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	<title>I Take Off The MASK! &#187; religion</title>
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		<title>Two crosses we must bear</title>
		<link>http://itakeoffthemask.com/carrying-the-cross/two-crosses-we-must-bear/</link>
		<comments>http://itakeoffthemask.com/carrying-the-cross/two-crosses-we-must-bear/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 03 May 2008 07:49:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[carrying the cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[burden]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[how to carry cross]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[two crosses we must bear]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Of all the crosses we must bear in life these two are the most painful: that we cannot be loved enough and that we cannot love enough the people we care about the most Posts Related to Two crosses we must bear Why Is My Cross Heavier?Have you ever felt those times when the cross <a href='http://itakeoffthemask.com/carrying-the-cross/two-crosses-we-must-bear/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Of all the crosses<br />
we must bear in life<br />
these <strong>two</strong> are the most painful:</p>
<p>that we <strong>cannot be loved enough</strong></p>
<p>and that we <strong>cannot love enough</strong><br />
the people we care about the most</p>
<div id="seo_alrp_related"><h2>Posts Related to Two crosses we must bear</h2><ul><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_thumb" style="float:left; margin: 0 10px 5px 0; border: 2px solid #eee ; padding: 2px;"><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/spirituality/why-carry-your-heavier-cross/" rel="bookmark"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sunset1.jpg" alt="Why Is My Cross Heavier?" title="Why Is My Cross Heavier?" width="90" height="60"  class="seo_alrp_thumb" /></a> </div><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><h3><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/spirituality/why-carry-your-heavier-cross/" rel="bookmark">Why Is My Cross Heavier?</a></h3><p>Have you ever felt those times when the cross you're carrying seems heavier than it should be? Much heavier than you can bear? Much heavier ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_thumb" style="float:left; margin: 0 10px 5px 0; border: 2px solid #eee ; padding: 2px;"><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/what-is-your-heaven-home/we-are-still-pilgrims-longing-for-our-home/" rel="bookmark"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/tt0701171.jpg" alt="We Are Still Pilgrims Longing For Our Home" title="We Are Still Pilgrims Longing For Our Home" width="90" height="60"  class="seo_alrp_thumb" /></a> </div><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><h3><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/what-is-your-heaven-home/we-are-still-pilgrims-longing-for-our-home/" rel="bookmark">We Are Still Pilgrims Longing For Our Home</a></h3><p>Beloved child, life is not a bed of roses.  No matter how I wish to tell you that you could have everything you desire in ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_thumb" style="float:left; margin: 0 10px 5px 0; border: 2px solid #eee ; padding: 2px;"><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/words-of-wisdom/bear-children-begotten-of-love/" rel="bookmark"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sunset1.jpg" alt="Bear Children Begotten of Love" title="Bear Children Begotten of Love" width="90" height="60"  class="seo_alrp_thumb" /></a> </div><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><h3><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/words-of-wisdom/bear-children-begotten-of-love/" rel="bookmark">Bear Children Begotten of Love</a></h3><p>Someone just asked me if I'm still single. He commented that it would be better if I could bear a child and spread my genes, ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_thumb" style="float:left; margin: 0 10px 5px 0; border: 2px solid #eee ; padding: 2px;"><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/carrying-the-cross/what-are-crosses-for/" rel="bookmark"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sunset1.jpg" alt="What are Crosses for?" title="What are Crosses for?" width="90" height="60"  class="seo_alrp_thumb" /></a> </div><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><h3><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/carrying-the-cross/what-are-crosses-for/" rel="bookmark">What are Crosses for?</a></h3><p>What are crosses for? What's the use of suffering? When I was younger, I was afraid of being "saintly good".  I was afraid because I've ...</p></div></li><li><div class="seo_alrp_rl_thumb" style="float:left; margin: 0 10px 5px 0; border: 2px solid #eee ; padding: 2px;"><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/melancholic/being-melancholic/" rel="bookmark"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/sunset1.jpg" alt="Being Melancholic" title="Being Melancholic" width="90" height="60"  class="seo_alrp_thumb" /></a> </div><div class="seo_alrp_rl_content"><h3><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/melancholic/being-melancholic/" rel="bookmark">Being Melancholic</a></h3><p>Being a Melancholic Person Being a melancholic person is no easy matter. For one thing, you easily get depressed. You also have the tendency to ...</p></div></li></ul></div><hr />
<p><small>&copy; Jocelyn Soriano for <a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com">I Take Off The MASK!</a>, 2008. |
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		<title>Salvation (poem)</title>
		<link>http://itakeoffthemask.com/poems/salvation-poem/</link>
		<comments>http://itakeoffthemask.com/poems/salvation-poem/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:32:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Poems]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inspiration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[poem]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[redemption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[religion]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salvation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[salvation poem]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[God was there from the very beginning but I knew Him not and I turned away I looked at the world and beheld its splendor til that same splendor snatched me and I was thrown amidst its cold brightness and I yearned for the warmth of home In despair I wept and I cried out <a href='http://itakeoffthemask.com/poems/salvation-poem/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/992349_tree.jpg" alt="992349_tree.jpg" /></p>
<p>God was there<br />
from the very beginning<br />
but I knew Him not<br />
and I turned away</p>
<p>I looked at the world<br />
and beheld its splendor<br />
til that same splendor<br />
snatched me<br />
and I was thrown<br />
amidst its cold brightness<br />
and I yearned for the warmth of home</p>
<p>In despair I wept<br />
and I cried out to my God:<br />
Rescue me for I desire not these things<br />
and I will have none of this beauty<br />
if only to be back in your arms</p>
<p>And my God heard me<br />
and ran to me<br />
and snatched me away from the world<br />
and took me even<br />
within His heart</p>
<p>Therein only<br />
did I find joy<br />
and peace<br />
and LOVE<br />
atlast!</p>
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<p><small>&copy; Jocelyn Soriano for <a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com">I Take Off The MASK!</a>, 2008. |
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		<title>Why doesn&#8217;t God intervene in man&#8217;s affairs?</title>
		<link>http://itakeoffthemask.com/god/why-doesnt-god-intervene-in-mans-affairs/</link>
		<comments>http://itakeoffthemask.com/god/why-doesnt-god-intervene-in-mans-affairs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:46:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[God]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Words of Wisdom]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[evil]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[God's intervention]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[is god evil]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[why doesn't god intervene]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[why doesn't god intervene in man's affairs]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[One of the most common questions asked about God is this- If God is good, why doesn't He intervene in the affairs of man? This is especially so when there is suffering or an evil that should have been stopped by a good God. What might happen indeed when God intervenes: · God stops us <a href='http://itakeoffthemask.com/god/why-doesnt-god-intervene-in-mans-affairs/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>One of the most common questions asked about God is this- <strong>If God is good, why doesn't He intervene in the affairs of man?</strong> This is especially so when there is suffering or an evil that should have been stopped by a good God.</p>
<p><strong>What might happen indeed when God intervenes:<br />
</strong>· God stops us from getting sick<br />
· God stops us from dying when attacked by others<br />
· God stops us from sinning<br />
· God stops others from sinning against us</p>
<p>As we might note, if God intervenes, He must consistently do so also in order not to be deemed as imperfect or as evil. And when He does, the Laws of this world He has created shall all be broken by the very One who created it. Freedom and freewill shall no longer be, and He will infringe upon the dignity of the man He has so created in His very own image.</p>
<p><strong>The source of suffering in this life comes from two things</strong>-<br />
1. Suffering of the physical body<br />
2. Suffering of the spiritual self</p>
<p>To what suffering then must God intervene for us all that we may deem Him Good and Perfect?</p>
<p>· As to remedying sin (cause of suffering of spiritual self), <strong>Love cannot be forced</strong><br />
· As to remedying physical illness and death (cause of suffering of physical body), <strong>it would be a curse to give immortality to those who have not learned of love.</strong></p>
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		<title>The Lure of the Bright Light</title>
		<link>http://itakeoffthemask.com/words-of-wisdom/the-lure-of-the-bright-light/</link>
		<comments>http://itakeoffthemask.com/words-of-wisdom/the-lure-of-the-bright-light/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:12:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Words of Wisdom]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[the lure of the bright light]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[The occult may not be evil in itself for there are many truths that can be found therein Truths that have been concealed from many In order to be used for the benefit of a few But the evil therein that lurks behind its splendor is the blinding light that has lured a whole many <a href='http://itakeoffthemask.com/words-of-wisdom/the-lure-of-the-bright-light/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/979533_wolf_moon.jpg" title="979533_wolf_moon.jpg"><img src="http://itakeoffthemask.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/979533_wolf_moon.jpg" alt="979533_wolf_moon.jpg" /></a></p>
<p>The occult may not be evil in itself<br />
for there are many truths that can be found therein<br />
Truths that have been concealed<br />
from many<br />
In order to be used<br />
for the benefit of a few</p>
<p>But the evil therein<br />
that lurks behind its splendor<br />
is the blinding light that has lured a whole many<br />
away from the very love of God</p>
<p>They have turned away<br />
and exchanged the warmth of His bosom<br />
for the luster of gold<br />
the mystery of the moon<br />
and the brightness<br />
of the stars</p>
<p><strong>For free stuff and ebooks, visit <a href="http://itakeoffthemask.com">http://itakeoffthemask.com</a>You are free to republish this article as long as due credit is given to the author (Jocelyn Soriano) and a link back to the website http://itakeoffthemask.com is provided.</strong></p>
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		<title>What leads us to extreme religious beliefs?</title>
		<link>http://itakeoffthemask.com/life/what-leads-us-to-extreme-religious-beliefs/</link>
		<comments>http://itakeoffthemask.com/life/what-leads-us-to-extreme-religious-beliefs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 24 Feb 2008 02:53:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Joyce</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Life]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[What leads us to extreme religious beliefs?  Some people would insist on conviction, others would say they are those who found the right way.  Yet what is it that prompts us to find these convictions?  I think that we are most afraid of things that we do not know, and so we try to explain <a href='http://itakeoffthemask.com/life/what-leads-us-to-extreme-religious-beliefs/'>[...]</a>]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>What leads us to extreme religious beliefs? </p>
<p>Some people would insist on conviction, others would say they are those who found the right way.  Yet what is it that prompts us to find these convictions? </p>
<p>I think that we are most afraid of things that we do not know, and so we try to explain everything, even at the expense of reaching the extreme.  People are most uncomfortable with the mysterious that we'd rather side with an absolute statement than suffer the vagueness of matters we can't resolve.</p>
<p>We don't like the abstract.  And so goes the many beliefs we have now that seems to cast all other things aside-</p>
<p>Beliefs that unless we do this and that, we won't be saved, and we won't reach heaven.</p>
<p>Beliefs that since there are many things we can't explain about God, then there must be no God at all.</p>
<p>Beliefs formed from the wonders we observed in nature, such beliefs that make us worship nature alone.</p>
<p>Beliefs saying that because having desires causes us so much frustration then we should have no desires at all and lose our personal identity altogether.</p>
<p>We cannot connect everything perfectly yet.  And though this should not prevent us from seeking out the truth, uncertainties for the moment need not take us to extreme beliefs either.  I am lead to belief that this line of thinking was what made Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge.  They wanted to know everything that they would do everything even if it is not yet time.  Must we eat the forbidden fruit also?  Can we not be comfortable with the mysterious for the moment and enjoy the wonderful revelations given us one moment at a time?</p>
<p>"<strong>The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious</strong>. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery - even if mixed with fear - that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man." -Albert Einstein</p>
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