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As a marketing coach who’s active in my church, one day it hit me right between the eyes that my church was missing out on a great opportunity to grow using all of the tools I use in marketing.

In fact, I believe that the church is God’s marketing arm, and therefore, the job of the church is to “deliver more people to God.” We aren’t doing a very good job of actively getting out there to do that. I found a way to grow your church that not many have discovered. There are hundreds to thousands looking for a church, and most churches don’t even know it, know where they are, or how to connect to them.

So, the first step was for me to find out how many people are actually searching for a church. At that time there were 4,000 people a month looking for a church in the Kansas City area. In about a year that has expanded to over 40,000 a month So, there’s an explosion in the number of people out there looking for a church. And churches are plain “missing the boat” if they aren’t trying to connect with those actually looking.

Go to Google Keyword tool and type in “church ___________” (fill in the blank with your location). Then continue brainstorming with Google to see how others are searching,
o Sunday School _________, (filling in your geographic location)
o Christian church ___________,
o Methodist church ___________,
o Non denominational church ____________,
o And on and on.

In any case, here are a few ideas of how many are searching in some of the metropolitan areas around the country.

o church Atlanta … … 110,000
o church Boston … … 30,000
o church Chicago … … 165,000
o church Cincinnati … 40,500
o church Dallas … … 110,000
o church Denver … … 74,000
o church Detroit … … 40,500
o church Kansas City … 40,500
o church Los Angeles … 74,000
o church Miami … … 49,500
o church New York City 18,100
o church St. Louis … 60,400

Those are the number of people looking each month.

A good rule of thumb for marketing is: if you say the things that connect well with your target audience, you SHOULD be able to capture about 5% to 10% of those you reach out to touch; so, for most cities being in the area of 30,000 to 40,000, that means that somewhere around 1,500 people.

As I continued digging, and actually was speaking to a roomful of ministers in the next week, I dug to see how many people were looking within the smaller communities around the city.

o 4,000 people looking for Baptist churches,
o 6,000 people looking for a church within a suburb of only 20,000 people.
o And, for one of the larger churches nearby there were actually 6,000 people looking for that church by name.

How many of you are missing out on this opportunity to reach more people?

Use this tool to find how many are searching for you in what way.

Or are you a church that’s ingrown, inward focused instead of looking for ways to “marketing God?”

In any case, for our church, we search engine optimized our website and went from “half full” to “bursting at the seams” within a year.
Then we decided that there were other marketing opportunities that we were missing out on. We search engine optimized a page for “weddings ___________” (our city). Our church is now booked solid for the next two months with weddings. Of course, every one of those that searched us out for “church wedding” are people that are considering joining now.

Marketing is about “building relationships” not just selling. So, we are using our church website to actively attract people who are looking for help “asking questions about religion”, “family activities,” “Sunday School” and we keep finding new ways.

As far as mission work is concerned, we’ve discovered that we’ve got a worldwide reach from right where we set. We are opening our doors to people looking for churches and questions about religion from all over the world, including small groups that are open worldwide. Small groups that quickly become worldwide small groups.

People are looking for churches, and you may be letting them slip by.

Are you?

If you’d like to discuss how to grow your church cntact
AlanBoyer@leaders-perspective.com with a subject line of “grow my church”.

No charge.

Own a business too?

Get your ebook “How add an Extra $10K Per Month to your business” from Alan
Marketing Your Business.

http://www.leaders-perspective.com

A church fundraiser is a great way to raise funds, especially for nonprofit purposes. This may mean getting funds for youth group activities or for any special cause that may be necessary. However, planning a successful fundraiser needs a lot of thought and effort. This is because when you wish to plan a fundraiser, you must try so that it is a huge success. It takes a lot of hands on deck and quite a bit of effort. If the results do not match up to that then its effort wasted.

