Orthodox or D I E and overcome PROcrastination

Hear a great Penticost Day song

They know not what they do, but it's NOT alright

Too many people nowadays believe that the terms born again, non-denominational and Christian mean the same. But actually the meaning is quite different and the fact that many don't know or are clueless is very risky business for us all. Think Satin, Science leaning toward orthodox religion, then pointing to Born Agains, Non denominaltionals and Christians coming up short on relgious training make wrong choices.

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." Therefore, the assumption is that we will experience "good" things and "bad" things, but "all" of these things can be made to contribute toward "good" ends as God works them out. So even the attacks of Satan, although evil, can and will have a "good" result, ultimately, as God uses them to conform us to Christ, His Son (see Romans 8:29). Attacks from Satan, along with all other tribulations, can cause believers to love God more, resist Satan more, practice patience, and grow stronger in our faith in many other ways. Praise God for His sovereign protection.

Psalm 19 has a place in my heart

Thank Him for His plan to make everything—even Satan’s attacks—"work together for good" for you! Satan and his demons are constantly tempting human beings to sin against God, and the Bible gives us many examples. The devil “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Satan fills people’s hearts with lies (Acts 5:3). He is “the tempter” (1 Thessalonians 3:5).

In Satan’s temptation of Eve in Genesis 3 and in his temptation of Jesus in Matthew 4, we see the tactics he used and still uses with us. While varied in their details, most temptations fall into one of three categories listed in 1 John 2:16: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

In Satan’s first temptation of Jesus, he appealed to the lust of the flesh. Jesus was very hungry, and Satan tempted Him to use His power to make bread for Himself. Jesus resisted the temptation, but the encounter shows that Satan does not play fair. He exploits our physical weaknesses and kicks us when we’re down. He knows the weak places in our flesh and looks for opportunities to stir illicit passions inside our hearts.

Stop procrastinating - do it NOW . . .

When Satan tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, he suggested to her that the Lord was keeping something delicious from her (Genesis 3:6). When he tempts us with the lust of the flesh, he points to a natural desire and suggests that we should meet it in our own selfish way. Eve’s natural desire for food was not wrong, but Satan exploited it. That desire became sin when she fulfilled it in an ungodly way. Sexual immorality begins with a natural desire for intimacy. But if we have not allowed Jesus to become a greater passion, the tempter may convince us that we must meet this need our own way.

The second way Satan tempts us is through the lust of the eyes. Eve’s eyes told her something about the fruit that conflicted with what God had said about it. Eve’s eyes rebelled against God’s commandment and “saw that it was good for food and that it was a delight to the eyes” (Genesis 3:6). Our eyes play a major role in our decision-making. We see something we want, and our flesh agrees that we must have it. In this age of visual overstimulation, our eyes take in millions of bits of information through the day, and, unless we filter that information through a pure heart (Matthew 5:8; Psalm 24:4), our eyes will lead us into sin.

Samson started his downhill slide with the lust of the eyes. Judges 14—16 details Samson’s flirtation with sin and the tragic results. As God’s chosen leader, Samson had no business hanging out in Philistine territory, much less flirting with their women. But his eyes led him into sin: “Then Samson went down to Timnah and saw . . . one of the daughters of the Philistines. So he came back and told his father and mother, ‘I saw a woman. . . . Get her for me, for she looks good to me” (Judges 14:1–3, emphasis added).

When Satan tempted Jesus, he tried to get the Son of God to lust with His eyes, showing the Lord all the kingdoms of the world and offering to give Him everything—without the cross. Jesus defeated Satan’s temptation with the Word of God (Luke 4:8; cf. Deuteronomy 6:13). Despite what His eyes saw, Jesus would not be swayed by it. Therefore, in Jesus’ case, Satan could not exploit the lust of the eyes.<

The pride of life is a weakness we all succumb to at times. Satan tempts us with the desire to be our own gods, and he is adept at stroking our ego. Eve’s desire to be made wise led her to sin in Genesis 3. In her pride of life, she rejected the Lord’s right to rule over her and chose instead to make her own decisions. In essence, she became her own god. Christians can play into Satan’s hands when we hold out on full surrender to the lordship of Jesus. We tend to give more consideration to pleasing other people than to pleasing God. We like to retain “veto power,” just in case God wants us to do something we don’t want to do.

Satan tempted Jesus with the pride of life in Luke 4:9–11. He gave Jesus an opportunity to “show off” and publicly prove that He was the Son of God. The act would involve a spectacular miracle, the Father’s care, and many angels. Jesus’ response to Satan’s third temptation was to again quote Scripture (Luke 4:12; cf. Deuteronomy 6:16).

