The ‘Ism’ Dilemma

By George I. Bailey

My wife and I have been born again saved Christians for over 20 years. We do have a non-denominational church home and we study The Holy Bible together regularly at home. We have a blended family with 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren. I have worked for 20 years in electric operations and transportation. I have a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and am currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Christian Apologetics.
The book is primarily about relationship issues that result from illegitimate people groupings in modern day society. The book has an overwhelming focus on the spiritual impact on people, when pride based problems are not properly addressed with a biblical relationship with Jesus Christ.
I have personally struggled with many of the people grouping issues discussed in this book; pride has been one such stumbling block for me. Creating this book has in part been a personal journey for me, helping me to heal some of the wounds inflicted upon me by others, as well as heal wounds I’ve caused others. It is my sincere hope and prayer that your journey through this book will heal you and your loved ones, as it has done for me and my family. With God’s help, Christians and Non-Christians alike can all benefit from the experiences, tools, and methods in this book by improving themselves spiritually, and by improving the quality of their relationships with others

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Nov 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664202061

George I. Bailey

My wife and I have been born again saved Christians for over 20 years. We worship Jesus Christ at our non-denominational church home. We also study The Holy Bible together regularly at home. We have a blended family with 3 adult children and 2 grandchildren. I have worked for 20 years in electric operations and transportation. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and am currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Christian Apologetics. I love writing for Jesus Christ, and it’s my hope that people will be led to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, after reading anything that I have written. If you find the Lord after reading any of my writings, then the entire writing process and product was worth all the effort. I spent 3 years writing and presenting biblical lessons for an online Bible study group, emphasizing practical application for modern day living. A great Christian Apologist recently passed and I feel compelled to mention him now. He has had a tremendous impact on myself and many others. To the Zacharias family and ministry, I have never met Mr. Zacharias personally, but I do still know him. He, his family, and his organization have touched the lives of so many people, improving their lives for the better, including myself. Thank you so much for caring enough to engage the culture with sound Christian theology. Cancer may have prevented Ravi from returning to us in this fallen past part of his life, but it catapulted him forward into the redeemed future part of his life now...in the imminent presence of Lord Jesus Christ.

Book preview

The ‘ISM’

DILEMMA

George I. Bailey

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Copyright © 2020 George I. Bailey.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or

mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the

written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make

no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in

some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed

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not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®

Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0207-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-0206-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020915301

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/06/2020

BOOK PREVIEW

One of the biggest complaints I keep hearing about The Bible is that it’s archaic and irrelevant in 2020. The postmodern culture today seems to be trying very hard to make up its own theology to govern living. But it doesn’t stand to reason that just because something is very old, it is more likely to be false than the newest theories being postulated. Especially when the newest theories deviate from ancient time objective morality. Without an objective morality people won’t be able to coexist in civilized society eventually. Not to mention that no matter how advanced we may become technologically, Jesus Christ still speaks of a coming reality that will be more advanced and new than anything we have ever created or seen.

Another consistent complaint is that Christianity is a system of control designed for people groups at a certain time period. Sound Christian Biblical theology was never intended to be controlling of people. Instead it was intended to be liberating within an objective moral framework. The 2nd President of the U.S., John Adams, famously said exchanging the chains of one goverance for the chains of another is not preferable; because regardless of the set of chains employed one is still not free. America now sits at a crossroads between the freedom of Judeo Christianity, and the chains of socialism, marxism, and communism. If you feel that Christianity is controlling you and limiting you, even though it affords Americans all the freedoms that non-Christian nations lack, speak to people who have actually lived in socialist, marxist, or communist governances, and they can explain to you what it’s really like to live in a place with the chains of government control where there are no individual freedoms.

Some people representing the American Christian Church over the years, have been bad actors meaning they haven’t done things in a morally upright way. But that doesn’t tarnish The Holy Bible or the incomparible work of Jesus Christ. Look to Jesus Christ as your model not bad acting Christians to judge Christianity by. There are also plenty of good acting Christians and churches to look to for guidance and inclusion in your life.

Americans are becoming increasingly intolerant to just about anything that isn’t comfortable, convenient, or quickly gratifying. With this trend, Americans are losing their desire to think critically through the details of what and why things are happening. The increased popularity of collectivistic thinking, crowd-thinking and group-thinking about people in America, has diminished the American capacity to treat each other as unique individuals made in the image of the one true holy God. This is by design, from many sources, to make Americans more unable and unwilling to work through their problems, thus increasing their likely future dependence on the government to care for them, if freedoms are voluntarily given up by Americans craving socialism, marxism, and communism. I strongly urge you not to let this happen; Christianity and individual freedoms are worth fighting for, saving, and having.

This book deals with: why the power struggle for the control of America exists, how to overcome the issues that exist from the eroding of objective morality, and how and why real evil fuels the issues dividing America against itself, from a biblical worldview perspective.

If I could pick out the one thing that most adequately describes America today in 2020, unfortunately I would have to say it is divisiveness. When you think about that word, I’m certain you can easily think of numerous areas of life where you have seen divisiveness in America right now; personal, racial or ethnic, religious, political, cultural, sexual, ideological and many others. But has this always been a problem in America? If so, then why? If not, then why is divisiveness so prevalent now? Can the divisions in America be mended and repaired? These are many of the questions that this book tries to explain and answer. When divisiveness, bitterness, and contempt creep into the fabric of a people, can such strongholds be broken out of a wounded nation and a fallen world? This book will delve into the divisiveness between people across many areas of life to see why such issues exist, and how they can be resolved from a biblical world view point.

CONTENTS

Preface

My Background

Special Thanks

Forewarning About Love and Hate

Opening Message

Introductioni

Part 1 – BIBLICAL ORIGINS OF PRIDE, PSYCHOLOGY &

PHILOSOPHY OF THE PRIDE TO HATE PROGRESSION

Chapter 1 Pride

Chapter 2 Breaching the Human Mind

Chapter 3 The ISM Grouping Concept

Chapter 4 The Philosophical Argument Structure

Part 2 – THE MANY THOUGHTS AND

BEHAVIORS OF THE ‘ISM’ MINDSET

Chapter 5 The ‘ISM’ Dilemma Unleashed Upon the World

Chapter 6 Homelessness-ism

Chapter 7 Rac-ism

Chapter 8 Athe-ism

Part 3 – SOLVING THE ‘ISM’ DILEMMA &

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IMPROVEMENT

Chapter 9 Forgiveness Solves The ISM Dilemma

Chapter 10 The Quality of Human Interactions and Relationships

Part 4 – HOW THE SUPERNATURAL REALM

IMPACTS THE NATURAL REALM OF EARTH

Chapter 11 Angels and Demons Interacting With Humanity

Chapter 12 Doest Thine Heart Deceiveth Thee?