The first step in planning a successful church fundraiser is to get the young people involved. Organizing needs as many hands on deck as possible. Beware though, youth needs guidance and you will have to effectively direct the bunch of young people to successfully work towards organizing your church fundraiser.

Publicity for your church fundraiser is very important if you want to make it a roaring success. Setting up sign boards, spreading news by the word of mouth are effective ways to ensure that your fundraiser will be attended by the maximum number possible. Getting a team together to do these jobs is an absolute necessity.

As we all know, with the advent of a generation riddled with juvenile diseases, food items sold at a fundraiser has become a matter of major concern. Earlier, chocolate fundraisers used to be common. Other food items that were popular at fundraisers included fried food such as burgers, fries and the like. While children really enjoy gorging on these snacks, the statistical figures pointing at juvenile diabetes and obesity really make these snacks a hazardous option. An obese juvenile will almost certainly develop significant health complications later in life. Once a young child has been diagnosed with diabetes, not only is it a permanent disease, but the child is ever more susceptible to kidney problems, vision problems and a lot of other significant health issues.

Keeping this problem in mind, quite a number of states in the US have imposed a ban on chocolate fundraisers in schools. Notable mentions include the California SB-12 and similar laws in other states. While there is yet to be a federal law in place for banning such fundraisers, it makes little sense to host one, from both the healthy and the legal point of view.

Healthy fundraising options are, therefore, something which you need to look out for. A healthy fundraiser only includes food items which have a low calorific value, zero or negligible saturated fats and low sodium content. Such food items are good for the children at the fundraiser and parents can stop worrying and let them enjoy their time. However, health apart, in order to attract the young people, snacks need to be tasty and appealingly packaged as well. Here, you need some sort of a healthy fundraising solution which can provide you perfect food items for your church fundraiser.

Alec Moreland promotes wellness, nutrition and healthy snacks in fundraising to reduce obesity and Type 2 Diabetes in schools. “America’s #1 Healthy Snack Fundraiser” is The Chocolate Alternative.
Healthy_Fundraising_Solutions
Contact Alec at alec@healthyfundraisingsolutions.com

Who am I? What is my purpose in this huge planet? What is the purpose of the entire human race? These are some questions we find ourselves asking from time to time. These questions have cause controversy amongst famous philosophers and world leaders. These questions are what fuel most religious groups and mega churches. We are in a constant quest to find out what life is about and if we have a purpose, a calling if you will. Was religion created to provide the masses with a guide for how to live their lives or was it to control the masses?

All of the wars that have left scars in the history of the human race have been fueled with religious belief and a few people’s thirst for power. Who are we to say that our neighbors are evil for having beliefs in something that is not exactly in what we believe in? So who is to decide who is right and who is wrong? Are not both sides causing harm to each other instead of helping each other understand one another? A great play write once said something along the lines of what was right and wrong was what the mind conceived it to be. Meaning we have the power to choose what is right and what is wrong, not what our society has conditioned us to believe.

People’s fear of life’s unknown mysteries is what created the first churches. The belief of a higher entity has helped billions to cope with the fear of what is to come when our and our loved ones’ time comes to leave this world. This higher entity has many names but no matter what you call him, he has the same message for you. He wants you to love yourself and your neighbor. Then why are we harming each other and abusing this beautiful planet we have inherited?

Instead of focusing on the simple message, we make it difficult and over analyze everything. We end up considering anything and anyone that does not agree with our beliefs to be the enemy. This evil entity is created by man to justify our evil acts we commit on each other and claim that it had to be done for the sake of good. So it is easy to recruit people that are willing to harm and die for this cause because they believe that what they are a part of something good.

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The topic of religion is often a touchy one, and often results in an apathetic discussion at best. However, no one can deny the prevalent influence that religion plays in many people’s lives. In the Western world, Christianity still dominates as the most popular religion among millions of people. And it is impossible not to recognize the many significant roles Christianity has played throughout history, whether it be through politics and government, wars and crusades, social structures, ideologies, and of course, personal convictions and practices.

