For accuracy Bible translations recommended are Authorized King James or New King James Version.

You can access another site with the same material, which may be easier to navigate at: http://www.rswegner.com/

1. Awareness
2. Of the Earth
3. Family Environments
4. Job Atmospheres

5. The Creation

6. What Is Truth ?

7. Does God Exist ?    Beginning of Gospel of the Kingdom  Part 2

8. The Bible

9. Flaws in the Theory of Evolution
10. The Scriptures Point To Christ
11. Christ - The Second Adam
12. The Holy Days Point To Christ
13. Human Nature   Beginning of the Gospel of the Kingdom Part 3
14. What Christ Accomplished on the Cross 14a Blood of Christ 14b Christ's Resurrection 
15. The Body of Christ
16. How to Receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit
17. The Holy Spirit

18a) After Baptism

18b) We Are Not Perfect Yet

18c)  Satan and His World

18e) Offending Brethren

18f) Attitude Towards those Outside the Church - Give None Offense

18h) The Trying of Our Faith - Trials and Tests Which will Come

19. The Great Tribulation

20. Mystery Babylon The Great - interpretation of Revelation 17th chapter

21. The TwoWitnesses

22. Place of Safety

23. Return of Christ 23a The Millennium    23b The White Throne Judgment

The Judgment Period

 

24. A New Heaven and a New Earth   24a)  New Jerusalem

 

 

Chapter 1 Awareness

Everything is centered in awareness. We are alive. To be dead is not to live. It is not to see, hear, and have feelings and thoughts. Now is the time and here is the place to live.

 

 

 

To understand ourselves we must be aware of the world around us. This is our living space where people eat, work, sleep, play, and socialize. The environment influences us with some environmental factors more important than others. Mankind is shaped and molded by this environment, and it also shapes and influences our attitudes and perceptions of the world. We perceive the world through our senses and our minds. The senses can only take in what is going on around us.

 

Some might argue that they are not shaped and molded by any outside forces, but rather they go out and change the world to suit themselves. Such persons may say it is they who make things happen, and they are not some passive patsies, who bend in every direction the wind blows.

 

Yet if we would be aware of this life we would come to understand that there are things which we can't change. There are forces and powers greater than us. Death is stronger than we are. Mankind is as a flower, which grows for a short time, blooms briefly, then fades away and dies.

 

 

Chapter 2   Of The Earth

You may have heard the saying " everyone always talks about the weather but nobody ever does anything about it." Mankind cannot alter the weather and yet people complain about it all the time. The arrogance of modern man in this industrial, mechanical age is truly amazing. You hear on the radio the weather forecast issued by Environment Canada. The radio announcer proceeds to say that today it will be sunny or it will rain and so on. It begins to sound more like a decree than a prediction. Since we are able to understand how the weather works, men are able to make fairly accurate forecasts. However it begins to sound like they are responsible for the whole business. Just like the rooster who thought that it was his crowing which caused the sun to rise in the morning.

 

The sun, earth, air, and water along with the plants and animals work together to create the environment in which man lives. Just like the birds and mammals we adapt to the climate and geography. People live on the plains, or in the mountains or along the ocean shore. Some men are forest dwellers, while others live in the desert. Many are crowded together in huge cities and live most of their lives indoors. A huge portion of men still live in rural situations or in villages. Climate is a huge factor in the kind of houses built and in the types of food grown.

 

Some people reason that urban man is no longer influenced by climate and the shape of the land. It is the country dweller, the peasant who still has the connection with the earth and sky. The distance between the land and the city cannot be measured in miles. They are two entirely different worlds. Yet city dwellers are still influenced by the climate and the earth, but to a much lesser degree than the farmer.

 

We must be aware of how the physical environment influences our attitudes and perceptions. The man living in the tropical rain forest is a different situation from the man living in the arctic. One goes about almost naked while the other can only survive by wearing a heavy parka and warm boots and mittens. People who live in a lush, fertile river valley are not going to have the same outlook as those who live high up in the mountains. So this is why we have different tribes of men just as we have different species of birds or dogs.

 

In the arctic the climate is very cold. In winter the sun sets and does not rise again for two to three months, and in midsummer the sun shines twenty four hours a day. The distances between settlements is great, therefore many villages and towns are very isolated. The winter lasts for well over seven months and the temperature is very cold and frequently drops down to around -40 degrees below Fahrenheit. Anyone living in that sort of environment can't help but be influenced by it. When that cold north wind blows and the thermometer falls down to -40 degrees it is bitterly cold. How can this sort of weather not have an effect on ones attitudes and perceptions ?

 

It is mostly very hot in the tropics, so many tropical people follow the custom of observing a siesta during the hottest part of the day, when the sun is right overhead.

