Life and Times of Dionysius the Divine: And His Forty Year Journey in the Desert of Life

By Dionysius the Divine

Seeker of Truth, Justice, Knowledge, Wisdom
and Universally Applicable Truth

Teacher of Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment

No Theological or Cultural Boundaries

From Blind Faith to Knowledge Faith


Love, Life, Health, Success, Happiness,
Religion, Intelligent Design,
America (a Christian Nation), and
Enlightened Christianity

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 30, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456875749

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Copyright © 2011, 2016 by Dionysius the Divine, LLC.

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Library of Congress Control Number:   2011909265

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4568-7573-2

                eBook           978-1-4568-7574-9

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Life & Times of Dionysius the Divine

CONTENTS

Preface

Prologue

Introduction

Chapter 1. Education

Chapter 2. Career

Chapter 3. Health

Chapter 4. On Happiness, Fun & Meditation

Chapter 5. On Religion

Chapter 6. Principles of Enlightened Christianity

Chapter 7. Love and Marriage

Chapter 8. Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment

Chapter 9. America, a Christian Nation

Chapter 10. Intelligent Design

Chapter 11. Quotations and Rules to Live By

Chapter 12. Electronic Configuration

Chapter 13. Advise to Presidents of the United States By William J.H. Boetcker

Chapter 14. I'm Just A Substitute

Chapter 15. I Need A Pastor

This book is dedicated to all the people on Earth.

Stop destroying the earth, and each other

Arm in Arm, no cultural or theological boundaries

God in us, with us, through us, by us, and for us.

PREFACE

This book is the result of over 50 years of work and study seeking answers to the meaning of life that no one could answer to my satisfaction. Born in extreme poverty, my inquiries into the meaning of life began as a teenager in the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom and universally applicable truth. So, this book is the result of this journey. For this I was born. We all have a purpose in life. What is your purpose in life?

In my pursuit of knowledge, I traveled the world, studied at/with numerous universities and pursued a long successful engineering career with many fine corporations.

In my pursuit of knowledge I pursued knowledge of life, religion and God through study with many religious faiths, romance, marriage, fathering children and helping my children find their place in life until I found my place, faith and value in the universe.

In my pursuit of knowledge I experienced success and failure, happiness and sadness, trials, challenges and tribulations. I have rejoiced, sorrowed and grieved. Through all of this, I prevailed and navigated from blind faith to knowledge faith. Perhaps you have traveled a similar journey through life. Have you written the story of your journey through life?

Toward my latter years, the same force that compelled me to pursue knowledge and wisdom strongly compelled me to write this book. The actual writing took me about three (3) years, and much thought and research. As a result of my research, I have quoted from many sources. These sources were revealed to me in a vision at the right time over a period of many years until it came time to do the actual writing. My initial writing was just notes, and I was overwhelmed because I knew that it would be an arduous task to write this book. But, I am grateful to my sister, Ada, who in 2009 volunteered to transcribe my initial notes. My sister's efforts gave me the impetus to begin my final writing.

In this preface I state that I navigated "From Blind Faith to Knowledge Faith". This is not to say that I see anything wrong with blind faith. Blind faith basically means hope for and of things we cannot see, or understand, and that our needs will be provided by a supreme being if we have the right beliefs and do the right things. I know of and have seen many successful people who are guided in success, happiness, health, knowledge and wisdom by blind faith. My mother survived and raised her three children by blind faith in the principles of the Christian Bible. And, I was guided through many dark lonely times by the faith built into me by my Christian upbringing. But, Knowledge faith is not Gnosticism, which is a belief in spiritual redemption by strict self denial, knowledge of God, and that material things are evil. Knowledge faith is similar to blind faith, except more humbling with scientific knowledge of ourselves, the earth and the universe, such as I discuss in chapter 10 on Intelligent Design. With this scientific knowledge, we are astounded and in awe of the magnificent order and irreducible complexity of human existence, the creation of the earth and the universe, and how it all fits together, which intelligent design infers an intelligent designer.

