Podcasts about truth itself

"Kamala is brat!" If you have no idea what that means, you may not be aware that Democrats seem to be winning the war of memes in the 2024 presidential campaign. Why are they doing better at this battle of online signs and signifiers than they have in the past? And does it make a difference? Paul and Ayelet are joined by Amanda Marcotte, senior politics writer at Salon.com and author of  of Troll Nation: How The Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set On Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself, and Jennifer Stromer-Galley, professor in the School of Information Studies at Syracuse University and author of Presidential Campaigning in the Internet Age, to discuss what's happening in the meme war and what it all means.

Read OnlineJesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all…” Matthew 5:33–34The purpose of an oath was to guarantee the truthfulness of the statement made. Sometimes this can be very good. For example, many of the Sacraments involve making a public vow before God and the Church. In these cases, the vow is a form of oath that is solemnized so as to invite the grace of God to enter and strengthen it. It becomes a way of making a public witness to one's faith and an expression of one's need for God's grace to be faithful to the promise that is made.Jesus is not speaking about these forms of public vows, oaths and promises in the Gospel today. Instead, He is addressing a practice that some engaged in, whereby they regularly swore on God's name about the truthfulness of what they were saying. The problem with this is that it takes something solemn and sacred and carelessly turns it into something ordinary. There is no need to “swear to God” about everything one says.First of all, if one feels a need to call on God's name regularly so as to convince another of the truthfulness of their statements, then it is most likely the case that they do so because they are struggling with dishonesty. Oath-taking on a regular basis seems to presuppose a human tendency to lie. For that reason, it is not ideal to go about one's daily interactions with this presupposition. Instead, as Christians we must strive for a fundamental disposition of truthfulness. Jesus concludes this Gospel teaching by saying, “Let your ‘Yes' mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No' mean ‘No.' Anything more is from the Evil One.” In other words, work to become a person of true honesty and integrity. Be sincere in all of your dealings, and do not begin with a presupposition of dishonesty. Begin with the intention of complete honesty and sincerity, and that will suffice. Furthermore, if one were to go about their day making one oath after another, swearing on God's name to the truthfulness every time, this would have the effect of lessening the solemnity of those few times when this is a good and holy practice. Making public vows, such as marriage vows, or public promises, such as priests make, are unique and solemn. Publicly renewing our faith within the Church, taking an oath as one begins the responsibility of some public office, or any other more solemn opportunity for oath-taking should be seen as a special occasion. Therefore, our daily commitments must simply be the fruit of our honesty and integrity as persons. Reflect, today, upon your own daily approach to honesty and sincerity. Do you go about your day with the goal of living in the truth, speaking the truth and seeking the truth? Are you honest with others, seeking good and clear communication with them? Ponder these questions and know that interior integrity requires these virtues of honesty and sincerity. Seek that integrity and others will benefit as they grow to trust you each and every day. Lord, You are the source of all truth, and You are Truth Itself. Please help me to become a daily instrument of that Truth in all that I say and do. I choose You and Your holy will always, and I choose to be Your instrument for all to see. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured images above: via pxhere