 

In some tropical areas every few years a great hurricane rises up from the sea and smashes onto land. Many houses are destroyed by the strong winds and so the people always dread the possibility that a storm may hit them. This sort of natural phenomenon cannot help but have an influence upon the attitudes and perceptions of these people.

 

These are just two examples. Some people live in earthquake zones where the earth buckles and quakes. Some live in semi-arid areas where quite often the rains fail, and the result is famine.

 

In other areas such as on the West Coast of Canada there is a tremendous amount of rainfall. At times it rains for days and days on end and how can this not influence men, even though many are snug and comfortable in their homes.

 

So we need to be aware of how the sun, earth, weather, plants, and animals create an environment of which man is part. We are part of nature.

 

However men are also subject to the influences of their social environment. A major factor is how each of us makes his living. There are five different means of earning ones living and this is through; hunting and gathering, herding of animals, agriculture, fishing, and industrialization. There may be a mixture or blend of these factors in a given society. We need to be aware of how important the means of getting our living is to us. It has a tremendous influence upon our perceptions and point of view.

 

Those who live by hunting and gathering can still be found in isolated parts of the world. Only a few short years ago in mankind's history a large percentage of humans made their living that way. This was the way the aboriginals lived before the white man came to North America. We know that their conceptions were totally different from the Europeans ideas.

 

Agriculture and hunting and gathering are two entirely different approaches to this challenge of earning our livings. So the attitudes and perceptions were shaped by the social environment. In these two opposing views the concept of use of land is totally at odds. The farmer wants to own his plot of ground and build a house and settle down. The hunter follows the game and has no need to own the land and build a fence around it. Moose and deer do not care about fences. Boundaries were natural such as mountains, or rivers, or maybe the change from prairies to woodland. Each tribe lived in their territory and there may have been disputes with neighboring tribes over hunting grounds, but each had their own land. The concept of land title never existed, and it still does not exist to this day with many Indian people in Canada. Agriculture requires that the man stays on that piece of ground and he gets a piece of paper from the government, which says he is now the owner of it.

 

Herding of animals is still practiced by groups of people in such places as Africa. Fishing is practiced by maritime peoples as in the case with many Newfoundlanders. More and more every year we are seeing industrialization take control. This is the trend worldwide and millions are flocking to the cities in the hopes of improving their living conditions. Agriculture and fishing are becoming more and more industrialized, so fewer workers are needed in these sectors.

 

In industrialization there is a high degree of specialization of labor. In a factory for instance you will find that each worker does one little part. Nobody does the whole job, because it is not set up that way. People are organized and the work arranged so that each does one part and when they all do their part the job is finished. The system is more efficient, but not good for the person who must do one job over and over again all day long.

 

More and more we are seeing jobs being taken over by machines. Even the home has become mechanized with automatic washers and dryers and vacuum cleaners and even electric knives. Calgary and Edmonton have one of the highest rates of ownership of automobiles per person in the world. The traffic never stops and there is a continuous noise from these modern chariots. It often seems that the city is more designed to accommodate the cars than the people.

 

It takes about (1 ½ hrs) one and a half hours to walk five miles at a normal pace. Yet get on a jet from Edmonton to Vancouver (which is about six hundred miles) and it takes about (1½ hrs) one and a half hours. If you would have to walk it would take a long time to get there. Yet get on a jet and there you are above the mountains and even above the clouds. Birds don't even fly that high.

 

Machines have increased mans capacity to do things such as work or to travel. This has profoundly influenced how we view ourselves and our conceptions of the world. Men have at their control a system that has vastly magnified their own powers. Now many people believe that there is nothing that they can't do. The machines and industrialization have made it possible to produce goods cheaply and in large quantity. It has brought us many advances in science which improve life for us. It has also brought us noise and air and water pollution. It has also given us nuclear weapons through which man can destroy all human life from off the planet.

 

It also has many amusing results. You can see a lot of men in this industrialized society who operate machines such as trucks or tractors and machines which are very powerful. Somehow these people think that because they run a big machine that they are strong men.

 

This so-called strength or ability to control a machine takes on sexual connotations. At the place I was working we were sitting outside having lunch and this fellow drives in with this tractor trailer which was a new and sturdy machine. One of the ladies there was really impressed and she began admiring the man driving the truck although she could hardly see him, but saw only the vehicle. What on earth does a truck have to do with sex or sexual potency? Do we make love to machines or to a human being? Man is flesh and blood and not a machine? The answer is that our social environment influences and shapes our perceptions and points of views. It influences the way people think for better or worse. Be aware of your environment and then you will be able to understand why you and others have the perceptions and points of view you have.

 

 

Chapter 3   Family Environments  - please click on this link to view the various family environments, and how these influence the attitutes of family members exposed to these atmospheres.

 

For those of us who must work for a living, the best hours of our work days are spent on the job. One cannot help but be influenced by the environment on the job, for better or worse.

