Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews and the Christians, has been described as a local sky deity invented by Abraham, built into a religion by Moses and transformed by Jesus Christ into Christianity.
Yahweh is anything but a local sky deity. Someone yesterday suggested that beings from other places in the galaxy and even the universe might have a different perspective on who God is or even if there is a God. My thought is that Yahweh is the creator of the entire universe. He is the God of everything. If sentient life exists elsewhere, then He created it and He would have found a way into their culture and life.
It's true that our Bible is earth centric, but that's because we are earth centric. It's words were intended for us. The day may come when we take the Bible to other worlds, but that time is not now. I am sure that the Lord God will have provided His other peoples elsewhere (if they exist) with their own book that is localized to their needs. The Lord loves variety. Who knows what He did or what He had to do on these other worlds. Was a plan of salvation necessary? Who knows any of these things? I do not.
God does as He pleases. The universe is His.
On another subject, it was asked yesterday if the existence of God is the only thing science can't prove. My thought was that it's God's non-existence that science can't prove.
There are many things that science cannot prove through the scientific method. The scientific method is the much abused process through which scientists, in their various fields of endeavor, attempt to prove or advance our understanding of the processes of the universe, life and our physical existence. I say it's abused because private organizations and governments use it to prove the creation and necessity of their agendas. Never mind the facts. Find a way to show scientifically that this or that needs to be done. Call it advocacy science if you like. Global climate change is one such pseudo scientific cause. Commercial entities need it to sell products and governments need it to tax us for prevention. It's all based on lies and computer models created from falsified data, but never mind the truth. We need the tax money and we need to be able to force you to buy our products. We want your money and we do not have the balls just to steal it.
There are other examples of the abuse of the scientific method, but whenever you see a hypothesis backed by "scientific testing" designed to prove the hypothesis, then you know the game is fixed.
Beyond that, even though history is replete with scientists that also believed in and worshiped God, modern science wants nothing to do with Him. Things that are spiritual cannot be measured or quantified or studied under a microscope or through a telescope and so, they must not exist.
When modern science, as a community, final realizes that there are things that cannot be studied with the present scientific method, then they will be on the right track. If they are honest, the intelligent design of the universe should reveal the designer to them. But they are blind to it...for now. Someday they will know.
Governments of the world, and especially our own, have come close to discovery of the spiritual world. The intelligence agencies of the US have looked into paranormal human capabilities as a means spying on other countries from afar. If you saw the film, "Men Who Stare At Goats", this is a humorous look at such studies. Remote viewing, ESP and astral travel are all, to my mind, spiritual in nature. I believe such things are real and that many humans can do these things. They are, most likely, God given gifts that get abused by the lower spiritual powers, but they are God given.
The government's interest was to use such paranormal capabilities to their advantage for national security. It was not their thought to discover an entire spiritual world let alone seek out God, but it is a step in the right direction if you are looking. In the Bible such practices are referred to as sorcery and are sinful. We are to leave the future in the hands of God because such gifts, if they exist, are clouded now by the "bentness" of all creation.
The point I am trying to make here is that there is a spiritual world. There is a God. If Modern Science, as a community would simply pull their heads out of their collective asses and re-evaluate their methods, they might be able to find God and what is spiritual in their investigations. They miss so much of what is reality when they deny the existence of the spiritual.
Come on guys. Get your act together.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Shades of Belief
In our time, people are all over the board with regard to a belief in a God or gods. There are the firm religious adherents in Christianity, Islam and Judaism that believe in only one God. The Buddhists don't really believe in a god or many gods, but they do have a life philosophy. The Hindus have many gods they revere. If I'm totally honest, I have no idea what the Sikhs believe and there are many other faiths and philosophies that I have never fully investigated;Wicca, Druidism, Shamanism and animism to name a few.
Then there are those that subscribe to no organized religions. They are certain there is no God or gods and so they do not bother. Of all the faiths, theirs has to be the strongest. I am talking about the atheists here. Since they cannot quantify or measure in any empirical way what is spiritual, they choose to deny the existence of the spiritual world altogether. To them, everything is material. There is nothing beyond it and there is nothing to transcend to.
Atheists have a second cousin in agnosticism. Agnostics are not sure there is a god, but they are not sure there is not a god either. They have no faith and no god, but they lack the certainty of their atheist cousins and they wonder about the faith of their believing friends. I'm thinking they just don't want to commit to anything, but an investigation of that is beyond the scope of this blog post.
As I Christian, I can tell you this. My scriptures say this:
Psalm 14 1-3
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,[g] in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
I do not offer these as an apologetic to those that do not believe. I offer them because I believe they are true. Those that refuse faith in God are fools. Everything in the universe gives credence to the notion of an intelligent designer. Creation is waaaaay too complex to have simply happened. There at least had to be some kind of beginning and a spark that lit that fire. Who had the matches? Where did all matter originate from? There has to be a cause to realize the effect.
I think the reason so many refuse to believe in something higher and grander than themselves is that they believe they are the highest and the grandest. They worship at the altar of self and they believe that, if anything will save them, it will be their own works. Humanism is the new religion.
Many of the faithful buy into humanism. Let me tell you, when you do that, you practice syncretism. You cannot worship yourself and your own needs and deeds while adoring the one true God of creation. Yahweh does not like to share His worship.
I do not know what to tell people that do not believe in God. I can make them aware of what I believe. I can tell them all about Jesus and the Bible. I can serve them personally until the cows come home. What I cannot do is make them believe. I am powerless to make them see the spiritual side of life. Only the Spirit of the Living God working through His Word can do that.
So I leave you with this.
God wants you to be in His family. He loved you so much that He sent a part of Himself, His only Son, to save you from yourself and the evil spiritual powers of this world. Grab a Bible. Sit down and read the gospel of John. Read through the book of the Acts of the Apostles. See for yourself the fire of the early church and read the words of those that witnessed the life of Jesus Christ while He was here. Learn what you have to do to become part of His family. Find a believing, God loving and fearing church and obey Jesus. It will be the best thing you ever did for yourself and for your family.
Seed planted. It's all I can do for you. If you seek Him, you will find Him. It can happen. Just step away from your doubts and believe.
Take care. I love you. If you want to talk....groundhog001@gmail.com
I will try to help.
Then there are those that subscribe to no organized religions. They are certain there is no God or gods and so they do not bother. Of all the faiths, theirs has to be the strongest. I am talking about the atheists here. Since they cannot quantify or measure in any empirical way what is spiritual, they choose to deny the existence of the spiritual world altogether. To them, everything is material. There is nothing beyond it and there is nothing to transcend to.
Atheists have a second cousin in agnosticism. Agnostics are not sure there is a god, but they are not sure there is not a god either. They have no faith and no god, but they lack the certainty of their atheist cousins and they wonder about the faith of their believing friends. I'm thinking they just don't want to commit to anything, but an investigation of that is beyond the scope of this blog post.
As I Christian, I can tell you this. My scriptures say this:
Psalm 14 1-3
The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,[a]
who seek after God.
to see if there are any who understand,[a]
who seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Romans 1:18-22
I do not offer these as an apologetic to those that do not believe. I offer them because I believe they are true. Those that refuse faith in God are fools. Everything in the universe gives credence to the notion of an intelligent designer. Creation is waaaaay too complex to have simply happened. There at least had to be some kind of beginning and a spark that lit that fire. Who had the matches? Where did all matter originate from? There has to be a cause to realize the effect.
I think the reason so many refuse to believe in something higher and grander than themselves is that they believe they are the highest and the grandest. They worship at the altar of self and they believe that, if anything will save them, it will be their own works. Humanism is the new religion.
Many of the faithful buy into humanism. Let me tell you, when you do that, you practice syncretism. You cannot worship yourself and your own needs and deeds while adoring the one true God of creation. Yahweh does not like to share His worship.
I do not know what to tell people that do not believe in God. I can make them aware of what I believe. I can tell them all about Jesus and the Bible. I can serve them personally until the cows come home. What I cannot do is make them believe. I am powerless to make them see the spiritual side of life. Only the Spirit of the Living God working through His Word can do that.
So I leave you with this.
God wants you to be in His family. He loved you so much that He sent a part of Himself, His only Son, to save you from yourself and the evil spiritual powers of this world. Grab a Bible. Sit down and read the gospel of John. Read through the book of the Acts of the Apostles. See for yourself the fire of the early church and read the words of those that witnessed the life of Jesus Christ while He was here. Learn what you have to do to become part of His family. Find a believing, God loving and fearing church and obey Jesus. It will be the best thing you ever did for yourself and for your family.
Seed planted. It's all I can do for you. If you seek Him, you will find Him. It can happen. Just step away from your doubts and believe.
Take care. I love you. If you want to talk....groundhog001@gmail.com
I will try to help.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
To Live In Interesting Times - A Curse
Economic problems in Greece are rapidly being overshadowed by - of all places - China. The Chinese stock market has lost more than 30% of its value since mid June. Around 3.2 trillion USD has just disappeared from their economy. This may be nothing more than a correction, since Chinese markets have been crazy high since the first of the year, but when China coughs, everyone else seems to get the flu. Keep an eye on it. They are the largest economy in the world. This could be trouble.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Sorry Lord...