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers…” Mark 12:18–20And these Sadducees then go on to present to Jesus a long and unlikely hypothetical scenario in which this woman eventually married all seven brothers after each one died. And at the conclusion of their hypothetical situation, the Sadducees ask Jesus, “At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?” Of course, Jesus offers them the correct answer and then also states something interesting. He tells the Sadducees that they “are greatly misled.” Just prior to this conversation with the Sadducees, the Pharisees had presented their own question to Jesus in an attempt to trap Him. The difference seems to be that the Sadducees had more sincerity in their pursuit of the truth whereas the Pharisees were more obsessed with their own authority and power.The Sadducees were considered the more traditional of the religious leaders, in that they accepted only the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, as authentically revealed. They also did not accept the afterlife or the resurrection of the dead because they believed that the Torah did not explicitly teach those things. The Pharisees not only accepted the Torah but also the rest of what is contained in the Old Testament. The Pharisees also accepted what was referred to as the “tradition of the elders,” which meant that they paid much attention to the scrupulous multiplication of laws and regulations that other Pharisees devised, and they sought to impose those man-made laws upon the people.In this Gospel passage, the problem with the Sadducees seems to be scrupulosity and rigidity in their approach to the faith. They clearly relied upon human reason, and they applied their human reason to the Torah. And though human reason and logical deduction are helpful and necessary in life, they attempted to solve every matter of faith by their own effort by narrowly and rigidly interpreting the Torah. They did not allow themselves to be open to the deeper wisdom of God that floods one's human reason when one is attentive to divine inspiration and revelation. Instead, they were black and white in all of their deductions and practices. This rigidity left them “greatly misled.”In our own lives, we can also become greatly misled when we use the gift of our human reason in a rigid and narrow way. We must never overly simplify the faith, and we must never think that we will easily be able to arrive at all the answers by our own effort. Our constant goal must be to allow our minds to become fully immersed in the deepest wisdom of God and all that He has revealed. The teachings of the Church will guide us, keeping us on the straight path, but it will be the voice of God, speaking to our minds in a real and personal way, that will help us to understand the depth and breadth of God's Will, His Truth, and Wisdom. Reflect, today, upon any tendency you have to be like these Sadducees. Are you rigid? Or narrow minded? Do you allow yourself to be misled into thinking you have all the answers? If so, seek humility. Humble yourself before the awesome mysteries of Heaven. Use your mind to probe the truths that God has revealed and be ready to be drawn deeper and deeper into the life of God Himself. My Lord of infinite wisdom, You are Truth Itself, and You continually reveal Yourself to us. Give me the humility I need to always be open to all divine Truth in my life so that I will come to know You and Your holy will as You desire. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: The Sermon on the Mount By Guillaume Fouace, via Wikimedia Commons

“Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” John 17:17–19What does it mean to “consecrate” something or someone? Consecration is, of course, a very familiar term within our faith. We speak of the bread and wine being consecrated and becoming the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus our Lord. The consecration of the mere earthly substances of bread and wine transform them into God Himself. Thus, “consecration” is a powerful word.Another familiar use of this word is in reference to those women who have been called by God to enter religious life so as to dedicate themselves to God as spouses of Christ. They become “Consecrated Religious” through their solemn lifelong vows. They are dedicated, taken out of the world and presented to Christ in a unique way.Among the laity, there are many who have consecrated themselves to our Blessed Mother, or to the Sacred Heart, or to our divine Lord through some other special form of devotion. In all of these cases, to “consecrate” is to dedicate, set aside and make holy. Another translation for the word “consecrate” above is “sanctify.” To “Sanctify them in the truth” is to make them holy by the truth. This is Jesus' prayer in the above-quoted passage. This line comes from Jesus' beautiful High Priestly Prayer in which He prays to the Father for His disciples and for all who will eventually become His disciples—and that includes you! Jesus' prayer is not only effective as a prayer, it is also effective as a lesson on holiness. How do we become holy? Simple. We allow the Word of the Father to consecrate us in truth. In other words, we allow God's holy Word to engage us, challenge us, change us, call us from sin, point us to Heaven and transform every aspect of our lives. God's Word is the Truth, and we will become holy if we are transformed by this Truth. In what ways do you need the Truth, spoken by the Father in Heaven, to engage you? What are the truths of our faith that you especially need to know, accept, profess and believe? One of the best ways to answer this question is to commit yourself to an in-depth, prayerful reading of the Word of God. By prayerfully reading the Scriptures, you will open yourself to all that God wants to reveal to you. And as the voice of God speaks to you through His Word, you will be invited to change. His Word will combat the confusion and lies of the world and the evil one and set you upon the path to holiness, to true sanctity and interior consecration. Reflect, today, upon the transforming power of the Word of God. Reflect upon how fully you have allowed His Word to speak to you, call you out of the world, set you apart for holiness and direct you toward Himself. Engaging the Word of God must become your daily spiritual food, and it must paint for you the picture of your glorious life to which you are called. My Jesus, Word of the Father, You are Truth Itself. You are the Living Word Who has come to set us free. Give me the grace I need to listen to Your holy voice so that Your Truth will engage me in the depths of my soul, transforming me into the person You have called me to be. I open myself to You, dear Lord, and to all You wish to say to me. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2024 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.Featured image above: By Prabowo Shakti from Pixabay

St. Teresa says God reveals Himself to a soul as Truth Itself and encourages us to live in conformity with the truth. Fr. Reid explains how the more a soul receives from God, and consequently comes to know and love Him, the more the soul suffers in seeing itself so distant from Him and unable to enjoy Him completely as it will in Heaven. Episode 16 focuses on The 6th Mansions, Chapters 10 & 11.LEARN MORE - USE COUPON CODE COM25 FOR 25% OFF:The Interior Castle (Deluxe Edition): https://bit.ly/42oGlwWTAN Classics Deluxe Set: https://bit.ly/3MTGBOzThe Interior Castle (Paperback Edition): https://bit.ly/3CbAAbeThe Autobiography of St. Teresa of Ávila: https://bit.ly/43sanBoSt. Teresa of Ávila: Reformer of Carmel: https://bit.ly/3qpKVOaThe Commentaries is a podcast series from TAN in which you'll learn how to read and understand history's greatest Catholic works, from today's greatest Catholic scholars. In every series of The Commentaries, your expert host will be your personal guide to not just read the book, but to live the book, shining the light of its eternal truths into the darkness of our modern trials and tribulations.To download your FREE Classic Companion PDF and for updates about new seasons, expert scholars, and exclusive deals for The Commentaries listeners, sign up at TANcommentaries.com And for more great ways to deepen your faith, check out all the spiritual resources available at https://TANBooks.com and use Coupon Code COM25 for 25% off your next order.

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone's brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.' Now there were seven brothers…” Mark 12:18–20And these Sadducees then go on to present to Jesus a long and unlikely hypothetical scenario in which this woman eventually married all seven brothers after each one died. And at the conclusion of their hypothetical situation, the Sadducees ask Jesus, “At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?” Of course, Jesus offers them the correct answer and then also states something interesting. He tells the Sadducees that they “are greatly misled.” Just prior to this conversation with the Sadducees, the Pharisees had presented their own question to Jesus in an attempt to trap Him. The difference seems to be that the Sadducees had more sincerity in their pursuit of the truth whereas the Pharisees were more obsessed with their own authority and power.The Sadducees were considered the more traditional of the religious leaders, in that they accepted only the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, as authentically revealed. They also did not accept the afterlife or the resurrection of the dead because they believed that the Torah did not explicitly teach those things. The Pharisees not only accepted the Torah but also the rest of what is contained in the Old Testament. The Pharisees also accepted what was referred to as the “tradition of the elders,” which meant that they paid much attention to the scrupulous multiplication of laws and regulations that other Pharisees devised, and they sought to impose those man-made laws upon the people.In this Gospel passage, the problem with the Sadducees seems to be scrupulosity and rigidity in their approach to the faith. They clearly relied upon human reason, and they applied their human reason to the Torah. And though human reason and logical deduction are helpful and necessary in life, they attempted to solve every matter of faith by their own effort by narrowly and rigidly interpreting the Torah. They did not allow themselves to be open to the deeper wisdom of God that floods one's human reason when one is attentive to divine inspiration and revelation. Instead, they were black and white in all of their deductions and practices. This rigidity left them “greatly misled.”In our own lives, we can also become greatly misled when we use the gift of our human reason in a rigid and narrow way. We must never overly simplify the faith, and we must never think that we will easily be able to arrive at all the answers by our own effort. Our constant goal must be to allow our minds to become fully immersed in the deepest wisdom of God and all that He has revealed. The teachings of the Church will guide us, keeping us on the straight path, but it will be the voice of God, speaking to our minds in a real and personal way, that will help us to understand the depth and breadth of God's Will, His Truth, and Wisdom.Reflect, today, upon any tendency you have to be like these Sadducees. Are you rigid? Or narrow minded? Do you allow yourself to be misled into thinking you have all the answers? If so, seek humility. Humble yourself before the awesome mysteries of Heaven. Use your mind to probe the truths that God has revealed and be ready to be drawn deeper and deeper into the life of God Himself. My Lord of infinite wisdom, You are Truth Itself, and You continually reveal Yourself to us. Give me the humility I need to always be open to all divine Truth in my life so that I will come to know You and Your holy will as You desire. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

