I’m not sure if all of this will fit as one comment.

You can read the whole text of Part 1 of 2 at https://

Part 1 of 2

Thank you for your patience with my response. I have very much been edified by your comments. I have
made an attempt to answer as many of the questions as I saw. Please let me know what I missed and I
will try to answer that question specifically.

Let us take a look into eternity. If nothing interrupts man’s progression (ie 2nd Coming / global
catastrophe), he will find his way off this planet. The steady march of technology has taken us out of the
fields, off the ground and ultimately taken a few of us off the planet. Given enough time, man will find his
way off this planet and into the universe. Our population as a race continues to trend upward. On this
timeline, humanity would eventually fill the universe much as we do the earth.

This same technological march gives us mastery of our environment (http://bit.ly/kD9ZMJ). Man already
has some degree of control of electromagnetism. One day he will gain control of gravity (http://bit.ly/
lbdPKk)(http://bit.ly/ihPBXe). Eventually man will master the grand unified theory(http://bit.ly/kZwnrz).

On a long enough scale, man as he is has within him the ability to master the totality of the universe.
Both to understand it and to operate within it with the intelligence and power that we in our current state
here on this planet would call god-like. So there may yet be a creature worthy of being called a god.

Eternity also stretches into the past. The rocks beneath our feet are ancient, billions of years old. Our
best guess at the age of the universe is measured in eons. So if we can see the potential for a god in the
future, we should also be able to see the potential of such a being predating man's current stay on this
planet. If we are a galactic species at some point in the future, it is rather arbitrary to say that we today
right now are not, but that tomorrow we are. Literally, we are God. God is us. We are gods in embryo. It
was famously said: “A long time ago in a galaxy far away...” Others, in this case God, have come before
us.

Understanding this truth opens the universe to us. Scientific achievement is not just a goal, it is our
destiny. Of this relationship it has been said: 'As man now is God once was, as God now is, man may
be’(http://bit.ly/iMj7lF).

I love the term 'god of the gaps'. It aptly describes a god that is disconnected from us. One that is only
useful as a cause of what we don't yet know. Conversely if as the song goes 'god is one of us' then our
growing knowledge is us asserting our divine potential. It is said that 'the glory of god is intelligence'(http:/
/bit.ly/mphQd6)(http://bit.ly/laLGM0). Whether or not our ultimate goal is to be like him, we draw nearer to
him as we learn about the world and ourselves. Learning directly about him accelerates the process.

How is this process of learning, whether scientific, religious or otherwise accelerated by God? It is said :

“An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses, every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection,
of will, wisdom, love, power and gift, which is possessed by God Himself. But these are possessed by
man, in his rudimental state, in a subordinate sense of the word. Or, in other words, these attributes are
in embryo, and are to be gradually developed. They resemble a bud, a germ, which gradually develops
into bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit after its own kind. The gift of the Holy Spirit
adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges,
expands and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them, by the gift of wisdom,
to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates and matures all the fine toned sympathies, joys,
tastes, kindred feelings and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness,
gentleness and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor,
animation and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual
man. It strengthens, invigorates and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the
bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being.” (http://bit.ly/klAkFc)

By this means of quickening of the faculties we are better able to pursue both our eternal destiny and our
own enjoyment in this life on this planet.

So how do I know that any of this is more than just words? Feelings are the beginning of it. I agree that
feelings can be mercurial. However, this does not diminish their capacity as a tool to discern truth. Often
times when we use our feelings in this way we call it intuition, gut, or instinct. We can’t at that moment
put into words how we know, but we know as surely as we know anything else. One of the things that
I study is rape prevention. There and in many other places, we are counseled to trust our feelings, our
innate assessment of the situation. I chose this extreme example because it clearly demonstrates how a
human being can use their feelings to determine truth - ie. the situation being dangerous.

God speaks directly to us in our minds and hearts. It is for us to train ourselves to understand. It is said:

All things whatsoever God in his infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us, while we are
dwelling in mortality . . . are revealed to our spirits precisely as though we had no bodies at all; and those
revelations which will save our spirits will save our bodies (http://bit.ly/j8lLe7)

It is additionally said:

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and
behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so,
thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time. Behold, thou knowest that thou hast
inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that
thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth; Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none
else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart. I tell thee these things as a witness
unto thee—that the words or the work which thou hast been writing are true.” (http://bit.ly/iW2BHK)

The reason that God speaks to our minds and hearts is because it is one place that no one else can go.
We all wear masks (http://bit.ly/m9dJZY). There is a part of us that is hidden from even our spouses,
parents, children and dearest friends. It is in that place that God speaks to us because “there is none
else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart”(http://bit.ly/kkfgLm). If in this
perfect fortress of solitude God addresses us, we know it can only be either God or ourselves. It is our
task in life to learn how to listen.