Chapter 13 Bringing It All Together

Chapter 14 Concluding With Lord Jesus Christ

Epilogue

In Closing

Appendices

About the Author

EXPANDED

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

My Background

Special Thanks

Forewarning About Love and Hate

Opening Message with Prayer

Introduction

Part 1 – BIBLICAL ORIGINS OF PRIDE, PSYCHOLOGY &

PHILOSOPHY OF THE PRIDE TO HATE PROGRESSION

Chapter 1 Pride

• Beneficial and Detrimental Pride in Humanity

• Supernatural Pride

• The Pride to Hate Relationship and Progression in Humanity

• Proof of Detrimental Pride Focus

Chapter 2 Breaching the Human Mind

• Defining the Conscious and Subconscious Mind

• How God Created the Human Mind to Function

• How God and the Enemy Impact Conscious Thoughts and Subconscious Behaviors

Chapter 3 The ‘ISM’ Grouping Concept

• Defining the ‘ISM’

• Knowing Not to Do This Doesn’t Mean It Isn’t Happening

• The Advancement of Hate Across the Globe

• Categories of ‘ISMs’ Showing the Magnitude of the Dilemma

• The Pride to Hate Relationship Leading to the ‘ISM’ Dilemma

• ‘Isms’ Towards People (Chapters 5 – 7) and ‘Isms’ Towards God (Chapters 8, 10, & 11)

Chapter 4 The Philosophical Argument Structure

• The Real Purpose of Arguments

• Using the Philosophical Argument to Capture and Evaluate the Thought Process of the ‘ISM’ Dilemma

• Deductive Reasoning Arguments and Defining Premises and Conclusions

• Testing Arguments for Soundness and Validity

• Some Practice Arguments

• The Protagonist and Antagonist Defined

Part 2 – THE MANY THOUGHTS AND

BEHAVIORS OF THE ‘ISM’ MINDSET

Chapter 5 The ‘ISM’ Dilemma Unleashed Upon the World

• Litter-ism – Hating Littering And/Or Littering People

• Tailgat-ism and Cut-Off-Ism – Hating Offensive Driving And/Or Drivers

• Neighborhood-ism – Hating Your Neighbor And/Or Their Neighborhood

• Police-ism – Hating Law Enforcement Officers And/Or Law Enforcement Authority

• Church-ism – Prideful Pretentiousness Can Drive People Out of Church Instead of Into Church

• Human-ism (Misanthropy) – The Hating of People in General

• The Generic ‘Ism’ Argument for all ‘Ism’ Groupings

• Why ‘Ism’ Grouping Exists at All

Chapter 6 Homelessness-ism – Hating the Homeless

• 10 Keys to Avoid Becoming Homeless

• My Homelessness Story

• Defining Homelessness

• The Importance of the Homeless to Jesus Christ

• The Profile of the Homeless Population

• The 4 Categories of the Homeless in America

• Those Most At Risk of Being Homeless in America

• Being Chronically Homeless

• Hating the Homeless

• Hate Crimes Towards the Homeless

• Why People Hate the Homeless

• The Protagonist Homelessness-ism Argument

• 19 Things to Remember if You’re Facing Homelessness

• Helping the Homeless

Chapter 7 Rac-ism – Hating People Based on Race

• Defining Racism

• Racism Statistics in America

• American Slavery (the Foundation of the Racism Problem)

• The Most Common Racial Stereotypes in America

• A Quick Racism Story

• Classic Pure Rac-ism (Pigmentation Appearance and Race Derived) And Modern Day Impure Rac-ism (Mostly Stereotyped Behavior Derived)

• Classic Protagonist Pure Rac-ism Argument

• Modern Day Protagonist Impure Rac-ism Argument

• Why People Hold on to Rac-ism & God’s Distinction in Humanity

• Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father Transcending Race

• The Incompatibility of Christ-ianity and Rac-ism

• Interracial-ism Defined – A Special Category of Racism Towards Interracial Couples

• Biblical Support of Interracial Marriages

• Interracial Marriage Statistics Today

• 4 Interracial-ism Stories

• Protagonist Interracial-ism Argument

• The Problems of Interracial-ism

• Summing Up Rac-ism

• Quick Action Solution Plan For Rac-ism

Chapter 8 Athe-ism – Denying and Hating God

• Scriptural Opening Focus on Faith in God the Father and God the Son

• Athe-ism and Agnostic-ism Defined

• Religious Landscape Throughout the World

• Religious Landscape in America

• Profile of the American Atheist

• The Fully Committed Atheist and the Marginal Atheist

• The Maze That Is Life

• The Longevity of Your Natural Life vs the Endlessness of Forever and Eternity

• The Athe-ism Religion-ism God-ism Agnostic-ism Folly

• Loving Sin Instead of God

• The Bryan Melvin Story – The Atheist Who Became a Christian; Encountering Moral and Immoral Agents

• Evaluating Bryan Melvin’s Story

• The Athe-ism Religion-ism God-ism Agnostic-ism Argument

• Faith-Based Proofs

• The Christian Estranged From God and The Luke-Warm Christian

• Quick Action Solution Plan For Athe-ism

Part 3 – SOLVING THE ‘ISM’ DILEMMA &

INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP IMPROVEMENT

Chapter 9 Forgiveness Solves the ‘ISM’ Dilemma

• David’s Triumph and His Father’s Tragedy

• Forgiving the Unforgivable

• My Lightning Awakening

• 4 Major Categories Putting You at Odds With Jesus Christ

• Detrimental Pride and Hate Team Up Again

• Forgiveness Statistics For All People In General

• Some Common Complaints Against Forgiveness

• Preparation For The Forgiveness Process

• Truly Being Forgiven

• My Forgiveness Struggles

• The Forgiveness Process I Use to Forgive Others

• Quick Discussion Regarding Hidden Trauma and Abuse

• The 9 Preparation Forgiveness Steps for Week 1

• Introducing The Live Help P.A.R.T. Tool to Stop Real Time Provocations of Un-Forgiveness

• The 14 Forgiveness Steps for Weeks 2 and 3

• Forgiving God

• Forgiving Yourself

• Updated Latest Forgiveness Statistics for the Christian Population in Particular

• One Last Point on Forgiveness

Chapter 10 Quality of Human Interactions

• Human Relationships

• Section A – How We Relate

• Sub Section A1 – God’s Immeasurable Personality; 14 Dimensions Including 90 Traits

