The Case for and against Religion

In reading Paul Murchison’s book “Who is God?” I felt that some comments should be made. These views and points that I make are purely my own.

Firstly, Religion is the greatest sin of all – Secondly, it is the greatest gift to mankind

Mankind throughout the ages and even today uses and has used religion to and for his own ends. You have only to pick up a newspaper, or turn on the TV where one is likely to read about a suicide bomber, who blows themselves up in his belief of a better life.  Or in the Gaza strip, where there is fighting over the lands which God has reputedly given to a race of people.

The Catholic Church for over 600 years has preached the benefits of the inquisition, especially the Spanish Inquisition. They, even during the Second World War, the Pope of the day, supported Hitler and the concentration camps for the extermination of the so called non Christians. Even today, the Pope declares that mankind can not do this, or that. It was only a few years past when you must only eat fish on a Friday.  There have been so many wars which have been in the name of religion, where the underlying factor has been or had a greed factor.

Today, I believe that there are over 22,000 new religions each year being formed. Why? We hear of Television presentations, crusading all in the name God and preaching religion, where vast sums of money are raised or given, but to go no where.  Today, attend an Anglican Church service with the Green Prayer book in the service you will start at page 119 and the service will then proceed to page 145 week in, week out, no variety, no mind challenges, an hour spent reciting, with nothing really gained, and yet the Church leaders wonder why there are so few attending the weekly church services.

Being heavily involved in the Anglican Church, I was able to witness back stabbing, cruelty in jokes on fellow Ministers, innuendos, non truth statements, and even a Minister not able to forgive a stupid mistake which I personally made and apologized for not once but twice. Yes it is possible that those who claim to work in the faith or name of religion, are in many cases the ones who commit the crimes against the innocent for what seems to be their own personal satisfaction and desires.

When one studies a religion it is usually claimed that their religion is the one which is God’s own, or you will not be chosen after death to be invited into heaven. In one way or another they all claim the same thing but will not realize nor accept that it is surely “all roads go to heaven”

On the other hand if you pick up the largest book on Yoga the very first lines read “No matter what religion or faith one holds, it is important to attend your Church and give an hour once a week to God”

No matter what historical book is available, being the Bible, or other religious books, you will find it is full of advice on how one should live one’s life.  The stories and examples are there to show and help people understand what to do. When it comes to a disaster, be it a bush fire such as last summer or some other catastrophe, it is the religious armies that are at the forefront to assist those who have suffered and find themselves bereft of all.

It is to a church that people will turn when desperate or suddenly finding themselves in need or fear. In 1804 Christmas day, St Paul’s London had four people in attendance. In contrast in the 1950s when America was in fear of an Atomic war that the Churches were overflowing and every seat taken. Standing room was at a premium

With an introduction such as I have made, I have yet to address “Who is God?”

Firstly I would like to make the statement “We all have a spirit within us – A spirit that is neither born nor dies”. Nor is that spirit only in mankind.

Whoever was the person to name an animal a dog, must have been dyslectic, because when you are close to a dog, the dog will behave as you expect God would to you.  A dog will smile, he will protect you, he will welcome you, and he knows you are coming long before anyone else

It is through this spirit within us that God can communicate with us, that he can guide us. It is in our aura where the spirit is part of us.  Surely acknowledging and respecting that aura, enables us to radiate that warmth.  The easiest way to describe this is perhaps when a person has a feeling of being downcast, in a bad mood, or grumpy – and then someone unknown smiles at you……    We all have been there.

The best example I found for ‘what is God’ is in the book “The Celestine Prophesy” which was the Book of the Year for 1993-4-5-6. This story began life when no one wished to produce it, believing it would go no where. The book started life being distributed from the boot of a car by the author. For this book to rise and become a bestseller with a message so simply written is a modern way of explaining all about the path of life and finding God. The story travels that path through the nine stages of life – the nine stages of a person’s life. Really when you meditate on the story, it explains what your spirit is, and in the end how one really finds God. .

Every one of us comes into this world, where we have those first experiences, which are so vital in preparing us for that unique journey down our own path of life. In my own personal experience I was a first born child; a golden haired blue eyed wonderment of a boy, spoilt at every turn, and dressed in a sailor’s suit – the works. Three years later my next brother came into the world and suddenly I was left ignored in the corner.  At three years of age I now needed ways to find attention towards myself.  After all having being made a fuss of for so long for the first three years of my life I was not one to go and sulk, I therefore found it to be beneficial to stand out, which eventually led me to become within myself a leader, an experimenter, a person who needed to find out the answers, and to understand what ever it was which confronted me.

