JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Another one gone

David Cassidy dead at 67, Mel Tillis gone too, seems there was another one too, all in the past few days. Makes me realize how old I'm getting.

It is scary and sad as I'm 72 and don't know how much longer I have here on this mysterious Planet. I THINK I LOVE YOU Popped into my head...lol....AC DC Guy died last week....ugh...It's amazing that people just disappear.....I wonder if they woke up someplace else or just ceased to exist....?

People have been wondering that for years. Let me know if you ever get an answer. I will need time to pack...or maybe not?

We can go over to The Terminal Lounge and wait for Angel Transport back to wherever the hell we came from.....lol.....

...or travel to new, mysterious places...

Since humans have been able to think, they have been wondering this. I think about it nearly every day.

The fear of death started religion. Long before Jesus walked the earth there were all kind of religions, all designed to provide comfort to the living, dealing with loss. Then He came, and started another religion. If you're Hindu, Jesus means nothing to you, if your Christian, Krishna means nothing to you. If your Pagan, Mormons mean nothing to you.

And anywhere you go around the world, you will see people deeply worshipping whatever God they believe in, and with as much passion as anyone else.

If I see a statue of Khrisna, I feel no reverence of any kind, and do not fear it or embrace it. I do respect it though.

If I see a statue of Jesus on the Cross, suddenly it means something to me, cause I was born into Christianity.

So I dont think the answer is in religion, nature may be what we call God.

Im not denouncing my faith, I went to Catholic School so many ideas are still engrained.

But, The idea of God being people like, capable of thought and ideas, i think is pretty far fetched. If you look at the history of the earth, dinosaurs roamed and ruled the world for 200 million years, there's been 5 ice ages, why does a thinking God need to do that? If he wanted us here, he'd put us here and not sit through 200 million years of dinosaurs and toss 5 ice ages at us and then say ahh ok, im done with that experiment let me make some humans

The human body as great as it is, is extremely flawed by design. You can get cancer from sitting in the sun, and millions and millions of people have defective genes that make them born with deformities and make them die you or never live at all.

If you happen to get lucky and get great genes, you can live a very healthy and happy life, become a big star at whatever career you choose, you can get perfect SAT scores, and go to the finest college in the land. You can date and marry some of the most beautiful women in the world. become a millionaire. And the majority of that is decided by your genes.

God seems to be unfair to many and very kind to others.

I believe that what we call God may be the life force. something that had to kick the ball in motion, and maybe we do go somewhere spiritual and peaceful
when we die and join with the force, but I dont think we will need glasses or have look around for that gray haired guy called God.

We may just be joined at the hip with the life force, whatever that is, we dont know!

I struggle with this too. I read a very interesting book called The Urantia Book...Urantia means Planet Earth that talks about this. I wrote a song called "I'M A BELIEVER".....and it's about this but nobody really knows. Are we our bodies and brain or is Me or I in charge of my brain and body. If there is a Soul or other I guess it's in our Aura......Such a mystery....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YR6uk6yVql8

Well the brain makes us who we are. Songwriters, happy, sad, likes and dislikes. Taste in food, colors, music. The brain makes people prone to drugs and alcohol, more likely to be a criminal and murderer.

Some say though we are all one spirit, and our brains are just the antenna that takes the signals and makes us an individual. Kind of like a radio, the signal is coming from Somewhere else, the radio just picks it up and converts it to useable form.

The subject is fascinating though, it's fun listening to hard scientists and philosophers argue!

It's all in a book called the bible. It starts out" in the beginning, God", from there it tells the history of mankind. Over the millions of years, what ever grew in vegetation or animal, would die and rot to produce oil, coal, etc. that mankind would need for energy in the future. God has a plan and it evolved over a long period of time, humans created in His image was the crowning glory of His creation, we were meant to live forever, but sin crept in in the garden of Eden, when Satan, the enemy of God, convinced Adam and Eve to disobey God's law, we've been paying for that ever since. But God provided a way for mankind to be forgiven of that sin by sending His Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of our sins through His sacrifice, all we have to do is believe and accept Him as our Saviour, if we do not, then we are still in our sin state and will pay for our own sins when we die. Many accept and believe, many do not, we have free will to choose or not to choose. I spent the first half of my life choosing to live for Satan, until I started looking into Christianity and found that it made sense, so I choose to live now for Jesus, I've never regretted that decision, I just wish I had made it long before.

The Bible is somewhat like a History Book about us and our Planet.
BUT I think much is just wishful thinking. I'll just wait till I die to find out.
I believe that some have different innate abilities like writing songs or books or great science minds etc and that's in our Brain already. But the I comes into whether I decided to pursue that innate ability or not. Many have great natural innate skills and abilities but never pursue any of them. The brain is the hardware but WE or I is the one typing here on our computer. At least that's how I see it.

Well,
David Cassidy was popular with the younger crowd and Mel Tillis was popular with the older crowd. Both were great talents. Mel Tillis wrote probably the most intriguing song I have ever heard, HEART OVER MIND recorded by Ray Price.

Barry, if you wait till you die, it will be too late, you must make your decision while you are still alive. I recommend you read the book of John, chapter three, when Jesus Himself tells Nicodemus he must be born again to enter the kingdom of God.

I'm not on board with all that. If that were true then billions of people on our Planet now are all going to hell. The Jesus I know and love would never have anything to do with that. You can believe what you want and I respect your decision. I don't think he came to die for our sins I believe he came to show us how to live a life and then I believe he rose to let us know that we all live past the grave...

Hi Everett:

I had seen the David Cassidy notices and was aware Mel Tillis had been seriously ill... but not aware he had died. My youngest daughter used to babysit for the Tillis' when we lived south of Nashville. So sad to hear Mel is gone. He was a genuinely nice person. May he rest in peace.

Thanks for sharing. ----Dave

You are welcome Dave. I believe there was three music giants that dies within a few days of each other.

Barry. It is true that Jesus did rise from the grave to show us that we CAN and WILL live past the grave, but where we live depends on our acceptance of Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for our sins. The bible says he who has Jesus has eternal life, but those that does not have Jesus is dead already. The dead in Christ go to be with Jesus when they die(absent from the body, present with the Lord) their body goes into the grave to be resurrected at the rapture, the dead without Christ stay in the grave another 1000 years before being resurrected to be judged. If you think I am reading or understanding it wrong, then read it for yourself and point out my misunderstanding. There WILL be millions if not billions, that will not make it into heaven because they choose not to. God offers all the choice, He will not force them to believe, we believe in faith, without faith it is impossible to please God. God said my people perish for the lack of knowledge. That knowledge is in the bible but billions of people do not read the bible to attain that knowledge. In the Western world, most every home has a bible or two but they go unread, so they lack the knowledge contained therein.

I lived the first half of my life believing if I lived the best I could that I would make it to heaven on my own righteousness. The bible says my own righteousness is as filthy rags to God. Without the righteousness of His Son Jesus, we would die in our sins. I only learned this fact by reading it in the bible, even though I use to attend church several times a year, I never got the message, either it wasn't preached or I wasn't paying attention. I hear it preached now in church and on TV, but those that don't attend church, won't listen to the message on TV and won't read their bible, has a very slim chance of acquiring the knowledge they need to make an informed decision.

I just don't believe everybody that doesn't know or believe that is going to some kind of hell...But I'm glad it gives you comfort. I'll see you in Heaven and we'll talk about it then.

For your sake Barry, I hope you are right, I would not wish hell on my worst enemy, and God wants no one to go to hell, that is why He provided a way to escape hell, But He is also a God of justice, this is His way of separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares, evil from good.

The Jesus that I know and love would never send somebody to hell as he is the all about forgiveness and mercy and justice.

