Cloudscape

Rather than not saying unkind things, we should not think them. If we said everything what we thought, we would learn not to think unkind things at all, rather than not saying them. By not just talking kindly, but thinking kindly towards others, we will become far more loving. Therefore, when you think something unkind, say it. At the very thought of saying it, however, you will see that what you thought was unkind, so that you will change the way you think before saying it. This does not mean you will change your mind, but you'll be less judgmental. Thus, by all means, share whatever you think. If it is unkind, change how you think. If it is hurtful yet helpful, then say it anyway, for that, as well, is kind.

Theology's actual use should be to convince dogmatists of the error of their beliefs. Since they will slavishly obey their dogmas, their dogmas may be used to make them reject them, by pointing out that their dogmas tell them either to do things that they would never do, or not to do things that they have already done.

For example, according to Exodus 35:2, "Whoever does any work on [the seventh day] must be put to death." If fundamentalists could be made to see the evil, even Satanic nature of commandments such as these, they might be made, over time, to see that the Bible cannot have been divinely inspired.

According to many religious dogmas, almost anyone is acquainted to a sinner their dogmas would tell them to kill. Since almost all dogmatists will still omit something or other from their dogmas, by confronting them with these things one may use their own dogmas against them.

By making dogmatists disagree with parts of their own dogmas, one may fight the dogmas with its own weapon: absolutism. Absolutism is easily turned against itself as no dogma can be absolute without in some way being contradictory both to itself and to human nature.

 

It is not enough to think positively, as we must, at the same time as we think of positive things to cherish, we must also think of anything negative we must discard. Negativity recognizes problems. Positivity recognizes opportunities. If we think only positively, but never negatively, we will never deal with our problems.

When we create, we must also destroy, for in everything we create there are chaos to destroy. When we destroy, we must also create, as with everything we destroy we will create space to create. If we only create but never destroy, we will eventually end up creating only chaos, while destroying all space there is left.

Positivity nurtures; negativity purifies. Without negativity, our impurity will turn to illness, and we will ourselves become as the germs of an illness, growing and spreading without purpose no matter the cost. Without positivity, our purity will turn to emptiness, and we will starve in that emptiness, wasting away without ever replacing what is wasted. Only if there is a balance of both can we be healthy.

Ultimately, all destruction is creation, and all creation is destruction: creation, the destruction of nothingness. Destruction, the creation of existence. Ultimately, what we should destroy is our ignorance, and what we create, consciousness.

Positivity is that which strives towards more of something. Negativity is that which strives towards less of something. But negative and positive are one, for less of one thing means more of another, and more of one thing less of another. Thus, in the end there are but two ways we can go: towards greater consciousness and away from ignorance, or the other way around.

We need attraction to achieve our goals, but so too do we need repulsion to avoid our downfall. Just as electromagnetism, we need both positive and negative; otherwise there can be nothing but chaos. Through balance between the two alone can there be beauty.

That we always tell ourselves and each other to think positively is just another sign of our imbalance towards yang. The result is that all we do is to create more and more problems we never deal with. We live our lives to create, but all we ever create is more problems. If we are to deal with our problems, we are first to recognize them, and, therefore, to think negatively.

If everyone thought for themselves and was open of mind, no one would still need any kind of elite, as every thought would be welcome, no matter from whom it came, yet nothing would be taken as certain. Elites are the direct result of passivity.

Existentialism is often rejected by theists because of its association with atheism, yet the fact is that even the Bible, as well as the Tanakh, is essentially existentialist, stating in the Ecclesiastes literally that "everything is meaningless" and even that "the dead know nothing." If Christians and Jews were made aware of this, they might, perhaps, be brought to the sense of living for consciousness itself, and not for dogmas. I do not agree that death is oblivion, as I do not know what death may be, but this viewpoint might nonetheless be used against the dogmas.

As yet, we may use their dogmas to make them aware that even their dogma tells them to be conscious, and so does not give an excuse for automatisms. Of course, even in spite of the Bible they simply think whatever they want, so that they are free to omit whatever parts of the Bible they want, choosing to live by whatever parts they like. Still, we can but try.

Quotes:

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26:

"A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God."