• Sub Section A2 – Our Relational Template Includes 12 steps to resolve relationship issues and how to solve conflicts, strife, and divisiveness

• Our 12-Step Issue Resolution Process: a step by step guide applying each step to real life issues

• Summing Up the 12-Step Issue Resolution Process

• Section B – Human Communication

• Sub Section B1 – Nonverbal Behavior Orientation of Nonverbal Communication

Body Language, Facial Expressions, Eye Movement, Frequency of Glances, Patterns of Fixation, Blink Rates, Eye Rolling, Refusing to Make Eye Contact, Gestures, Body Postures, Touch, Body Spacing, Physical Environment and Appearance

• Sub Section B2 – Vocal Elements – Auditory Orientation of Nonverbal Communication

Pitch, Tone, Volume, Rate, Quality, Verbal Fillers, Chronemics, Finishing Prosody, Other Things that Vocalics Communicate

• Sub Section B3 – Verbal Communication

The 7 Biggest Complaints Against Christians, Irony/Sarcasm/Joking, Being Condescending and Patronizing, Comparing and Competing, Complaining and Criticizing, Gossiping, Dealing With Rejection From Ignored Communication, Interrupting Communication, Being Triggered, Abusive Communication, Sesquipedalian Communication, Negative and Affirmative Sentence Construction, Fault and Responsibility in Communication, the Power of Words, Righteous Communication Focus, Loving Communication Focus, Macro(Hollistic) vs Micro(Linear) Communication Focus, Selfless Instead of Selfish Controlling Communication, Allowing for Grieving with our Communication

• Section C – Relationship Scenarios

• Sub Section C1 – Traditional Marriage and Family Cluster

• Sub Section C2 – Extended Family; Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Cluster

• Sub Section C3 – Adult-Aged Children Caring for Their Aging Parents Cluster

• Sub Section C4 – Blended Family Cluster

• Sub Section C5 – Single Parent Family Cluster

• Sub Section C6 – The Engagement Couple Cluster

• Sub Section C7 – Being Single and Dating Cluster

• Sub Section C8 – Special Relationship Scenario; Resolving Issues Between Christian Leaders and Christians Coupling Matthew 18 With the 12-Step Issue Resolution Process;

False Preaching Example

• Sub Section C9 – Special Relationship Scenario; Resolving Issues Between Political Opponents Coupling Ephesians 4:31 and 29 With The 12-Step Issue Resolution Process;

Militarily Spending Example

Mrs. Lana’s M.R.E. Story

• Sub Section C10 – Special Relationship Scenario; Resolving Race-Based Issues

The Victims of Rac-ism

Martin Luther King Jr. Emulating Lord Jesus Christ

One Final Point About the Soul Pertaining To Critical Race Theory

God’s Plan and the Enemy’s Plan For You

Coupling Matthew 7:12 & Galatians 3:26– 28 With The 12-Step Issue Resolution Process;

Racially Opposed Neighbors Example

An Additional Point

My Last Point on Race

• Sub Section C11 – Special Relationship Scenario; Resolving Differences With Nonbelievers

My Approach With Nonbelievers

My Progressive Focus With Nonbelievers

Coupling: 2 Peter 3:9, 1 Peter 3:15– 16, 1 Peter 2:12, John 14:6 and Luke 15:7,

With The 12-Step Issue Resolution Process;

Atheist Example

Completing My 5 Scripturally-Based Progressive Focus With Atheists and Any Other Nonbelievers

My Last Point Regarding the Salvation of God For Nonbelievers Who Reject God

Part 4 – THE SUPERNATURAL REALM’S IMPACT OF

HATE UPON THE NATUARAL REALM OF HUMANITY

Chapter 11 Angels and Demons Interacting With Humanity

• Discussing Matters of Faith Outside of Book Topic Boundaries

• Predetermined Intentionality; A Vital Aspect of True Love, True Forgiveness, & True Faith in God

• Why Faith in God Matters

• The Angels of God and Fallen Angels(Demons)

• 4 Ways That Angels Interact With Humanity; Holy Moral Agents At Work

1. Supernatural Realm, Angelic Form, at the End of Days

2. Supernatural Realm, Angelic Form, Before the End of Days

3. Natural Realm of Earth, Angelic Form, Before the End of Days

4. Natural Realm of Earth, In Human Likeness, Before the End of Days

• 4 Points of Contact Between the Evil Spirit, Demonic Entities and Human Beings; Unholy Immoral Agents At Work

1. Point 1 Contact – Evil Spirit’s External Damage to Humans In The Natural Realm of Earth While in Spirit Form

A Brief Discussion on Exorcisms, Near Death, and Out Of Body Experiences

Introducing Exorcisms

2. Point 2 Contact (Demonic Possession) – Evil Spirit’s Internal Damage to Humans In The Natural Realm of Earth While in Spirit Form

Exorcisms in Antiquity; Jesus Christ as the Supreme Exorcist – The Supremely Holy Moral Agent Expelling Evil Immoral Agents

Modern Day Exorcisms

Validating Exorcisms

Types of Possession, Stages of Possession, and Stages of the Rite of Exorcism

A. Immoral Agent Exorcism Case 1 – How Evil Spirit Hatred of God has likely led to Modern Day Relativ-ism, Nihil-ism, and Hedon-ism

B. Immoral Agent Exorcism Case 2 – How Evil Spirit Hatred of God has likely led to the Modern Day Theory of Evolution, Natural-ism, Rational-ism, and Scient-ism

C. Immoral Agent Exorcism Case 3 – How Evil Spirit Hatred of God has likely led to Modern Day Corruption of Human Sexuality Expressed in Transgender-ism, Same Sex Relationship Intimacy, Rape, Pedophilia, Pornography, and Casual Sex Between Uncommitted Heterosexuals Resulting in Abortions

1. Seeing How Identity is Determined; By God’s Creation or By Sexual Anatomy

2. The 2-Pronged Attack on God’s Character Through the Corruption of Human Sexuality; (1)The Macho Man v Christ as Man Definition of Masculinity, and (2)The Fullness of God’s Character Combined in Masculinity and Femininity Reflected in Human Love Intimacy

3. Where Genetics and Psychology Weigh In On Being Gay And Same Sex Attraction

D. Immoral Agent Exorcism Case 4 – How Evil Spirit Hatred of God has likely led to Modern Day Fierce Individual-ism, Causing the Devaluation of Co-Dependent Relationships With People and Devaluation of a Co-Dependent Faithful Relationship with God (Secular-ism and Human-ism are Highly Related to Individual-ism)

