The Soldier in the Temple

Alone sat a soldier quietly in the temple; reflecting on the depravity which he observed in battle. From it he gains his understanding of terror. On this day in silent reflection, the soldier learns of transcendent connection. The father, he speaks, not to my ears which hear loudly the sounds of gunfire or to my eyes in writing like the instructions to conspire, but to my soul which burns with the eternal fire. His voice, comforting and inspiring, eases me in my time of ire.

Unto me he said: “Speak not with the words of hunger, nor with the tongue of desire, but with the heart of reprieve. For those who do unto others out of viciousness and disdain will have twofold done unto them by the hand of their creator. Wickedness will meet wickedness, amity will meet amity; this is the truth and also our bond.”

Weeping with happiness, shedding tears of elation, my spirit was lifted in this moment of ecstatic jubilation. Justice be done, by the hand that commandeth; sinners remorse, for they shall meet damnation. God hath spoken to brighten my day, lift the veil from my eyes, the fog from my mind, and the miasma from my soul. All that died will not have done so in vein, the battle was lost but the war will be won; all in his name.

From this reflection it seemed daft to me, that I questioned my Lord’s sincerity. How dare I depart from his side to venture into the wilderness forlorn; then only to interrogate my mind over his existence, for leaving me to fate alone? Left to my lonesome my thoughts began to roam. Attempt to reconcile myself with the departed without abandoning my pride, proved an unwinnable feat. A lesson well learned, fighting the battle alone, I came crawling back on one knee feeling contrite.

The soldier began to sing with a reinvigorated spirit caught in the beauty of the divinity. With arms raised he recited psalm 23 aloud for all:

“1 The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.”[1]

After concluding with the song, the soldier rose up and walked out of the temple. Into the light he walked only to disappear. His spirit had been freed from its captivity. In death he experienced reconciliation and ecstasy. No more shall he worry about food or dress, the soldier is moving on to the land of eternity. Forgiven for his trespasses by the almighty he once again loves, embraced by the hands of warmth like rays of the sun. In this life malevolent actions will dissolve into the ocean of justice, enforced by the Lord God’s might.

[1] - www.biblegateway.com...

cool story but you know god isn't real

Originally posted by am241
cool story but you know god isn't real

What is wrong with people such as you, who come into a person’s thread and just simply tries to antagonize him? Do you really have absolutely nothing better to do with your time?

Originally posted by Misoir

Originally posted by am241
cool story but you know god isn't real

What is wrong with people such as you, who come into a person’s thread and just simply tries to antagonize him? Do you really have absolutely nothing better to do with your time?

was not trying to antagonize you simply said it was a cool story and stated an opinion where i said you do know god isn't real everyone has their opinions & beliefs i don't believe in god and you do nothing wrong with that but can i ask you why you believe god is real ?

reply to post by am241


I must say, good question. It is always a difficult one to answer as well because when you try to truly explain your reasoning, words are not your friend. Nevertheless, I would say my belief in God stems from a combination of things, especially the belief in the universal truth; a truth that has been revealed to every culture throughout history. Each religion holds a fundamental set of truths which are ignorant of time, place, and people; but speak to the deepest essence of our being.

It is the transcendent interconnectedness of all humanity with the one who goes by many names; Allah, Yahweh, God, Brahma, and can be reached through many ways; the Trinity, nirvana, enlightenment, etc… From sacrifice towards achieving transcendence and occupation with restoring our spiritual connection (prayer/meditation) we are able to become close to the creator and from this closeness we achieve an ecstasy which reveals God to us.

My belief in God is not because I was taken to Church every Sunday or needed something to ‘fall back on’ or was afraid of eternal damnation. It is because I believe in justice, strength, truth, and righteousness; that I turn my face towards the Heaven and give myself over to a higher understanding than the self. You can believe in God all you want, but it only matters to me if you are willing to sacrifice for unity with the almighty.

Also, I do not believe in preaching to others any religion or even that a God exists. If they ask me if I believe, my answer is yes. If they inquire further I explain it to them and, if they are Atheist/Agnostic, I try to recite a poem from Rumi too:

“Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving — it doesn't matter,
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow a hundred times,
Come, come again, come.”

Originally posted by am241
cool story but you know god isn't real

If you think that, its ok. I have a few questions for you then...
How do you know he isn't real?
How did you come up with this idea he isn't?
Where did everything you see/ have seen come from?
Keep answering where everything came from until you answer where those things came from and then those things...and keep doing it until you cannot do it any more...then answer it one last time.

I am curious to know how you came to the conclusion you did...please don't get mad, but you at some point have to understand that there isn't an explanation for everything and everything has to come from somewhere..right? So how do you say there is no god?

reply to post by saltdog


you pretty much answered it for me ahahhahaha if there is a god where did he come from

reply to post by am241


You are unfortunately reducing God's abilities to the scope of human comprehension and scientific reasoning. All religious texts have clearly explained that what makes God God is the incomprehensible nature. Since we are a fallen creation, we have lost the ability to fully comprehend the creator. But, there are people who can comprehend God but it is reserved only for those who dedicate their entire lives to oneness with God; all the rest of us can either accept our inability to comprehend God's omnipotence or reject God altogether.

