Exploring for Truth

Juice Fast - Day 8

2012-02-02T12:47:00.001-05:00

Hey - Jeff here. Yes, here I am, and yes, I am still hanging in there. It has been juice, and nothing but freshly ground, mostly organic juice now for seven and a half days. Nothing major to report since the last time. Weight loss seems to have slowed some, but it is always harder to tell with those cheap spring loaded type scales. It appears to be close to 12 pounds lost as of this morning.

I have noticed a decrease in the amount of juice needed to get through a day. This was kind of expected though, based on everything I have heard and read. See, basically the reason we eat so much and so often is because our body craves nutrition. Unfortunately, most of the processed trash we take in, has little nutritional value, so it does not "feed" the body's need. So we find we need to eat more stuff, more often.

With juicing, I am taking in fresh, highly nutritious substances, which is immediately being absorbed by my body, and therefore satisfying that craving the body has for nutrition. After a few days of doing this, the body is better fed than before, and therefore seems to require less.

When I started this, I was bringing to work six 8-ounce glasses of juice to work each day, and consuming one about every 90 minutes, which got me through my nine hour work day fine, with no hunger pains at all. I noticed after about four days of this, that at the end of the day one day, I still had one of my juices left unconsumed. The next day, I found I ended the day with two left untouched. So, for all of this week, I have only been bringing four 8-ounce jars to work, and doing fine, often "forcing" myself to consume the last one before leaving work for the day.

So, it seems for sure that my body is more readily getting what it needs, and therefore is less needy overall. I still go through the entire day without being hungry, but I also still fight against the desire to taste my favorite foods. Being at work all day is fine, but going home in the evening is killer. Often times it is just that board eating that is desired too - snacking on my favorite chips, or whatever someone else may be snacking on. I guess idle hands causes this the most.

For now, all is fine, and my plans are to finish the ten days and resume eating on Sunday with a big family meal after church. Then I expect to resume a mostly juice diet following that; probably juicing at work all day, but eating a meal each night. That is the plan at least for now.

Juice Fast - Day 5

2012-01-30T08:25:00.005-05:00

OK, keeping it brief this time as there is nothing majorly new to report. I survived yesterday - day four - by the skin of my teeth. Again, it is not the hunger pains at all that get to you at this stage, it is the desire to eat and taste foods you love.

That desire was ten times worse when being at home all afternoon yesterday while the family has one of my favorite home cooked Lord's Day meals. It started with the smell of the roast beef and potatoes, but was greatly made worse when the smell of hot garlic rolls filled the house. This torture was then followed by the house-filling smell of warm brownies.What a day, what a day.

I am glad to say I survived, and am now back at work for the new work week. It is obviously easier to handle here since there are no real food smells around me, and I am busy with work, keeping my mind off of any desires.

No changes appeared on the scales this morning, still a solid ten pound loss at this point. Also, the kidney discomfort I felt over the weekend seems about 90% gone at this point, so we're getting things straight.

So, we push on to then end!

Juice Fast - Day 4

2012-01-29T08:24:00.000-05:00

OK, so far so good. Today is the start of day 4 of this (at least) ten day juice fast. My first semi-mistake was not really paying as much attention to the book as far as some juices. It turns out that beet juice needs to be consumed in smaller quantities because it is a very potent liver cleanser. I had a few small baby organic beets and decided to use them in a few consecutive days. Friday, after consuming my juice, I started feeling an odd discomfort right under behind the bottom of my rib cage, right under my breasts, on both sides. It later moved to my sides and back. So I weened off of the beets and the discomfort has slowly decreased, though still a little there this morning. So, be careful with the frequency of drinking beet juice - they say only do about half of a beet only a couple times a week.

So, stepping on the scale this morning, after three full juice days, and I am down ten pounds, so that makes me happy. I would like to see a bunch more go, but this is a great start.

As I mentioned in my previous post, hunger is still not an issue. Juice is quite filling and satisfying. The biggest thing with food is just the great smells and desires of tasting. It is very odd how it becomes less about the need or hunger to eat, and mainly about the desire to taste. Eating is somewhat of a habit that we often do more for taste than need. Juicing takes away the need, but the desire is still there to taste good food. I have read and watched videos that explain this as what will happen, and that juicing for a length of time helps to retrain the body away from this somewhat over time - but for now, it is a battle. Food smells great - and I want to taste it - but I have stayed the course so far.

My goal is to make it through the ten days, which would end next Saturday. However, the more and more people I hear about who did this, once they reached the ten day mark, felt so god that they continued on for even more time - sometimes 30-60 days. I am not committing to that at this time, which seems to make sense from what most people experience between the 3-8 day mark, but we'll see what happens later in the week.

Anyway, I am doing fine, feeling fine (aside from the bet discomfort), and will post more as it happens.

A Step Towards Healthy

2012-01-27T10:34:00.001-05:00

I hesitate to even begin writing this possible series of posts, for fear that if I fail miserably it will become more evident; but here I go against my better judgment - call it stepping out in faith in myself.

My family and I have been pretty big into alternative therapy for many years now, basically starting back in the mid-to-late 90's when our then oldest son had major issues with ear infections and antibiotics. We have, since then, practiced a more natural approach to things, and because of it we have seen very, very rare necessary trips to the doctors for any of our other five children.

Along the way we've learned about diet and eating issues, but honestly, have only applied a very small amount of that knowledge to our lives. In other words, we often know what we should and shouldn't be eating, and what is killing Americans - yet we go along with the flow for convenience sake (i.e. laziness).

Well, in recent months, we have again and again been faced with the issue of diet, and have watched numerous movies on the topic. Mainly we have better seen and understood the tie to diet and health issue - to the point where we have been convinced to begin something to better our state of things. This has come to smack me more in the face because out of the family members, I have more "issues" that need attention.

I know I am borderline diabetic - I discovered this about six years ago when my youngest daughter was in the womb. My wife developed gestational diabetes, and so had to be monitored. So, one day I mentioned to my wife how I had been kind of constantly thirsty every so often. An alarm went off in her head - that is a symptom of diabetes (my wife has worked in the medical field for decades, so she kind of knows this random stuff). So, we grabbed her blood monitoring kit, gave my finger the old stick, and sure enough, I have elevated levels. Since then I have tried to watch my intake of all things that provoke that, and have been able to keep it under check with diet.

I am also aware that for a couple years now my blood pressure has been higher than desired. I have a bit of a mid-life pouch around my mid section, and know that reducing that would eliminate much of these issues. While on average I am lower in weight than I was three years ago since starting the watch on carbs and sweets, it is not enough to have made much difference in these issues. I am not real large, but for my size could easily stand to shed about forty pounds.

So, along comes these other documentaries on eating and health, and how all of these things, from blood pressure, diabetes, and everything up to cancer, can be cured by changing eating habits. Changes include a lot of healthier eating - things like raw, organic fruits and vegetable (which I admit I rarely eat - cooked or raw). One of the things that many are promoting for a quicker change to things, is to juice these raw organic fruits and vegetables, which allows you to consume a larger quantity of them and their nutrients, and allows then to more easily and quickly absorbed. This type of treatment has been made famous by the Gerson therapy clinics, that for many, many decades have been curing all kinds of "terminal" diseases, including cancer and those patients sent home to die. So, we figured we'd give it a try.

So, last week we scraped together enough funds to buy a middle of the road juicer (the Omega VRT330HD masticating style juicer) and began adding these juices to our diet. Since I am the one in the family with the most "issues" I have become the target of this "test." One of the more recent movies we watched, was called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and documented the journey of two men who did a juice "fast" - meaning they ate nothing, but only drank juice for a period of time. Both men ended up losing a major amount of weight and all ailments were cured, and all prior medications they were on were removed by the doctors.

So, instead of just simply adding juice to the daily life as I have done for the past week of owning the juicer, I have decided to try actually juice fasting for a period of time for a hopefully quick showing of results in my case. Yesterday, Thursday 1/26/2012 was my first full juice fast day.

So, while I have been adding juice to the equation now for a full week (basically drinking juice all day at work and eating supper at night), Thursday was the first full day of just juice. As of stepping on the scale this morning (Friday), I was down seven pounds from last weeks start, so we're off to a good start.

For those of you who have never experienced juicing, let me dispel a few "myths" that probably come right to your mind.

1) HUNGER - Hunger is not an issue. Surprisingly even to me, juicing is very satisfying and filling. I juice and divide them into individual 8 once servings. Approximately every two to three hours during the day I drink one serving - or whenever I feel a slight tinge of hunger. It is very satisfying all day.

2) "POTTY" TIME - I have not experienced any increase of trips to the bathroom. People have told me I will constantly be running to the bathroom, but I am thinking people who have this issue may tend to be using store bought, watered down juice. I am using organic, fresh juiced material which seems to produce very little "watse" in my system. I drink water throughout the day in between juicing (have always done that) and have not noticed any increase in trips to the bathroom since starting to juice.

3) YUCK - People comment on how they can't stand the taste of things like a green juice. Well, I am one of those people too. Solution? Deal with it - for health's sake! Now, I have seen the big craze on the 'net for "Green Smoothies" - where they basically blend and grind up all kinds of stuff, and make this thick smoothie out of it and then sip it through a straw. That, I think I would not be able to handle. But, for me we are talking about an 8 ounce glass of juice, with very little pulp - and for most, it is very easy to just guzzle it and get it down quickly. Any undesirable taste is gone in mere seconds, and you just deal with it for health's sake. Sipping a thick green smoothie - nah, not for me.

Anyway, that is all for now. I will try to post my progress every so often, in hopes of motivating others to attempt fix what ails ya' by doing the same. Here is a trailer for the movie we recently watched. I exhort you all to watch the whole documentary. It is available for "renting" on YouTube for like $1.99 (click HERE) - or for free is you have a Netflix streaming plan. Just search for it and other great related movies on Netflix.

Review: What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity

2012-01-27T08:53:00.001-05:00

What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity by N.T. Wright

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have only read a few of Wright's book so far, but this one stands out as one of the better ones I have read. I am always impressed by the tidbits he gives that get to the cultural and historical root of the subject, and he is loaded with them here.

To view Paul as some kind of heavily influenced teacher of things Hellenistic will guide you down the entire wrong path of understanding every time. I jumped into this book because of how highly it was spoken of by Scot McKnight in his book [b:The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Good News Revisited|12279839|The King Jesus Gospel The Original Good News Revisited|Scot McKnight|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Y-wttR1ZL._SL75_.jpg|17255709] which I found very enlightening. I was not disappointed.

The gospel message has truly been redefined and basically truncated from what it started as. In a nutshell, the gospel message is about the whole story of Israel and how all the promises and blessings come to us through Christ Jesus. When we look at the "gospel" as solely a message of personal/individual salvation (which is an end result included) - a we make the gospel nothing more than a piece of a story that has a limited overall affect in the long term discipleship of believers. The full orbed gospel story needs to be rediscovered and applied in ways long lost by the church.

Aside from that, this book provides a look at many of the writings of Paul and his view on justification, righteousness and more, and provides a good example of just how much historical understanding most church goers are totally ignorant of, and how it greatly affects the understanding of key scriptural passages. I won't say I can agree with everything espoused here, but the greater majority of the book is excellent in my opinion.

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Review: Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons

2012-01-07T19:53:00.001-05:00

Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons by R.C. Sproul

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I guess it might have been that this book ended up not really being what I had hoped or expected, but it was also that it was very week and "Greek" thinking throughout. I was hoping it would be a study in cosmology type things, but it ends up being just a very, very milk tradition view of death, heaven, hell and angels.

No real discussion on the differences in the words (and places) referred to as "hell" in the Bible. When he dealt with the story (I said story, not parable as he and others call it) of Luke 16 and the rich man and Lazarus, he only looked at it as some form of story about hell and suffering - nothing being said about the Jewish concept of the realm of the dead, underworld, Hades, Abraham's bosom, etc. I guess this was not too shocking considering how the Reformed world in general has sought to ignore the "unseen real" and redefine the whole life after death concept of pre-Christ happenings. I guess I just did not expect someone of Sproul's caliber to do so.

When he started by applying Rev. 20 & 21 about the New Heavens and Earth to "heaven" I had a bad feeling this book was going to not be a winner. For a post-mil pastor with heavy preterist leanings to see the this as being heaven kind of had me scratching my head, but so be it.

I guess for such a small writing, he didn't get into any depth on much, so this is like theology 101, heaven and hell "fluff" with no real depth. However, when a lot of it is used in error or totally ignoring the Hebrew understandings, it makes it that much worse.

I guess I have just studied too much deeper material of the Hebrew culture and mindset on these topics (and how the bible uses them) - and that understanding tends to "stray" from what many mainline, very conservative Reformed churches (and their "greek" redefinition of things at times), that this book was a huge let down in my studies.

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Review: Jesus v. Jerusalem

2011-10-03T12:11:00.001-04:00

Jesus v. Jerusalem by Joel McDurmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, it not only really covered the parables texts in general, but it gave additional cultural/historical insights that most all modern Bible readers would not know, and therefore miss the target topic of in the verse. Time and time again, he gave more information than I expected to get, and in almost all cases, gave me a slightly different angle of view on these parables.