On the other hand my brother had to share his life with my behaviour, when suddenly he was also left out in the cold, baby three arrived, which was another boy.  My second brother grew up in my shadow and resented my achievements to the point of hate – in the end while at University, he claimed that there was no God; His claim which still stands today. “You are born, you die – end of story”.  His life has been spent hoarding assets a process which has unfortunately led him to lead an extremely mean life, even towards his own children.  Today although married, he is a lonely multi-millionaire, his God is money or assets.  So from one family two boys have taken two paths of life, one with fullness but without assets, the other with assets but unfortunately never stopping to take in the view of what life really has to offer.  In contrast, his eldest daughter, who is a doctor with four children, has become an ardent Catholic where the family all attend(s) Church every Sunday. They are the nicest, warmest, friendliest people one could come across.

Yes! God works in mysterious ways, and there is no better saying than; “Love thy neighbour as thy self”. Because through our spirits and aura, God is with us every second of the day, when we accept, listen, and understand this fact then surely the word or feeling of fear is defeated before it starts.

A sick Coincidence

Don’t know if this is just a sick coincidence , but….

2007 – Chinese year of the Chicken – Bird Flu Pandemic devastates parts of Asia
2008 – Chinese year of the Horse – Equine Influenza decimates Australian racing
2009 – Chinese year of the Pig – Swine Flu Pandemic kills hundreds of people around the globe.

Has any one else noticed this? …

It gets worse next year… 2010 – Chinese year of the Cock – what could possibly go wrong?

After the Australian budget it could be the Big Australian Cock-up or could it be even bigger :-
The big World Cock-up?

Pratt & Visy Board – a history of trading

THE PACKAGING INDUSTRY AND HOW THE MARKETS CAN CHANGE
As a salesman selling label printing to packaging buyers in the sixties I often shared the waiting rooms with the now late Richard Pratt. In particular for three years nearly every Tuesday morning, we shared the same circuit, with us both having our first meeting at the Heinz factory in Dandenong, then to Burwood to the Biscuit maker Brockhoff’s. So in and over many conversations we got to know each other reasonably well.
In those days Richard Pratt when he took over the business of Visy Board from his father The late Leon Pratt, were buying their paper stock for corrugated board manufacturer from the then APM. It is believed that even today they Visy are by far the largest and biggest buyer of paper stock from the company. In those days loyalty, and support for each other were common amongst suppliers, and APM assisted Richard and Visy Board in the early seventies in getting his business moving forward.
In the late seventies and early eighties Visy board saw the opportunity to supply the fruit, and vegetable market, with corrugated cartons instead of wooden boxes. They expanded through the early eighties in having supply points throughout Australia, where ever there was a need such as the Riverina where fresh fruit and vegetables were being produced, they supplied printed boxes, but also large corrugated bins for bulk products such pumpkins. As I believe Richard was astute enough to see where his market expansion really was. APM stayed with the servicing the manufacturing market basically within the industrial zones of each capital city. The then directors of APM then started in the eighties of taking over other companies including the Paper making facilities of APPM (Australian Pulp & Paper Manufacturers) which was at the time enjoying huge expansion due to supply of paper to offices where computers were demanding paper reams for ink jet and Laser printers. They had taken their interests away from the basic interests of board production, even trying to move into international markets. Later on, they split the Paper making away by forming the business called Paperlinx. The board and printing divisions became listed as AMCOR.
In the late eighties Richard and his company decided to start a board making plant in the USA and took on the competition of New York State. This action upset the Americans, they in retaliation decided to move into Australia setting up a plant in Dandenong.
This American box plant in Dandenong in the early nineties started under cutting the market, with ‘E’ grade fourth and fifth generation recycled pulp corrugated board. This product was indeed of very low quality with no rigidity and little substance.
Also at this point the New Zealanders, decided to raid the Australian packaging market through Carter Holt Harvey and also set up in Australia.
By the mid nineties Visy board had also tied up the new expanding wine Industry, with cartons supply, including putting an ‘in line’ packaging box erection machinery from printed reels of corrugated board, into the bottling lines of Southcorp Wines, saving both man power and packaging costs. (At this point in history, Southcorp were exporting from Australia three containers to every other container of wine)
In the early nineties and throughout the nineties Amcor were in deep trouble with old out dated machinery, and plant. Their market place was in decline due to the constant closures of the Australian manufacturing industry, which since the early sixties has been closing down, or going off shore. They had divested the paper divisions, plus the competition from the new arrivals which were encroaching into a market where there was little room. The share price of Amcor was not looking strong, and the directors were looking for any way out.
They approached Richard Pratt and requested his help, especially where the American Box Company was concerned, which was also an annoying influence to the Visy board market. As those who approached Richard Pratt were basically the same people who twenty years earlier, had assisted his company in getting started, and because Richard is the type of person who would help anyone. Richard could also see it was better to have a true competitor, which was Australian, so no doubt accepted the offer or the proposition that was made to him.
As someone who was servicing the market with labels, and talking to buyers of packaging, up to the turn of this century, I can say that Visy Board never had need to increase prices in the supply of the packaging corrugated cardboard boxes, nor do I believe that was ever the case. If it were true I would be aware of it, from the many conversations with those many buyers of packaging. When you visit the same buyer so many times in a year, they do confide in you especially asking questions if they suspect something is or may be wrong with in the Industry.
On the other hand Amcor may have lifted their pricing, as they still had not improved the plant or equipment, their markets had disintegrated by the clientele of manufacturers who had either moved overseas, or had closed down. It is to be remembered that they never really had any need to approach Visy board, thus to do a deal with the end intention so to increase pricing of the end product, when it is believed that Amcor was the sole, or if not the major supplier of brown paper to their opposition – all they had to do surely was to increase the pricing of the base product which was supplied from Amcor to the Visy Company. The dilemma for the Amcor Directors is that Amcor was both a major supplier and in opposition to their main rival company.
The bottom line was that Visy board with Richard Pratt had identified the market changes, and set their course, and serviced into markets where there would be future expansion, whereas the Amcor directors not having grown up or had grass roots experience within the packaging industry, were asleep to the movement off shore of manufacturing clientele, or the closure of those plants which could not sustain a profitable ventures in Australian business.

