You might want to rethink that. Nobody lives forever, and eventually you will hear either "Well done good and faithful servant" (to heaven) or "Depart from me for I never knew you." (to hell). And eternity is a long time.
I don't know how old you are, but just contemplate where you will be 100 years from now. You might also want to read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (a former atheist and investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune).
Strobel set out to prove, through his investigative reporter skills, that Jesus was just some guy who lived long ago. He ended up, through his research, moving from atheism to Christianity.
Even if he wanted to, there’s no way Biden could have shown his face at the wake of an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty. His handlers know he would have been met by columns of police officers turning their backs on him.
I just saw that on Guttfeld! It made my day. Week, really. Will it have a lasting impact on the indescribably ignorant NY voters, we'll have to wait and see.
But it was as delicious as a big slab of Tiramisu and a glass of bubbly Prosecco. "We don't serve your kind here."
Hi Sasha, For a woman who is so insightful about so many topics it surprises me that you have not researched and done a deep dive on Jesus. He is waiting for you…😇❤️
I haven't really told this part of my story but I was raised by not just an atheist but someone who, according to her, HATES CHRISTIANS. The first time life ever made sense to me was taking a human evolution class. The science of me as a mother made sense. This is what I am for, I finally figured out. But my problem with religion is that I know I have to talk myself into it. But I have told my daughter that this is the best path she can take because you don't want to be where I am and not have some kind of faith. it's too brutal. So - I have the app Halo and I sometimes listen to prayers at night. I do my own version of talking to God. I'm getting there!
Sasha, thanks so much for this post, and link to meaning of Good Friday. For what it’s worth, my own Christianity took greater meaning and flight after I studied the OT/Torah, especially Books of Ecclesiastes and Deuteronomy. The New Covenant of Christ/Jesus can be best absorbed and understood by understanding first, the Original Covenant God made w/ the Israelites.
Here is a link to the Bible Project. You can receive a ‘Cliff Note’ on each and every Book of the Bible:
Also, if you buy your own Bible, highly recommend you purchase a ‘Cultural Backgrounds Study’ Bible. One which has footnotes and picture cutouts on differences/similarities between ancient Israel and other Near East peoples (Persians, Greek, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, etc). Judaism did not develop in a vacuum, nor then did Christianity. Here is Bible I currently study from that is rich in this detail:
A lot of people over-complicate this. It’s a simple bet; try to believe Christ is God and be reasonably kind to people vs don’t believe Christ is God. The former gets you eternity in Heaven, the body you always wanted and SWAG; the latter gets you eternal suffering in Hell (think being stuck with the worst people in your life forever). We convince ourselves to believe in much trickier logic than this and for hardly any gain.
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.*
I think thats a way of saying.....our loving God did not make it complicated AT ALL. For me it was just a step of faith, a step which was already endorsed by millions/billions for over 2000 yrs, incl generations of my family.
The world numbers the years from the time of Christ (now 2024 yrs ), Holy Cow, Holy Week !!!
maybe. but isn't what Greenwood is doing, and Trump, and Alex Jones with the literal snake oil potions, just modern day Mr. Haneys, backin up the truck ? and as for what Boogie said, what IF the only way to stop forever wars, WAS to slag heap the Bible? Wouldn't it be worth it?
Same, for a long time. Out of boredom and a little out of curiosity I listened to/read along with The Bible in a Year Podcast with Fr. Mike. Almost two and a half years and I’m about 80% through. It was and is life changing. Why don’t you just try reading Genesis while listening to Fr. Mike?
For those that need to explore God/Christianity from a more intellectual or evidentiary aspect, J. Warner Wallace is interesting. He was an atheist and a Cold Case Homicide Detective in LA for many years. Suffice it to say, he did some research. 😊 Has some interesting YT videos, podcasts, books and a website. coldcasechristianity.com Thinking of you on the faith journey. Happy Easter
He’s good as is Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ” … he was a hard boiled investigative journalist who’s wife became a christian so he set off to prove her and christianity wrong … it didn’t go as he planned!
I think people believe in God because it is easier than believing in yourself. I see plenty of people doing it very well. They have a lot more mental fortitude than all the woke political lefties. We have the same left/right political dynamics in New Zealand, and the Christians have helped us vote out Jacinda Arderns super-woke govt of 6 years. But the problem is our woke media wont accept the election result, just like they cant accept that men in dresses arent women. Along with civil servants, they have become a noisy dissident minority, and think they represent somebody.