Although Christian practices may be waning in several parts of the world, many people throughout the world are just as devout believers as ever have been before. Christianity continues to retain a strong presence in the world, even after thousands of years of history, as is evident by the many Christian symbols visible on streets, buildings, and elsewhere. And the most popular symbol of Christianity is the cross.

The Christian cross is by far the best-known Christian symbol, which often features atop church buildings, on walls and street corners, and on cross necklace jewelry. The symbol of the Christian cross has a long and interesting history that culminated to the present time in which, for Christian followers, the cross represents faith in Christ and is a symbol of hope in salvation through Christ.

Literally, the cross is a replica of the instrument on which Christ was killed. But it’s important to note that the symbol of the Christian cross is different than a crucifix. A crucifix is a cross that includes a representation of Jesus’ body and represents the crucifixion of Christ. On the other hand, while the cross still represents the instrument on which Christ was killed, it does not feature a representation of the Jesus’ body. The absence of Christ’s body makes the cross more of a symbol of Christ’s resurrection and the hope for life after death and salvation, rather than merely a symbol of death.

In early Christianity, the cross was seldom used as a hopeful symbol, as it directly correlated in most people’s mind to a painful and gruesome method of public execution that still occurred during the first two centuries of Christianity. Instead of the cross, Christianity was most often symbolized by a fish representation called the Ichthys.

However, as is made evident by early writings, the cross was associated with the Christian movement from as early as the second century, and there is evidence that the tradition of tracing the cross on foreheads was popular among Christians. Despite the introduction of the cross into worship practices, many early Church Fathers had to frequently defend themselves against the accusations that they worshipped the cross. There is also evidence that many of the early Christian faith used to swear by the power of the cross.

But early protestations against the use of the cross were not uncommon. Some church leaders condemned the sign of the cross, believing that it had pagan origins. Indeed, cross-like symbols were used prior to Christianity in several different religious rituals and practices. Eventually, the cross lost its pagan associations, and during the 5th century, the first Christian cross appeared on a piece of Christian architecture.

Interestingly, the first Christian crosses were not of the same shape that we are used to seeing today. The first crosses were Greek crosses which had four arms, all of equal length. Later, crosses in the shape of a “T” became common, and finally, the Roman cross, which is the cross most of us are familiar with today, became the Christian cross most prevalent among artwork and architecture.

Since the symbol’s inception, the popularity of the cross grew first among Catholicism, which places a great deal of emphasis on the use of symbols and tradition, and then among Protestantism. And the popularity of the symbol continues to grow into the present time. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox, and some members of Lutheranism and even some Anglicans and Protestants makes the sign of the cross on themselves as a sign of devotion and faith. And there are even a few Christian holidays that commemorate the cross.

In addition, during religious celebrations such as Easter, First Communion, baptism, and other Catholic and Protestant events, it is common to give cross necklace jewelry to loved ones to symbolize their faith, and many Christians adorn their homes with crosses.

The symbol of the cross is now farther removed from the notion of a painful and excruciating death and holds a variety of related meanings and reminders. The cross can be viewed as symbol of self-denial, as the Bible records that Christ asked his followers to take up their cross and follow him, indicating that those who believe in Christ should sacrifice their worldly ambitions and lead a life devoted to God.

The cross is also a symbol of the shame and suffering that Christ overcame out of love for humankind. The Christian cross serves as a reminder to believers all that Christ suffered in order to overcome death and provide salvation to his followers.

However, the cross is most often construed as a representation of God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice and atonement that took place at Calvary. Hence, the cross also symbolizes God’s reconciliation with humankind. The absence of Christ’s body on the cross also symbolizes Jesus’ victory over sin and death and that through him, humanity can also overcome death and achieve salvation.

