Choosing Good and Avoiding Evil

    

     One of the things I hope to accomplish with this blog, is to help people make better choices for their lives, by choosing carefully between things that are good and things that are bad.  All of us are so inundated with evil things, that in many cases, we think that evil is normal.  We think that evil is something that we have to submit to, and that there's no way to cure the evil.  But the way to defeat the evil is to use our intellects more and to consider our actions and use some common sense.  I'm an admirer of the writings of Philo of Alexandra, and he says the following: "..and thus the people are taught piety, and holiness, and justice, and economy, and the science of regulating the state, and the knowledge of such things as are naturally good, or bad, or indifferent, and to choose what is right and to avoid what is wrong, using a threefold variety of definitions, and rules, and criteria, namely, the love of God, and the love of virtue, and the love of mankind.  Accordingly, the sacred volumes present an infinite number of instances of the disposition devoted to the love of God, and of a continued and uninterrupted purity throughout the whole of life, of a careful avoidance of oaths and falsehood, and of a strict adherence to the principle of looking on the Deity as the cause of everything which is good and of nothing which is evil."  Wiki states that Philo lived between 20 BC to 50 AD.  His writings are very thought provoking, and I have learned a lot from his writing called: Every Good Man is Free.
     I do not like any of the organized religions.  I think that they are corrupted because they tell so many lies, or teach utter nonsense to people.    While I lean toward Christianity, I would be something similar to an anti-Nician Christian.  In fact, I find a lot of the earlier Christian writing more informative than many of the Biblical ones.  But for this article, I want to look closer to the decision making process that I use as I think it has benefited me tremendously.
     When I look at something, listen to something, or involve myself with something, I now try to determine whether or not it is going to be a good thing to do.  My method for judgment is the commandments and the natural law.  I believe all of the valid commandments are contained within the natural law, and so when I make my judgments, I use both the commandments and the natural law to make that judgment.  I'm finding that I can make much better judgments and this has greatly improved my life.  So then, the purpose of keeping the commandments is a great way of improving my life as it keeps me out of trouble, and the eventual payback that comes along with every evil deed.
     We know that in using written material, we can be grossly mislead into evil.  So then, the way to avoid evil in a writing is to make sure that it can be confirmed by natural law.  Natural law is what God put forth, and we see it, and use it, everyday of our lives.  Nothing is left to chance.  In order to make really good decisions, we have to be able to take control over our own lives by consciously making good decisions based upon these natural laws.  We should always be choosing good things for our lives, and avoiding all of those things that are bad.  In many cases, people don't take the time to do this and they make a big mess out of everything.   Making better choices according to the natural law will always get good results.  Choosing evil will ruin everything.  This sounds very simplistic, but it is true.
     Few of us don't consider whether or not something is good or bad, even worse, we don't think about the downside of engaging ourselves in evil.  Many of us have just plowed through life; doing what we want, without ever considering the crappy results we may get by engaging in evil.

Rights and Liberty

     If we have to look to a government for our "rights" we have none.  If we look to a government to preserve our "liberty" we have none.  If we look to another person for our happiness, then we will be disappointed.  What we should be looking to is the God who created us because within his natural law, there is both freedom and liberty.  We get there by keeping his commandments.

Careful avoidance of oaths and falsehoods (Philo)

Now, I've been one of the few people that I'm aware of who has consistently warned against taking any oaths or promoting any falsehoods.  I do my best to avoid lying or swearing oaths.  Most of the governments and religions are founded upon oaths, and this is what sets off untold miseries for mankind.  I have written about the dangers of the oaths, and you can find them here, here, and here.
The idea of oaths are instruments of lies and spiritual bondage is nothing new as Philo was a contemporary of Jesus Christ.  But the fact that this practice is done so routinely shows just how evil is engrained in the minds of men.

     The first step in regaining some resemblance of sanity in our lives is to make sure that all of what we say and do are in line in the natural law or God's commandments.  I believe that both are one in the same.  I would focus on little else, and a complete separation from government and religion is a must. Then work on having good character, integrity, and then patience.  Patience  is extremely important, and if it can be mastered, there will but an abundance of power in your life. These choices should be coming from within oneself; obeying dutifully God's commandments.  I have seen this work very well for me and it will work for you.  Why be a slave to sin and/or evil?  Evil is weak; good is strong.

Related:
Breaking the Back of Evil


Walter Allen Thompson has a new book called Natural Law: The True Supreme Law of the Land