“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law."
Aleister Crowley
“Religion used to be the opium of the people. But now we are witnessing a transformation: a true opium of the people is the belief in nothingness after death, the huge solace, the huge comfort of thinking that for our betrayals, our greed, our cowardice, our murders, that we are not going to be judged.”
Czeslaw Milosz, The Discreet Charm of Nihilism
"Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ And the lawyer answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’
As you know, this passage above is the introduction to one of the greatest and most memorable of the parables from our Lord's own lips, that story of The Good Samaritan. And the introductory passage itself is therefore sometimes overlooked, but it ought not to be. 'Do this, and you will live.'
It might be better to never have had any knowledge of His word and His commandments than to hear His words and His most solemn commandments, and then hypocritically parade in them and His sacraments, as a call to hatefulness, pride, division, self-justification, and oppression of others. This is the leaven of the Pharisees, and a sin against the Spirit, about which our Lord himself warned when He walked on this earth.
We are a generation made drunk with power and a perverse individualism, that has been foretold for increasingly dark times. Do not worry so much about the wealth you may gather up on this earth, so that you forget the only real and enduring possessions you may take with you to the next. Examine your own actions and thoughts and behaviors first and foremost. For you will not be called upon to answer for what others do, but what you have done.
May God have mercy on any who provide provocation and false teachings to others, and scandalous example to their brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, especially because of their willful selfishness, stubborn greed, and foolish pride.
Jesse, 19 January 2015
No risk, no consequences, for anything.
That was the theme of the US markets today.
Stocks were higher, and went out near their highs.
Gold and silver rallied back from their recent suppression.
The Dollar slid back down to the 96 handle.
VIX dropped to the bottom of its moving averages.
Have a pleasant evening.
