Free Gas for Your Think Tank -- Short Reflections, Lasting Encouragement

George Barna’s 9 Challenges For American Christians

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Steve Simms

George Barna, founder of the Barna Research Group, issued nine challenges for American Christianity in 2002. Here is a paraphrase of his nine challenges along with how a church in Nashville, Tennessee, The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, is attempting to meet those challenges.

1) Worship is “same old same old.” At Berry Street we have a different worship leader each Sunday. They come from a variety of backgrounds, musical styles, and ethnic groups. They are encouraged to flow in the Spirit and we never know each week how worship will go. It is always different and usually fresh and exciting.

2) Evangelicals are toning down their theological beliefs. We still believe in the Gospel and its power and seek to stand on God’s Word no matter what.

3) Evangelical churches are still mostly segregated by race. However, Berry Street is multi-racial, close to 50-50 black and white with a bit of other ethnic backgrounds.

4) Many Christians don’t take the Bible seriously. Our goal at Berry Street is not just to study the Bible, but to actually follow and obey it in our daily lives.

5) American Christianity has no built-in cost. Berry Street is non-traditional. We don’t have one-person sermons. Instead, we seek to follow I Corinthians 14:26 and allow people to participate and to openly share as led by the Spirit. This causes some people to be uncomfortable and makes it cost something to do church this way.

6) Expression of the supernatural is not allowed in the Sunday worship meeting. At Berry Street, we begin our Sunday meetings by asking God to do whatever He wants to do and then we seek to follow and obey the Spirit. Many amazing things happen each Sunday that can only be attributed to the supernatural working of God.

7) American Christianity is not prepared for the changes that Gen Y will bring to the church. However, at Berry Street, we are open to imput and leadership from young adults and are eager to learn from them.

8) Churches tend to compete with rather than cooperate with each other. At Berry Street we encourage people to be led by the Spirit and to be involved in whatever church He leads them to. We want to work with other churches.

9) There is a lack of good leaders. However, open participation, as led by the Spirit, produces amazing leadership qualities in people. We are seeing people become outstanding leaders, right in front of our eyes.

Come visit us on Sunday mornings at 10:45: The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, 225 Berry St., Nashville, 37207.

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AAAAAAAAAAAAA Alive

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Steve Simms

No. My keyboard didn’t get stuck. I just want to emphasize that the fact that you’re alive is a tremendous thing!

You are an incredible winner, because you are alive. (I know that you are alive or you wouldn’t be reading this blog post.)

Just think about how many billions of championship human beings are no longer alive. Against impossible odds they were conceived. They lived and then they had to leave. But you are still here. You have something that all those human beings no longer have. You have life on Earth!

Think of all the formerly rich people who are now dead. How about all the famous dead people? There are millions of formerly powerful and important dead folks, but you still have life.

Solomon said: “There is more hope for a live dog than for a dead lion.” You have tremendous value just because you are still alive. After all, every day above ground is a good day.

When I hear, think, or read about formerly rich, powerful, or famous dead people, sometimes I feel a ting of envy for their accomplishments or riches. Then I realize that I have something that they don’t have, something that they would have given all their money, fame, and power for–more life on planet Earth.

You and I have an amazing gift! We are still alive. Everyday when you wake up, pinch yourself. If it hurts, you are still alive. “Still alive”–that’s something to celebrate.

When (if) you wake up in the morning, you may feel like a loser, but that is a downright lie. Don’t believe your lying feelings. Tell yourself the truth–you are a bigger winner than Sam Walton, Queen Victoria, Ronald Reagan, Cleopatra, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Kennedy, Sojourner Truth, William the Conqueror, Joan of Ark, Elvis Presley, Henry Ford, Alexander the Great, Frederick Douglas, Lucille Ball–because you are still alive and they are not.

Since you are still alive, you have something great and wonderful going for you. Marcus Aurelius (who would probably love to trade places with you) said: “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive–to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.”

Here’s a quotation from Agatha Christie: “I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”

Congratulations! You are alive! No go and make the most of the gift that you have been given today.