Lord, I'm sorry I got pushy this morning. I know you have been helping Dad and I from the beginning. I just get frustrated. I also know you have stepped up and taken responsibility. You saved us after all. I had a cushy life before April of 2011. I had many good years and good times. I will not complain any more, though I will probably continue to ask for Your help. Thanks for the things you do for us daily...in Your name I pray...Amen
He Couldn't Find Her
It seemed like she was there just yesterday, but this morning he couldn't find her. He came to my bedroom where I was still half asleep. He knocked and said, "are you in there?". I responded that I was.
He said, "I think I will go home now".
I replied, " You are at home."
He laughed and said, "ya, I know."
Since I was already awake, I decided to get up. I had been sleeping in since I've been working nights. I've been going in around 1130 AM and working until between 9 and 11 PM.
This morning was weird though. As I was coming out of the bedroom, I heard his SUV start in the garage and he left. I decided to start getting ready for work. I needed to iron a couple of shirts. I needed to shower and shave. Even red heads have shave a couple of times a week.
I thought maybe he had gone to the barber. He will do that in the morning. The dog was still in the house and that was a good indicator that he was on a mission of some sort. So, I proceeded with the shirt ironing, showering and shaving. While I was in the bathroom, I heard him come back. This was about an hour later. And then he left again. This time the dog was gone too.
As I finished getting my things together to go, I heard him pull into the garage again. I was on my way out to the garage to dump some garbage. I met him as he exited his vehicle. I said, "where did you go?"
He told me he could not remember where Laurie (Mom) went. He said he drove all over the east side looking for her....and then he remembered. She went home to be with Jesus. "I depended on her for so much", he said.
I was crushed by his statement. I hugged him. I was crying, but while he hugged back, I got the impression that he was totally unphased by his morning adventure. There was very little emotion on his face.
He let the dog out of the SUV. Apparently, when he came back the first time, he returned to take the dog to the dog groomer. It was not the day for that either. The groomer appointment is on Thursday at 9 AM.
So when he woke this morning, he must have been totally confused. I had been up at 4 AM to get him his pill container. It has three compartments with medicine that he takes throughout the day. He had already taken them all before he left to look for Mom.
Mom has been gone for over 4 years. I miss her every day for some very obvious reasons. Now Dad is finally admitting it. He's also forgetting that she is gone. I thought maybe something like this would happen one day. I had worried about what it would be like to explain it. This time he figured it out for himself. That's probably not going to happen the next time.
Alzheimer's is a dreadful disease. I cannot imagine what it must be like to lose what was once firm knowledge or to forget who has passed and who has not or not even to know what day it is. But when you don't remember that your partner of 52 years is gone, I would think that would devastate when you suddenly remembered it. As I said, he was unphased. My thought is that memory is not the only thing that fails when Alzheimer's afflicts the brain. It effects emotions, appetite, bathroom habits and motor control. Alzheimer's is brain rot, short and simple.
We who help to care for Alzheimer's victims tend not to think about one other thing. Because the disease progresses so slowly, we do not think about it for what it is. It's a killer. Alzheimer's is always fatal. You don't get better. No one with Alzheimer's gets better. Even the meds designed to treat it stop working. It is a slow, but progressive journey to the grave. I cannot think of a more insidious way to die.
It is things like this that make me question God.
Lord, please take care of him today. Please join me and take some measure of responsibility for this. We both need you right now. Thanks.
He said, "I think I will go home now".
I replied, " You are at home."
He laughed and said, "ya, I know."
Since I was already awake, I decided to get up. I had been sleeping in since I've been working nights. I've been going in around 1130 AM and working until between 9 and 11 PM.
This morning was weird though. As I was coming out of the bedroom, I heard his SUV start in the garage and he left. I decided to start getting ready for work. I needed to iron a couple of shirts. I needed to shower and shave. Even red heads have shave a couple of times a week.
I thought maybe he had gone to the barber. He will do that in the morning. The dog was still in the house and that was a good indicator that he was on a mission of some sort. So, I proceeded with the shirt ironing, showering and shaving. While I was in the bathroom, I heard him come back. This was about an hour later. And then he left again. This time the dog was gone too.
As I finished getting my things together to go, I heard him pull into the garage again. I was on my way out to the garage to dump some garbage. I met him as he exited his vehicle. I said, "where did you go?"
He told me he could not remember where Laurie (Mom) went. He said he drove all over the east side looking for her....and then he remembered. She went home to be with Jesus. "I depended on her for so much", he said.
I was crushed by his statement. I hugged him. I was crying, but while he hugged back, I got the impression that he was totally unphased by his morning adventure. There was very little emotion on his face.
He let the dog out of the SUV. Apparently, when he came back the first time, he returned to take the dog to the dog groomer. It was not the day for that either. The groomer appointment is on Thursday at 9 AM.
So when he woke this morning, he must have been totally confused. I had been up at 4 AM to get him his pill container. It has three compartments with medicine that he takes throughout the day. He had already taken them all before he left to look for Mom.
Mom has been gone for over 4 years. I miss her every day for some very obvious reasons. Now Dad is finally admitting it. He's also forgetting that she is gone. I thought maybe something like this would happen one day. I had worried about what it would be like to explain it. This time he figured it out for himself. That's probably not going to happen the next time.
Alzheimer's is a dreadful disease. I cannot imagine what it must be like to lose what was once firm knowledge or to forget who has passed and who has not or not even to know what day it is. But when you don't remember that your partner of 52 years is gone, I would think that would devastate when you suddenly remembered it. As I said, he was unphased. My thought is that memory is not the only thing that fails when Alzheimer's afflicts the brain. It effects emotions, appetite, bathroom habits and motor control. Alzheimer's is brain rot, short and simple.
We who help to care for Alzheimer's victims tend not to think about one other thing. Because the disease progresses so slowly, we do not think about it for what it is. It's a killer. Alzheimer's is always fatal. You don't get better. No one with Alzheimer's gets better. Even the meds designed to treat it stop working. It is a slow, but progressive journey to the grave. I cannot think of a more insidious way to die.
It is things like this that make me question God.
Lord, please take care of him today. Please join me and take some measure of responsibility for this. We both need you right now. Thanks.
Monday, July 6, 2015
A Joke I Heard In Sunday School
It goes something like this....
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for her Sunday school class.. As she ran, she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late, please don't let me be late'. While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. As she ran, she once again began to pray, 'Dear lord, please don't let me be late...But please don't shove me either!"
I thought the joke was hilarious. My adult class enjoyed it, but I got to thinking about the joke. The Lord should save me from my own thinking, but I believe there is actually a sermon in this joke.
Has God ever shoved you?
Has he ever pushed you harder in a direction you were already headed?
I think He does these things. He has pushed me toward doing things in my life and at church that I would never have done on my own. Teaching Sunday School is one of them. He also seems to put people in my way. Just let me say, He has to do that otherwise I don't see them. It's the hazard that comes with living too much in my head and trying to be invisible. I tend to look through people like they are not even there. It's extremely selfish if I'm honest about it, but still, I do this all the time. But sometimes....just occasionally, He will put someone in my way to push me in person. Sometimes they are very pushy themselves. This is extremely irritating, but He usually gets my attention that way. There have been several such people in my life, all of whom I have been glad to know and been very thankful for when all was said and done.
I have also managed to ignore some of the people He has put in my way despite His intentions. The result has not been good. I just have to pay more attention. There is a reason for everything He does. If he has to push me or shove me or put people in my way to get my attention, then maybe I am not listening. And why am I not listening? Why am I so wrapped up in what is going on in my world, that I forget about everyone else's? God does not work on my schedule. He has things He needs to get done. When he chooses me to help Him or he wants to help me, I need to be there, whatever else is going on.
I need to listen...even if I'm late for Sunday school. Thanks for the shove Lord!
A little girl, dressed in her Sunday best, was running as fast as she could, trying not to be late for her Sunday school class.. As she ran, she prayed, 'Dear Lord, please don't let me be late, please don't let me be late'. While she was running and praying, she tripped on a curb and fell, getting her clothes dirty and tearing her dress. She got up, brushed herself off, and started running again. As she ran, she once again began to pray, 'Dear lord, please don't let me be late...But please don't shove me either!"
I thought the joke was hilarious. My adult class enjoyed it, but I got to thinking about the joke. The Lord should save me from my own thinking, but I believe there is actually a sermon in this joke.
Has God ever shoved you?
Has he ever pushed you harder in a direction you were already headed?