Negative Work Atmospheres

1. Competitive atmosphere.
2. Authoritarian work situation
3. Mindless repetition and lack of variety
4. Health and safety factors are ignored
5. Management is out of touch with labor

 

1. Competitive atmosphere. Workers against worker and worker against management and foreman against foreman and business against business. Political working environment with most persons trying to get ahead and beat the other guy, rather than doing the best job possible. The job is just a competitive arena. A spirit of competition prevails the work place.

Attitudes and perceptions engendered.

• Efforts made to do the job faster and faster and with more and more efficiency by management. They may have the idea that the job is more important that the worker who does the job. Very little concern shown as to what a particular job may do to the health of the workers.
• There may easily develop an attitude of fear and anxiety in those who are on the bottom end of the ladder.
• Workers can easily develop an attitude of "looking out for number one" Concern for fellow workers will vanish.
• A cynical attitude will form due to the competitive situation, people will become cynical of work.
• Employees will take the point of view that the management is just out to exploit them and squeeze as much out of them as possible.
• Managers may promote those who are the most competitive and aggressive. Those who strive to work in cooperation with others in this kind of environment ,will most likely be overlooked in promotions.
• Labor will feel that they must work harder and faster to keep up with the others. There will be an emphasis on getting the job done as fast as possible and quality will suffer.
• There will be perception by the workers that they are on a treadmill and involved in a terrible rat race a constant daily struggle.
• There can easily develop a lot of feelings of animosity among and between workers as a result of the competitive environment.
• People will begin to lose the attitude of taking pride in their work. That feeling of satisfaction a person gets from doing something well will slowly fade away.
• Management will take the position that to survive they have to be big and mean. The attitude will be that they must beat their competitors in order to be a winner. Most competitors feel that nice guys finish last and in competition the one who finishes last loses. In order to win they will feel they must beat somebody out of something. The idea of surviving by doing the best job possible will not be very influential. They will be concerned with capturing the market and depriving their competitors of opportunities.
• People working in such an atmosphere will begin to take the attitude that in order to progress and get ahead they will have to step on people. To get ahead they will begin to use others as mere stepping stones and pawns to be manipulated.
• Workers begin to lose the idea that work can be fun. Anyone who is happy on the job and who loves working must be crazy.
• Many people after being exposed to the competitive work environment may take the position that if work is this awful then it is better not to work. They may take the position that welfare, stealing or being a hobo is better than working. The competitive atmosphere has soured their attitude towards work.
• Those who cannot compete successfully in the competitive environment may begin to feel that they are failures as human beings. They can easily begin to think that they are unworthy or inadequate.
• The attitude will develop that those who do not compete are losers. People will begin to think that those who refuse to compete with others must be weak and inferior human beings.
• People begin to believe it really is true that in order to make it in this world you have to be big and mean and beat the other guy. A question of survival of the strongest. They may feel that those who do not compete and remain competitive can't make it in this world.
• Workers and management exposed to such a system will begin to have the attitude that not working or being unemployed must be enjoyable. They will develop a resentful and bitter attitude towards those who do not work. They will come to the attitude that those who do not work as they do must be happy and enjoying life.

 

2. Authoritarian work situation with boss in total control. There is no room for imitative and the work environment is a stifling one. The boss seeks to dominate his workers and be in control of them. Management strives to dominate workers and control them and be in charge of most everything.

• Management takes the viewpoint that what is important is being the control of people rather than being in control of the situation. They are not able to look at the situation and what needs to be done, but feel that the situation has to deal with controlling others. They are more concerned about maintaining control than doing the job.
• Management has the attitude that the workers under their authority are also interested in power. So they develop a very suspicious attitude towards anyone who might show any self-willed behavior. Any who might have any other ideas about how to do the job are eyed very carefully. Most such behavior is viewed as a threat to the one in authority.
• Workers develop an attitude of dependence upon the boss. They feel weak and dependent and unable to develop their own decision making potentials.
• Workers under the persons authority begin to get the attitude that there are only two kinds of people in the world. The ones who control power and the ones without power. Solidarity, co-operation and brotherly love are seen to be only dreams.
• Labor under such a regime begin to lose faith in their fellow man. They develop a cynical attitude towards people.
• Workers feel humiliated by management and they develop a fear of them.
• Workers take a militant approach towards the employer an attitude of dislike. There is a deep feeling of anger, and suspicion of management.
• People begin to think might is right.

 

3. Mindless repetition and lack of variety. Failing to rotate personnel which results in boredom and high rate of absenteeism. Cliques are formed without the company as a result of the lack of rotation.

Perceptions, attitudes, viewpoints, feelings which are formed due to exposure to this environment.