E. Immoral Agent Exorcism Case 5 – How Evil Spirit’s Modern Day Manipulation of Intellectual-ism Likely Serves the Unified Purpose of Separating All Human Beings From God the Father For All of Eternity

• Statistical Beliefs About the Realness of Heaven and Hell

• Statistical Beliefs About Where People Feel They Will End Up When They Die

3. Point 3 Contact – Demonic Damage to Humans in the Supernatural Realm of Hell with Demons in Demonic Form

A. One Person’s Testimony of Being In Hell; Moral and Immoral Agent Encounters

B. The Gateway of Hell

C. Biblically Analyzing This 1st Testimony

D. A Second Person’s Testimony of Being In Hell; Moral and Immoral Agent Encounters

E. Biblically Analyzing This 2nd Testimony

F. Testimonial Summaries; The Hopelessness of Hell Without the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ

4. Point 4 Contact (The Most Common) – The Influence of Evil Spirit Upon Human Beings Without Possession in the Natural Realm of Earth; Following The Guidance of Moral And Immoral Agents

A. Normalizing Daily Evil Today

B. Deciphering Between the Voice of God in Spirit, the voice of Evil Spirit, and Thoughts From The Brain Processing of Information

• Evil Spirit and Demonic Extreme Hatred Towards Humanity

• Concluding on Angels and Demons

• The End of Days Goal of The Enemy and the Solution of Lord Jesus Christ

• Prayer For Salvation

• Quick Recap

Chapter 12 Doest Thine Heart Deceiveth Thee?

• Is Your Heart Deceiving You About Yourself?

• My Childhood Ham Story

• Why Do We Tend Towards Selfishness Instead of Selflessness?

• Signs of Increased Selfishness, Narciss-ism, and Egocentr-ism in the World Today

• Material-ism Aiding Selfishness and Narciss-ism Today

• Are You Like Me Or Not Like Me?

• Should I Be The Standard Bearer By Which You Are To Be Measured?

• Doest Thine Heart Deceiveth Thee?

• The Standard Bearer Jesus Christ Poem

• Doest Thine Heart Deceiveth Thee Poem; In Old English With Modern Day English Translation

Chapter 13 Bringing It All Together

• Is Truth Subjective Or Objective?

• A Brief History of The Holy Bible – Martyrdom For Beliefs

• Where the History of Jesus Christ and the Hand of Man Collide

• A Moment on Original Creation

1. DNA Extraction and Scientific Processes Pertaining to the Original Creation of Life

2. Evolutionary Science Pertaining to the Original Creation of Life

3. God the True Original Creator

4. The Order of Existence

5. The Finely Tuned Universe (Bonus Topic)

• My Last Argument Disclaimer

• Why Do Human Beings Hate That Which Is Not Evil Faith-Based Theological Argument

1. Soundness and Validity Tests of the Argument

a. Soundness Test For Premises A Through J, and Premise L

b. Soundness Test For Premise K

c. Soundness Test For the Conclusion

d. Validity Test

• The Usage of One’s Own Free Will

Chapter 14 Concluding With Lord Jesus Christ

• The God in the Box Problem

a. 1st Phase – Putting God in the Box; Synonymous with the Beginning of the End of Days

b. 2nd Phase – Dumping the God Box in the Dumpster; Synonymous with the Middle of the End of Days

c. 3rd Phase – Setting the Dumpster on Fire; Synonymous with the End of the End of Days

d. Jesus Christ as the Solution to the God Box Problem

• Weighing In On Religion

1. Complaints About Religion

2. Fear of Not Being Free Within Religion

3. Concerning Feeling Guilty Regarding Religion

4. Concerning Not Feeling Good Enough Regarding Religion

5. The ‘Aha’ Moment Against the Christians of Religion

6. What If Christianity Is The Wrong Religion?

7. What If Your Great Great Great Grandmother Died For You?

• The Finiteness of Human Life With a Prayer For Salvation

• Responsibility and Accountability of Evil and Hate

• Concluding On Hate and Evil in the World

• Safeguarding Christian Religious Freedom

• A 2020 Warning To The American Christian Church

• Time is Not of the Essence to God

• Dispelling the ‘End of the Generation’ Criticism Against Jesus Christ

• The Timeless One Jesus Christ

• Are You Truly Ready For the Lord Jesus Christ to Return?

Epilogue

In Closing

Appendices

• Appendix 1 – Bible Versions

• Appendix 2 – Reference Sources

• Appendix 3 – Quotes From Famous Christians and Prominent Relevant Non-Christians

• Appendix 4 – Books and Videos

• Appendix 5 – Journals, Reports, Surveys, Polls, and Data Sheets

• Appendix 6 – Subject Topic Articles – By Chapter

• Appendix 7 – Scriptures by Category Used in The Forgiveness Process

• Appendix 8 – Scriptures by Category Used to Illustrate God’s Personality

• Appendix 9 – Supplemental Tools and Resources

• Appendix 10 – Prayers For Salvation & Other Focuses and Corrections

• Appendix 11 – Poems

PREFACE

I believe we are living in the end times. The end of time ‘generation’ recorded in scripture does not tell us how long of a time period the end time will encompass or take to complete. We may be closer to the beginning, the middle, or the end of that end times generational period, recorded in scripture and spoken of by Jesus Christ. In the modern times of today, many are struggling: to make ends meet, to understand how to communicate to different people, with how to maintain and build relationships, with why and how so many things seem to be worse in their lives now than maybe ever before, with how to show practical application of ancient time scripture in modern day living, and even with keeping their faith in God. Perhaps the recent coronavirus pandemic has made you think twice about the need for a true relationship with God. Hatred is progressing and it’s a problem affecting Christians globally more than ever before, which is not by coincidence. Social media, popular television talk shows, the entertainment industry, religious ideology clashes, race relations, and political vitriol are all becoming much more hatefully fueled. This book will deal with these issues and provide you with modern day solutions and practical application of ancient time scripture from The Holy Bible.

By preparing this book I am not saying that God and matters of faith require proof. In part, this book was created to show, among other things, that matters of faith do have proof though God does not need proof for His validation.

*This book is not intended to accuse or cause any individual reader to feel that he or she is being judged based on any of the elements described herein. Instead it is intended to be a helpful tool of self-evaluation. If a person performs a truthful introspective evaluation, and behavioral analysis, she or he should be able to identify concepts within this book which shed light upon matters that can be improved within themselves, and others that she or he knows and/or loves.

