I am a crank. Theologically speaking, I'm the equivalent of the guy who builds time machines in his basement out of aluminum pie-pans, twist-ties, and oatmeal boxes.
I am orthodox. I insist on Biblical authority for what we do, whether it is home life, or church polity.
I'm in trouble, because I have to call into question the whole "we have to hire a preacher" mindset at our congregation. It is more in line with the whole Western / Protestant construct, aided and abetted by the Bible College / Seminary complex, rather than with the New Testament model of church order.
I am SO cooked...!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD!
I keep trying to ignore the Miers nomination. You know, maybe it will just go away.
With our Stealth Democrat in the ovoid orifice, it has become painful to me to remember that I voted for him.
Twice.
(I honest-to-God MISS Bill Clinton, but that's as may be...)
The Miers foofooraw has reminded me of one Important Thing.
The Most Important Thing in the World.
For all of the issues which could and need to be addressed, like immigration law, Ms. Myers is making the rounds of the Usual Suspects to deal with the Most Important Thing.
The sovereign Right of a woman to off her unborn offspring.
Never mind that it is the Law of the land, and will likely NEVER be overturned- at least as long as Churchians keep evangelising through the voting booth rather than through teaching and changing hearts. This charade keeps being played out.
I am SO-O-O-O bored.
I keep trying to ignore the Miers nomination. You know, maybe it will just go away.
With our Stealth Democrat in the ovoid orifice, it has become painful to me to remember that I voted for him.
Twice.
(I honest-to-God MISS Bill Clinton, but that's as may be...)
The Miers foofooraw has reminded me of one Important Thing.
The Most Important Thing in the World.
For all of the issues which could and need to be addressed, like immigration law, Ms. Myers is making the rounds of the Usual Suspects to deal with the Most Important Thing.
The sovereign Right of a woman to off her unborn offspring.
Never mind that it is the Law of the land, and will likely NEVER be overturned- at least as long as Churchians keep evangelising through the voting booth rather than through teaching and changing hearts. This charade keeps being played out.
I am SO-O-O-O bored.
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I am not a theologian. I tend to want to speak of Things Biblical in Terms Biblical. Where I miss the mark, feel free to point, utter a high-pitched "HA-HA" and call me a hypocrite.
I'll forgive you.
A majority of the problems extant in The Church at the Beginning of the 21st Century arise from NOT using the native terminology of the Scriptures, that is, we introduce extra-Biblical words and concepts in our argume...er, discussions.
The classic fool's errand of arguing God's Omni-whatever is rendered meaningless when we choose to speak in the Scripture's terms, rather than importing foreign philosophical language and concepts.
The current rage is discussing the Actual Biblical Sanction of Polygamy.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2005/10/mailvox-ride-on-time.html
Sorry, can't find "Polygamy" in the Bible. Use Bible terms to discuss Bible things. You don't discuss Monopoly using the rules of Blackjack.
Start with Adam and Eve, One man, one woman.
Genesis 2:24, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
The New Testament, Jesus quotes Adam as authoritative:
Matthew 19:3-6, "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
I'm convinced.
You see, if we follow the Biblical pattern, you either have marriage, or marriage plus adultery.
One is good, more is bad.
We have dealt personally with a promulgator of multiple wives. The Dread Dormomoo has done an exhaustive study of the issue...not all of which has been yet posted. Here is the link.
Enjoy. And speak as God's Word speaks.
I'll forgive you.
A majority of the problems extant in The Church at the Beginning of the 21st Century arise from NOT using the native terminology of the Scriptures, that is, we introduce extra-Biblical words and concepts in our argume...er, discussions.
The classic fool's errand of arguing God's Omni-whatever is rendered meaningless when we choose to speak in the Scripture's terms, rather than importing foreign philosophical language and concepts.
The current rage is discussing the Actual Biblical Sanction of Polygamy.
http://voxday.blogspot.com/2005/10/mailvox-ride-on-time.html
Sorry, can't find "Polygamy" in the Bible. Use Bible terms to discuss Bible things. You don't discuss Monopoly using the rules of Blackjack.
Start with Adam and Eve, One man, one woman.
Genesis 2:24, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
The New Testament, Jesus quotes Adam as authoritative:
Matthew 19:3-6, "The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
I'm convinced.