In the process of my writing, circumstances compelled me to add chapters that I had not initially envisioned, chapters 8 through 15.

Chapter 9, America, a Christian Nation was based mostly on the book Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States Written by B.F. Morris and published in 1864 at the request of Charles Sumner, Senator from Massachusetts

Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States was digitized from the Harvard College Library by Google and was obtained at Google. The family pictures in this book come from the archives of the Quintanilla Family Estate.

Finally, there is a hidden message in these writings, not specifically written, which I cannot tell you, and only the spirit within you can reveal to you.

PROLOGUE

This book is a compilation of the writings of Dionicio Quintanilla, Jr based on a lifetime of education, experience, study, his quest for truth, justice, knowledge, wisdom, and universally applicable truth.

This book has been over two years in the writing. Why am I writing this book? Because I feel that I must. It seems that I have been running away from stupidity all of my life. I do not have millions of dollars, and yet I am wealthy, with excellent health, excellent family relations, excellent intellectual & spiritual relations, and very nice retirement benefits. I have not given millions of dollars to charity, but I have given my life in service to God and country, my mother and father, my sisters and their children, the women I married, and the children I fathered, and industry. I am not an author of many books, but I have written much in my life about my experiences and beliefs from which to publish. I am not a re-known speaker but I am an accomplished speaker. I have not been the CEO of a large corporation but I have served many large corporations. I am not a famous pastor of a large church, but I have attended and studied in many churches, including Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal, Catholic, Mormon (where I was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in 1962), Church of Christ, and Greek Orthodox. I am not an accomplished published scholar, but I have studied in numerous universities and earned numerous degrees and certifications.

So, who could possibly be interested in my book? I have pondered this question for about a year before beginning my final edit. Then the answer hit me. I am strongly compelled to write this book precisely for the person I am not, because of the simple person I am, unrecognized and unheralded, and because of my quest for survival, achievement, accomplishment, success, learning, education from numerous universities, and working for numerous large corporations to reach the peaceful, quiet, modest monastic life I enjoy today, My Promised Land, teaching Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment, and Enlightened Christianity. I call my life experiences "My Forty Year Trek in the Desert of Life" because that is approximately the span of time from 1960, when I started my university career at New Mexico State University, until 2002 when I retired.

Today I find that I can teach from what it took me a lifetime to learn. It also struck me that there are many like me that devote our whole lives to working, serving, learning just to survive from day to day and serve our destiny in the Intellectual Dungeons of Industry, while our task masters get rich by hiring and firing us. That is why I must write this book.

INTRODUCTION

The name Dionysius is the Greek version of the Spanish name Dionicio. The title Dionysius The Divine is used not because of the presumption of my divine nature, but because of my quest for divine knowledge and wisdom, seeking that which is good, wholesome and pure. The name Dionysius the Divine is not to be confused with Dionysus, the God of Wine in Greek mythology. Dionysius the Divine is a Warrior Monk. Do I look like a warrior or a monk?---no. Why warrior? Because I am and have always been ready for intellectual, spiritual and physical challenges. Why monk? Because my life is a quiet monastic life of study, prayer and service.

I am told by some that I exude an aura of wholesomeness that is apparent and obvious to many. Some call me The Real Thing. Because of my quest for divine knowledge and wisdom I pray that my every thought, word and action be a prayer. I pray constantly to be good and do good. This is why I am a seeker of truth, justice, knowledge, wisdom, and universally applicable truth, and a Teacher of Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment, with no theological or cultural boundaries, and a teacher of Enlightened Christianity. Enlightened Christianity focuses on the spiritual nature of God and Heaven. This quest began as a teenager when I first wanted to understand the Christian Bible. This quest further continued into later life as I sought to apply Christian principles in non-biblical terms without theological or cultural boundaries.