The key point about this book, is that is properly defines Jesus' vision and ministry. he came and dealt with the "lost sheep" of Israel. He spoke 99.9% of his message strictly and directly to the people of God from the first testament, the people of Israel, both in Jerusalem and scattered abroad (the other ten tribes). His message was for and to them, and little to nothing is directed at the nations (Gentiles). This greatly affects the meanings of his sayings, and would greatly alter the uses by those modern-day "red letter" Christians. Jesus is not like some other Confucius who just came on the scene throwing out phrases of general wisdom. No, he came with a purpose and a people in mind, and he hit those people between the eyes with everything he said.

Once we understand the purpose of Jesus' first appearance, it can greatly change the way you read his words. This book sheds so much amazing light on that aspect and how these things directly applied to historical and cultural issues pertaining to the way the people of God had abused their calling, as well as the soon coming judgment upon them.

But, then after reading all the excellent material on the parables, you get the bonus of six great appendixes dealing with other issues of eschatology. "The Dome of the Rock, and the Temple" is an eye opening look at the location of a rebuilt temple - if one is even needed. "The Antichrist Hoax" is a smashing destruction of the modern day teaching of "The Antichrist." "Is the World a Singking Ship" really sheds light on the abuse of modern day dispensational teachers when it comes to the Christian position and duty in the world. "A Legacy of Lies: Martin Luther and Talmudic Judaism" was a very eye opening look at the controversy over Luther's anti-Semitic charges that people hurl at him. And closing the book is "God's Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 110:1 in the New Testament" which shows how the first century church saw the reign of Christ as being present, while many in today's dispensational circles see it as a future coming event.

Read this book along with the other gospel book published by American Vision ([b:Matthew 24 Fulfilled|5192476|Matthew 24 Fulfilled|John L. Bray|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41mWccm7VDL._SL75_.jpg|5259585] by John Bray) and you have a very well understanding of a good chunk of the teaching of eschatology in the second testament books.

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By What Atonement?

2011-08-12T13:56:00.000-04:00

Ideas have consequences, and I wonder sometimes if people were to follow some of their ideas through to their logical conclusion, if they would/could still hold to them.

For the last 2000+ years, the Christian church has preached that the gospel - the good news - is that Christ died in our place, paying the ransom, fulfilling the law, and making atonement for our sin. We were once alienated from God, in darkness, but have now been converted, and born again, through the work of Christ on the cross. He died so that we would have life. The death of Christ on the cross is pretty much the central point of the Christian faith, and without it, we would all still be stuck in our sins and death.

Yet, to read that many in the modern dispensationalist camp teach that the crucifixion of Christ was in fact not the plan, and that had the Jews not rejected and crucified him, that he would have in fact set up the promised earthly kingdom.

I believe the Scriptures teach that Israel could have obtained her much-sought-after messianic kingdom by recognizing Jesus as the Messiah. We all know the sad realty - the Jews rejected Jesus. As a result the kingdom is no longer near but postponed, awaiting Jewish belief. - Thomas Ice, from The Great Tribulation: Past or Future?

If Israel accepted her Messiah, the Kingdom would have been established. - Larry Spargimino, from The Anti-Propheys

These are just a few of the modern teachers that teach this view, that in essence, if the Jews had accepted Jesus as the Messiah, instead of putting him to death, they would have received the Kingdom.

So - the death of Jesus was not the plan to begin with? So, if they had not rejected him, he would not have died, right? So then, what would be the means of our atonement since he would have lived and not went to the cross?

If plan A was to set up a Jewish Kingdom with Jesus reigning rather than dying, and that plan failed with the death of Jesus - causing God to set in mode a plan B, then why are we told in the Hebrew scriptures that Messiah was to die (be "cut off" - Dan. 9:26), and that he should be beaten and killed (Isaiah 53:7-8), among other things? Jesus even knew the plan, because he rebuked Cleopas and the other he met on the road. They seemed to think like today's dispensationalists. They thought Jesus had failed too: "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.

I guess modern teachers that hold this view should take heed to what Jesus says about their doctrine: "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" According to modern teachers, they would say "no, it was not necessary!" Jesus then showed Cleopas the answers by opening the Hebrew scriptures and "beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:18f)

So, it sounds like "plan A" was THE plan, and it went down without a hitch, without any postponement, and in fulfilling all of the prophecies of the Hebrew scriptures.

However, if indeed the plan was intended to be a plan without the crucifixion, then we have to ask, by what sacrifice would the required ransom and atonement have been made?

Review: Satan: The Early Christian Tradition

2011-08-09T22:21:00.001-04:00

Satan: The Early Christian Tradition by Jeffrey Burton Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In Russell's first volume, [b:The Devil: Personifications of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity|11152379|The Devil Personifications of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity|Jeffrey Burton Russell|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg|16076120], he dealt with an era of time that was much more diverse, covering ancient history of all kinds of religious views. This time around, he sticks with Christian history, and focuses on only the first few hundred years of church history. A much easier read than the first volume, and covering an era already somewhat familiar to me, this volume was easier to digest overall.

I found it very interesting to read some of the understandings held by the early monks, and the ways they believed and dealt with evil, demons and possession. It revealed a glimpse into where some of the traditions of the Roman Catholic church started from (i.e. sign of the cross, views on baptism).

This volumes ultimately comes out to be a large discussion on the problem of evil, and how they sought to explain it. It seems the most common explanation they have used to explain the existence of it was that it was tied to man's free will. It was not until Augustine comes on the scene that this view changes to more of a mix between free will and predestination. but the struggle in understanding has never really been exhausted or satisfactorily answered for some. Good stuff.

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Review: Hudson Taylor

2011-08-04T13:25:00.001-04:00

Hudson Taylor by J. Hudson Taylor

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The power of prayer cannot be diminished by distance; it is not limited by age, infirmity, or daily duty; political changes and restrictions cannot alter its effectiveness; for the word still stands, "If ye shall ask anything in my name I will do it." The power of prayer in the life of an obedient Christian can only be undermined by neglect."

Thus is the ending of an amazing little autobiography of Hudson Taylor. So many times while reading this book, I could only sit and shake my head, wondering why I do not have the faith that this man had. I have seen other reviewers states that this is a must read book for any Christian, and I agree. This is one of those book that all new converts should be handed as part of their conversion material.

A strong and healthy prayer life - one based on strong faith in a powerful God - is severely lacking in the Church today, and it is truly sad. This book has so many stories of situations that Taylor was in that were amazingly answered with prayer. So many little things that he prayed for that were accomplished right on time of need - way too many things for someone to chalk up to coincidence.

To me it seemed that the teaching of God's Word was unmistakably clear: "Own no man anything." To borrow money implied, to my mind, a contradiction of Scripture - a confession that God had withheld some good thing, and a determination to get for ourselves what He had not given.... If the Word taught me anything, it taught me to have no connection with debt. I could not think that God was poor, that He was short on resources, or unwilling to supply any want whatever work was really His. It seemed to me that if there were any lack of funds to carry on work, then to that degree, in that special development, or at that time, it could not be the work of God." (Pg. 121-122)

This one section struck me very hard, and made me really begin to look at my life, to differentiate between wants and needs, and to see what I had that I did not need and could do without.

Overall a life changing, attitude altering book.

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Review: The Lost World of Genesis One

2011-07-25T20:43:00.000-04:00

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate by John H. Walton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a bit challenging, and I knew that going in. This book strikes at a very traditional view that I have been a proponent of for many, many years. But I wanted to at least consider the position, and having finished Walton's other book Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible I figured I would follow up with this title. I will say that having read his other book prior to this one was a huge help and made it that much easier to understand his position from the get-go.

Here is a very fundamental overview of the main thrust of this book: word for "create" is bara and when understood as the original ancient audience would have, does not give a meaning of material creation, but is a term used for establishing function. His previous book went into incredible detail in understanding how the ancient's understood things, and so this aspect of this book was therefore easier to grasp than it may be for others.

Overall this was a very interesting discussion, with a very compelling argument for his case. Still, it is a real hard pill to swallow after 30+ years of a traditional view. Some noteworthy quotes from the book:

Through the entire Bible, there is not a single instance in which God revealed to Israel a science beyond their own culture. No passage offers a scientific perspective that was not common to Old World science of antiquity. (Pg 19)

It has long been observed that in the context of bara no materials for the creative act are ever mentioned, and an investigation of all the passages mentioned above substantiate that claim. (Pg 43)

All of this information leads us to conclude that the "beginning" is a way of talking about the seven-day period rather than a point in time prior to the seven days. (Pg 45)

All of this indicates that cosmic creation in the ancient world was not viewed primarily as a process by which matter was brought into being, but as a process by which functions, roles, order, jurisdiction, organization and stability were established. (Pg 53)

Worth a read even if you disagree. understanding ancient thought on issues of cosmology is always a plus for understanding other biblical truths.

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Review: Eye Of The Oracle

2011-07-18T09:38:00.003-04:00

Eye Of The Oracle by Bryan Davis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

OK, first off let me say, I am not a big reader of fiction. My mind seems more geared to engaging and loving deep theological works that challenge my thinking and my positions. Sure, I have read and loved things like Lord of the Rings and the Narnia series in the past, but it is just that fiction is something I rarely spend time with.

My wife read the first two related series of books by Davis, and suggested I give my mind a rest with some lighter reading occasionally, so I did. It was a struggle at first, I just couldn't get excited about fiction, so I found myself squeezing in other works in between starting this, and this became a secondary occasional read. But after finishing one of the in-between reading, I decided to focus my concentration only on this and "get through it."

Well, once I did that, I started to get into it, and got captivated by the story and characters. The big thing that initially drew my wife and I to this series was because it used extra-biblical writings like the Book of Enoch to base mush of the story on. I love that and other writings and thought it would be quite interesting, and it truly was.

The story starts back at the beginning of the Bible story, but in the unseen realm, with fallen angels, nephilim, watchers, etc. On the surface, we have the battle of some of these beings with mankind and dragons. The story bounces between our upper world, and the unseen realms, with most of it being in the latter realm and other realms accessible through portals. While it starts way back in ancient Bible history, it quickly progresses and spends a good chunk of time in the medieval time, with Merlin and Arthur as expected, however it then quickly zooms through the centuries, ending in our current time frame. Seeing the struggle and efforts of these characters as they exist through multiple thousands of years is a bit mind boggling, but interesting to see them change with the times.

I must say I got really frustrated when I noticed fewer and fewer pages were left to read, yet so many unanswered questions and were left. When I was about 50 pages from the end, I asked my wife "how are they going to ever end such-and-such story" to which she said "oh, that won't get concluded till about the sixth volume." NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Now I am wrapped up in the story line, and feel I HAVE to read the other volumes. My theological books never have a "to be continued" feel. How frustrating (lol).

I will say, for my limited reading of fiction works, this one was compelling, engaging, and truly took me into the world of the characters. This first volume is a prequel to the "Dragons in Our Midst" four-volume set, and then there are three other volumes in this "Oracles of Fire" set that chronologically fit after that "Dragons in Our Midst" set. I have chosen to read them in the chronological fashion they include, rather than the way they were initially released (I did the same with Narnia).

I have learned that the initially release four volume "Dragons in Our Midst" series were more geared for teens, and upon comparing the two sets, found those volumes to be about 1/3 fewer pages, and slightly larger font type, so plowing through those four should be quicker and easier. These four volumes of "Oracles of Fire" are considered Young Adult reading, which I see he bounces between those two categories in other series' too.

As much as I kind of don't want to "waste time" with fiction, I believe I am hooked and do see a continued place of Davis' works in my future. Maybe I can grow to like fiction more by the time I am done, and give my brain a rest from the heavier topic stuff.

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Peru Mission Trip

2011-07-15T18:31:00.000-04:00

I got back from Lima, Peru, at 8:00 this past Monday morning, after being up most of the night. I wanted to write down all of the things that I saw and did while it was still fresh in my mind. I also wanted to let all of my friends know how the trip went, and give all of our supporters a big Thank You, this trip was awesome.

When we arrived in Lima, it was about 9:30 pm, and dark. We left the airport and got on a bus to get to the Hotel Yeyas. I will have to say that the drive from the airport to the hotel was a little shocking. I had driven through some poverty stricken areas, but nothing has ever come close to this. Think of the worst city streets you have ever been on, and then multiply that by 10. The brick buildings had no roofs, or doors for that matter, and were falling down around themselves. Garbage piled up on the side of the street with people congregating in areas, with all of the street dogs protecting their share of the garbage piles. As we moved away from the airport, things got a little nicer, but it was hard to see in the dark. Already we begin to realize what we have and feel thankful for it, the United States are really blessed.

