Friday, November 08, 2013

"nothing common or unclean" - Great Reader Mao Tse-tung


Kanda, Tokyo


Great Reader Mao Tse-tung

A daughter of Mao Tse-tung or Mao Zedong (1893-1976) and his second wife, Li Min (1936-), wrote a book about her father: My Father Mao Tse-tung.

http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%8F%E3%81%8C%E7%88%B6%E3%80%81%E6%AF%9B%E6%B2%A2%E6%9D%B1-%E6%9D%8E-%E6%95%8F/dp/4773369698

In this book, Li Min revealed that Mao was an extensive reader.  In fact when Mao died, he left about 700,000 books in his house.

Mao's daughter wrote: "One day my father told me that once he had been reading a book while marching.  Then it started rain.  But my father never stopped reading.  Eventually a soldier walking behind him said to him that he had better put on a bamboo hat.  So, my father asked the soldier to go and buy a bamboo hat in a nearby village for him.  But the soldier said that Mao had one on his back."

Mao Zedong was a great reader.

One day he read a thesis a Japanese professor wrote in a specialty journal on socialism.  Mao said to the husband of Li Min, "This professor wrote a right thing.  Material can be divided into smaller parts infinitely.  Science develops through branching and dividing.  You have to study various fields of science but you must also learn from the real world."

However as is well known, Mao suppressed intellectual persons and cultural figures during the Cultural Revolution observed in China in the late 1960s and the first half of 1970s.  The then top leader of China Mao Zedong regraded professors, authors, artists, and other highly-educated people as the enemy of farmers and other less-educated Chinese people.  Mao even advised that Chinese people should not read much.      

Mao's strategy influenced Pol Pot (1925-1998) of Cambodia who executed more than one million intellectuals in the country.

Why did Mao try to destroy communities of Chinese intellectuals?  It is thought that Mao was afraid that learnt men would be more influenced by the Soviet Union.  Mao Zedong knew that the USSR was more advanced than China in terms of modern culture, science, and technology.  He must have thought that the more Chinese people learnt, the more they would respect Russians.  But farmers who could not fully read and write would never be enchanted by advanced science of the Soviet Union.

Probably Mao thought that he would lose power if those who studied Western culture and mastered modern technology took key positions in the Chinese Government and the Chinese Communist Party.  Mao Zedong who never studied abroad had no confidence in his ability to lead the nation and at the same time save his face in handling Western cultural works.  Mao must have looked like a fool who was just good at Chinese cultural heritage but so poor in understanding the modern science and economy.  Accordingly, he must have suppressed intellectuals and professors in China to prevent a possible coup.

Mao read and studied Western cultural works enough to be able to judge that he was not a master of Western culture.  But he could not lead other Chinese leaders in advancement of the nation along with Westernization or the Russian style technological development.  So, Mao decided to eliminate those intellectuals who could replace him in progress of the society.

Eventually no Chinese politicians became associates with or spies of the Soviet Union.  No critical civil war took place in China.  Soviet influences as well as Western influences on China were prevented.

Only a great reader such as Mao Zedong could understand power of books, so that he would try to stop people from reading books to secure his status and his ideal state of the nation, provided he had dictatorial power.

Today, however, China has become an industrial power, though through great import of modern and Western culture and science via Japan, since Mao Zedong never regarded Japan as a real enemy.



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Act 11:7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay and eat.
Act 11:8 But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
Act 11:9 But the voice answered me again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

Thursday, November 07, 2013

"What went ye out into the wilderness to see?" - Everybody Can be God?



Mt. Fuji and a City North of Tokyo 

Everybody Can be God?


"Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

"Matthew 19:21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me."

"Luke 6:40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master."


When I read the Bible in past, I always tried to find any evidence or proofs that support the idea or the belief that Christ Jesus was the Son of God and ultimately the God.

For instance, if He had changed the day to night instantly before the public at His will at any time, there would have been no doubt about his divinity.  If He had floated in the air at His will at any height at any moment, there would have been no doubt about his divinity.  If He had called angels from Heaven at His will at any time, there would have been no doubt about his being the God.  If He had made any persons who had died before come back to life at His will at any time, nobody would have doubted that He was the God.  But Christ Jesus performed only humble miracles, such as turning water to wine in a wedding ceremony.

If Christ Jesus is the God, He must be immortal, continuing to live even to date for 2000 years.  But as you know, He was killed, though He came to life again, according to the Bible.

In reality Christ Jesus did not win conflicts with rotten rabbis to govern Israelites and finally win war against Romans.  He was trapped by bad rabbis and arrested by Roman soldiers to be executed.

However, of course, there are other ways for a person to prove Himself to be God.  It is the essence of the Gospel.  In fact by living such a life as depicted in the Gospel He proved that He was God.

So, there must be words of Christ Jesus in the Gospel that have the same effect as the act of turning the day into night and night into the day at any time.  Probably most of readers of the Bible would come to think that Christ Jesus can be God when they find those words.

Or, there must be a way to express one's divine nature through living a daily life like an ordinary man.  And the way must be also recorded in the Gospel.