Posted in Agatha Christie, awe, feelings, life, Marcus Aurelius, meaning, positive thinking, Quotations, Quotes, self-esteem, self-help, self-image, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, values | Tagged above ground, accomplishments, acutely, Agatha Christie, Alexander the Great, alive, an amazing gift, bigger, billions, blog, breathe, certainly, championship, Cleopatra, conceived, congratulations, dead, desparingly, downright, earth, Elvis Presley, emphasize, enjoy, envy, every day, fame, famous, feel like a loser, formerly, Frederick Douglas, g, gift, going for you, good day, grand thing, great, hear, Henry Ford, hope, human beings, I like living, important, impossible odd, in the morning, incredible, Joan of Ark, John Kenedy, Jr., just think, just to be alive, king, know, leave, lie, life, lived, love, Lucille Ball, Luther, lying feelings, make the most, Marcus Aurelius, Martin, miserable, money, no longer alive, no. keyboard, post, power, powerful, Queen Victoria, quite, quotation, racked with, read, reading, realize, rich people, riches, Ronald Reagan, Sam Walton, since, Sojourner Truth, Solomon, sorrow, still, still here, stuck, than for a dead lion, the fact, There is more hope for a live dog, thing, think, think of what a precious priilege, through it all, ting, today, trade places, tremendous, truth, value, wake up, When you arise, wildly, William the Conqueror, winner, wonderful, you have been given | 5 Comments

Passion For The Christ — Spiritual Fire & Desire

Posted on November 8, 2011 by Steve Simms

Human history is sprinkled with lights — men, women, and children whose hearts were ablaze with passion for the Christ. Many are called “saints” and are remembered in our day. Untold millions of others, however, were unheralded in their day and are forgotten by history.

Those people, passionate for the Christ, were called by many names — Catholic, Orthodox, heretics, Anabaptist, Quaker, Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal, Jesus freaks, and on and on. One thing they all had in common — a burning desire to follow and obey Jesus Christ!

Those passionate for the Christ move me, challenge me, inspire me. They are my best friends. I have gotten to know them through their books and quotations. I seek out their writings. I let them talk to me through the written word regularly. After writing the last line I noticed two quotation books on the shelves in front of me: “The Voice of the Saints” and “The Quotable Saints” — books that contain the words of people who were passionate for the Christ.

The light shines brightly! Do we see it in our day? Some people say we are not a passionate people today, but I don’t think so. Millions of men are passionate about watching 100 grown men playing a boys’ game in an event called the Super Bowl every year. All over the world, grown men dance in their living rooms, giving each other high-fives, and banging their chests together, in their free flowing passion over a boy’s game. Boy, are we excitable!

But when it comes to the Christ — people dutifully attend a Sunday morning meeting and passively listen to a lecture about God. Their faces look extremely bored, they yawn and nod off. And when the thing ends, they dart out of the door and rush away as fast as they can to go excitedly watch a ball game. Do you see any passion for the Christ in that?

Where is our good ole American excitability when it comes to Christ? It is flaming in the Super Bowl but frozen in church. And even in the excitable churches, I’ve noticed that many people leave and don’t get excited about Christ again until the next meeting or conference pumps them up. But not with the Super Bowl. People talk about that all over the place for weeks and even months afterward.

Can you imagine someone watching the Super Bowl with a stoic, passionless expression, sitting like a statue? What if the stadium was filled with frozen, emotionless people the entire game, who were determined not to show any interest at all? Sounds like church now, doesn’t it?

Where is passion for the Christ in our day? It is very hard to find. Christians are excited about churches, pastors, prosperity, singers, TV ministers, religious trinkets, conferences, concerts, T-shirts, religious fads, right-wing politics, doctrines, and best selling books — but what about Christ? Is there any consistent, heart-felt passion for the Christ in our day? Where?

If Christ is in our heart, his fire and desire is also in our hearts. We need to not quench the Spirit, but stir up the gift that is in us. One way to do that is through support group type church meetings (based on I Corinthians 14:26).

This is being done in East Nashville, Tennessee every Sunday morning at 10:45 at The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, 225 Berry St., Nashville, TN 37207. Come and experience the spiritual fire and desire.

