God is good...Deservingly claimed twice with every third word

[The black sheep]

I awakened with you in my thoughts.
My mind wanders, but I try
to think pleasant thoughts of
nothing besides your
over whelming goodness.

You are the reason; the
reason there is life, and life
is eternally so precious, as it is
your desire, because of your
love which thereby created it;
and it is altogether phenomenal.


Thank you Jesus for all
your grace and mercy which have
kept me with my life; the life you
gave abundantly, with love and
all things I desire.
I thank God for you.

You are an all inspiring,
awesome sacrifice. A mighty
self denying Savior for mankind
You verily verily are
omnipotent, being Alpha,
and unequivocally, and without
comparison, Omega.

[Jerrybaldy]

Some things don't change,on here. There always is and always will be somebody worshipping, brow beating and spreading the word and pretending to write poetry. Particularly now at this time in civilisation where it's effects are on every news channel every day.

The belief in God's kills more every day than everything you would consider evil. Ironic . Unlike your verse.

[YesNo]

The belief in God's kills more every day than everything you would consider evil.

The only thing that kills more is atheism which can get quite genocidal.

I kind of like the idea of using poetry to write prayers. Mine would be different, but it helps to see things in different ways.

[The black sheep]

One day my friend you may wish you had believed. Now let me write this in verse............ Just because you don't believe doesn't mean it's not true. And furthermore I write what I want to write even if it offends you. Now go put your finger in your mouth and hope with you all will be well. I guarantee at the end of your life you will consider if there truly is a hell.
Plus this poem is so neat because at every third word there is another poem inside the poem.

[Delta40]

I agree you can write what you want even if it offends others. Unfortunately you are unable to guarantee what another person will consider at the end of their life. We are all flawed beings, including those whose faith translates into utter arrogance so journey on wiser now.

[Lokasenna]

Plus this poem is so neat because at every third word there is another poem inside the poem.

I seem to recall pride being one of a group of seven particularly nasty sins... indeed, the one most associated with the Morningstar himself. It 'goeth before destruction'.

Don't be so quick to condemn others to damnation. If there is such a thing as God, and he has his elect, then it ill becomes them to gloat at those of us who are brimstone-bound.

Anyway, on the subject of the poem: I quite enjoyed it. There's some very reasonable imagery here, though it does rehearse it in the usual way that Christian devotional poetry does. It would be nice to see more insight into your personal relationship with your god, rather than harking after the Almighty in a straight-ish line. I think the second stanza is the strongest.

[Jerrybaldy]

:) I was sent by your god to spread your word Black Sheep as until I commented it was sinking without trace. Your God works in mysterious ways. Like my dishwasher. Confuses the crap out of me. No such thing as bad publicity. You're welcome.

[YesNo]

Plus this poem is so neat because at every third word there is another poem inside the poem.

I don't follow how there are poems inside the poem here.

[Jerrybaldy]

Black sheep. Can I ask if you accept the previous existence of dinosaurs?
YesNo. If you are referring to Hitler there are as many Christian quotes as anti. So jury is out. And his brutality doesn't seem to have been caused by a lack of religion. So don't get your point. Think murderers are atheists and devotees. But as a divisive slaughter inducing mind set I think religion takes some beating. Not even sure that is debatable. But happy to hear otherwise.

[Jerrybaldy]

Ok have indulged you. Every third word reads with the same message but dodgy syntax. Mercifully shorter though.

[The black sheep]

Carefully read the wording before you judge that I condemned somebody. I believe it is universal that at the moment of death for those who have the time that we all will consider the unknown. Even the strongest atheist, I believe, will consider it.{With the emphasis on consider} The pride is in the believing that you may not consider it because you believe that YOU are it and all of it--and in control of your spiritual destiny.