Ecclesiastes 3:22:

"So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?"

Ecclesiastes 5:19-20:

"Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work—this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart."

Ecclesiastes 6:3-6:

"A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded. Though it never saw the sun or knew anything, it has more rest than does that man—even if he lives a thousand years twice over but fails to enjoy his prosperity. Do not all go to the same place?"

Ecclesiastes 8:15:

"So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."

Ecclesiastes 9:1-2:

"So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God's hands, but no man knows whether love or hate awaits him. All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, [a] the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not."

Ecclesiastes 11:8: "However many years a man may live, let him enjoy them all. But let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. Everything to come is meaningless."

Ecclesiastes 9:5: "For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing; they have no further reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten."

Ecclesiastes 9:4: "Anyone who is among the living has hope [b] —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!"

Ecclesiastes 8:17: "then I saw all that God has done. No one can comprehend what goes on under the sun. Despite all his efforts to search it out, man cannot discover its meaning. Even if a wise man claims he knows, he cannot really comprehend it."

Deuteronomy 10:20:

"Fear the LORD your God"

Exodus 4:13-14:

"But Moses said, "O Lord, please send someone else to do it." Then the LORD's anger burned against Moses" […] Exodus 4:24: "At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him."

Numbers 14:26-35:

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: "How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, 'As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you—your bodies will fall in this desert. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. For forty years—one year for each of the forty days you explored the land—you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded together against me. They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die.""

Deuteronomy 9:7-9:

"Remember this and never forget how you provoked the LORD your God to anger in the desert. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against the LORD. At Horeb you aroused the LORD's wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you. When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water."

Exodus 34:6:

"The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness"

Exodus 4:21-23:

"The LORD said to Moses, "When you return to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders I have given you the power to do. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, 'This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son, and I told you, "Let my son go, so he may worship me." But you refused to let him go; so I will kill your firstborn son.'"

Exodus 7: 1-5

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.""

Exodus 7:17-18:

"This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD : With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the river will stink; the Egyptians will not be able to drink its water.' "

Exodus 8:5:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams and canals and ponds, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' ""

Exodus 8:16-17:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground,' and throughout the land of Egypt the dust will become gnats." They did this, and when Aaron stretched out his hand with the staff and struck the dust of the ground, gnats came upon men and animals. All the dust throughout the land of Egypt became gnats."

Exodus 8:24:

"And the LORD did this. Dense swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials, and throughout Egypt the land was ruined by the flies."

Exodus 9:6:

"And the next day the LORD did it: All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one animal belonging to the Israelites died."

Exodus 9:8-9:

"Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of soot from a furnace and have Moses toss it into the air in the presence of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the whole land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on men and animals throughout the land."

Exodus 9:10-12:

"So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on men and animals. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said to Moses."

Exodus 9:22-25:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt—on men and animals and on everything growing in the fields of Egypt." When Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky, the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning flashed down to the ground. So the LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt; hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. Throughout Egypt hail struck everything in the fields—both men and animals; it beat down everything growing in the fields and stripped every tree."

Exodus 10-1-2:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD."

Exodus 10-12:

"And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."

Exodus 10:18-20:

"Moses then left Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. And the LORD changed the wind to a very strong west wind, which caught up the locusts and carried them into the Red Sea. [b] Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go."

Exodus 11:1:

"Now the LORD had said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt."

Exodus 11:4-10:

"So Moses said, "This is what the LORD says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt—worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.' Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come to me, bowing down before me and saying, 'Go, you and all the people who follow you!' After that I will leave." Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh."

"The LORD had said to Moses, "Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you—so that my wonders may be multiplied in Egypt." Moses and Aaron performed all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country."

Exodus 12:12:

"On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn—both men and animals—and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt."

Exodus 14:8:

"The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly."

Exodus 14:17-18:

"I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."

Exodus 14:26-28:

"Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward [c] it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived."

Leviticus 26:14-39:

"'But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands, and if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and fail to carry out all my commands and so violate my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will bring upon you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and drain away your life. You will plant seed in vain, because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies; those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you.

"'If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like bronze. Your strength will be spent in vain, because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of the land yield their fruit.