Satan tempts us in many ways, but “we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:11). We know he masquerades as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), trying to make evil look good. We know he manipulates with false guilt, exploits natural weaknesses, and twists Scripture. We know he deceives and distracts and destroys.

He has many fiery darts, but they are all quenched with the shield of faith (Ephesians 6:16). We can overcome the temptations of Satan, because “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”





Satan may tempt us through the lust of the flesh, but we “do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1). Satan may tempt us through the lust of the eyes, but our prayer is “Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word” (Psalm 119:37). Satan may tempt us through the pride of life, but we humble ourselves continually before the Lord (1 Peter 5:6; James 4:10).

Besides believers, researcher Kevin Rounding and his colleagues are arguing that the primary purpose of religious belief is to enhance the basic cognitive process of self-control, which in turn promotes any number of valuable social behaviors.





They tested this theory in four fairly simple experiments, using classic measures of self-control. In the first study, for example, they used a word game to prime some volunteers’ (but not others’) subconscious thoughts of religion. Then they asked all the volunteers (using a ruse) to drink an unsavory mix of OJ and vinegar, one ounce at a time. They were told they could stop any time, and to take as much time as they liked, and that they would be paid a small amount for each ounce of the brew that they drank.

The amount they drank was a proxy for self-discipline. The more OJ and vinegar they forced down, they greater their self-control. And as predicted, those with religion on their mind endured longer at the unpleasant task. Since society and religion ask us to tolerate many things we don’t particularly like for the common good, the scientists interpret this finding as evidence of a particular kind of self-control.

Another way to think of self-control, perhaps the most familiar, is delayed gratification—resisting immediate temptation to wait for a greater reward later on. In another experiment, the scientists again primed some of the volunteers with hidden religious words, but in this case they were told (falsely) that the experiment was concluded and that they would be paid. They were told, further, that they could either return the next day and be paid $5, or come back in a week and get $6. This is a widely used laboratory paradigm for measuring the exertion of discipline in the face of temptation, and indeed, almost twice as many of those with religion opted for more money later.

Self-control is costly, consuming a lot of mental resources. Recent research has demonstrated that our cognitive power—in the form of glucose, the brain’s fuel—is limited. The mind and brain can become fatigued, just like a muscle, and when depleted, normal self-control is impaired.

The third experiment built on an understanding of this process, often called “ego depletion.” The scientists wanted to see if cognitively depleted people are “refueled” with reminders of religion, so they had only half of the volunteers perform a mentally draining task while listening to loud music. Then they primed half of these depleted volunteers, and half the controls, with religious words.

So at this point, there were four groups: Depleted; depleted but religiously primed; undepleted controls; and religiously primed controls. All of these volunteers then attempted a set of geometrical puzzles, which, unknown to them, were impossible to solve. The impossible task was included to test their persistence against great difficulty—another measure of self-control.

The ones with religion on their minds persisted longer at the impossible task—suggesting that the religious priming restored their cognitive powers—and their patience in the process. They performed basically the same as those who were never tired out in the first place. The scientists take this as strong evidence for the replenishing effect of religion on self-discipline.

< The fourth and final experiment was the only one with asking — is it possible that the religious priming might have activated something else—moral intuition, or death-related concerns? In order to rule out these possibilities, the scientists used a completely secular self-control task.



The scientists primed some with religious words as usual, but others were primed with moral words—virtue, righteous—and still others with words related to mortality—deadly, grave, and so forth. Then all the volunteers attempted the Stroop task on a computer, which measured accuracy and reaction time. The results, as reported in a forthcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science, showed that religiously primed volunteers had much more self-control.

It’s not entirely clear what cognitive mechanism is at work in religion’s influence on self-control. One possibility is that religion makes people mindful of an ever watchful God, and thus encourages more self-monitoring. Or religious priming may activate concerns of supernatural punishment. A more secular explanation is that religious priming makes people more concerned about their reputation in the community, leading to more careful self-monitoring.

Therefore, having a strong religion is imperative.  Most do not define born again, non denominational or just Christian as strong religions that help when help is needed.









Furthermore all Christians should agree that the intention of the Holy Ghost is to teach us how one goes to heaven, not how heaven goes.









Sigmund Freud, who referred to himself as a ‘godless Jew’, saw religion as delusional, but helpfully so. He argued that we humans are naturally awful creatures – aggressive, narcissistic wolves. Left to our own devices, we would rape, pillage and burn our way through life. Thankfully, we have the civilizing influence of orthodox religion to steer us toward charity, compassion and cooperation by a system of carrots and sticks, otherwise known as heaven and hell.

