His name was Joel Monroe DeVolentine II. He flew C-47s and C-54s in the Berlin Airlift.
For those who don't know, after defeating Germany in World War II, the United States of America, along with its allies, did what we do. We fixed what we had broken.
Germany, the country that set out to conquer the world under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, the country that exterminated millions of Jewish people just because they were Jews, the country that contributed to 700,000 allied soldier being killed or wounded, was decimated in the war.
German citizens did not know where their next meal was coming from. Their government was almost non-existant.
So we helped them.
We flew food and supplies into their capitol for distribution to those in need.
Hundreds of flights per day landed, refuled and took back off to get more necessities for the bedraggled population.
My uncle, Joel Monroe DeVolentine II was a pilot of some of those planes.
While landing at Berlin, my uncle's plane was shot down by a group of stragglers from the German army who could not accept that they had been defeated.
He gave his life in service to this country and to the country whose soldiers shot him down in our peace effort.
My father, Colonel Joseph Edward Scoggins, did not die in the war, but he gave his life to serving our country in the United States Air Force for over 31 years.
He died a year and a half ago in Inverness, Florida.
Hitler never dropped a bomb on this land of ours. He never sent a suicide squad here or flew a plane into a building. But we knew that if our allies fell, he would be here soon. So we enjoined him in battle, along with our allies and ultimately defeated him at a terrible price, but one worth paying for freedom.
On a September morning thousands of American civilians got up, got ready and went to work as they had every day for years.
They never attacked anybody. They never went to a foreign country to kill its citizens. Most were executives and secretaries for companies that provided a living for their employees and profits for their stock-holders.
Soon after they got to work that day two airplanes, hijacked by a group of men sworn by their radical religion to eliminate the great satan who is the United States, crashed into their quiet morning's work through the steel, concrete and glass walls of the buildings in which they worked.
Some of those secretaries were soaked in aviation fuel which then ignited by the fire from the plane that had encroached on their building.
Their skin blistered and their flesh melted as they burned to death in their offices.
Others were above the impact area of the airplanes. They tried to excape the heat and smoke. They attempted to grope their way to the stair well and make their way to safety, not realizing that their path had been cut off by the devastation on the floors below.
There were some on the floors beneath the impact area who made it out of the building, but many were unable to because of the twisted metal and concrete that had fallen from above, blocking their egress from their offices.
Then the top floors of the buildings became too heavy for the remaining girders and walls to hold.
Like giant crushing machines they began to pancake down, each floor adding its weight to the floor below and causing it to join in the fall.
When it was over, almost 3,000 civilians had died.
On the same day, another airplane crashed into our military headquarters at the Pentagon, killing soldiers, civilian personnel and others who had just come to work to do what they did each day.
One other building had been targeted, but the efforts of the hijackers of that aircraft had been thwarted by a group of brave passengers who caught on to what was happening.
Our government leaders discovered what group(s) had been behind this hideous, unwarranted attack carried out by uncivilized barbarians whose mind-set was below that of beasthood and determined that they were prepared to do it again and again until the United States of America was brought to its knees and distroyed.
And so began the war on terrorism.
This is a different kind of war than has ever been waged before. It is a war against a culture of terror, in which the enemy's "soldiers" deliberately target the innocent, strapping bombs to themselves and exploding them and themselves in public places with the expressed purpose of killing and hurting people who are doing nothing more than going through their daily lives.
They are so depraved that they think they are doing an honorable thing.
No war is easy (with the possible exception of the so-called Gulf War, which was a cake-walk as wars go). This war has been and will be harder than most, because of the animalistic behavior of the terrorists.
Yet, in this most difficult of wars, we have not lost as many soldiers as we lost civilians in the attacks on the World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon.
Certainly we have not lost the hundreds of thousands we lost in World War II.
Yet there are whiney, crybaby types who would rather we just lie down and let the terrorists have their way "in the interest of world peace."
Others believe we can sit down and talk with the enemy and come to some mutually satisfactory solution to their complaints about the United States.
Only they are not interested in a mutually satisfactory solution. The only solution they will accept is our complete distruction.
Breaking News! If we just lie down or try to negotiate our way through this, the result will be the overthrow of our nation and we will lose the freedoms men like my uncle and my father gave their lives for.
You will no longer be able to decide what you do with your day, as it will be dictated to you by a despotic group of fanatics who will require your allegience to them and their fake "god."
Maybe that is acceptable to you. It is not to me.
On this Memorial Day, while most of us are picnicing, camping, grillng ribs, shooting off fireworks and taking a weekend vacation, let's remember those who have given their lives defending freedom around the world and the families they left behind.
In the end, freedom at home is secured when there is freedom around the world.
So, let me urge you to take a deep breath and remember the men and women who have willingly given themselves to protecting that freedom.
Remember those who died in WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Afganistan and Iraq.
Let's also remember those who lived through and are living through those conflicts.
While many of us Americans tend to be selfish and a bit greedy about what we have, they are not. They willingly give of themselves for us.
Yep, that's how they see what they are doing...as being done for you and for me, so that we can continue to enjoy the freedoms we have because of freedom that has been secured elsewhere.
Our troops deserve your unabated support and encouragement.
This Memorial Day would be a good time to re-evaluate how we view them and the job they are doing. This would be a good time to re-vitalize the concept of being a citizen of the United States of America.
God, bless the USA!
Reader, please click on and read these links.
http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/proudtobeamerican.html
http://www.lyricskeeper.com/carman-lyrics/214991-america_again-lyrics.htm
Friday, May 26, 2006
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Sort of Back
Sorry I haven't posted lately. I have been really struggling with my heart and tire extremely easily.
I would like to follow-up my last post with a comment left by Denise of Just Thinkin' , and my response to her.
karim and denise said: "Okay, explain this to me...Karim and I are busting ourselves with three jobs between us and still managed to make the poverty level.
Why then, did we have to PAY taxes this year rather than receive a rebate? It doesn't make any sense.
All around us, in our complex, in our town, are illegal aliens that do NOT have ANY work and are making far more than we are.
I am incensed that Karim worked so hard to get his visa (it took two years and a LOT of money), only to come here and give that hard earned money to Juan.
Yes, immigration processes should be made easier, but, on the other hand, I agree that illegal aliens should not be given the rights of a citizen until they acquire legal resident status. (Illegals should be alienated?) ANd the CERTAINLY should NOT be given MORE rights than citizens simply because they are illegal."
My response was:
"denise: I wish I COULD explain it.
Our politicians, all of them, are divisive morons whose main goal is not the betterment of our nation by insisting on liberty and justice for all, but on what kind of pork will get them re-elected.
I think it is idiotic for anybody to have to "stand in line" to become a citizen of this country any more. If we let some get away with short-cutting the system, we should let everybody get away with it."
I voted for President Bush, and I admire his ability to assess an issue, decide what to do about it and get about the business of doing it.