In order to prove that Christ Jesus is God, He must have used the least necessary words and acts without calling an army of angels from Heaven.  It means that He lived as an ordinary man 100%.  He did not use ability higher than that an ordinary man could exercise.  Conversely, it reveals that an ordinary man can prove that he is God, too, by delivering the same words and performing the same acts Christ Jesus used to prove His godhood.  Then, logically, we can be God.

Truly, Christ Jesus told His disciples to be complete or perfect as He was.  But one who is complete or perfect is the God only.  It means that Christ Jesus asserted that each of human beings could be God, to our surprise.  And such a thing can be only said by the God.  And only the God must know this astonishing truth or secret between a man and the God.

In other words, if a man could let all of his DNAs and genes work fully, he might look like a god.

Anyway, you had better ask any believer in what words and acts of Christ Jesus he or she finds deity of Christ Jesus.

Jesus: A Perfect Example of Love (1 John 3:16–17) by James Stuart Bell and Tracy Sumner

"So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion — how can God's love be in that person? (1 John 3:16–17). 
From the very beginning of his life, Jesus, John tells us, is our perfect example of love. While it is highly unlikely that any individual believer is going to have to die for another, it is a certainty that we all will have opportunities to "give up our lives for our brothers and sisters" by demonstrating the kind of compassion Jesus demonstrated every day. 
Study Questions
What should it mean, practically speaking, to the believer today to love as Jesus loved when he was on earth? 
Why do you think Jesus spent so much time meeting the physical needs of people through his many miracles when his ultimate mission was to save people's souls?
http://www.netplaces.com/bible-study/first-john-a-life-of-love/jesus-a-perfect-example-of-love-1-john-31617.htm


http://stupiddynalearns.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/psalm-11-the-only-refuge-we-can-trust/jesus-n-peter/



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Mat 11:7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

Wednesday, November 06, 2013

"as Jesus had commanded" - Men Possessed by Ill Spirits


Pacific Ocean 120 Km Northeast of Tokyo


Men Possessed by Ill Spirits

There is a strange episode in the Bible.

Christ Jesus met a wild and mad man chained in tombs.

Christ drove out demons from the mind of this horrible man.  Then the guy came to himself.  But he did not follow Christ Jesus.  We don't know what became of him afterwards.

Christ Jesus told people to live with faith in God and love for God and neighbors.  He cured the sick and taught how to think and pray.  And He drove out ill spirits from suffering people.

Probably 2000 years ago, those haunted by devils must have been clearly identified.  Such people must have horribly shouted, hurt others and themselves physically, and looked so devilish.  As today we seldom see such people, the episode looks so strange.

Today those possessed by evil spirits must not horribly shout, hurt others and themselves physically, and look so devilish.  They might work, say, in Wall Street, as ordinary persons.  But an evil inside the mind of such a person must really have a terrible influence on him.  The evil would make him arrogant and greedy.  Consequently such a Wall Street guy would not realize how sinful it is for him to earn such a big reward for his manipulation of financial goods.  While there are so many poor people in the US and the whole world, those guys never arouse their compassion to those poor people.

So, if demons are driven out from their minds, half of greedy workers in Wall Street might repent and stop working in the financial district.  But others might not change their behaviors.  In this case, they must become devils themselves.  Even Christ Jesus would not be able to bring them to their senses.

Of course, an ordinary man must be under the influence of a devil to a various degree.  If he wants to be free from the devil, he can rely on Christ Jesus whose power can expel the devil out of the victim.  But a man so completely linked to a devil might be tough enough to survive.

So, when the end of the world should come and devils should leave victimized persons who would follow Christ Jesus, such 100% devilish guys will still walk around Wall Street like devils.

Now how can we avoid being possessed by evil spirits.  It is said that prayer is effective.  While we are praying, our mind doe not float and is not attracted by money and worldly luxury.  So, it is reasonable for us to pray five times, 10 times, or 20 times a day.  At least, while we are walking in Wall Street, we had better chant words of prayer all the time.    



The life and death of Jesus were one long fight against the powers of evil. He fought disobedience with obedience unto death, pride with humility, hatred with love; and behind the relatively feeble attempts of human beings to be evil, an evil mitigated by an apalling ignorance of the things of God, Jesus saw a reflection of Satan's presence: he saw it in human sin and even in human illness and death, and he set out to save humankind and to utterly conquer the devil. 
http://fatherdavidbirdosb.blogspot.jp/2010/08/cross-of-saint-benedict.html



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Mar 11:4 And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him.
Mar 11:5 And certain of them that stood there said unto them, What do ye, loosing the colt?
Mar 11:6 And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
Mar 11:7 And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him.

Tuesday, November 05, 2013

"because of his importunity he will rise and" - God of Mankind


Around Tokyo Railroad Station


God of Mankind

Judaism is not a pure monotheistic religion.

When Abraham lived around Ur or on the the Euphrates, he admitted that every city or every tribe had its own religion.  Though Abraham and his clan had only one God, every other clan had its own God.  It is because one clan had to survive in competition with or through battles against other clans in environment they were living in those days.  If one clan had been defeated by other clan, members of the conquered clan would have to be slaves of the winning one.  Then, those slaves must have abandoned their God and obeyed ex-enemy's God.  So, a god that could protect a house was the God of the house.