You see, if we follow the Biblical pattern, you either have marriage, or marriage plus adultery.
One is good, more is bad.
We have dealt personally with a promulgator of multiple wives. The Dread Dormomoo has done an exhaustive study of the issue...not all of which has been yet posted. Here is the link.
Enjoy. And speak as God's Word speaks.
Monday, October 10, 2005
A Horrible Revelation of Heffalump Proportions
I was doing research on "late great planet earth/Left Behind-ism" for the class I teach on, ummm... creative doctrines. I ran across the foofooraw that Walt Hibbard
was involved in regarding his teaching the "heretical" idea that Jesus' "end-times"
teaching in Matthew 24 in fact refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, not some Rube Goldberg history yet-to-come contrivance.
The church leaders wanted to argue on the basis of the Creeds, and the Westminster Confession.
NOT the Word of God.
I must be the most naive guy around. I can't believe that such...such...APOSTASY
is so rampant in theologically conservative groups.
This is me, mourning.
Let us pray for the Whole State of Christ's Church.
I was doing research on "late great planet earth/Left Behind-ism" for the class I teach on, ummm... creative doctrines. I ran across the foofooraw that Walt Hibbard
was involved in regarding his teaching the "heretical" idea that Jesus' "end-times"
teaching in Matthew 24 in fact refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70, not some Rube Goldberg history yet-to-come contrivance.
The church leaders wanted to argue on the basis of the Creeds, and the Westminster Confession.
NOT the Word of God.
I must be the most naive guy around. I can't believe that such...such...APOSTASY
is so rampant in theologically conservative groups.
This is me, mourning.
Let us pray for the Whole State of Christ's Church.
Sunday, October 09, 2005
...and then they changed it to G-4
The Aardvark is by no means a geek. I mean, I get my kids to fix this-or-that with my computers- tho' Riatsila cannot set the wretched VCR either.
So the thesis is: I am not a geek. Big whoop. But I AM fascinated by Tech. I love it.
Best Buy is to me as the Sears tool department was to my sainted father-in-law.
Bud LOVED tools, not for the tool's sake, but for utility's sake. Happiness was a good new tool. I gave him some newfangled Alligator pliers as a cool Yule present, and he was a happy camper. You can use 'em one-handed!
Tech. It's great. Thus, when TechTV joined our Charter Cable lineup, I was pleased. Happy. Hugely entertained. They were based out of San Francisco, but were actually useful! The young AND the middle-aged mingling and working to birth us into a tech Paradise. Leo LaPorte was a greying computer whiz, wrote books, and knew his stuff. Here is his site:
http://www.leoville.com
The not-so-callow youts with whom he worked were wonders, too, but Leo was kinda MY age. Made me feel like I could do this, too. He's a Macboy, but nobody's perfekt.
Too bad. In 2004, G4 bought out TechTV, said "Move to LA."-you know, where All Things Happen- and Leo said "unh-unh".
'Bye, Leo.
Now, G4 has happenin' shows like "Attack of the Show" , in which callow youts whose attitudes can be summed up in the word "snot", make sage commentary on the pop-tech scene. >sigh<
This sad son-of-TechTV isn't so Tech anymore. They are adding a "new" show.
Remember Adam Carolla and Jimmy Kimmel?
Remember "The Man Show"?
G4 presents reruns of "The Man Show".
Welcome to the Age of Tech!
I wonder if they'll review the Nano...
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
I'm not down with this.
I am amazed at how widespread depression is. Not the "She broke up with me so I'll write some O, God, the Pain poetry, eat pizza and I'll feel all better" kind of down-ness. Real heart deadening, pull-the-covers-over-your-head for three days, not even the Resurrection could pull me out DEPRESSION. The kind that pharmacologists giggle about.
I've endured it.
The Dread Dormomoo has.
Two of my kids have / are.
Good friends have.
Even one I've never met.
The Aardvark is at an utter loss.
Here we are, in the most prosperous, anything-right-at-your-fingertips, right now,
society, with ANY belief system you could possibly imagine (and our brethren got bent out of shape at the "go to the church of your choice" thing), and every other guy and gal it seems is poppin' Paxil, or scarfing Celexa.
What is up with this?
