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Monday, October 31, 2022

What color is "Un-Afflilated?"

I was just looking at Oregon Voter registration numbers. OregonVotes.gov allows you to download the registration numbers in various tables. From their website. I found something interesting that will have a huge effect in this election. In May of 2021, the total number of voters was 1,898,163. The latest number as of October 2022 is 2,976,195. A 1.1 million voter increase in just over 1 year. People keep talking about how Oregon is a “Blue State” that may turn red. Based on the numbers I am going to disagree. I just don’t know what color we are. Purple seems accurate. But let us look at the totals:


For the first time in Oregon History, this state is really not either Republican or Democrat. By any objective standard, it is up for grabs. This also means that the main parties have to cater to those others. The majority of Oregon Voters are not in either party. Oh, sure, the Combined Republican/Democrat registration is 68.61% of all voters. But 31.49% or others will decide this election. So what color is unaffiliated. It may be a nice gray. But we, the people, are going to have to choose something in November. 

Seek the truth, be curious but choose wisely.

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

What is Demonic?

People often think being "Demonic" or possessed is some weird Spiritual or Christian event. Some form of evil inhabits a person against their will, and they start acting in an odd manner. The Catholic Church has historically promoted this "Supernatural Event." The New Testament indicates that, at the time of Christ, demonic possession was a real thing (Mark 5:1-20). Zechariah 13:2 tells us that this will occur as part of the time of the Messiah. The OT Testament does not speak of possession as seen in the Mark reference. But as a Christian, I must disagree.

The term "devilish" or "demonic" is only used once in the Bible. Demonic is what is called a transliteration of the word  daimoniōdēs:

dahee-mon-ee-o'-dace
From G1140 and G1142; daemon like: - devilish.

James, the brother of Jesus Christ, writes:

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.

"Demonic" comes from "bitter jealousy and selfish ambition," not from a supernatural force. James further indicates it is "earthly, natural":  It is the product of greed or selfishness. Oddly enough, throughout history, until recently, self-centeredness has been considered harmful to society. Some place along the timeline, a shift from a "we" culture to a "me" culture occurred. With it came all types of societal woe and lamentation. Even "Alcoholics Anonymous" indicates that:

 "Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making."

Alcoholics Anonymous, pg 62 Paragraph 1.


Buddhism promotes "Self-lessness," Islam promotes a lack of self, to act following the will of Allah (i.e., Al-Hashr 59:9). For millennia, western and eastern cultures have promoted the concept "for the greater good." The fantastic thing is that what is defined as "good" tends to be universal. Does a man-altered religion or belief often slip from this higher authority mindset? Sure. Suni versus Shi'ites, Catholic versus Protestant or the Westburrow Baptist Church. What do all these "factions" have in common? At some point, a person decides to make a slight change to the message. Paul in the New Testament often spoke of these "other gospels" (Galatians 1:6-7).

So the secular folks point at religion as evil when it is the person who is usually "demonic," not evil. It is all about the feel goods. A person with "Selfish ambition" seeks what is in their mind best for them. It could be a place of power, a relationship, or other self-serving activity.

Paul also refers to this as "carnal":

Romans 8:6-7
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

"Carnal" refers to the physical body, or even "meat," in so much as we are sacks of meat. Being meat-minded drives us to seek physical pleasure. Hence a dog in France contracts Monkey Pox from its owners.

I am not saying people ought to be forced into a religion. I only recognize that society works better when people are more worried about what happens around them than what happens to them.

The 2020 election is a prime example. People were so uptight about a candidate's blatherings, the party's etiquette, and the carnal things around that person that  "We the people" failed to elect somebody competent. Instead, Americans chose the promise of higher gas prices, economic insecurity, and social unrest. We now have the hubris to complain when we get what we were promised. 

Though seemingly tolerant, phrases like "You do you boo" or "do what you want" are carnal phrases—centered around transient pleasure. A great example of this is Ian Crossland. He is a contributor on one of my favorite YouTube Channels: TimCast IRL

Ian is a caring carnal soul. He wants to help everybody and goes for the simple solution of making the Government do it. He considers himself "Liberal" in the classical sense yet always wants the Feds to step in. Ian loves to promote "DMT" (N-dimethyltryptamine) as the source of his spiritual guidance. Mr. Crossland seems to believe that "getting high" awakens some inner level of connectedness to universal consciousness. Do I think Ian is a nice guy? Yes. Do I think he is Demonic? Yes. That does not make him evil, just self-centered.

Why do I bring this up?

I hear everyday people who claim to be "Christian" and will argue that "Satan is physically active" or a person seems "possessed" in their behavior. I hate to disappoint everybody; some people will succumb to temptation. But that is not an act of Satan, and it is an act of personal choice and will. They are giving in to the desires of the meat puppet over choosing the Will of God.

Is there a solution?

Yes, but most people will be too far gone to choose it. All religion aside, come to an understanding that a moral society will succeed, and an immoral society will fail. It is not complicated. 

Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!
John F Kennedy – Inagualr address, 1961.

Though I would encourage looking to our local communities versus trying to serve the whole country, the sentiment is the same. Things are better when service is honored.

Badge of Merit
George Washington's Badge of Merit
The solid truth is that wealth is created by serving others. A restaurant, store, author, or any service is successful through serving the customers. It is not an opinion or "My truth." It is a principle of society as sure as that gravity is an absolute force. Try to make money by providing inferior or unwanted products; eventually, you will fail.


A return to our fundamental principles based on a worthwhile moral compass will be necessary for the United States to thrive again. Without that shift, we will collapse ins selfish desire and evil actions based on the narcissism of the

Gregor - Back from the brink! From there and back again. A spiritual Hobbits journey.

What color is "Un-Afflilated?"

I was just looking at Oregon Voter registration numbers. OregonVotes.gov allows you to download the registration numbers in various tables. ...