That is NOT to say I agree with or support every decision he has made.
Indeed, I think the approach to protecting our borders and to dealing with illegal aliens already here will be the ultimate downfall of our nation.
It will fall from within as a result of those getting in from without.
Let me be clear. I fear what China represents for the future. I fear the brewing teapot that is the Middle East. I fear the diseases encroaching from Africa, China and India.
The streamlined erosion of our family and moral values concerns me greatly. So does the intolerance of the political left that dictates that their way of tolerating the intollerable is the only correct way.
It has become clear to me, however, that our greatest danger as a nation is not the few thousand here or there who may be killed by some radical religio-cultural ignoramus dying for his/her "cause," but the erosion of the work ethic that has been the hallmark of forming and framing this land.
Do not misunderstand me. One life taken by a suicide bomber is too many. Terrorists are a real threat to the lives of Americans, and we must do what we can to disuade and disable them.
The greatest evil we face is the influx of illegals pouring across our borders, some of whom take low paying jobs (from our perspective), but many of whom are nothing more than a drain on our economic system.
As these people are given (rather than having to earn) citizenship, they will change the political landscape to a degree that it will be unrecognizable.
The welfare state will become a reality and those who have worked their way legally to positions of economic viability will be displaced by a growing number of people with few skills and little incentive to embrace the principles that made our country great.
For centuries, legal immigrants have toiled and struggled to rise to the top socially, economically and in every other way. Their struggles have been rewarded with the benefits afforded by our free society.
I do not disparage the work done by those who have come here across our southern borders. I understand their desire to be here. I want to be here, too. I was born here, the great-grandson of a legal immigrant.
Go to other countries, and you just don't see hoards of Americans stepping over each other to get in. You don't see it in France, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, Nepal, Haiti, Sweeden or any other country.
What is happening now, however, is that we are starting to believe that there are certain laws that it is OK to violate. If certain laws, why not all laws?
Who is to decide which laws are to be obeyed and which ones are not? Congress? Their job is to MAKE laws.
The Supreme Court? Their job is to interpret laws (current trends notwithstanding). The Executive branch? Their job is to execute the laws.
The decision will ultimately be made by the increasing number of those who have already broken the law by coming here without due process. In short, those who make up the population will decide on the basis of what they can get away with.
In a democratic republic, that's called anarchy.
We will cease to exist as The United States of America.
We may be something, but we won't be that.
I would like to follow-up my last post with a comment left by Denise of Just Thinkin' , and my response to her.
karim and denise said: "Okay, explain this to me...Karim and I are busting ourselves with three jobs between us and still managed to make the poverty level.
Why then, did we have to PAY taxes this year rather than receive a rebate? It doesn't make any sense.
All around us, in our complex, in our town, are illegal aliens that do NOT have ANY work and are making far more than we are.
I am incensed that Karim worked so hard to get his visa (it took two years and a LOT of money), only to come here and give that hard earned money to Juan.
Yes, immigration processes should be made easier, but, on the other hand, I agree that illegal aliens should not be given the rights of a citizen until they acquire legal resident status. (Illegals should be alienated?) ANd the CERTAINLY should NOT be given MORE rights than citizens simply because they are illegal."
My response was:
"denise: I wish I COULD explain it.
Our politicians, all of them, are divisive morons whose main goal is not the betterment of our nation by insisting on liberty and justice for all, but on what kind of pork will get them re-elected.
I think it is idiotic for anybody to have to "stand in line" to become a citizen of this country any more. If we let some get away with short-cutting the system, we should let everybody get away with it."
I voted for President Bush, and I admire his ability to assess an issue, decide what to do about it and get about the business of doing it.
That is NOT to say I agree with or support every decision he has made.
Indeed, I think the approach to protecting our borders and to dealing with illegal aliens already here will be the ultimate downfall of our nation.
It will fall from within as a result of those getting in from without.
Let me be clear. I fear what China represents for the future. I fear the brewing teapot that is the Middle East. I fear the diseases encroaching from Africa, China and India.
The streamlined erosion of our family and moral values concerns me greatly. So does the intolerance of the political left that dictates that their way of tolerating the intollerable is the only correct way.
It has become clear to me, however, that our greatest danger as a nation is not the few thousand here or there who may be killed by some radical religio-cultural ignoramus dying for his/her "cause," but the erosion of the work ethic that has been the hallmark of forming and framing this land.
Do not misunderstand me. One life taken by a suicide bomber is too many. Terrorists are a real threat to the lives of Americans, and we must do what we can to disuade and disable them.
The greatest evil we face is the influx of illegals pouring across our borders, some of whom take low paying jobs (from our perspective), but many of whom are nothing more than a drain on our economic system.
As these people are given (rather than having to earn) citizenship, they will change the political landscape to a degree that it will be unrecognizable.
The welfare state will become a reality and those who have worked their way legally to positions of economic viability will be displaced by a growing number of people with few skills and little incentive to embrace the principles that made our country great.
For centuries, legal immigrants have toiled and struggled to rise to the top socially, economically and in every other way. Their struggles have been rewarded with the benefits afforded by our free society.
I do not disparage the work done by those who have come here across our southern borders. I understand their desire to be here. I want to be here, too. I was born here, the great-grandson of a legal immigrant.
Go to other countries, and you just don't see hoards of Americans stepping over each other to get in. You don't see it in France, Germany, Switzerland, Kenya, Nepal, Haiti, Sweeden or any other country.
What is happening now, however, is that we are starting to believe that there are certain laws that it is OK to violate. If certain laws, why not all laws?
Who is to decide which laws are to be obeyed and which ones are not? Congress? Their job is to MAKE laws.
The Supreme Court? Their job is to interpret laws (current trends notwithstanding). The Executive branch? Their job is to execute the laws.
The decision will ultimately be made by the increasing number of those who have already broken the law by coming here without due process. In short, those who make up the population will decide on the basis of what they can get away with.
In a democratic republic, that's called anarchy.
We will cease to exist as The United States of America.
We may be something, but we won't be that.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Words Have Meaning
From Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:
Immigrant
One entry found for immigrant.
Main Entry: im·mi·grant
Pronunciation: 'i-mi-gr&nt
Function: noun: one that immigrates : as a : a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence b : a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown.
My Great-great Grandfather on my mother's side and his family came to the United States from England. He came legally, having filled out the endless forms (a lot, even for those days) studied and memorized the preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence and the presidents of the United States, and eventually to0k and passed the test necessary to become a citizen of the U.S.A.
He was an immigrant. One who came to this country for the expressed purpose of settling here, participating in the American process and becoming a citizen.
One of the workers on the tomato farm just a few miles from my house came to this country by crossing the Mexico/US border in the dead of night. He was later joined by his family and five children.
Juan (not his real name) moves with the crop seasons, lives in a camp-like development, is bussed to the fields each day and does back-breaking work picking tomatoes here, cucumbers there, watermelons and whatever else is almost ripe.
