Unlike a crusader (religious, commercial, political or otherwise) I have no truth for sale here; only experiences, views, memories and dreams, none of which are intended to express anything but my own personal relationship with the truth and with reality.
The Fifth Nail blogs are essentially works of art. They "expose" the inner me, as a reflection of the world I live in. Like any artist, my hope is that others might find some reflection of themselves here. Perhaps my words seem ugly to you; perhaps beautiful. Either way, they speak of you more than they do of me. If you keep this in mind as you explore this gallery of personal reflections then you might be surprised by what you find.
(P.S. I do not fancy myself an artist except in the sense that we are all artist. I have no professional ambitions, or even any unusual talent in this regard. All I have is the desire and means to express myself, nothing more.)
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Faith Alone
„Faith alone will save our souls”, so say the Bible. But „faith alone” does not mean faith in one particular belief of other.
Faith alone means just that; faith, all by itself. We do not need to have „faith in Christ” or „faith in the Bible” in order to know the saving grace of „God”. In fact, having faith in anything that you can define, or even just imagine, is what the Bible warns us not to do, over and over.
This is called idol worship. Any time that you put your faith in something imagined, which can be (and usually is) an intellectual construct sometimes represented by a physical form (e.g. golden calf), then you are idol worshipping. It does not matter if the image you are worshipping has a physical form or not, if it is an idea, then it is an image, and it is a „false god.”
Now, I'm not saying „faith in God” or even „faith in Christ” is always a form of idol worship. As long as „God” or „Christ” are not imagined to be something ( i. e. a man from Nazareth, or an „old man in heaven”) then you have the kind of faith that saves. That is, formless or imageless faith, which is faith alone.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - September 12, 2010 – 2 pm)
Faith alone means just that; faith, all by itself. We do not need to have „faith in Christ” or „faith in the Bible” in order to know the saving grace of „God”. In fact, having faith in anything that you can define, or even just imagine, is what the Bible warns us not to do, over and over.
This is called idol worship. Any time that you put your faith in something imagined, which can be (and usually is) an intellectual construct sometimes represented by a physical form (e.g. golden calf), then you are idol worshipping. It does not matter if the image you are worshipping has a physical form or not, if it is an idea, then it is an image, and it is a „false god.”
Now, I'm not saying „faith in God” or even „faith in Christ” is always a form of idol worship. As long as „God” or „Christ” are not imagined to be something ( i. e. a man from Nazareth, or an „old man in heaven”) then you have the kind of faith that saves. That is, formless or imageless faith, which is faith alone.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - September 12, 2010 – 2 pm)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Breath of Life; Breath of Death
Buddha teaches that all life is suffering. We most suffer in order to live. “Enlightenment” is not an escape from suffering, it is an understanding and acceptance of it. We “end suffering” by becoming (or being) one with it.
Of course, that is all a bunch of cryptic gobbledygook that essentially means nothing to most people. But what if we put it like this:
Nature learns by making mistakes; lots and lots of mistakes. This process is sometimes called evolution. But it is much more than a way for genetic information to be manipulated for some survival benefit. It is the fundamental method of all intelligence, genetic information being just one form of intelligent “thought”.
But every mistake results in “death”, and hense a loss of “information”, which causes the being that experiences this loss to suffer. Thus, we have a system in order to live. Or, more correctly, a system of life that is itself a process of suffering.
Every thought you have and every experience is only possible because of a continues cycle of birth and death that occures on all levels of life and in all forms; genetic, physiological, psychological, mystical and others we have yet to even intellectualize.
This is the suffering we must embrace to have peace. It is the suffering that Christ spoke of as well as the Buddha. To seek pleasure is an attempt to escape the suffering of life (but so is seeking suffering). The object is to accept, by not seeking pain or pleasure. In this way, pleasure and pain both become infinitely enjoyable gifts, not something ever to be gained (born) or lost (die).
Birth and death become like breathing for us, on all levels. And likewise, we come to see breathing as a form of birth and death.
