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An Open Letter From God...Paul Harvey · Gil I Am

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: From now on, I'm quoting an open letter from God,
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  Speaker 1: my dear children, and believe me, that is all of you.
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: I consider myself a pretty patient guy. I mean, look
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: at the Grand Canyon, it took millions of years to
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  Speaker 1: get it right. And about evolution, boy, nothing is slower
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  Speaker 1: than designing that whole Darwinian thing to take place, sell
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  Speaker 1: by sale, gene by gene. And I have been patient
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  Speaker 1: through your fashions, your civilizations, wars and schemes, and the
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  Speaker 1: countless ways that you take me for granted until you
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: get yourselves into big trouble again and again. I want
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  Speaker 1: to let you know about some of the things that
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  Speaker 1: started taking me off. First of all, your religious rivalries
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  Speaker 1: are driving me up a wall. Enough already, Let's get
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  Speaker 1: one thing straight. These are your religions, not mine. I'm
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  Speaker 1: the whole Enchilada, I'm beyond them all. Every one of
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  Speaker 1: your religions claims that there's only one of me, which,
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  Speaker 1: for the way, is absolutely true. But in the very
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  Speaker 1: next breath, each religion claims that it's my favorite one,
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  Speaker 1: and each claims its Bible was written personally by me,
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  Speaker 1: and that all of the other Bibles are man made.
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  Speaker 1: Oh me, how do I ever begin to put a
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  Speaker 1: stop to such complicated nonsense.
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  Speaker 2: All right, listen up.
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  Speaker 1: Now, I am your father and mother, and I don't
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  Speaker 1: play favorites among my children. Also, I hate to break
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  Speaker 1: it to you, but I don't write. My long hand
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  Speaker 1: is awful, and I've always been more of a doer anyway.
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  Speaker 1: So all of your books, including those Bibles, were written
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  Speaker 1: by men and women. They were inspired men and women.
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  Speaker 1: They were remarkable people, but they also made mistakes here
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  Speaker 1: and there. And I made sure of that so that
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  Speaker 1: you would never trust a written word rather than your
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  Speaker 1: own living heart.
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  Speaker 2: You see, one human being.
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  Speaker 1: To me, even a bum on the street is worth
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  Speaker 1: more than all of the holy books in the world.
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  Speaker 1: That's just the kind of a guy I am. My
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  Speaker 1: spirit is not an historical thing. It's alive right now,
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  Speaker 1: right now, as fresh as your next't. Holy books and
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  Speaker 1: religious rights are sacred and powerful, but they are not
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  Speaker 1: more so than the least of you. They were only
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  Speaker 1: meant to steer you in the right direction, not to
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  Speaker 1: keep you arguing with each other, and certainly not to
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  Speaker 1: keep you from trusting your own personal connection with me,
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  Speaker 1: which brings me to my next point about your nonsense.
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  Speaker 1: You act like I need you and your religions to
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  Speaker 1: stick up for me or win souls for my sake.
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  Speaker 1: Please don't do me any favors. I can stand quite
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  Speaker 1: well on my own, thank you. I don't need you
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  Speaker 1: to defend me. I don't need constant credit. I just
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  Speaker 1: want you to be good to each other. And another thing,
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  Speaker 1: I don't get all worked up over money or politics,
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  Speaker 1: So stop dragging my name into your dramas. For example,
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  Speaker 1: I swear to me that I never threatened Oral roberts
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  Speaker 1: I never rode in any of Rajnish's rolls Royces, and
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  Speaker 1: I never told Pat Robertson direct for president. And I
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  Speaker 1: have never ever had a conversation with Jim Baker or
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  Speaker 1: Jerry Folwell or Jimmy Swagger. Of course, come judgment day,
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  Speaker 1: I certainly intend to now. The thing is, I want
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  Speaker 1: you to stop thinking of religion as some sort of
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  Speaker 1: a loyalty pledge to me. The true purpose of your
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  Speaker 1: religions is so that you can become more aware of me,
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  Speaker 1: not the other way around. Believe me, I know you already,
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  Speaker 1: I know what's in each of your hearts, and I
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  Speaker 1: love you anyway with no strings attached. So lighten up
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  Speaker 1: and enjoy me. That's what religion's past.
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  Speaker 2: For.
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  Speaker 1: What you seem to forget is how mysterious I am.