Posted in alternative lifestyle, books, Christianity, church, church history, East Nashville, house church, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus freaks, Nashville, National Football League, NFL, organic church, pentecostals, popular culture, Quakers, Quotations, Quotes, religion, saints, simple church, sports, Super Bowl, support group, The Salvation Army, TV ministers | Tagged 100, 10:45, 225 Berry St., 37207, ablaze, all over the world, Anabaptists, as fast as they can, banging their chest together, Baptist, based, being done, Berry Street Worship Center, best friends, best selling books, books, burning desire, Catholic, challenge, children, Christ, Christians, church, churches, come, concerts, conference, conferences, consistent, contain, dance, dart out of the door, determined not to show, doctrines, East Nashville, emotionless people, event, every Sunday morning, excitable churches, excitable. dutifully attend, excitedly, experience, expression, extremely bored, faces, filled, flaming, follow, forgotten by history, freaks, freeflowing, frozen in church, good ole American, grown men, had in common, heart-felt, hearts, heretics, high-fives, history, human, I Corinthians 14:26, in our day, in our heart, inspire, interest, Jesus, Jesus Christ, know, leave, lecture about God, light shines brightly, lights, line, listen to, living rooms, meeting, men, Methodist, millions, move, names, Nashville, nod off, obey, on and on, one thing, one way, Orthodox, our day, passion, passionate, passionless, passively, pastors, Pentecostal, people, playing a boys' game, prosperity, pumps them up, Quaker, quench the Spirit, quotation, quotations, regularly, religious fads, religious trinkets, remembered, right-wing politics, rush away, saints, see, seek out, shelves, singers, sitting like a statue, soulds like, spiritual, sprinkled, stadium, stir up the gift, stoic, Sunday morning, Super Bowl.every year, support group, T-shirts, talk to me, Tennessee, the Christ, The Quotable Saints, The Salvation Army, the thing, The Voice of the Saints, through, TN, TV ministers, type, unheralded, very hard to find, watch a ball game, watching, were, what about, when it comes to, women, words, writings, written word, yawn | 7 Comments

American Movies & TV, Get Real! (You Are Out Of Touch With The Real World!)

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Steve Simms

Most American media, although it loves to throw around the phrase reality TV, is almost completely out of touch with the real world.

In real world America, most people pray. So when was the last time a popular TV network or movie showed even one person praying?

In real word America, married people have fulfilling sex. So how is it that television and movies are so out of touch with reality that they never show sex between a husband and a wife (who are married to each other)?

In real world America, many families are still functional and treat each other with kindness and respect. Why is that reality ignored by the flat screen? Why do so many shows begin by suggesting “Viewer Discretion Advised“?

In real world America, more people thank God than ignore Him. So why doesn’t an American television or movie character ever thank God?

Truth is, American TV and movies care nothing about reality.

However, while watching an NFL game last season, CBS let some reality slip through. They referred to God. They ran a promotion for Thursday Night Football and the put these letters on the screen: “T.G.I.T.” Thank God its Thursday.

Yes, indeed, CBS! Thank God for Thursday, Friday, Monday, Wednesday: every single day. The reality is, all days are a gift from our Creator.

Good first step, CBS. Now, I dare you (and all other television networks and movie studios), have the courage to show real world characters that represent the hundreds of millions of people around the globe who have a kind, loving, ongoing relationship with the living God.

Posted in American media, CBS, Creator, God, lifestyles, NFL, reality TV, sex, sex in marriage, sports, television, TV, TV network, Uncategorized | Tagged a gift, a promotion, afternoon, almost, America, American media, around the globe, billions of people, cares nothing about reality, CBS, completely, Creator, each other, every single day, families, flat screen, Friday, functional, game, God, good first step, have fulfilling sex, have the courage, how is it, husband, I dare you, ignored, kind, kindness, Letters, loves, loving, married people, Monday, most, most people pray, NFL, on the Screen T.G.I.T., ongoing, out of touch with reality, out of touch with the real world, persojn praying, popular TV network, ran, real world, real world America, reality, reality TV, relationship with the living God, represent, respect, sex between a husband and a wife, show real world characters, showed, slip through, television character, Thank God, Thank God its Thursday, the phrase, throw around, Thursday NIght Football, Titans Bengals, treat, Wednesday, when was the last time, wife | 6 Comments

Grace — God’s Righteous Attributes Continually Expressed

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Steve Simms

To “say grace” means to pray over a meal. “Grace” is sometimes a woman’s name. “Amazing Grace” may be the most popular hymn of all time. A popular acrostic says: “Grace — God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.”