Of course, that is all a bunch of cryptic gobbledygook that essentially means nothing to most people. But what if we put it like this:
Nature learns by making mistakes; lots and lots of mistakes. This process is sometimes called evolution. But it is much more than a way for genetic information to be manipulated for some survival benefit. It is the fundamental method of all intelligence, genetic information being just one form of intelligent “thought”.
But every mistake results in “death”, and hense a loss of “information”, which causes the being that experiences this loss to suffer. Thus, we have a system in order to live. Or, more correctly, a system of life that is itself a process of suffering.
Every thought you have and every experience is only possible because of a continues cycle of birth and death that occures on all levels of life and in all forms; genetic, physiological, psychological, mystical and others we have yet to even intellectualize.
This is the suffering we must embrace to have peace. It is the suffering that Christ spoke of as well as the Buddha. To seek pleasure is an attempt to escape the suffering of life (but so is seeking suffering). The object is to accept, by not seeking pain or pleasure. In this way, pleasure and pain both become infinitely enjoyable gifts, not something ever to be gained (born) or lost (die).
Birth and death become like breathing for us, on all levels. And likewise, we come to see breathing as a form of birth and death.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Hebrews
The thing I like about the book of Hebrews in the Christian bible, is the way that it emphasizes the humanity of the Christ.
To me, and apparently to the author of Hebrews, if Christ were not human then he simply would not have the authority, or even the ability to „save mankind”.
This implies that his human nature is an integrial part of his ability to unite us with „God the Father”. Which means – and this is clearly stated in Hebrews – if Christ were not 100% human, then he would not be able to fulfill the role of „high priest” and intermediary between man and God.
So, his humanness is not just a central feature, it is the Key feature of his role on Earth. Even being God, or the Son of God, is secondary to this aspect of Christ. And this is true for preternatural reasons, not mere theological theories. Which is to say that Christ must be human in the same sense that the flesh must receive physical nourishment in order to survive.
And what is that reason? Hebrews tells us it is because unless Christ were human he could not know human temptation and suffering. So, he must know „temptation” in order to be the savior. Why?
Because temptation defines man's inslavement to the flesh and separation from God. Christ must not just know temptation, he must overcome it. By overcoming temptation he sets men free to return to the source of their being. If he were not human then men who seek salvation in Christ would not be able to have faith in his ability to overcome temptation. And it is man's faith in Christ's ability to overcome temptation that gives the man the ability to overcome his own temptation, or in other words, let Christ lead the way.
This is critical. Because if Christ had any advantage to overcoming temptation that other men did not have then men could not look to Christ for salvation. Because he would be „cheating” temptation, not overcoming it.
So far few Christian's would argue, but now lets follow this reasoning to its only conclusion, one that Hebrews attempts to reach: In order for Christ to know temptation as a man knows it, then he must also be a sinner, like man! If Christ were not „born in sin” then he could not know temptation. Sin and temptation can not be separated, as even St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Roman's.
And Hebrews itself confirms this conclusion by telling us that Christ, like any other man, had to be taught obedience to the Will of God. He was not born obedient.
And that's why I like Hebrews, because it says plainly what no modern Christian likes to admit: that Christ was born into sin, and was a sinner, before he was „purified on the cross”. It is only in death that Christ overcame sin, and only by dying did He become our savior – not by How He Lived.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - September 10, 2010 – 8 pm)
To me, and apparently to the author of Hebrews, if Christ were not human then he simply would not have the authority, or even the ability to „save mankind”.
This implies that his human nature is an integrial part of his ability to unite us with „God the Father”. Which means – and this is clearly stated in Hebrews – if Christ were not 100% human, then he would not be able to fulfill the role of „high priest” and intermediary between man and God.
So, his humanness is not just a central feature, it is the Key feature of his role on Earth. Even being God, or the Son of God, is secondary to this aspect of Christ. And this is true for preternatural reasons, not mere theological theories. Which is to say that Christ must be human in the same sense that the flesh must receive physical nourishment in order to survive.
And what is that reason? Hebrews tells us it is because unless Christ were human he could not know human temptation and suffering. So, he must know „temptation” in order to be the savior. Why?