The next day we got up early to go to church. For an experience of a lifetime, we ride the bus with one of the missionary families. Traffic is hectic to say the least. There is a horn blowing at least every 30 seconds or so… some to warn others that they are passing, some to say get out of my way, some to say you are moving too slow. The drivers here are very aggressive, not sure I could drive like that, no spaces between cars at all. There are close calls all the time, but we never had an accident. And the traffic circles are death traps.

The day was grey and misty, with a temperature around 60 degrees. This is typically the norm in Lima in the winter. As a matter of fact we only saw the sun twice. It is like a cloud shrouds the city in a great mist, and sometimes you can not even see the mountains in the distance. And let us not forget the smog that encases the city. It is so bad that one of our team actually swiped his fingers against a palm tree leaf, and soot came off. No wonder the leaves were so dark near the bottom of the tree, while the newer leaves looked greener. No one can do anything about the exhaust coming from the cars or factories.

Now you may say, wow, Lima seems pretty dreary… but I haven’t told you yet about the jewels of the city. Back to my story, we were on our way to church, and arrived a bit early. As other people started to come in, they greeted us with their special Peruvian greeting. In Peru, when a person comes into a room, they greet one another one at a time with a hug and a cheek to cheek kiss. Everyone gets this greeting, they don’t care if there are 50 people in the room. We felt so welcomed, even though half of us couldn’t even speak Spanish. We were so fortunate, the church had a translator system, so we could understand the service even though the whole thing was in Spanish. We felt like we belonged there, and the service was great. The people were so friendly, and even though there were language barriers, it didn’t matter. We went out to eat after church to a really authentic Peruvian restaurant, and we were able to see Peruvian dancers, and hear some Peruvian music. The food was great too!

The next day we started our work project. We were to paint a building for the girls of the House of Glory to use for their business. We prepped the walls, and painted all morning. After lunch, the men stayed behind to continue painting, while the girls went to Casa de la Gloria (House of Glory). Let me explain what Casa de la Gloria is. It is a home for teenaged girls who are either pregnant or have a child. Some of the girls were kicked out of their home for becoming pregnant, some were abused by family members, and some were forced to leave their home because their parents couldn’t afford to keep them any longer. All five girls living there had been on the streets previously, and had no place to go. Now they all have a loving home, where they are provided for. Here they also learn how to love and care for their children. The business I was referring to before is called Hand Made Mujer. They make hand made jewelry to help pay for education after what we call high school. This way when the girls turn 18, they will have a job to help them take care of themselves and their child. We made some jewelry with them in the afternoon, and got to know one another. It just so happened that this day was the 4th of July. The American missionaries wanted to have a celebration, so we went back to Jim and Sara’s house and had Peruvian hamberguesas and hot dogs. It was a great end to a great day.

Tuesday we woke up and went back to our painting project, and finished it before lunch. It looked so awesome, and we were excited to know that it was going to help the girls. After lunch we had a formal presentation about the House of Glory, and how it came to be. We learned about how many girls they had already helped, and how they are planning to have more homes for more girls. We all went back to Casa de la Gloria, and Katie and I shared our testimonies. Four of the girls shared with us, and it was sobering to hear their stories. The great thing was that they all had become Christians, and shared with us how their life has changed for the better. One of the girls would be getting baptized on the upcoming Sunday, and we were excited to get to be there to see it.

Wednesday, Beth Ann, Marcia, and I went to the House of Glory to help with the babies, and we had another work project to do. All of the others in our group went to the university. Since we had two college professors and one engineer with us, they were going to do some science talks, which we were hoping would end with a way to share the gospel with them. We were also hoping to build some relationships with the students who came, and give them a chance to practice their conversational English. Unfortunately, I got sick and had to leave for the hotel around 5:00PM. When the rest of the group got together, they headed over to the church for prayer meeting, and then they went out for dinner. I went back to my room and rested.

Thursday was the same as Wednesday, but I stayed at the hotel. I still had not been feeling my best, but I had time to catch everyone up at home with updates for our church. The internet was slow at the hotel, but I was also able to post some pictures for our friends back home.

Friday I felt great again - Yay! The college professor at the Peruvian university helped us find a restaurant to invite the students to, so we could engage in more conversational English, and share a meal together. We began this session with a speech one of our professors gave entitled “How a Physicist Sees God.” After this we broke up in groups, two of us and two to three Peruvians, and we had English Conversations. We had prayed a lot about this opportunity, and were hoping that the conversations would lead us to talk about the Lord. God answered our prayers, and all of the conversations went in that direction. Beth Ann and I were able to speak to three Peruvians, who were already Christian and gave us their testimonies. They asked us about some of our traditions during Christian holidays, and it was neat to learn about theirs. The other groups were able to share the gospel with the students, and they were very open to hear what we had to say. It was great to have such open and honest conversations about God. We hope that we planted seeds that God would water and grow to add people to His kingdom. It was a great way to end our week, and we were so excited to hear how many of the students wanted to know more about God.

Saturday was our day to tour Lima, and the sun actually came out! We began with the Central Plaza, and went on to some Pre-Inca ruins. The civilization of the ruins seemed to be around 5000 years old. It was a very interesting archeological site. Then we went to Mira Flores, and ate lunch on a Cliffside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The food was great, and so was the view. After this we went down to the Pacific Ocean, and then we were off to the Indian Market. We had 2 and ½ hours at the market, I could have spent 3 more hours there. There was so much to see, it was awesome. We had to hurry, because the youth group meeting was at 6:00, and they invited us to come. They had a praise band there to play music, and it just so happened that the drummer was missing. I was so proud; Alex stepped in and did a great job. How did he get so good at drums, he has been playing saxophone for 5 years! He is so much like his father, is there a drum playing gene or something that he inherited? After youth group, we went back to our hotel, and ate KFC! There are a few American restaurants there, like Papa Johns, Dominos, McDonalds, and Starbucks.

Sunday, we got up early and went to church. We were excited to see the baptism and see our friends one last time. We had to leave church early, to catch our plane, and I was hoping to sneak out quietly so no one would see me crying. We really got close to the girls at Casa de la Gloria, their babies, the missionaries, and our new friends. But no, the Peruvian hospitality took over, and they actually stopped the church service to say Good-bye to all of us. Of course I cried like a baby, I am going to really miss all of the people, for they are the true jewels of the city. I hope one day I will see them again on Earth, but I know I will see them all in heaven at least. I really hate good-byes, they are the worst. So, some of us spent the bus ride to the airport in tears.

What did I learn from this trip? A whole bunch! First of all, to be thankful for what I have. Everyone who lives here should see how others really live. We are truly blessed. Secondly, that it is not all about how much money or stuff that we have, it should be about the relationships we have with other people. We need to learn to truly love each other, spend time with each other, and care about people more than our stuff. Thirdly, that we can be happy with what we have. We need to learn to be content with the things God gave us, because more stuff doesn’t make a difference. This reminds me of my favorite Bible book of Ecclesiastes. All of the things of this world are vanity. We need to find a way to invest in other peoples lives, and show them the power of the one true God, who can change their lives for ever, in the best way ever.

I would like to thank all of you who helped to support our trip, with donations of your time, money, or prayers. This was an awesome trip, and I am glad to be able to get to know my new Peruvian friends, missionaries, and anyone who we may have come in contact with while we were there. I know Alex is also just as thankful, and I know that he feels the same way I do about this trip. Oh, and I forgot to tell you about the jewelry business website. If any of you want to buy some jewelry for a good cause, visit the website handmademujer.com. This business helps the girls at Casa de la Gloria. Well, my story is done, but the things that I experienced will last forever…… so as the Peruvians say – CIAO! See you all again soon.

Review: Who Is This Babylon?

2011-07-10T17:40:00.001-04:00

Who Is This Babylon? by Don K. Preston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have read quite a few of Preston's books and this one ranks up there as one of his best. Focused mainly on the topic of identifying who is being spoken of in the book of Revelation when it speaks of the judgment on Babylon, this book is pretty exhaustive in looking at all of the angles. People along the way have said it is Rome, or the Roman Catholic church, or any number of other agencies through history, but Preston's tear down each of these examples and shows how the Scripture from start to finish leaves us with only one possible answer to the question. Who is this Babylon? None other than Jerusalem herself.

Preston does not directly present the other views in order to disassemble them, he strictly shows how only Jerusalem can properly qualify as the identity of Babylon, and how others do not therefore qualify based on biblical and historical texts.

Along the way, so many other pieces of biblical eschatology get put into place, connecting so many dots between first testament promises and second testament fulfillment that it shows how the Scripture is one continual story dealing with one continual plot involving covenant promises, a people and a fulfillment of all promises along the way. Preston states and proves that properly identifying Babylon of Revelation is pivotal to properly understanding so much of the book of Revelation, including the promise of resurrection, the millennium, the end of the age, the marriage, the judgment, and much more related to eschatology. One of his best works I have read so far.

This new 2011 edition has been expanded, and includes up to date issues raised in recent times, and the new special study section on the millennium is a great addition to what was already a great work.

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Review: Testimony: The Inspirational and Spiritual Journey of a Prog Rock Musician

2011-05-25T09:20:00.001-04:00

Testimony: The Inspirational and Spiritual Journey of a Prog Rock Musician by Neal Morse

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was really blessed by this book. Neal Morse is the vocalist/songwriter/musician behind such great prog bands as Spock's Beard, Transatlantic and his own solo work, and I have been a huge fan of his music for more than ten years now. After his first solo album, I even tracked him down via email and offered my services to be his drummer on the road (since the album was mainly studio musicians). It did not come to anything, but the desire was there...and still is. So maybe that helped me to devour this book in just three days, but even if you are not a fan of his music, this book still has a lot to offer.

You see a man, growing from a boy with a desire for music, struggling through his teen years in the California music scene, getting involved in all the typical raunchy lifestyle you can imagine, just running his life into the ground more and more; then he shows how in hindsight God was prodding him little by little in areas, until his final conversion in his late 30s. The journey is rough, the sin is bad, the road is very rocky, but the end is a blessing.

Just prior to reading this, I had finished reading the biography on Dream Theater and Sammy Hagar, but of course this music related biography had a different journey and ending, and reveals so many amazing little workings of God in this man's life that brought him to the amazing music journey he now gives us.

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Review: Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline

2011-04-23T19:33:00.001-04:00

Unwrapping the Pharaohs: How Egyptian Archaeology Confirms the Biblical Timeline by John F. Ashton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very cool and interesting book going into great detail for newcomer to the study of Egypt. Dates, images, artifacts and more are given in beautiful display on this large coffee table style book. Showing the fallacies in typical "orthodox" dating of Egyptian chronology, and how when a reduced history is adopted as many modern scholars have suggested, it makes the Bible's chronology connect and align with the Egyptian timeline, providing cool insights into biblical texts. I really enjoyed this book, and now would love to go visit this land and see these sites up close and personal.

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Review: The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity

2011-04-18T13:57:00.001-04:00

The Devil: Perceptions of Evil from Antiquity to Primitive Christianity by Jeffrey Burton Russell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

WOW! What a book, and what a history lesson. The first half of the book covers so much mythology, ancient Eastern views of evil, and enough odd names and stories to make your head spin. Yet all along you start to see some similarities shared and transferred from culture to culture, until you finally hit the second half of the book, which deals with evil in the Hebrew and biblical context.

This was (to me) the most fascinating section, as it is an area I knew a little more about already. The author uses many ancient apocryphal and extra-biblical writings to show the developing mindset that seems to have eventually led to the more modern view of evil and the Devil that is believed today.

It is so hard to clear out the traditional thoughts that you have had all your life, and that made this section a bit harder, though surprisingly revealing too. If you strip away all that you know of the Devil, and simply use the few mentions in the Bible, you will find that the information is quite lacking from the whole story we hear now. Then you start to see how Hellenistic thought started coming in and influencing the text, to build the whole story we mostly now believe in the modern church.

The influence of Dante and Milton adds to the story line, and the details grow and grow to a story that is nowhere to be found in biblical text. Even the non-canonical writings add to the story, filling in many of the gaps that the Bible has in this story. How much emphasis should we put on those extra bits and pieces? Is the "Devil" a member of the heavenly council of God, doing the evil? Is he a fallen angel, and if so, did he fall for pride against God as some tell us, or was it for lust as the book of Enoch displays? Was his fall before the fall of Adam, or just prior to the flood? These and so many more topics are examined in detail, making this a fascinating, and sometimes mind boggling look at the topic.

In the end, I do not know if what I have learned is more for the better or the worse on this topic. There is much more to it that I had originally thought, and now in some ways I am a bit more confused on where I stand on certain aspects. All in all though, a good read that looks at many questions, many histories, gives many answers, and in the end just makes me wonder even more. Fortunately, there are more volumes in this series that might provide further answers; so I will refrain from making any decisions on where I stand on this whole topic.

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Review: Devils and Demons and the Return of the Nephilim

2011-03-08T22:47:00.001-05:00

Devils and Demons and the Return of the Nephilim by John Klein

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I bought this a couple years ago mainly due to the title. I was hoping to find some insight into the Hebrew view of Nephilim, as I was studying the issue at the time (still am actually). I THOUGHT I had read it, or at least part of it back then, but in renewing my studies recently, I pulled it out and started at page one, and realized I did not recall reading much of any of this.

