O kings of the earth ...

Compose your differences, and reduce your armaments, that the burden of your expenditures may be lightened, and that your minds and hearts may be tranquillized. Heal the dissensions that divide you, and ye will no longer be in need of any armament  except what the protection of your cities and territories demandeth. Fear ye God, and take heed not to outstrip the bounds of moderation, and be numbered among the extravagant.

We have learned that you are increasing your outlay every year, and are laying the burden thereof on your subjects. This, verily, is more than they can bear, and is a grievous injustice. Decide justly between men, and be ye the emblems of justice amongst them. This, if ye judge fairly, is the thing that behoveth you, and beseemeth your station.

Beware not to deal unjustly with any one that appealeth to you, and entereth beneath your shadow. Walk ye in the fear of God, and be ye of them that lead a godly life. Rest not on your power, your armies, and treasures. Put your whole trust and confidence in God, Who hath created you, and seek ye His help in all your affairs. Succor cometh from Him alone. He succoreth whom He will with the hosts of the heavens and of the earth. 

Know ye that the poor are the trust of God in your midst. Watch that ye betray not His trust, that ye deal not unjustly with them and that ye walk not in the ways of the treacherous. Ye will most certainly be called upon to answer for His trust on the day when the Balance of Justice shall be set, the day when unto every one shall be rendered his due, when the doings of all men, be they rich or poor, shall be weighed.

If ye pay no heed unto the counsels which, in peerless and unequivocal language, We have revealed in this Tablet, Divine chastisement shall assail you from every direction, and the sentence of His justice shall be pronounced against you. On that day ye shall have no power to resist Him, and shall recognize your own impotence. Have mercy on yourselves and on those beneath you.

Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind…

Verily I say, this is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and 11 the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men. It behoveth every man to blot out the trace of every idle word from the tablet of his heart, and to gaze, with an open and unbiased mind, on the signs of His Revelation, the proofs of His Mission, and the tokens of His glory.

Great indeed is this Day! The allusions made to it in all the sacred Scriptures as the Day of God attest its greatness. The soul of every Prophet of God, of every Divine Messenger, hath thirsted for this wondrous Day. All the divers kindreds of the earth have, likewise, yearned to attain it. No sooner, however, had the Day Star of His Revelation manifested itself in the heaven of God’s Will, than all, except those whom the Almighty was pleased to guide, were found dumbfounded and heedless.

O thou that hast remembered Me! The most grievous veil hath shut out the peoples of the earth from His glory, and hindered them from hearkening to His call. God grant that the light of unity may envelop the whole earth, and that the seal, “the Kingdom is God’s”, may be stamped upon the brow of all its peoples. 

The Valley of Love

The steed of this Valley is pain; and if there be no pain this journey will never end. In this station the lover hath no thought save the Beloved, and seeketh no refuge save the Friend.  At every moment he offereth a hundred lives in the path of the Loved One, at every step he throweth a thousand heads at the feet of the Beloved.....

A lover feareth nothing and no harm can come nigh him: Thou seest him chill in the fire and dry in the sea. A lover is he who is chill in hell fire;
A knower is he who is dry in the sea....

He hath bound a myriad victims in his fetters, wounded a myriad wise men with his arrow. Know that every redness in the world is from his anger, and every paleness in men’s cheeks is from his poison. He yieldeth no remedy but death, he walketh not save in the valley of the shadow; yet sweeter than honey is his venom on the lover’s lips, and fairer his destruction in the seeker’s eyes than a hundred thousand lives.

Wherefore must the veils of the satanic self be burned away at the fire of love, that the spirit may be purified and cleansed and thus may know the station of the Lord of the Worlds. 

 

 

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/SVFV/svfv-2.html

O wayfarer in the path of God!

Be not grieved if thou performest it thyself alone. Let God be all-sufficient for thee. Commune intimately with His Spirit, and be thou of the thankful. Proclaim the Cause of thy Lord unto all who are in the heavens and on the earth. Should any man respond to thy call, lay bare before him the pearls of the wisdom of the Lord, thy God, which His Spirit hath sent down unto thee, and be thou of them that truly believe. And should any one reject thine offer, turn thou away from him, and put thy trust and confidence in the Lord, thy God, the Lord of all worlds.

By the righteousness of God! Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on high, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light. Thus hath it been foreordained in the realm of God’s Revelation, by the behest of Him Who is the All-Glorious, the Most Powerful.

There lay concealed within the Holy Veil, and prepared for the service of God, a company of His chosen ones who shall be manifested unto men, who shall aid His Cause, who shall be afraid of no one, though the entire human race rise up and war against them. These are the ones who, before the gaze of the  dwellers on earth and the denizens of heaven, shall arise and, shouting aloud, acclaim the name of the Almighty, and summon the children of men to the path of God, the All-Glorious, the All-Praised. Walk thou in their way, and let no one dismay thee. Be of them whom the tumult of the world, however much it may agitate them in the path of their Creator, can never sadden, whose purpose the blame of the blamer will never defeat.

The Power of Divine Assistance

"Dost thou believe thou hast the power to frustrate His Will, to hinder Him from executing His judgement, or to deter Him from exercising His sovereignty? Pretendest thou that aught in the heavens or in the earth can resist His Faith? No, by Him Who is the Eternal Truth! Nothing whatsoever in the whole of creation can thwart His Purpose . . .."
      "Know thou, moreover, that He it is Who hath, by His own behest, created all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth. He can, then, the thing that hath been created at His bidding prevail against Him?"


"Every single letter proceeding from Our mouth is endowed with such regenerative power as to enable it to bring into existence a new creation--a creation the magnitude of which is inscrutable to all save God. He verily hath knowledge of all things." 
From the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh 

"Say, verily any one follower of this Faith can, by the leave of God, prevail over all who dwell in heaven and earth and in whatever lieth between them; for indeed this is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the one true Faith. Therefore fear ye not, neither be ye grieved.

"Hallowed be the Lord in Whose hand is the source of dominion. He createth whatsoever He willeth by His Word of command `Be', and it is. His hath been the power of authority heretofore and it shall remain His hereafter. He maketh victorious whomsoever He pleaseth, through the potency of His behest. He is in truth the Powerful, the Almighty. 

Heed not your weaknesses and frailty; fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God, the Almighty … Arise in His name, put your trust wholly in Him, and be assured of ultimate victory.

From the Writings of The Báb

A Timeline of Dr. Russell Norman Murray's academic history

Byrne Road Cactus Club, Burnaby BC


Photo by Trevor Epp (April 2, 2011)

I was called 'The Don' and thekingpin.


Photo by Dave Murray (April 2, 2011)

Thanks for the cake, Chuck.

A Timeline of Dr. Russell Norman Murray's academic history by Chucky with assistance from thekingpin with some of the funny bits especially.

PhD Graduation Party April 2, 2011. Byrne Road, Cactus Club Cafe, Burnaby, British Columbia

Thanks to friends and family for the excellent PhD Graduation Party at Byrne Road, Cactus Club.

Thank you to Cactus Club, Byrne Road as well. Professional with first-rate food and service as it has been with every Cactus Club Cafe I have been to.

Dr. Russ Murray:)

Chucky...

(~1987) Russ becomes a fan of cult expert Dr. Walter Martin - the flame is kindled. He realizes there is more to ministry than Ernest Angley, Peter Popoff and Oral Roberts.

(1989) Russ attends a Christian college & careers bible study and makes some friends who notice and encourage his passion for apologetics. Russ makes fun of his friends by drawing comic strip stories about them and others. His friends Chuck and Bobby are easy targets. Bobby shows his muscles off for the girls at Bible school.

(1990) Russ decides to quit insurance and call center work and pursue an academic career in Biblical studies/theology/philosophy, starting with Columbia Bible College. Russ becomes acquainted with the Mennonite belief system that his goofy pal Chucky was raised with. This system is soon rejected for Reformed Theology. Sorry, Gerry. Russ hangs with Bobby Buff at school. They almost always skip chapel and play foosball. Russ takes classes from and befriends Chucky's relative, Gerry. Uncle Gerry mentors Russ and has a theory.

(1995) Russ completes his Bachelor of Arts degree. First trip to Britain with Chucky. Travelling by train and bus. Russ gets a sore toe in the Cotswolds. Chucky misreads the bus schedule and after failed attempt to hitchhike back to Stratford, asks a local to call a taxi. Russ has to have toe surgery in Birmingham. Chucky meets David Forbes, and eats haggis and black pudding at Brian Forbes' place. David keeps us up all night with crazy wonderful stories and then puts in a full day driving the double decker bus. Russ relaxes at the Giants' Causeway in northern Ireland. Chucky stops a crazy drunk lady from jumping into the River Liffey in Dublin. Russ used some of his counselling from Bible School and was told to "F off". Russ goes to Canadian Baptist Cemetary (part of ACTS at TWU campus) for his first masters. First attempt at focusing on theodicy. Russ becomes well-acquainted with the TWU photocopier.