When one asks for God to be explained in scientific terms you are asking to remove God from itself and reduce it to human form, thus it is no longer God. My point is, science and 'reason' cannot comprehend the omnipresent because it works only in material dialectics. Science has not yet humbled itself before the transcendent nature of the divine; until that day we will continue to have science in conflict with religion, a place I do not believe it has to be.

reply to post by Misoir


yeah okay here i got something for you

Originally posted by am241
reply to post by saltdog

 

you pretty much answered it for me ahahhahaha if there is a god where did he come from

Sure...I knew you couldn't answer my questions about where it all came from...explain whatever you like, say what you need to...your idea of no god....expain where everything came from to me...please. I am curious as to how it all came to be.

Originally posted by saltdog

Originally posted by am241
reply to post by saltdog

 

you pretty much answered it for me ahahhahaha if there is a god where did he come from

Sure...I knew you couldn't answer my questions about where it all came from...explain whatever you like, say what you need to...your idea of no god....expain where everything came from to me...please. I am curious as to how it all came to be.

i never claimed that i knew where it all came from i don't everyone else also doesn't know where all of this came from either so to rationalize how life and everything else came about to say god created this because they are simple minded and have a difficulty to think outside of box the universe is vast there has probably been advanced life way before us for many years and that is who i think created us ET Life as for that bible,quran,torah all of that is fairytale b.s

reply to post by am241


I do not listen to rap / hip – hop. Besides, is that song supposed to prove something to me? It did not say anything I have not already heard before.

Originally posted by Misoir
reply to post by am241

 

I do not listen to rap / hip – hop. Besides, is that song supposed to prove something to me? It did not say anything I have not already heard before.

well if gods real why does he let such messed up things happen in this world

reply to post by am241


"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself." - C. S. Lewis


God gave us free will to make our own decisions in life; which we often use to inflict, intentionally or unintentionally, pain on others. Not just that but suffering, pain, and conflict are also tests which we should use, which I even used, to help build yourself up or tear yourself down. Tell me, where did the most beautiful art and literature in history come from? Peaceful places with limited suffering or places with lots of suffering? For example, how many truly great pieces of art/literature have come from Switzerland (a stable republic for centuries) and how many came from Italy (murder, war, violence, tyranny for centuries)?

The critic will dismiss that as just picking rather baseless examples, I find those to be the most compelling examples. I would not want a world free from suffering, turmoil, tests, and death; because that would not be a real world at all. God did not make every edge rounded, every fall cushioned, every lake 5 feet deep, and every person like Jesus Christ, for a reason. Does that make God cruel? No, to me it makes God better than to shelter us forever. Tell me, if there were no pain, no fear, no uncertainty, no illness, would you have needed your mother or father past age 10?

Originally posted by Misoir
reply to post by am241

 

"Try to exclude the possibility of suffering which the order of nature and the existence of free-wills involve, and you find that you have excluded life itself." - C. S. Lewis


God gave us free will to make our own decisions in life; which we often use to inflict, intentionally or unintentionally, pain on others. Not just that but suffering, pain, and conflict are also tests which we should use, which I even used, to help build yourself up or tear yourself down. Tell me, where did the most beautiful art and literature in history come from? Peaceful places with limited suffering or places with lots of suffering? For example, how many truly great pieces of art/literature have come from Switzerland (a stable republic for centuries) and how many came from Italy (murder, war, violence, tyranny for centuries)?

The critic will dismiss that as just picking rather baseless examples, I find those to be the most compelling examples. I would not want a world free from suffering, turmoil, tests, and death; because that would not be a real world at all. God did not make every edge rounded, every fall cushioned, every lake 5 feet deep, and every person like Jesus Christ, for a reason. Does that make God cruel? No, to me it makes God better than to shelter us forever. Tell me, if there were no pain, no fear, no uncertainty, no illness, would you have needed your mother or father past age 10?

well that would be a perfect world there shouldn't be violence,hatred,etc of any sort lol at religious people a man created a bible,quran,torah man is deceiving its a control tactic think about how long life has existed before even we were created and look at the complexity of our DNA and how 95 percent of it is un decoded we were created by ET life the goal of life is to be happy and not get attached to materialistic things people have a false belief in their minds that they will live forever you should always think that today,tomorrow could be your last day in this life because its true our bodys are simply containers or vessles and our mind is a energy which is not our brain because the brain is part of the body once we die this energy is recyled like all things in life / nature we simply dont just die

how about you get off your computer and go live in a 3rd world country get off your computer and go suffer in pain get off your computer and lose loved ones to genocide how about you get off your computer and preach nonsense when your living your life in poor African slum is god going to give you a hand you talk about you wouldnt want to live in world with out suffering,violence and tyranny are you the one suffering

That's quite enough.

Stop with the derisive comments, please, and consider the forum this thread was posted in.

If debunking religion is your passion, then let me lead you to the goldmine.

opps sorry guys didn't realize this was in short stories thought it was a religious thread my fault apologies to everyone