*Hate is a strong term and this subject matter may be uncomfortable for some readers to deal with. Many people may prefer to see their problems as something less harsh than hate. Some of these lesser things are things such as irritations, dislikes, or things which make people upset or angry instead of things they hate. Whether a matter is a simple minor irritation or a full fledged moment of raging hate, there is a progression from a minor irritation which ends with hate. This book concerns that progression and the final condition of hate which can exist within the heart of anyone. Among the many elements that lead to hate there are: wounded pride, injured ego, fear for safety, emotional damage, violated trust and several others. This book will be focusing on the relationship between pride and hate. For this book I am defining hate and hatred as denying or rejecting someone’s beliefs, where the denial or rejection is accompanied by either emotionally vitriolic speech, emotionally vitriolic behavior, or has a heart motive which is not morally pure as defined by sound accurate biblical interpretation and application of The Holy Bible. If you do not consider yourself religious or a faithful believer in Jesus Christ, the processes in this book regarding communication, relationships, issue resolution, and forgiveness can still be effective in alleviating the struggles within you, and between you and others.

*The Holy Bible does condone hate of evil and wrongdoing because this hate is synonymous with the desires and heart of God. Psalms 97:10 tells us: Ye that love the Lord, hate evil: He[God] preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked (Psalms 97:10 KJV). Romans 12:9 tells us: Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good (Romans 12:9 KJV). While these scriptures condone hating what is evil in absolute unchanging terms, we must also be cautious about masked hate which can have the appearance of love, appreciation, cordiality, and/or acceptance. We must also be cautious that the hate of evil does not spill over into hating people. What do we do about hate which is not directed at what God reveals to us as evil? What do we do if hate creeps into our hearts or we become subjected to the hate of other hearts? Where does the hatred of that which is not evil come from? How is this type of hatred resolved? These unanswered questions are the subject matter of this book.

*Color Key

• Bold Underline = The voice of God speaking inside The Holy Bible

(Where scriptures are not written out, but only referenced by book name, the book name will be bold and underlined)

• Bold Black Italics = The voice of God speaking outside The Holy Bible

• Normal Italics = My Comments Related to Quotes of Famous People and Books

• Normal Black = The author’s voice, The Holy Bible quotes where God is not speaking, quotes of other authors, statistical data, stories, arguments and other supporting information created and/or used to express concepts in this book

• Bold Black = Key points, special notes, subject titles, and subtitles

• Underline = Used for emphasis of chapters, subchapters, and arguments

MY BACKGROUND

My wife, Brandi Bailey, and I are a happily married interracial couple of five years. We’ve both been born again Christians for more than twenty years. In our blended family, I am a stepfather to my wife’s 3 biological children from her first marriage. My wife is the grandmother of two grandchildren and I am the step grandfather of the same children. I have helped raise the three children for 9 years, and the grandchildren for about a year. We worship Jesus Christ regularly at our Christian church home. I have held several working positions in electric operations and transportation for the last 18 years. I’ve spent 3 years as an online Bible study lesson writer for an online Christian worship community. I’m an avid writer who enjoys writing for the Lord. I regularly help feed the homeless independently, apart from the corporate efforts of my church or any other Christian churches. I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, May 2000, with some experience in research, presentation compilation for symposiums, and supervised psychological testing in the areas of cognition, neuropsychology, and learning. Being part of an interracial marriage and a stepparent has presented some challenges in my life which many Christian families likely have not frequently encountered. But with an increasing number of blended families in America, my experiences and viewpoints may be more useful to a broader spectrum of Christians and nonbelievers now, than ten to twenty years ago. The views I express in this book are my own views which I’ve held long before I was ever married.

SPECIAL THANKS

None of us can accomplish God’s work in isolation from humanity. I first give thanks to our Father in Heaven and the one and only Son of God, Lord Jesus Christ, I love You Both. Without God, I would have no message to give you. I thank my wife Brandi Bailey for staying by my side and enduring the frustrations I’ve gone through during the process of writing this book. You are my best friend in this life, a loyal and faithful wife, my precious treasure, a survivor, a beautiful woman of God, and a wonderful mother. I love you with an endless love, thank you so much for your help. To both of my parents, especially my mother, LaVern Bailey, I love you and thank you for being my strongest beacon of the faithful light of God throughout my life. Over the years your faith and love have steadied me and helped guide me to the place I am today with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can never thank you enough. I give special thanks also to my stepson Jacob and his wife Roxie for offering my wife and I comfort and convenience during the times when I was nearing the completion of this book, when opposition from the enemy was at its greatest. Without you two, this book may never have been finished. I love you two and cannot thank you both enough. For any of you that know the struggles my wife and I have endured, and if you have taken time to pray for us, we thank you very much as well. I also want to give a special thanks to a young Christian man named Nick. Upon hearing that I was writing a book about the relationship between pride and hate in the world today, and the relationship issues which seem to be increasing in the world, Nick you correctly mentioned that I needed to write about some solutions to the problems I was describing. In answer to your suggestion Nick, I have dedicated the style of chapter 10, to your suggestion. Thank you for your advice Nick. Lastly I thank my publishing company West Bow Press and the Zondervan publishing family, for working through this process with me to ensure that this book reaches people in need of this message. Thank you for your patience, and thanks again to all of you.

FOREWARNING ABOUT LOVE AND HATE

Many people believe that the distinction of God is unnecessary in modern day times and that The Holy Bible is nothing more than myths and fairy tales. When a person reaches the conclusion that he or she can love people that he or she cares about without acknowledging the existence of God, he or she has made a grave error; one with the most dire consequences a human being can ever fathom to endure. Knowing Jesus Christ is about having a personal relationship not about being in a religion. Christ came to save you personally, not to give you preachy religious church rules to follow. This book will show you where the lack of love for God: comes from, how it impacts people daily, and what the consequences are for such an issue. Love is a gift of God’s character, available to us for the betterment of our lives. But such a gift cannot be partaken of indefinitely without acknowledging who such a gift comes from. It’s my hope and prayer that you come to have a relationship with Jesus Christ soon rather than later or never. For it is not a coincidence that hatred and denying God are both increasing in the world today.

OPENING MESSAGE

Unfortunately hate has become an epidemic in the world today. It was Jesus Christ who said: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he[or she] who stands firm to the end will be saved" (Matthew 24:12– 13 NIV). The love growing cold that Jesus referred to is happening in the world today. Unfortunately it is not a problem limited to people who do not believe in God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son of God. The purpose of this book is to probe into the avenues of hate which are chilling the love of so many hearts today. Hate has a source(s), many manifestations, and many negative consequences upon the lives of everyone it comes in contact with. Let us examine hate and determine where it comes from and how to properly deal with it.