My understanding is that the authors have a strong Hebrew/Jewish background, and I expected to find quite a bit of background information, and that is indeed pretty much what this book offers. Unfortunately, the title of the book is mainly the focus of only a small section of the book...like a chapter or so. Good insights in that chapter, backing up much of what I have studied elsewhere. I guess the limited coverage of the topic may be one of the reasons the book was reprinted a couple years later under a new title, Lost In Translation Vol 1: Rediscovering the Roots of Our Faith which is much more suitable.

I found a bit of the explanation of the steps of the covenant relationship to be a little at odds with my Reformed background, but intriguing still. The symbolism between the old symbols and the new fulfillments was insightful. But one of the most interesting things was the examination of the original language, and the multiple meanings contained in the words. Not only are the words meaningful, but the individual letters were symbolic and and contained additional meaning. The words have multiple depths of meaning that simply cannot be captured and translated into individual English words, so we really miss so much by not better understanding these aspects.

The only let-down was some of their eschatology views, which were NOT very Hebrew in interpretation or understanding at times. But I guess that is not so much the authors specialty. Though it makes me wonder if the second edition to this book, Lost in Translation Vol 2: The Book of Revelation Through Hebrew Eyes will be any better on the topic. I will probably pick it up anyway, since it deals with more details about interpretation and symbolism and might offer insights not commonly understood to the Greek mind.

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American Vision Prophecy Conference

2011-03-07T15:30:00.001-05:00

SPECIAL OFFER FOR THE FIRST 100 CUSTOMERS!

Get BOTH Gary DeMar's 12-part Basic Training for Understanding Bible Prophecy DVD series AND Gary North's Millennialism and Social Theory for just $49.95! ORDER NOW!

American Vision's 2011
NATIONAL PROPHECY CONFERENCE
Christian Victory in Every Realm of Life

June 1 -4, 2011 • Ridgecrest, NC

Join Gary DeMar, Marshall Foster, Bojidar Marinov, Ken Gentry,
James B. Jordan, Joel McDurmon, Francis Gumerlock, and Jerry Johnson for one of the most important conferences in Church history.

Conference Registration Only $99 • REGISTER TODAY!
Through March 31, Register 1 and Get 2nd 1/2 Price!
Seating Limited - Register Soon!

Dear Concerned American,

I'm writing you today about a paralysis that is undermining the American church today.

Do you remember a famous Christian prophecy writer who sold millions of books predicting the end of the world in 1988?

As you know, it didn't happen. But that didn't stop him and others from speculating the end of the world again . . . and again . . . and again.

In fact, with the precipitous rise in end-times speculation over the past few years, I’m convinced that the credibility of the church and its message are at stake like never before.

Everywhere you look—on TV, on the radio, in the newspapers, at the bookstore—professing Christians are hocking their own delusional misinterpretations of current events and ancient Bible prophecy as the Gospel . . .

. . . which it most assuredly is NOT!

Yet another false prophet arises, it seems, with every month.

“God is telling me this,” they claim. “The world will end in 1988 . . . 1989 . . . 1990 . . . 1991 . . .”

“The time is short. Everything points to it,” Edgar Whisenant proclaimed from the front page headlines in the late 80s.

“Jesus will return this year,” “These are the last days,” and “Judgment Day is at hand!” the followers of Hal Lindsey and Harold Camping blazoned all over signs and cars in 1988 and 1994.

Obviously, these prophesiers haven’t been right once.

But the collective memory of most Americans is so short that a growing swell of evangelicals continues to fall prey to these specious warnings—even after over 40 years of perennial failure from these false prophets.

And now with Harold Camping’s new May 21st, 2011, Judgment Day nearing its necessary end, and with 2012—the end of the current Maya calendar—approaching amid a purportedly increasing slew of natural and man-made disasters, more people are tricked into believing these delusions every day.

And make no mistake. Every time another Christian falsely predicts the end of days, the world tries to discredit the Bible, the church, and all of Christendom.

It’s time to hold these wayward evangelical prophets accountable!

That’s why American Vision is hosting its first National Prophecy Conference this June 1–4, 2011, at the Lifeway Ridgecrest Conference Center nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains just outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

Authors Joel McDurmon, Bojidar Marinov, Jerry Johnson, James Jordan, and more will join me in answering the prophecy questions everyone’s asking right now:

Are modern wars “signs of the end”?

Is the modern nation of Israel a fulfillment of Bible prophecy?

Will the Jewish temple be rebuilt?

Is the “Antichrist” alive right now?

Is the national ID card the “mark of the beast”?

Do recent earthquakes; floods; and reports of the death of birds, fish, and cattle have any bearing on the end of the world?

But that’s not all!

I have officially invited popular Christian actor Kirk Cameron (Left Behind, Fireproof), one of the most central, high-profile figures in Christian prophecy, to attend the National Prophecy Conference and participate in a series of open forums.

Better yet, in my conversations with Kirk, he has expressed serious interest in attending our conference!

Christians all over America look up to Mr. Cameron as a hero for popularizing Bible prophecy. This is an amazing opportunity to have a public dialogue with him about this vital subject.

Furthermore, American Vision has also invited speakers and authors from opposing viewpoints to present their ideas in another open forum to provide balance to the discussion.

And with Lifeway’s 1300-acre resort bathed in mountain air and boasting a variety of comfortable accommodations and exciting recreation activities—including hiking, fishing, and tennis—it promises to be an exciting time for all.

Click here to register you and your family now!

Sincerely,
Gary DeMar
President, American Vision

P.S. An alarming increase in end-times speculation is crippling the church like never before, deluding thousands into giving up the fight for this world and Christ’s kingdom.

And every time another Christian falsely predicts the end of days, the world tries to discredit the Bible, the church, and all of Christendom.

The credibility of the church and the gospel are at stake. It’s time to hold these wayward evangelical prophets accountable!

Hollywood filmmaker Darren Doane will be filming the conference to make another spectacular documentary on Bible prophecy, and Christian actor Kirk Cameron—one of the most central, high-profile figures in the movement—has been invited to participate.

Click here to register now!

Conference Registration Just $99 • Register Today!

If so much of modern-day prophecy speculation is wrong, then what’s right? American Vision’s 2011 National Prophecy Conference will not only deal with the craziness of modern-day prophetic speculation. It will also systematically outline a well thought out biblical alternative.

About the Location:

Lodging, meals, sessions, bookstore and sponsoring vendors are all conveniently located on the tranquil 1,300-acre campus of Lifeway Ridgecrest Conference Center, nestled in the smoky mist of the Blue Ridge Mountains—just a 20-mile drive from the beautiful old-world charm of downtown Asheville.

The Asheville airport, imposing Biltmore Estate, Chimney Rock, and dozens of other scenic opportunities for the whole family are just minutes away.

On campus, you’ll find natural stone buildings and thick mountain laurel creating a restful charm. The entire family can enjoy a variety of recreational activities, such as tennis, volleyball, mini golf, basketball and hiking trails.

The on-site cafeteria boasts multiple serving lines to provide meals quickly and efficiently while large round tables encourage dining fellowship.

Quality rooms spread throughout campus provide comfortable hotel accommodations and amenities as well as complimentary Wi-Fi.

If you’ve ever been to one of our events, you’ll recall the throngs of like-minded brethren gathering together for fellowship and informative sessions.

Many tell us that American Vision conferences have changed their thinking drastically — even turned their entire life right-side up!

You won’t want to miss out. Save the date for June 1–4, 2011, and register today to attend the National Prophecy Conference!

Conference Registration Just $99 • Register Today!

Online registration closes 5/20/11. If space permits, registration may be available at the door. While childcare is not provided, the grounds allow for family-friendly recreation.

Lodging and meals available at additional fees. Please see conference website for further information.

Misusing the Bible?

2011-02-27T22:22:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was driving through town, and I passed a local fur store, and out front were four or five people people with signs picketing against the store. One sign caught my eyes, which said something along the line of "God gave us the animals: Abuse the animals equals abuse of God."

I was so tempted to roll down my window and scream "GOD GAVE FUR TO ADAM AND EVE!"...but alas, I refrained. 8^)

not trying to get into the fur/anti-fur argument, just thought it was kind of funny.

Genesis 3:21 - And the LORD God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

Review: Nero

2011-02-25T09:31:00.001-05:00

Nero by Jacob Abbott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

And here I thought Nero was one of the good guys....yeah right. This book takes you inside the life and times of one of the most notoriously monstrous (dare I say beastly) emperors of history. The book was very enlightening for me in a history I only had a small amount of real historical knowledge of to begin with. We all hear some of the horror stories about Nero, but this provided a better look in the situations around him at the time.

I think what may have brought this book to even more of a reality for me, was during the past few weeks of reading this, I went and watched some shows dealing with these times in history. I forged my way through Caligula, a movie I had not seen since about 1985, and then I watched some episode of the newer series on cable called Spartacus (I warn you, this is a very graphic, very vulgar show, but I assume fairly realistic to the time frame at and). Combining these visual presentations with the insights of the story, I could almost feel myself being within the world of the book at time.

Overall, a great story. Easy to read and understand (if you could keep the various character's names sorted out), and a wild ride through the life of the beast as he was called.

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Review: Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible

2011-01-31T08:46:00.003-05:00

Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible by John H. Walton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I bought this book thinking it was dealing with one thing, only to find when I started reading, that it was not. It is a comparative type study of the Old Testament and the surrounding near Eastern teachings. Many "scholars" today say the OT has borrowed its "stories" from other pagan nations, and that there is nothing really new or unique about the religion contained within. This book seeks - and accomplishes - proving this to be incorrect.

There was much in this book that kind of went over my head, and was more technical than I could fully grasp (either that or I wasn't fully able to concentrate while reading), but for the most part the book is filled with details of surrounding nations that really shed some new light on our understanding of the OT text. Some of the most striking revelations to me were looking at the first four of the ten commandments.

After understanding how the other nations looked at deity, worshiped their deity, and made images of them - and what those images were there for - it really altered my understanding of why God said what he said in the commandments. My understanding of the intent and purpose of those commands has changed, not drastically or in direct opposition of what I believed on the topic, but I understand better what they were specifically worded to address, and how some of my application of them was not necessarily accurate.

Another very interesting section was in dealing with the temples of a deity. Everything from how they were created, what they suggested, how they were described, and what took place there, it really gave some major depth to a lot of things; things that I really need to study further after re-reading part of this book again.

Other than that highlight, just understanding some of the complex things the other nations believed, and yes, even seeing how some of that was common in the OT belief system, just gave depth and detail to my understanding of the ancient OT world. I think books like this should be required reading for all pastors; in order to bring the OT to life in sermons, they need to understand the culture and issues that surrounded the writings of it. Likewise for the NT text, the culture, context, and local issues - audience relevance - is the key to understanding the text.

So, I gleaned quite a bit from this book, but would love to take the time for a more detailed reading to grasp more. I recommend this book as a great source of study for a better grasp of OT thought and practice.

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Review: Jesus and the Land

2010-11-30T09:21:00.002-05:00

Jesus and the Land by Gary Burge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book, and right after I started reading it I noticed two other authors I respected had also recently made mention of it, so I figured it should be a good read. The issue of Zionism, or those who feel Israel deserves to be back in their land due to some biblical, covenantal, or eschatological reason, really need to examine the issue further; and this book is a great place to start.

I was thinking it was going to just be a book to counter the many modern arguments in support of modern Israel, but instead it is a fairly thorough historical march through the Bible, covering the covenant, the promises, and the importance of the land along the way. Most of the way through, it spoke so much in favor of the importance of the land, that I thought it was going down a path other than what I thought the intent was. Then as he approached the New Testament, and the new covenant, the shift began, and the last couple chapters examine the view of the land in those last days for the Christians.

Kenneth Gentry recently commented, saying this book is one of a few books that has greatly shaped his view of Israel and the land, and that after reading this and the couple others, if someone still could cling to a modern dispensational view of the land, then they are probably beyond hope (that is a paraphrase as I understood it).

Maybe this book had more of an excitement and impact on me due to it's heavy look into Israel's past and understanding of the land, since I had recently finished the Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel which examined a lot of historical understandings in Hebrew thought; but either way, this book was full of great content, history, and biblical conclusions. I have so many highlighted remarks throughout, it would be hard to narrow it down to give a brief synopsis, but I just encourage you to check this book out if you have any interest in the modern crisis in Israel over who has the rights to the land.

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Review: God Versus Socialism

2010-11-12T11:18:00.002-05:00

God Versus Socialism by Joel Mcdurmon

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

McDurmon does an excellent job laying out the basics of socialistic thought, and in names and exposing the major players in the "social gospel" movement over the past hundred years; especially those most active today.