And at the beginning of learning how to do this it sounds exactly like schizophrenia. I agree that’s exactly
what it sounds like. What I like to point out to people is that we have already gone through this process
before. We usually call it finding ourselves. At some point, usually in our teenage years, we enter a
period of deep introspection and self searching where we try and test our own feelings, our own likes and
dislikes. We move from the mercurial to knowing ourselves. End the end, we know what we want. We
have tried and proved ourselves to the point that we at last know ourselves. When we apply this same
process to understanding how God speaks to those very same feelings it follows the same pattern and
we arrive at the truth. It is said:

“Now, as I said concerning faith—that it was not a perfect knowledge—even so it is with my words. Ye
cannot know of their surety at first, unto perfection, any more than faith is a perfect knowledge. But
behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a
particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until
ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words. Now, we will compare the word
unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed,
or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold,
it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say
within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to
enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
Now behold, would not this increase your faith? I say unto you, Yea; nevertheless it hath not grown up to
a perfect knowledge. But behold, as the seed swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow, then you
must needs say that the seed is good; for behold it swelleth, and sprouteth, and beginneth to grow. And
now, behold, will not this strengthen your faith? Yea, it will strengthen your faith: for ye will say I know
that this is a good seed; for behold it sprouteth and beginneth to grow. And now, behold, are ye sure that
this is a good seed? I say unto you, Yea; for every seed bringeth forth unto its own likeness. Therefore,
if a seed groweth it is good, but if it groweth not, behold it is not good, therefore it is cast away. And
now, behold, because ye have tried the experiment, and planted the seed, and it swelleth and sprouteth,
and beginneth to grow, ye must needs know that the seed is good. And now, behold, is your knowledge
perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you
know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that
your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand. O then, is not this
real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible,
therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge
perfect? Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your
faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good. And behold, as the
tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow
up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow
up, and bring forth fruit.”(http://bit.ly/kYvPZe)

Another fair question that is raised is even if God talks to you how do you know it’s God telling you what
to do and not some other source (ie. something nefarious or even you just imagining it). It is said:

“But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing
which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God. Wherefore,
take heed, my beloved brethren, that ye do not judge that which is evil to be of God, or that which is
good and of God to be of the devil. For behold, my brethren, it is given unto you to judge, that ye may
know good from evil; and the way to judge is as plain, that ye may know with a perfect knowledge, as the
daylight is from the dark night. For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know
good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good,
and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know
with a perfect knowledge it is of God. But whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do evil, and believe not
in Christ, and deny him, and serve not God, then ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of the devil;
for after this manner doth the devil work, for he persuadeth no man to do good, no, not one; neither do
his angels; neither do they who subject themselves unto him. And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know
the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for
with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. Wherefore, I beseech of you, brethren,
that ye should search diligently in the light of Christ that ye may know good from evil; and if ye will lay
hold upon every good thing, and condemn it not, ye certainly will be a child of Christ.”(http://bit.ly/jo5Ehb)

Our conscious is a compass that can be finely tuned. We can become deeply sensitive to the external
costs that we foist on others or we can harden our minds and hearts such that the concerns of others are
irrevelant to our subjective existence. As we tune our consciouses to God it is like orienting a compass
to the magnetic north pole. Once we have north marked clearly, we can easily see what direction any
particular command, suggestion, etc. leads us. We can discern if things are of God or of any other
source.(http://bit.ly/kSDE7L)

At the core of my faith in God is that I have passed through this process and not just once, but many
times. As you pass through this process you reach a point where it can be said: “I knew it, and I knew
that God knew it, and I could not deny it”(http://bit.ly/jTROy3)

One of the guiding principles of science is that of independent verification. That the results should be
reproducible by anyone trying the experiment. God communicating directly to your own personal fortress
of solitude in your heart can be reproduced by anyone. What often happens is that people ignore one
of two things in trying to conduct their own experiment. They either don’t follow all the steps of the
experiment the way it was laid out or they ignore that God is a person like us and has more than one kind
of answer. The experiment is laid out in many places. One of my favorites is said:

I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are
not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the
truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the
truth of all things.(http://bit.ly/jRn2tX).

Many falter in this experiments for the following reason:

Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner. Behold, you
have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save
it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask
me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel
that it is right.(http://bit.ly/mndlLN)

Often people who try this experiment and do not confirm the purported result because they miss the step
of pondering, of studying it out in your own mind if these things are true. God even answers the negative
position. We can approach God with the position that the experiments purported results are not accurate
and he will likewise answer. His desire is to have us reach out. He will not compel by force or even by
his tangible. Rather he will wait patiently for us to desire to draw near to Him.

Those with children often experience what it is like for God to answer prayer. Children will make
impassioned requests for things. Parents are not genies so their answers vary even though the child
presses each concern with equal fervor. Sometimes the answer is yes. Other times the answer
is ‘no’, ‘not now’ or even ‘when you are older (better prepared)’. These are all valid answers for a parent
to give a child. Petitionary prayer is much the same. It’s effectiveness cannot be measured simply by
tracking the data point of the number of times the parent said yes to the child’s request. In our own
relationships we can see that it is not always prudent for the parent to say yes to a fervent petition. A
better measure of its success or failure would be in the measure the delta of change in what the person
praying understands after the prayer. In our own lives there are moments where we instruct our children
why they can’t have something now no matter how badly they want it. God operates according to the
same principle.

There is still the question of confirmation bias. That all of these experiences only confirm the
presupposed notion that you are looking for God. I feel this is a fair criticism because the process I
described does have similarities with confirmation bias. It does differ on one point. As I understand it,
confirmation bias is taking a point of view and highlighting the data points that support it. The bias in
confirmation bias is never reexamined. The process that I described above is one that I have passed
through many times. Each time I reexamine the premises that my faith is based on. I said at the
beginning that I was edified by all of your questions. I didn’t say that just to be polite. It is my experience
that atheists ask hard pertinent questions that deserve answers. When I take those questions into
myself and open my mind to the possibilities they present my knowledge is expanded until a new model
becomes necessary to explain what I know of God and all the subjects that pertain to him.

There are other things that I find in the world that further confirm to me the existence of a living God.
One of my favorites is the world of quantum mechanics. There is a ‘world’ within our observable world
that does not operate according to the observable laws of Newtonian physics, but that in its operations
drastically affects the composition and organization of the observable world that we live in. I am
fascinated by the search for the Higgs Boson. Much like my process above, it is postulated that it is
there. We have not yet verified it. Just asking is not enough. We ponder it out. We search. I believe
that one day we will find it. Earlier I discussed how knowledge whether it be scientific or religious in
nature draws us closer to god for “the glory of God is intelligence”. I see science and religion as paired
the same way electricity and magnetism are two halves of the same force. I am excited by the potential
acquisition of this particular piece of knowledge because God teaches us in this manner: “For behold,
thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a
little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my
counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more”(http://bit.ly/mfj5Hr) The
manner in which God works with us is much the same. His way are observable, but only if we make the
same quality of investment that we make to directly observe the quantum world. Once we have we begin
to get a glimpse of forces outside of our observable Newtonian world that shape our destinies.

The very way we live our lives also gives me insight into God. We stand on the shoulders of giants.
How much of what we know is based on things we have not personally verified. How many have done
Euclid's proofs or worked at CERN. We exercise far more faith every day than we give ourselves credit
for. Everything from the daily weather to the fact that there are around 7 billion of us on this planet. Very
few people directly measure the barometric pressure. Even fewer have done the statistical counting of
the earths population. We exercise faith in witnesses who have seen these things. As I exercise faith in
the reports of these witnesses of events here on earth, I also find place in my mind to believe witnesses
that attest to the reality of God, who have seen Him with their own eyes and touched Him with their own
hands.(http://bit.ly/jvvPfs)(http://bit.ly/kgW1Tr)(http://bit.ly/lOTHTf)

Fear. Fear is not even the 10th word that comes to mind when I think of God. The foremost is Love. I
love God. Not ambiguously or abstractly. I love him as I love my parents or my wife. It is said:”we love
him, because he first loved us”(http://bit.ly/jRQLuz). That is what I feel from God. Love...in spades. It
cascades through my life and informs my life. I follow what God directs because each time I pass through
that process described above I see more clearly that my interests and my interests are aligned. Much like
if Andrew Carnegie or Nikola Tesla and I had our interests aligned, I would hearken to their instruction as
well.
So if there is such a God, why does he work no miracles? I loved the line, “today his most impressive
acts seem to be shaping sticky buns into the likenesses of saints”. I laughed for awhile at how wonderful
an image that is. It is said:

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased because Christ hath ascended into heaven, and
hath sat down on the right hand of God, to claim of the Father his rights of mercy which he hath upon the
children of men? .... And because he hath done this, my beloved brethren, have miracles ceased? Behold
I say unto you, Nay; neither have angels ceased to minister unto the children of men. For behold, they
are subject unto him, to minister according to the word of his command, showing themselves unto them
of strong faith and a firm mind in every form of godliness. .... Behold I say unto you, Nay; for it is by faith
that miracles are wrought; and it is by faith that angels appear and minister unto men; wherefore, if these
things have ceased wo be unto the children of men”(http://bit.ly/ihTQlP)

I feel there are two other things at work when we discuss miracles. There is a ‘not seeing the forest for
the trees’ problem. The world is so full of things that capture the attention and imaginaton that we often
miss what happens right in front o fus. My favorite example of this is the gaps in the average americans
understanding of subjects of history and geography. A current example is the passing of Osama bin
Laden. There were many who did not understand it’s significance. “Who is Osama bin Laden? Is he in a
band?”(http://ti.me/mssTrZ)

Another thing we need to understand on the subject of miracles is what God has put into our hands.
Gods purpose is for us to become like him. Once he has instructed us in how to do something, in most
cases it is left for us to do. Once children are potty trained the parent generally leaves it to the child to
manage their own bodies needs. It is said: ”For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things;
for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth
no reward. Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their
own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents
unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.”(http://bit.ly/
mUais0)

I’m going to have to do this in two parts. In part two I’ll address Israel & Canaanites specifically as well
as the value of mankinds life and morality in general. I’ll also go in to greater detail on the “God as a
Gardner” analogy. I only have from 9pm to 12pm each night to work on this so I wanted to post at least
part of something rather than saying, “almost done” once more.