But what does “grace” mean? The most common and popular definition seems to be: “unmerited favor”. In most Christian circles this is taken to mean: “the right to go to Heaven when you die, based on having prayed a prayer asking Jesus into your heart.”

However, I thing grace involves much more than that. Here’s an alternative acrostic for grace: God’s Righteous Attributes Continually Expressed (in our lives).

One thing for sure, grace is not earned. Whatever it is, it is given freely. I guess the question is: Is grace for when you die (to get you into Heaven) or is grace for this earthly life (to enable you to live your life in a Christian lifestyle)?

Maybe grace is not “either-or”. Maybe it is both. Maybe if you have received genuine grace, you not only will go to Heaven when you die, but you will also live a godly, moral lifestyle here and now. If all I have is the right to enter Heaven after I die, but I can’t or won’t obey God on earth, maybe I don’t really have God’s grace at all. Is that possible?

Like the song says: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.” The writer, John Newton (a former slave trader) is saying that he is no longer living a wretched lifestyle. Amazing grace didn’t just give him a future in Heaven, but changed his way of life on earth. Now that is grace–a changed lifestyle!

I want to have God’s Righteous Attributes Continually Expressed in my life. But I can’t earn a Christian lifestyle. I need supernatural power in order to obey Jesus daily. I can’t do it by myself–I must have grace in order to live godly.

But when God gives me His grace–when God opens the door, I must go through. I must not excuse sin in myself by saying: “I’m going to Heaven anyway so my sin doesn’t matter.” One final question: If grace cannot save us from the power and dominion of sin in this earthy life, why do we suppose it can get us into a holy Heaven?

Posted in alternative lifestyle, Amazing Grace, grace, John Newton, lifestyles, repent, salvation, saved, spiritual, Uncategorized | Tagged acrostic, all time, alternative, Amazing Grace, asking, attributes, based, both, changed, Christian, Christian lifestyle, circles, continually expressed, daily, definition, dominion of sin, earth, earthly life, either-or, final, former, future, genuine grace, given freely, go to Heaven, God, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, grace, guess, heaven, holy, how sweet the sound, involves, Jesus into your heart, John Newton, lifestyle, live a godly, lives, living, mean, means, moral, most common, most popular hymn, much more than that, must not excuse sin, no longer, not earned, obey God, opens the door, possible, power, pray over a meal, prayed, prayer, received, right, righteous, save, say grace, saying, seems, sin, sin doesn't matter, slave trader, song, supernatural, that saved a wretch like me, the question is, unmerited favor, when you die, woman's name, wretch, wretched, wroter | 3 Comments

Down By The Spout Where God’s Glory Pours Out

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Steve Simms

I was in a church once and the pastor was trying to get some of the people sitting in the back rows to come and sit near the front. He told them: “Come down by the spout where the glory pours out.”

Now I don’t think that the glory of God is strong in the front of a church building than in the back. In fact, the glory of God may not be in a church building at all.

However, if you have ever experienced the glory of God, you know when you encounter it. There is a sense of awe, of being overwhelmed — undone. A great example of an encounter with God’s glory is in Isaiah chapter 6 where the prophet discover’s God’s glory in the temple.

So is there a spout where God’s glory pours out? Jesus said: “Out of your innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” There is an inner flow that carries the glory of God. How do we catch the current of the Holy Spirit’s inner rivers?

If we, “Quench not the Spirit,” we can encounter the spout where God’s glory pours out. If we learn to listen to God’s voice in our heart, cultivate it, and obey it, we will be overwhelmed by God’s Presence. If we choose to be responsive to God’s voice rather than to our own thoughts, desires, and opinions, we will see God work in our midst the same way He worked in the Bible.