LESSON 118 For morning and evening review: (105) God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept God's peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace. (106) Let me be still and listen to the truth. Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God's perfect Son. On the hour: God's peace and joy are mine. On the half hour: Let me be still and listen to the truth.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 118

Governments are now installing “media literacy” courses into schools for all ages. This is not only unnecessary--critical thinking skills, a return to factual analysis, and removing groomers from schools would more than suffice--these classes are the opposite of media literacy. Take, for instance, the very article that announced the Governor of New Jersey signing one such act into law. In that article we learn: the Governor has no political party (not true); America's form of governance is “democracy” (not true) and we get this lovely paragraph“The bipartisan bill requires the state's education commissioner to empanel a committee that includes library media specialists and educators to draft learning standards that must teach students how to differentiate fact and opinion, use library resources to find scholarly articles, and understand economic, social, and legal factors related to the use of information.”So, we have one person--a commissioner--who will empanel librarians, no doubt members of the library union that promotes sexually perverted men who imagine they are women dressed as cartoon prostitute-strippers twerking for kids--teaching kids how to discern “fact” versus opinion. To do that, they will turn solely to “scholarly articles” . . . from the same academia that pretends men are women; if you are white you are racist; maks work and America was founded in 1619 to the express purpose of being a slave nation. What they want, of course, is to make their opinions into truth itself. That's why they will ultimately fail. What does God say?There are truths, they are easily discerned because they come from Truth Itself, God. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [AUDIO] - Joe Biden was arrested and released in his 20s for trespassing at the Capitol. Today, he holds hundreds of non-violent political prisoners in solitary confinement for the very same crime of trespassing at the Capitol.NJ Governor Murphy signs bill requiring media literacy lessons in schoolsNYPD Actively Misleading the Public About the Motives of Times Square Machete Attacker; Exonerating Islam at any cost.Massachusetts Cops Shoot Muslim Waving Machete; This comes on the heels of a Muslim machete attack on cops in New York City.‘Dispelling the ‘Few Extremists' Myth – the Muslim World Is Overcome with HateHow Green Investors Pay the Media to Promote ‘Climate Change'; AP takes millions from groups leveraged in green investments to promote the need for green investments.[AUDIO] - NBC'S @BrandyZadrozny claims it's misinformation athletes are increasingly suffering cardiac issues following Covid shotsCNN Invokes Hamlin's Cardiac Arrest to Warn Against GOP LawmakersWhat Was the Most Insane Piece of Vaccine Propaganda You've Seen? Recapping two very strange years and the brighter future that awaits[AUDIO] - Fauci has been pulled from retirement to control the narrative on Damar Hamlin. He's NOT Damar's doctor-who earlier this week stated that he did NOT know what caused the cardiac arrest. Fauci was put back in front of a camera for propaganda purposes only

LESSON 118 For morning and evening review: (105) God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept God's peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace. (106) Let me be still and listen to the truth. Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God's perfect Son. On the hour: God's peace and joy are mine. On the half hour: Let me be still and listen to the truth.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 118

Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman welcome on the show author Amanda Marcotte, author of the book "Troll Nation: How The Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set On Rat-F*cking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself"  To support the show and access additional content, including the weekly Weekender episode, become a patron at http://patreon.com/muckrakepodcast 

Today we consider the means by which to be a happy learner of the Way of Truth Itself. We read selections from Chapter 13 of the text of A Course In Miracles, entitled "From Perception to Knowledge".