NOTE: This is NOT a condemnation of prescription help. I was on Elavil for a year or so, until I had to choose to stop. It was either work or sleep. If ANY prescription drug has "May cause drowsiness" in the contraindications, simply substitute "Will induce coma" for me. Now I work, and self-medicate with the occasional brew and/or cigars. Recognise, too, that depression seems to have a shelf-life. Studies have shown that depressed study groups who variously do prescriptions, counseling, or nothing tend to improve in roughly the same period of time.
Now, I'm really at a loss to understand this phenomenon. Unless of course it's not new.
Check out a hymnal sometime. Some of the hymns of the 1800s bear the unmistakable mark of someone working through depression, or at least through menopausal angst. Those from the Depression era, well, they speak for themselves.
Depression is the pits. It is helpful to know that you are not alone in your experience. In this time, or an any.
Hebrews 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.".
I am amazed at how widespread depression is. Not the "She broke up with me so I'll write some O, God, the Pain poetry, eat pizza and I'll feel all better" kind of down-ness. Real heart deadening, pull-the-covers-over-your-head for three days, not even the Resurrection could pull me out DEPRESSION. The kind that pharmacologists giggle about.
I've endured it.
The Dread Dormomoo has.
Two of my kids have / are.
Good friends have.
Even one I've never met.
The Aardvark is at an utter loss.
Here we are, in the most prosperous, anything-right-at-your-fingertips, right now,
society, with ANY belief system you could possibly imagine (and our brethren got bent out of shape at the "go to the church of your choice" thing), and every other guy and gal it seems is poppin' Paxil, or scarfing Celexa.
What is up with this?
NOTE: This is NOT a condemnation of prescription help. I was on Elavil for a year or so, until I had to choose to stop. It was either work or sleep. If ANY prescription drug has "May cause drowsiness" in the contraindications, simply substitute "Will induce coma" for me. Now I work, and self-medicate with the occasional brew and/or cigars. Recognise, too, that depression seems to have a shelf-life. Studies have shown that depressed study groups who variously do prescriptions, counseling, or nothing tend to improve in roughly the same period of time.
Now, I'm really at a loss to understand this phenomenon. Unless of course it's not new.
Check out a hymnal sometime. Some of the hymns of the 1800s bear the unmistakable mark of someone working through depression, or at least through menopausal angst. Those from the Depression era, well, they speak for themselves.
Depression is the pits. It is helpful to know that you are not alone in your experience. In this time, or an any.
Hebrews 4:14-16, "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.".
Sunday, October 02, 2005
I've had a rev-uh-LAY-shun!
YAY-ussss.
Say BAY-bee.
But seriously, folks, if you should check out the parable of the talents,
Matthew 25:14-30
(Now, for the uninitiated, a talent is a monetary unit of weight.
Not an ability.
So get it straight.)
you will find a strange truth.
God is far happier if we try and miss it, than if we don't try at all.
Now, He would RATHER we succeed.
But He is the great Redeemer.
But there has to be something to redeem.
So even if all you can do is stick it in the bank, do it.
He can fix us, and will, if we give Him something to fix!
Here endeth the lesson.
YAY-ussss.
Say BAY-bee.
But seriously, folks, if you should check out the parable of the talents,
Matthew 25:14-30
(Now, for the uninitiated, a talent is a monetary unit of weight.
Not an ability.
So get it straight.)
you will find a strange truth.
God is far happier if we try and miss it, than if we don't try at all.
Now, He would RATHER we succeed.
But He is the great Redeemer.
But there has to be something to redeem.
So even if all you can do is stick it in the bank, do it.
He can fix us, and will, if we give Him something to fix!
Here endeth the lesson.
Friday, September 30, 2005
Well, okay, I went to see Serenity with Mr. McLeod at Regal Cinemas. You know; the one behind the Mall. Went in to get our tickets at the concession stand, where the Simpsons Teenaged Kid received our shekels, and his female counterpart, the one with the CANDY NECKLACE around her neck (O, please, dear Father, let it be plastic...) and a grin like Nicholson's Joker hit us up to join the Regal Crown Club. "You get double points on Fridays, and we don't make you sit in the sticky section." We demurred.