A non-tradtional church in East Nashville is seeking the spout where God’s glory pours out! During the Sunday meeting people are free to do whatever God tells them to do. As they humbly hear and respond to God’s voice, the sense of His glory begins to be felt by those present. We stand in awe of His manifest glory.

Sundays at 10:45, 225 Berry Street, Nashville, TN, 37207 — The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center. The most important thing about a church is not where it meets, or denominational affiliation, but the degree to which God’s Spirit is allowed to work in the meeting.

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No Intent To Repent

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Steve Simms

As I was driving recently, four words came through my mind that I had never thought in that order before. The words were: no intent to repent.

Those words got me started thinking. If you look about our society, you see no intent to repent. In fact, it is just the opposite; you see every intent to publicly justify all sorts of behaviors that have been called sin for thousands of years.

Even in the church, you see no intent to repent, but rather every intent to accommodate the culture, entertainment, media, and lifestyles of the world around us. The idea of repenting — turning away from sinful behaviors — has almost been completely lost in our time. Why?

It is hard to repent if you don’t feel any sorrow or remorse for your behavior. Remorse comes from God’s conviction. However, if we push God away from our lives and our society, His conviction of sin leaves us as well. So we feel justified in any kind of behavior we choose to engage in.

If we won’t look at God’s character — His holiness — we will never even be aware of the wickedness within us or the evil in our environment. Rather, we will falsely assume that we humans, who the Bible calls sinners, are instead good, noble, fine, and dandy.

No intent to repent — could this be a fulfillment of Revelation 3:17? “You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”

Posted in Bible, church, God, life, lifestyles, morality, morals, popular culture, repent, revelation, sin, thinking, thoughts, Uncategorized, values, words | Tagged accomodate the culture, acquired, all sorts of behaviors, any kind, around us, before, Bible, bland, calls, church, comes from, completely, dandy, do not need a thing, driving, engage in, entertainment, environment, every intent, evil, falsely assume, feel, fine, four words, fulfillment, God's character, God's conviction, good, hard, holiness, humans, I am rich, idea, in fact, in our time, just the opposite, justified, leaves, lifestyles, look about, lost, media, mind, naked, never thought, no intent, noble, order, pitiful, poor, publicly justify, push, realize, recently, remorse, repent, Revelation 3:17, sin, sinful behaviors, sinners, society, sorrow, thinking, thousands, through, turning away, waya, wealth, Why, wickedness, within, words, world, wretched, years | 7 Comments

The Best Kind Of Sex

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Steve Simms

Our society ignores the very best kind of sex. You almost never hear about it. TV and movies nowadays picture almost every kind of sex but this. I wonder why?

Instead our sex-crazed culture focuses on and promotes casual sex — meaningless, shallow, manipulative, self-focused, loveless, disrespectful, compulsive, mechanical sex. The popularly promoted types of sex are so boring that people frequently feel compelled to add additional ingredients in an attempt to make their sex exciting — alcohol, pornography, gadgets, vulgar language, perverted behaviors, physical pain, additional “partners”, drugs, and on and on. But hey, no matter how you cut, polish, and set a fake diamond — it is still fake!

Do you want some really great sex? Experience the real thing — heart-felt, committed, honorable, self-giving, husband & wife, loyal, emotionally uniting, spiritually bonding, morally pure, faithful sex.

Why settle for the humiliation, shame, guilt, risk of deadly disease, and emotional pain of cheapo sex, when there is a diamond out there somewhere waiting for you to find it?

Here’ a secret that American society doesn’t know. It is something so hush-hush that it is almost never shown or even hinted on television: Sex in a faithful, committed, “till death do us part” marriage is the very best kind of sex!