• Failure to rotate personnel is responsible for the development of cliques within organizations. People then fail to identify with the whole, but only with one part or department. This creates an attitude of division within the organization.
• People get the idea of having a set routine. The work becomes almost automatic and routine. This gives a person the feeling of being frozen in time. As a result there is a mood of unreality and life takes on the appearance of just being routine. Life begins to stop looking like a growing process and seems to just stand still.
• Failure to vary work and rotate workers is a cause for moods of depression and so there is more absenteeism.
• People get the idea that there is only one way to do a certain job and have a hard time conceiving of other possibilities. They fail to perceive that there can be flexibility and adaptability on the job.
• People get the impression that work is boring.
• Workers begin to lose the sense of accomplishment a person gets after finishing a job. Work takes on the appearance of a long, endless, dull exercise. A feeling of futility may come over the worker.
• People have the perception that others are being shown favoritism and that they are being singled out for punishment. This is caused by the failure to rotate personnel. Those doing dirty or difficult jobs may feel that they are being discriminated against.
• The idea will be that life is just one long stream of work, work, work. People feel like drudges and begin to think that they are boring people.
• After a while a person begins to feel that they are not capable of anything better. You get into a mental rut. The mind stays in one grove and people begin to doubt their mental capacity to do anything else. They feel they are only fit for one job in the company.

 

4. Health and safety factors are ignored. The work environment may be dirty, dusty with poor ventilation and with fumes from chemicals. Also maybe much noise from machinery - an excessive amount of noise.

• People become irritable and develop a complaining attitude, because the working conditions are so poor.
• People get the impression that management does not care about them and could not care less if they were to get sick or die on the job. There will just be others to take your place.
• People exposed to much noise are unable to communicate with others because of the noise. They begin to feel that the machines are more important to the company than they are.
• Workers begin to feel that the machinery is better taken care of than they are. The machines get more attention than they do and so they feel unwanted.
• Workers may develop a dislike and animosity toward management.
• Management may take the attitude that they are providing a job and the opportunity to earn money for the worker and watching over their health is the worker's own business.
• Management or owners take the point of view that they run or own the business and no worker is going to tell them what to do.
• Management begins to feel that workers are hired to do a job and if they don't like it they can go home.
• Management fails to view the people as human beings, but treat them like machines which don't have feelings. People have feelings but management feels that this is none of their concern.

 

• Management becomes alienated from the process of production and feels that they are in a separate class.
• Management takes the position that they are running the show and the business could not survive without them. They develop a condescending attitude toward labor.
• Management takes the position that the worker should be grateful because they provide a job for them. They also feel that they are serving noble ends and doing everything they can do to help their employees.
• Management takes the position that labor feels the same way they do. They are not capable of relating to their employee, because they are out of touch and so can't understand their situation. They feel that labor thinks along the same lines as they do.
• Workers take the attitude that the bosses just step them into some rotten job which none of them would do but they expect you to be happy with it.

 

Positive Work Environments

1. Rewards Other Than Monetary

2. Opportunity For Social Contact On The Job

3. Provisions Made For Flexibility And Adaptability

4. Health And Safety Regulations Are Enforced

5. Good Communications

6. Co-operation And Goal Orientated

7. Opportunities For Transfers Or A System Of Rotation Set Up So To Avoid Boredom.

8. A System Of Profit Sharing

9. Time Off For Holidays

 

1.  Rewards Other Than Monetary

• People take the attitude that money isn't the only thing in life. They take the approach that there are certain things that cannot be measured in terms of dollars; such things as personal satisfaction, appreciation from others, gratitude, and pride in ones work.
• People develop the perception that they can make a contribution that is not directly related to money. Their energies need not be applied exclusively to the making of money for themselves and their employer.
• People get the impression that they are worthwhile and worthy and they are needed and wanted as human being not just as workers.

 

2. Opportunity For Social Contact On The Job

• People begin to take a greater interest in their work and feel work can be fun, because they have the chance to meet people.

 

3. Provisions made for flexibility and adaptability in how the job is done. Clear instructions as to what needs to be done, but it is left up to the employee to do it in the way he or she believes best.

• Workers will get the impression that the boss has confidence in their abilities, and considers them to be intelligent enough, and able enough to handle the job properly and it their own way. Laborers will feel more secure and sure when they know exactly what needs to be done.

 

4. Health And Safety Regulations Enforced

• Health and safety regulations are enforced and proper clothing is provided. Steps are taken to insure a safe and healthy work environment.
• Workers will feel that the management does care about their health and are really concerned. They will feel more secure and feel like they are being treated like human beings. Workers will indeed feel they are more important than machines.

 

5. Good Communications

• Management and labor will be able to understand each others point of view and will gain insight into the others position. Management will begin to feel more responsible for the situation workers are in. They will feel that instructions given by them or jobs created by them can have a tremendous effect on the worker. They will feel more responsible for the health and well being of their employees.
• Labor will take the attitude that what they say will be listened to and taken seriously. This will result in them taking the position of being reasonable and responsible in their demands. Labor and management will take the point of view that problems can be dealt with effectively and understood. Employees will have the attitude that they will be able to go to management with problems that come up. They will have a more open attitude and will not be afraid to bring up concerns and discuss problems.

