Social Considerations for Artificial Intelligence

Social Considerations for Artificial Intelligence

by: Noel Anthony Pierre

Social Considerations for A.I. (Artificial Intelligence)

According to Dennis Gorelik, a single perceived weakness of an AIS (meaning, an artificial intelligence society, consisting of computers trained to ‘thinkก) is that it was not born through natural selection as human beings are. But one could view whether this is a disadvantage or an advantage from a couple of sides. Within human natural selection, there are biases based on upbringing, genetic factors and how ultimately one responds to social events. For example, if one came from a violent past/childhood and ended up being a psychopath, this could override any INTELLECTUAL, socially beneficial learning that this person ultimately gets. It can cause them to make decisions based not on logic, but by their own emotional biases.

With strong AI, this factor is at least on paper removed on a grand, worldbased scale, with the Machine being the sum of all par7ts, all people connected. In WIRED magazine’s new issue, for example, writer Kevin Kelly describes the internet’s home for AI as being a breeding ground for a single consciousness by billions of people and situations. So, while in a individually controlled AI environment, the AIS might by function – or by purposeful ‘programming’ – take on the biases of an INDIVIDUAL user, within the framework of mass contributions, it becomes a gigantic collector of information. I imagine that the ideal, if AIS is to work for human advantage, is that the emotional side of the Machine would take on socalled ‘normal’ emotional states of the people and systems it serves. People do not wish to be abused or stolen from or killed en masse.

In short, natural selection is a hitormiss thing on purely intellectual and emotional basises. ขLove is blind,ข ขthere’s no accounting for SOME people,ข ขThere’s a sucker born every minute,ข etc. With the large amount of data an AIS civilization would collect, there would in theory be a checksandbalances library for more and more questionable, dubious, socially detrimental things, regardless of the user. It would become a servant to the population – not to any one particular group, person or thing.

I like to think of the example of open source software development, or mainstream sites like Wikipedia that allow the people at large to update information at will, and seed out vandals. Humans are fallible in emotional/logical ways that a Machine would not be. At the same time, the AIS is fallible by the simple inadequacy of it FULLY capturing the entire range of every mental/emotional/psychological impact of natural occurrences – from a mad girlfriend, to the effects of a tsunami, to why your college roomie likes to play the Black Dragon calypso album five times a day. The Machine, for all its exposure to the world, cannot know what people think – only what we do. So, tweaks in its activity can be monitored and adjusted by a world at large – much better than trusting the maintenance to a possibly megalomaniacal technowhiz who might want to take out the planet because he hated his daddy. 😉

A possible serious weakness to AIS is its adaptation to a world where it becomes more and more dependent on its use, from medical use to financial markets to solace for lonely, desperate people. In the Great Depression, people so dependent on the old stock exchange during the crash literally killed themselves. When the World Trade Centres were smashed down, the stock exchange similarly was affected.

We all know what possible consequences are if a massive blackout nullified even the backup systems of hospitals, heat and light, even food and water production. And many people now live out their social lives via the Internet (see the perp who almost succeeded in a mass suicide with lonely female members of his chat group.) In the event of a cataclysmic system crash for a fullyintegrated, fullyindispensable worldwide AIS, all of could become instant bedlam. So, the social importance of an AIS in that scenario would have to be very closely monitored by thinking, reactive humans after all. We will still have to use our good ol’ noggins, because you can’t eat or drink silicone chips, and what good is a mechanical AI heart in your chest if it stops working?

One more point about the implications of a fullyfunctional AIS, and this stretches to religious and spirituality. All of the world’s religious texts were written by the hands of men. Whether the belief in God came through divine revelation (as the religious/spiritualists like me believe), or simply through man’s childlike imagination (as the atheists attest) is a historylong argument between these two groups.

From a philosophical point of view, however, the question takes on a different route. If man indeed invented God, the argument could go, the issue might be how technology affects the understanding of what God is. The point might be made by the philosophers that God was written into the books by human beings, mainly to attempt to understand the meaning of life, of who we are as a species, and to help us just get by life. If systems of thought and technology can be upgraded to higher levels of understanding, why couldn’t there also be a God v.2.0? After all, they may argue, the old model was a Lord who we couldn’t see or touch – it’s a major leap of faith to know that God exists. The old text was written in parchment and dictated morality todayกs dominant medium is multibit, encrypted and often imposes morality in internet law, chat room behavior and advice columns on how to be a better spouse or member of a community.