I think He does these things. He has pushed me toward doing things in my life and at church that I would never have done on my own. Teaching Sunday School is one of them. He also seems to put people in my way. Just let me say, He has to do that otherwise I don't see them. It's the hazard that comes with living too much in my head and trying to be invisible. I tend to look through people like they are not even there. It's extremely selfish if I'm honest about it, but still, I do this all the time. But sometimes....just occasionally, He will put someone in my way to push me in person. Sometimes they are very pushy themselves. This is extremely irritating, but He usually gets my attention that way. There have been several such people in my life, all of whom I have been glad to know and been very thankful for when all was said and done.
I have also managed to ignore some of the people He has put in my way despite His intentions. The result has not been good. I just have to pay more attention. There is a reason for everything He does. If he has to push me or shove me or put people in my way to get my attention, then maybe I am not listening. And why am I not listening? Why am I so wrapped up in what is going on in my world, that I forget about everyone else's? God does not work on my schedule. He has things He needs to get done. When he chooses me to help Him or he wants to help me, I need to be there, whatever else is going on.
I need to listen...even if I'm late for Sunday school. Thanks for the shove Lord!
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Human Depravity and Bad Spiritual Genetics
I am not a Calvinist and I'm not sure I am Armenian either. In my theology though, I do recognize the spiritual and physical brokenness of humanity and, indeed, all creation. Since the days of the first humans, there has been a desire in us to be like our Creator. We want to be in control of our environments, our own lives and our own destinies. We want to create, unhindered by external rules and regulations. We want to know. We want to enrich ourselves. We want to satisfy ourselves, our desires. While those thoughts were not initially our own, this suggestion that came from a negative spiritual source, was taken up by our ancestors in rebellion against their Creator.
The question arises, why would God create us with the ability to make choices that were not in line with His desires for His creation?
It is a question for the ages. The answer to it does not matter. The fact is that He did do that and we did decide against His will. We took up the mantle of self interest and carried it into a human history that was not intended. We were intended to serve Him. We chose to serve ourselves. The blood soaked pages of our history proves that we take everything that we have and corrupt it. We corrupt what we received from God and we corrupt the things we make ourselves. It is why even the most holy among us have issues in our lives and the most depraved find new ways to continually to increase human misery, even if it's our own.
The original humans that took this step against their Creator passed on this tendency toward spiritual rebellion to all future generations. It was at once both a physical and spiritual inheritance. Both our bodies and souls are afflicted with it. Even creation itself has been afflicted with it. The entire universe is out of it's natural harmonious rhythm because we choose to act apart from the Creator's will.
Did He know what would happen?
Again, it does not matter. What matters is the path back to Him. He used the course of our history to make peace with Him possible again. It cost Him a part of Himself to make this happen, but He did create a road home for us. Yes, I'm talking about Jesus. You all know the story of Jesus. Non-believers know His story. Muslims know His story. Hindus know His story. So do the Buddhists, Shintoists, Confuscists, and animists. It is the greatest story ever told. It is the road back to God paid for and built by His own sweat and blood and tears. We can go home. We can all go home. We just have to believe in the reality of the Man with the Plan.
So who gets in under those conditions?
Anyone that meets them.
Simple eh?
No matter how bent, broken, corrupt of perfect you are, if you believe in the Man with the Plan, you are in brother.
"Well", you might say, "Ghog, how is that fair? I've been good all my life while others have been murderers, adulterers and thieves. Why should their terms be the same as mine?"
To which I say, is it fair that the Creator of the universe should have to come here and take up a human body to save our sorry backsides from our own self destruction?
Fair is as fair does. Human fairness and divine fairness are two different concepts. Because we lack understanding, because we cannot not know as God knows, our childish perception sees unfairness where there is none.
Beyond that, God is God. Our fate does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. We can sit around and debate why God made us one way or another, but it does not matter. What matters is God and His mercy. We can say, "well God made me this way". Did He? It was not the original plan. That propensity toward sin (oops, I said it) that we embrace is as old as the choices of our original ancestors, and even with them, God exercised mercy and restraint.
So instead of sitting around and arguing with God or ignoring Him because He doesn't see what ever it is in our way, why don't we try embracing Him in faith and see what happens. He might surprise you. It's bend the knee now or bend it later. Doing it now will produce far better results.
We can choose to go home, even with a bad gene pool. You might as well come with us. It's gonna be a good time and it will last forever. He's waiting again for our decision. I'm going.
Thank God for His Mercy and Grace. It trumps a bad gene pool every time.
The question arises, why would God create us with the ability to make choices that were not in line with His desires for His creation?
It is a question for the ages. The answer to it does not matter. The fact is that He did do that and we did decide against His will. We took up the mantle of self interest and carried it into a human history that was not intended. We were intended to serve Him. We chose to serve ourselves. The blood soaked pages of our history proves that we take everything that we have and corrupt it. We corrupt what we received from God and we corrupt the things we make ourselves. It is why even the most holy among us have issues in our lives and the most depraved find new ways to continually to increase human misery, even if it's our own.
The original humans that took this step against their Creator passed on this tendency toward spiritual rebellion to all future generations. It was at once both a physical and spiritual inheritance. Both our bodies and souls are afflicted with it. Even creation itself has been afflicted with it. The entire universe is out of it's natural harmonious rhythm because we choose to act apart from the Creator's will.
Did He know what would happen?
Again, it does not matter. What matters is the path back to Him. He used the course of our history to make peace with Him possible again. It cost Him a part of Himself to make this happen, but He did create a road home for us. Yes, I'm talking about Jesus. You all know the story of Jesus. Non-believers know His story. Muslims know His story. Hindus know His story. So do the Buddhists, Shintoists, Confuscists, and animists. It is the greatest story ever told. It is the road back to God paid for and built by His own sweat and blood and tears. We can go home. We can all go home. We just have to believe in the reality of the Man with the Plan.
So who gets in under those conditions?
Anyone that meets them.
Simple eh?
No matter how bent, broken, corrupt of perfect you are, if you believe in the Man with the Plan, you are in brother.
"Well", you might say, "Ghog, how is that fair? I've been good all my life while others have been murderers, adulterers and thieves. Why should their terms be the same as mine?"
To which I say, is it fair that the Creator of the universe should have to come here and take up a human body to save our sorry backsides from our own self destruction?
Fair is as fair does. Human fairness and divine fairness are two different concepts. Because we lack understanding, because we cannot not know as God knows, our childish perception sees unfairness where there is none.
Beyond that, God is God. Our fate does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. We can sit around and debate why God made us one way or another, but it does not matter. What matters is God and His mercy. We can say, "well God made me this way". Did He? It was not the original plan. That propensity toward sin (oops, I said it) that we embrace is as old as the choices of our original ancestors, and even with them, God exercised mercy and restraint.
So instead of sitting around and arguing with God or ignoring Him because He doesn't see what ever it is in our way, why don't we try embracing Him in faith and see what happens. He might surprise you. It's bend the knee now or bend it later. Doing it now will produce far better results.
We can choose to go home, even with a bad gene pool. You might as well come with us. It's gonna be a good time and it will last forever. He's waiting again for our decision. I'm going.
Thank God for His Mercy and Grace. It trumps a bad gene pool every time.
Speaking of July 4th...
I came across an article today at lewrockwell.com that was written by David Hathaway. He "is a former supervisory DEA Agent. He is a cowboy and aficionado of
Latin America where he has lived and traveled extensively. He is a
homeschooling father of nine children and maintains the website charityendureth.com."
His post entitled "American Freedom" lists 7 things that are required to be a patriotic, freedom loving American in our age. The entire post is a bit tongue in cheek and sarcastic, but he has some very good points. Two of them directly concern his perception of American Christianity, particularly the evangelical variety. I reproduce them here and encourage you to follow the link to read the entire article.
"I continually hear the words freedom and liberty chanted around me and prominently displayed on American homes and vehicles and in social media, so I know this must be something important. I’ve also noticed that individuals, groups, and political candidates that oppose government intrusion into our lives are treated as social pariahs, so we have to dig a bit deeper to see what this American Freedom actually is.
It is a package deal that has primarily been assembled by neocons. Mix together the various ingredients for the recipe and then add some red, white, and blue stuff that says “freedom” on it and you should be well on your way to American freedom. It involves the following:
He seems to understand the inherent, nationalistic contradictions within American conservative Christianity. Go read the whole thing. If it pisses you off, then stop and consider that he might be on to something and while I am here, let me add this...Most of the founding members of the neoconservative movement are Zionists or Jews or both. They are the Pharisees of our day. Should we as Christians really be following their lead? Our future is not with Israel. Our Kingdom is in Heaven. Just sayin'.
His post entitled "American Freedom" lists 7 things that are required to be a patriotic, freedom loving American in our age. The entire post is a bit tongue in cheek and sarcastic, but he has some very good points. Two of them directly concern his perception of American Christianity, particularly the evangelical variety. I reproduce them here and encourage you to follow the link to read the entire article.
"I continually hear the words freedom and liberty chanted around me and prominently displayed on American homes and vehicles and in social media, so I know this must be something important. I’ve also noticed that individuals, groups, and political candidates that oppose government intrusion into our lives are treated as social pariahs, so we have to dig a bit deeper to see what this American Freedom actually is.
It is a package deal that has primarily been assembled by neocons. Mix together the various ingredients for the recipe and then add some red, white, and blue stuff that says “freedom” on it and you should be well on your way to American freedom. It involves the following:
- Brand yourself as a Christian. But beware; the precepts of Christianity may get in the way. So, the branding should not be accompanied by a practice of the faith. Confusing? Well, it’s not actually that hard if you apply yourself to a diligent study under an apt tutor. To accomplish this, it is beneficial to seek out a subset of “Christianity” that concludes – through theological somersaults – that the actual practice of the tenets of Christianity when dealing with your fellow man is inappropriate manifesting “legalism” or “salvation through works.” This really is the key which allows you to subdue the objections of your conscience and to strive for a relaxed mindset while carrying a Book around that says to not steal, to love your enemies, and to live peaceably with others. Actual practice of the teachings of the New Testament must be portrayed as trying to “earn your way into heaven.”
So, to be clear on this point, call yourself a Christian, but to avoid the practice of the faith and to have a relaxed mindset with your hypocrisy, adopt a convoluted intellectual argument – surrounding New Testament verses negating Old Testament rituals – that concludes that those verses require you to avoid New Testament teachings as well. I know that last sentence is complicated, but you will need to grasp this complex doctrine in order to put your mind at ease to fully implement your unique American Freedom. It’s hard to do if you have an un-seared conscience, but work on it. You can probably get there if you make fervent efforts to beat down the feelings of hypocrisy. There are plenty of paid ministers of the fallen one to help you arrive at the uniquely American sweet spot on this bundle of spiritual issues.
And, since we are talking about freedom and liberty, call this new libertine aspect of your faith “Christian liberty” or “Christian freedom.” There are no requirements to subdue bloodlust or covetous tendencies since we, after all, must sin all day every day. To work in another direction would be evil. Advocating goodness and the Golden Rule would be gross heresy. Go down the wide easy path and preach continually – lest you forget – that true faith means that we must all sin continually, and that this realization is what makes us true Christians. Easy peasy. Behave horribly and wretchedly because this, in essence, is your new “Christianity.” See how easy that was? Good is evil. Evil is good. If it gets confusing, drop some more money in the plate and get a refresher. In short, call yourself a Christian, but don’t act like one and you will have this one covered with plenty of lucre-generating theological literature and preaching to back you up.
- Give vocal and ballot box support to the police state and military industrial complex. Now that we have Christianity out of the way and we have numbed our conscience into accepting perpetual evil in the name of our faith, it should be easy to ignore verses saying things like, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” We can’t do right anyway, so we might as well get all our basal urges to shed blood and enrich ourselves blessed by the state by claiming that the American state, unlike us, is capable of taking the moral path. Distorting Romans 13 to make the state into a god is key here.
If “we the people” vote for politicians that want to kill a lot of people and lock everybody else up, then this is a theologically endorsed expression of “Christian” freedom – which is actually a need to perpetually commit evil – if you were paying attention to item 1 in this list. Get it?
So, to wrap up this point, “we the people” rule the government. We vote for war-mongering politicians. Violence and vengeance is not bad because the orders come from the state as per our ballot-expressed desires to kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out. It takes some refreshing to remember how all the doctrinal pieces fit together into a cauldron of death and thievery. If you accidentally stumble onto the Sermon on the Mount and read the Prince of Peace saying “love your enemies” and you need to get your evil spirit rekindled and re-justified, there are plenty of paid servants of hell who will re-shape your simple-minded reading of a doctrine of love, and get you back on the road to obligatory personal destruction – as a theological precept. You know, so you can be “saved” from your confused thoughts that Christianity somehow relates to goodness."
He seems to understand the inherent, nationalistic contradictions within American conservative Christianity. Go read the whole thing. If it pisses you off, then stop and consider that he might be on to something and while I am here, let me add this...Most of the founding members of the neoconservative movement are Zionists or Jews or both. They are the Pharisees of our day. Should we as Christians really be following their lead? Our future is not with Israel. Our Kingdom is in Heaven. Just sayin'.
One Tin Soldier (1971) - Joni Mitchell
Listen children to a story that was written long ago
'bout a kingdom on a mountain and the valley folk below
on the mountain was a treasure buried deep beneath a stone
and the valley people swore they'd have it for their very own
CHORUS: go ahead and hate your neighbor
go ahead and cheat a friend
do it in the name of heaven
justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away
So the people of the valley sent a message up the hill,
asking for the buried treasure, tons of gold for which they'd kill.
Came an answer from the kingdom "with our brothers we will share.
All the secrets of our mountain, all the riches buried there."
Now the valley cried with anger,"mount your horses, draw your swords"
And they killed the mountain people, so they won their just reward.
Now they stood beside the treasure, on the mountain dark and red.
Turned the stone and looked beneath it; PEACE ON EARTH was all it said.
CHORUS: go ahead and hate your neighbor
go ahead and cheat a friend
do it in the name of heaven
justify it in the end
There won't be any trumpets blowing
come the judgment day
on the bloody morning after
One tin soldier rides away
So Who Needs a Haircut? Apparently the Greeks.
From the Financial Times:
"Greek banks are preparing contingency plans for a possible “bail-in” of depositors amid fears the country is heading for financial collapse, bankers and businesspeople with knowledge of the measures said on Friday.
The plans, which call for a “haircut” of at least 30 per cent on deposits above €8,000, sketch out an increasingly likely scenario for at least one bank, the sources said.
A Greek bail-in could resemble the rescue plan agreed by Cyprus in 2013, when customers’ funds were seized to shore up the banks, with a haircut imposed on uninsured deposits over €100,000.
It would be implemented as part of a recapitalisation of Greek banks that would be agreed with the country’s creditors — the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.
“It [the haircut] would take place in the context of an overall restructuring of the bank sector once Greece is back in a bailout programme,” said one person following the issue. “This is not something that is going to happen immediately.”"
It happened in Cyprus and now they are talking about it in Greece. When your economy teeters on the edge of bankruptcy and the nation can no longer pay its creditors, the bankers simply help themselves to your bank deposits. This is legal in almost every country of the world now in case you were wondering - yes, even here in the good old US of A. In Cyprus, they only hit deposits of 100,000 EUR or more. For Greece, they are talking about taking it down to 8,000 EUR.
I think the Greeks need to consider taking the route that Iceland chose. Simply default. Reboot the economy, prosecute the criminal banker and political class and go back to a metal based currency. And what ever else...they need to get out of the EU. This is where their troubles started.
So do you think this cannot happen here? Do not get overly optimistic about our financial future. The debt of the US government is deep and heavy. Should the right dominoes fall on a given day, both the bond and stock markets could collapse. Cash would be King for a bit, followed by wholesale dollar printing, followed by staggering inflation. The bankers will endeavor to recover their largess by giving you a haircut long before that last bit happens. There will be nothing you can do about it. They will simply help themselves to what is yours because they view your deposits as unsecured loans to them. Actually, I believe they think it's their money that they let us use.
Anyway, as this nightmare scenario proceeds, a barter economy is inevitable unless the people will be willing to take control, by force if necessary, of the reigns of government and finance. There are states in the current US union that are making preparation for this possibility. Texas come to mind. I believe that North Dakota is also prepared economic dooms day.
Some will say that their money is invested at brokerage houses or investment firms and is therefore safe. Let me tell you, when the feces hit the oscillating wind device, those with power will take what they want to save their sorry hides no matter where it is stashed. I look for them to pass the Mattress Seizure Act to be sure to get everything. There will be no place that is economically safe.
Gold and silver will not save you in the long term either. In the great and terrible day, I think we will be swapping bottled water and cans of Campbell's cream of tomato soup. People need to eat. You can't eat gold. Just my thought. It would be nice if I was wrong.
So what should you take from all this? Greece and Cyprus are rehearsals for the real deal. The bankers and politicians want to see what works and what does not work. They failed in Iceland.
We need to tell them now, that if it happens here, a giant Iceland will be their fate. They need to back off or they will have more trouble then they ever bargained for.
Jade Helm 15 is practice for the government handling of such a crisis. It is taking place in late summer and early fall in many states of the southwest. Some say it's merely a military drill. 9/11 happened during a military drill. Oklahoma City happened during a military drill. The subway bombings in London happened during a military drill. It could well be that there is a plan in place to artificially collapse the economy during this period to avoid a natural catastrophic melt down. Jade Helm 15 may be the way they intend to take control of an unruly populace. If this is the plan, look for it by September 23.
Here is to hoping none of that happens and that the Greek thing is localized and does not spread. That would be preferable to other scenarios. But just in case...lay in some bottled water and Campbell's tomato soup. I kind of like the chicken noodle too.
"Greek banks are preparing contingency plans for a possible “bail-in” of depositors amid fears the country is heading for financial collapse, bankers and businesspeople with knowledge of the measures said on Friday.
The plans, which call for a “haircut” of at least 30 per cent on deposits above €8,000, sketch out an increasingly likely scenario for at least one bank, the sources said.
A Greek bail-in could resemble the rescue plan agreed by Cyprus in 2013, when customers’ funds were seized to shore up the banks, with a haircut imposed on uninsured deposits over €100,000.
It would be implemented as part of a recapitalisation of Greek banks that would be agreed with the country’s creditors — the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank.
“It [the haircut] would take place in the context of an overall restructuring of the bank sector once Greece is back in a bailout programme,” said one person following the issue. “This is not something that is going to happen immediately.”"
It happened in Cyprus and now they are talking about it in Greece. When your economy teeters on the edge of bankruptcy and the nation can no longer pay its creditors, the bankers simply help themselves to your bank deposits. This is legal in almost every country of the world now in case you were wondering - yes, even here in the good old US of A. In Cyprus, they only hit deposits of 100,000 EUR or more. For Greece, they are talking about taking it down to 8,000 EUR.
I think the Greeks need to consider taking the route that Iceland chose. Simply default. Reboot the economy, prosecute the criminal banker and political class and go back to a metal based currency. And what ever else...they need to get out of the EU. This is where their troubles started.
So do you think this cannot happen here? Do not get overly optimistic about our financial future. The debt of the US government is deep and heavy. Should the right dominoes fall on a given day, both the bond and stock markets could collapse. Cash would be King for a bit, followed by wholesale dollar printing, followed by staggering inflation. The bankers will endeavor to recover their largess by giving you a haircut long before that last bit happens. There will be nothing you can do about it. They will simply help themselves to what is yours because they view your deposits as unsecured loans to them. Actually, I believe they think it's their money that they let us use.
Anyway, as this nightmare scenario proceeds, a barter economy is inevitable unless the people will be willing to take control, by force if necessary, of the reigns of government and finance. There are states in the current US union that are making preparation for this possibility. Texas come to mind. I believe that North Dakota is also prepared economic dooms day.
Some will say that their money is invested at brokerage houses or investment firms and is therefore safe. Let me tell you, when the feces hit the oscillating wind device, those with power will take what they want to save their sorry hides no matter where it is stashed. I look for them to pass the Mattress Seizure Act to be sure to get everything. There will be no place that is economically safe.
Gold and silver will not save you in the long term either. In the great and terrible day, I think we will be swapping bottled water and cans of Campbell's cream of tomato soup. People need to eat. You can't eat gold. Just my thought. It would be nice if I was wrong.
So what should you take from all this? Greece and Cyprus are rehearsals for the real deal. The bankers and politicians want to see what works and what does not work. They failed in Iceland.
We need to tell them now, that if it happens here, a giant Iceland will be their fate. They need to back off or they will have more trouble then they ever bargained for.
Jade Helm 15 is practice for the government handling of such a crisis. It is taking place in late summer and early fall in many states of the southwest. Some say it's merely a military drill. 9/11 happened during a military drill. Oklahoma City happened during a military drill. The subway bombings in London happened during a military drill. It could well be that there is a plan in place to artificially collapse the economy during this period to avoid a natural catastrophic melt down. Jade Helm 15 may be the way they intend to take control of an unruly populace. If this is the plan, look for it by September 23.
Here is to hoping none of that happens and that the Greek thing is localized and does not spread. That would be preferable to other scenarios. But just in case...lay in some bottled water and Campbell's tomato soup. I kind of like the chicken noodle too.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Polygamy
It's been going on for centuries. It recent times in the west it has not had the legal stamp of the state, but there are still men in various places that keep more than one partner at home. Men with multiple wives have been part of every culture from the dawn of creation.
Much of the last 2000 years has been dominated by Christian doctrine and morality in regard to marriage. Orthodox Christianity - the mainline groups - will tell you that God had a plan and polygamy was not it. I agree with this, but history tells us another story. The reality is that even though God intended one man one woman marriages, people, even His own people Israel, did not abide by His wishes.
Many of God's intentions for humanity fell by the wayside when humanity chose their own will over God's will. Then when the curse was applied to humanity. Everything changed. Women were subordinated to men and men began treating them like property - a cow that can do laundry and have sex. In the Torah, we see women who could not bear children or did not bear sons offering their hand maids as surrogates. Other men just took more than one wife. One has to ask, would their have ever been an Israel if Jacob had been allowed only Rachel. She was not exactly a "fertile Myrtle" if you know what I mean. Even in the days of the Law, men took multiple wives. Moses himself had two...yes he did ...look again.
And then there is the whole leverite marriage thing in Deuteronomy. I think it's chapter 25:5-10. If your brother died without producing a son, you were supposed to marry his widow and produce an heir for his widow's future care and for the continuation of your brother's family. You could refuse this duty, but it was always at considerable embarrassment to your own family. If you refused, your widowed sister in law could take you before the judges. If, after that, you still refused, she would remove a sandal and throw it at you, spit in your face and call you and yours the family of the unsandaled because of your refusal. Public humiliation was a big deal in ancient times. Of course, if you had a hot sister in law, I suppose it would not have been so bad. The point here though is that even under God's law, there was in place a mechanism for polygamy.
When Jesus came, all this changed. Jesus demanded again what God had set forth in the beginning. One man one woman marriage - no divorce except in the case of adultery and maybe not then if the offending party can be forgiven. This has, since that time, been the Christian standard for marriage. There have been Christian sects like the Mormons in the US that have at one time or another embraced polygamy, but even the main line cult gave it up after much persecution by the orthodox Christian majority.
But there is, and always has been, men that balked at the notion of monogamy. They would keep both wives and girlfriends in the same house. Today and in light of the recent SCOTUS decision, there are some that are coming forward to try to gain legitimacy for their girl friend(s) along with their current wife. There is such a case right now in Montana.
"A married Montana man has taken his wife and his girlfriend to the
Yellowstone County Courthouse and told the clerk: Marry us – if the
Supreme Court OK’d “gay” unions, then we should be allowed to join
together in holy polygamy.
“It’s about marriage equality,” said Nathan Collier, who filed for a
marriage application to two women, Victoria and Christine, CBS News
reported. “You can’t have this without polygamy.”
Victoria is currently his legal wife. Christine is his girlfriend.
County officials at first denied the application, but then backtracked and said they’d have to consult with attorneys."
So the future and the past are coming together in a most unusual way. One has to wonder where this will stop or if it will ever stop. Should you be able to marry a door knob? What about all the other knobs you handle every day? Won't that be a problem? A door knob harem might be the answer. In this age of egalitarianism anything can happen.
Lord, any time now. Please come back and stop this foolishness. We are bad decision makers. Guess you knew that though.
Much of the last 2000 years has been dominated by Christian doctrine and morality in regard to marriage. Orthodox Christianity - the mainline groups - will tell you that God had a plan and polygamy was not it. I agree with this, but history tells us another story. The reality is that even though God intended one man one woman marriages, people, even His own people Israel, did not abide by His wishes.
Many of God's intentions for humanity fell by the wayside when humanity chose their own will over God's will. Then when the curse was applied to humanity. Everything changed. Women were subordinated to men and men began treating them like property - a cow that can do laundry and have sex. In the Torah, we see women who could not bear children or did not bear sons offering their hand maids as surrogates. Other men just took more than one wife. One has to ask, would their have ever been an Israel if Jacob had been allowed only Rachel. She was not exactly a "fertile Myrtle" if you know what I mean. Even in the days of the Law, men took multiple wives. Moses himself had two...yes he did ...look again.
And then there is the whole leverite marriage thing in Deuteronomy. I think it's chapter 25:5-10. If your brother died without producing a son, you were supposed to marry his widow and produce an heir for his widow's future care and for the continuation of your brother's family. You could refuse this duty, but it was always at considerable embarrassment to your own family. If you refused, your widowed sister in law could take you before the judges. If, after that, you still refused, she would remove a sandal and throw it at you, spit in your face and call you and yours the family of the unsandaled because of your refusal. Public humiliation was a big deal in ancient times. Of course, if you had a hot sister in law, I suppose it would not have been so bad. The point here though is that even under God's law, there was in place a mechanism for polygamy.
When Jesus came, all this changed. Jesus demanded again what God had set forth in the beginning. One man one woman marriage - no divorce except in the case of adultery and maybe not then if the offending party can be forgiven. This has, since that time, been the Christian standard for marriage. There have been Christian sects like the Mormons in the US that have at one time or another embraced polygamy, but even the main line cult gave it up after much persecution by the orthodox Christian majority.
But there is, and always has been, men that balked at the notion of monogamy. They would keep both wives and girlfriends in the same house. Today and in light of the recent SCOTUS decision, there are some that are coming forward to try to gain legitimacy for their girl friend(s) along with their current wife. There is such a case right now in Montana.
Victoria is currently his legal wife. Christine is his girlfriend.
County officials at first denied the application, but then backtracked and said they’d have to consult with attorneys."
So the future and the past are coming together in a most unusual way. One has to wonder where this will stop or if it will ever stop. Should you be able to marry a door knob? What about all the other knobs you handle every day? Won't that be a problem? A door knob harem might be the answer. In this age of egalitarianism anything can happen.
Lord, any time now. Please come back and stop this foolishness. We are bad decision makers. Guess you knew that though.
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
51
I had exactly 51 page views at exactly 0700 today. How does that happen? Only information gathering software can do that. What info are they it is looking for? They could save a lot of time by just calling me I think. What's their motive? You have to wonder.
This and That
I kind of doubt I will wax philosophical this morning. I have a neck ache, a headache and a back ache. I do not know what brought it all on, but normally these are precursors to a weather change (ground hogs can predict that stuff year round). Whatever it is, I just need it to go away. I have to go in to work here in a few minutes and listen to cranky customers on the phone. I do not need to be cranking back at them. I need to go back to burrowing for a living. That's what a ground hog is supposed to do anyway. A few root vegetables wouldn't hurt either. I'm putting on a few pounds. I was up to 222 lb last night on the scale in nothing but basketball shorts. Are you all picturing a ground hog in basketball shorts? Ya, funny ha ha. Ground hogs are not noted for being svelt anyway. You will never see one with a six pack. Maybe a pony keg, but not a six pack. But I digress....
There are times when you realize how blessed you are. I had a day like that yesterday. Friends far and near reached out to me in different ways with love and support and God's grace and it made the rest of the day much better. I thank all of you for that. I need to warn all of you though, I'm like a stray dog. If you're nice to me, you will be stuck with me for the rest of my life. People move far away and they still can't get shed of me. I will hunt you down (;^)))
Here's a random thought from a friend that's sort of in line with yesterday's post about knowledge. I have known Christians that believe they should be fruit inspectors. They actually advocate this practice and are proud to be called fruit inspectors. Whenever that term comes up in Sunday school or church, I get incensed. This notion comes from some very bad reading of the New Testament in my view. The idea is that we would know people by the spiritual fruit they bear. Jesus talks about this and so does Paul. And it's true. You can tell much about someone by the way they behave and how they interact with other people and what they believe and how those beliefs guide their lives.
What drives me bonkers is when this gets used by self righteous people to inflict judgement on others. These folks want to go through your spiritual fruit basket and determine what should be there and what should not be there. Never mind the rotting apple at the bottom of their own bowl, your grapes are going over and not in a good way. Clean it up. This is what I'm talking about when I say fruit inspector. To my mind, this was the behavior of the pharisees in Christ's time. "Woe to you scribes and pharisees. You go 1000 miles to make a single convert and then make him twice the son of hell that you are"...."woe to you scribes and pharisees. you place great weights on the people and then do nothing to help them carry it". Those are paraphrases of what Christ said, but it is how I view these self appointed fruit inspectors. I KNOW YOU BY YOUR FRUIT.
How about this instead. How about we all confess our spiritual and fleshly brokeness or bentness or whatever you want to call it? How about we all love each other and trust each other enough and serve each other's spiritual and physical needs? Maybe if we did that, there would be less rotten fruit in all our bowls.
And this brings me to the thought of my friend that he shared yesterday. Why is it that the church has rotten fruit in the bowl that it overlooks, that it keeps, that it even cherishes, but other rotten fruit gets thrown out without so much as a Grace period?
The church tends to keep its gossips, it's gluttons, it's divorced, it's whatever you want to name; but there are others who, because their brokeness is so strange, we want them out of the basket? It's as if God's grace does not extend to them because even the liars and gossips cannot stand them. Why is this? Is there some unwritten code that says "it's ok if you've gossiped or your tend to eat too much or if you tend to believe your own lies, but really, if you've done any of these other things, we don't want you. Nothing personal. There are places for people like you to go to. We just can't have you here. God loves you. I love you. But could you just go away and not talk about it? I'm uncomfortable already".
Does God love like that? Did Jesus love like that? Is that what we're all about in our white middle class evangelical churches? I hope not.
You say, "but Ghog, have you ever acted this way?"
I am sorry to say that I have. I am also happy to say it's time to knock it off. Jesus loves us. Let Him be our fruit inspector while we concentrate on producing the fruit.
There are times when you realize how blessed you are. I had a day like that yesterday. Friends far and near reached out to me in different ways with love and support and God's grace and it made the rest of the day much better. I thank all of you for that. I need to warn all of you though, I'm like a stray dog. If you're nice to me, you will be stuck with me for the rest of my life. People move far away and they still can't get shed of me. I will hunt you down (;^)))
Here's a random thought from a friend that's sort of in line with yesterday's post about knowledge. I have known Christians that believe they should be fruit inspectors. They actually advocate this practice and are proud to be called fruit inspectors. Whenever that term comes up in Sunday school or church, I get incensed. This notion comes from some very bad reading of the New Testament in my view. The idea is that we would know people by the spiritual fruit they bear. Jesus talks about this and so does Paul. And it's true. You can tell much about someone by the way they behave and how they interact with other people and what they believe and how those beliefs guide their lives.
What drives me bonkers is when this gets used by self righteous people to inflict judgement on others. These folks want to go through your spiritual fruit basket and determine what should be there and what should not be there. Never mind the rotting apple at the bottom of their own bowl, your grapes are going over and not in a good way. Clean it up. This is what I'm talking about when I say fruit inspector. To my mind, this was the behavior of the pharisees in Christ's time. "Woe to you scribes and pharisees. You go 1000 miles to make a single convert and then make him twice the son of hell that you are"...."woe to you scribes and pharisees. you place great weights on the people and then do nothing to help them carry it". Those are paraphrases of what Christ said, but it is how I view these self appointed fruit inspectors. I KNOW YOU BY YOUR FRUIT.
How about this instead. How about we all confess our spiritual and fleshly brokeness or bentness or whatever you want to call it? How about we all love each other and trust each other enough and serve each other's spiritual and physical needs? Maybe if we did that, there would be less rotten fruit in all our bowls.
And this brings me to the thought of my friend that he shared yesterday. Why is it that the church has rotten fruit in the bowl that it overlooks, that it keeps, that it even cherishes, but other rotten fruit gets thrown out without so much as a Grace period?
The church tends to keep its gossips, it's gluttons, it's divorced, it's whatever you want to name; but there are others who, because their brokeness is so strange, we want them out of the basket? It's as if God's grace does not extend to them because even the liars and gossips cannot stand them. Why is this? Is there some unwritten code that says "it's ok if you've gossiped or your tend to eat too much or if you tend to believe your own lies, but really, if you've done any of these other things, we don't want you. Nothing personal. There are places for people like you to go to. We just can't have you here. God loves you. I love you. But could you just go away and not talk about it? I'm uncomfortable already".
Does God love like that? Did Jesus love like that? Is that what we're all about in our white middle class evangelical churches? I hope not.
You say, "but Ghog, have you ever acted this way?"
I am sorry to say that I have. I am also happy to say it's time to knock it off. Jesus loves us. Let Him be our fruit inspector while we concentrate on producing the fruit.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Knowledge
Knowledge is a weird thing. It's supposed to enlighten us, to make us more able, to help us clarify the decision making process.
However, when we receive new knowledge about the people in our lives, sometimes it does not always go well. They tell us something new about themselves; something we did not know about them or their past or about an on going issue in their personal life. Suddenly our opinions about this person change because of the new knowledge. Even though they continue to be the same person they were five minutes before telling us about whatever it is, we see them in a new light. Sometimes the way we treat them changes. It doesn't mean we don't like them anymore, but maybe we back off because we thought we knew them, but we didn't know "that"...whatever "that" is.
What we forget, especially in the Church, is that Christ knew them before they were born. He knew what they would be. He knew what struggles they would go through...and you know what? He still loves them and He treats them exactly the same as He always did. There is no new knowledge for Jesus.
This is an advantage that we, as non-divine human beings do not enjoy. New knowledge startles us all the time. It's part of the reason that I read as little news as possible. I cannot process it all, let alone adjust to it.
Even so, when it comes to these matters in the Church, we need to cut that person some slack. Maybe get to know them better. Find out who they really are in Christ right now with a view toward serving them. I have been very blessed in this way. I have been loved and served by my church in ways that I would never have expected when I came back to the faith.
This is an advantage that Jesus gives all believers. We can let the past go. We can live life anew. We can get our baggage down to manageable size and He and our brothers and sisters in the church can help carry that baggage and we can help them.
But this won't work if we do not trust each other and love each other. We need to do that regardless of what new knowledge we receive about a friend or relative or brother or sister in Christ. We have to move forward in love. There may be complications with this, but whatever it is, we have to move forward in love. Fear and distrust destroys. Love overcomes. (1 Cor 13 if you need a reference).
I am not an expert at being courageous, trusting and loving. I have spent much of my life in the other camp; it's filled with distrust, fear and even anger.
I cannot live that way anymore. This means I will have to take my heart out and let people see it, see who I am and share my struggles and victories. It's the hardest thing I have ever considered doing.I don't know if I can do it. But I am going to try.
However, when we receive new knowledge about the people in our lives, sometimes it does not always go well. They tell us something new about themselves; something we did not know about them or their past or about an on going issue in their personal life. Suddenly our opinions about this person change because of the new knowledge. Even though they continue to be the same person they were five minutes before telling us about whatever it is, we see them in a new light. Sometimes the way we treat them changes. It doesn't mean we don't like them anymore, but maybe we back off because we thought we knew them, but we didn't know "that"...whatever "that" is.
What we forget, especially in the Church, is that Christ knew them before they were born. He knew what they would be. He knew what struggles they would go through...and you know what? He still loves them and He treats them exactly the same as He always did. There is no new knowledge for Jesus.
This is an advantage that we, as non-divine human beings do not enjoy. New knowledge startles us all the time. It's part of the reason that I read as little news as possible. I cannot process it all, let alone adjust to it.
Even so, when it comes to these matters in the Church, we need to cut that person some slack. Maybe get to know them better. Find out who they really are in Christ right now with a view toward serving them. I have been very blessed in this way. I have been loved and served by my church in ways that I would never have expected when I came back to the faith.
This is an advantage that Jesus gives all believers. We can let the past go. We can live life anew. We can get our baggage down to manageable size and He and our brothers and sisters in the church can help carry that baggage and we can help them.
But this won't work if we do not trust each other and love each other. We need to do that regardless of what new knowledge we receive about a friend or relative or brother or sister in Christ. We have to move forward in love. There may be complications with this, but whatever it is, we have to move forward in love. Fear and distrust destroys. Love overcomes. (1 Cor 13 if you need a reference).
I am not an expert at being courageous, trusting and loving. I have spent much of my life in the other camp; it's filled with distrust, fear and even anger.
I cannot live that way anymore. This means I will have to take my heart out and let people see it, see who I am and share my struggles and victories. It's the hardest thing I have ever considered doing.I don't know if I can do it. But I am going to try.
Sunday, June 28, 2015
Justin Lee Speaking at New Heart Community Church
This is Justin Lee. He is the director of the Gay Christian Network (GCN). He is the most reasonable voice in the current Gay Christian (not an oxymoron) debate. Justin would not even use the word "debate" at this point in his life. I appreciate his testimony. My disagreement with him comes on the finer points of the issue.
In his discourses, he maintains that there are two major sides on this issue which the Church faces. There are those like Justin himself that believe it is both moral and scriptural for same sex people to marry, as long as they maintain a life long committed, monogamous relationship. And there are others that think that if you wish to remain within the will of Christ, same sex attracted people must remain celibate. He refers to these POV's as Side A and Side B.
I would find myself on Side B. I would also say that there are probably more than two options here, but he only explores these two.
Whatever else you might think of him, Justin's testimony is amazing. He may well be doing God's work in bringing some sense of peace on this issue to the groups he addresses.
This is a long video. It's over a year old and some things have changed. Even so, I would urge you to block out some time to watch it. I would like to know what you think about what he says. If you don't want to share on line, drop me an email at groundhog001@gmail.com .
Saturday, June 27, 2015
Acceptance and Tolerance
All of my life, I have sought acceptance within various venues and with various people. There have been groups that I wanted to be a part of and there have been people whose friendship I sought. About 80% of the time I was successful. I am not usually a group type person, but there were places like church and work and school where I wanted to belong, and in all these places I have found acceptance and even on my own terms for the most part. There have been people I have pursued as friends. Many wanted to know me better. Some did not. Some found me tolerable, but not acceptable to confide in very deeply. I am much the same way. It takes me awhile to trust as I have mentioned before.
There are others that I have found that did not want to accept me. In most cases, I was not upset with this. I shook the dust from my feet and I moved on. I will be the first to tell you that I am not everyone's cup of tea. It's OK. If you don't like me or approve of me for whatever the reason, that is fine. But you need to tolerate me, my opinions, my personality and who I am.
I do not expect that people be required by law to accept me, love me or even like me. In fact, please feel free to dislike me, hate my point of view and take me to task whenever you feel like it. However, please be tolerant of my continuing existence. I am a work in progress. You may never come to appreciate me as others do, but that's OK. Be tolerant.
That's where I was with tolerance and acceptance yesterday before the SCOTUS decision on Same sex marriage. I can tolerate it's existence. I am one that believes the state should not be involved in anyone's marriage or marriage in general. I do not believe the state should even be involved in licensing marriage.
What is galling, what is irritating, what is hateful is when the State tells me that mere tolerance is no longer enough. I must accept by force of law that same sex people can marry.
I will not. I will not abide by such capricious governmental overreach.
This is not to say that I hate those of the same sex who seek marriage. Fine. Get married. Just do not knock on the door of my church to do it. If you are seeking Jesus, come on in. If you are seeking salvation come on in.
But if you are seeking approval for your sinful behavior, my church is not the place to do that. There are places you can go. There are places you will receive acceptance as a gay couple. Please go there. Go with my best wishes. Know that I tolerate your right to do as you please in this regard, but you must cut me the same tolerance. I have a position too. You must make room for that position.
I have read much and studied much in regard to what the church's position should be on same sex marriage and sexual activity. I am still not convinced that this can be tolerated inside a Bible believing church. I have read many arguments from scripture right down to the original Greek. I still cannot get past the fact that our freedom from sin does not give us license to behave as we please; even when that behavior seems natural to those experiencing the desire. It is not. The flesh is bent. It must be controlled. It may seem like a big burden, but if you are a Christian, you know you have to give it up for the Man that really cares about you.
A couple of books that discuss the issue with a view toward acceptance are "Torn" by Justin Lee and "Bible, Gender and Sexuality" by James Brownson.
Justin Lee is a very likable guy. He does a good job of presenting both sides of the same sex marriage issue in an evangelical church context. He is southern baptist. His father is a pastor. Justin has several videos on You Tube that are entertaining and informative. He also operates GCN - The Gay Christian Network. He is always fair and tolerant of other points of view. I just happen to think he is wrong. God will be our judge.
James Brownson is a professor of New Testament at the Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He has a Reformed Church background and also a gay son. He works from the original New Testament language (Greek) to tell us that Paul did not mean what we all think he meant in Romans and the Corinthian letters. He still leaves me unconvinced. Again, God will be the judge of that.
Bottom line...please feel free to live as you like. Please know that I wish you the best, but do not expect me to condone or accept what you are doing. You do not need my acceptance anyway right? I do not need yours either. But we can try to tolerate each other while we share the planet. God will sort it all out one way or the other. If I am wrong, you will have my profound apologies. If you are wrong....well, God will take your situation into account.
There are others that I have found that did not want to accept me. In most cases, I was not upset with this. I shook the dust from my feet and I moved on. I will be the first to tell you that I am not everyone's cup of tea. It's OK. If you don't like me or approve of me for whatever the reason, that is fine. But you need to tolerate me, my opinions, my personality and who I am.
I do not expect that people be required by law to accept me, love me or even like me. In fact, please feel free to dislike me, hate my point of view and take me to task whenever you feel like it. However, please be tolerant of my continuing existence. I am a work in progress. You may never come to appreciate me as others do, but that's OK. Be tolerant.
That's where I was with tolerance and acceptance yesterday before the SCOTUS decision on Same sex marriage. I can tolerate it's existence. I am one that believes the state should not be involved in anyone's marriage or marriage in general. I do not believe the state should even be involved in licensing marriage.
What is galling, what is irritating, what is hateful is when the State tells me that mere tolerance is no longer enough. I must accept by force of law that same sex people can marry.
I will not. I will not abide by such capricious governmental overreach.
This is not to say that I hate those of the same sex who seek marriage. Fine. Get married. Just do not knock on the door of my church to do it. If you are seeking Jesus, come on in. If you are seeking salvation come on in.
But if you are seeking approval for your sinful behavior, my church is not the place to do that. There are places you can go. There are places you will receive acceptance as a gay couple. Please go there. Go with my best wishes. Know that I tolerate your right to do as you please in this regard, but you must cut me the same tolerance. I have a position too. You must make room for that position.
I have read much and studied much in regard to what the church's position should be on same sex marriage and sexual activity. I am still not convinced that this can be tolerated inside a Bible believing church. I have read many arguments from scripture right down to the original Greek. I still cannot get past the fact that our freedom from sin does not give us license to behave as we please; even when that behavior seems natural to those experiencing the desire. It is not. The flesh is bent. It must be controlled. It may seem like a big burden, but if you are a Christian, you know you have to give it up for the Man that really cares about you.
A couple of books that discuss the issue with a view toward acceptance are "Torn" by Justin Lee and "Bible, Gender and Sexuality" by James Brownson.
Justin Lee is a very likable guy. He does a good job of presenting both sides of the same sex marriage issue in an evangelical church context. He is southern baptist. His father is a pastor. Justin has several videos on You Tube that are entertaining and informative. He also operates GCN - The Gay Christian Network. He is always fair and tolerant of other points of view. I just happen to think he is wrong. God will be our judge.