(1997) Russ completes his MTS degree. Lack of support from some lovely baptist professors at ACTS drives Russ to aim for a PhD. Mega 2-part vacation - California to see Rush with Chucky, Greg D. and biological cousin Colin, then 2nd Britain trip with Chucky to check out schools. Looking for CD shops in San Francisco, we find ourselves in Castro district, by accident. The gay capital of the world. The Rush show was enjoyed by all. Later we would find a high quality recording of the very same concert. Post-show rendezvous was difficult, especially with no cell phones, but successful. Cousin Colin departs in mysterious fashion. We are ditched. We are not sure if Colin headed back to Castro. Greg D takes bus from Seattle and Russ and Chucky fly to London. Russ and Chucky rent a car and deal with the stress of trying to drive on the left and navigate out of central London to get to Cambridge. Chucky directs Russ down a one way street the wrong way. Schools visited: U. of London, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol. Russ recalls a stuck-up guy at London: "I don't know that your 1st class Christian honours are not our 3rd class honours."

(1999) Russ accepted for MPhil/PhD program at Manchester. Russ attends Manchester, discovers British bias against North American theological training, labelled as fundamentalist. Advisor was away at Germany for year. A source, with a similar name ;) tells me Prof. Jantzen, of Manchester, had it in for TWU students and she used to attend, and so she wanted me out. Prof. Pailin ended up being a real Pailin in the ass. Leaving his flat for a short trip back to Canada, Russ returns to find his Manchester flat burglarized. Conflicts at Manchester lead Russ to attempt switching to Nazarene Theological College (also in Manchester). Nazarene is blocked by their relationship with Manchester, politics force Russ to search for another school.

(2000) In despair about his situation, Russ sends out emails to a few other potential schools, prays, and the following day receives a call from Dr. William Kay at University of Wales, which offers a distance learning PhD. But must first complete a British MPhil degree. Russ started the MPhil while in Manchester. Did Chapter 1 in the UK. Chucky comes over from Belgium to visit at Christmas time, and Russ and Chucky are attacked downtown, Russ getting bottled. UK doctor attempts to fix the nose by hand, makes it worse. Nasal and dental reconstructive surgery were done after returning to Canada.

(2001) Russ works from home, and rekindles his relationship with the TWU photocopier. Russ learns statistics, as advisor (William Kay) has statistical background and they decide a survey approach to theodicy would be unique and interesting.

(2003) Russ completes the MPhil for U. of Wales with no revisions, despite having to deal with annoying vitreous floaters and sleep apnea related fatigue. Sleeping 12 hours a days to do 12 hours of work, including thesis writing and blogging.

(2004) Russ begins blogging, starting with thekingpin68 blog, with posts on various theological topics, and beautiful scenic photos of places around the world. A guy named "Jeff" becomes an early fan and voluminous writer, also providing occasional humourous photoshopped images. An annual feature is the “non-conformist of the year”, selected among Russ' many nicknamed friends. Bobby Buff is the 10-times winner. Russ begins work on the PhD.

(2006) Russ adds a second blog, satireandtheology. Today both blogs receive about 15,000 pages views a month combined. First PhD advisor (Mark) advises Russ to avoid a philosophical approach. Mark leaves the University; Russ is assigned another advisor (Rob). There is a long delay between advisors. Rob wanted way more work - lots of additions. Rob then leaves for another school (Chester).

(2009) Russ goes to Wales and impresses the examiners with his thesis defense (viva). The examiners ask for a more philosophical approach and revisions that took another eight months.

(2010) Russ finally gets word that his PhD revisions have been accepted. University of Wales, Lampeter is involved in merger with Trinity University College. The merged school is called University of Wales, Trinity Saint David. The merger slows up processing of the doctorate. Russ' doctorate was basically lost and was only found when he emailed the top three persons at TSD and they put pressure on the office to get it done. Diploma arrives in the mail with stamps from both University of Wales and University of Wales, Lampeter. Fortunately it is not bent like his Silver Surfer comic book. (2011) Russ develops a following among young, female Brazilian bloggers. Also some from Spain and Argentina.


Photo by Dr. Russ Murray (April 2, 2011)






BA, MTS, MPhil, PhD (Order on wall, PhD, up BA, down MTS, MPhil)
My wall completed after my PhD graduation party.
Photo by Dr. Russ Murray

Thank you to Philip Hayes for the last three images from Icanhasmotivation.com