Christianity claimed that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the God of Israelites and all the other tribes, including Romans and Greeks.  So, Christianity is a pure monotheistic religion.

But it has a great difficulty: The God sent the Son of God to the human world or specifically to Israelites.  The Son of God had human parents, brothers, and sisters.  Christ Jesus is God or the Son of God according to situations.  However the fact that Christ Jesus had publicly no wife and children stopped the matter from becoming more complicated.  Anyway, as the God is so great, it might be reasonable that mankind, so small and negligible, cannot appreciate the difference between the God and the Son of God.  Put simply the God can easily disguise Himself as His own Son.

Islam is a quite pure religion in terms of monotheism.

Islam taught Muslims to forget about Judaism and Christianity but to concentrate on the God alone.  The spiritual sphere of Islam does not include a final war between good and evil or the God and the Devil.  This religion judges that mankind has failed in this spiritual conflict.  Men could not please the God by believing in Him despite any attempts by the Devil.  So, the God is angry.  This anger of the God is one of the strongest underlying features of Islam.  Islam does not allow for one god for each tribe or the intermediate step where the Son of God was sent to the world to gently guide mankind to the true religion.  Islam sternly and simply requests each man to believe in the God who is angry at poor faith in the God of mankind.  
  
Nonetheless, the three religions have survived and grown together or in parallel in these 2000 years.  

Now as I discussed before, mankind has actually other virtual religions today: America and Modern Science/Technology.

Though I don't define that the God of America is money, it is a little difficult to grasp the core of the American Civilization.  America is too rich concerning its natural resources and its natural environment.  Freedom such material abundance gives citizens can be easily misunderstood as a divine benefit.  But freedom related to religion, ideology and convention must be holy merit leading to establishment of a new religion called America.  We may regard the spirit of American democracy as an important element of the religion America, though American Dream is so often meant so badly to be material success.

Anyway, America started to influence the majority of human beings in history since around 1500 when Columbus left Europe for India or Japan.

The Industrial Revolution and its development have really established its influential power on every aspect of human living in any regions on the globe.  Science and technology are great benefits for human being making every effort to increase their living standard.  Science and technology are the great source of high quality of welfare and a healthy life.  But they are more used and abused for creating material wealth.  Indeed, without this religion of Modern Science/Technology, even no Nazism and communism should have emerged.

Anyway, both those who believe in the God and those who do not would love science and technology.  They often present great or harmonious products of physical laws the God designed for and gave to mankind.  They satisfy most of human minds, accordingly.


http://blog.goo.ne.jp/ssssssss01/e/554165feaececc48c3b8fc3a04c106fb
Is a Lamb an Idol or the God?





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Luk 11:5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
Luk 11:6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
Luk 11:7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luk 11:8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.

Monday, November 04, 2013

"the Son of God might be glorified thereby" - No More Holy Books


Meiji Shinto Shrine, Tokyo


No More Holy Books


If Israelites or ancient Judaists had believed in Christ Jesus so as to make full efforts to contain Christianity within their religion Judaism as one school, the human history should have been so different.

Suppose if Judaists had admitted that Christ Jesus had been a member of their religion, and then we can think that there should not have been persecution of Jews.  Even no Holocaust should have occurred.  In this case today we must not have the special religious group called Jews.  Then the situation in the world must be very different.

Similarly if Islam had been established as a school of Judaism or Christianity, there must not be serious armed conflicts today between Israel and Islamic nations as well as between the US and some Islamic states and groups.

So, the relationships between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are crucial conditions in the past global incidents and present international relationships.  If these three religions were actually one, we could see only different and expanded versions of Judaism all over the world, including Europe, Israel, the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, Americas, and the Asian Pacific region.  In this religiously united world, we would find more peace.

But the fact is that Judaists and Muslims do not accept the belief that Christ Jesus is God, while Judaists do not regard Muslims as their relatives in faith.    

But I think if a certain condition is fulfilled, these three religions could be integrated, and the world will be more peaceful without armed conflicts  between Israel and Islamic nations as well as between the US and some Islamic states and groups.

But what is the condition?  Of course it is about handling of the holy books adopted in each religion.

They advanced their religions by writing, reading, modifying, expanding, translating, and relying on their own holy books rather than believing in their common God.  But if those believers complete the era of writing, reading, modifying, expanding, translating, and relying on their own holy books, they should be able to leave the holy books.

In other word, if there was king of the world who forbids use of holy books by Judaists, Christians, and Muslims, the three religions would be soon united.

So, in this case, ironically the best Judaists, Christians, and Muslims would even forget contents of their holy books so as to only rely on the concept of the God.  They might rather look like Abraham than rabbis, the Pope and the likes, or imams.  

"Forget about the holy books and just love the God" must become a new creed.


http://www.worldreligions.psu.edu/maps-christianity.htm
Spread of Christianity

https://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/WestTech/xislam.htm
Spread of Islam





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Joh 11:4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.