The symbol of the Christian cross is a powerful representation for many Christian believers. The symbol has lasted centuries and is likely to last for several centuries to come. Although Christian practices may have evolved and changed, the symbol of the Christian cross has retained its singular importance in the Christian religion, and for those who believe in Christianity, the cross is a powerful representation of faith, devotion, and salvation.

Christian Gifts and Jewelry (http://www.christiangifts-jewelry.com/) are a Christian Store dedicated to bringing your quality inspirational gifts, keepsakes and cross necklace jewelry. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

As the baby boomer generation ages, Catholic parents are fast becoming Catholic grandparents. As a grandparent, you naturally worry about the faith of your grandchildren, whether they will stay strong in the church and be able to stay close to God in an uncertain, secular world. Here are some tips to help Catholic grandparents pass their faith on and be an influence for good in the lives of their grandchildren.

– Set a good example

“Do as I say, not as I do” never has been an effective philosophy to live by and it never will be! Children can spot a hypocrite a mile away and from a very young age. If you want them to be Church-going Catholics, then you must set a good example by attending mass regularly. Whenever possible, go as a large extended family: it will instill in your grandchildren’s hearts and minds that living their religion is a family tradition.

– Tell stories of faith

Never pass up a chance to share true faith-promoting stories that have either happened in your own life or in the lives of your grandchildren’s own ancestors. It is often hard for children to relate to the meaning of the experiences of the saints; but if they know that miracles have happened in their own family members’ lives, it brings the love of God home.

– Support their religious benchmarks

Make a concerted effort to attend each and every one of your grandchildren’s religious milestones, whether it is a baptism, 1st communion, or other important events. You may wish to write them a personal note expressing your pleasure in the choices they are making; give them a lasting gift such as cross necklace jewelry to help them commemorate the occasion and forever link their special day with your love.

Pray with them

Nothing invites the Spirit into a home like praying aloud with little children. Children will learn to recognize that special warmth they feel during a prayer said aloud as a personal manifestation of God’s love for them. They will be moved to hear you pray especially for each of them, to hear your hopes for their future and the concern you feel for their spiritual welfare in a troubled world.

Grandparents often make the mistake of underestimating the impact they can have in the nurturing of faith in their grandchildren. Even if you live far away, you can still send gifts, notes of encouragement, and let these precious children know that you care.

Christian Gifts and Jewelry (http://www.christiangifts-jewelry.com/) store dedicated to bringing your quality inspirational gifts and keepsakecross necklace jewelry. Art Gib is a freelance writer.

When our world was young, people had to forage for food and water so that they and their family would survive. As humans found methods of preserving food, it became easy to eat during winter months when food was scarce.

However, with the advent of shops and supermarkets, it has become so easy to get food and stock in our homes that many of us have surplus food that we have no qualms throwing away. While one part of the world suffers from devastating poverty, another part of the world has obesity in epidemic proportions.

It is easy to lose weight if we have the right attitude. As in every other thing we do, it is our eagerness and self-confidence that will propel us to lose weight and reach our goals.

If we believe that we are losing weight, we will be able to feel the increased energy, eagerness to exercise and the will power to say “No” to unhealthy food.
On the other hand, if we don’t believe that we have the power to change our shape, we succumb to cravings and try to fill boredom with food addictions.

If we eat healthy meals in the correct proportions and at the right times while taking every opportunity to move around every thirty minutes, we will have no problem maintaining our weight throughout our life. Magick can also enhance our will power and determination to reach our goals.

Here are four spells that will aid in your quest for that perfect figure:

Candle Weight Loss Spell
For this spell, you will need a candle to represent you. You may get a naked human figure candle for this purpose or get a regular large candle. Using a dull knife, carve the regular candle shape to look like an hourglass if necessary.
This candle now represents you as you are now.

Now take a pin and draw a line on the candle to represent the new You. Think of yourself as tailor making adjustments to a dress by adjusting the width of the garment.