This book has shown that these issues did not die with the previous era of socialism/communism versus the free world. They did not fall silent when they fell. They remain as relevant as ever, especially with the reinvigoration of socialist ideology in government, including radical activists in Congress, the Judiciary, labor unions, teachers' unions, universities, and numerous posts in the White House itself, including the Presidency. The arguments of socialism resound throughout America like never before, and Christians must both discern their persuasive but devious rhetoric and stand firm with a biblical answer. The answers to socialism are, "The king is not God," and "Thou Shalt Not Steal." If Christians refuse to apply these principles to government, law, and economics, then we will move closer to the socialists' vision for society. We will have more of Marx than Moses, more of Trotsky than Christ." (pg 226-227)

Wielding the sharp sword of truth, McDurmon cuts through and destroys the fallacious teachings of modern day social gospel pundits Tony Campolo, Ron Sider, and Jim Wallis. His excellent dealing with Campolo's "red letter Christian" teachings is a highlight, as he shows that verse after verse they misuse and abuse Scripture in an attempt to force it to fit their agenda.

Campolo, like Wallis and Sider, loves to point out how "there are more than 2,000 verses of Scripture that calls us to express love and justice for those who are poor and oppressed..." But he immediately makes the unwarranted jump from the Bible's mandate for personal compassion to socialist government action: "we promote legislation that turns biblical imperatives into social policy." ... Gary DeMar responds appropriately, "What Campolo needs to find in these 2,000 verse is one verse that gives authority to civil government to redistribute wealth. Campolo takes verses that are directed at individuals and turns them on their head and gives them a political twist." (pg 134-135)

I could go on quoting more quotes (you should see how many highlights I have in this), but instead, let me encourage others to read and take heed. It is not full of high thinking economic garbaly-gook or political speak, but it is written in easy to understand terms. If you are new to political issues, socialism in general, or social justice/social gospel issues, this is a great place to start. highly recommended.

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Review: A Praying Life

2010-10-18T07:15:00.001-04:00

A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book changed my prayer life, by coming at a time in my life when I was in need, when I was down, and when even prayer seemed "distant" to me. Being raised most of my adult life within the framework of a pretty hard-core Reformed faith that put such a high value on reverence and fear before God, it must have worked in a way that made me forget the Father/son relationship that our heavenly father has with us. This book, in a nutshell, helped me change my thoughts from a awe-inspiring, big fearful fiery God to whom we approach (yes, he is those things), into a needy son who can't make it on his own and who has to come to his Father for everything little thing just to make it through each day.

Many books on prayer that I have read in the past have done the theological work of breaking down the sections of the Lord's prayer to show how we can use that, or they may seek to point out the seriousness of prayer, the awesome power of God, etc. Great stuff, but sometimes these deeper theological books on prayer do not present it in a more practical way in which the reader can readily apply what the book teaches to their life. This book comes off to me as more application, more real life use, more down to earth focus on our daily struggles in life. Maybe the book holds no big secrets, or has not special plan for everyone, but I guess it hit me at a time in my life where it was more needed. It has revived a dying prayer life and given it more meaning. In a couple areas of life, the answers to some prayers were immediate, which even further ignited my prayer life.

As the author points out, I know in my life too, we become somewhat self dependent, only looking to God for the "big things" we might need help with here or there. Instead, we need to approach God daily, for all thing, the littlest to the biggest. He states early on that in the beginning of fixing your prayer life, start small, and try praying for like 5 minutes at a time, and let it grow from there over time. Honestly, with the freedom to just bring my cares and needs (of which there are many) to the Father, I have found there is no real lack of things to pray for, and 5 minutes becomes hard to not blow right past.

The book itself, is full of stories from the authors life, and how God has worked to show him things through them. They show how things for the author were not always answered in a way that he necessary had in his mind, but how they were answered none the less. The stories just added that personal real-life touch to the message of the book, which was a nice addition.

So, I am not sure if everyone would appreciate this book as much, and from looking at some of the other reviews this seems to be the case; but for me it came at a time I needed it and it has helped me refocus of a Father/son relationship with my heavenly Father that had been misconstrued before, and for that I am thankful.

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Review: Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life

2010-10-10T21:18:00.008-04:00

Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life by Jon D. Levenson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have been reading various books in trying to comprehend original Jewish thoughts and ideas that are embedded in the entirety of scripture, and that is what original drew me to this title. The author is a professor of Jewish studies at Harvard (not sure if that is good or bad...lol) so he seems to be in the know for these things.

As most scholars admit, the doctrine of what is commonly understood these days about the resurrection is something that came about relatively late in history, around the second temple era. The author looks back into earlier scripture in order to glean issues related to the doctrine, and paints a picture of resurrection that is so alien to the modern thought; but that is why I chose a book like this anyway.

"...the Israelite conception of death [is] different from others, especially ours. Whereas we think of a person who is gravely ill, under lethal assault, or sentenced to capital punishment as still alive, the Israelites were quite capable of seeing such an individual as dead." (pg 38)

The Jewish ideas of death, life and resurrection were drastically different from our modern "empty graves" modern doctrine, and that is the meat of this book. What did they believe about life and death, and what was resurrection to them?

"Deriving from the question of where we go after we die, the question is, in fact, misconceived when posed to the Hebrew Bible. For the Hebrew Bible displays very little interest in that question. It is much more likely to focus on the question of whether God's blessing (especially the blessing of children) was or was not realized in the decedent's life." (pg 78)

The author examines the importance of children to carry on the "life" and memory of a person, and that in turn basically keeps them "alive" after they pass from physical life. Looking at how God's giving barren people children was in essence to bring them from a state of death, into a blessing of life.

A lot of these ideas were very foreign to me, and I admit I had a hard time grasping them as I went. But I found that s I got deeper and deeper, they all started coming together and things were clicking.

"Death would remain universal, but not everyone who died would experience it as a plague." (pg 81)

His study goes on to show that physical life and death were not an emphasis of concern for the ancient people; but that is was about how they lived when they lived. If they were within God's blessing, faithful to the covenant while alive, then they were blessed and considered "alive" - but if they were outside of those blessings, they were considered "dead" and in need of life.

I was nicely surprised at the connection shown between the books of Hosea and Isaiah and how they play out in the eschatological promises to Israel.

"Probably the oldest attestation of this metaphor [of Israel as YHWH's wife] in Israelite literature is found in the first two chapters of the eighth-century prophet Hosea. Here, the wife is at first unfaithful and gives birth to children whose ominous names communicate the termination of the marital relationship of YHWH and Israel, Lo-ruhama ("Unloved," "Unpitied") and Lo-ammi ("Not-My-People"). But then the corresponding positive names replace the negative ones, the children rebuke their wayward mother, and she, after a painful period of retribution and reorientation, is restored. YHWH, in fact woos her tenderly anew, remarries her in righteousness, justice, goodness, and mercy - and this time for good. The result is that a covenant of cosmic peace comes into effect. In Hosea, the remarriage of YHWH and Israel signifies the redemption not just of the people Israel but of nature as well." (pg 148-149)

The writings in Hosea are something I have been recently hearing more about in my studies, and the way they tie in to eschatology. He does a good job of showing how they see the idea of resurrection as being something other than the modern understanding.

"The sources in the Hebrew Bible, as we have already seen, have a definition of death and of life broader than ours. That is why they can see exile, for example, as death and repatriation as life, in a sense that seems contrived (to put it negatively) or artful (to put it positively) to us but probably did not seem so to the original authors and audiences. In part, this is because the ancient Israelites, altogether lacking the corporeal penchant of thought so powerful in modernity, did not conceive of death and life as purely and exclusively biological phenomena. ...death and life in the Hebrew Bible are often best seen as relational events and are for the selfsame reason inseparably from the personal circumstances of those described as living or as dead. To be alive in this frequent biblical sense of the word inevitably entailed more than merely existing in a certain physical state. It also entailed having one's being within a flourishing and continuing kin group that dwelt in a productive and secure association with its land. Consequently, to be widowed, bereaved of children, or in exile was necessarily to experience death....he death of spouse or children, infertility, exile, famine, and the like were perceived as the common lot from which the God of Israel miraculously and graciously offered redemption." (pg 154 - 155)

Such very different and odd sounding views for sure, but exactly the kind of material I hoped and expected to find. Many scholars these days have started realizing and promoting the fact that the Bible as a whole is loaded with deep Hebrew themes and idioms, and in order to get a more full understanding of the idea and meaning behind much of it, we must study, understand and apply such a mindset to the scriptures to see what the original audience would have understood them to be saying to them.

Failure to understand this concept is a recipe for disaster when it comes to interpreting issues. It is sad enough that most modern churches put little to no emphasis on even reading the Hebrew scriptures, so they fail to grasp the Greek scriptures even more; but those of us wanting to grasp these things more deeply, understanding the audience is especially pertinent. Fortunately, these types of books are coming out more and more from modern scholars, and maybe given another generation of two, will hopefully reshape the thinking on these subjects.

"For the Jewish expectation of a resurrection of the dead is always and inextricably associated with the restoration of the people Israel; it is not, in the first instance, focused on individual destiny. The question it answers is not, "Will I have life after death?" but rather, "Has God given up on his promises to his people?" (Pg 165)

"The question was not whether one died but whether one did so within God's favor or outside of it. And that is a question very far removed from the thinking of modern naturalism." (pg 170)

I could go on quoting and quoting and quoting the parts of the book I highlighted as key points, but suffice it to say - this book was challenging, deep, and while I may not (at this time) agree with all of his conclusions, there is just so much in here that bolsters my understanding of God's Word, and that fulfilled my expectations when I picked up this book, that it was worth the read. I know I have only barely scraped the surface of what I did grasp from this first read, so I do expect to one day in the future read this again to glean more of an understanding.

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Losing the Genie Mentality

2010-10-06T07:00:00.009-04:00

Ok, so I have been reading this book on prayer the last few weeks, as our Sunday School class has been going through it (A Praying Life by Paul Miller). The book has been very interesting and helpful, but this posting is not a book review (sorry - suffice it to say for now that I do like it so far). As I have been re-learning to pray, I have noticed a deep down thought pattern emerging in my prayers. At first, it wasn't something that even phased me or was really noticed, but the more I started thinking about it, the more I realized not only that is was a totally wrong way to think, but that it was a pattern that came directly from my exposure to various modern "Genie" type stories. Let me see if I can properly explain this.

I am pretty sure most everyone has seen or read a story like I am thinking, mainly those twisted tales from people like Stephen King and the like. An example goes like this - someone is in hard times, and runs into a Genie (and it doesn't have to be a Genie, it could simply be someone who has the power and authority to grant someone's desire) and grants them a wish. Yet the Genie twists things and the result is not as the person expected at all. The results are fulfilled, but only by way of a terrible catastrophe in the person's life. Time and time again, this type of idea permeates movies and I guess has become a common thought pattern sub-consciously; spilling over into "real life" and prayer.

So, now, having this theme embedded in my sub-conscious, I sit to pray. Now, just to make sure God doesn't trick me by giving me my prayer request by some other disastrous means, I find myself explaining my desires in detail - more detail than I should. Let me give a real extreme example of this: "Father, please help me with my finances - but please do not kill one of my family members in order to provide the finances through an insurance claim." Yes, I know that is pretty bad, extreme, sad, whatever; but unfortunately, that is the kind of thing that pops up.

This type of thought has assumed God is there trying to trick us like the wish giver on the movies. While it is often true that God can give us what we desire in a way we didn't necessarily expect it, to automatically think of that fulfillment as coming in such a twisted, morbid way is just not a good way to think of God. But that is what I find lurking deep down inside that needs purged.

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! (Matt. 7:11)

We are not as good as God, yet we give to our kids out of love and in looking out for their well-being. And while sometimes we even may be silly and trick them, we can't look at our heavenly Father as being such a trickster.

What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; (Lk 11:11)

Yes, God may answer our prayers in a totally different way than we had hoped or expected, but my issue is more in thinking from the get-go that God is there, ready-and-waiting to trick us or bring more and more pain and trouble to us. This shows a lack of trust and an unwarranted, unbiblical fear of our Father, rather than trusting our loving Father to do what is best for us.

This wasn't directly even a topic referenced in the book (at least not up to where I have read yet), but many of the steps in the book have caused me to stop and re-examine my view of the Father - and this is what I have found lurking down deep.

Has anyone else experienced any thing like this, or is it just me? Has anyone else had any wrong thoughts on God that have influenced your prayer life in a bad way, and how did you overcome that?

Book Review: The Fire That Consumes

2010-09-26T16:01:00.001-04:00

The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment by Edward W. Fudge

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have discussed, read and heard from people on this topic at time in the past ten years, but finally decided to jump into a very detailed study of the issue of final punishment from a more annihilationist position. Having been raised in a typical traditional view of hell as conscious torment, I was intrigued to see what the "other side" had to say. I found this book to be very, VERY thorough, and very enlightening. I am not sure how much more could be say, but in nearly 500 pages, Fudge covers an incredible amount of ground.