My husband and I recently found Father Chapin, who explains a Bible verse and how to apply it in our daily life. He’s funny too, for example he says that Matthew is the “Joe Friday of the Bible, ‘Just the facts, ma’am’” (I’m sure I used the quotes totally wrong)😂
I also like Lee Strobel book and movie “The Case for Jesus”.
You’re such a blessing to us Sasha, thank you for your honesty and integrity. ✝️✝️✝️
God meets us where we’re at. The important part is understanding we have sin nature that can only be redeemed and forgiven by Christ. Pray for an open heart. You are not your mother.
In my life of different pastors and literature, the most powerful Christian voices resonating w/ me, are from those who were formerly atheists. In the darkest of times or places, the light of Christ can be found.
There's a new book, edited by Alastair McGrath ( whose first name I'm probably spelling incorrectly ), which consists of testimonies by young former atheists who became so disgusted by Richard Dawkins that they are now Christians. This must enrage Dawkins, who seems perpetually angry as it is.
Sasha, I can’t recommend “Mere Christianity highly enough. It’s a short, lucid, genial, informative overview of the faith by a brilliant former atheist who was an Oxford and Cambridge academic. You could read it in one afternoon, and I think you would be glad you did.
Ugh, Andrew Sullivan has become insufferable. He’s nowhere near the level of Loyal Opposition he used to be. So many times I’m tempted to pay $5 just to tell him as much in his comments section, then I figure that money would be better spent on a pint of ale. Off to the pub…
Sasha, you’re such a joy & breath of fresh air in the midst of dark times. Thank you for your courage & optimism in the face of those who in their ignorance, have turned against you - their loss. I began cheering for you when I first heard you on Beck & ever since have tried to catch your podcasts & substack posts every chance I get - always an uplift my friend. Thanks for keeping the light on!!!
OJ was found not guilty. You believe verdicts equal truth? Trump definitely wasn't singled out for prosecution, right? Or was it, "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime"?
I hadn’t seen a movie in the theatre in almost 4 years. The first one I saw when I decided to test the waters was The Boys in the Boat. It was very good. Then I saw Ordinary Angels and I cried like a baby. It was excellent and very well done. Hillary Swank was fantastic as were all the other actors. I recognized the grandma played by the actress who played the wife in the tv series Last Man Standing and she was great too. It was a very motivating true story and encouraged me to do more for my community and neighbors :)
Thank you for posting the short homily by Fr. Mike. It hit home with me as I spend many fretful hours trying to make some sense of this broken world. Put not your trust in Princes, that is the path to disillusionment and death. A belief in eternal, unchanging values, grounded in a loving God who in the end will make sense of it all for those who love him, is the only way to live calmly in these troubled times(although really, what period of human existence, after the Garden of Eden, has not been troubled?). As we used to say in those now distant days that I was part of a monastic community, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” Happy Easter!
The nice part is that the Diller family invited Trump, and of course he went. RIP Sgt Diller.
Interesting that these people are suddenly so concerned about treating the Bible with respect.
The bible belongs on the ash heap of history along with history itself. Let's reinvent ourselves. Shall we?
wtf? On Easter weekend you offer this sage advice? And trash history? Hey bud, it wasn't all bad and a LOT of it was GOOD.
Good heavens.
Let me know how that goes.
You might want to rethink that. Nobody lives forever, and eventually you will hear either "Well done good and faithful servant" (to heaven) or "Depart from me for I never knew you." (to hell). And eternity is a long time.
That's not what the big bang theory says.
I don't know how old you are, but just contemplate where you will be 100 years from now. You might also want to read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel (a former atheist and investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune).
Strobel set out to prove, through his investigative reporter skills, that Jesus was just some guy who lived long ago. He ended up, through his research, moving from atheism to Christianity.
I say beware of guys named "Boogie" who want to "reinvent ourselves." Things could always be worse--way worse.
Even if he wanted to, there’s no way Biden could have shown his face at the wake of an NYPD officer killed in the line of duty. His handlers know he would have been met by columns of police officers turning their backs on him.
Much like the chief political officer (governor) was treated like an unwanted disease today. Kicked out of a visitation.
I just saw that on Guttfeld! It made my day. Week, really. Will it have a lasting impact on the indescribably ignorant NY voters, we'll have to wait and see.
But it was as delicious as a big slab of Tiramisu and a glass of bubbly Prosecco. "We don't serve your kind here."
Exactly right.