"'If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over, as your sins deserve. I will send wild animals against you, and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few in number that your roads will be deserted.

"'If in spite of these things you do not accept my correction but continue to be hostile toward me, I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over. And I will bring the sword upon you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you, and you will be given into enemy hands. When I cut off your supply of bread, ten women will be able to bake your bread in one oven, and they will dole out the bread by weight. You will eat, but you will not be satisfied.

"'If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. You will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols, and I will abhor you. I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I will lay waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.

"'As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies that the sound of a windblown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall, even though no one is pursuing them. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before your enemies. You will perish among the nations; the land of your enemies will devour you. Those of you who are left will waste away in the lands of their enemies because of their sins; also because of their fathers' sins they will waste away.""

Deuteronomy 11:16-17

"Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you.""

Deuteronomy 28:15-44:

"However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. [a] The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. The sights you see will drive you mad. The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.

You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail."

Deuteronomy 28:58-63:

"If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess."

Exodus 22:25:

"I am compassionate."

Exodus 20-13:

"You shall not murder."

Exodus 21:12, 16, 17:

"Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death."

[…]

"Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death."

"Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death."

Genesis 38:6-7:

Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death.

Exodus 21:29:

"If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman, the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death."

Exodus 22:18:

"Do not allow a sorceress to live.

Exodus 22:19:

"Anyone who has sexual relations with an animal must be put to death."

Exodus 22:20:

"Whoever sacrifices to any god other than the LORD must be destroyed."

Leviticus 20:9-15

"'If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother, and his blood will be on his own head."

"'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

"'If a man sleeps with his father's wife, he has dishonored his father. Both the man and the woman must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

"'If a man sleeps with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. What they have done is a perversion; their blood will be on their own heads."

"'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

"'If a man marries both a woman and her mother, it is wicked. Both he and they must be burned in the fire, so that no wickedness will be among you."

"'If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal."

"'If a woman approaches an animal to have sexual relations with it, kill both the woman and the animal. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."

Leviticus 20:27: "'A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.' "

Leviticus 21:9 " 'If a priest's daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.

Leviticus 24:14 "Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him. Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death."

Numbers 15:32-36:

"While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp." So the assembly took him outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.""

Leviticus 26:6-8: "You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you."

Leviticus 24:17:

"'If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death."

Numbers 16:3:

"They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?""

Numbers 16:20-22:

"The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Separate yourselves from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."

But Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?""

Numbers 16:28-35:

"Then Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things and that it was not my idea: If these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not sent me. But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to them, and they go down alive into the grave, [c] then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."

As soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community. At their cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to swallow us too!"

And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense."

Numbers 16:41-50:

"The next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You have killed the LORD's people," they said.

But when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD said to Moses, "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once." And they fell facedown.

Then Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has come out from the LORD; the plague has started." So Aaron did as Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for them. He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague stopped. But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah. Then Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had stopped."

Numbers 21:5-6:

""Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died."

Numbers 25:6-9:

"So Moses said to Israel's judges, "Each of you must put to death those of your men who have joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor."

"Then an Israelite man brought to his family a Midianite woman right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel while they were weeping at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. When Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear in his hand and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove the spear through both of them—through the Israelite and into the woman's body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000."

Numbers 31-1-3, 7:

"The LORD said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people."

So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the LORD's vengeance on them. […] They fought against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every man."

Numbers 31:15-18:

""Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the LORD's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.""

Deuteronomy 4:3-4:

"You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor."

Deuteronomy 4:23

"Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God."

Deuteronomy 5:8-10:

"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Deuteronomy 6:14-16:

"Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land."

Deuteronomy 7:1-2:

"When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you- and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. [a] Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy."

Deuteronomy 20:16-17:

"However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy [a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you."

Deuteronomy 7-16:

"You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you."

Deuteronomy 7:20:

"Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished."

Deuteronomy 8:19-20:

"If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God."

Exodus 22:29:

"Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. You must give me the firstborn of your sons. Do the same with your cattle and your sheep. Let them stay with their mothers for seven days, but give them to me on the eighth day."

Exodus 34:19:

"The first offspring of every womb belongs to me."