Got to the correct shoebox, shoehorned ourselves into our comfy stadium seating- why does your elbow fit so well into the cupholder?- and watched the Exceedingly Entertaining Slideshow. I mean, shoot, our country CHURCH has Powerpoint! Then the Trailers began...wait...it's the COMMERCIALS-The same ones we see at home, except that you can enjoy every blemish on the actors' phizzes. And why are they over there, partway on the curtains?
Hmmmmm...
The Trailers began. Over there. When I pay to see commercials and trailers, I want them over HERE, centred on the screen. Large fanboys are getting up to look for the manager. The anamorphic lens that s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the image into widescreen format is not in place. The actresses look more anorexic than usual. This happens all the time, though...these guys are professionals...it'll be fine.
AH! The Universal logo appears, with the attendant swelling "Hercules" type music.
It's not widescreen.
The Earth is tall and thin.
So THIS is what they mean about the Earth being all used up...
They get the movie centred. That's something.
The Serenity looks odd. Squashy somehow. Kaylee had a chibi moment, but got it wrong.
I get up to look for the manager. I find the engineer, and ask if they plan to use the anamorphic lens. He burbles that neither setting is working right, and that the anamorphic seems to be broken...the image doesn't fit the mask, or summat...The upshot being that they opted to show the movie in "squash 'n' stretch" mode, whilst whistling, scuffing their toes in the sand and hoping that no-one noticed.
Mr. McLeod and I opted to walk. The teenager refunded our money, commenting "I'm surprised you lasted that long.".
I can hardly wait to see Serenity.
Got to the correct shoebox, shoehorned ourselves into our comfy stadium seating- why does your elbow fit so well into the cupholder?- and watched the Exceedingly Entertaining Slideshow. I mean, shoot, our country CHURCH has Powerpoint! Then the Trailers began...wait...it's the COMMERCIALS-The same ones we see at home, except that you can enjoy every blemish on the actors' phizzes. And why are they over there, partway on the curtains?
Hmmmmm...
The Trailers began. Over there. When I pay to see commercials and trailers, I want them over HERE, centred on the screen. Large fanboys are getting up to look for the manager. The anamorphic lens that s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s the image into widescreen format is not in place. The actresses look more anorexic than usual. This happens all the time, though...these guys are professionals...it'll be fine.
AH! The Universal logo appears, with the attendant swelling "Hercules" type music.
It's not widescreen.
The Earth is tall and thin.
So THIS is what they mean about the Earth being all used up...
They get the movie centred. That's something.
The Serenity looks odd. Squashy somehow. Kaylee had a chibi moment, but got it wrong.
I get up to look for the manager. I find the engineer, and ask if they plan to use the anamorphic lens. He burbles that neither setting is working right, and that the anamorphic seems to be broken...the image doesn't fit the mask, or summat...The upshot being that they opted to show the movie in "squash 'n' stretch" mode, whilst whistling, scuffing their toes in the sand and hoping that no-one noticed.
Mr. McLeod and I opted to walk. The teenager refunded our money, commenting "I'm surprised you lasted that long.".
I can hardly wait to see Serenity.
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Tweens with delusions of literacy often adopt an affectation in their writing: the use of British variant spelling. You know:
humour for humor
realise for realize
gaol for jail (I'm the only one I know that does...DID, did...that one)
and...like that.
It is certainly an affectation, much like choosing to wear metres-long multi-coloured scarves out in public. (Hey, that fits TWO fan groups, now!)
Back in the day (the current nostalgia cliche du jour) whilst I was still in college, another affectation was very, VERY george -or "shiny" for you brown jackets- amongst the charismaniacs, primarily: using Hebraic spellings and terminology, like
Yeshua for Jesus.
That, and listening to Messianic Jewish songsters like "LAMB", and groovin' to the holy beats of Amy Grant's "El Shaddai".
Man, Jewish was BOSS!
But, y'know, I'm not Jewish. I don't like gefilte fish. I don't wear a yarmulke.
I'm not a Brit, either. I don't dig socialiZed medicine, and my teeth aren't grey.
Some things are FUN. Other things get in the way, 'cos people just think you're weird.
Don't ask me how I know that...
May-bee we should work on not making our job more difficult!
humour for humor
realise for realize
gaol for jail (I'm the only one I know that does...DID, did...that one)
and...like that.
It is certainly an affectation, much like choosing to wear metres-long multi-coloured scarves out in public. (Hey, that fits TWO fan groups, now!)