He has whole sections that almost exhaustively cover every scripture and aspect on the topic of final punishment; starting in the Old Testament, then traveling through the Apocryphal period, the Pseudopigraphal writings, the New Testament, the Apostolic Fathers, the early church fathers, the medieval period, and into the Reformation period. He leaves almost no stone unturned as he examines the views throughout history.

At the end of the journey you begin to see how the traditional view came to be, the main culprits in its formation, and how we got to where we are today. Many questions get raised, many get answered, and at the end of the day, you have to ponder and examine what you believe in light of it all. I would have to say, the traditional "eternal conscious torment" view takes a lot of damage in the process, but that is obviously what the author intended.

The approach does not always come across as biased against the traditional view. He presents many angles and presuppositions from all angles, making the book very balanced in my opinion. But as intended, at the end of the day, the traditional view doesn't fair very well. A thoroughly convincing book? Maybe, maybe not. A very probing and challenging look? Very much so.

I enjoyed the sections dealing with universalism, that was also enlightening to see the history of that view, as well as the historical refutations of it.

My only real complaint was where his own eschatological positions took him in certain areas. His dealing with Gehenna and more obvious literal national judgment verses in the NT teachings of Jesus get confused with future judgment and their timing and nearness context get lost and misapplied. I have heard many modern messages say Jesus speaks more of hell than of heaven; and technically this is not true. Jesus spoke more of judgment yes, but the modern translation of Gehenna to hell (hell as in what most would consider the lake of fire) confuses the issue of Jesus' words of coming fiery near judgment coming upon the apostate nation of Israel. Jesus spoke more of coming judgment against the nation in his time, and not so much of final punishment after death. This is a common confusion, and it permeates this book. It doesn't negate his position, but can be frustrating and could have benefited his position if he categorized these verses correctly. This is probably heightened for me since I only recently finished reading A New Vision for Israel: The Teachings of Jesus in National Context and other works of eschatological and cultural significance.

Aside from that slight misapplication of some verses, the book still has much to offer, much to challenge the traditional view, and much that must be dealt with in time.

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Memories: Pleasure and Pain

2010-09-04T22:02:00.001-04:00

Every year, my church has a retreat on this weekend where we go to a 4H camp and stay in cabins, and have teaching sessions, games, family fun, dancing, sports, swimming, and great fellowship. We have been going yearly I guess for the pass six years, and the kids look forward to it each year. It is a great time with many great memories.

Last year, I didn't get to go with the family, since my band had multiple gigs that weekend. I have still not lived that down. My family was again excited this time, but the kids were even more excited since I would be going with them for the majority of the weekend. While my band has a large exposure show on the Sunday of this weekend, I am still able to attend for Friday night, all day Saturday, and after my early morning gig, will return to finish out the entire Sunday afternoon with the family before coming home tomorrow night.
As stated, I did not get to go last year, so the last time I did go was August 2008...me, my wife, and my six children. It was nice to be back, and it didn't feel like it had been six years since I was last there. I guess the events in life since then have made time pass very oddly.

As most of you may know (if you had read my previous blog postings), our life changed drastically in May 2009 when my oldest son Jonathan unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. So, the last time I personally attended the retreat was prior to his death.

When I arrived at the retreat, I wasn't thinking of that ordeal at all, but shortly after arriving, the sights, the sounds and the memories came flooding in; memories of things my son had enjoyed at this event. Everywhere I looked I saw him, from simply seeing him in his bed, to playing the games, and hanging with friends; it all came flooding back unexpectedly.

While I continue pursuing fond memories with my family, and spending as much undivided attention as possible with them, the past memories remain. I guess it doesn't help any that this is his birthday weekend too; he would be 19 years old on Monday the 6th.It has been just over 15 months since he passed, and I miss him greatly, but especially when we do something again for the first time, that we had done when he was with us.

I covet your prayers for strength and comfort during the rest of this weekend and especially on Monday, his birthday.

Oil Spill Solutions?

2010-06-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

Last week on the Mike Huckabee show, he had numerous guests on from various companies with numerous ways to safely and quickly clean up the continuing oil spill in the gulf. Most of the solutions were natural, non-toxic, and completely safe for the environment. It really makes you wonder why the government has not tried them, or why the EPA would makes stupid comments about them not being approved. Safe, non-toxic, natural solutions - not approved? Shoot, if I were these companies, I would go get the approval by running out and using the product today on the spill and stop it. Then let the citizens approve it when it works...HA! Maybe it is time for the environmental militia to take action.

In case you missed the show (shame on you), here is the full eleven segments from YouTube.

If fo some reason, the videos don't play below (YouTube is notorious for that happening), the link to the first segment on their site is HERE.

Segment 1

Segment 2

Segment 3

Segment 4

Segment 5

Segment 6

Segment 7

Segment 8

Segment 9

Segment 10

Segment 11

Police State and FEMA Camps

2010-06-09T12:50:00.004-04:00

OK, so I have been promoting some Alex Jones films recently, and here is another one. I'm not going to add may of my own words to this, it is thorough enough with the evidence it presents. I was greatly saddened at the sections dealing with Glenn Beck and his glossing over some of the issues in FEMA camps. I am hoping maybe he has since then seen better evidence, and just has not had the time to go back and do a show on it.

I was most shocked when it got to the part with the footage of the event in Pittsburgh....about fifty-seven minutes into the film. I was shocked and enraged and felt like fighting back through the video. To think that citizens have been so brain washed that they can be duped into following such unconstitutional and horrible acts against other Americans. Why are the majority of these police forces not raising a voice of opposition against such ridiculous actions against a peaceful demonstration?

I now quote a simple review from another site about this movie:

POLICE STATE 4 chronicles the sickening depths to which our republic has fallen. Veteran documentary filmmaker Alex Jones conclusively proves the existence of a secret network of FEMA camps, now being expanded nationwide.

The military industrial complex is transforming our once free nation into a giant prison camp. A cashless society control grid, constructed in the name of fighting terrorism, was actually built to enslave the American people. Body scanners, sound cannons, citizen spies, staged terror and cameras on every street corner — it’s only the beginning of the New World Order’s hellish plan.

This film exposes how the “Continuity of Government” program has established an all powerful shadow state.

Prepare to enter the secretive world of emergency dictatorship, FEMA camps and a shredded Constitution. Witness police and military savagely attacking innocent citizens as our own government unleashes false flag operations to justify its oppression. Then watch as Alex Jones takes on corrupt mercenary police and exposes mainstream media brainwashing.
THE POLICE STATE ISN’T COMING, IT’S HERE!

OR CLICK TO WATCH IT ON YOUTUBE PAGE!

The Obama Deception

2010-06-08T12:30:00.040-04:00

It is way beyond time for this generation to wake up and start paying attention to what is going on around them in the realm of politics. For far too long, people have walked around with their head in the sand, relying on government to do what is right, and ignoring what was going on behind the scenes. In doing so, the government has waged a war against the checks and balances that our country's forefather's put in place to protect us from overwhelming political power, and they have trampled on liberty and justice and are converting this nation into something totally foreign to what it was meant to be.

Many things have been radically changed by a progressive, power hungry regime, and the changes have been gradual for many decades. What kind of changes? What can be done to rectify them now? Who is behind all of this?

There are a handful of "crazy conservatives" and "loose canon" "loud mouths" out there, that many consider to be nothing more than wackos and conspiracy nuts. Men such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, etc. One of the more mainstream "right wing extremists" is Glen Beck, who especially recently has been hitting it hard with great coverage of the origins of our country, the intent of the founding fathers, and the origins of our nations political system. I personally believe he has been hitting the nail on the head in exposing the actions of those in leadership positions that are shaping this country. However, Alex Jones of Inforwars.com is another similar radio personality like Beck, who seems to be going even further and digging even deeper in what is going on.

In recent years he has produced many in-depth full length movies filled to the brim with more information than most want to digest. Most of these documentary-style releases are available on high-quality DVD, but he has also put them all online in full to be watched free of charge. The wealth of information needs to be spread out as much as possible, so this is a great service he has provided.

I recently sat through the more than two-hours of information in his "The Obama Deception: The Mask Comes off" - much of which is stunning and stomach turning. Don't be confused by the title, this is not an anti-Obama movie as many would assume, nor is it entirely centered on Obama. It looks at the power behind the presidents, their control, their abilities and many of their behind-the-scenes antics in the last century. It is an in-depth look at the manipulation of power going on behind the scenes, and how they are radically changing our nation, turning it into a monstrosity and totally unrecognizable of it's founding design.

Ignorance may appear to be "bliss" but in the big picture, it is destructive. WAKE UP AMERICA - BE INFORMED! The main way we can battle against this progressive socialistic push is by re-learning what they have worked so hard to strip from our memory through re-writing the history books, propagating lies in the media, twisting the truth constantly, and shoving their agenda down our throats in the public school systems.

Education is the key for much of this. LEARN AND TEACH OTHERS!

If the embedded video above doesn't work properly, the full length movie in HD is here on YouTube or you can purchase it here at Amazon.

If Obama Had Told Us Before His Election

2010-06-08T07:15:00.003-04:00

If Barack Obama had campaigned on what he has actually done in his first 300 days in office, would he have been elected? That's the question so many are asking today.

If Obama had told us he would appoint 34 czars, reporting only to himself and not vetted or confirmed in the constitutional way, building a powerful unitary executive branch of government, would he have been elected? What if he had told us that his green jobs czar had been a Communist, that the science czar wrote in a college textbook that compulsory "green abortions" are an acceptable way to control population growth and that the diversity czar has spoken publicly of getting white media executives to "step down" in favor of minorities?

If Obama had told us he would take over the automobile industry faster than any socialist dictator ever nationalized an industry, fire the CEO of General Motors and replace him with a Democratic Party campaign contributor, would Obama have been elected? If Obama had campaigned on closing down thousands of profitable car dealers, nearly all Republicans, would we have believed that this vindictive financial retaliation against those who didn't vote for Obama could happen in America?

If Hugo Chavez, the communist who nationalized most of Venezuela's industries, had said before the election that "Comrade Obama" would nationalize the U.S. automobile industry and Chavez would "end up to his right," would anybody have believed it? If talk shows had warned against such a socialist takeover, would the Obama-loving media have accused them of McCarthyism?

If Obama had told us he would spend $3 billion in a Cash for Clunkers program that would use taxpayers' funds to buy mostly foreign cars and grind up the used American cars traded in to make them unusable, would he have been elected?

If Obama had told us that his stimulus package is a sham because it does not create private-sector jobs (as a tax cut would do), so that the unemployment rate has risen to nearly 10 percent, with 15 million Americans unemployed plus another 11 million underemployed, could he have been elected?

If Obama had told us his Supreme Court pick would be a woman who said repeatedly that a "Latina woman" would make better decisions than "a white male," that his pick for chief State Department lawyer would be a transnationalist who wants to integrate foreign law into law binding on U.S. citizens and that his pick for regulations czar argues that animals are entitled to have lawyers to sue humans in court, would Obama have been elected?

If we had known that Obama would be totally incompetent as commander-in-chief of his chosen war in Afghanistan, and would not speak to the general in the field for 70 days, ignoring his dire report for six weeks, would Obama have been elected?

If Obama had told us he would have the government guarantee 90 percent of all U.S. mortgages, imposing $5 trillion in off-budget debt on U.S. taxpayers who had faithfully made their own mortgage payments, would he have been elected? And what if Obama had told us he would have the taxpayers take over 80 percent of all student loans at a cost of $1 trillion over the next decade?

If Obama had told us that he would make the U.S. government a major shareholder in Citigroup (one of the world's largest banks), would you have believed he could get away with this socialist takeover?

If Obama had admitted that his health care plan would include the same provisions for which he ran negative TV ads against Hillary Clinton (a federal mandate requiring every American to buy health insurance) and against John McCain (a tax on high-cost employer-based plans), would Obama have been elected?

And what if Obama had told us that his federal health plan would pay for all abortions without regard to the Hyde Amendment and provide full health care (including private doctor visits) to immigrants without requiring proof of legal residence?

If Obama had campaigned on increasing federal spending and debt from a multibillion-dollar level to multitrillions, would he have been elected? And what if Obama had told us that his promise to "spread the wealth around" would balloon his first year's budget deficit to $1.6 trillion?

If Obama had told us that his promise to "spread the wealth around" meant wiping out the Republican welfare reform of 1996 and increasing annual welfare spending by 39 percent to almost $1 trillion a year by the end of his first term, would he have been elected?

If Obama had declared during his campaign that his first major speech abroad would be to the Muslim world and that he would proclaim in Muslim Turkey that "one of the great strengths of the United States is ... we do not consider ourselves a Christian nation," would he have been elected?

by Phyllis Schlafly - originally appearing on her Townhall site

Democratic Socialists of America?

2010-04-29T14:42:00.002-04:00

Many people think I am crazy when I tell you that our president is a socialist. I think that it is because it is too unimaginable to believe that a United States president could ever stand for something that would ultimately ruin our country. We have a unique beginning, based on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We understand that individual freedom is what made our country great. People have flocked to this country with the hope of doing something with their lives that they could not do anywhere else. The reason we are different was based on our Christian beliefs, which were greater here than anywhere else in the world. Back then we had Faith, Hope, and Charity.