 

6. Cooperation And Goal Orientated Working to get the job done smoothly and effectively, and not beat the other guy.

• One attitude engendered in such an atmosphere will be that people will work for something, such as reaching a target or completing a project. They will set their eyes on a goal rather on how to beat the guy. Both sides will take the point of view that to achieve the goal they will have to work together and co-operate.
• Workers will take the position that it does not make any sense to work like crazy to beat the other guy. It does not make any sense to work just to show how much a better worker you are than them. They will take a team approach, and will realize a team must cooperate in order to win. Workers and management will get the idea that it does not matter who does the job, but whether it's done effectively and efficiently. Workers will develop a team spirit. They will take the attitude of being concerned about the other guy.
• Management will come to the position that to be a winner and survive, they can do this through co-operation. They can work towards a goal and do the best job possible, and produce a quality product and do it all by and through cooperation.
• People will take the position that to succeed a person has to work with others. They will come to the point of view that when the other person is doing well then this is helping them. When he or she is performing well this benefits others and does not hurt them.

 

7. Opportunities For Transfers Or A System Of Rotation Set Up So To Avoid Boredom.

• This also gives people the chance to learn other jobs and have empathy towards the other guy or girl. Dirty jobs are shared so that not only one person has to keep doing them.
• Workers are able to identify with the whole business. They are able to view their job from a different point of view. People will feel less bored and take a greater interest in their job. Workers will develop the attitude that there really is such a thing as fairness in the world. Management will take the position, that if the worker is more skilled and flexible then they will be more valuable to the organization.

 

8. A System Of Profit Sharing A system of profit sharing so that the employees feel more a part of the organization. More incentives given to the workers so that they will have a reason to do better. Profit sharing is paid out on a group basis rather than individually.

• People will feel that they are more part of the organization. People will take the point of view that if they work productively and efficiently and in cooperation with others, then there is a good chance they will receive a bonus. There will be more of a incentive to work.
• Workers will take the approach of being more conscientious, because they will know that others are depending on them to do their share. Management and labor will take the attitude that they are in this together. It is important to work together in harmony instead of destroying and ruining each other in a senseless worthless competitive environment.

 

9. Time Off For Holidays Time off to keep God's annual Holy Days.

• Attitudes - A community spirit and more interest in those days.

---

 

Chapter 5   The Creation

Scientist say that the universe is evolving and life on earth is slowly evolving, because creatures are constantly changing and adapting to the changing environment. Life was not created they will say but evolved, just as the stars were not created, but just happened because of this big explosion. The facts are that the astronomers have been able to observe the birth of stars in the heavens. New stars are actually being created at this very time in the universe - although the events we see today actually happened long, long ago because of the vast distances. Also they have been able to see the remnant of stars which died or exploded and these are called Supernova.

 

On earth of course we are constant witnesses to the process of birth and death. Now can anyone of us remember anything about our birth ? For me everything before birth is just a blackness. Two hundred years ago you and I did not exist. Yet amazingly there are full grown human beings, who will stand and say we were not created, but we evolved from lower life forms. Yet here is a human who is able to walk, talk, think and work and just live on the earth, who a few short years ago did not exist. Here we have a created being telling us that we were not created. It is amazing, absolutely amazing ! A full grown, mature human being has got to be one of the most complex, complicated and refined of all creatures. We can't even understand how the human mind works to a large extent. Yet many say that this being evolved.

 

Yes, but some will say that a person is just born through the course of nature. They then just grow up and this again is just a natural process and so people reason that everything we know and understand is just the result of normal natural processes which no one is really in charge of.

 

However people don't realize how incredible complex we are and how we are subject to so many different forces. Anyone who has studied into the subject realizes that people don't just sprout up like trees. Our family has a tremendous influence upon each of us. The society we grow up in also influences each of us and not everyone grows up in the same sort of family or society. There is also the influence of heritage and also how important good nutrition is for our development. We can go on and on explaining about how it is quite clear that each of us is shaped and molded by so many varying forces and influences. People are utterly amazing and far too complex for anyone of us to comprehend totally.

 

A being this complicated does not just happen. We are created beings each of us. A creation demands a creator and so my conclusion is that there has to be some intelligent being or beings who are working quietly behind the scenes. We are so miraculously made that there must be some superior beings who are out there and who controls the destiny of each human being.

 

If you happen to go to an air show anytime you will be able to see some of the most sophisticated and complex machines built by men. If you were to say a jet plane just built itself and just sort of evolved people would think you were crazy. It is much more ludicrous to think that a full grown human being (who is infinitely more complex) just sort of put themselves together. There has to be some life giving, intelligent, superior being or beings or force which is responsible for all this.