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These writings then resulted from my many inquiries, over a period of many decades, into the wherefores and whyfores (a word I coined) of life. No, this is not a joke, and not a pipedream. This is the destiny to which I was born. In the pursuit of my 42 year career as an engineer, my journey in the desert of life, I knew in my youth that my career as an engineer was only a means to an end to prove myself, but I did not know what that destiny was to be, until I was about 65years of age. Then I realized that my destiny was to become Dionysius the Divine, and to write this book, and teach Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment, and Enlightened Christianity. In this destiny I believe that the purpose of life is to enjoy life, living and being alive by being good and doing good toward the purpose of achieving a balance with life, nature, the creator of life on earth and the universe. (Note: if there is a creation, earth, humanity, the flora and the fauna, the universe, then, there is a creator, God if you please)

Born in1942, I was named Dionicio Quintanilla, after my father and his father, of course. The name Dionicio is the Spanish (Spain) version of the name Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine. The name Quintanilla is a Spanish heraldic name, having the meaning of one who comes from a house over the hill. In the days of knights, heraldic referred to being a herald, or representative of a monarch or king, and being generally represented by a coat of arms.

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I have 2 sisters: Emma Maria De La Luz Quintanilla, born in 1943, and Ada Quintanilla, born in 1945. Thanks to our mother's tremendous efforts bringing us up from extreme poverty in San Antonio, Texas, and with the help of numerous fine friends, my sisters and I did well in life, university educations, marriage, careers, and retirement.

My inquiries into life began as a teenager, when I began seeking to understand the Christian Bible from a scientific point of view. Then as a young man in my early 20's, after going to college at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico to acquire my Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, I set goals for myself. These goals were (1) understand the Christian Bible, (2) to be respected, (3) become an engineer, (4) become an intellectual, (5) find God, (6) find love, (7) find universally applicable truth, (8) conquer the world, (9) marry and have children. In these pursuits, I found many decades later that universally applicable truth is love, a small word with a very complex meaning. And, I conquered the world by taking everything the world had to dish out, good and bad, without by and large striking back. By and large I accomplished all of these goals, and then in my 60's I set new goals. My new goal was to write about my life, and become a teacher of Intellectual and Spiritual Enlightenment, and Enlightened Christianity.

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I was born in San Antonio, Texas to Maria Teresa Guadalupe Morales Juarez and Dionicio Martinez Quintanilla, both very strong, bright, hard working individuals albeit individuals of very humble status, who immigrated from Mexico. My mother was born October 15, 1906 in Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico, to Placida Morales and Isidro Juarez, and died in 1986. My father was born January 26, 1915 in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico to Paulita Martinez and Dionicio Quintanilla, and died in 1996.

My mother and father were married in San Antonio Texas at the First Mexican Baptist Church on September 14, 1941. I will write more about them in a future edition. At this stage in my life, and looking back on my youth growing up in San Antonio, Texas, it astounds my sisters and myself what my parents were able to do with very little formal education. My mother spoke very little English, and did not drive an automobile, much less a huge gas guzzling SUV like today's very savvy immigrants, but her value was her charm, intelligence and her cultural education from her adopted mother in Mexico, Carmen Macias Fuentes. Because of my mother's cultural background, and my early life experiences, my culture is old world European; my intellect is British; and my work ethic is German-Judeo.

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My mother was orphaned about 1915 when her parents were killed in a civil war. The only thing I know about my mother's parents is that her father, Isidro Juarez, was a shoe maker. When my mother and her younger brother lost their home, she went knocking door-to-door to see who could give her work. One of the places she knocked at was an orphanage run by Carmen Macias Fuentes. This noble lady took my mother in and took care of her as her daughter until my mother immigrated to the United States in 1931. While growing up in Mexico City, my mother was converted to Protestant at about her mid 20's from the Catholic Church by a step sister before immigrating to the United States. Our mother was very religious, and she showed us the love and respect of God, as well, as a strong work ethic. Although we were poor growing up, mother always kept a clean home and clean clothes for us in a clean neighborhood, and we always had regular meals. My sisters and I never went to a school prom, but we never seemed to miss that. All of our life revolved around youth activities at the First Baptist Church of San Antonio, YMCA, YWCA, and for me Boy Scouts, and working after school when we were old enough.