Hi Sasha, For a woman who is so insightful about so many topics it surprises me that you have not researched and done a deep dive on Jesus. He is waiting for you…😇❤️
I haven't really told this part of my story but I was raised by not just an atheist but someone who, according to her, HATES CHRISTIANS. The first time life ever made sense to me was taking a human evolution class. The science of me as a mother made sense. This is what I am for, I finally figured out. But my problem with religion is that I know I have to talk myself into it. But I have told my daughter that this is the best path she can take because you don't want to be where I am and not have some kind of faith. it's too brutal. So - I have the app Halo and I sometimes listen to prayers at night. I do my own version of talking to God. I'm getting there!
Sasha,
Take the time to watch “Chosen” on Prime. It will give you a great insight on the most important person in history and our Savior.
We’ll pray to help you along.😇
God bless you!
Sasha, thanks so much for this post, and link to meaning of Good Friday. For what it’s worth, my own Christianity took greater meaning and flight after I studied the OT/Torah, especially Books of Ecclesiastes and Deuteronomy. The New Covenant of Christ/Jesus can be best absorbed and understood by understanding first, the Original Covenant God made w/ the Israelites.
Here is a link to the Bible Project. You can receive a ‘Cliff Note’ on each and every Book of the Bible:
https://bibleproject.com/
Also, if you buy your own Bible, highly recommend you purchase a ‘Cultural Backgrounds Study’ Bible. One which has footnotes and picture cutouts on differences/similarities between ancient Israel and other Near East peoples (Persians, Greek, Assyrians, Egyptians, Babylonians, etc). Judaism did not develop in a vacuum, nor then did Christianity. Here is Bible I currently study from that is rich in this detail:
https://www.amazon.com/NIV-Cultural-Backgrounds-Study-Bible/dp/0310431581
A lot of people over-complicate this. It’s a simple bet; try to believe Christ is God and be reasonably kind to people vs don’t believe Christ is God. The former gets you eternity in Heaven, the body you always wanted and SWAG; the latter gets you eternal suffering in Hell (think being stuck with the worst people in your life forever). We convince ourselves to believe in much trickier logic than this and for hardly any gain.
One Solitary Life
He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn't go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.
He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.
Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned--put together--have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.*
*Attributed to James Allen Francis.
Very eloquently said. God bless!
Calvary is Enough…
I think thats a way of saying.....our loving God did not make it complicated AT ALL. For me it was just a step of faith, a step which was already endorsed by millions/billions for over 2000 yrs, incl generations of my family.
The world numbers the years from the time of Christ (now 2024 yrs ), Holy Cow, Holy Week !!!
Have a blessed, meaningful Easter and God bless.
Awesome, Tex!
Yes I agree.
I go with God is Good. Above all things.
Whenever I say this to myself it makes me smile……
😊
maybe. but isn't what Greenwood is doing, and Trump, and Alex Jones with the literal snake oil potions, just modern day Mr. Haneys, backin up the truck ? and as for what Boogie said, what IF the only way to stop forever wars, WAS to slag heap the Bible? Wouldn't it be worth it?
Same, for a long time. Out of boredom and a little out of curiosity I listened to/read along with The Bible in a Year Podcast with Fr. Mike. Almost two and a half years and I’m about 80% through. It was and is life changing. Why don’t you just try reading Genesis while listening to Fr. Mike?
For those that need to explore God/Christianity from a more intellectual or evidentiary aspect, J. Warner Wallace is interesting. He was an atheist and a Cold Case Homicide Detective in LA for many years. Suffice it to say, he did some research. 😊 Has some interesting YT videos, podcasts, books and a website. coldcasechristianity.com Thinking of you on the faith journey. Happy Easter
He’s good as is Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ” … he was a hard boiled investigative journalist who’s wife became a christian so he set off to prove her and christianity wrong … it didn’t go as he planned!
For sure! And Josh McDowell.
I think people believe in God because it is easier than believing in yourself. I see plenty of people doing it very well. They have a lot more mental fortitude than all the woke political lefties. We have the same left/right political dynamics in New Zealand, and the Christians have helped us vote out Jacinda Arderns super-woke govt of 6 years. But the problem is our woke media wont accept the election result, just like they cant accept that men in dresses arent women. Along with civil servants, they have become a noisy dissident minority, and think they represent somebody.
yea for civil servants, ...like Robert Burns and Albert Camus!
Father Mike is great!
My husband and I recently found Father Chapin, who explains a Bible verse and how to apply it in our daily life. He’s funny too, for example he says that Matthew is the “Joe Friday of the Bible, ‘Just the facts, ma’am’” (I’m sure I used the quotes totally wrong)😂
I also like Lee Strobel book and movie “The Case for Jesus”.