Move into the future 200 years, and we find ourselves in a mess. Integrity and honesty are things of the past, and because of that the large corporations are interested in nothing but profits. Whether they come honestly or not doesn't seem to matter. You can not have hope if you do not have truth. Truth is what gives us hope, when people steal, cheat, and lie, they give us false hope.

Churches are becoming empty, people are taught evolutionary beliefs at the ripe old age of 5, and they begin to doubt God's word. If the Earth is really billions of years old, then Genesis is a lie, and if Genesis is a lie, then the foundation of the whole Bible is shot. Too bad people do not realize that in order to date rocks correctly, you need to know how much of the isotope was in the rock to start with, how can anyone know that information. Just recently rocks from the lava at Mt. St. Helens were dated to be billions of years old, the problem is that we know when that volcano erupted... 1980. We have lost our faith, especially in God’s word.

When there is a great disaster, the United States is usually the first to respond, which shows that we are a country that cares. But it seems that we only care for people we do not know. What I mean by this is that there is no charity between people here in the country. We are divided by politics, color of our skin, denominations, etc. People are so rude to each other that sometimes it shocks me. Even within our own churches there is a lack of caring and respect, especially when there is a difference of opinion. We are lacking in charity.

This situation sets us up for Socialism; we see so much injustice out there that we think there is nothing else we can do but change things so people will be treated better. That is why all we hear about lately is Social Justice, and Economic Justice just to name a few. Our country became the greatest because of individual rights. With our religious upbringing, and reliance on God we had morals. The government didn’t need to regulate us because we could be trusted to do the right thing. Now it is different, and the government steps in to stop all the corruption, but in the process takes away our individual rights. We all get punished for the crimes of some, instead of punishing the people responsible. The government believes that no one can be trusted to do the right thing, so they will do it for us. The problem is that we are forced to do what the government thinks is right, but what if they are wrong.

This type of thinking has been going on for a while, at least 100 or more years, and now finally the socialists have a chance to radically change things, with the help of our president and congress. What did Obama mean by change? There were some of us who had no clue, or believed that he was just using that as a slogan for his campaign. We were wrong. He had ideas in mind…. Some of these ideas came from a democratic socialist agenda which is why I am writing this in the first place. Following this paragraph is a statement taken from the web page of the Democratic Socialists of America. See if you can spot some of the policies which have been implemented or have been talked about.

While recognizing the critical limitations of the Obama candidacy and the American political system, DSA believes that the possible election of Senator Obama to the presidency in November represents a potential opening for social and labor movements to generate the critical political momentum necessary to implement a progressive political agenda. We know that a proactive and progressive government can come only on the heels of a broad coalition for social justice united against a reactionary Republicanism as well as a Democratic neoliberalism. Such a movement will also have to fight for a public finance system that can limit the power of corporate fundraising and lobbyists over both major political parties.

Thus, DSA offers its Economic Justice Agenda and its "four pillars" as a framework for such a progressive policy agenda. This program calls for:

1. Restoring progressive taxation to the levels before the Reagan administration and enacting massive cuts in wasteful defense spending;

2. Enacting single-payer universal health insurance and expanding public initiatives in child care, elder care and pension security;

3. Passing the Employee Free Choice Act as part of a broader effort to rebuild a powerful labor movement capable of achieving equity in the labor market; and

4. Implementing a U.S. foreign policy that promotes global institutions that advance labor, environmental, and human rights and regulate transnational corporations.

True democracy is not about one woman or man promising change for the American public. That takes consistent pressure from below. Who holds the presidency does matter, if only as a more accessible target for pressure. A Democratic presidency and Congress would also create popular expectations that rising inequality and injustice will be curbed. If the Democrats frustrate those hopes (as they did in the early 1960s), mass mobilization is likely to grow rather than subside.

Nor should the Left be so involved in the national presidential campaign that it ignores the fall primaries and general election races for the U.S. House and Senate. We need more progressives in Congress as well as increased Democratic majorities.

The November election can’t be the end of a fight, but its beginning, and connections made on a local and national level leading up to November can position the Left to play a role in struggles to come.

Paid for by Democratic Socialists of America PAC, 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 505, NY, NY 10038; not approved by any candidate or candidate's committee

What are we going to do, just sit here and let them continually pass bills that turn our country into the Democratic Socialists of America? We need to educate ourselves, join the political parties that promote the constitution, and pray to our God that he will reform America, and bring it back to where it all started. It is obvious that the Socialists won’t stop until they get what they want, but neither should we. Remember it all starts with Faith, Hope, and Charity.

American Vision Worldview Conference

2010-04-14T11:56:00.006-04:00

WATCH THE PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

SOVEREIGNTY & DOMINION
Biblical Blueprints For Victory...

Family • Law • Education • Civil Government

Why are you here? What is your purpose? Are Christians meant to eke out a passive existence in this life while they wait to die and go to heaven... or is there something more? The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:28 that God created us to multiply, fill the earth, and take dominion of His creation for His Glory. When Jesus came to earth, He gave his disciples the Great Commission and told them to make disciples of all nations, Baptize them, and teach them to obey all that he had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). These two mandates form the basis for why Christ's Church exists on this planet. Every square inch of this world belongs to King Jesus. It is our privilege to serve Him by exercising servanthood dominion in every area of life.

This is the theme of American Vision's fourth annual Worldview Super Conference to be held July 21–24, 2010 at the North Metro Church in Marietta, Georgia. YOU DO NOT want to miss this event!

The recently expanded North Metro Church is conveniently located 30 minutes from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and 4 miles from the large Towne Center Mall and an upscale retail area teeming with lodging and culinary options. A huge auditorium with comfortable chair seating will provide the perfect environment for listening to some of the greatest educators and worldview speakers of our day.

CLICK HERE FOR SPEAKER LINEUP & BIOGRAPHIES
Gary DeMar American Vision	Kevin Swanson Generations with Vision	Israel Wayne Wisdom's Gate
Dr. Gary North Economist / Historian	John Eidsmoe Professor of Law	Dr. Bruce Shortt Attorney
Joel McDurmon American Vision	Bill Potter Historian	Dr. Roger Shultz Liberty University
Rev. Joseph Morecraft Chalcedon Presbyterian Church	Bojidar Marinov Reformed Missionary to Bulgaria	Rev. David Hall Midway Presbyterian Church
Special Entertainment Provided By: Comedian Charles Marshall and Impressionist Anthony Edwards

North Metro Church features a large lobby, bookstore and vendor hall where we will display exceptional resources and information from a host of sponsors as well as American Vision. We've designed this conference for you to fellowship with other like-minded attendees. Most meals are even provided onsite as part of your registration fee!

Vocalist musicians Nathan Clark George and Deborah Brinson will provide inspirational live music throughout the conference. We’re also planning an outdoor southern barbecue dinner on the church grounds with live Bluegrass music provided by the talented Carrell family from Alabama.

And to bring a bit of levity to such an important conference, we're pleased to introduce you to the wholesome family comedy of Charles Marshall. Click here to watch a sample of Charles' comedy
routine!

Make plans to join us for this unique family event this July in Atlanta! Save on registration when you register before June 1, 2010!

Registration Pricing INCLUDES all sessions, workshops, performances, provided meals, and a great time!

Ministerial Staff: $164
Single/Student/Military: $189
Married Couple: $299
Family up to 8 persons: $399
Families of 9+ persons: $499

REGISTER TODAY!

Please note that lodging arrangements, reservations and payment are the responsibility of the attendees. Please visit our Location page for information on local hotels that have room blocks under American Vision. Childcare is available for children under 5 for an additional fee.

Call to Action

2010-03-10T13:00:00.001-05:00

I have been reading through the amazing War of the Jews by Josephus, and ran across this exhortation by the high priest Ananus, and couldn't help but think the same type of speech could be equally applied to the majority of American's today who sit idly by and watch out freedoms dwindle as the government usurps more and more authority than they are Constitutionally allowed.

Of course I totally realize they were in a very different situation, being right in the middle of an all out bloody war. Their family and friends were dying around them, and their sacred things were being desecrated, and their foes were seemingly unstoppable. I just see a lot of what is being said about the non action of people during hard times, leads to loss of freedom and harder times. I see how that has been the case with our country over the past 150 years or so.

The lawful, Constitutional restraints of government have all but been forgotten by the government educated masses, and people today just go with the flow, and take little to no concern, and therefore the government encroaches on more and more freedoms. People need to pay attention, vote, and become real citizens of this country, and not just sit by and get steamrolled over. Hopefully, you too can read this, and keeping America in mind, be stirred, if even a little, to be more involved.

And now, when the multitude were gotten together to an assembly, and every one was in indignation at these men's seizing upon the sanctuary, at their rapine and murders, but had not yet begun their attacks upon them, (the reason of which was this, that they imagined it to be a difficult thing to suppress these zealots, as indeed the case was,) Ananus stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at the temple, and having a flood of tears in his eyes, he said, "Certainly it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations, or these sacred places, that ought not to be trodden upon at random, filled with the feet of these blood-shedding villains; yet do I, who am clothed with the vestments of the high priesthood, and am called by that most venerable name [of high priest], still live, and am but too fond of living, and cannot endure to undergo a death which would be the glory of my old age; and if I were the only person concerned, and as it were in a desert, I would give up my life, and that alone for God's sake; for to what purpose is it to live among a people insensible of their calamities, and where there is no notion remaining of any remedy for the miseries that are upon them? for when you are seized upon, you bear it! and when you are beaten, you are silent! and when the people are murdered, nobody dare so much as send out a groan openly!

O bitter tyranny that we are under! But why do I complain of the tyrants? Was it not you, and your sufferance of them, that have nourished them? Was it not you that overlooked those that first of all got together, for they were then but a few, and by your silence made them grow to be many; and by conniving at them when they took arms, in effect armed them against yourselves? You ought to have then prevented their first attempts, when they fell a reproaching your relations; but by neglecting that care in time, you have encouraged these wretches to plunder men.

When houses were pillaged, nobody said a word, which was the occasion why they carried off the owners of those houses; and when they were drawn through the midst of the city, nobody came to their assistance. They then proceeded to put those whom you have betrayed into their hands into bonds. I do not say how many and of what characters those men were whom they thus served; but certainly they were such as were accused by none, and condemned by none; and since nobody succored them when they were put into bonds, the consequence was, that you saw the same persons slain.

We have seen this also; so that still the best of the herd of brute animals, as it were, have been still led to be sacrificed, when yet nobody said one word, or moved his right hand for their preservation. Will you bear, therefore, will you bear to see your sanctuary trampled on? and will you lay steps for these profane wretches, upon which they may mount to higher degrees of insolence? Will not you pluck them down from their exaltation? for even by this time they had proceeded to higher enormities, if they had been able to overthrow any thing greater than the sanctuary. They have seized upon the strongest place of the whole city; you may call it the temple, if you please, though it be like a citadel or fortress. Now, while you have tyranny in so great a degree walled in, and see your enemies over your heads, to what purpose is it to take counsel? and what have you to support your minds withal?

Perhaps you wait for the Romans, that they may protect our holy places: are our matters then brought to that pass? and are we come to that degree of misery, that our enemies themselves are expected to pity us? O wretched creatures! will not you rise up and turn upon those that strike you? which you may observe in wild beasts themselves, that they will avenge themselves on those that strike them. Will you not call to mind, every one of you, the calamities you yourselves have suffered? nor lay before your eyes what afflictions you yourselves have undergone? and will not such things sharpen your souls to revenge? Is therefore that most honorable and most natural of our passions utterly lost, I mean the desire of liberty?

Truly we are in love with slavery, and in love with those that lord it over us, as if we had received that principle of subjection from our ancestors; yet did they undergo many and great wars for the sake of liberty, nor were they so far overcome by the power of the Egyptians, or the Medes, but that still they did what they thought fit, notwithstanding their commands to the contrary. And what occasion is there now for a war with the Romans? (I meddle not with determining whether it be an advantageous and profitable war or not.) What pretense is there for it? Is it not that we may enjoy our liberty? Besides, shall we not bear the lords of the habitable earth to be lords over us, and yet bear tyrants of our own country?

Although I must say that submission to foreigners may be borne, because fortune hath already doomed us to it, while submission to wicked people of our own nation is too unmanly, and brought upon us by our own consent. However, since I have had occasion to mention the Romans, I will not conceal a thing that, as I am speaking, comes into my mind, and affects me considerably; it is this, that though we should be taken by them, (God forbid the event should be so!) yet can we undergo nothing that will be harder to be borne than what these men have already brought upon us. How then can we avoid shedding of tears, when we see the Roman donations in our temple, while we withal see those of our own nation taking our spoils, and plundering our glorious metropolis, and slaughtering our men, from which enormities those Romans themselves would have abstained? to see those Romans never going beyond the bounds allotted to profane persons, nor venturing to break in upon any of our sacred customs; nay, having a horror on their minds when they view at a distance those sacred walls; while some that have been born in this very country, and brought up in our customs, and called Jews, do walk about in the midst of the holy places, at the very time when their hands are still warm with the slaughter of their own countrymen.