Because temptation defines man's inslavement to the flesh and separation from God. Christ must not just know temptation, he must overcome it. By overcoming temptation he sets men free to return to the source of their being. If he were not human then men who seek salvation in Christ would not be able to have faith in his ability to overcome temptation. And it is man's faith in Christ's ability to overcome temptation that gives the man the ability to overcome his own temptation, or in other words, let Christ lead the way.
This is critical. Because if Christ had any advantage to overcoming temptation that other men did not have then men could not look to Christ for salvation. Because he would be „cheating” temptation, not overcoming it.
So far few Christian's would argue, but now lets follow this reasoning to its only conclusion, one that Hebrews attempts to reach: In order for Christ to know temptation as a man knows it, then he must also be a sinner, like man! If Christ were not „born in sin” then he could not know temptation. Sin and temptation can not be separated, as even St. Paul tells us in his letter to the Roman's.
And Hebrews itself confirms this conclusion by telling us that Christ, like any other man, had to be taught obedience to the Will of God. He was not born obedient.
And that's why I like Hebrews, because it says plainly what no modern Christian likes to admit: that Christ was born into sin, and was a sinner, before he was „purified on the cross”. It is only in death that Christ overcame sin, and only by dying did He become our savior – not by How He Lived.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - September 10, 2010 – 8 pm)
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Justice Eternal
They say that justice delayed is justice denied. This is more true than perhaps it was intended. If justice is not immediate then it simply cannot be justice. There is, fortunately, immediate justice for all infractions in the universe. In fact, you can use this truth as a touchstone to determine what infractions are real and which are mere fabrications (imagined). If justice is not invoked by the act, then the act is not universally criminal, but is rather superficial and unimportant. True consequences are eternal, in fact, as the Bible concures, a sin (i.e. “universal crimes”) is already “paid for” by the very existence of “God in man” (i.e. “the Christ”). This means that real justice has already occurred and will continue to occure both before and after any “sin” is ever committed. A philosophical consideration of the term “instantanious” reveals that in order for something to be instantanious then it must also be eternal (occuring both before and after any given event eternally).
There ultimately is only one possible eternal consequence. This consequence goes by as many different names as the One Eternal Being Itself. For convenience here I will call it “separation from the One Eternal Being” (or more correctly, perhaps, the illusion of said separation). All suffering comes from this illusion. Time itself is perhaps the most powerful form that this illusion portrays. Timeless existence is enlightenment, also known as heaven, or eternal life. And it is also known as knowing the will of God, or being one with the universe (or God).
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III in April of 2010)
There ultimately is only one possible eternal consequence. This consequence goes by as many different names as the One Eternal Being Itself. For convenience here I will call it “separation from the One Eternal Being” (or more correctly, perhaps, the illusion of said separation). All suffering comes from this illusion. Time itself is perhaps the most powerful form that this illusion portrays. Timeless existence is enlightenment, also known as heaven, or eternal life. And it is also known as knowing the will of God, or being one with the universe (or God).
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III in April of 2010)
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Penultimate Prison Break
The boy opened his eyes. Where am I? He saw the ceiling in front of him. He hurt. I hurt? He hurt all over his body. My body? What am I doing in a body? I hate bodies! The boy hated being in a body. So, he tried to leave it. He tried to fly to the ceiling.
I can't move! He stayed on his back, and then rolled his head to the side. Oh, god! I have a head! He saw a wall. Why is there a wall? He told the body to get up. The body complained severely. It groaned. I hate groaning bodies!
He tried to leave the body again, but the body had a brain, a large brain. And, the brain latched onto the boy, like a clamp. I hate brains! The brain spoke to the boy. The brain said, “I am a boy.”
Great!
The brain said, “I am a boy.”
I heard you the first time!
The brain said, “I hurt.”
Brilliant!
The boy told the body to at least roll over. The body started to move and painfully it rolled over.
Why can't I leave?
The brain said, “I'm scared.”
Of course you are, you're a brain!
The brain said, “Help me!”
I hate brains.
He looked in front of him. His eyes hurt. Oh, god! I have eyes! He saw a door. A door? The door was closed. So?