You are right, Jesus would never send anyone to hell, that is why He dies and took the punishment
for our sins, but if people refuse to believe and accept this, then they are still in their sins and will pay for their own sins. He won't send you to hell, you send your own self there by refusing the gift He offers. Believing in Jesus is not enough, you have to accept Him into your life. Satan believes in Jesus, the demons believe in Jesus, but they are going to hell. If on a hot day I believe a cold drink of water will quince my thirst, but if I don't drink that water, I will still be thirsty.

The bible is like a love letter from God telling what we must do to reach heaven, but if people don't read it, they will never know. My people die for the lack of knowledge, a quote from the bible. I'm not trying to be holier than thou, I'm just doing what God expects of me. The bible says if I see someone heading for destruction and don't inform him, his blood can be demanded of me, but if I tell him and he still does not listen, then I will not be held responsible.

Justice must be satisfied before mercy can be shown. Jesus died to justify you and me and the whole world, but if anyone does not accept Jesus sacrifice for their sins, and confess Him as their Saviour, then He is not their Saviour. He will not force anyone to accept Him, we all have free choice and free will, He wants us to come to Him because we love Him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJQqY35COKA

I appreciated your concern.
Check out my song above called HE LIVED, HE DIED & HE LIVED AGAIN...
God Bless,
Barry....

My Gawd Everett,
You really should get in the Pulpit and be a Preacher. Now Everett, listen up, here is this All seeing, All knowing, All powerful God that has made us humans, who know nothing from nothing, were given Free Will but aren't allowed to use it! But, according to man, who knows nothing from nothing is expected to know exactly how fix the problem!

So Everett, don't lay that guilt trip on me I had nothing to do with it. If God had done a better job in the first place we wouldn't have all these problems, would we?
Eh, The Bible was written by man, who, according to them, know nothing from nothing.
I have never been superstitious but when something didn't sound right to me, I checked it out for my self. That's what Martin Luther did. It seems the Catholic Priests at the time well selling each other Access to Heaven! Yes, you read that right. At the time the Bible was yet to be translated into German. I could go on but whats the use. No one cares anyway. Now I know God is mad at me Everett, he's putting me thru hell thru you. Please start doing like Martin Luther did, check things out!

You sort of nailed it Ray but I am ok with him Preaching to me or anybody else. God has his reasons for the mess we have her on Planet Earth and I think it might be BOOT CAMP FOR HEAVEN....I don't believe that Trillions of People are in some place called hell and if they are it must be some huge place and they would need an awful lot of logs for the fire....lol

Ray, I was wondering how long it would be before you chimed in. I was talking to Barry, not you, I gave up on you long ago, if you go to destruction I won't be held responsible for not telling you the right way. When a person becomes a Christian, we become a disciple of Christ, and as a disciple we are told to go into the whole world and preach the good news to the lost. We all can't physically go into the world but we can do what we can in our surrounding world. I consider people on this site my internet friends, What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell my friends the good news. Salvation is ready and waiting for those that will accept it, but for those that prefer not to accept this gift, let them go their own way, I'm not required to continually cast my pearls.

Barry, the ball is in your court, as a friend I implore you not to harden your heart, explore for yourself, seek and you will find and the door will be opened unto you. I can do no more than tell you the truth, as to what you do with this truth is up to you.