Dress the candle with commanding oil while you visualize losing weight. Burn the candle for nine minutes daily. Before the next day, chip away some of the wax from the candle to represent your weight loss.

Milk Bath Weight Loss Spell
A soothing bath usually relaxes our body and mind while allowing us to believe in our own powers to direct our lives. For this spell, we will need a carton of milk. It is best to work this spell on a full moon day so that we can utilize the power of the moon as well.

Gently warm the milk in a cauldron or a small Dutch oven. When it is reasonably warm, take it off the stove and place it in a heat-safe place in the bathroom while you fix a bath or shower. Keep the milk close to the tub/shower as you get in and start your bath.

Test the milk again and slowly pour it over your head while you visualize getting thinner as the moon wanes. Chant:
I wane as the moon wanes
Banish the pounds away!
Complete your bath/shower and relax in meditation for ten more minutes

Rose Ariadne has been practicing ancient forms of Witchcraft for over 25 years. Get more info about Magick Spells For Weight Loss here: http://www.askroseariadne.com/editorials/8_magick-spells-for-weight-loss.html”

Artemis is one of the most ancient and acclaimed deities in Greek mythology.

Artemis has often been described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto and also as the twin sister of Apollo. She was believed to the Goddess of forests and hills, child birth, virginity, fertility and hunt and can be seen often depicted as a huntress carrying a bow and arrows. The cypress and deer were sacred to her.

Later, Artemis became identified as Selene who was a Greek Moon Goddess and also with Diana, a roman Goddess and also Hecate, the protector of Entrances.

One of the childhood myths of Artemis is about the six wishes her father Zeus granted her when she was three years old. While sitting on his knee, she has asked her father for these three wishes. The first wish was to remain chaste for eternity and to never be confined with marriage. She also wanted hunting companions such as lop-eared hounds, stags to lead her chariot and nymphs for companionship. She also wanted a bow and arrow which became her symbol.

There are many other stories surrounding this female Goddess. She was once bathing in a vale on Mount Cithaeron when Actaeon, a hunter prince hid in the bushes and spied on her. She was so angered by this that she turned him into a stag which was killed by his own hounds. When Adonis boasted that he was a better hunter than Artemis, she sent a wild boar to kill him.

There are several myths surrounding Artemis and the constellations in the sky.

Orion, the hunting companion of Artemis was killed by a scorpion sent by Gaia, the Goddess of Earth. Callisto was Artemis’s hunting companion who was tricked and raped by her father Zeus (or by her brother Apollo) and who was changed into a bear. Out of pity, Zeus placed her in the heavens, thus creating the Callisto the Bear constellation.

In other stories, Artemis punished Agamemnon, the commander of Achaeans in the Trojan War for killing a sacred stag and boasting that he was a better hunter.

Artemis was widely worshipped throughout ancient Greece. Cults or groups of worshippers gathered in several places such as Delos, her birthplace and Attica, Mounikhia and Sparta. Spartans used to perform sacrifices in her reverence before starting a new war.

Artemis was worshipped as a fertility/Childbirth Goddess, Goddess of maiden dances and Goddess of light. Later, we find representations of Artemis-Diana with the crown of the crescent Moon, as Luna.

In Ephesus, Ionia (Turkey), a temple was built for her worship. Ionians used to worship her as a Mother Goddess, her carving adorned with tear shaped amber beads.

Rose Ariadne has been practicing ancient forms of Witchcraft for over 25 years. Get more info about artemis here: http://www.askroseariadne.com/editorials/wiccan-jewelry.html

In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was the arbiter of truth in the West. Even when confronted with incontrovertible evidence supporting the fact that the planets revolved around the Sun, rather than the Earth, they clung to their own antiquated, variation of the truth.

Now, it seems the tables have turned and science, or rather conventional science, has replaced the Church as the guardian of orthodoxy. An example of this is the contention that, unless something can be measured and quantified, it does not exist. Extra sensory perception provides us with a good example. A phenomenon for which there is strong anecdotal evidence is dismissed as charlatanism, simply because it does not lend itself to being readily simulated under laboratory conditions. By extension, anything that is not measurable is treated as non-existent.