[The black sheep]

Have a nice day jerrybaldy. I wasn't trying to convince anyone. You started the fireworks criticizing not just the poem but the contents of it. If you don't like a poem just don't like it-I'm okay with that, but I guess I did get offended when you downgrade a God who rains on the just and the unjust.... And if that is pride then go tell it to the writer of the Bible, because that is an excerpt from it.

[Jerrybaldy]

You have a good day too Blacksheep. We are all making our own way. Our ways are different but that's ok.

[YesNo]

YesNo. If you are referring to Hitler there are as many Christian quotes as anti. So jury is out. And his brutality doesn't seem to have been caused by a lack of religion. So don't get your point. Think murderers are atheists and devotees. But as a divisive slaughter inducing mind set I think religion takes some beating. Not even sure that is debatable. But happy to hear otherwise.

I am referring to Naziism, Stalinism, Maoism, and the Khmer Rouge just to mention those that come to mind at the moment. Atheists have no ethical or intellectual privileged frame of reference on which to stand and look down on anyone. What I don't understand is why atheists think they are so special.

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Black Sheep, I think I see the poem inside the other poem. I was counting the words wrong. However, I wonder if that is a useful poetic technique.

[The black sheep]

Yesno......I don't quite stick with techniques, I just write. There are enough people in this world who will like some of your words ,my words and plenty others words. Seriously, I just write

[Jerrybaldy]

Oh yes you're quite right yes no. There's nobody dying in the world right now due to fundamentalist beliefs in Gods. Not a soul.

[YesNo]

Oh yes you're quite right yes no.

I'm glad you agree.

I see you have an interest in dinosaurs. If you start another thread I wouldn't mind discussing them with you or anyone else. I'm particularly interested in Niles Eldredge's punctuated equilibria theory of evolution. Don't worry, its a legitimate Darwinian evolutionary theory.

I particularly liked his "Eternal ephemera : adaptation and the origin of species from the nineteenth century through punctuated equilibria and beyond".

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Black Sheep, I was listening to an old song by the Bee Gees, "Heartbreaker", recently. It occurred to me that one technique of writing religious poetry is not to explicitly mention anything about religion in the poem but talk about something related such as problems with a human love relationship.

In "Heartbreaker" the situation between the lovers is so over the top that I wonder if there is not another underlying relationship that could be implied even if it is not what the Gibb brothers explicitly intended.

[Jerrybaldy]

Unless you have something spectacular to tell me , which you haven't , I will maintain my stance of having shaken the silly beliefs that were programmed into me. You asked why atheists think they are so special. Don't believe they do. But if something did it would be the ability to have escaped blind faith. Not one thing in my fifty years has told me its anything more than blind other than the realisation its more than blind. Its blindfolded. Talk reality to me or talk fantasy but dont expect of others to confuse the two in quite the way of yourself and your fellow devoted.

[Jerrybaldy]

I do not believe we should shut up and respect others views. No matter thats what we are told and no matter whats pc. Nobody says that of the paedophile or the thief. Don't see why religious beliefs should get special treatment. If you want to bring some ridiculous doctrine to the table give it some creedence, which you can't possibly do so faith becomes a key. Given a passage of time this will be like me arguing with the flat earth society. Not that I want to question their faith. Obviously.

[Jerrybaldy]

Whole conversation is of course an utter waste of time. So lets not bother. Reply as you wish

[YesNo]

I do not believe we should shut up and respect others views. No matter thats what we are told and no matter whats pc. Nobody says that of the paedophile or the thief.

I appreciate your motivation. That's also why I speak out with respect to atheism. I consider it a public health nuisance.

The offer to focus on dinosaurs, or the fossil record generally, still holds (as long as we do it in another thread). I would like to understand better Eldredge's position which I think represents the current view of evolutionary biology.

However, I am more interested in this thread with discussing black sheep's poem. It is a good example of "telling" rather than "showing". He tells too much. This ties his hands with doctrines. His poem I suspect will not even work with all Christians should their doctrinal constraints differ from his. One needs to approach religious perspectives more inclusively.