Back in the day (the current nostalgia cliche du jour) whilst I was still in college, another affectation was very, VERY george -or "shiny" for you brown jackets- amongst the charismaniacs, primarily: using Hebraic spellings and terminology, like
Yeshua for Jesus.
That, and listening to Messianic Jewish songsters like "LAMB", and groovin' to the holy beats of Amy Grant's "El Shaddai".
Man, Jewish was BOSS!
But, y'know, I'm not Jewish. I don't like gefilte fish. I don't wear a yarmulke.
I'm not a Brit, either. I don't dig socialiZed medicine, and my teeth aren't grey.
Some things are FUN. Other things get in the way, 'cos people just think you're weird.
Don't ask me how I know that...
May-bee we should work on not making our job more difficult!
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
I Like Ike...not very much anymore
The Eisenhower Doctrine of the late 50s committed the US to send military aid to any Middle Eastern country that requested it, for the purpose of preventing Communist penetration into the region.
Now, the idea of their having to request it is nice, but Ike set us on the course which ends where we are today, and look how much fun it is: the Hap-hap-HAPPIEST Geopolitics on Earth.
The business of backtracking through history to find The Cause of ( fill in the blank ) is a useful exercise. Ian McLeod has ably shown that 9/11 can be lain at Lincoln's feet (must convince him to blog that!). The revising of History, as well as the NOT-teaching of same leads inexorably to Santayana's prophecy: we SHALL be doomed to repeat it. Like the Beav, it seems we NEVER really learn our lesson.
The Eisenhower Doctrine of the late 50s committed the US to send military aid to any Middle Eastern country that requested it, for the purpose of preventing Communist penetration into the region.
Now, the idea of their having to request it is nice, but Ike set us on the course which ends where we are today, and look how much fun it is: the Hap-hap-HAPPIEST Geopolitics on Earth.
The business of backtracking through history to find The Cause of ( fill in the blank ) is a useful exercise. Ian McLeod has ably shown that 9/11 can be lain at Lincoln's feet (must convince him to blog that!). The revising of History, as well as the NOT-teaching of same leads inexorably to Santayana's prophecy: we SHALL be doomed to repeat it. Like the Beav, it seems we NEVER really learn our lesson.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Okay...It's been a quiet weekend. The Whole Crew went to Anime Weekend Atlanta. The Dread Dormomoo and I had the run of the place, so of course we did the ONLY thing a couple of hot-blooded, well-nigh unto middle-agers would think of doing given such a solitary situation.
All over the place.
Yep, we moved stuff. LOTS of stuff.
And sorted some of it, too.
You never know how much stuff you have 'til you have to MOVE it!
We recently moved our biz, and whilst we have the production equipment in place and operational, all the ancillary stuff was still at the old place, along with personal items-boxes and boxes of it- that we had sequestered at the old shop 'cos there was room there and of course we would sort it eventually and get rid of most of it so we would never again have to move it.
Fine...
So we moved it.
Yeah, I've still got it!
All over the place.
Yep, we moved stuff. LOTS of stuff.
And sorted some of it, too.
You never know how much stuff you have 'til you have to MOVE it!
We recently moved our biz, and whilst we have the production equipment in place and operational, all the ancillary stuff was still at the old place, along with personal items-boxes and boxes of it- that we had sequestered at the old shop 'cos there was room there and of course we would sort it eventually and get rid of most of it so we would never again have to move it.
Fine...
So we moved it.
Yeah, I've still got it!
Friday, September 23, 2005
Why am I doing this? Read me. Please.
OK, here's the thing. I am gonna push for another crime to become eligible for capital punishment.
TIME-WASTING.
Not MY time wasting. Blogging, playing Carmageddon, and collecting Gerry Anderson stuff is OK. It is your wasting my time that is egregious, and worthy of the Reaper's tender mercies.
I am waiting at a stop sign. You are approaching from my left. I wait for you to pass so I can continue my journey, BUT WAIT...you TURN RIGHT. Guess what?
YOU DIDN'T SIGNAL. You wasted fifteen seconds of my life. You STOLE fifteen seconds of my life, time you cannot give back to me. Gone. PFFFFT!
Gentle reader, do you suss how EVIL wasting others' time is? How worthy of death it is? Hey, you stole MY time...I am X seconds, minutes, hours closer to the dirt nap. (No, I do not believe Death is it...I am a believer in the world-to-come; but as they say, everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.)
Don't waste my time. You wouldn't like me if you waste my time.
OK, here's the thing. I am gonna push for another crime to become eligible for capital punishment.
TIME-WASTING.
Not MY time wasting. Blogging, playing Carmageddon, and collecting Gerry Anderson stuff is OK. It is your wasting my time that is egregious, and worthy of the Reaper's tender mercies.
I am waiting at a stop sign. You are approaching from my left. I wait for you to pass so I can continue my journey, BUT WAIT...you TURN RIGHT. Guess what?
YOU DIDN'T SIGNAL. You wasted fifteen seconds of my life. You STOLE fifteen seconds of my life, time you cannot give back to me. Gone. PFFFFT!
Gentle reader, do you suss how EVIL wasting others' time is? How worthy of death it is? Hey, you stole MY time...I am X seconds, minutes, hours closer to the dirt nap. (No, I do not believe Death is it...I am a believer in the world-to-come; but as they say, everyone wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.)
Don't waste my time. You wouldn't like me if you waste my time.
Saturday, September 17, 2005
I've had an APOSTROPHE!!
I always loved Jackie Mason's mastery of malaprop!
My epiphany happened whilst driving with I.M.
You see, I've been looking at our nation-especially our politics,
and I cannot for the life of me figure out how we have arrived at
the sorry state we are in today: parties with no Guiding Principles
beyond Power. Precisely ZERO interest in accomplishing goals or keeping
promises. Just me, me, me. I, my, mine.
Then, a bolt from the blue: There are no Republicans, no Democrats.
No Liberals, no Conservatives, no Lukewar...er...Moderates.
There are only Sinners.
That's it! For all have sinned, and fall short of God's glory.
This is the source of all greed, all selfishness, all self-aggrandisement.
All pride, all evil, all treachery, promise-breaking, infidelity.
All from sin.
Hmmmmmmm....Somebody needs to do their JOB.
Romans 1:16-19, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"
I always loved Jackie Mason's mastery of malaprop!
My epiphany happened whilst driving with I.M.
You see, I've been looking at our nation-especially our politics,
and I cannot for the life of me figure out how we have arrived at
the sorry state we are in today: parties with no Guiding Principles
beyond Power. Precisely ZERO interest in accomplishing goals or keeping
promises. Just me, me, me. I, my, mine.
Then, a bolt from the blue: There are no Republicans, no Democrats.
No Liberals, no Conservatives, no Lukewar...er...Moderates.
There are only Sinners.
That's it! For all have sinned, and fall short of God's glory.
This is the source of all greed, all selfishness, all self-aggrandisement.
All pride, all evil, all treachery, promise-breaking, infidelity.
All from sin.
Hmmmmmmm....Somebody needs to do their JOB.
Romans 1:16-19, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Holy Fanfic, Batman!!!
We have been watching a National Geographic program on the whole
"Da Vinci Code" thing. Umberto Eco was on it...briefly. His opinion is that Jesus' alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene is a fairy tail, on par with "Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood".
Sweet.
Momoovark- also known as the Dread Dormomoo- repeated her contention that the gnostic gospels, and other rejected manuscripts, are in fact early church fanfic.
Just a little summat to start your week!
We have been watching a National Geographic program on the whole
"Da Vinci Code" thing. Umberto Eco was on it...briefly. His opinion is that Jesus' alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene is a fairy tail, on par with "Pinocchio and Little Red Riding Hood".
Sweet.
Momoovark- also known as the Dread Dormomoo- repeated her contention that the gnostic gospels, and other rejected manuscripts, are in fact early church fanfic.
Just a little summat to start your week!
HAPPY SUNDAY!
As I blog this, I should be shaving and prepping for church. (As a Trekkie, I was always amused that "Kirk" means "church". O, the allegory, the ALLEGORY!) I am teaching the Library Class, so named 'cause of where we meet, about cults. Today, we deal with UFO cults. Or UFO-ism period.
The punchline: as the alleged UFOnauts invariably teach their abductees what clearly they gleaned from Shirley Maclaine bestsellers, they are not promoting the spread of Jesus' Gospel.