Exodus 32:10:

"Now leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them."

Exodus 32:27-29:

"Then he said to them, "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor.' " The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died. Then Moses said, "You have been set apart to the LORD today, for you were against your own sons and brothers, and he has blessed you this day.""

Exodus 32:35

"And the LORD struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made."

Exodus 35:2:

"For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it must be put to death."

Leviticus 10:6:

"Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, [a] and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the LORD will be angry with the whole community."

Deuteronomy 12:1-2:

"These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods."

Deuteronomy 13:6-11:

"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. 9 You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again."

Deuteronomy 13:12-16:

"If you hear it said about one of the towns the LORD your God is giving you to live in that wicked men have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods you have not known), then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. Destroy it completely, [a] both its people and its livestock. Gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. It is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt."

Deuteronomy 19:21:

"Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Deuteronomy 20:10-15:

"When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies. This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby."

Deuteronomy 22:20-24:

"If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you."

If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.

If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the girl because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man's wife. You must purge the evil from among you."

Deuteronomy 22:28-29:

"If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives."

Joshua 6:20-21:

"When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so every man charged straight in, and they took the city. They devoted the city to the LORD and destroyed with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys."

Genesis 1:26:

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

Joshua 10:11:

"As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them from the sky, and more of them died from the hailstones than were killed by the swords of the Israelites."

Joshua 10:13:

"So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on [b] its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!"

Joshua 10:19-20:

""But don't stop! Pursue your enemies, attack them from the rear and don't let them reach their cities, for the LORD your God has given them into your hand." So Joshua and the Israelites destroyed them completely—almost to a man—but the few who were left reached their fortified cities."

Joshua: 10:28-40:

"That day Joshua took Makkedah. He put the city and its king to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it. He left no survivors. And he did to the king of Makkedah as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it. 30 The LORD also gave that city and its king into Israel's hand. The city and everyone in it Joshua put to the sword. He left no survivors there. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Libnah to Lachish; he took up positions against it and attacked it. 32 The LORD handed Lachish over to Israel, and Joshua took it on the second day. The city and everyone in it he put to the sword, just as he had done to Libnah. 33 Meanwhile, Horam king of Gezer had come up to help Lachish, but Joshua defeated him and his army—until no survivors were left.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him moved on from Lachish to Eglon; they took up positions against it and attacked it. 35 They captured it that same day and put it to the sword and totally destroyed everyone in it, just as they had done to Lachish.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron and attacked it. 37 They took the city and put it to the sword, together with its king, its villages and everyone in it. They left no survivors. Just as at Eglon, they totally destroyed it and everyone in it.

Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned around and attacked Debir. 39 They took the city, its king and its villages, and put them to the sword. Everyone in it they totally destroyed. They left no survivors. They did to Debir and its king as they had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron.

So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded."

Joshua 11:7-11:

"So Joshua and his whole army came against them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and attacked them, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel. They defeated them and pursued them all the way to Greater Sidon, to Misrephoth Maim, and to the Valley of Mizpah on the east, until no survivors were left. Joshua did to them as the LORD had directed: He hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and put its king to the sword. (Hazor had been the head of all these kingdoms.) Everyone in it they put to the sword. They totally destroyed [b] them, not sparing anything that breathed, and he burned up Hazor itself."

Joshua 11:14-15:

"The Israelites carried off for themselves all the plunder and livestock of these cities, but all the people they put to the sword until they completely destroyed them, not sparing anyone that breathed. As the LORD commanded his servant Moses, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did it; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses."

Joshua 11:19-20:

"Except for the Hivites living in Gibeon, not one city made a treaty of peace with the Israelites, who took them all in battle. For it was the LORD himself who hardened their hearts to wage war against Israel, so that he might destroy them totally, exterminating them without mercy, as the LORD had commanded Moses."

Joshua 22:8:

"Return to your homes with your great wealth—with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing—and divide with your brothers the plunder from your enemies."

Joshua 23:12-13:

"But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them, then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you."