It is little wonder that they the directors of Amcor turned on Richard Pratt and his company Visy Board in an effort to regain market share, by going to the ACCC. In an effort to justify the creditability of the ACCC it is a great pity that they the ACCC did not do more, with wider, deeper research into the facts of claims to the project, and the information before them. It is interesting to note that it has been suggested that the ex-director of now defunct Corrugated Box supplier, was in direct opposition to Visy board, is believed now to be the paid adviser to the ACCC. It is also rumoured that this adviser may have had very little lifetime experience within the packaging industry.
There appears that there has been dishonesty, greed, and maybe even threats made, so to try and in an effort to discredit a man whom has done so much in so many ways for the people of Australia without seeking credit or fame.
Richard Pratt is, has been, a true, honourable, and great Australian. Richard with his fine voice has been a friend, to so many in so many ways, so to accuse him of dishonesty, just portrays the small mindedness of those who are jealous, and envious of such a rich character, in the man such as Richard Pratt who always showed and gave you a fantastic smile. A smile one shall never forget.

out of ashes the new is born

Now out of ashes the new is born, and it is now time to look to the future, realising where all the good is, and where the positive can be found. Last Sunday, there was a unique Australian National memorial service, held in Melbourne Victoria, for all those who were involved, those who had lost everything, and those who have gone.
It was a wonderful service, because it brought together every aspect of Victorian life, and hopefully the real start of the “Interfaith” society of understanding in Victoria. Where all religions, faiths, and those people who now live in Victoria, Where so many people have come from every corner of the earth, to now enjoy the Victorian, and Australian lifestyle. Where people are equal no matter who or what they are.
This inter faith is the first step in understanding the faiths, habits, and traditions of all, no matter what their colour or creed maybe. There possibly is no City, or state in the world, other than here in Melbourne and in Victoria where the actions of the interfaith movement has become so positive. For people to try to understand each other, to love their neighbour’s, no matter what, is a big step forward, this has surely all come from the ashes.
Politician’s, and experts all talk about the their promises, and then there are those who question why, when in South-eastern Australia, over the years we have had a history of bushfires and fire storms, that we fail as a State, or a nation, to learn, heed, or understand the behaviour of a bushfire, and when the fire becomes a fire-storm.
Neville Shute in his 1955 Novel “The Far Country” when writing about the mountain cattlemen at the foot of Mt Buller, when one the men who was deep in the forest, but in a clearing, went to light a match for his cigarette. The match when struck flared significantly. The methane type gas from the eucalyptus gum leaf due to the extreme heat of the day was indeed high, so being the cause for the match to flare.
For a country to experience so many dry low humidity very hot days before that day of the fires, can only mean a extremely high eucalyptus vapour was going to be present throughout Southeastern Australia. In many ways, I am surprised that there was not far more devastation than what eventuated.
Because of distance and time from other parts, nations, and countries of the world, the Australian history has shown how as a Nation the people will band together, making sacrifices in helping others. This history from the time of the first settlers, including the two world wars has shown the unique Australian traditions of banding together as brothers, turning the bad into the good. So again in Australian tradition, this interfaith has awakened as one, we again become a close united team, all under the Australian flag fighting a war against the evils of nature and man kind. Yes from these experiences will be developed more world first break through, and better ways to understand so to be living in the Aussie lifestyle, all under one God.

