A strange thing happened to me one rainy day, 28 years ago; A fat man named Max gave me the gospel over martinis and I accepted Christ as my Savior. That phenomenon turned my life upside down, got hold of the seat of my pants, and propelled me down a path which I have followed to this hour. My decision to tackle the task of creating this site has been a gradual process, the aquiring of the several skills that are necessary to do the job, and the growing awareness of the erosion of christian values in our society, and the gentle persuasion of a friend. At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna christian (I hate patented christian terms), I have been "called", if you will, to challenge christians, and let me emphasize challenge! I can't imagine any other format to adopt in this endevor, for The Holy Spirit has encouraged me to express the Bible doctrine in my soul within the context of my own personality, which is affable enough on casual terms, but intolerant of the hogwash that so many christians embrace in America today. So if you expected to pop in here and check out another sweetness and light christian outpost, sorry! Click on platitude.com to get your butt powdered! You won't find any candy coated, middle of the road euphamisms here! On the other hand, if you are fed up with the pablum so many ministers are feeding their congregations, and the program churches that are nothing more than one big, commercial enterprise, welcome to reality! You'll get the truth here, not alot of profound sounding crap. Christians need answers that make sense! We need the meat of God's Word as He intended we hear it, for God is the quintessence of practicality! He makes perfect sense when you hear the Mind of Christ as it was given to us, and not as man chooses to present it most of the time. This, then, is my mission; to brush aside the superficial nonsense that men so love to hang on God and His Word and put the straight scoop out there in all it's magnificent simplicity! God, you see, wants to teach us, to reveal Himself, not waste our time in meaningless ritual, or shackle us with voodoo "do's and dont's"! The message from our Creator is clear and succinct, intended for our edification in spiritual matters. I am alarmed by the malpractices of our bretheren, engaged in their crusades and meddling in politics to solve our moral dilemma, oblivious to the only real answer. God has sent His Word, by way of His Son, to prepare us as His instruments, that He might accomplish His will on Earth. But today the vast majority of christians in this country are off in the boonies chasing every shadow and ignoring the power which God has made available to even the meekest of us. The version of God I hear from the TV big shots and the smooth talkers in the pulpit, with their styled hair and canned pitches, is not the God I have learned to love in the study of His Word. My Lord is not impressed by silk robes and golden crucibles, or pompous ceremonies and a sea of candles, or fancy stained glass windows and gothic temples and the brushstrokes of the masters on the ceiling. My Lord would prefer to don the robes of the common man, and be content to share my plate of beans at the campfire, and laugh at my naughty jokes, and offer His friendship without strings and conditions. He does ask something of us, but He does not demand it, and this is a remarkable charactaristic of My Lord, for even though He is The Almighty, Framer of The Universe, whose glory is so bright it would burn my eyes away, and Whose Righteousness cleanes the filth of sin from us....yet He does not so much as raise His voice to intimidate us. Instead, He reveals Who He is, and what He has done for us, and leaves the question of our willing servitude to our own conscience. You know how I know this about God? Because He has taken me, bark and all, and showed me that He loves me for who I am. I am not required to learn sweet phrases, or change my crusty curmudgeon ways for Him. Yet, He has given me more than I ever dreamed possible in this life, and without my needing to spiff up my manners, or become some purring do-gooder. But please, don't go steaming off with your knickers in a twist! Surely, as a christian you have learned the value of tolerance, and nobody needs it more than I! For your entertainment I have composed a little quiz, 10 easy questions. Consider it my first challenge, go ahead and strut your stuff; 1. Name 2 of the 4 aspects of Christ's work on the cross, and kindly use the correct theological terms to name them. 2. What is the first thing that Jesus Christ will do when He returns at the Second Advent? 3. Define the difference between the "filling" and "endwelling" of the Holy Spirit. 4. What is the "sealing" ministry of The Holy Spirit? And please explain the symbolism in this term which alludes to ancient culture. 5. Name 5 of the 10 attributes of God. 6. Define the roles that each Person of the Trinity play in the plan of God. 7. What is the Church Age? When did it begin, and when will it end? 8. What landmark event immediately follows the Rapture of the Church, where is it conducted, and how long will it take to complete? 9. What is the difference between "resucitation" and "resurrection"? 10. Explain the difference between "carnality" and "spirituality" and cite the verse which explains how we recover spirituality after we have lost it. [ Answers ] If you are a christian, and you could answer just five of these questions, you are growing in your spiritual life and apparently have found a source of sound Bible teaching. If you know just one or two, you are almost a spiritual illiterate. If you know none of them, or just lucked out on one or two, you are not only ignorant of God's plan for your life, but you are a spiritual moron, and in deep trouble! I mean no offense, christian, and I am dead serious, because frankly I've got my spiritual life on track, and I could care less who agrees with me. I am motivated to publish this site out of respect for my Savior, and not for applause or recognition. Sure...I could tone down the "in your face" aggresive style, but you know what? Since my Lord is urging me to take this task on, and He knows precisely what a putz I am, apparently there are lost souls out there who are like I was once in my life, desperate to find the answers. Maybe something in my presentation will grab them, I don't know, and I don't give a tiniker's dam. My first priority is to document the truth as I have learned it from a prpeared man in the pulpit, not cater to superfiscial Christian taboos. Moving right along, I have run off the shoe clerks by now, so if you are still reading this you are either; (1. One hell of a glutton for punishment, (2. A believer that agrees with me, (3. A person with a morbid curiosity, or (4. You're looking for a way to sue me. Which ever the case, here's challenge number two. Listed below are the symptoms of a non-functional christian. Note I did not say a christian who is inactive! Many nonfunctional christians are deeply involved in crusades and noble windmill jousting. 1. You are hyper-sensative about the opinions of others. One sour note, a frown from a co-worker, or a dispute with someone, can ruin your whole day, maybe even a week. 2. You are bored when alone, and must either stay on the phone for hours or drum up some activity to dispel the feeling of despair. 3. At times you suffer paranoia, as if eveyone at work, or at a social function, are against you. You try to dispel the fear that there is something wrong, something you're doing or saying. 4. When bad things happen in your life, you feel as if God is punishing you for a past sin. 5. You are afraid that something you might do can wipe out your salvation. 6. People always disappoint you sooner or later, especially the ones you invest your trust and affection in. 7. You periodially retreat into a "black hole" where everything is hopeless, no matter how good your life is, or how many blessings you have. 8. You suffer bouts of self pity, which become an all enveloping bitterness. At times, you even blame God for not delivering you from a certain situation or unpleasant circumstances. 9. People persecute you unfairly regardless of how hard you try to be friendly and positive. They misconstrue what you say, and react with anger or indifference. Your feelings are severly wounded by these episodes. 10. When you commit a really "big" sin you suffer from terrible guilt for days, even months. To atone for your transgression you give a generous offering to the church, or do some good deed, or make some painful sacrifice to "repent". These are all symptoms of a christian life gone awry, and if they describe your life they are a loud signal telling that something is dreadfully wrong. You need to find a pastor who teaches The Word accurately and start learning every day, either face to face or on tape, but every day. God has provided a comprehensive source of information for His family in this foreign place, behind enemy lines. His will for us is not defined in vague terms like; "Have faith, brother!", or "You must yield to the Spirit", or "You have to have a heart belief, not a head belief!", or "Jesus loves you!". This is the pious conversation of christian losers, people who have no substantial thoughts and no true relationship with God. But ask them to explain exactly what it means to "have faith". Nail it down; What are the two different definitions of the word "faith" in the scriptures? Give a detailed application of both contexts as they relate to life. Christians like to utter these hollow words and phrases in the company of other Christians because they come off as spiritual celebrities. They want to impress others with their profound knowledge of theology, and this is a motivation common to ego-centric, self-righteous, pious lame brains! At the Judgement Seat of Christ they will be fumbling for answers, trying to explain why their ER (Efficiency Rating) for time is in the minus category. Those buzz words won't find an adoring audience in our Lord! You see, christianity is about knowing! The Word is about knowing. Our relationship with God is based upon knowing, and knowing is about learning! Don't bother memorizing verses, or participating in church sponsored programs, etc, etc. You need to sit your butt down and LEARN THE WORD OF GOD, line by line! Here's a tidbit for you; "E=MC squared". That's Einstein's formula for relativity or something or other, I can't say what. I don't have a clue what it means...but I memorized it! Big deal, huh? Knowing a million passages from The Bible, or doing a zillion good deeds, doesn't teach you anything! Being a deacon of your church, hanging little framed passages from The Word all over your house, or praying for hours....nothing. These are things that other christians may define as a spiritual life, but they mean nothing if you don't have the Mind of Christ in your soul. This site is about life, your life and mine, for we share a priceless heritage that is invisible to us for the time being, and yet so powerful that it can change every nuance of a threadbare existence and give us not only unshakable confidence under any and all circumstances, but a serenity of soul that is impervious to adversity or suffering. Of all people on this planet, we as christians should live every moment with the secure confidence in our eternal destiny. God has healed our wounded souls, lifted us from the sewer of damnation, and wrapped us in the immaculate raiment of His eternal Righteousness forever. Even in this veil of tears we can bask in the glow of our eternal future, feel the strength of The Word of God, alive and powerful, coursing through our souls. The very thoughts of Christ are ours to learn and use. If you are a christian you should be well informed as to why were