In our world there is very little that is truly measurable. For instance how does one measure kindness, graciousness, dignity, or love? Only the most diehard of the scientific realists would subject all their emotional attachments to their family and friends to the same ruthless scrutiny.

Yet another example is how those holding positions of power, having little regard for the nuance of perception and feeling, like to support their claims with hard facts. The only thing hard about these facts is the rigidity with which they are held. Those who quote these facts, do so as if they were universal truths; self-evident, beyond reproach. Interestingly, these universal truths are not universally held to be true. Each society, each tribe, each family, has their own set of so called universal truths.

This supreme conceit of the modern scientific establishment is reminiscent of the inverted logic used by the Inquisition when determining the piety of one of those brought before it. The accused would be tied down and then submersed in water. If they were able, through some divine intervention, to survive, then it was considered proof that God had spoken and they were innocent. In the event that nature took its natural course and they drowned, it was seen as a testament to their guilt. It was a no lose proposition for the Church. If the accused died, the legal system was validated. If they should survive the ordeal, then it was declared a miracle and it provided the Church with a public relations triumph.

Another way of looking at this bias towards the tangible is our conception of the supernatural. When we use the word supernatural, we immediately imply a distinction between that which falls inside the scope of what is natural, and that, which does not. That, which we can explain with science, passes through the filter. That, which we cannot, is thrown into the catchall called the supernatural. This makes no logical sense. If there is a higher order, it must encompass both the natural and the so called supernatural. There cannot be two sets of rules; one for the natural and another for the supernatural. All it really proves is that our understanding of the inner workings of nature is inadequate.

What motivates us to adopt a scientific stance is nothing other than our own fear of the dark. It diminishes us in our own eyes. It erodes our sense of supremacy to think there are things in this world which are unknown, possibly unknowable. Why is it so difficult for us to simply say that we do not know?

John Berling Hardy is author of the e-book “Have We Been
Played?- The Hidden Game Revealed.” The insights contained in
this series give you the Edge. To find out more about the carefully
guarded secret shared by all those who enjoy power and prestige visit
Have We Been Played.com.

Do you know the difference between right and wrong? This is the question we ask our teenagers, ad nausea. This is the litmus test for deciding if the criminal is bad or mad. The question itself presupposes that we human beings have an innate sense of right and wrong. It further assumes that what is deemed to be right and wrong is incontrovertible, that they are universal constants which transcend culture and context.

Even though the most primitive of tribes, such as aboriginals or criminals, have a rudimentary morality, this only extends to its own members. Those outside the tribe are rarely afforded equal treatment under the code. Even the medieval knights with their strict code of chivalry only reserved this treatment for others from their own caste. These same knights who would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the honor of a damsel in distress, thought nothing of butchering the local peasantry. Selective morality is no morality! In this sense all tribe are essentially amoral.

Even though we like to think of ourselves as freethinking individuals, the group has a strong influence on the mental frame with which we see the world. For instance, we all share the notion that our norms are based on some objective measure. We believe that our standards for dress, social conduct, and the degree of familiarity we permit ourselves to show to one another, are all based on some sort of absolute. Our judgments: this person is rude, that person is perverse; all refer to some norm against which things are measured. Thus, what passes for free, spontaneous exchange is usually a pre-scripted dialogue which then further strengthens the groupthink.

This norm is the central myth around which the tribe is formed. A group must differentiate between those on the inside and those on the outside. This distinction will always have some logical premise, at least superficially; but at its root, it is ultimately arbitrary. The set of standards we draw upon in making our judgments are framed by the tribes we belong to. Those whose actions, thoughts and appearance conform to our tribal standards are deemed acceptable, while those who happen to deviate from these norms in some way are considered aberrant. This then forms the basis of our prejudices.