His children, who speak little English, (as is also true of the rest of the family) are enrolled in school in Immokalee, a town east of Naples, Florida, and will change schools according to where the family is working.
When his wife became ill, she was taken to a clinic in Immokalee, treated, got well and returned to working in the fields with her husband.
No taxes are withheld from his wages because his income level is below the amount required to do so.
This worker files a tax return each year.
Juan does not have a Social Security Number, but one shows up on his tax return.
Amazing!
Because he is classified as a "below the poverty level" wage earner, he receives a tax "refund" from the United States Treasury each year, a "refund" of money he did not pay in to begin with. (Somebody please explain that concept to me.)
Between seasons, when Juan is not working, he collects an unemployment check each month.
The Guataloupe Center (a charitable organization in Immokalee) provides meals and clothing to Juan and his family during those "stressful" times.
Juan smokes a pack and a half of cigarettes each day and has three or four beers each evening.
He sleeps well at night.
In the event that Juan develops respiratory or heart problems, he will be treated in Immokalee's hospital, or
transferred to the Naples hospital for some of the best treatment in the nation.
He will not be billed.
(I, on the other hand, who have a heart condition needing surgery and no insurance coverage, make too much money to be treated for free. The operation will cost around $85,000.00 +.
I know! I could sneak into Mexico, become a citizen there, then sneak back into the USA and get my surgery as an illegal alien!
Only the Mexican government would put me in jail for 15 years or more.)
Because Juan has been doing this for a long time, he may soon automatically become a citizen.
In the mean time, there are thousands of people trying to become citizens of the USA by traveling by boat, plane or car, registering with the government, going through the difficult and lengthy process, and striving to be good immigrants in the mean time.
In three to seven years, they will be sworn in as citizens, IF they pass the test.
How stupid are they?
If they would just sneak in, it would be so much easier.
Back when I was in school, breaking in line at lunch-time was a punishable offense.
Now breaking in line is OK.
Things change.
From Meriam-Websters Online Dictionary:
Illegal
Main Entry: 1il·le·gal Pronunciation: (")i(l)-'lE-g&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin;
Middle French illegal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin in- + legalis legal: not according to or authorized by law.
We are a nation of immigrants.
We are NOT supposed to be a nation of illegal aliens.
Maybe we should just change the meaning of "illegal."
(We can if we want to. Several states have changed the meaning of "marriage." It shouldn't be too hard.)
Then we could all do things for which we would now be jailed and it wouldn't matter because we would no longer be considered as having done something illegal!
What a concept!
People who are in this country illegally should be treated with Christ-like kindness as they are being sent back to their country of origin.
That's my opinion.
HERE IS AN UNRELATED ADDENDUM:
For the best expose of The Davinci Code see Modern Day Magi .
Immigrant
One entry found for immigrant.
Main Entry: im·mi·grant
Pronunciation: 'i-mi-gr&nt
Function: noun: one that immigrates : as a : a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence b : a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown.
My Great-great Grandfather on my mother's side and his family came to the United States from England. He came legally, having filled out the endless forms (a lot, even for those days) studied and memorized the preamble to The Constitution of the United States of America, the Declaration of Independence and the presidents of the United States, and eventually to0k and passed the test necessary to become a citizen of the U.S.A.
He was an immigrant. One who came to this country for the expressed purpose of settling here, participating in the American process and becoming a citizen.
One of the workers on the tomato farm just a few miles from my house came to this country by crossing the Mexico/US border in the dead of night. He was later joined by his family and five children.
Juan (not his real name) moves with the crop seasons, lives in a camp-like development, is bussed to the fields each day and does back-breaking work picking tomatoes here, cucumbers there, watermelons and whatever else is almost ripe.
His children, who speak little English, (as is also true of the rest of the family) are enrolled in school in Immokalee, a town east of Naples, Florida, and will change schools according to where the family is working.
When his wife became ill, she was taken to a clinic in Immokalee, treated, got well and returned to working in the fields with her husband.
No taxes are withheld from his wages because his income level is below the amount required to do so.
This worker files a tax return each year.
Juan does not have a Social Security Number, but one shows up on his tax return.
Amazing!
Because he is classified as a "below the poverty level" wage earner, he receives a tax "refund" from the United States Treasury each year, a "refund" of money he did not pay in to begin with. (Somebody please explain that concept to me.)
Between seasons, when Juan is not working, he collects an unemployment check each month.
The Guataloupe Center (a charitable organization in Immokalee) provides meals and clothing to Juan and his family during those "stressful" times.
Juan smokes a pack and a half of cigarettes each day and has three or four beers each evening.
He sleeps well at night.
In the event that Juan develops respiratory or heart problems, he will be treated in Immokalee's hospital, or
transferred to the Naples hospital for some of the best treatment in the nation.
He will not be billed.
(I, on the other hand, who have a heart condition needing surgery and no insurance coverage, make too much money to be treated for free. The operation will cost around $85,000.00 +.
I know! I could sneak into Mexico, become a citizen there, then sneak back into the USA and get my surgery as an illegal alien!
Only the Mexican government would put me in jail for 15 years or more.)
Because Juan has been doing this for a long time, he may soon automatically become a citizen.
In the mean time, there are thousands of people trying to become citizens of the USA by traveling by boat, plane or car, registering with the government, going through the difficult and lengthy process, and striving to be good immigrants in the mean time.
In three to seven years, they will be sworn in as citizens, IF they pass the test.
How stupid are they?
If they would just sneak in, it would be so much easier.
Back when I was in school, breaking in line at lunch-time was a punishable offense.
Now breaking in line is OK.
Things change.
From Meriam-Websters Online Dictionary:
Illegal
Main Entry: 1il·le·gal Pronunciation: (")i(l)-'lE-g&l
Function: adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin;
Middle French illegal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin in- + legalis legal: not according to or authorized by law.
We are a nation of immigrants.
We are NOT supposed to be a nation of illegal aliens.
Maybe we should just change the meaning of "illegal."
(We can if we want to. Several states have changed the meaning of "marriage." It shouldn't be too hard.)
Then we could all do things for which we would now be jailed and it wouldn't matter because we would no longer be considered as having done something illegal!
What a concept!
People who are in this country illegally should be treated with Christ-like kindness as they are being sent back to their country of origin.
That's my opinion.
HERE IS AN UNRELATED ADDENDUM:
For the best expose of The Davinci Code see Modern Day Magi .
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
My Solution
OK. I give up!
I have heard Americans whining long enough!
"Bush lied!"
He did NOT and if you think he did you are a complete, unthinking, illogical idiot. (Don't even bother "explaining" why you think that's unfair. You have nothing new to add and my mind is made up).
President Bush acted on the best information available.
Is it possible that he was wrong to do so?
Yes, but that's not something anyone, including you, could know before the fact.
"We should not have invaded Iraq."
That was not your decisin to make and it was not my decision to make, it was the President's. Unless you think you have information that he did not have (and if you do you are a traitor for not having come forth with it BEFORE 9/11.
He has rid the world of a horrible, murdering despot, and that's a good thing.
"Too many american soldiers have died in the war on terrorism."
Freedom is not free.
All people deserve to be free. Even citizens of Iraq.
How many people died at the Invasion of Normandy? (How many of you even know what the Invasion of Normandy was?)
Over ninety percent of soldiers, including those wounded in Iraq, say they would do it again.
Over 78% of the citizens of Iraq support our efforts there. (Bet you don't read that statistic in the MSM).
"We haven't found Osam Ben Ladin yet."
Yep! But we've rendered him pretty much impotent.
Up to now, those are the answers I have given to all of those "objections."
But I have given up and now offer another solution.
Forget Saddim's trial and return him to power in Iraq.
Give him an extra number of lunkies to help him get back to mass murdering, cutting off the hands of those who oppose him, and disposing of those whose religious beliefs don't jibe with his.
Give him some more machines with which to dig mass graves. Don't want all those dead people and hands stinking up the countryside.
Forget Osama Be Ladin and send him reparations for having chased him out of his adopted country.
Give both Saddim and Osama the technology and hardware to build intercontenental balistic missles, so they can distroy the U.S. without having to commit suicide to do it.
Send back all of the oil we have bought from Iraq and a little extra to boot.
Bring our troops home so they can be here when the missles blow up New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Oh, and let's open our borders to any and all comers from anywhere in the world.
Let's change the meaning of "illegal" to mean whatever the other countries think we should make it mean, as long as it is defined as serving their best interests.
We should close the doors of our evangelical churches, because every body knows right wing Christians are what's basically wrong with this country.
Oh, and while we are at it, let's close the schools, hospitals and relief organizations run by those same conservative Christians and in their place, expand the services of all of the atheist institutions that contribute so much to our free society.
So there you have it.
My solution.
How do you like it?
I have heard Americans whining long enough!
"Bush lied!"
He did NOT and if you think he did you are a complete, unthinking, illogical idiot. (Don't even bother "explaining" why you think that's unfair. You have nothing new to add and my mind is made up).
President Bush acted on the best information available.
Is it possible that he was wrong to do so?
Yes, but that's not something anyone, including you, could know before the fact.
"We should not have invaded Iraq."
That was not your decisin to make and it was not my decision to make, it was the President's. Unless you think you have information that he did not have (and if you do you are a traitor for not having come forth with it BEFORE 9/11.
He has rid the world of a horrible, murdering despot, and that's a good thing.
"Too many american soldiers have died in the war on terrorism."
Freedom is not free.
All people deserve to be free. Even citizens of Iraq.
How many people died at the Invasion of Normandy? (How many of you even know what the Invasion of Normandy was?)
Over ninety percent of soldiers, including those wounded in Iraq, say they would do it again.
Over 78% of the citizens of Iraq support our efforts there. (Bet you don't read that statistic in the MSM).
"We haven't found Osam Ben Ladin yet."
Yep! But we've rendered him pretty much impotent.
Up to now, those are the answers I have given to all of those "objections."
But I have given up and now offer another solution.
Forget Saddim's trial and return him to power in Iraq.
Give him an extra number of lunkies to help him get back to mass murdering, cutting off the hands of those who oppose him, and disposing of those whose religious beliefs don't jibe with his.
Give him some more machines with which to dig mass graves. Don't want all those dead people and hands stinking up the countryside.
Forget Osama Be Ladin and send him reparations for having chased him out of his adopted country.
Give both Saddim and Osama the technology and hardware to build intercontenental balistic missles, so they can distroy the U.S. without having to commit suicide to do it.
Send back all of the oil we have bought from Iraq and a little extra to boot.
Bring our troops home so they can be here when the missles blow up New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, Houston, Atlanta, Miami and Midwest City, Oklahoma.
Oh, and let's open our borders to any and all comers from anywhere in the world.
Let's change the meaning of "illegal" to mean whatever the other countries think we should make it mean, as long as it is defined as serving their best interests.
We should close the doors of our evangelical churches, because every body knows right wing Christians are what's basically wrong with this country.
Oh, and while we are at it, let's close the schools, hospitals and relief organizations run by those same conservative Christians and in their place, expand the services of all of the atheist institutions that contribute so much to our free society.
So there you have it.
My solution.
How do you like it?
Monday, May 15, 2006
Gator Bait
As you know, I love alligators.
Having grown up in Florida and having backpacked the entire state, I have had many interesting experiences with gators, including having stepped on one's tail as he lay bankside at a canal in which I was fishing.
Lately there have been three deaths attributed to alligator attacks in Florida, one of which may have occured AFTER the "victim" was already dead.
Each of these attacks happened as a result of the ignorance of those living near the gators.
Here are the reasons alligators attack people:
1. They have lost their fear of people because they have been fed by people, who think such a thing is cute. The alligator learns to associate people with food and if there is no food forthcoming, the gator is content to let the human become the food. DON'T FEED WILD ALLIGATORS IN FLORDA...IT IS AGAINST THE LAW ANY WAY!
2. Walk or swim near a female alligator's nest. She will protect her young from you and anybody or anything else by which she thinks they are threatened.3. While snorkeling or SCUBA diving you wander into a gator's territory during mating season. Male alligators are not too bright. The only thing they are used to seeing as big as a human is another gator. If he sees you as another male, he will drive you from his territory to keep you from mating with the female he has selected (not that you would want her, but, as I said, gators are not too bright).
Or, the alligator might think you are a female alligator, approach with romantic intent, discover that you are not what he thought, get mad and attack.
4. Groups of alligators gathered in one place should not be approached because they are already primed to get rid of each other, as well as any other intruders.
Except for these circumstances, all alligators will always flee human involvement. They don't like you and want to get away from you as fast as possible.
I used to cast a fishing lure to the bank where several alligators were sunning. Thinking it was food, and being very competitive, they would all try to get the lure. If one succeeded, he would immediately slide into the water and engage in the famed "death roll."
Lots of fun, but I usually had to give up the lure, as it would have been unwise to try to extract it from a gator who is embarrased by his mistake.
I have chased alligators in my canoe (I was in the canoe, not the gator).
At Fisheating Creek, in Florida, I have knowingly swum (swam?) within 50 yards of a massive 14 footer, who just looked at me with a "You're disturbing my sleep! Go away." expression.
Some of the best eating a Cracker can get is fried gator tail. Mmmm good!
When you read of people being attacked by gators, remember: in almost all circumstances the attack could have been prevented.
In the end, gators have only three things on their feeble minds: mating; food and territory.
Don't interfere and you'll be just fine.
And don't confuse a gator with a croc. Crocs are agressive and very dangerous. Gators need not be.