(Are you as shocked as I?) Therefore, they are at LEAST anti-christian, and likely demonic in origin. A quick read of Strieber's would seem to corroborate this thesis.
Then, I will likely get to enjoy a sermon on yet another unique way which I can fail God. (Our current preacher- a PowerPoint addict- uses the "f-word" a lot. Fail, failure...like that.)
I go to teach, to worship, to give, to hear the Word read, and to partake the Lord's Supper.
At present, I endure the preaching. Anyone relate?
I must awa' to scrape my face.
As I blog this, I should be shaving and prepping for church. (As a Trekkie, I was always amused that "Kirk" means "church". O, the allegory, the ALLEGORY!) I am teaching the Library Class, so named 'cause of where we meet, about cults. Today, we deal with UFO cults. Or UFO-ism period.
The punchline: as the alleged UFOnauts invariably teach their abductees what clearly they gleaned from Shirley Maclaine bestsellers, they are not promoting the spread of Jesus' Gospel.
(Are you as shocked as I?) Therefore, they are at LEAST anti-christian, and likely demonic in origin. A quick read of Strieber's would seem to corroborate this thesis.
Then, I will likely get to enjoy a sermon on yet another unique way which I can fail God. (Our current preacher- a PowerPoint addict- uses the "f-word" a lot. Fail, failure...like that.)
I go to teach, to worship, to give, to hear the Word read, and to partake the Lord's Supper.
At present, I endure the preaching. Anyone relate?
I must awa' to scrape my face.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
| Jimmy Stewart You scored 2% Tough, 4% Roguish, 71% Friendly, and 19% Charming! |
You are the fun and friendly boy next door, the classic nice guy who still manages to get the girl most of the time. You're every nice girl's dreamboat, open and kind, nutty and charming, even a little mischievous at times, but always a real stand up guy. You're dependable and forthright, and women are drawn to your reliability, even as they're dazzled by your sense of adventure and fun. You try to be tough when you need to be, and will gladly stand up for any damsel in distress, but you'd rather catch a girl with a little bit of flair. Your leading ladies include Jean Arthur and Donna Reed, those sweet girl-next-door types.
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My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
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| Link: The Classic Leading Man Test written by gidgetgoes on Ok Cupid |
Friday, September 02, 2005
GOD pushed the smite button, did He?
OK, let me deal with the lunacy that ALWAYS spews forth from the mouths preachers and wannabe "prophets of GOD-uh" whenever there is a catastrophe,
natural or otherwise.
Rather, let me let God Himself deal with it:
1 God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, 2 hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:1-2
Well, that says it all. God is NOT speaking through new prophets, through wind or fire, or through a televangelist. He has spoken through His Son. The message of Jesus Christ is what God has spoken. Little things like "Love your neighbor as yourself", and "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments". Uncomfortable things like Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. (Mark 16:15,16).
The wind is the wind. The rain is the rain. Neither is constant, nor readable. God's Word does not change. His Truth is settled in the heavens. We are rational beings, who are created in the image of a rational God. Therefore, He does not speak to us through the climatic equivalent of a rolled-up newspaper. He speaks through the Word, not by pressing the "Smite" button.
So, in Jesus' Name, SHUT UP. Be muzzled, even. Stop blaspheming our loving Father.
OK, let me deal with the lunacy that ALWAYS spews forth from the mouths preachers and wannabe "prophets of GOD-uh" whenever there is a catastrophe,
natural or otherwise.
Rather, let me let God Himself deal with it:
1 God, having of old time spoken unto the fathers in the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners, 2 hath at the end of these days spoken unto us in his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds; Hebrews 1:1-2
Well, that says it all. God is NOT speaking through new prophets, through wind or fire, or through a televangelist. He has spoken through His Son. The message of Jesus Christ is what God has spoken. Little things like "Love your neighbor as yourself", and "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments". Uncomfortable things like Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned. (Mark 16:15,16).
The wind is the wind. The rain is the rain. Neither is constant, nor readable. God's Word does not change. His Truth is settled in the heavens. We are rational beings, who are created in the image of a rational God. Therefore, He does not speak to us through the climatic equivalent of a rolled-up newspaper. He speaks through the Word, not by pressing the "Smite" button.
So, in Jesus' Name, SHUT UP. Be muzzled, even. Stop blaspheming our loving Father.
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