Right and wrong do exist as transcendent ideals, but the moment we attempt to codify them, give them concrete definition, like sand, its essence slips through our fingers. All we are left with is an elegant lattice of empty regulations. When this structure is found to be lacking, we loaded with caveats and clarifications which do nothing but make them more obscure and cumbersome. Worse still, they mystify the law, allowing its high priests, the lawyers, to entrap us in its endless intricacies. That is why in the final analysis each of us must look within themselves, not the tribe, or the law givers, to decide what is right and what is wrong.

John Berling Hardy is author of the e-book “Have We Been
Played?- The Hidden Game Revealed.” The insights contained in
this series give you the Edge. To find out more about the carefully
guarded secret shared by all those who enjoy power and prestige visit
Have We Been Played.com.

In nature there are no straight lines. The entire notion that we can order our world according to some artificial linear box is absurd. If we look at our daily lives, our families, our work place, our social interactions, nothing conforms to a strict set of rules. An excellent example of this is drawn from my own experience in Cairo.

Anyone who has travelled to Cairo can attest to the fact that their traffic is almost beyond comprehension for a North American. Wide avenues with no lane markers accommodate over 12 lanes of traffic. Though there is a traffic light system, the drivers are completely oblivious to it, and proceed when an ebb in the traffic affords them an opportunity, rather than in conformance with the lights. Miraculously, the traffic moves. It moves far better than it would if everyone were to observe the regulations scrupulously. I have no doubt that should all the drivers be magically replaced by North Americans, the entire city would come to a stand still and very soon there would be a rash of road rage related homicides.

One of the central myths that support our worldview is that we need to be protected by some intervening authority. Otherwise, we are certain to descend into an abyss of chaos, a leviathan of unchecked desires. To this end, we need rules and regulations to ensure that you, me, or that suspicious individual who lives down the lane, does not run amuck. Whenever crime is reported, the knee jerk reaction is to demand new stiffer laws. If it is murder, we call for longer sentences; if it is a financial fraud, such as that which lies behind our current economic fiasco, we call for stiffer regulations for banks and bankers. It rarely dawns on us that a far easier solution would be to simply apply the laws we already have on our books.

For the players, the architects of our perceived need for order, this is ideal. Now, the inmates are not only acquiescent, they are actually helping to police the asylum. Happily, the lawmakers oblige us with the new regulations we are clamouring for. Of course, unbeknownst to us, while we are enjoying our sense of security in knowing that we have a government who responds to our need for law and order to prevail, the noose the players place around our necks grows ever tighter. Now we have the spectre of new regulations to police the investment industry. The radical change which is being proposed is that the banks must retain a minimum 5% ownership in their debt, but they can still sell away the other 95%! Incredibly, even this pitifully inadequate measure is being contested by the lobbying group representing a Wall Street.

The code of law provides yet another example. Legal codes are attempts to translate morality into the current social context in a form, which lends itself to administrative efficiency. At best, they are vague approximations of morality and at their worst; they are brazen attempts to sanctify the status quo. Ironically, the situation is actually inverted; with the laws themselves become the absolutes, against which the morality of a particular action is measured.

The main underlying purpose served by any codes of law is the protection of the property, power and privilege of those in power: the players. There needs to be some semblance of fairness in the laws for the average person to feel morally bound by them. Should this cease to be the case, should the average person come to the conclusion that the laws are for the benefit of the status quo, nothing short of a police state will be needed to maintain order.

When will it stop? When will people finally wake up to the fact that the law, as it is practiced today, are in place to ensure our compliance, rather than to protect our interests.

John Berling Hardy is author of the e-book “Have We Been
Played?- The Hidden Game Revealed.” The insights contained in
this series give you the Edge. To find out more about the carefully
guarded secret shared by all those who enjoy power and prestige visit
Have We Been Played.com.