That picture is a crocodile.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
So The Winner Is
It's Official.
The winning picture is the one with Bonnie in it.
Ralph will just have to wait for another time for his 15 minutes of fame.
Speaking of Ralph, several of you have made "gator" comments: skeered of them; "scaring me," etc.
I actually do eat gator whenever possible.
There are two restaurants near here that serve it: "The Three fishermen" and the appropriately named "RJ Gators."
RJ Gators actually has the best, as they fry it up in little chicken-finger style nuggets and it real tender.
For those who don't know, gator does NOT taste like chicken, it has a very mild flavor and a scalop-like texture only a little firmer. Properly done it is tender with a slight sweetness to it.
Now The Three Fishermen has another favorite of mine which is sure to arouse an emotional response from you, frog legs.
Their gator is not as good as RJ Gators, but their frog legs are the best I have ever eaten. And I have eaten frog legs from Louisiana to the Okefenokee to the Florida Everglades.
The owners of Three Fishermen won't tell me their source for their frog legs, for which I do not blame them, but they are the best of the best.
One of my other favorite restaurants in town is the International King Buffet, a Chinese all-you-can eat place.
I don't know where they get their delecious meats so cheaply that they can afford to offer all-you-can eat lunches for $7.00. All I know is that there are no cats around their dumpsters.
OK, all you cat lovers, that was only a joke!
Back off!
Lighten up!
Just kidding!
There aren't any dogs or horses, either.
(Yeeks! How do I get out of this?)
Here are three little puppies having their share of fresh gator meat.
The winning picture is the one with Bonnie in it.
Ralph will just have to wait for another time for his 15 minutes of fame.
Speaking of Ralph, several of you have made "gator" comments: skeered of them; "scaring me," etc.
I actually do eat gator whenever possible.
There are two restaurants near here that serve it: "The Three fishermen" and the appropriately named "RJ Gators."
RJ Gators actually has the best, as they fry it up in little chicken-finger style nuggets and it real tender.
For those who don't know, gator does NOT taste like chicken, it has a very mild flavor and a scalop-like texture only a little firmer. Properly done it is tender with a slight sweetness to it.
Now The Three Fishermen has another favorite of mine which is sure to arouse an emotional response from you, frog legs.
Their gator is not as good as RJ Gators, but their frog legs are the best I have ever eaten. And I have eaten frog legs from Louisiana to the Okefenokee to the Florida Everglades.
The owners of Three Fishermen won't tell me their source for their frog legs, for which I do not blame them, but they are the best of the best.
One of my other favorite restaurants in town is the International King Buffet, a Chinese all-you-can eat place.
I don't know where they get their delecious meats so cheaply that they can afford to offer all-you-can eat lunches for $7.00. All I know is that there are no cats around their dumpsters.
OK, all you cat lovers, that was only a joke!
Back off!
Lighten up!
Just kidding!
There aren't any dogs or horses, either.
(Yeeks! How do I get out of this?)
Here are three little puppies having their share of fresh gator meat.
Friday, May 12, 2006
I Report, You Decide
Which of these pictures do you think I should use in my profile?
Just vote in the comments section and I will tabulate the results.
The gator's name is Ralph.
My wife's name is Bonnie
Bonnie is in the picture on the top-right.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Followup
I just wanted to do a little follow-up to yesterday's prayer post.
There is something missing from the Model Prayer given by Jesus.
There is NO laundry list of gimmies.
Now do not conclude from this that it is wrong to ask for specific things when we pray.
Other scriptures clearly show that we can pray for what we see as our needs.
Paul, in fact, asked the Lord to remove his anomaly (thorn in the flesh) three times.
Now, God did NOT remove it.
It was not Paul's lack of faith, nor was it some sin in his life that kept it from being removed.
God does what He wants, when He wants, where He wants, how He wants IF He wants, and if we don't like it, it is WE who need to get with the program.
God is faithful to do what is best for us. Always what is best for us. He never fails to do what is best for us.
We can conclude that whatever happens to us, if we are His children and trust Him, that it is what is best for us at that moment, even if we cannot for the life of us figure out how that can be.
Isn't that exactly what He promised?
"...all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus."
Now there are MANY blessings to the Christian life. But the Christian life is NOT about blessings. It is about our submission to the will of God through Christ.
There is something missing from the Model Prayer given by Jesus.
There is NO laundry list of gimmies.
Now do not conclude from this that it is wrong to ask for specific things when we pray.
Other scriptures clearly show that we can pray for what we see as our needs.
Paul, in fact, asked the Lord to remove his anomaly (thorn in the flesh) three times.
Now, God did NOT remove it.
It was not Paul's lack of faith, nor was it some sin in his life that kept it from being removed.
God does what He wants, when He wants, where He wants, how He wants IF He wants, and if we don't like it, it is WE who need to get with the program.
God is faithful to do what is best for us. Always what is best for us. He never fails to do what is best for us.
We can conclude that whatever happens to us, if we are His children and trust Him, that it is what is best for us at that moment, even if we cannot for the life of us figure out how that can be.
Isn't that exactly what He promised?
"...all things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus."
Now there are MANY blessings to the Christian life. But the Christian life is NOT about blessings. It is about our submission to the will of God through Christ.
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
How Do We Do That?
The disciples walked with Him every day. They talked with Him, laughed with Him, watched Him bless people with miracles and should have learned just about everything they ever needed to know from Him.
All of the evidence is that they never quite got it.
"Who will sit on your right hand, Jesus?"
"Which of us will be the greatest in your Kingdom, Jesus?"
"Children, get away from the Master, can't you see He has God's work to do?"
"How should we pray, Jesus?"
At the very least, you'd think they had learned how to pray.
But one day one of His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
We call the prayer He taught them, "The Lord's Prayer," but it is, as you know, more properly called "The Model Prayer."
It was never intended to be repeated by rote as a part of some liturgical order, rather it was intended to teach what an effective, fervent prayer should contain in order to avail much.
Here is one way to examine the prayer and how to apply it to our prayer life.
"Our Father..." We can only say this if He IS our father and he is our father if, and only if, we have trusted in the finished work of Jesus at the cross of Calvary for our salvation
"Hallowed be Thy Name..." God is to be revered and honored in our prayers.
"Thy Kingdom come..." Lots to learn here but basically we're to recognize the majesty of the Father.
"Thy will be done..." This is a phrase of submission to God's will, not our own. This may be the most often concept left out of our daily prayers. I've even heard "preachers" say we should not ask for God's will but should ask with authority, as though He has to do what we ask for.
In most prayer meetings I've been in, the emphasis has always been: God heal so-and-so. God bless this
person or that. God give traveling mercies to those going back North for the Summer. God do this. God do that.
We must learn to spend more prayer time seeking God's will for us, recognizing our depravity and asking God to enable us to be submissive.
"On earth..." This means that we are submitting to God right now, right here, where we live.
"As it is in Heaven..." Guess what? God’s will IS and WILL BE done in heaven.
"Give us this day..." Finally it is time to get to our needs and wants. God promised to meet our needs according to His knowledge of our needs, not ours.
"Our daily bread..." God meets our needs daily. If our daily needs are met, we will do fine!
"And forgive us our debts..." Where do we get God's forgiveness? One place only: at the cross.
"As we forgive our debtors..." Dare we ask God to forgive us the same way we forgive others?
Oooo! If God forgives me the way I forgive others, I won't be forgiven at all. Maybe I should develop a different attitude about forgiving others.
"Lead us not into temptation..." God leads, but never to tempt us.
"But deliver us from the evil one..." Through Christ, we are delivered from the evil one. In fact, satan has NO power over a child of God...none. If he has power over you, you are not a child of God and need to come to Him.
"For Thine is the Kingdom..." Here we are taught to continually recognize who is on the throne of our lives, as well of the universe.
"The Power..." The power of God is beyond our comprehension. All power is His…we have none of our own.
"The glory..." He gets glory for everything. We are to reserve none for ourselves.
"Forever..." His Kingdom, power and glory never end.
So, how do YOU pray?
All of the evidence is that they never quite got it.
"Who will sit on your right hand, Jesus?"
"Which of us will be the greatest in your Kingdom, Jesus?"
"Children, get away from the Master, can't you see He has God's work to do?"
"How should we pray, Jesus?"
At the very least, you'd think they had learned how to pray.
But one day one of His disciples said, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."
We call the prayer He taught them, "The Lord's Prayer," but it is, as you know, more properly called "The Model Prayer."
It was never intended to be repeated by rote as a part of some liturgical order, rather it was intended to teach what an effective, fervent prayer should contain in order to avail much.
Here is one way to examine the prayer and how to apply it to our prayer life.
"Our Father..." We can only say this if He IS our father and he is our father if, and only if, we have trusted in the finished work of Jesus at the cross of Calvary for our salvation
"Hallowed be Thy Name..." God is to be revered and honored in our prayers.
"Thy Kingdom come..." Lots to learn here but basically we're to recognize the majesty of the Father.
"Thy will be done..." This is a phrase of submission to God's will, not our own. This may be the most often concept left out of our daily prayers. I've even heard "preachers" say we should not ask for God's will but should ask with authority, as though He has to do what we ask for.
In most prayer meetings I've been in, the emphasis has always been: God heal so-and-so. God bless this
person or that. God give traveling mercies to those going back North for the Summer. God do this. God do that.
We must learn to spend more prayer time seeking God's will for us, recognizing our depravity and asking God to enable us to be submissive.
"On earth..." This means that we are submitting to God right now, right here, where we live.
"As it is in Heaven..." Guess what? God’s will IS and WILL BE done in heaven.
"Give us this day..." Finally it is time to get to our needs and wants. God promised to meet our needs according to His knowledge of our needs, not ours.
"Our daily bread..." God meets our needs daily. If our daily needs are met, we will do fine!
"And forgive us our debts..." Where do we get God's forgiveness? One place only: at the cross.
"As we forgive our debtors..." Dare we ask God to forgive us the same way we forgive others?
Oooo! If God forgives me the way I forgive others, I won't be forgiven at all. Maybe I should develop a different attitude about forgiving others.
"Lead us not into temptation..." God leads, but never to tempt us.
"But deliver us from the evil one..." Through Christ, we are delivered from the evil one. In fact, satan has NO power over a child of God...none. If he has power over you, you are not a child of God and need to come to Him.
"For Thine is the Kingdom..." Here we are taught to continually recognize who is on the throne of our lives, as well of the universe.
"The Power..." The power of God is beyond our comprehension. All power is His…we have none of our own.
"The glory..." He gets glory for everything. We are to reserve none for ourselves.
"Forever..." His Kingdom, power and glory never end.
So, how do YOU pray?
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Sunday Praise
Dear Father, In Jesus Name we come to you to recognize your majesty and greatness.
By your Holy Spirit, and by the shed blood of Christ, take from us anything that may be displeasing to you and replace it with a willingness to be your servants committed to your will and your way in all we do.
Teach us to walk with you daily and to enjoy the fellowship you offer.
Give us patience to stay the course, keep the faith and see the victory that is ours through our Savior.
As we look to your future for us, fill us with your peace and assurance.
We offer our praise to you in Jesus name.
O Master Let Me Walk with Thee
by Washington Cladden and H. Percy Smith
http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh430.sht
1. O Master, let me walk with thee
in lowly paths of service free;
tell me thy secret; help me bear
the strain of toil, the fret of care.
2. Help me the slow of heart to move
by some clear, winning word of love;
teach me the wayward feet to stay,
and guide them in the homeward way.
3. Teach me thy patience; still with thee
in closer, dearer company,
in work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
in trust that triumphs over wrong;
4. In hope that sends a shining ray
far down the future's broadening way,
in peace that only thou canst give,
with thee, O Master, let me live.
By your Holy Spirit, and by the shed blood of Christ, take from us anything that may be displeasing to you and replace it with a willingness to be your servants committed to your will and your way in all we do.
Teach us to walk with you daily and to enjoy the fellowship you offer.
Give us patience to stay the course, keep the faith and see the victory that is ours through our Savior.
As we look to your future for us, fill us with your peace and assurance.
We offer our praise to you in Jesus name.
O Master Let Me Walk with Thee
by Washington Cladden and H. Percy Smith
http://www.hymnsite.com/lyrics/umh430.sht
1. O Master, let me walk with thee
in lowly paths of service free;
tell me thy secret; help me bear
the strain of toil, the fret of care.
2. Help me the slow of heart to move
by some clear, winning word of love;
teach me the wayward feet to stay,
and guide them in the homeward way.
3. Teach me thy patience; still with thee
in closer, dearer company,
in work that keeps faith sweet and strong,
in trust that triumphs over wrong;
4. In hope that sends a shining ray
far down the future's broadening way,
in peace that only thou canst give,
with thee, O Master, let me live.
Saturday, May 06, 2006
The Dean of Missionaries
I just got back from the web site of a friend of mine, Dean Smith.
Dean used to be my Sunday School Director in a church at which I served as Director of Education..
He felt God's call to the mission field and is ministering among Native Americans at Morning Star Baptist Church on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.
Dean had to overcome some resistance from ecclesiastical quarters to get there, but has served for four-and-a-half years, now.
If you get a chance, visit his site at http://www.freewebs.com/missiondriven/ .
God bless you, Dean!
Dean used to be my Sunday School Director in a church at which I served as Director of Education..
He felt God's call to the mission field and is ministering among Native Americans at Morning Star Baptist Church on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Lame Deer, Montana.
Dean had to overcome some resistance from ecclesiastical quarters to get there, but has served for four-and-a-half years, now.