Heavenly Father, I pray for Your blessings on the hearts, minds, and lives of all those who receive Your message within this writing. Father, hate has become an epidemic in our world, allowed to thrive in our hearts behind masked smiles of care on our faces. Father as we appear caring towards others, often we are not truly caring towards people to the extent we should be. Father I ask for no praise or glorification of myself, but I do hope and pray that readers of this message will know You, come to know You if they do not, and glorify You in their hearts, words, and actions. Father change the hearts of those who know they harbor hate, those unaware of their hate, and those denying their hate. Father, please forgive us our sins, and give us Your strength to be freed from hate. In the name of Jesus Christ I offer You this prayer Heavenly Father, thank you, and Amen.

INTRODUCTION

It appears to be woven within the fabric of humanity, a desire to exist at the highest status level possible. People have been pitting themselves against others for hundreds of thousands of years. In biblical times, tribes competed against each other. Colonizers fought nomadic people and other colonies over the choicest crops and most fertile lands. Nations have tried to overpower other nations. Neighbors now try to outshine each other even in small things like lawn maintenance. In an effort to be the best, or live at the highest level, or overpower others, or outshine others, people have chosen to try to elevate themselves above people. In many instances we see differences in others as problems, weaknesses, and threats which may interfere with our efforts to achieve the highest status or level of success possible. When tribes, colonizers, nations, neighbors and many other groups focus on differences in others, it has led to a multitude of scorn, ridicule, wars, and other destruction. If only differences could be embraced as something beneficial to neighboring groups. But instead differences are most often interpreted as something abnormal or something dangerous to be feared, rejected, and eliminated. Tribes and groups of people have a belief that homogeneity makes a group a cohesive unit. So shunning differences is seen as protection of a cohesive group from a dangerous fearful outside threat. So to some extent shunning differences, facilitates survival of a group’s members. But might this be destructive if done excessively?

Though some statistics throughout this book may not be the most recent statistics for certain criteria being measured, the data does still show directional trends that match the trends in 2020. For statistics that show decreasing trends in reported criteria, those decreases still exist in 2020. For those statistics that show increasing trends in reported criteria, those increases still exist in 2020.

PART 1

BIBLICAL ORIGINS OF PRIDE,

PSYCHOLOGY & PHILOSOPHY OF

THE PRIDE TO HATE PROGRESSION

EXPANDED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 Pride

• Beneficial and Detrimental Pride in Humanity

• Supernatural Pride

• The Pride to Hate Relationship and Progression in Humanity

• Proof of Detrimental Pride Focus

*Color Key

• Bold Underline = The voice of God speaking inside The Holy Bible

(Where scriptures are not written out, but only referenced by book name, the book name will be bold and underlined)

• Bold Black Italics = The voice of God speaking outside The Holy Bible

• Normal Italics = My Comments Related to Quotes of Famous People and Books

• Normal Black = The author’s voice, The Holy Bible quotes where God is not speaking, quotes of other authors, statistical data, stories, arguments and other supporting information created and/or used to express concepts in this book

• Bold Black = Key points, special notes, subject titles, and subtitles

• Underline = Used for emphasis of chapters, subchapters, and arguments

CHAPTER 1

PRIDE

The desire to make one’s self or group exalted, praised, or more successful than another person or group, comes from pride and narcissism. Narcissism is a grandiose sense of self-importance (1). When a human being feels that all else is lost to him or her, and he or she has a damaged relationship with God, pride is all which remains to cling to for a sense of self-worth when a heart won’t forgive. If pride is all a person feels she or he has, such a person will fight tooth-and-nail to defend and protect it, especially from outside aggressors or threats. The disciple John talks about pride in 1 John when he says: For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world (1 John 2:16 KJV). So we see here that human pride of life does not exemplify God the Father’s plan for us. The human pride of life instead accommodates human worldly life on earth. But to the contrary, God’s grace is available to those who are not driven by the pride of life. But He[God] giveth more grace. Wherefore He saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble (James 4:6 KJV).

But to some extent perhaps pride can be productive and beneficial to the survival of a person or group on earth, so long as this pride is rooted in a relationship which seeks to glorify God. But pride also can be detrimental if based on devaluing others to boost one’s own sense of self worth. The detrimental form of pride is what the Bible warns us is not what God desires for our lives. Detrimental pride causes people to view others in a lower status than themselves. While a beneficial degree of pride may help us survive without harming others, the severe form of detrimental pride can hurt the self esteem and well being of others, by causing people to feel beneath others. Detrimental pride can also exude arrogance which leads to disdain from other people.

John C. Maxwell, a 21st Century American Christian Pastor, Author, and Speaker, once distinguished between 2 kinds of pride; one beneficial and one detrimental.

The beneficial type is more aligned with a healthy sense of self-worth.

But the detrimental type is of sin because it glorifies self as superior to others. (2)

EXISTENCE OF THE SUPERNATURAL BEFORE HUMANITY

In Genesis, God said "Let Us make man[woman] in Our image, after Our likeness" (Genesis 1:26 KJV). From this scripture we can see that God and supernatural beings existed before humanity because God created humans in Genesis 1:26. Humanity’s existence, according to some interpretations of The Holy Bible, began around 6500 B.C. But the exact time when humanity started is a topic for another time. Since supernatural beings pre-date humanity, it stands to reason that emotional states and behaviors performed by supernatural beings, pre-date humanity’s emotional states and behaviors.

In the book of Isaiah, God quotes Satan when God says:

You[Satan] said in your heart, I[Satan] will ascend to Heaven, I[Satan] will raise my throne above the stars of God, I[Satan] will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I[Satan] will ascend above the tops of the clouds, I[Satan] will make myself like the Most High (Isaiah 14:13– 14 KJV).

This is the origin of pride; here Satan himself is trying to overthrow God, out of a sense of over inflated self-worth and pride (for which he was cast out of Heaven). Satan’s pride has permeated throughout humanity because he has been allowed by God to be the god of this age… (2 Corinthians 4:4 KJV). It’s Satan’s pride which fuels human detrimental pride, human self-reliance, human scorn of differences, and human self exaltation above other people and other groups. This is true because the behaviors above are all human manifestations of the pride which Satan originally felt towards God. It is also Satan’s pride being offended which causes him to hate God.

Saint Augustine, a 4th and 5th Century Christian

Theologian, Philosopher, and Church Father,

once highlighted the stark contrast between pride and humility.

Whereas pride can lead to spiritual fallenness, even for supernatural beings,

humility can transfer humanity into supernatural eternal salvation. (3)

THE FULL FLEDGED PRIDE-HATE PROGRESSION

This book is primarily about the connection between detrimental pride and hate. There will also be attention given to the human manifestations of both detrimental pride and hate. But in this section I’ll show the other parts of the emotional chain that link pride to hate. Hate is defined as an intense hostility or a very strong dislike of someone or something (4).

If or when we feel slighted or wronged in some way, we are supposed to forgive the other person, group, or organization. From the apostle Paul: Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you (Ephesians 4:31– 32 NIV).

But if instead we don’t forgive then the following progression ensues:

• Pride becomes offended

• The offense leads to anger and bitterness and a grudge forms

• Contempt results from the bitter grudge towards the offender

• Retaliation and vengeance desires, result from the contempt towards the offender

• Retaliation and vengeance are carried out by the offended party

• If the carrying out of retaliation and vengeance haven’t satisfied the offended party’s contempt

• Then hate settles in and killing will follow (hate may occur even during retaliation or vengeance)

For those that think hate doesn’t necessarily lead to killing I offer Matthew 5:21 and 1 John 3:15. Jesus Christ said:

You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I[Jesus] tell you that anyone who is angry with his[her] brother[sister] will be subject to judgment….anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of Hell….if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother[sister] has something against you…First go and be reconciled to your brother[sister]; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:21– 24 NIV).

The disciple John wrote: Whosoever hateth his[her] brother[sister] is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him[her] (1 John 3:15 KJV).

Jesus is NOT only concerned with our actions in Matthew 5. He is also concerned about the preceding conditions of our hearts before any hateful words or actions are carried out. It isn’t enough to make sure we aren’t hating and killing people in action with guns, knives, bombs, or other devices. Jesus wants us to also make sure we aren’t killing people in our hearts by hating or having unresolved anger towards any one. Also Jesus is saying that being angry with another person can end you up in Hell. That may be because Jesus is equating anger with hate or saying that unresolved anger can progress to hate. In either case, the lack of forgiveness is the reason the unresolved anger leads to hate, which is equated with murder in the heart. Now that the full linkage between pride and hate has been described, I return to my focus specifically on the connection between detrimental pride and hate.

PROOF OF THE DETRIMENTAL PRIDE BASED FOCUS

Here is an example of how the pride-hate connection occurs. Let us say that John and Mike are both automobile owners of separate cars. One day John and Mike, who do not know each other, are both driving separate cars on the same busy highway. Traffic is intense as both drive in lanes side by side. All of a sudden, abruptly John is cut off by Mike who jumps over two feet in front of John without signaling, almost causing a collision. John slams on the brakes and manages to avoid an accident. The two do not exchange any unpleasantness at any time. Both continue driving, the traffic dissipates, both spread out away from each other, and gradually make it to their end destinations. John was mildly irritated but forgave Mike and never had another thought about this.

If we recreate the above scenario and take John out who forgave Mike and replace him with Zeta who refuses to forgive Mike, we now have a totally different situation. In this scenario Zeta is furious, blowing the horn incessantly, yelling obscenities at Mike, driving erratic and tailgating Mike to pay Mike back for the inconvenience of being cut off. But no accident occurred; no person or car was damaged in any way. Let us say a year passes and during this year no one else cuts of Zeta. Zeta never forgave Mike and after a year, when Zeta remembers what Mike did, Zeta still gets extremely angry wishing he could still get Mike back over this incident. We can say by now that Zeta hates Mike. Why does Zeta hate Mike? The incident happened a year ago. No one was hurt. No vehicles were damaged. Even if Zeta felt there was a risk to his safety at the time of the incident, that safety risk ended a year ago. Even though the incident may have caused Zeta some emotional distress, that should no longer be an issue one year later with no new occurrences of being cut off while driving.

Here are two definitions of pride:

• a feeling that you are more important or better than other people;

inordinate self-esteem - conceit (4)

• a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people;

the quality or state of being proud (4)

Zeta is still mad a year after the cutoff driving event because he felt he should have been treated better than how Mike treated him. This is what pride is in action.

Defending one’s pride or love for another is what caused the issue between Jesus, Peter, the high priest’s servants, and Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane. As the high priest’s servants came to take Jesus prisoner: "Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear [the servant’s name was Malchus]. Jesus commanded Peter, ‘Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father[God] has given Me?’" (John 18:10– 11 NIV). Peter felt Jesus Christ certainly was better, and deserved better than being taken prisoner when Jesus had committed no crimes nor sins. Peter was motivated by love but also angrily motivated by pride to get better treatment for Jesus. This is similar to Zeta who was angrily motivated by pride to get better treatment from Mike who cut him off on the freeway.

Now that the relationship between detrimental pride and hate has been established, let’s look at how the human mind processes these emotions and produces the behaviors which follow.

Chapter 1 – Things to Remember

1. Pride can be beneficial when it builds others up or detrimental when it lowers the view or value of others.

2. The supernatural pride of Satan preceded and fuels the detrimental pride of humanity.

3. There is a progression where if one’s pride becomes offended or threatened by others, the wounded or threatened pride can end up being transformed into hatred.

4. Jesus Christ is concerned about the condition of the heart of humanity. From the Lord’s point of view, hatred or even anger in the heart is comparable to hatred manifested and acted upon.

5. Detrimental pride exists and has been offended when one harbors bitterness towards a person over something unforgiven that happened in the past.

Chapter 1 – Citations & Memos

1. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fifth Edition. Arlington, VA, American Psychiatric Association, 2013.

2. This comment was inspired by a quote from John C. Maxwell Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_c_maxwell_600899

3. This comment was inspired by a quote from Saint Augustine Quotes. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved September 29, 2018, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/saint_augustine_148546

4. Merriam – Webster Dictionary, (2004)

EXPANDED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 2 Breaching the Human Mind

• Defining the Conscious and Subconscious Mind

• How God Created the Human Mind to Function

• How God and the Enemy Impact Conscious Thoughts and Subconscious Behaviors

*Color Key

• Bold Underline = The voice of God speaking inside The Holy Bible

(Where scriptures are not written out, but only referenced by book name, the book name will be bold and underlined)

• Bold Black Italics = The voice of God speaking outside The Holy Bible

• Normal Italics = My Comments Related to Quotes of Famous People and Books

• Normal Black = The author’s voice, The Holy Bible quotes where God is not speaking, quotes of other authors, statistical data, stories, arguments and other supporting information created and/or used to express concepts in this book

• Bold Black = Key points, special notes, subject titles, and subtitles

• Underline = Used for emphasis of chapters, subchapters, and arguments

CHAPTER 2

BREACHING THE

HUMAN MIND

John Piper, a 21st Century American Christian Pastor and Author, has an interesting

perspective on human thinking. Our God-given brain can lead us to loving thinking

about God, not the cold academic focus often associated with thinking. (1)

Some may say pride is not part of their decision making process to support a member of their group. People may say they reflexively respond negatively to something that’s offensive to themselves. But aren’t offensive things determined subjectively? What is offensive or wrong is a relative determination. The subjective offense determination requires a decision making process to choose between different emotions to feel, and corresponding actions/behaviors to take.

THE CONSCIOUS MIND AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

The mind functions on 2 levels: the conscious level and the subconscious level. Most experts in the neuroscience profession, including Bruce Lipton, PhD, believe that up to 95% of our behavior is controlled by the subconscious mind (2). The conscious mind governs what we are aware of, but the subconscious mind governs all we are not immediately aware of.

Things in the subconscious are defined as: : "existing in the part of the mind that a person is not aware of: existing in the mind but not consciously known or felt" (3). When people believe they are reflexively responding to what they see, without an underlying thought process, their actions are actually guided by thoughts embedded in their subconscious mind. No behavior is reflexively performed without subconsciously influenced actions which result from consciously held beliefs.

Joseph Murphy, a psychologist, wrote a classic book called The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, which illustrates how our mind works. I wanted to reference this book to address the belief some may have that people have no control over some of their own thoughts, beliefs, attitudes, and actions. I do not support any of the other assertions made by Joseph Murphy regarding the mind, in particular that our mind has the ability to bring into reality anything we might believe in. I only support his distinction between 2 different levels of mental functioning; the conscious level and the subconscious level. When a person is made pleasantly aware of something beneficial or positive which she or he has been credited for, she or he often accept and embrace the credit she or he is receiving. But when a person is made painfully aware of something detrimental or negative about themselves, he or she often reject and/or deny having any knowledge or awareness of the negative element(s) he or she is being associated with. This chapter is primarily focused on showing that our thoughts and behaviors result from the interaction between our conscious and subconscious mind levels of functioning.

In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy makes several important distinctions about the human mind. The human mind has: two different levels of functioning which are the conscious and the subconscious, a conscious level which is rational and a subconscious level which is irrational, conscious steering and controlling of the mind with subconscious carrying out of orders given by the conscious mind, conscious usage of thoughts to form beliefs which the subconscious tries to bring into reality through actions and experiences, and the conscious mind is driven by logic while the subconscious mind is emotional and intuitive (4).

When we form loving views of others, it comes from suggestions, beliefs, and ideas we hold deep inside ourselves. Those suggestions, beliefs, and ideas aid us in behaving in loving ways consistent with the loving views we have of others. But when we have hateful, bitter, resentful views of individuals or groups of people, then the negative suggestions or beliefs we hold deep inside us will result in hateful and other detrimental behavior towards individuals or groups we dislike. Negative beliefs about people or groups we dislike come from inner fears, beliefs, opinions, and inner assumptions which rule and govern our lives. What you accept mentally (consciously), causes your subconscious mind to flow in a limited and restricted way (4). So this means all of what we believe is brought about by the relationship between our thoughts (consciously held), and the suggestions/beliefs/opinions/fears we allow our subconscious mind to be influenced by. In other words, none of our thoughts and actions happen reflexively without conscious thought and coordinated subconsciously influenced actions.

The subconscious mind is considered the storehouse of memory (4). Jesus Christ has told us how valuable we are to Him. Remember we are much more valuable than the birds of the air to our Lord. "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows (Luke 12:6– 7 NIV). Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…" (Jeremiah 1:5 NIV). Since we know Jesus loves us so much that every hair on our head is numbered, and since God knows us even before He formed us at birth, the Lord has surely created every aspect of our human body including the brain. And since the subconscious mind stores our memories, it stands to reason that the knowledge of our creator lies somewhere within the recesses of our subconscious, even if a person is unsaved and hasn’t had the New Testament gospel revealed to him or her by our Heavenly Father. All the functioning of the human mind happens within the power of God’s intellectual creative design for humanity and His will for our lives.

SELFISHNESS ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE

Let’s say I choose to live a life being as selfish as I possibly can. During moments of selfishness I might feel happy or at least momentarily satisfied. But the happiness won’t last me and I’ll find myself frustrated until I have another moment of satisfying my self-serving, self-gratifying desires. The fact that I’m unsatisfied in between moments of selfishness, should tell me that being selfish isn’t permanently gratifying to me. In pondering why my selfishness isn’t permanently satisfying, the thought should cross my mind that perhaps I’m not supposed to be selfish. If I’m not supposed to be selfish then perhaps serving others instead of myself could be permanently satisfying. When I reach this point I have now identified a purpose for me which isn’t my own. One which must have been given to me by design of a being whose abilities far exceed my own. Thus some degree of the knowledge of this supreme being, which is God, is somewhere within the recesses of my mind even if I’m an unsaved believer.

If we focus our conscious thinking on things not of God, then our subconscious will help bring about behaviors which are not of God. God refers to those of us functioning in the natural as unsaved beings or beasts. Lets look at the book of Ecclesiastes written by King Solomon, the eldest son of King David.

I[elderly Solomon who was King Solomon is his younger years], also thought, ‘as for men[women], God tests them [life on earth is a test to see if people will choose to love God or hate Him], so that they may see that they are like the animals [when unsaved in the natural and not acknowledging God]’ (Ecclesiastes 3:18 NIV).

But if we focus our conscious thinking on things of God, then our subconscious will help bring about behaviors which are of God. Jesus Christ makes reference to the blessings in store for those who reflect Him in this life when He says:

It is done. I[Jesus] am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him[her] who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He[she] who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his[her] God… (Revelation 21:6– 7 NIV).

Jesus is granting eternal life in Heaven as a gift for those whose conscious thoughts (of heart and mind), bring about subconsciously influenced behavior which reflects Jesus Christ. Faith in the Lord’s completed work at the cross should be the guide for our conscious thinking and our subconsciously influenced behavior.

It was Socrates, the 4th and 3rd Century B.C., Classical Greek Athenian Philosopher,

who once said prayers to God should be general in their focus,

because God knows the specifics of what we need. (5)

Having offended detrimental pride, and eventually hate of a person or group, is the result of conscious thoughts not of God and subconsciously motivated behavior which is not of God. Offended detrimental pride and hate are from the influences of the enemy of God, and this book will explain how this influence is impacting humanity today. Hate based behavior is subconsciously motivated by consciously evil thoughts which are not of God, and not reflexively performed without underlying beliefs and thoughts.

When hate is directed at groups of people it is even more destructive than hate directed at individuals. Let us look