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers…” Mark 12:18–20And these Sadducees then go on to present to Jesus a long and unlikely hypothetical scenario in which this woman eventually married all seven brothers after each one died. And at the conclusion of their hypothetical situation, the Sadducees ask Jesus, “At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?” Of course, Jesus offers them the correct answer and then also states something interesting. He tells the Sadducees that they “are greatly misled.” Just prior to this conversation with the Sadducees, the Pharisees had presented their own question to Jesus in an attempt to trap Him. The difference seems to be that the Sadducees had more sincerity in their pursuit of the truth whereas the Pharisees were more obsessed with their own authority and power.The Sadducees were considered the more traditional of the religious leaders, in that they accepted only the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, as authentically revealed. They also did not accept the afterlife or the resurrection of the dead because they believed that the Torah did not explicitly teach those things. The Pharisees not only accepted the Torah but also the rest of what is contained in the Old Testament. The Pharisees also accepted what was referred to as the “tradition of the elders,” which meant that they paid much attention to the scrupulous multiplication of laws and regulations that other Pharisees devised, and they sought to impose those man-made laws upon the people.In this Gospel passage, the problem with the Sadducees seems to be scrupulosity and rigidity in their approach to the faith. They clearly relied upon human reason, and they applied their human reason to the Torah. And though human reason and logical deduction are helpful and necessary in life, they attempted to solve every matter of faith by their own effort by narrowly and rigidly interpreting the Torah. They did not allow themselves to be open to the deeper wisdom of God that floods one's human reason when one is attentive to divine inspiration and revelation. Instead, they were black and white in all of their deductions and practices. This rigidity left them “greatly misled.”In our own lives, we can also become greatly misled when we use the gift of our human reason in a rigid and narrow way. We must never overly simplify the faith, and we must never think that we will easily be able to arrive at all the answers by our own effort. Our constant goal must be to allow our minds to become fully immersed in the deepest wisdom of God and all that He has revealed. The teachings of the Church will guide us, keeping us on the straight path, but it will be the voice of God, speaking to our minds in a real and personal way, that will help us to understand the depth and breadth of God’s Will, His Truth, and Wisdom.Reflect, today, upon any tendency you have to be like these Sadducees. Are you rigid? Or narrow minded? Do you allow yourself to be misled into thinking you have all the answers? If so, seek humility. Humble yourself before the awesome mysteries of Heaven. Use your mind to probe the truths that God has revealed and be ready to be drawn deeper and deeper into the life of God Himself.My Lord of infinite wisdom, You are Truth Itself and You continually reveal Yourself to us. Give me the humility I need to always be open to all divine Truth in my life so that I will come to know You and Your holy will as You desire. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2021 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we are to witnesses to truth. The truth is God's holy will and NOT our version of truth. For God is TRUTH ITSELF. Truth is NOT a weapon we use to punish, condemn, or destroy. Rather, truth is offered in LOVE! For GOD IS TRUTH and PERFECT LOVE. We are vesels of God's truth in love so one may be HEALED and return to the Lord. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fr-william-maestri-overfed-and-undernourished/support

“Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” John 17:17–19 (Year B)What does it mean to “consecrate” something or someone? Consecration is, of course, a very familiar term within our faith. We speak of the bread and wine being consecrated and becoming the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus our Lord. The consecration of the mere earthly substances of bread and wine transform them into God Himself. Thus, “consecration” is a powerful word.Another familiar use of this word is in reference to those women who have been called by God to enter religious life so as to dedicate themselves to God as spouses of Christ. They become “Consecrated Religious” through their solemn lifelong vows. They are dedicated, taken out of the world and presented to Christ in a unique way.Among the laity, there are many who have consecrated themselves to our Blessed Mother, or to the Sacred Heart, or to our divine Lord through some other special form of devotion. In all of these cases, to “consecrate” is to dedicate, set aside and make holy. Another translation for the word “consecrate” above is “sanctify.” To “Sanctify them in the truth” is to make them holy by the truth. This is Jesus’ prayer in the above-quoted passage. This line comes from Jesus’ beautiful High Priestly Prayer in which He prays to the Father for His disciples and for all who will eventually become His disciples—and that includes you! Jesus’ prayer is not only effective as a prayer, it is also effective as a lesson on holiness. How do we become holy? Simple. We allow the Word of the Father to consecrate us in truth. In other words, we allow God’s holy Word to engage us, challenge us, change us, call us from sin, point us to Heaven and transform every aspect of our lives. God’s Word is the Truth, and we will become holy if we are transformed by this Truth.In what ways do you need the Truth, spoken by the Father in Heaven, to engage you? What are the truths of our faith that you especially need to know, accept, profess and believe? One of the best ways to answer this question is to commit yourself to an in-depth, prayerful reading of the Word of God. By prayerfully reading the Scriptures, you will open yourself to all that God wants to reveal to you. And as the voice of God speaks to you through His Word, you will be invited to change. His Word will combat the confusion and lies of the world and the evil one and set you upon the path to holiness, to true sanctity and interior consecration.Reflect, today, upon the transforming power of the Word of God. Reflect upon how fully you have allowed His Word to speak to you, call you out of the world, set you apart for holiness and direct you toward Himself. Engaging the Word of God must become your daily spiritual food, and it must paint for you the picture of your glorious life to which you are called. My Jesus, Word of the Father, You are Truth Itself. You are the Living Word Who has come to set us free. Give me the grace I need to listen to Your holy voice so that Your Truth will engage me in the depths of my soul, transforming me into the person You have called me to be. I open myself to You, dear Lord, and to all You wish to say to me. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2021 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

LESSON 118 For morning and evening review: (105) God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept God's peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace. (106) Let me be still and listen to the truth. Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God's perfect Son. On the hour: God's peace and joy are mine. On the half hour: Let me be still and listen to the truth.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 118

Please join me as I welcome master spiritual teacher GP Walsh for a very special edition of Decide to Transform. GP appears on the show twice a month as Executive Contributor, and today he delivers a fabulous interview on what is meant by the label "spiritual." Also, he leads us in a fascinating discussion of what it means to stand in the authority of your own truth. In the modern world, confusion reigns when it comes to subjects like truth and authority. We are often taught that truth is highly individualized, and we are encouraged to stand in "our" truth, as though it sits apart from other people's truths and that we own it. This, of course, leads us to defining and defending it. Truth itself (with a capital T) belongs to all of us. It is shared, and we have never lost it. Here in the world, it takes courage to stand in it. We have to be willing to change, to give things up. If we are willing, what we find is that Truth Itself is the ultimate Authority.  Please join us for this fascinating conversation! --- GP Walsh has spent a lifetime studying various world spiritual traditions, and is a student of Non-Dual Self Inquiry master Sri Mooji. GP teaches on a variety of subjects, and is the creator of the programs The Yoga of Allowing and Inner Reconciliation. GP's teachings are deep, relatable, and compassionate, and they present esoteric concepts in an easy-to-understand format.  For more information about GP and his retreats, certification courses, and classes, visit gpwalsh.com. ---