If you get a chance, visit his site at http://www.freewebs.com/missiondriven/ .
God bless you, Dean!
Thursday, May 04, 2006
VOODOO CHRISTIANITY The Series-Bakelite
The other day I was watching T.V. Evangelist who was going to pray for someone in Oklahoma with back trouble.
"Place your hand on the T.V. as a point of contact..."
Do what?
This is not the first time I have heard this.
Back in the dark ages I remember listening to a certain self-proclaimed faith-healer who always asked his audience to place their hands on the radio "as a point of contact."
What on earth is this "point of contact" stuff?
In those days, radios were made of a prehistoric plastic called Bakelite.
If you placed your hand on the radio, you were effectively insulated from any electricity that might have made its way a metal case, as Bakelite was widely used as an insulator.
You were not contacting anything other than the radio case.
Where did this notion of a "point of contact" come from?
It is certainly not a Biblical term.
The only reference to the word "contact" in scripture is:
Hag 2:13
Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
Defiled? Is that what we want to happen when a person being prayed for touches the radio or T.V.? I don't think so.
It is true that the woman with an issue of blood reached out and touched Jesus' garment and was healed, but it is more than a stretch to conclude that some form of physical contact is necessary for healing to take place.
Scripture tells us that Jesus could easily heal "long distance."
Truth is, this business of "a point of contact" is nothing more than someone's creative imagination going to work.
From there it developed into a ritualistic behavior pattern and gimick that some "evangelist" made up to "help" the listener/watcher believe that he/she was doing something that would make God notice him/her in particular.
Fact is, since it is extra-Biblical in origin, it is nothing more than superstition and should be rejected completely by a real believer.
In short, it is VOODOO CHRISTIANITY!
After all, we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7)
"Place your hand on the T.V. as a point of contact..."
Do what?
This is not the first time I have heard this.
Back in the dark ages I remember listening to a certain self-proclaimed faith-healer who always asked his audience to place their hands on the radio "as a point of contact."
What on earth is this "point of contact" stuff?
In those days, radios were made of a prehistoric plastic called Bakelite.
If you placed your hand on the radio, you were effectively insulated from any electricity that might have made its way a metal case, as Bakelite was widely used as an insulator.
You were not contacting anything other than the radio case.
Where did this notion of a "point of contact" come from?
It is certainly not a Biblical term.
The only reference to the word "contact" in scripture is:
Hag 2:13
Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests replied, "it becomes defiled."
Defiled? Is that what we want to happen when a person being prayed for touches the radio or T.V.? I don't think so.
It is true that the woman with an issue of blood reached out and touched Jesus' garment and was healed, but it is more than a stretch to conclude that some form of physical contact is necessary for healing to take place.
Scripture tells us that Jesus could easily heal "long distance."
Truth is, this business of "a point of contact" is nothing more than someone's creative imagination going to work.
From there it developed into a ritualistic behavior pattern and gimick that some "evangelist" made up to "help" the listener/watcher believe that he/she was doing something that would make God notice him/her in particular.
Fact is, since it is extra-Biblical in origin, it is nothing more than superstition and should be rejected completely by a real believer.
In short, it is VOODOO CHRISTIANITY!
After all, we live by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor 5:7)
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Attitudes of Being
ATTITUDE
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head."Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head."H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head."Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Attitude is everything.
MATTHEW 5:1-12 (The Be Attitudes)
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So...how's YOUR attitude today?
There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head."Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head."H-M-M, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head."Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.
The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"
Attitude is everything.
MATTHEW 5:1-12 (The Be Attitudes)
1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
So...how's YOUR attitude today?
Monday, May 01, 2006
Gospel of Who?
I studied Psychology, Sociology, Education and Religion at Stetson University. I studied New Testament and Church Ministries at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I am not a scholar of languages, especially not Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic.
This said, I do know how to do research and I do know how to be scholarly...I just don't find it very practical for the average, every-day human, myself included.
What I'm about to do is not intended to be scholarly, it is intended to help us all understand something better and how if affects our daily Christian walk.
I will start with something I have written before, and no doubt will write again. It has to do with my definition of the Bible and what it is for.
Definition: The Bible is God's revelation of His own character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.
The bible is neither a history book, a science book, a philosophy book, a psychology book, a story book, a math book nor a "plan-book for living," although it contains the best of each of those ever written.
There are many sub-themes in the Bible, but the Bible is about God, not about you and not about me. Before we can rightly interpret the Bible, we must get past the ego-centric idea that it is about us.
Everything we need to know about God is found in the Word of God; nothing we need to know about God is NOT found in the Word of God; and everything we THINK we know about God that is not in the Word of God, we just made up.
Let's sum up what we have learned thus far.
The Bible is about God and the Bible is complete.
The books of the Bible were written by about 40 authors and are 66 in number.
All scripture is God breathed. That is the meaning of inspired.
The Bible we use today is said to have been "canonized," which means that some men got together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and decided what writings should be included.
Writings that were NOT consistant with the revelation of the character of God found in the ones selected, were deliberately omitted.
If a study of the entire Bible is done correctly, it becomes clear that the books chosen are consistant with each other in their presentation of the character of God, Genesis with Matthew, James with Leviticus and so on in every conceivable combination.
It is also clear that there is absolutely no need, spiritual or otherwise, for there to be any additional writing to reveal any more of the character of God. Any such writing would simply be either redundant or incorrect.
So much for my introduction.
And now what I'm getting at.
There is much hubbub lately about The DaVinci Code, and various recently "discovered" writings, such as The Gospel of Judas, The gospels of Thomas, Peter, Mary, Truth and a so-called Secret Book of John.
The Davinci Code is a work that was originally presented as a fictional story based on newly discovered facts. It is now being touted as just a book of fiction, forget the part about based on newly discovered facts.
The reason for the change is that the facts turned out not to be facts and the book was discovered to be full of errors that even a tiny bit of research could have prevented (you supporters of the book should try counting the stained glass panes it talks about as being so coincidentally 666 in number. That simply is not so, and if something so simple got past the author's "research," do you suppose maybe the important stuff got missed, too?).
DaVinci's Last Supper painting, from which the book gets its "inspiration", has a not-at-all secret code, written by the artist, himself, which lists the person leaning on Christ as John, yet Brown decided it was Mary Magdelene.
Read the book and see the movie if you want to. If you know Christ it will do you no harm. If you don't know Christ, it will do you no good, save for some pretty stupid entertainment.
Now let's consider the various so-called gospels.
What does it take to be a gospel?
Definition: The word "gospel" means "good news."
It does not mean "truth," or "Bible" or "how to live" or "what happened," it means "good news."
The GOOD NEWS is that the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah is absolutely all that is needed to pay the sin debt owed by every person who has ever lived, is living or ever will live. Period.
Every book of the Old Testament points forward to this event, and the New Testament gives witness to it.