Maybe, then, the heart of religion is not its ability to explain nature, but its moral power?









The born again religious person lacking religious training would have no problem saying “The world of Covid-19 is going to need more and more automation to keep people safe.”





Chinese Sophia is capable of imitating human gestures and facial expressions. She’s equipped to answer certain questions and engage in simple conversations. Cameras are embedded in Sophia's eyes, and along with computer algorithms, she’s able to see things. The humanoid robot can track faces, maintain eye contact and recognize people. Google’s Alphabet offers Sophia’s speech recognition technology. The robot is "designed to get smarter over time."

Hanson, the inventor believes that these AI-backed robots will serve as workers and companions for people residing in nursing homes and in other settings that require interactions with humans.





However, orothodox religion true value lies in its therapeutic power, particularly its power to manage our emotions. How we feel is as important to our survival as how we think. Our species comes equipped with adaptive emotions, such as fear, rage, lust and so on: religion was (and is) the cultural system that dials these feelings and behaviors up or down.

A non denominational religious person lacking religious training would have no problem saying that new jobs will be created in this emerging trend. Others are fearful that they’ll lack the skills, education and knowledge to find a job or hold onto their positions in this new technological, robotic and AI economy.

The Japanese robot, Erica, is not only beautiful but she possesses improved speech and an ability to understand and respond to questions, with her every utterance accompanied by uncannily humanlike changes in her facial expression.

The group’s leader, Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University says, “that one day, humans and robots will be able to love each other.”

A no soul or holy spirit humanoid is taking our place. Thank God orthodox religion reduces anxiety, stress and depression. orthodox religion provides existential meaning and hope. Orthodox religion focuses aggression and fear against enemies. orthodox religion domesticates lust, and it strengthens filial connections. Through story, orthodox religion trains feelings of empathy and compassion for others. And it provides consolation for suffering.

Emotional therapy is the animating heart of orthodox religion. Social bonding happens not only when we agree to worship the same totems, but when we feel affection for each other. An affective community of mutual care emerges when groups share orthodox rituals, liturgy, song, dance, eating, grieving, comforting, tales of saints and heroes, hardships such as fasting and sacrifice.

Emotional management is important because life is hard. The Buddha said: ‘All life is suffering’ and most of us past a certain age can only agree. Orthodox religion handles what I call the ‘vulnerability problem’. When we’re sick, we go to the doctor, not the priest. But when our child dies, or we lose our home in a fire, or we’re diagnosed with Stage-4 cancer, then orthodox religion is helpful because it provides some relief and some strength. It also gives us something to do, when there’s nothing we can do but let God take control.

Why are we stressing and committing suicide?  A Christian religious person lacking religious training would have no problem with Atlas.  This USA bipedal humanoid robot was primarily developed by the American robotics company Boston Dynamics with funding and oversight from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The robot was initially designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks, even though the United States and other countries are confronting a job-loss crisis.<

Does it make sense to mass produce robots to take the jobs that people need to provide for their families, now, during the health crisis?  Unfortunately, future robotics may allow the possibility for machines to learn from problems they confront, write their own instructions and then respond to sudden external changes. This means that autonomous systems can change their behavior from what was initially programmed, thus becoming independent from human controllers. They would not be limited to what is written in their system; they would become smarter, artificially intelligent and perhaps even more ‘aware’.

The TAS project began on the first of November and is looking into the legal, ethical and social contexts for the possible applications of independently acting machines. Robotics could replace humans in work too dangerous to do. ‘This can make them more useful, but also less predictable,’ says Professor Kerstin Eder, head of the Trustworthy Systems Laboratory and leader of Verification and Validation for Safety in Robots at the Bristol Robotics Lab.

Once machines obtain the ability to think and respond on their own, who knows what else they may achieve. Could they develop awareness and intuition? Could they begin to act in their own will and interest? These are all things we must consider when opening this Pandora’s box of possibilities, which as humans we continuously seek to unlock.

Would you trust an autonomous robot to drive you around or even operate on you?









This type of “morals vs. commerce” dilemma will continue to play out for the foreseeable future, as technology is rapidly developing, causing disruptions in the job marketplace.  Orthodox religions are what's needed nowadays. From here you might like the "OldOld Testament review and relevancy" post - talking about how related The Bible is to today's issues and delves into Bible Study, to include the New Testament.



Please leave a comment. Do you think born agains, Christians or non-denominationals are cults? Why? Do you think they do harm to orthodox protestant religions? Why? Do you think robots pose a problem - other than unemployment? Why?

at January 23, 2022