Everett,
Over many years I have been consulted by "Experts" pushing religion. I have learned, those that are most involved in religion know the least about it. You spout about things but you have never examined the subject carefully. Like Martin Luther I did. When something didn't sound right to me I dug into it until I understood it. You might try it sometime. I invited you to read the first verses of Matthew but you must have glossed right over it. Nowhere in the Bible does it say the boy is our lord and savior. He is the only one that said that. Now Everett I know you are going to continue to spew your "Ignorance" all over the place, so be it. So lets look at a few facts that are in the Bible. Here is this young "Greenhorn" going in the Temple and busting up the place when if he was this perfect savior some think he is, could have spoke a few choice words and the merchants would have politely left. But what did he get for his troubles, a crown of thorns, no? And then he had a price on his head, was turned in by who? One of his er, supposed followers. Now Everett, he didn't exactly volunteer to go be nailed to the cross, did he? but not until he was on the cross he finally figured out the truth when he looked up at the heavens and asked, My God, why have you forsaken me? Whazzat that? Salvation? Everett your Salvation has never been in doubt. No one's is. Jesus never wrote anything down but is "Quoted" by others. The word changed hands several times before it got to you. And of course it has been polished to Hell and back over time. Supposedly Jesus said I am the Truth and the Way and no one comes to the father but by me but he is the only one that said it. If he said it, that must be the most stupid statement of all time. I don't care what you believe Everett, just keep it to yourself. When someone doesn't believe what one church is preaching, they leave and start their own church, no? Wise up, listen and learn Everett!

I love Jesus and believe he lived and he even rose from the Grave. It might be made up but the historians of Rome said many many people saw him. But the part of it where God would send his only Son to Earth to be slaughtered on a Cross is unfathomable to me. BTW every criminal was killed that way on a cross. The only reason Christians use the Cross is because Jesus was killed on it like any common criminal. So if God is all knowing and all powerful and He created all this we have here why would he have to send his son to be slaughtered in an excruciating death to somehow save us from our sins... God gave me life and also commonsense and that doesn't make any sense to me. I was also brought up Jewish and never even knew Jesus was Jewish until I was fifty...Jesus didn't form a religion at all and he would be appalled today to learn we made a religion about HIM rather than his message of love and the Good News that we can live past the grave.....

Hey Ray.....I appreciate what you said and I believe most of it. I used to get angry when people would try and talk to me about my salvation but not anymore. They think they are saving me from eternal damnation. BUT if billions of people are really going to hell for know believing this story or not even aware of it I don't want any part of a God like that. I find it mostly preposterous and BTW Jesus said he came for ALL of us and that's all I have to say on the matter. I do write many songs about him though and many people like them. Have you ever read The Urantia Book (Urantia means Planet Earth)?

https://www.urantia.org/urantia-book/read-urantia-book-online

The problem with blind faith in The Bible, is that it was written 50 to 100 years after Jesus died. We don't even have all the scripts they were edited by the early church, so more or less could be in there.

They were written by educated people, poets and good writers.

How could anybody remember any story from 50 years ago, and it be accurate.

The apostles didn't write it so how do we know anything Jesus said?

We know he lived and died.

It's like, were told to believe, but who told us? Nobody first hand wrote the Gospels

I believe in something, but my ideas about what change every day.

But I accept Jesus because I was taught to, and hopefully theres a reason for it

Barry, I didn't know you were Jewish. The Jews are God's chosen people but they often turned their backs on God, so God blinded them to the truth about Jesus so the gentiles could be brought in, all that is in the bible. I believe you are Christian in your heart, so there is hope for you, not like some that refuse Him out right. All you need to do Barry is learn of the history of the Jewish nation, which is recorded in the bible. I greatly admire the Jews, without them society would be much poorer and we wouldn't have Jesus. During tribulations, the Jews will be protected by God from Satan and the anti Christ, and their eyes will be opened and they will recognize Him whom they pierced as their messiah. Jesus loves you and His love is for all that follow Him. His love is available to the whole world but only those that love Him will be saved. I'll pray for you.

Well Barry,
Sometimes we are all Jewish. Didja hear the one about the Jewish guy after going thru all sorts of hell, looked up to God and said, gee God could ya choose somebody else.

Good One....I always wondered if we are the Chosen People why the hell are we always getting the crap beat out of us....Not anymore since Israel was founded.
BTW.....I wrote this cool song called A JEWISH CARPENTER CHANGED THE WORLD...Check it out....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mmf9noSnUY

BTW, this has been a really nice tribute thus far to David Cassidy.......

steady-eddie