Everything that adds to, takes from or alters this is NOT good news, it is BAD news.
The so-called Gospel of Judas changes the good news into a mystical, previously secret account of Jesus' conversation with Judas in which Judas betrays Jesus to accomplish the release of Jesus' spirit from His body so that He could get on with what He needed to do.
That is not good news.
The "Gospel of Thomas" postulates that salvation comes from what a person has within him/her, rather than from a trust in the finished work of Christ at the Cross.
That's not good news.
The "Gospel of Mary" speaks in terms of special revelations given to Mary Magdelene and kept from His disciples.
That's not good news, either.
The "Gospel of Truth" teaches that everything God created was bad and that each of us has to find the so-called "light that does not fail" within ourselves.
That's not good news.
Then there's the "Secret Book of John," which reveals to us that the God of the Old Testament did His best to hide the truth from humans.
In fact, a proper reading of the Old Testament points directly to God's plan to intervene in the history of man with His only begotten Son's death, burial and resurrection.
BTW: "Only begotten" means that God's son was not created and did not have a brother named Lucifer, but that God, Himself, miraculously impregnated a virgin in order to bring Himself to earth to pay the penalty for our sin Hmself.
And THAT, my friend, is how we know Jesus and God are one and the same (to which Scripture gives ample testimony).
Do not be blown this way and that by one doctrinal wind or the other.
Rather stand firm in the knowledge of the Good News that though a person's sinful nature requires a righteous God to reject him, God's love was such that, in the very eternal moment of our sin, He paid the required debt for us.
Be assured that the Word of God, as it was inspired to the 40, or so, men (of various ages and in different eras), is all we need to know about Him and our relationship to him.
There are no additions, subtractions, modifications to it needed.
And while He could reveal something more to us (since He is all knowing and we are not) He has not and will not...at least until we completely believe the good news He has already revealed to us.
We couldn't handle it anyway.
This said, I do know how to do research and I do know how to be scholarly...I just don't find it very practical for the average, every-day human, myself included.
What I'm about to do is not intended to be scholarly, it is intended to help us all understand something better and how if affects our daily Christian walk.
I will start with something I have written before, and no doubt will write again. It has to do with my definition of the Bible and what it is for.
Definition: The Bible is God's revelation of His own character, His love for His creation and His plan for its redemption.
The bible is neither a history book, a science book, a philosophy book, a psychology book, a story book, a math book nor a "plan-book for living," although it contains the best of each of those ever written.
There are many sub-themes in the Bible, but the Bible is about God, not about you and not about me. Before we can rightly interpret the Bible, we must get past the ego-centric idea that it is about us.
Everything we need to know about God is found in the Word of God; nothing we need to know about God is NOT found in the Word of God; and everything we THINK we know about God that is not in the Word of God, we just made up.
Let's sum up what we have learned thus far.
The Bible is about God and the Bible is complete.
The books of the Bible were written by about 40 authors and are 66 in number.
All scripture is God breathed. That is the meaning of inspired.
The Bible we use today is said to have been "canonized," which means that some men got together under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and decided what writings should be included.
Writings that were NOT consistant with the revelation of the character of God found in the ones selected, were deliberately omitted.
If a study of the entire Bible is done correctly, it becomes clear that the books chosen are consistant with each other in their presentation of the character of God, Genesis with Matthew, James with Leviticus and so on in every conceivable combination.
It is also clear that there is absolutely no need, spiritual or otherwise, for there to be any additional writing to reveal any more of the character of God. Any such writing would simply be either redundant or incorrect.
So much for my introduction.
And now what I'm getting at.
There is much hubbub lately about The DaVinci Code, and various recently "discovered" writings, such as The Gospel of Judas, The gospels of Thomas, Peter, Mary, Truth and a so-called Secret Book of John.
The Davinci Code is a work that was originally presented as a fictional story based on newly discovered facts. It is now being touted as just a book of fiction, forget the part about based on newly discovered facts.
The reason for the change is that the facts turned out not to be facts and the book was discovered to be full of errors that even a tiny bit of research could have prevented (you supporters of the book should try counting the stained glass panes it talks about as being so coincidentally 666 in number. That simply is not so, and if something so simple got past the author's "research," do you suppose maybe the important stuff got missed, too?).
DaVinci's Last Supper painting, from which the book gets its "inspiration", has a not-at-all secret code, written by the artist, himself, which lists the person leaning on Christ as John, yet Brown decided it was Mary Magdelene.
Read the book and see the movie if you want to. If you know Christ it will do you no harm. If you don't know Christ, it will do you no good, save for some pretty stupid entertainment.
Now let's consider the various so-called gospels.
What does it take to be a gospel?
Definition: The word "gospel" means "good news."
It does not mean "truth," or "Bible" or "how to live" or "what happened," it means "good news."
The GOOD NEWS is that the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah is absolutely all that is needed to pay the sin debt owed by every person who has ever lived, is living or ever will live. Period.
Every book of the Old Testament points forward to this event, and the New Testament gives witness to it.
Everything that adds to, takes from or alters this is NOT good news, it is BAD news.
The so-called Gospel of Judas changes the good news into a mystical, previously secret account of Jesus' conversation with Judas in which Judas betrays Jesus to accomplish the release of Jesus' spirit from His body so that He could get on with what He needed to do.
That is not good news.
The "Gospel of Thomas" postulates that salvation comes from what a person has within him/her, rather than from a trust in the finished work of Christ at the Cross.
That's not good news.
The "Gospel of Mary" speaks in terms of special revelations given to Mary Magdelene and kept from His disciples.
That's not good news, either.
The "Gospel of Truth" teaches that everything God created was bad and that each of us has to find the so-called "light that does not fail" within ourselves.
That's not good news.
Then there's the "Secret Book of John," which reveals to us that the God of the Old Testament did His best to hide the truth from humans.
In fact, a proper reading of the Old Testament points directly to God's plan to intervene in the history of man with His only begotten Son's death, burial and resurrection.
BTW: "Only begotten" means that God's son was not created and did not have a brother named Lucifer, but that God, Himself, miraculously impregnated a virgin in order to bring Himself to earth to pay the penalty for our sin Hmself.
And THAT, my friend, is how we know Jesus and God are one and the same (to which Scripture gives ample testimony).
Do not be blown this way and that by one doctrinal wind or the other.
Rather stand firm in the knowledge of the Good News that though a person's sinful nature requires a righteous God to reject him, God's love was such that, in the very eternal moment of our sin, He paid the required debt for us.
Be assured that the Word of God, as it was inspired to the 40, or so, men (of various ages and in different eras), is all we need to know about Him and our relationship to him.
There are no additions, subtractions, modifications to it needed.
And while He could reveal something more to us (since He is all knowing and we are not) He has not and will not...at least until we completely believe the good news He has already revealed to us.
We couldn't handle it anyway.
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