Today I am joined by Amanda Marcotte, a Texas-born writer who covers politics, feminism and culture for The Salon. A few days ago she wrote an excellent article on the Black Lives Matter movement. Though we rarely discuss politics on the show, at this moment it is important to be fully present with the pressing issues of our time. In 2018 Amanda published a book called ‘Troll Nation', and I wanted to know how the writing process went for her.  As always, we chat about Texas and food. We discuss how it was to grow up in Texas, and racial prejudice that we witnessed, and I'm also surprised to learn how much food Amanda grows in her garden! “The best way is to be a noob. The best way is to do a lot of listening and not talking.” – Amanda Marcotte Time stamps: 1:30 – Introducing my guest Amanda Marcotte. 5:25 – Discussing Amanda's latest article on The Salon. 10:45 – The social and political implications of disbanding police departments. 14:52 – What she thinks about Trump's whole fake news thing. 19:00 – What Amanda's book is about. 21:30 – What are the odds for Trump in 2020 elections. 26:50 – The consequences of discussing politics with our families. 30:00 – The problems Patrick had growing up in Texas because of his Mexican origins. 34:20 – How Amanda's growing up in El Paso was. 37:15 – How Texas is changing and progressing. 40:45 – What Amanda's diet is like and what she likes to cook. 46:40 – The plants and vegetables Amanda grows at her garden. 52:56 – How people can support the Black Lives Matter movement. Resources: How and why Black Lives Matter harnessed a nation's anger toward Donald Trump by Amanda Marcotte Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Sat on Rat-F*cking Liberals, America and the Truth Itself by Amanda Marcotte Cultivate: Grow Your Own Food in a Box, interview with Nathan Heath Texas Real Food Connect with Amanda Marcotte Twitter Facebook Connect with Patrick Scott Armstrong: Instagram Facebook Email

LESSON 118 For morning and evening review: (105) God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept God's peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace. (106) Let me be still and listen to the truth. Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God's perfect Son. On the hour: God's peace and joy are mine. On the half hour: Let me be still and listen to the truth.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 118

Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." This is a hard thing to understand. How can He be the way to God, Truth Itself, and real Life? I believe that we have to look at this as a mirror saying. God is the source of Life, the Creator. Through His creation, He conveys Truth about Himself, metaphysical truths expressed through the Logos, the Word, the logic behind the order of the universe. By understanding God as the source of Life and Truth, a perfect example of all that is good, we can then begin to derive a way of acting that is in accord with our nature in His Image and Likeness. Jesus is the fulfillment of time, God incarnate, the perfect example of how to act. People around the world struggled to find a way to live virtuously. They looked for the straight and narrow path, or as Aristotle and Confucius would say, "The Mean." I believe, and will demonstrate, that Jesus showing us how to live led us to a full Truth that leads to the fullness of Life. Today, we'll begin that discussion with the Life, and its source: God. I want to walk through arguments in favor of a creator and why that creator must be God. The universe can't have always existed. If that were the case, every possible thing would have had to have happened, which would include the universe itself not existing. Without getting into a discussion of the multiverse, it is clear that anything physical can't be eternal in the way the universe is today. You could argue that something created could be never-ending, however with science today, that is a hard case to make as well. Everything created is contingent. If you exist (which you do if you're reading this), then you have some cause for your being. Each person comes from 2 parents. Trees come from seeds that came from trees before them. The universe, all known being, is contingent on something else. That means that we fall into the problem above. You can't just have an infinite regress of causes- that's absurd. There has to be one necessary being that created everything. That's God. This argument is true for motion, actuality, and cause, and they're very similar to one another. There are a few things we can know about God based on this. If God is the uncaused cause, He is at His essence being itself. He simply is. He is also simple, made up of no parts. He needs nothing. Therefore, we can be confident that His creation is out of love. He doesn't need to be loved, entertained, assured of His power. Through His omnipotence, he sustains all of being and gives life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/conofourgen/support