James Brownson is a professor of New Testament at the Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. He has a Reformed Church background and also a gay son. He works from the original New Testament language (Greek) to tell us that Paul did not mean what we all think he meant in Romans and the Corinthian letters. He still leaves me unconvinced. Again, God will be the judge of that.
Bottom line...please feel free to live as you like. Please know that I wish you the best, but do not expect me to condone or accept what you are doing. You do not need my acceptance anyway right? I do not need yours either. But we can try to tolerate each other while we share the planet. God will sort it all out one way or the other. If I am wrong, you will have my profound apologies. If you are wrong....well, God will take your situation into account.
Friday, June 26, 2015
And So It Begins....
From the Office of the Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott
“The Supreme Court has abandoned its role as an impartial judicial arbiter and has become an unelected nine-member legislature. Five Justices on the Supreme Court have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court’s previous decisions reserve to the people of the States.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s rulings, Texans’ fundamental right to religious liberty remains protected. No Texan is required by the Supreme Court’s decision to act contrary to his or her religious beliefs regarding marriage.
“The Texas Constitution guarantees that ‘[n]o human authority ought, in any case whatsoever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion.’ The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion; and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, combined with the newly enacted Pastor Protection Act, provide robust legal protections to Texans whose faith commands them to adhere to the traditional understanding of marriage.
“As I have done in the past, I will continue to defend the religious liberties of all Texans—including those whose conscience dictates that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman. Later today, I will be issuing a directive to state agencies instructing them to prioritize the protection of Texans’ religious liberties.”
This is what happens when government inserts its cold dead hand into an issue it has no business being involved in.
Let me say it again for the record. The State, be they the Feds or the local yokels, should not be involved in deciding who will marry whom. The State should not license marriage. There should be no tax penalties or deductions for married people or their children.
Marriage is none of the State's business.
Furthermore, what came down today from SCOTUS is appalling. I was expecting a 6 to 3, but Roberts tricked me on this one. Even so, the narrow vote and the commentary by the minority on the court makes it clear that deep division on this issue which should be a non-issue, will continue.
The reliance by the majority on the 14th amendment was pathetic. The history and intent of the 14th amendment does not support the issue of marriage in any context. It's as if the constitution was a manipulable Word document on their tablets. There is also many questions about whether the 14th amendment was ever properly ratified since it was forced on the southern states during reconstruction after the civil war.
Freedom of association people! That's what it should be about. If you do not wish to associate with someone on the basis of ANYTHING you should not have to! It's real easy. But no...
So now here we are. Texas is pulling out the stops. I have no doubt that more states will follow. The ugliness is not over. It's only beginning. And it's all because the State thinks they have to be in everyone's business.
This is not going to end well. Mark my words.
UPDATE: I would also like to add that since SCOTUS has legislated from the bench on issues that it should not be concerned with, I must support the actions of Governor Abbott in Texas. We must not have rule by minority in this country and we must not override freedoms of association, speech and religion simply to resolve what should be a cultural issue.
And from a Christian perspective, I can tell you that if there is an attempt by any state to force local churches to tolerate same sex marriage, there will be more than just protests. There will be rebellion.
As I said. This is not going to end well.
“The Supreme Court has abandoned its role as an impartial judicial arbiter and has become an unelected nine-member legislature. Five Justices on the Supreme Court have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an issue that the Constitution and the Court’s previous decisions reserve to the people of the States.
“Despite the Supreme Court’s rulings, Texans’ fundamental right to religious liberty remains protected. No Texan is required by the Supreme Court’s decision to act contrary to his or her religious beliefs regarding marriage.
“The Texas Constitution guarantees that ‘[n]o human authority ought, in any case whatsoever, to control or interfere with the rights of conscience in matters of religion.’ The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion; and the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, combined with the newly enacted Pastor Protection Act, provide robust legal protections to Texans whose faith commands them to adhere to the traditional understanding of marriage.
“As I have done in the past, I will continue to defend the religious liberties of all Texans—including those whose conscience dictates that marriage is only the union of one man and one woman. Later today, I will be issuing a directive to state agencies instructing them to prioritize the protection of Texans’ religious liberties.”
This is what happens when government inserts its cold dead hand into an issue it has no business being involved in.
Let me say it again for the record. The State, be they the Feds or the local yokels, should not be involved in deciding who will marry whom. The State should not license marriage. There should be no tax penalties or deductions for married people or their children.
Marriage is none of the State's business.
Furthermore, what came down today from SCOTUS is appalling. I was expecting a 6 to 3, but Roberts tricked me on this one. Even so, the narrow vote and the commentary by the minority on the court makes it clear that deep division on this issue which should be a non-issue, will continue.
The reliance by the majority on the 14th amendment was pathetic. The history and intent of the 14th amendment does not support the issue of marriage in any context. It's as if the constitution was a manipulable Word document on their tablets. There is also many questions about whether the 14th amendment was ever properly ratified since it was forced on the southern states during reconstruction after the civil war.
Freedom of association people! That's what it should be about. If you do not wish to associate with someone on the basis of ANYTHING you should not have to! It's real easy. But no...
So now here we are. Texas is pulling out the stops. I have no doubt that more states will follow. The ugliness is not over. It's only beginning. And it's all because the State thinks they have to be in everyone's business.
This is not going to end well. Mark my words.
UPDATE: I would also like to add that since SCOTUS has legislated from the bench on issues that it should not be concerned with, I must support the actions of Governor Abbott in Texas. We must not have rule by minority in this country and we must not override freedoms of association, speech and religion simply to resolve what should be a cultural issue.
And from a Christian perspective, I can tell you that if there is an attempt by any state to force local churches to tolerate same sex marriage, there will be more than just protests. There will be rebellion.
As I said. This is not going to end well.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Please Be Upstanding for The Stars and Bars
In light of all the kerfuffle over the Confederate Flag, I thought I would take a moment to reproduce it here on the internet forever.
The Confederate flag did not cause the Charleston church shootings ok people? Got that? Guns did not cause the shooting either. Are you following me?
It was a young man abusing his prescription of anti depressants. Every major lone gunman of the last few years has had a prescription. Look it up if you don't believe me. Here's a list.
I know these meds help many people, but it has the exact opposite effect for a handful of folks, mostly young men, that drives them to harm others and themselves. The pharmaceutical companies need to figure out why.
Now Please Be Upstanding for The Stars and Bars.
The Confederate flag did not cause the Charleston church shootings ok people? Got that? Guns did not cause the shooting either. Are you following me?
It was a young man abusing his prescription of anti depressants. Every major lone gunman of the last few years has had a prescription. Look it up if you don't believe me. Here's a list.
I know these meds help many people, but it has the exact opposite effect for a handful of folks, mostly young men, that drives them to harm others and themselves. The pharmaceutical companies need to figure out why.
Now Please Be Upstanding for The Stars and Bars.
A Bad Person
Kind of in line with the previous post comes this one. It is an example of what I was talking about in regard to avoiding people to avoid getting hurt. This has happened within the last two years. I can not remember exactly when it started, but in some respects, it is still going on in my mind.
There is someone at church. He is in his early 20's. He does various things around church. Very active and involved. Seems to be a fine Christian. He tried to strike up a conversation with me one day and I walked away. This happened more than once. Each time I reacted negatively.
I get what I consider to be a bad vibe from him. Something is not right. It worries me. I will not be more specific than that.
I based my entire approach to his offer of friendship on a gut feeling. This is unfair, judgmental, and cruel. I have no way of knowing who he is because I did not try to get to know him. Again, I find myself ashamed of my behavior and embarrassed. It is not right.
Being the gutless wonder that I am, I sent him an email back in December trying to apologize. It was a poor attempt. I pointed out that while I was sorry, I did not think we would become friends.
What is wrong with me? What am I so damned afraid of? People want to be nice to me, to be my friend and I turn away because I have a bad feeling. Ghog needs to get over his bad self.
Is it too late for me to fix this?
I hate doing my laundry in public, but the washer is broke. What do you think?.
There is someone at church. He is in his early 20's. He does various things around church. Very active and involved. Seems to be a fine Christian. He tried to strike up a conversation with me one day and I walked away. This happened more than once. Each time I reacted negatively.
I get what I consider to be a bad vibe from him. Something is not right. It worries me. I will not be more specific than that.
I based my entire approach to his offer of friendship on a gut feeling. This is unfair, judgmental, and cruel. I have no way of knowing who he is because I did not try to get to know him. Again, I find myself ashamed of my behavior and embarrassed. It is not right.
Being the gutless wonder that I am, I sent him an email back in December trying to apologize. It was a poor attempt. I pointed out that while I was sorry, I did not think we would become friends.
What is wrong with me? What am I so damned afraid of? People want to be nice to me, to be my friend and I turn away because I have a bad feeling. Ghog needs to get over his bad self.
Is it too late for me to fix this?
I hate doing my laundry in public, but the washer is broke. What do you think?.
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