The internet was created by us by through a vision of connecting humans to the universe. So, many people who sit on their butts for hours a day making sure their social and financial prayers are answered, may choose to be on their knees to what they consider an aliveacting, omnipresent, allknowing, allseeing, instantly accessible Diety – God for a new millennium. What effect this possible stream of thought will have on our fleshandblood world, so connected to a universewide savior to so many, remains to be seen.

About The Author

Noel Anthony Pierre is a web publisher, marketer and a multiinstrumental calypsonian (that’s the national music of Trinidad and Tobago). His is an alumnus of Carleton University and Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

His sites include

www.hifispy.com

http://darkmatterz.blogspot.com

http://botopia.blogspot.com (featuring his A.I. persona, Jexdon.

Contact him at [email protected]

This article was posted on August 08

by Noel Anthony Pierre

Sphinx of Gizeh: Surprising Human FACE image in ae

Sphinx of Gizeh: Surprising Human FACE image in aerial photo

by: Ramon Ramonet Riu

I discover in Sternกs aerial photo a new HUMAN FACE image carved very near of the Maadi hill, and also equidistant of the mysterious Sphinx of Gizeh. This proximity is very important. Itกs not a casuality because the causeway to the biggest pyramids there WAS NO OPEN, due the ancient wall at the queen Khenthawes กPyramid Villageก.

In Gizeh plateau the causeway to the biggest pyramids remain closed ever since. So the face only was admired from the air (About the necessary helicopter, or similar fly engine, see in GOOGLE writing: helicopter Abydos temple).

In this new Gizehกs face see also a small mound in the middle of his front (between กeyesก) like the indian people decorate a red ‘third Eyeก. By the way, perhaps is possible that the great orbits of its กeyesก are collapses due some hollow inside? This signal point appears also in the Mt. Montserratก s face from a NASA photosatellite. So, all is more enigmatic yet.

With my new discovery in Gizeh, perhaps will be possible to help the ever supposed correlation between the most greater pyramids in Gizeh plateau and other several ancient monuments in the western Nile river? Not only with the กKhenthawes Tombก, very near of the discovered FACE, but also with the Orion constellation (called ‘the celestial Nileก).

Between the Sphinx and Maadi formation appears this tranquil huge face in aerial view. Mechanical meteorization of stone or sand was not responsible for the apparition ofthis face never presented before me. Was carved in Gizeh plateau deliberately, without geomorphology intervention.

The same phenomenon reproduced by the last sun of the afternoon is drawed in several pictures fron Egypt ancient art. Similar phenomenon appears in the maya pyramidtemple of ChichenItzá (Yucatán). There a serpent head every equinoce is ligthed by the last sun. The firts one allmost in the flor, and six month later in the top of the same pyramid, but in oposite side. So the maya people symbolised that god Kukulkan, after live some time in our world, back to the sky.

Due the equidistant measurement from Maadi hill to the three pyramidss, I suppose that there is somthing to be found beneath the sand and debris that was accumulated at the base of the Maadi hill during several millennia… Perhaps it was a very sophisticated solution to place there a cemetery near of the entrance to the Maadi caves?.

The ancient Egypt priest they did remember something about the กsunlight phenomenon with the Godกs faceก, because the god RA, in his ancient art ever show a big cercle over his head (the sun).

Other prove of the something underground of this new new HUMAN FACEกS IMAGE in the Gizeh plateau: this dessing during the last year has all my attention, and so I try to กplayก in my PC with กPhotoshop 6 programก. First I change the color from a very ancient photo copied from a review and I obtained very surprising effects. See my webside, please.

More intentionality examples: In Dendera wallกs temple, Athorกs face was carved and painted illuminated mysteriously by a sunbeam. FACE and SUN both are there reversed (regarding the other carved scene). So, the ancient scenography below suffer great damage. Itกs full of simbolism.

About this new phenomenos of huge images of face never serched before my, there are more examples in my website, and others one conected by severals links:

http://es.geocities.com/rrriu03/Egypt

See also similars phenomenon of several human face in aerial view in other Holy Mountains in the world. For instance in my web:

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/supercaras

In my book: LA CARA HUMANA DE MONTSERRAT (The Human Face of Montserrat), Ed. in 1990, which I finally I have made the photolites and selfedited, since the publishing house were unable to do it. Also the distribution, photos and sales, were all done by myself, and for this reason itกs probably the last one of the กartisanก books in the western world.