 

Man of course is only one part of nature. Just look at all the different animals, plants and birds on this planet. It is an absolutely fantastic earth. Man cannot even begin to understand the diversity and complicity of life on earth. All the way from the huge elephant to the tiny microscopic creatures. When we study life on earth we never cease to be amazed and full of wonder. Why we don't even understand everything about ants and flies. There are thousand upon thousands of different species of flies and they have their own particular life style and rituals. Very little is known about most of them.

 

Now, man, the scientists tell us, is a part of nature. Our bodies are made up of different elements which come from the earth. There can be no doubt about this and when we die our bodies rot and are broken down and return to the earth. To stay alive we have to breathe air, drink water and eat food. We need shelter from the elements and in order to survive in colder climates people build large shelters which are heated in winter. Also we need clothes, warm clothes in colder climates just to keep warm and stay alive. Man is a very adaptable creature and can live in almost all kinds of climates.

 

We are just like all the other creatures here on earth. We are interested in staying alive and having enough food to eat and having a place to live and then people want to reproduce and have babies. This is basically the same concern of all other living things.

 

 

Chapter 6    What Is Truth ?

Many people will tell you that there is no such a thing as truth, and that it all depends on your point of view. Many will tell you that a woman sees things differently then a man. People (especially so-called educated ones) will tell you that it is all a question of what kind of interpretation you place on things- ones man's meat is another man's poison. These questions are valid and must be answered.

 

We have already gone over the section dealing with our environments. Your perceptions and attitudes are formed by being exposed to your environment. Your environment includes; the land, climate, means of production, family, your job and other factors as well. Children come into this world helpless and knowing almost nothing. Almost everything we have learned has come from being exposed to our environment.

 

I remember hearing on the news a very peculiar story out of China. The details are gone from me but they discovered a ten year old girl in China who was living with pigs. This girl had not learned to speak, but made grunting noises something like a pig. She ate the same food as they ate. The pigs had accepted her as one of their own and would come to the rescue when she made any distressing calls. So she was able to communicate with them in their own language. This was very strange so experts were brought in to see what was wrong with the girl. Surely there must be something horribly abnormal with such a child. How did she get there and why did she make sounds like the pigs and live with them ?

 

The conclusion was that she had simply living and associated too long with pigs. She had lived so long with pigs that she thought she was one. So she began to live and act like a pig, and that is all that's to it. There was nothing wrong with her otherwise. Stories such as these show us what a powerful influence environment can have on children. This was her world and all she knew, and so what else could you expect from her?

 

Children are what they are because of the sum total of the environments they grew up in. You just can't expect anything else. The reason is simply that a human being when small is not aware of other possibilities and so take what is at hand. To them this is their world and nothing else exists in their mind , because they have not become aware of anything else. So what is so strange about a child thinking she is a pig, if that is all she knew?

 

Human beings are simply products of their environment. We sometimes like to think in our arrogance that we are somehow so very superior to all other creatures. Yet we adapt and adjust to what is at hand, just like a squirrel, or a deer does. Man feels he is in charge and in control of his destiny, but this is not true. The little girl who thought she was a pig, maybe also felt she knew her world and could live in it. Yet she was just a victim of circumstances.

Men are not in control of their destiny. They are just victims of circumstances. Circumstances which shape and mold them into what they are. We are simply products of greater forces and powers. These powers are beyond our ability to control. Mankind in this age feels he is more in control than ever, because of the machines and technology. However this idea is just an illusion.

We have been able to send men to the moon and back. A person can get into one of these jets and fly high above the clouds at astonishing speeds. Also there is the automobile which gives a person a feeling of being in control. There you are in control of that machine and able to have a feeling of freedom. Surely man has raised himself up from the incestuous ties to mother earth? Now we are no longer the victims of the weather, but we have developed a system which will eventually lead us to controlling the whole solar system. Industrialization, computers, electronics will transform the world and give man more and more control. These ideas are merely illusions.

 

If we would be aware of our world we must realize that man does not change his world, but the world changes him. Industrialization has caused us to adjust and adapt to living in such an environment. The tools we make cause us to change, because the tools alter our environment. Being in control is just an illusion and a very dangerous one at that. Industrialization for example cannot be reversed- you cannot un-invent technology. Nuclear weapons are here and if we are in control of these things then why haven't men disposed of them? Men come and go but technology and machines go on and on.

 

So many people in this day and age grow up surrounded by machines. Edmonton and Calgary are industrialized environments where machines abound. This is true for a large portion of the world. However there are still many people who live on the land and work it by hand or with animals. In India and China industrialization has not touched a large percentage of the population, but it is coming. In Canada and the United States the machines are a big part of our environment. Children grow up exposed to T.V. and now computers, and video games. In the home machines abound such as the refrigerators, radios and vacuum cleaners and on and on.

Much of the production of the goods and services in our society is done by machines. People just sort of work with them or run them, but most of the heavy work is preformed by machines. This is our social environment and it is almost impossible to get away from all the gadgets. People just seem to be pressured into getting the latest gadgets even thought the old one is still doing the job. This is supposedly progress and you are supposed to keep up with the times - so they say.

Just like the girl who grew up with pigs and became like them - so also people today are growing up with the machines and becoming like them. Our bodies are viewed as highly sophisticated machines - the brain is compared to a computer. Machines do not have feelings and so people exposed to a mechanical atmosphere become machine like. They become cold, with blank faces and have minds which work sort of automatically - like programmed robots. Education consists of cluttering up the mind with a lot of facts and the regurgitating them up at testing time. The one who does this best is considered highly educated.

 

The concept or attitude of man as a machine has entered into the medical field. Body parts are now being transplanted from dead to living. Medical science may soon go into the spare parts business, with shelves full of body organs just waiting to be sewn on someone. In fact in Edmonton years ago there was a man who offered money for anyone who would donate him a kidney. His own kidneys were shot, and he needed a new one to survive. Heart transplants are now becoming commonplace and in the United States they have put a mechanical heart into a man. Which is worse - to be like a pig or like a machine ? If I had to make a choice I would take the pig, because they are living creatures and I like eating ! Just joking.

 

Attitudes towards sex has been influenced by the mechanical environment we are exposed to. Women expect instant performances from men, just like turning on a switch. When you don't turn on almost instantly they feel there must be something wrong with you. After all it only takes a few seconds to turn the TV on. So what is wrong with him ? Send him to the doctor to make some repairs or adjustments !

 

People exposed to such an environment forget that men are flesh and blood with feelings. Machines do not have feelings and so you must not allow your feelings to show through. The following is a list that shows how mechanical this society has come here in Canada.

• Replaceable people in factories (throw away).
• Rent a person.
• People are like numbers.
• Bodily injuries or physiological damage is not considered to have permanent consequences- people feel that the doctors will be able to fix you.
• People are thought to have physical needs and be physical and machine like, but man is not considered to have spiritual needs.
• Our physical bodily functions are underplayed - the animal functions such as going to the washroom and bathroom. These bodily functions are not talked about much.
• People are thought to be just machines, which can be handled and manipulated, oiled and fueled, so they will operate to maximum performance.

 

In Canada this mechanical approach to the human being is very evident in the work place. When a machine is worn out all that is done is to just throw it out and get a new one. This same attitude is directed towards people. The employee is worked and used until they break down. Then the employer tells them they are not needed anymore and throws them out - something like throwing an old machine on the scrap heap. New people are hired and used until the same thing happens to them. The workers are viewed not as individuals, but as just replaceable parts of the process of production.

 

In this system numbers are more important than names. Employee number or social insurance number are needed more than names, because of computers. The social security number is probably just a forerunner of a worldwide system of numbering people. A system of computer banks can be set up and locked together. All transactions will be processed through this system and if you don't have a number you won't be able to buy or sell. No one will care about your name - only about your number. To a large extent this has happened already in the industrialized world.

 

Now everyone owns something even if these are a few in number. In some parts of the world you can still buy people. Now we are seeing something new on the scene and that is rent a person. The escort business has sprung up. If a man wants to go somewhere he can rent out an attractive lady as an escort. Male escorts are also available for women. They rent out machines, and so when people view themselves as machines the next logical step is to rent out people. You rent the person out for social purposes, so there is no such a thing as friendship in this situation. The agency is renting out people to entertain, and be a companion for a night. It seems there is no distinction made between man and machine - they are viewed like the same thing.

 

Another idea we seem to get from being exposed to a mechanical environment, is that damage done to us is not permanent. You get your leg cut off - oh well no problem just go to the doctor and he will stick a new one on. You ruin your stomach and this is nothing - just go down to the old doc and he will fix you up just like that. Something like taking your car to the mechanic. A person fails to take care of their health and then expect medical science to just restore them to good health by giving them some pills or cutting something out. People are viewed as machines, so just cut out that old diseased heart and stick a new one in - something like changing motors in a car. Your kidneys are all rotten - that's nothing, just go down and they will give you some new ones. This attitude definitely does exist in many people. However, man is not a machine. We do suffer bodily injuries which are irreplaceable. A young man at one of the places I had worked, had his back broken when a platform fell on him. Broken backs do not heal and doctors can't give you an artificial one. He is now paralyzed for life from the waist down. Knee injuries can also be severe and permanent.

 

When people become like machines they fail to realize how exposure to chemicals can be hazardous to their health. People forget how really susceptible our bodies are to be poisoned by all the fumes, chemicals, and various other pollutants in our environment. Machines don't get sick and die, because they are not alive. But we do get sick and die.