"I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see you!" - JobThank God for atheists! Atheists have taught me more about God than any preacher or seminary professor. They have shown me what God is not, and thereby pointed me toward who God is. I credit the books of the so-called “New Atheists” with helping me identify and reject false gods and thereby redirect me to True God. Especially former Christian preachers who became atheists have deepened my Christian faith by pointing out the weaknesses of traditional understandings of God.My inquiry into God – like my inquiry into the nature of the self – has led me beyond the human conceptions of God to what Christian philosopher Paul Tillich calls “God beyond God.” The God of religion is nothing more than an idea in the mind. It is a construction of the human mind, a mental image. To worship a mental image of God is just as idolatrous as worshiping a graven image, and it is just as much a violation of the first and second commandments. The God of most theists is an idol. But God is real. The One God that Christian doctrines, icons, scriptures, and words point to is Ultimately Real. But ideas about God are not. We must not mistake the words used to describe God for God to whom they point. There is an old saying: Do not mistake the finger pointing to the moon for the moon itself. We must not mistake doctrine that points to Truth for Truth Itself. Road signs along the spiritual path are not the destination to which they point. In this chapter I explore those Christian doctrines that point us beyond ideas and bring us into the presence of God. I call them paradoxical pointers – doctrines like the trinity, incarnation, and theodicy – also known as the problem of suffering and evil. When allowed to fulfill their purpose these doctrines bring us into an experience of God. I also explore the ideas of whether True God is personal or impersonal.

LESSON 118 For morning and evening review: (105) God's peace and joy are mine. Today I will accept God's peace and joy, in glad exchange for all the substitutes that I have made for happiness and peace. (106) Let me be still and listen to the truth. Let my own feeble voice be still, and let me hear the mighty Voice for Truth Itself assure me that I am God's perfect Son. On the hour: God's peace and joy are mine. On the half hour: Let me be still and listen to the truth.- Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles, Lesson 118

My guest for today is Amanda Marcotte. She’s a political writer for Salon.com, and has a new book out called “Troll Nation: How The Right Became Trump-Worshiping Monsters Set On Rat-Fucking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself.” Today I have her on the show to talk about her latest book, and what the Left can do now with the current political climate.Links:•Amanda on Salon: https://www.salon.com/writer/amanda_marcotte •Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte •Real Life Beyond Faith: https://reallifebeyondfaith.podbean.com/ •The Trans Podcaster Visibility Initiative: https://www.facebook.com/transvisiblepodcaster/ •Dream Youth: http://dreamyouth.bandcamp.com •Asher Silberman: http://www.ashersilberman.com/ •My Twitter: http://twitter.com/tmamone •Bi Any Means on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bianymeanspod •Bi Any Means on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bianymeanspodcast •The Bi Any Means/Biskeptical Podcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/179617892470906/ •Email: bianymeanspodcast@gmail.com •Listener line: 410-690-3558 •My Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/tmamone•PayPal link: http://paypal.me/tmamone

My guest for today is Amanda Marcotte. She’s a political writer for Salon.com, and has a new book out called “Troll Nation: How The Right Became Trump-Worshiping Monsters Set On Rat-Fucking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself.” Today I have her on the show to talk about her latest book, and what the Left can do now with the current political climate.Links:•Amanda on Salon: https://www.salon.com/writer/amanda_marcotte •Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaMarcotte •Real Life Beyond Faith: https://reallifebeyondfaith.podbean.com/ •The Trans Podcaster Visibility Initiative: https://www.facebook.com/transvisiblepodcaster/ •Dream Youth: http://dreamyouth.bandcamp.com •Asher Silberman: http://www.ashersilberman.com/ •My Twitter: http://twitter.com/tmamone •Bi Any Means on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bianymeanspod •Bi Any Means on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bianymeanspodcast •The Bi Any Means/Biskeptical Podcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/179617892470906/ •Email: bianymeanspodcast@gmail.com •Listener line: 410-690-3558 •My Patreon page: http://www.patreon.com/tmamone•PayPal link: http://paypal.me/tmamone

Journalist Amanda Marcotte guests on today's show to discuss her new book, "Troll Nation: How the Right Became Trump-Worshipping Monsters Set On Ratfucking Liberals, America, and Truth Itself".

Near death experiences, the loss of a loved one, other other out-of-body occurrences point toward the truth that we are meant to be born out of this world into a higher one, even though this transition is often a traumatic one. The reality that our mind wants not just particular truths, but the Truth Itself, indicates our orientation to God. We are our bodies, rooted in this world, but we are more than our bodies. This mysterious capacity within us the Church calls "the soul." And at the end of our earthly lives, the soul is breathed out, not into non-being, but into the hands of God.