In my book I have collected together ideas about God and Evil which I assimilated over more than a decade, beginning at the same time as my discovery of the huhe image of human face which appears in the aerial view of the Montserrat mountain.

the image of a very circumspected bearded man (these aerial photos were part of the information gathered by a NASA satellite).

The second part I try to summarising, as briefly as possible, all that I discovered written about asses over a period of more than 50 centuries all moralising done in light and amusing way. The only connection between such varied themes is the biblical scene ‘the Balamกs assก.

Other huge Human Face image was กexcavatedก in the top of several mountains in Sinai peninsula. It look like a กwarriorก bust (and with two กhornsก on his head). The right one, today itกs already dificult to detect throught the photosatellite. This human bust was of the egyptian god Seth. This huge dessign show also a wide necklace adormment.

The egyptian god Seth, whom the greeks called Tiphon and identify with the figure of an ass, is the key of the symbolism. My subliminal intention was to refiried on God and Evil, because in the classical mediterranean culture the ass represented the horned egyptian god Seth, the forerunner of the figure later called Satan (Obiously I did not was well understood).

LINKS TO OTHER OWN RESEARCH ABOUT SINAI HUMAN FACE (in NASA PHOTOSATELLITE) see please:

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/sinai

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/SINAI

ABOUT MONTSERRATกS HUMAN FACE IN PHOTOSATELLITE

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/Montserrat

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/MONTSERRAT

http://galeon.com/carademontserrat

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu

About EGYPT human Face:

http://freehomepages.com/rrriu

http://galeon.com/caradeegipto

http://es.geocities.com/ramonramonetriu/Egypt

http://es.geocities.com/rrriu03/Giza

http://es.geocities.com/rrriu03

http://es.geocities.com/rrriu03/pioneer

Author: Ramon Ramonet Riu (Barcelona 2005)

About The Author

Ramon Ramonet Riu (Barcelona 2005)

Catalonian (Spanish) retired Writer

This article was posted on January 24

by Ramon Ramonet Riu

The Big Bang Theory Evidence Start of Cosmos and

The Big Bang Theory Evidence Start of Cosmos and Human Evolution

by: Vijay Kumar

What is The Big Bang Theory! What do we mean when we talk of The Big Bang Theory? In Concept The Big Bang Theory would mean something related to the start of the Cosmos… the beginning of the Evolution itself.

The Big Bang Theory came to be accepted by scientists only about three decades ago as an irrefutable fact of Creationism. Does it mean that it is only The Big Bang Theory which gave birth to the existing Cosmos? Yes! The Concept ‘the Big Bang Theoryก explains to us how the Cosmos was created in the first stage.

The concept… The Big Bang Theory can be best understood by the spiritualists of the highest order. It is not merely a Concept or a Theory (The Big Bang Theory) which can be easily understood by the use of the senses alone (as the senses have their own limitations in the physical manifested world).

The Big Bang Theory has its origination in a domain which is much beyond the comprehension of the senses and the mind. It is for the Enlightened beings to be able to understand in absolute order the concept of The Big Bang Theory.

Before we elaborate further… we need to dive deep into the realms of Spirituality. Starting from the basics we need to understand that The Big Bang Theory is deeply related to God the Almighty. For the atheist it may be almost impossible to correctly interpret and understand The Concept of The Big Bang Theory. Why?

Why does The Big Bang occur at all… in the realms of Spirituality the only existence which has any base in the whole of Cosmos is God the Almighty, the Creator himself. Nothing beyond the existence of God the Almighty exists. Whatever exists from the point of view of the senses is ephemeral in nature. Nothing has any permanent significance in the realms of Spirituality. Truthfully speaking it is God and only God which exists and manifests in the whole of Cosmos.

Why so? Understanding the Concept of the basic building block of the whole Cosmos… the Concept and Theory of atoms and molecules… we shall realize that the whole Cosmos is only built up of clusters of atoms and molecules. The total structure of the Cosmos is just a gaseous formation… in which only clusters of atoms and molecules exist. There is nothing solid in the whole of Cosmos.

It is only when perceived from the point of view of the senses and the mind that the solidification of the gaseous formation seems to exist. And beyond the realms of the senses and the mind exists… the World of God, the Almighty! Does it mean that God the Almighty is a cluster of atoms and molecules? In a way yes! Let me explain further…

Assuming that only God the Almighty exists in the whole of Cosmos… then as explained in the Bhagavad Gita… the most sacred document existing on Mother Earth… the size of God in its primordial state before The Big Bang occurs in Theory is of the size of half a thumb. And what is this half the size of a thumb we call as God the Almighty?

The definition of God the Almighty as given in the Bhagavad Gita is the sum total of all purified Souls (Atmans) existing in the whole of Cosmos at a given point of time and these purified Souls combine together to form the size of half a thumb. Imagine the vast cluster of energy this small size of God the Almighty may withhold! And unable to sustain this massive energy for long… this half the size of a thumb what we call as God the Almighty explodes. And it explodes with a Big Bang giving birth to The Big Bang Theory!

This Big Bang… the explosion which is defined by scientists as The Big Bang Theory results in the creation of the Cosmos… a Cosmos consisting of many universes and each universe consisting of many galaxies and Milky Ways… and one galaxy consisting of billions of stars and solar systems… and one star like the sun having a few planets revolving around it. And out of the many planets… Our planet Mother Earth… the moment it has conducive environment worthy of living… the Souls manifest one after another and starts the journey of life on Mother Earth!

The Big Bang Theory… the Concept in itself is irrefutable and undeniable for the basic reason that no other Theory or Concept holds good. The Enlightened masters like Mahavira, Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohammed knew of this irrefutable Concept and Theory (The Big Bang Theory) the moment they became enlightened. For an Enlightened Soul to be able to understand the Concept of Spirituality from the beginning to the end of Cosmos becomes a reality.

The Big Bang Theory has its roots in the Concept that the entire purified Souls combine together to form something we know as God the Almighty. And this God the Almighty unable to contain itself for long because of the inherent massive energy within explodes with a Big Bang and this results in the start of a new Cosmos… a new journey!

Proceeding further we need to understand that these purified Souls (Atmans) which have now scattered all over the Cosmos start gaining impurities on their cosmic journey. And it is only after the dross within is removed from the Souls that they shall become free forever from manifesting further bodies.

As the whole Cosmos cools down gradually… the system gives birth to many planets and out of these planets some of them become conducive for beginning of life with passage of time. And what is this life we are talking of? Are we talking of the insect life, the plant life, the animal life or the world of human beings themselves?

Every Soul (Atman) like the metal embedded in any metal ore cannot separate itself from the impurities contained therein. And to cleanse itself of the impurities… every Soul (Atman) requires a body. And thus starts the cosmic journey of a Soul (an Atman)!

The journey of this Soul (Atman) starts as an amoeba (single cell formation)… The first manifestation in the cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations… ending with the form of a human being (the last stage in the series of various manifestations) finally to gain Salvation and come back to its original pristine form. The moment cosmic journey of all Jiva (life forms) end with the Dissolution of the Cosmos… starts a new Cosmos confirming The Big Bang Theory.

The journey from first manifestation to the 8.4 millionth manifestation explains the Concept of Evolution as detailed by Charles Darwin. A long cosmic journey of 8.4 million manifestations and a total period of 96.4 million earthly years is necessitated before the Soul can come back to its original pristine form and it is in the last stages as a human being that the Soul shall gain Salvation… liberation from the cycle of various manifestations for ever and finally become free until the start of a new Cosmos with a new Big Bang (The Big Bang Theory).

We need to understand here that once having come back to its original pristine pure form… this purified Soul remains in its purified state until the collapse of the Cosmos occurs. It is at the time of the collapse (Dissolution) of the Cosmos (Pralaya as we call it in Hinduism) that all purified Souls combine together again resulting in The Big Bang (confirming again the existence of The Big Bang Theory).

About The Author

Vijay Kumar… The Man who Realized God in 1993 explains The Big Bang Theory Evidence Start of Cosmos and Human Evolution. For more details on Evolution Spirituality and Creation visit http://www.vijaykumar.com

This article was posted on August 03

by Vijay Kumar

Evangelicals Frustrated by Bush

Evangelicals Frustrated by Bush

by: Bob King

From an article by

Ralph Z. Hallow

THE WASHINGTON TIMES
กIกm not blaming the president, but religious conservatives have been doing politics for 25 years and, on every front, are worse off on things they care about,ก said Gary Bauer, president of American Values. ‘the gay rights movement is more powerful, the culture is more decadent, the life of not one baby has been saved, porn is in the living room, and you can’t watch the Super Bowl without your hand on the off switch.ก
Nope, Gary, you shouldn’t be blaming the President. Blaming opportunistic politicians for pandering a voting bloc to gain an election, making promises they know for a fact they cannot fulfill is something to be taken for granted.
The blame, Sir, is yours.
And it is a damning verdict testifying to your lack of faith.
How dare I say that?
Sir, I am one of many millions that can no longer stomach being called a Christian in public. It is not because I take issue with the words of Jesus, Sir; itกs because of the lies people such as you put in His mouth.
Jesus, Sir, was no social conservative. In fact, Mr. Baur, he used people such as you the Sanhedrin, The Pharisees and Sadducees as pointed examples of corrupt, legalistic parasites upon the dialog between Man and God.
The message of Jesus is both simple and profound that the relationship between Man and God is personal. That sacrifices are unnecessary. That if you do compromise toward the end of conservatism, itกs not for your sake, but for the sake of your brother who is weaker in the faith.
People like those you proudly claim as กGood, Faithful Christians.ก
Have you or they read Matthew 5 lately?
Love for Enemies
43กYou have heard that it was said, กLove your neighbor[8] and hate your enemy.ก 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[9] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matt. 5, 4348
So be perfect, Sir, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
You are horrified that the republicans and George Bush are not doing their best to see that the sun and the rain (such as may be commanded from Washington) be granted or withheld from people you bless or condemn based on your legalistic (and rather arguable) views of morality.
By demanding a constitutional amendment that denies equal rights to all forms of families, you DIRECTLY offend the words of Jesus.
You place yourself above Him, you arrogate to yourself His position at the Right Hand of God in short, sir, you are a false prophet and I do not heed the words of false prophets.
Thatกs why I don’t call myself a Christian, nor do I associate with people who make a great big deal of entangling their Christianity with social initiatives designed to impose their morality by law, Sir.
Come to think of it reread Matthew 3 while you are at it. It speaks directly to those blinded by their own smug selfrighteousness.
7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: กYou brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. 9And do not think you can say to yourselves, กWe have Abraham as our father.ก I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 10The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
People say, กGod works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform.ก Iกve always thought that rather silly. Itกs not at all mysterious.
God works in the world through the words, acts and thoughts of people and is not bound by any superficial allegiances.
Those who will กcut you down and throw you into the fireก are those who have been offended by your words and deeds; they will judge you against the standard set by those words in red above, and you are found wanting.
Have you been a peacemaker?
Have you comforted widows and orphans, without condition? Have you shown mercy or compassion? Have you done your good works in secret, as Jesus tried to do?
The Calling of Matthew
9As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectorกs booth. กFollow me,ก he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
10While Jesus was having dinner at Matthewกs house, many tax collectors and กsinnersก came and ate with him and his disciples. 11When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, กWhy does your teacher eat with tax collectors and กsinnersก?ก
12On hearing this, Jesus said, กIt is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: กI desire mercy, not sacrifice.ก[1] For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.ก
Rosie OกDonnell is starting a กgay family cruise lineก to build family values. You and YOUR family are welcome to join them and freely share your ideas of what makes a family.
กWe welcome all families, however you define them, to join us on this cruise,ก OกDonnell said in a statement launching the cruise, which will sail in July from New York.
Of course, folks such as you miss the point, focusing on the กsinก of homosexuality and therefore mistaking the nature of such an adventure to create a context of positive, beneficial family values that works for more families.
You hardly need to go on an expensive cruise to… well, cruise.
I believe Jesus mentioned something about straining at gnats and swallowing camels.
Tell me, Sir; what is the proportion of spousal battery and child molestation among those that attend churches YOU agree with?
When this statistic has been reduced to ZERO, sir, when your model of กfamilyก is demonstrably perfect, THEN you will have the right to say so.
Until then, do not presume to judge those who strive in their own way for better results for the families they have, rather than those you would permit.
You would forbid gay marriages and gay sexual behavior and gay pornography, or indeed any mention of gays in an approving or even a nonjudgmental sense lest there be an กoccasion of sin.ก
Yet you freely allow men and women, unmarried to each other, to mingle within your very houses of worship, under the eyes of GOD!
And has that not been, from time to time, กan occasion of sin?ก
My point is not that churches are hotbeds of illicit fornication though one might well come to that conclusion from watching the news but rather this; that Jesus did not much trouble Himself to avoid such กoccasions of sin,ก and Christians are charged to follow HIS example, not yours.
Furthermore, Jesus made it clear that กsinก was more a matter of thought than of deed, as seen in Matthew 5.
27กYou have heard that it was said, กDo not commit adultery.ก[5] 28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
31กIt has been said, กAnyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.ก[6] 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
These are two examples that we are to generalize from. It is not always possible to avoid divorce and yet Jesus clearly labels it a sin.
And certainly no man alive, have been able to completely avoid กlusting in their heart.ก Personally, I cannot speak for women, but I understand that they may be troubled from time to time in this way as well.
The oneกs whoกs hearts are still beating, anyhow.
The word กsinก means, essentially, กmistake.ก So the only truly damning sin is the mistake you persist in failing to learn from.
Selfrighteousness seems to be a particularly difficult challenge for some people. Certainly Jesus found it worth mentioning on many occasions as a severe problem.
So you are in no position to be judging or condemning those whoกs natural lusts lead them to turn their heads in other ways; their mandate is the same as yours; to somehow find a means of acting righteously in the world in spite of their lusts, hatreds, bigotries and preferences for how things should be.
God is all about forgiving sins. Thatกs what the New Testament is about. You know, that crucification thing.
So you have no right and no need to be concerned about the salvation or damnation of others based on the lapses you see in their personalities or personal associations.
What you AND they may judge is not the personal sin, if กsinก it be, for กsinก ultimately is personal; defined not by external acts but by internal intents.
We can only see results, and we have no way of knowing whether those results are because of or in spite of any particular bit of sin or triumphant selfrestraint. Nor can we know how the ability to recognize and resist any particular internal issue came about, save that it likely involved making quite a few กmistakes.ก
Sir; you are told by Jesus that the tree is judged by the fruit, and that no matter what the tree looks like, a tree that produces bitter fruit will be uprooted and discarded.
How do you like them apples, sourpuss?
DO NOT presume to think that by writing this, I am either for or against gay sexuality, gay marriage or really gay anything.
In point of fact, I have seen and known for whom an expressed sexuality and or a particular marriage and family was clearly an awful, horrible mistake. People of a number of different sexualities, including heterosexuals and those who were trying to be hets and failing miserably.
This article comes from GRAPHICTRUTH

http://nuke.graphictruth.com

The URL for this story is: http://nuke.graphictruth.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=442

About The Author

Bob King writes regularly for Graphictruth.com and Wall/Fire eZines. He can be reached by email at [email protected].

This article was posted on July 12, 2004

by Bob King

Reasons People Go to Church

Reasons People Go to Church

by: Timothy Fish

You can do a search of the internet and find lots of information about the excuses people give for not attending church. Some of the most common excuses seem to be that the worship services are boring, the beliefs of churches and the person has other commitments. Some religious leaders have taken these excuses and applied them to other things. One such leader made a list of reasons why he was giving up eating based on what he considered to be the most common excuses for not attending church. Another religious leader made a list of reasons he was giving up sports based on the same list of excuses. Someone once made a list of ways that a church could eliminate all of the excuses by providing recliners and cots, etc for the people who attend. While all of these can seem comical to people who attend on a regular basis and there may be some truth to the belief that people are offering poor excuses for not attending church, I do not find the tactic of making fun of the excuses to be very helpful. I doubt the infrequent and nonattendees are insulted by the remarks of these individuals and may find the remarks comical as well, but it is not likely that a person will start attending church after hearing or reading a comical critique of their excuses. At the best such a person will just keep doing what he is doing, which is not attending church. At the worst a person might add the excuse of being made fun of to his list of reasons he does not attend church.

I think that, when all of the excuses are analyzed, you will find that all of the excuses boil down to one word, ขpriority.ข Everyone has a list of priories that governs their actions, but many people have not considered what their priories are. Some people use different sets of priorities from day to day or hour to hour. Many people will say that God must come first, so the list of priorities for a person who is active in church might look like this:

God

Family

Church

Country

Self

Work

For some people the list of priorities might look like this:

Family

Self

Work

Country

God/Church

Or like this:

Family/Work

Self

God/Church

Country

There are other things that could be on the list and there are many possible orderings of the list, but let’s consider the lists I have provided. You will notice that in none of the lists have self in the number one position. While it is possible that a person will place himself before all other things, most people place a higher priority on something and in my unprofessional opinion people who place themselves as the first priority in their lives are either insane or soon will be. You will notice that in the first list I placed God first and church third, but in the others I combined God and church. Some people equate God and church. Doing so can lead to problems because it necessitates moving God from the position he deserves to a position that is below the things a person considers to be a higher priority than church involvement. Some people equate working to provide for their family with family. This may, though not always, lead to a person spending more time at work and less with his family.

A person who places God first in his life will naturally attend church on a regular basis because God has commanded Christians to continue to assemble ourselves. He will also be involved in other ways as God leads him. The order of the other priorities for such a person is not as important because God wants the best for us and if we put God’s will first in our life then everything else will fall into place.

What about the other people? It is easy for us to just say that they are wrong and that they should change their priorities, but I don’t believe that is what God intended. Some people have to go through some really tough times before they get their priorities straight. Consider some of the people who attend church. Why do they attend church? Why do you attend or not attend church? It is good if you can say that you attend church because you feel that God wants you to attend church, but there are many other reasons why people attend church. Below I have listed some of the reasons people attend church and have placed the driving priority beside it.

It is the will of God. (God)

I go out of habit. (Self)

My family needs to be in church. (Family)

I enjoy the services. (Self)

I like the fellowship. (Self)

I go to meet business contacts. (Work)

It’s required for salvation. Isn’t it? (Self)

My family or friends would think badly of me if I didn’t go. (Self or Family)

I help in the nursery. (God or Church)

Ideally, everyone in the world would seek the will of God and churches that preach the truth would be filled to the point that every church would have to build a stadium sized building just to hold them all. While that may be ideal, our fleshly nature prevents that from happening. Even Christians who have studied the Bible for years will sometimes place their own wants in front of what God wants for them. We don’t always attend church because it is the will of God. Sometimes we attend for our own selfish reasons. Just as we do not always attend for the right reason, we should expect that those we are trying to reach will have the wrong reason. We cannot expect a lost person or a young Christian to always seek the will of God. Though I think we need to be careful which ideas we cultivate as valid reasons to attend church, I believe that we should not discourage people who are attending for the wrong reasons and teach them so they will begin attending for the right reasons.

Some people go to church because they enjoy either the services or the fellowship. Some churches have tried to capitalize on this by trying to entertain the congregation. Entertainment is clearly a good way to draw a crowd and a preacher is more likely to be effective if the congregation is still awake by the time he starts preaching, but it is not clear that it is an effective method of winning souls. Some people try so hard to entertain their congregation that they forget to ขpreach the Word.ข I am sure that many of the people who crowded around Jesus were there for the entertainment of watching him heal the sick. Some of these people may have come for the entertainment and were changed after hearing his teaching, but many left unchanged.

It is not a bad thing to provide programs that are attractive to a person who is looking for a place for his family. A person who places his family first in his life is likely to choose a church based on what his family wants rather than whether or not the church teaches the truth. It is sad, but the person who is trying to do the best for his family may end up harming them instead. Churches that teach the truth need to make efforts to attract people who are looking for a family friendly church. The center piece of any such program must be the Word of God. We as churches need to make sure that people who are looking for the right thing for the wrong reason are still able to get the right thing.

Most people want to feel needed. Nothing is worse than feeling like no one will ever ask for your advice or ever ask you to do something. Nowhere is it easier to feel lonely than in a sea of people. Many people who are looking for a church never find one that needs them.

About The Author

Timothy is a software engineer living in Fort Worth, Texas. He is the webmaster for http://www.spbcfw.org. He also maintains a website on church web site design, http://www.timothyfish.net.

This article was posted on February 04

by Timothy Fish