Posted in adultery, alternative lifestyle, best kind of sex, casual sex, drugs, marriage, morality, popular culture, sex, sex in marriage, television, Uncategorized, values | Tagged add, aditional, alcohol, American, behaviors, best kind of sex, bonding, boring, casual sex, cheapo, committed, compelled, compulsive, culture, cut, deadly disease, diamond, disrespectful, drugs, emotional pain, emotionally, exciting, experience, faithful, fake, feel, find, focuses, frequently, gadgets, guilt, heart-felt, hinted, honorable, humiliation, hush-hush, ignores, in an attempt, ingredients, loveless, loyal, manipulative, marriage, marriage-based, meaningless, mechanical sex, morally pure, movies, never hear about it, no matter how you, nowadays, out there somewhere, pain, partners, people, perverted, physical, picture, polish, popularly promoted, pornography, promotes, really great sex, risk, secret, self-focused, self-giving, set, sex, sex-crazed, shallow, shame, shown, society, spiritually, television, the real thing, till death do us part, TV, types of sex, uniting, vulgar language, waiting, why settle, wonder | 7 Comments

RAG — Religion, Atheism, Or God?

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Steve Simms

The idea of a Creator causes people to embrace one of three positions: RAG. That is, religion, atheism, or living God?

Religion can be defined as acknowledging the existence of God and attempting to placate Him by formal human activity such as rituals and/or liturgy. A couple of New Testament verses give a good picture of religion: “Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof,” and “If a man says that he loves God, but hates his brother, he is a hypocrite and the truth is not in him.”

Atheism is the denial of God. There are two kinds of atheism: proclaimed atheism and practical atheism. Proclaimed atheism openly denies God. Practical atheism may not actually verbally deny God, but lives as if there is no God. Our society is full of practical atheists.

God is the actual Creator of all that is — the ground of all being. He is near — “In Him we live and move, and have our being.” Millions of people through out human history have lived in close connection and relationship with the living God. Their stories are amazing and can be found in libraries and on the internet. Even nowadays, millions of people daily live, led by God’s supernatural presence and power.

If you have never met anyone who lives beyond religion or practical atheism, there is a place in East Nashville where people weekly share stories of what the living God is doing in their lives. Come and check it out: The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center, 225 Berry Street, Nashville, 37207, Sundays at 10:45am — the sermon free church where people are free to show and tell what God has done.

Religion has often held or strongly influenced political power and has used its power to persecute and kill sincere lovers of the living God, who it often called heretics. Atheism never held or strongly influenced political power until the Twentieth Century, but it also used its political power to persecute and kill people who sincerely loved God.

Posted in Atheists, Berry Street, Berry Street Worship Center, Christianity, church, church history, Creator, East Nashville, freedom, God, history, Holy Spirit, house church, life, lifestyles, meaning, mysticism, organic church, popular culture, religion, simple church, spiritual, The Salvation Army, thinking, Uncategorized, values, What is church?, worship | Tagged 10:45, 225 Berry Street, 37207, a place, acknowledging, activity, actual Creator, amazing, and have your being, anyone, atheism, attempting to placate, Berry Street, but denying the power thereof, but hate your brother, can be found in libraries, check it out, close connection, come, couple, Creator, daily live, defined, denial of God, doing in their lives, East Nashville, formal, free, full of, Give, God, God's, good picture, hates his brother, having a form of godliness, he loves God, held, heretics, Him, human, human history, if a man says, if you have never, if you say you love God, In Him you live, kill, led by, liturgy, lived, lives as if, lives beyond, living God, lovers of the living God, met, millions of people, move, Nashville, near, New Testament, nowadays, of all that is, on the internet, one of three, openly, persecute, political power, positions RAG, power, practical atheism, proclaimed atheism, relationship stories, religion, rituals, sermon free church, share stories, show and tell, sincere, society, strongly influenced, Sundays, supernatural presence, the existence of God, the ground of all being, The Salvation Army, the truth is not in you, there is no God, through out, Twentieth Century, Twientieth Century, two kinds, until, used, verball, verses, weekly, what, what God has done, where, Worship Center, you're a hypocrite | 1 Comment

11 Myths Our Culture Loves

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Steve Simms

Many people like to believe that our contemporary culture is rational and logical and is not subject to myths. However, that just isn’t true. Our society has many myths and gods. Here are a few of them: