Reply: Brother Michal,

There is no such thing as original sin. Human infants are all born without sin. We are, however, all capable on committing negative acts that would make God unhappy. We call these nagative acts sin.

Some humans become so infected with what I call "The Satan Virus" that they indeed become lost in sin. (see www.satanvirus.org)

We are all born 'saved'. It is only those who knowingly conduct themselves in a cruel, hateful, bigoted, or otherwise evil way who alienate themselves from the spirit of God.

Those who commit their lives to doing as much good toward others and to Creation as humanly possible are destined to have their spirits united with the spirit of God for eternity.

Tragically, there are millions of people who believe that their 'salvation' is guaranteed because they profess that Jesus is their Savior and that good works are not a part of Salvation. They continue their entire lives in their evil and sinful ways foolishly believing that they have been 'saved'.

If you consider yourself to be a Christian, please read the Book of James.

James, who was the brother of Christ had first hand personal knowledge of Jesus that others, such as Paul, lacked. James believed that true 'salvation' was a combination of faith accompaniedby deeds. And that 'faith' without matching good deeds, was not genuine.

I am working on a web-site that will be called, SALVATION LOST in order to let hypocrites know that their salvation is not guaranteed if they go about their merry ways of thumping on Bibles, attending church services, and spending the rest of the week clear-cutting God's forests, cheating, lying, stealing, betraying, abusing children and animals, and falsly believing that God has forgiven them in advance for their sins that they will continue to knowlingly commit throughout their lives.

It is sad but true, that many folks in the currently popular "LEFT BEHIND" crowd honestly believe that even though they know that they are terrible sinners, that they will be raptured and people who have spent their entire lives avoiding sin and working for the glory of God will be left behind, because they have not professed Jesus as their Savior.

The spirit of Jesus resides in the hearts of all good and noble people, regardless of their faith traditions. There will be many Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists whose spirits will merge with God's, because they live their lives closer to the way Jesus would wish; and there will be many people who claim to be Christian who will be 'LEFT BEHIND' because they arrogantly and hypocritically proclaim their Christianity while behaving as if they were not.

I hope that this helps answer your question.

ETHICIUS I

It does my heart glad to see people of other faiths recognizing the souls of animals. One reason people convert to Paganism is that it's more open to the belief that animals possess souls than "mainstream" religions. Until more of humanity is open to this concept, we will continue to be disconnected from the natural world & destroy it.

Gary Zukav's popular book "Seat of the Soul" claims that animals don't possess individual souls as people do, but have a "group soul" based on species. People who do not have a lot of contact with animals can easily believe this, which I find very sad. My personal experience with many types of animals convinced me they do possess their own sentient consciousness, so why can they not have individual souls?

The "group soul" may be applicable to insects & fish, but my experience with "higher" reptiles, birds, and mammals is that they do possess their own individual personalities & a surprisingly deep range of emotions. Who hasn't seen shame from a dog, feigned disinterest from a cat, and jealousy from a neglected pet? I've witnessed curiosity & playfullness in supposedly "dumb" cattle & amazing teamwork in racoons carrying off my garbage can.

Animals show surprising cognitive skills all the time, but if people don't observe it, they assume every living thing outside humanity just runs on instinct. It's sad assumptions like these which keep people disconnected from the Real World outside their cities & suburbs; the Living Earth itself.

Thank you for your site,

Nicole Berg

Reply: Thank you so much for your kind comments. All animals have individual souls and we all have a group soul which is linked to the God-force. All animals are our cousins and we are all children of GOD.

ETHICIUS I

Greetings,

Hooray for anyone who is willing to speak out to help Christians find a much needed peaceful Christmas. I myself have been on this search, somewhat alone so I thought, for several years now. I have pared down on decorations, gift buying, Christmas party invites, etc.

I notice you have stated December 12 as the suggested start of the season. Is there a symbolic significance to this date? I had always used the first Sunday of Advent as my marker, so was just wondering.

Your support is very much appreciated.

Peace,

Susan Grant

Reply: Sister Susan, my choice of 12 days before harks back to "the twelve days of Christmas" concept as well as one day for each of the 12 Disciples + Christmas Day dedicated to Jesus. I'll admit it was somewhat arbritrary but I felt like 12 days of celebration are enough to build a Christmas spirit, enjoy the pleasures of singing carols, family visitation, baking cookies, doing just the right amount of shopping, etc.

Thanks for your input.

ETHICIUS I

Dear Mr. Ethicius,

Is it possible to support free trade and be an ethician?

Sincerely,

A Concerned Global Citizen

Reply: Free trade agreements, as they are currently designed, are the product of evil. Satan himself couldn't have done a better job of crafting an agreement which would help bring to conclusion the destruction of what is left of Planet Eden and all Creation. You have probably determined from the above that the answer is NO.

ETHICIUS I

Dear Ethicius,

I am a member of my local Methodist Church. Can I be an Ethician and a Methodist?

Reply: Of course. We don't ask you to give up your religious beliefs. The only thing we ask of any Ethician is that you live your life ethically, and follow the Golden Rule.

ETHICIUS I