All connection we can feel with the whole of society, or the whole world, is a question of imagination, as it requires compassion with something beyond what we can see. It is something very abstract, as it takes only very little information about the reality of this connection. For the most part, it originates entirely from within the mind itself. In this, this connection is similar to spirituality, which is, likewise, a connection with a greater whole. In fact, it might even be said that this is spirituality, as, however we define God, the universe itself will usually fit the definition except in that the universe is not, as such, a person.

In fact, this may even be one of the reasons why we evolved spirituality: the survival of the individual depends on the survival of the group, and the group depends on the environment. Therefore, over time this sense of connectedness is in the interest of the group itself. When a group becomes increasingly sedentary, increasingly populous, and increasingly intelligent, spirituality becomes all the more important for the survival of the group, and, therefore, on connecting with that environment. Population makes it more important because we come to impact the environment more; sedentariness makes it more important because we come to depend more on the same environment; intelligence makes it all the more important because it enables us to alter our behavior.

We appear to be the most spiritual mammals on the planet not just because we are the most intelligent, but also because we are among the most populous, as well as being among the most sedentary, at least, we are the most genetically predisposed to it.

There is, however, nothing inherently theistic about spirituality. Spirituality is a feeling. The thoughts only came later as an explanation of this feeling. We did not develop this system of thoughts through evolution. It is possible to preprogram information into our brain through instincts, but this information never consists of thoughts, but of feelings. Spirituality in itself is nothing but a feeling of connectedness with the environment and the species, and whatever beliefs we formed about this feeling only came later.

To connect with the whole of society, or of the world, or of the universe, is in itself something highly spiritual, and this explains why the two sometimes go hand in hand. In fact, the world and deities are very similar in many ways: the universe is its own creator and the ruler of all. It is human instinct to ascribe these traits to the environment because they are true. The environment did create the species in that all of us are built of nutrients from the environment, and because all nutrients come from the environment, it is the ruler of all.

Furthermore, the universe is omnipresent in that it is everywhere there is space, and omnipotent in that it may cause anything possible by natural law, and in a sense, it may even be said to be omnibenevolent, in that anything it causes will eventually cause evolution. All these beliefs essentially stem from the same feeling, a feeling of the connectedness of all things in the world. Again, this sense of connectedness is important because it is, in effect, real. It was important that the species became aware of this connectedness if it was to survive, and this sense of connectedness is essentially a form of intelligence. More accurately, it could actually be said to be a manifestation of intelligence, as intelligence is the faculty of perceiving connections.

The ability to sense a connectedness with the world is therefore likely accounted for by the same genetics which bring about the general ability to see connections, and any restrictions put upon this ability is likely caused only later in life due to an analytical education. This would explain why atheism is for the most part a relatively recent phenomenon, and why, in ancient cultures, atheism ("strong" atheism, that is) was very rare. (Julian Baggini: Atheism, page 110: "Atheism had its origins in Ancient Greece but did not emerge as an overt and avowed belief system until late in the Enlightenment")

As is usual with the definition of words, we find that our definition of spirituality cannot hold, because once its meaning is investigated deeply enough, the definition disintegrates because everything is in effect connected. This is the limitation of definitions, and indeed, a definition is in itself essentially a limitation imposed on a meaning.

In a sense, connection with the universe and connection with a God is one and the same thing, and if a connection with the universe is actually an extension of a connection with the environment, this is important in the psychology of religion.

Unfortunately, because people's environment is often no more than society itself, it sometimes goes so far that many spiritual people do not connect with anything more than society in their spirituality, and so society has become their God. Because of human instinct to ascribe omnipotence to its environment, humans who live in a largely societal environment will instinctively be urged to ascribe omnipotence to their environment. This may even be so strong that the group actually comes to demand this omnipotence, which also explains the authoritarianism which most of society has spent a large part of its existence in.

The more you punish a drug addict for his addiction, the more they will use their drug to escape from the pain. Punishment isn't treatment. Drug addicts should be treated, not punished. Those deserving punishment are in fact the dealers.

Repeat after me: I am an imbecile. I am an imbecile.

When we found a belief, it is as though we found a town, for we then settle down though we could wander further. It is alright to dwell in a town for a while, but let us not stay in one town for all our lives. Let us travel from town to town, that we may see the entire world. The open of mind travel fast.