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  Speaker 1: You look at the petty differences in your scriptures and
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  Speaker 1: you say, well, if this is the truth, then that
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  Speaker 1: can't be. But instead of trying to figure out my
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  Speaker 1: paradoxes and unfathomable nature, which, by the way, you never will,
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  Speaker 1: why not open your hearts to the simple common threads
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  Speaker 1: of every religion. You know what I'm talking about. Play
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  Speaker 1: nice with each other, love and respect everyone, Be kind
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  Speaker 1: even when life.
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  Speaker 2: Is scary or confusing.
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  Speaker 1: Take courage and be of good cheer for I'm always
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  Speaker 1: with you, And learn how to be quiet so that
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  Speaker 1: you can hear my still small voice.
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  Speaker 2: I don't like to shout.
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  Speaker 1: Leave the world a better place by living your life
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  Speaker 1: with dignity and gracefulness for you or my own child,
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  Speaker 1: hold back nothing from life. For the parts of you
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  Speaker 1: that can die surely will, and the parts that can't won't.
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  Speaker 1: So don't worry, be happy. I stole that last line
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  Speaker 1: from Bobby McFerrin, but who gave it to him in
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  Speaker 1: the first place?
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  Speaker 2: Simple stuff?
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  Speaker 1: Now, why do you keep making it so complicated? It's
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  Speaker 1: like you're always looking for an excuse to be upset,
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  Speaker 1: and I am very tired of.
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  Speaker 2: Your main excuse. Do you think I care whether you.
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  Speaker 1: Call me God or Yahweh or Jehovah Allah, walk a
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  Speaker 1: tong a Brahma, father, mother, even the void of Nirvana?
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  Speaker 1: Do you think I care which of my special children
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  Speaker 1: you feel closest to Jesus, Mary, Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, or
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  Speaker 1: any of the others you can call me and my
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  Speaker 1: special ones any name you choose, If only you will
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  Speaker 1: go about my business of loving one another as I
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  Speaker 1: love you, How can you keep neglecting something so simple? No,
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  Speaker 1: I am not telling you to abandon your religions. Enjoy
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  Speaker 1: your religions, honor them, learn from them, just as you
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  Speaker 1: should enjoy, honor and learn from your parents. But do
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  Speaker 1: you walk around telling everyone that your parents are better
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  Speaker 1: than theirs? Your religion, like your parents, may always have
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  Speaker 1: the most special place in your heart. I don't mind
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  Speaker 1: that at all, and I don't want you to combine
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  Speaker 1: all of the great traditions into one big mess.
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  Speaker 2: Each religion is unique for a reason.
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  Speaker 1: Each has a unique style so that people can find
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  Speaker 1: the best path for themselves. But my special children, the
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  Speaker 1: ones that your religions revolve around, all live in the
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  Speaker 1: same place in my heart, and they get along perfectly.
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  Speaker 1: I assure you, the clergy must stop creating a myth
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  Speaker 1: of sibling rivalry where there is none. My blessed children
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  Speaker 1: of Earth, the world has grown too small for your
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  Speaker 1: pervasive religious bigotries and confusion. The whole planet is now
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  Speaker 1: connected my air travel, satellite dishes, telephones, fax machines, rock concerts, diseases,
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  Speaker 1: and mutual needs, and concerned get with a program. If
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  Speaker 1: you really want to help me celebrate the birthday of
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  Speaker 1: my son Jesus, then commit yourselves to figuring out how
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  Speaker 1: to feed your hungry and clothe your naked, and protect
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  Speaker 1: your abused, and shelter your poor, and, just as important,
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  Speaker 1: make your own every day life a shining example of
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  Speaker 1: kindness and good humor. I've given you all the resources
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  Speaker 1: you need, if only you abandon your fear of each
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  Speaker 1: other and begin living and loving and laughing together. Finally,
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  Speaker 1: my children everywhere, remember whose birthday you honor on what
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  Speaker 1: you call Christmas Day, December twenty five, and the fearlessness
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  Speaker 1: with which he chose to live and die as I
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  Speaker 1: love him so do I love each of you.
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  Speaker 2: Now.
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  Speaker 1: I am not really ticked off, not really. I just
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  Speaker 1: wanted to grab your attention because I hate to see
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  Speaker 1: you suffer.
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  Speaker 2: But I gave you free.
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  Speaker 1: Will, So what can I do now other than try
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  Speaker 1: to influence you through reason, persuasion, and a little old
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  Speaker 1: fashioned guilt and manipulation. After all, you know, I am
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  Speaker 1: the original Jewish mother. I just want you to be happy,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll sit in the dark. I really am. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: I swear with you always, always trust in me, your
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  Speaker 1: one and only.
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  Speaker 2: God. End quote Paul Harvey, Good Day,