You’re such a blessing to us Sasha, thank you for your honesty and integrity. ✝️✝️✝️
All you have to do is take a non-mechanistic view of the universe. Pearly gates, white robes and almighty judgement need not apply.
I'll go on record to say SS is a good person with or without religion.
God meets us where we’re at. The important part is understanding we have sin nature that can only be redeemed and forgiven by Christ. Pray for an open heart. You are not your mother.
Sasha, you might want to read the Gospel of John in the Bible. Read one tiny chapter a day for 21 days. Easter blessings to you.
What the anti-Trump people really hate is faith, unless of course it is faith in the government ;)
Sasha, if you want to understand what Good Friday is about, read The Gospel of John. Also, please consider reading C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity.
In my life of different pastors and literature, the most powerful Christian voices resonating w/ me, are from those who were formerly atheists. In the darkest of times or places, the light of Christ can be found.
There's a new book, edited by Alastair McGrath ( whose first name I'm probably spelling incorrectly ), which consists of testimonies by young former atheists who became so disgusted by Richard Dawkins that they are now Christians. This must enrage Dawkins, who seems perpetually angry as it is.
Sasha, I can’t recommend “Mere Christianity highly enough. It’s a short, lucid, genial, informative overview of the faith by a brilliant former atheist who was an Oxford and Cambridge academic. You could read it in one afternoon, and I think you would be glad you did.
Liz Cheney is endorsing Biden? Huh…whoda’ thunk?
“In MIC She Trusts” That is all that should be chiseled into Liz’s gravestone.
Thanks for sharing the bit on Fr. Mike. Love him! Have a Blessed Easter !
Ugh, Andrew Sullivan has become insufferable. He’s nowhere near the level of Loyal Opposition he used to be. So many times I’m tempted to pay $5 just to tell him as much in his comments section, then I figure that money would be better spent on a pint of ale. Off to the pub…
I used to read Andrew for the Loyal Opposition viewpoint. I am saddened by his descent into ... I am not sure what.
My respect and love for you is ever increasing Sasha. Keep it up. You are a needed fresh breath.
Sasha, you’re such a joy & breath of fresh air in the midst of dark times. Thank you for your courage & optimism in the face of those who in their ignorance, have turned against you - their loss. I began cheering for you when I first heard you on Beck & ever since have tried to catch your podcasts & substack posts every chance I get - always an uplift my friend. Thanks for keeping the light on!!!
And yeah, bless you!
Wait, what? When was Sasha on Beck? I've been thinking he needs to have her on his show! I want to listen.
When common sense had to go underground during communism, religions provided a haven for it. Might happen again.
I had to look up the definition of chode...and it made me laugh out loud.
Oh, I just did. Now the video has a different meaning.
Apropos though...
It's simple.
Trump is a man of the people.
Biden is a man of pedos and puppet masters.
dunno. let's compare their rap sheets...
OJ was found not guilty. You believe verdicts equal truth? Trump definitely wasn't singled out for prosecution, right? Or was it, "Show me the man and I'll show you the crime"?
dunno
yes, our legal justice system makes mistakes, and in some places more than others (e.g., the South during Jim Crow, Los Angeles, always...).
Poor rich guy Trump, always the victim and always mistreated. Like that missing waist line he always has, not a good look...
I hadn’t seen a movie in the theatre in almost 4 years. The first one I saw when I decided to test the waters was The Boys in the Boat. It was very good. Then I saw Ordinary Angels and I cried like a baby. It was excellent and very well done. Hillary Swank was fantastic as were all the other actors. I recognized the grandma played by the actress who played the wife in the tv series Last Man Standing and she was great too. It was a very motivating true story and encouraged me to do more for my community and neighbors :)
You might like “Cabrini” also. It’s about Mother Cabrini.
"Cabrini" is excellent -- another WINNER from Angel Studios.
I saw it. Boring in a Boat.
Incredible book. Lots more detail.
Hillary Skank.
Stick to your day job Boogie
Booger is a paid Troll of the Left. Each reply it gets paid. Do not pay the Troll. Free the Booger to go elsewhere.
This is my day job. Your rivals pay me handsomely.
Thank you for posting the short homily by Fr. Mike. It hit home with me as I spend many fretful hours trying to make some sense of this broken world. Put not your trust in Princes, that is the path to disillusionment and death. A belief in eternal, unchanging values, grounded in a loving God who in the end will make sense of it all for those who love him, is the only way to live calmly in these troubled times(although really, what period of human existence, after the Garden of Eden, has not been troubled?). As we used to say in those now distant days that I was part of a monastic community, “Amen. Come Lord Jesus!” Happy Easter!