The brain said, “I'm scared.”
The boy looked down. The body was laying on a bed.
The brain said, “A hospital bed.”
I hate brains.
The boy looked at his body. I hate bodies.
The brain said, “I'm in the hospital.”
I really hate brains.
The body gracelessly rolled back over onto its back on the bed. The boy looked at the ceiling. He tried again to leave the body, but the brain clung on tight, not letting him go.
The boy closed his eyes.
The body closed its eyes.
The brain went to sleep.
And the boy flew away.
I can't move! He stayed on his back, and then rolled his head to the side. Oh, god! I have a head! He saw a wall. Why is there a wall? He told the body to get up. The body complained severely. It groaned. I hate groaning bodies!
He tried to leave the body again, but the body had a brain, a large brain. And, the brain latched onto the boy, like a clamp. I hate brains! The brain spoke to the boy. The brain said, “I am a boy.”
Great!
The brain said, “I am a boy.”
I heard you the first time!
The brain said, “I hurt.”
Brilliant!
The boy told the body to at least roll over. The body started to move and painfully it rolled over.
Why can't I leave?
The brain said, “I'm scared.”
Of course you are, you're a brain!
The brain said, “Help me!”
I hate brains.
He looked in front of him. His eyes hurt. Oh, god! I have eyes! He saw a door. A door? The door was closed. So?
The brain said, “I'm scared.”
The boy looked down. The body was laying on a bed.
The brain said, “A hospital bed.”
I hate brains.
The boy looked at his body. I hate bodies.
The brain said, “I'm in the hospital.”
I really hate brains.
The body gracelessly rolled back over onto its back on the bed. The boy looked at the ceiling. He tried again to leave the body, but the brain clung on tight, not letting him go.
The boy closed his eyes.
The body closed its eyes.
The brain went to sleep.
And the boy flew away.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Having Faith Is Enlightenment
What I will tell you now is ancient wisdom that has been told in all the great writings of truth, but seldom understood, since it can only be understood through contemplation of what is inside of you, not inside of some book.
To know the truth one must have faith in the truth. But it is not possible to have faith by any mortal effort. Faith comes only when it is desired but not sought.
By seeking faith you lose your faith. You may pray for faith, or meditate for enlightenment. But as soon as your goal becomes faith or enlightenment then your prayer or meditation becomes useless.
Let me be clear. You can have faith by praying for it. But, if the goal of your prayer is to have faith then you have already lost faith and the prayer does you no good.
Also, you can have enlightenment by meditating. But if the goal of your meditation is to attain enlightenment then you have already lost faith and enlightenment will ellude you.
This appears as a dilemma only when you look outwards for understanding. In truth there is no dilemma. The solution is simple; have faith, be enlightened. To try is to fail. One must learn to be, and to do, without effort. This is the only way. Yet, it cannot be learned.
You must unlearn instead.
You must stop trying.
You must simply, believe, without believing in something; do, without doing, without purpose or intent. This is having faith.
Having faith is enlightenment.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - April 4, 2011 – 9 am)
To know the truth one must have faith in the truth. But it is not possible to have faith by any mortal effort. Faith comes only when it is desired but not sought.
By seeking faith you lose your faith. You may pray for faith, or meditate for enlightenment. But as soon as your goal becomes faith or enlightenment then your prayer or meditation becomes useless.
Let me be clear. You can have faith by praying for it. But, if the goal of your prayer is to have faith then you have already lost faith and the prayer does you no good.
Also, you can have enlightenment by meditating. But if the goal of your meditation is to attain enlightenment then you have already lost faith and enlightenment will ellude you.
This appears as a dilemma only when you look outwards for understanding. In truth there is no dilemma. The solution is simple; have faith, be enlightened. To try is to fail. One must learn to be, and to do, without effort. This is the only way. Yet, it cannot be learned.
You must unlearn instead.
You must stop trying.
You must simply, believe, without believing in something; do, without doing, without purpose or intent. This is having faith.
Having faith is enlightenment.
(Originally written by Joseph E. Duncan III - April 4, 2011 – 9 am)
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