 

So there is the mad scramble to manufacture more and more products which people believe will give them a better life. In this process the air, water and soil is being polluted. Yet this is just considered to be a necessary evil because jobs come first. So there may be few contaminants spread around - this is not considered serious because money comes first. There are hundreds of new chemicals being produced and the health risk has not been studied into enough.

 

In order to live a healthy life a person needs clean air, good pure water and food grown on fertile soil. We need to move freely in the sunshine living close to nature. However most of us can't live like that. So we are subject to noise and air contamination and food, which is not top quality. Also exposed to work environments which are unhealthy. All these factors injure and impair our health. Yet you hear people say all the time that these things are nothing. Just don't think about it and it will go away. They seem to think our bodies are made of steel, when really man is much weaker and vulnerable than we think. We are as flowers, which bloom for a short while, fade and die.

When people think of themselves as machines they fail to realize how it is possible to inflict permanent psychological damage on others.

 

Permanent damage can result from these five different situations;

A) Soldiers who suffer battle fatigue as a result of being exposed to almost continuous warfare for prolonged periods of time. These damages may be irreversible in nature.

1. They may lose all faith and hope and humanity.
2. All people can easily be viewed as threats to their lives.
3. There is a constant state of fear and anxiety.
4. The memories of the battles and the dying and suffering are so firmly engraved and embedded in their minds. It has an overbearing presence and occupies center stage in their minds.

 

B) Civilians who are living in a war zone- caught between two opposing forces. They are subject to indiscriminant bombings and attacks where innocent men, women and children die.

1. These people see the innocent killed and can see that they have done nothing to deserve this. People feel there is no justice and so may easily lose their will to go on and live.

 

C) Prisoners of war - civilians and military who are uprooted from their home and transported to enemy territory.

1. These people may become permanently damaged psychologically. They live in a perpetual state of fear and anxiety, because their lives are always in jeopardy.

 

D) Those who escape attempts by others to kill them.

1. People like these are often in a permanent state of fear and anxiety and may feel afraid of their lives continually.

 

E) Children who are severely battered are also likely to become damaged in a permanent way, psychologically. Perhaps one of the parents beats them unmercifully.

1. Child feels utterly humiliated, so rejected and pushed down. Their spirit becomes crushed and they feel unworthy and can't seem to go on.

 

So hopefully we can all see that men are not machines, nor are they pigs. Yet the nature of man is such that he adapts and changes to suit his environment. Man is probably one of the most adaptable creatures on earth. In order for us to really know ourselves we must be aware of how vital the environment is for us.

 

People march off to war and it seems such a waste. Why do they do it ? There must be something wrong with them. They are all nuts - some say. No! The truth is that through a bizarre set of circumstances they are forced into it - just innocent victims. Some men are leaders of great revolutions and you look at them and think they must be just warmongers and bloodthirsty. Well the chances are they are just victims of circumstances and happened to be at the right place at the right time. These series of conflicting events, pressed, pressured, and propelled them into taking the position they did.

 

Religion is simply a body of beliefs, concepts, points of view, and perceptions which are the results of living in a particular environment. Man's environment causes him to develop certain attitudes and points of view and these are then collected in a body of conceptions, perceptions and points of view which is called religion.

 

This religion is then passed on from one generation to another through a system of organized teachers called priests, or ministers.

 

Eventually it loses its original purpose and becomes dogmatic and seeks to impose its will upon others. This is because a religious hierarchy springs up, a religious bureaucracy, which is dependant upon the religion for their living. So in order to maintain their positions of power and prestige in the society they seek to impose their will upon people by force.

 

Religion is the invention of men. Religion has nothing to do with God. It is simply a body of conceptions, perceptions, and points of view. These ideas are then taught to others by priests or teachers and so is just passed on from one generation to another. The original purpose of the religion may become lost due to changing times and environment. However, there springs up a religious bureaucracy that gets their living through this religion. So to stay in power they take a dogmatic approach towards the religion. Therefore this body of beliefs is forced upon people, because its original purpose and concepts are irrelevant in the changing times.

 

Religion can be almost anything. It can be Capitalism, Socialism, Communism or any other man made system of beliefs. It could be democracy or a totalitarian system or almost anything. In parts of the world people have cows as the central focus point of their religion. While in others money is the focus point. In the case of Canada money is the real god. The priests are the managers and heads of corporations who follow their religion and wish to see it prosper, because of their positions.

 

Religion has degenerated into a hierarchy system which is just used to benefit a ruling class that is in power. Those in power seek to convince the common people that their religion is the one and only way to the truth. They offer them a pre-packaged set of concepts and ideas which they must accept to be on the way to paradise. They offer a mold that believers can cast themselves into. If you don't accept their way then you are sure to be on the way to hell. The world is just interpreted so that it fits into the narrow confines of the religion. Anything that may contradict their position is conveniently ignored.

---

Next