are here, what is our mission? We should know both the precise nature of our Creator, and our enemy as well, for our souls are the battlefield where Divine good and the darkness of evil are arrayed at war, locked in a struggle to the death. This conflict pre-existed us, and explains our being here. Why is there terrible suffering in the world? Why is life unfair and corrupt? What is this all about? How can we protect ourselves in the midst of this violent environment? How can we avoid pain and suffering? There is no question under the sun that God has not answered in His Word, and He has provided us, in this age, with our very own private Tutor, God the Holy Spirit. Are you aware that we have 39 irrevocable gifts that God gave us at the moment of salvation? Did you know that you and I are not only priests, but Royal Priests? Do you know that we are God's Royal Family? In the like manner of all royalty, even blue bloods in the cosmic realm, we have fantastic priviledges which surpass anything ever offered to believers of any other age. Moses, David, Daniel, Abraham....great men in their own right, had only the reflection of what we have, but not the reality. With this inherited prestige and royal stature also comes a solumn responsibility. Make no mistake, christian, even your mundane life is on display. The elect angels gather to observe our coming and going, for they learn too, and see dimensions of The Living God that they could not have otherwise known apart for His gracious dealings with us. You Princes and Princesses, co-heirs of The Kingdom, are given unimaginable wealth and power in the eternal state, and you are expected to act like it now, right now while the crap is flyin' and folks is dyin'! That's right; Those angelic observers aren't watching you as an average joe blow, but as a being that will one day command their respect, bearing the insignia of The Royal House upon your buckler. You are expected to bear that noble name with dignity NOW! While the battle is raging and blood is shed. This is the projection of our glorious destiny into time. We don't have to wait to don the robes of His Majesty, in fact, those robes are offered to us in the form of His Word. We are mandated by God to find these answers, for He has supplied every facet of knowledge to us that we need to not only live a victorious life, but to secure for ourselves the spectacular "special blessings" in eternity that are far and away more splendid than the standard fare that all the elect will be given. The Beacon is a compilation of the bible doctrines I have learned over a period of 28 years, all of which have been applied to my life and borne fruit. This is the evidence, for my own sake, of their intrinsic value, the rock-solid proof that the stuff in my soul is The Real Thing! How do I know it's real? Well, friend, the answer to that question is revealed in the pages of this site. A soul that is deeply rooted in the divine projects a certain ambience, very subtle, but if a person is seeking they will discern it. Not so if a person is looking for a cause to condemn, to vindicate their contrasting views. Just living a moral life and working out a regimen of good sounding stuff to occupy your time isn't enough. OK, so nice people seem to be the kind of folks God wants us to be. Well, it isn't as simple as that! If it were His Word would be about one page in length and, in a nutshell, would say; "Be good and moral. Amen". Do you get my drift here? The christian life is a tough proposition, and it requires a great deal of precise application, the use of principles and methods that are far beyond our human mentality. Receiving salvation is wonderful, the most important decision in our lives. But it is only a beginning! Now we are laying there on the delivery table, brand new christians, squalling and crapping in our pants. Right? We know nothing! We are little screaming poop machines! Helpless, and utterly ignorant of the Divine intention for sending us here. Tragically, the majority of christians remain noisy little crap producers for their entire lives! I encourage all visitors to this site to examine the purpose for God leading you here. It certainly wasn't to be overcome with awe of my charisma, or to learn the finer points of diplomacy. So why then? The answer to that question, if you even care to dwell on it for a brief moment, may surprise you. If there is a gleeming of interest, or a strong motive, it is ignited by the Holy Spirit, not by me. If you are an unbeliever, and have never accepted Christ as your Savior, I suggest you click on the "Meet Your Savior" tag and consider what is said there. Your immortal soul is at stake, friend, so check it out. If you are a christian you have a mission in this existance. Not some vague, meandering path in life, but a well defined course of action. You need to know, beyond any doubt, what God's will for you is on a moment-by-moment basis, and raise the shield of faith to protect yourself from our common foe. The Word of God is not a Sunday ritual for you, but a way of life which becomes a burning passion, an irresistable force that sweeps you along in spite of yourself. Sadly, not all christians have "The spark", I call it. I can't define it, and I don't know exactly why some have it and some don't, but I've seen it in action many times. It's a latent potential that is ignited at some point, and from that moment your life belongs to God, and not yourself. Some of the strangest people have it. The doctrines I have summarized here are just that, summaries. They are by no means the entire scoop. Just on one subject, alone, the study of Soteriology (The Cross), my pastor taught for two months. I give you maybe ten or fifteen minutes. If you dig into these majestic subjects, and need more to quench your thirst, go to the Reference page. The fountain there is deep and cold and pure, all you can drink. Richard O'Leary