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My mother was brought to the United States of America, with permission of the American Consulate in Mexico City, as a governess for the child of a military family on 8 Sept, 1931. The only thing I know about that family was that the child's name was Porfirio. But my mother left that family because they gave her no money. When my mother left Porfirio's family, she searched door-to-door for families in the north side of San Antonio until she found families that would help her.

One of the people that helped my mother when she left Porfirio's family was a lady, who lived on College Blvd in Alamo Heights in San Antonio, and was a friend of my mother for many years until my sisters and I graduated from high school.

Another person who helped my mother when she left Porfirio's family was a lady, who lived on Kings Court in San Antonio for many years and was a lifelong friend of my mother and my sisters and I until her death in about 1975. When we had no home I remember showing up early in the morning at this lady's back door so we could have a meal and a bath. This lady's sister, Miss. Helen, who lived at the Lamar Hotel in Houston, and taught piano, was her life and sustenance, and I remember often going to her apartment on Christmas and Miss Helen would give my sisters and I each a $5.00 gift, which was a lot to us.

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Another very generous and loving family who helped my mother when she left Porfiio's family was a doctor and his wife who lived at 102 E. Huisache in San Antonio (the house is still there). The doctor's wife, a retired teacher, with a master's degree in education from St Mary's University in San Antonio, Texas, and whom I got to know as Ma Manes, actually gave my mother, and her three children, a place to live in a garage apartment and was very influential in my sister's and my early childhood, helping us to learn to read and write. This doctor attended to the birth of myself and my sister Emma at Baptist Memorial Hospital in San Antonio. My sister Ada was born at Santa Rosa Hospital in San Antonio, but her birth was attended by an unknown doctor.

Another very good family friend in San Antonio assisted and employed my father and mother for many years. In fact it was this family that helped my mother start her kindergarten as well as recruit students from affluent families for her.

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With the help of these fine people, my mother was able to find odd jobs, working sometimes as many as three jobs at a time, until she was able to establish a small kindergarten to teach children of affluent families in San Antonio to sing and dance Mexican songs and dances. In this manner my mother was able to care for my sister's and I until my sister Emma and I graduated from college, and my sister Ada got enough college and career education to start her career in business. Residences that we lived at in San Antonio during the 1950's, but no longer exist, were 706 Brooklyn Ave, and 714 Brooklyn Ave.

In the 1960's my mother resided at 136 E. Craig Place, in the Monte Vista Historical District of San Antonio, across from Keystone Private School, until my mother moved to Dallas with my sister Ada, my father, and myself as our family united. The house at 136 E. Craig is still there. It was at 714 Brooklyn and 136 E. Craig that my mother ran her kindergarten.

About 1950 Baptist Missionaries took my sisters and myself to the First Baptist Church of San Antonio and I still remember their names: Mrs. Brent and Mrs. Anderson. My sisters and I were baptized in that church between 1951 and 1953, by a famous Southern Baptist Pastor, Dr. Perry F. Webb, and my sisters and I attended the First Baptist Church of San Antonio until we graduated from high school. Dr Webb was a friend of our family until his death.

Thus living under the influence of many fine people in San Antonio, as well as under the influence of the fine people at the First Baptist Church of San Antonio, as well as the influence of the schools we attended in San Antonio, and especially Thomas Jefferson High School, a college preparatory school at the time, is the reason my sister's and I are who we are, and have done well in life, retiring to a comfortable life.

My father's father, Dionicio Quintanilla, was a rail road engineer in Mexico, but was killed in a train accident when my father was very young. My father never recovered from his father's death, and seemed to have a childish character the rest of his life, even though he was very strong and very intelligent. As a result, my father and his mother looked to his mother's brothers, Nickolas Martinez, and Fermin Martinez who eventually settled on adjacent farm property in Floresville, Texas. My father's mother, Paulita Martinez Quintanilla, used the death benefit from her husband's accidental death to raise my father and his older brother, Sam Quintanilla. Paulita moved to 208 E. 17th St, Port Authur, Texas, in the 1920's, where her brother, Nickolas Martinez and his family lived, and worked in the new oil fields, and where my father lived with his mother, and where he completed grade school, before