Tharsis Highlands (2017)  
_Tales of Atlantis Lost,_ Book 2 of _Edge of Remembrance,_ Tharsis Highlands (2017)

### Excerpt from,  
_The Science of Miracles_

### Introduction: Oil and Water

It was late one summer afternoon in 1977, Los Angeles, when the miracle stood before me much as the parted sea had stood before Moses so many ages ago. In seconds, three lanes of bumper-to-bumper traffic had become two. On either side were two walls of cars, leaving an empty center lane for as far as the eye could see—two miles down to the next bend in Wilshire Boulevard. I had asked for this and it had been delivered. Right here, in broad daylight, in the modern age. And now, my soul felt naked to the power of creation. Suddenly, I knew that the Age of Miracles had never ended.

If you don't believe in science, this book is not for you.

What does science have to do with miracles? Until now, not much. But the logic and critical thinking that helps science work can also be brought to bear on spiritual topics.

This book explores the nature of both science and miracles and reveals how miracles work. This slender volume also explores the things that prevent miracles from working, including one potent barrier currently found in science.

A common belief holds that certain things do not mix. As you will see, science and spirituality, as a pair, do not belong to that club. They are entirely compatible, because both fields involve a quest for some measure of understanding.

Science is a method of investigation and discovery. Miracles are a rare phenomena that bend or break the laws of physical reality. Normally, science is used to investigate and discover the nature of physical law. It's worth repeating, the logic and critical thinking applied by researchers in the laboratory can also be applied to scrutinize spiritual experiences.

While science normally studies the realm of continuity, spiritual phenomena remain decidedly discontinuous in nature. What do these terms mean—continuity and discontinuity? An analog clock is continuous—its second hand sweeping through every position on the dial in one uninterrupted flow. The fact that gravity works here much the same as it does in Moscow, Tokyo or on the Moon, is yet another dimension of continuity. Continuity makes nature predictable; thus, science is possible. A digital clock jumps from one number to the next, skipping all intervening real numbers. Digital time may say 4:23 one moment and 4:24 the next, but may never represent 4:23:59.99999999999999999. Digital is discontinuous. In nature, space is continuous and movement of an object in space passes through an infinite number of positions toward its destination. Time is also continuous. If there were no continuity, there would be no predictability and thus no science.

Spiritual action includes inspiration, epiphany, creation, miracles, awareness without physical connection and other phenomena, all of which break with the continuity of physical reality. Moses raised his hands and the sea parted. Jesus walked on water, and when he was done with the storm, it stopped. These are examples of spiritual discontinuity. This is control without atomic energy or some other physical process. Such experiences remain predictable, however, because they are the result of conscious intention. That predictability makes spiritual phenomena subject to the scrutiny of science.

This book attempts to document the discoveries which were made by applying logic, scientific method and critical thinking to a series of spiritual hypotheses and events. In many cases, the investigation and analysis came after an anecdotal occurrence. Some investigations, however, were the result of careful and premeditated tests of a hypothesis.

In each case, the intention was to learn more about the nature of spiritual phenomena in general, and in the case of miracles, the cause-and-effect relationships of conscious self to the resulting outcome.

### Contents

Introduction: Oil and Water

Chapter 1: Wrong Paradigm

Chapter 2: Early Tests and Coincidence

Chapter 3: Breakthrough Clues

Chapter 4: Replication
Chapter 5: Miracle on Wilshire Boulevard
Chapter 6: Forgiveness and Understanding

Chapter 7: Science and Spirituality

Appendix

Steps in Creational Mechanics

List of Potential Barriers

Possible Preparations

Variables Involved

Recommended Reading

 https://tharsishighlands.wordpress.com/books/science-miracles-scientific-method-spiritual-phenomena/

~~~<>~~~

### Connect with Rod Martin, Jr.

Rod Martin, Jr. is his pen name for non-fiction. Carl Martin is his pen name for fiction.

BitChute—<https://bitchute.com/channel/M63WrjRpNSPT/>

Minds—<https://minds.com/RodMartinJr>

MeWe—<https://mewe.com/i/RodMartinJr>

Gab—<https://gab.ai/RodMartinJr>

Website and Blog—<https://rodmartinjr.wordpress.com/>

HubPages—<https://hubpages.com/@lone77star>

Smashwords author page—<https://smashwords.com/profile/view/CarlMartin77>

Smashwords author page—<https://smashwords.com/profile/view/RodMartinJr>

Udemy courses page—<https://udemy.com/user/rodmartinjr/>

Facebook—<https://facebook.com/RodMartinJr/>

YouTube—<https://youtube.com/c/RodMartinJr/>

Twitter—<https://twitter.com/RodMartinWriter>

Goodreads author page—<https://goodreads.com/Carl_Martin>

Goodreads author page—<https://goodreads.com/Rod_Martin_Jr>

### Websites

Science

<https://AncientSunsBlog.WordPress.com/>

<https://GlobalWarmthBlog.WordPress.com/>

<https://MissionAtlantis.WordPress.com/>

<https://RodMartinCriticalThinking.WordPress.com/>

<https://SpaceSoftware.WordPress.com/>

Politics

<https://AndThePursuitOfHappinessBlog.WordPress.com/>

Education

<https://InfinityDynamics.WordPress.com/>

<https://TharsisHighlands.WordPress.com/>

Spirit

<https://GenesisCodeBlog.WordPress.com/>

<https://RodMartinLoveOfGod.WordPress.com/>