A letter To Aust. Govt

In the early fifties I was lucky enough to study as one of my projects the ‘1928 depression’ Today unfortunately the world seems to be caught in a simular situation with no direction to get out or move forward.

In 1947 the then Labor Government commenced “The Snowy Mountain Project” which not only created employment for returning soldiers but was able to accommodate many unemployed Europeans. That project also created many new irrigation farms. It is my belief that this project prevented a major recession as was the case after the First World War. (1919 -1924)

Today, with the threat of depression imminent I believe it is now time to plan how to drive out of a depression, instead of trying to plug holes in what could be termed a collapsing wall. My suggestions are four fold.

1. International: – That the top 20 nations including USA, Canada, Japan, Korea, China, India Europe and Australia develop through the United Nations a way that all those nations such as The Philippines, Asia, (all sectors of Asia), Africa, and South America are supported against their extreme poverty and hunger. This could be a percentage of the profits of the economies and business houses belonging to the top 20 being milked and handed over to the United Nations for development projects. It must not be forgotten that the Second World War started because of the hunger and starvation of the German peoples, and can again be the case. But this time it could or may be the Taliban, or some such organisation (Praying to God that this may not be so)

2. National Service :- The implantation of all 18 or 19 year olds into twelve months service where training and providing services to our own indigenous natives can be part of a national scheme. Other avenues could be sporting, or international service such as the 1960’s “Kennedy’s Youth of America” program in Africa. This also could be an answer against the terrible drug and alcohol habits of that age group.

3. Water: – History has a habit being in a type of cycle and maybe a simular scheme as the Snowy scheme could be looked at such as piping the whole of the Murray Darling Irrigation network or even looking at supplying water from the North West to Perth and or across the centre of Australia to the irrigation plains of the Inland.

4. Drive a salt water Channel from Port Augusta to Lake Eye: – It is common knowledge that when Lake Eyre has water in it, that there is far more moisture driven across the plains to the western Highlands slopes of the Great Divide, and that the average rainfall does increase. When The lake is dry – droughts seem to prevail

These may seem wild ideas, but I can not see any correction, and or direction in the world economy for the next ten years. With out some massive programs being implemented to so drive the world forward, then maybe a depression is a good time to ‘clean the cupboard’ But there has to be something to put back in there after the cleaning.

The Aussie & the terrorist

A platoon of soldiers were patrolling north of Fallujah when they came
>  upon an Iraqi terrorist, badly injured and unconscious.
> 
> On the opposite side of the road was an Australian soldier in a similar
>  but less serious state.
> 
> 
> The soldier was conscious and alert and as first aid was given to both
>  men, the Platoon Leader asked the injured Australian what had happened.
> 
> 
> The soldier reported, 'I was heavily armed and moving north along the
>  highway here, and coming south was a heavily armed insurgent.' We saw
>  each other and both took cover in the ditches along the road. I yelled
>  to him that Saddam Hussein was a miserable, lowlife scum bag who got
>  what he deserved.
> 
> 
> He yelled back that Kevin Rudd is a bureaucratic, good-for-nothing,
>  left wing labour dickhead who knows bugger all about running the
>  country.'
> 
> 
> 'So I said that Osama Bin Ladin dresses and acts like a frigid,
>  mean-spirited lesbian!'
> 
> He retaliated by yelling, 'Oh yeah? Well, so does Julia Gillard !'
> 
> 'And, there we were, in the middle of the road, laughing, shaking
>  hands, When a bloody truck hit us.'
>
For those who do not know Rudd is our Prime Minister & Gillard is his deputy Prime Minister

Make sure you view the videos

Yes make sure you scroll down  & view the vod blogs on the side – there are many very funney video clips – These clips do change daily