Besides, can any one be afraid of a war abroad, and that with such as will have comparatively much greater moderation than our own people have? For truly, if we may suit our words to the things they represent, it is probable one may hereafter find the Romans to be the supporters of our laws, and those within ourselves the subverters of them.

And now I am persuaded that every one of you here comes satisfied before I speak that these overthrowers of our liberties deserve to be destroyed, and that nobody can so much as devise a punishment that they have not deserved by what they have done, and that you are all provoked against them by those their wicked actions, whence you have suffered so greatly. But perhaps many of you are aftrighted at the multitude of those zealots, and at their audaciousness, as well as at the advantage they have over us in their being higher in place than we are; for these circumstances, as they have been occasioned by your negligence, so will they become still greater by being still longer neglected; for their multitude is every day augmented, by every ill man's running away to those that are like to themselves, and their audaciousness is therefore inflamed, because they meet with no obstruction to their designs.

And for their higher place, they will make use of it for engines also, if we give them time to do so; but be assured of this, that if we go up to fight them, they will be made tamer by their own consciences, and what advantages they have in the height of their situation they will lose by the opposition of their reason; perhaps also God himself, who hath been affronted by them, will make what they throw at us return against themselves, and these impious wretches will be killed by their own darts: let us but make our appearance before them, and they will come to nothing.

However, it is a right thing, if there should be any danger in the attempt, to die before these holy gates, and to spend our very lives, if not for the sake of our children and wives, yet for God's sake, and for the sake of his sanctuary. I will assist you both with my counsel and with my hand; nor shall any sagacity of ours be wanting for your support; nor shall you see that I will be sparing of my body neither." (War of the Jews, Book 4, Chapt. 3, section 10)

Hoping it Sinks In

2010-03-08T13:10:00.014-05:00

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die...I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him...There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous...then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out...But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 2, 14; 8:14, 17; 9:1)

As I continue reading through the previously mentioned book by R.C. Sproul, Surprised by Suffering focus was given on the book of Ecclesiastes which prompted me to read through a bit more of it than discussed in the book. In chapter four, Sproul speaks of the sovereignty of God, with some applicable words of wisdom:

In my experience, I have never met a professing Christian who looked me in the eye and said that he did not believe in the sovereignty of God. We have a intuitive understanding that if God is God, He must be sovereign. It is impossible for God not to be sovereign, and any conception of a god that is less than sovereign is an idol and no god at all. So it is easy for all believers to say "I believe in the sovereignty of God," and we affirm it on the surface.
However, the sovereignty of God is one of the most difficult doctrines to get into one's bloodstream and into the fiber of daily living, so that we really live life believing that God is in fact sovereign and maintain our trust in Him even when it seems that life is spinning out of control.
A great part of the difficulty we face in terms of really accepting this doctrine stems from the presence of suffering in our lives. We say that we believe that God is sovereign, but when we wrestle with events in our lives that are troublesome, bad things that happen to us, tragedies that befall us, we begin to question either the sovereignty of God or the goodness of God. (Sproul, pg 35-36)

Earlier in the chapters prior, he discussed Job, which of course has to come into play with any discussion of God, suffering, etc. I have made mention of it early in my grief studies as a necessary read in order to remind myself that God is in control, God does not let things go "too far" and that we cannot always know or understand the plans of God. If we believe God is sovereign, we must know that he has a plan. If we can fully grasp that God does indeed have a plan, and is not just "winging it" then we must have faith to rely on Him.

However, knowing that...understanding that....believing that....and actually living it is a completely different story., as Sproul says here. I never once during these past nine months ever stopped believing it, but must say I struggle with grasping it in my spirit...with holding on to it and living it. Well, maybe I can't be too quick to say that, since who knows what it would be like if I didn't have some kind of grasp on it. I would think for those who do not have this knowledge, who do not hold to this doctrine, would have a much harder time with death and grief. I can imagine many a suicide attempt can be attributed to the hopelessness of not knowing the God who is sovereign and has a plan. I know this, but not knowing the plan, and not seeing the big picture or good it may bring, the struggle with grief and confusion is present.

The fact that God has a plan is indicative that He has a purpose. The fact that He is sovereign is indicative that He is fulfilling that purpose even when He allows suffering to come upon us. As in the case of Job, He may not reveal what His purpose is, but we have good reason to trust in Him. (Sproul, Pg. 36)

A good point is reminded to us all, in Ecclesiastes 7:14:

In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

How often to we find ourselves, when prayers are answered, giving God all the glory and worship and praise. But when the day comes and a prayer is not answered in a way satisfactory to us, that we can even begin to doubt there is a God. We have to realize that God has made both the day of joy and the day of adversity, and we will rarely ever fully understand how they work into the whole plan.

The bottom-line assumption for anyone who believes in the God of providence is that ultimately there are no tragedies. God has promised that all things that happen - all, pain, all suffering, all tragedies - are but for a moment, and that He works in and through these events for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). (Sproul, pg. 44)

Now, I just pray that it all sinks in and becomes a reality in life, not just in my thought.

The Lying Invention

2010-02-22T12:58:00.026-05:00

I admit, a lot of time I will watch a movie based solely on who is in it. I rarely if ever read a movie review to get any details or anyone's opinion. Such was the case with the recent DVD release of "The Invention of Lying." Not really a fan of the main character Ricky Gervais, it was the fact that Jennifer Garner was in it that drew me to it. She often plays fun and cute roles, so we expected the same here; and in fact she did that here too.

The preview of the movie gave little detail to the movie story line aside from making it simply look like humorous fun. The premise is basically that in an alternate reality, in a world where everyone tells the truth, one man learns to lie. As the previews showed, I expected it to be a simple movie of a man indulging in silliness and taking advantage of it. Instead, we are served up 99 minutes of slightly humorous dialog with a heavy underlying atheist message.

The whole world of truth that we are presented with is made to look boring and dry, where everyone tells the truth, often being quite harsh with insults to each other. There is no fiction in story telling, so everything is quite dry and boring. Commercials are truthful ("Pepsi: When they don't have Coke" - that was a cute one), and TV shows are simply someone sitting and reading history stories.

The "fun" begins when the main characters mother is on her deathbed, and she is in great fear of dying and entering into the great nothingness of death. Grief stricken, her son makes up a "lie" to comfort her, telling her it is not an eternity of nothingness, but is a place where she will get her own beautiful mansion, and life will be amazing (giving all of the typical descriptions of Heaven). This is of great comfort to the mother as she passes, but is a shocker to the surrounding nurses and doctors who have never hear of such a thing. They want to know more.

Word gets out, and quickly, and next thing you know there is a huge crowd outside the the main characters door, with news teams to broadcast to the whole world this new revelation about the after life. So, in preparation for speaking to the public, he writes down his thoughts to present to them. These two sheets of notes, containing ten main points, are taped to the back of two pizza boxes to make the flimsy paper easier to handle for his presentation. So, out comes the man with his two "tablets" containing ten main points, which he then reads to the people. Sounds kind of similar to someone else, huh? The ten points tell basic concepts of morality and discuss a message given to him from "the man in the sky" who spoke these things to him.

At first, I found it kind of cute, until a few minutes in, it hit me. "Hey, the idea of this movie is, this character is lying." Then I started seeing what was being done through the rest of the movie, they were making fun of, and basically saying that God was a man made idea to help comfort people, and not based on any truth. The movie went down hill from there. It had it's moments of humor, but the it obviously lost a lot of respect with me.

I will say that it had one true to life point that was kind of cute. Once the people believed they were to get a beautiful mansion after death, they all became more complacent in life, and didn't care about life on Earth anymore or accomplishing anything, but instead looked forward to an early entrance into their mansion and heavenly afterlife. Kind of describes those in Christianity today who have a mentality of "why polish the brass on a sinking ship" and are just looking to escape this world and gain heaven.

All in all, Jennifer Garner came through with a cute humorous character role as expected, but got lost in a whole world of ignorance and atheistic ideas. In preparation for blogging on this, I did a search of some other reviews of this movie, and found many others saying similar things about how the embedded "religious" message kind of killed the movie. In looking further, I found an actual article where Ricky Gervais, the main character and co-writer of this whole movie (makes sense now), was an openly professed atheist. Oddly, the story I read on this, found HERE, if it is actually a true story, says he was raised a Jesus loving Christian, but turned to atheism...at the ripe old age of EIGHT.

Well, anyway, if you are like me, and looked to see this movie based on the actors and their humorous past roles, or based on the short exposure presented in the movie trailer; you may be irritated at the ignorant underlying message being presented here.

Not as Bad Off as I Thought

2010-02-20T20:21:00.004-05:00

Christians are those who have faith in Christ. We all aspire to possess a faith that is strong and enduring. The reality, however, is that faith is not a constant thing. Our faith wavers between moments of supreme exultation and trying times that push us to the rim of despair. Doubt flashes danger lights at us and threatens our peace. Rare is the saint who has a tranquil spirit in all seasons.

Suffering is one of the most significant challenges to any believer's faith. When pain, grief, persecution, or other forms of suffering strike, we find ourselves caught off guard, confused, and full of questions. Suffering can strain faith to the limits.

These are the opening words of the new revised and expanded edition of R.C. Sproul's Surprised by Suffering that was just reissued in December 2009. I pre-ordered it a bit before it came out, got it, and laid it to the side figuring it would be something I would read soon. Well, this week the time came where I felt I wanted...no...needed to begin reading it.

These two opening paragraphs were an immediate comfort. While they do not reveal any deep spiritual truth, they spoke directly to my heart. For the past nine months since my son's passing, it has been a real emotional roller coaster, as many who have read my blog over this period have seen. Having experienced the death of other family members in the past, some who I was very close to, none were as devastating to my emotional state of mind as having my first born son taken from me. I never expected the death of anyone to affect me in such a way. I had heard so many stories of people losing children, and they are cut me to the bone as I say and thought (though only briefly) of how devastating it would be to be in their shoes. It would send shivers through me, and I would feel very sympathetic, but I guess having never experienced it first-hand, the emotions were but surface level and passing.

I had figured that as with other deaths in my past, particularly the death of my mother to whom I was very close, there would be a time of grieving and tears, but that it would last only for a fairly short time, even though I knew emotions would occasionally flair up as memories came to the surface. Well, this has been so unlike anything I had expected, and so crushing of an inner feeling, that I thought for sure this whole event was shaking, if not shattering, some aspect of my Christian faith.

When I posted the quotes from the early church writings in the post "I Feel Like Such a Gentile", I thought for sure I was of such weak faith to be mourning and feeling so depressed. My emotions and feelings the last nine months have at times quite often made me feel like I was pushed "to the rim of despair" and I was definitely "full of questions" and felt as though my faith was strained "to the limits."

A couple months ago I started taking a nutritional supplement that was something we had Jonathan on. I started taking it to get rid of it without wasting it. My wife said it would be good for me anything, so no hard in taking it. Plus, part of the "side effects" of it was it tended to be a mood enhancer of sorts for some people. I have taken it for a couple months, not real sure if it was affecting my mood in anyway...until this past week.

About two weeks ago I ran out of this supplement, and thought it no big deal. It took us until a couple days ago to get back out to the vitamin store to resupply that and other things I was out of. Well, the first week was no big deal, I did not even give it any thought (I was never sure if they really did anything to begin with). However, this past week, I noticed some things that had been absent for the past couple months. Involuntary and instant feelings of inner pain and grief would descend upon me at various times during the day. Little things would easily set me off and it would feel like a giant inner weight would drop on my chest. Memories would pop in all of a sudden and trigger these feelings, and they were becoming more frequent and common as the week went on.

At first I was telling myself it was just my mind "thinking" since I was off the supplement that I was having these feelings, and that having the feelings was causing me to have more feelings. I don't know, was I putting these things in my mind, and causing my mind to play tricks on me more and more frequently, or was the absence of the supplements to blame.

Well, I have been back on the supplements now for three days, and have not had any of those feelings flair up in the past two days. The same little things that days earlier had caused an instant breakdown, were no longer doing so. The constant memories popping up and causing issue were no longer doing so. Coincidence or supplement assistance? I hate the thought that perhaps I am somehow now "medicated" but if it really is helping, I am thankful.

I will say that even while "medicated" some scenarios still break through strong enough to cause a short term breakdown. The one event that seems to be the worst, is coming home late at night from one of my cover band gigs (like last night). As the garage opens and I begin the unloading process, I am taken back to that night.

It was about 3 A.M. as I returned from my gig that early morning of May 17th, and my wife, who had been sleeping beside Jonathan on the love seat, heard me open the garage door and came out to meet me. She told me of his restful sleeping, his almost rolling off the couch once and how he was overall doing well on the oxygen that they put him on earlier in the day. After she assisted me with unloading my drums, we went in and checked on him. He was sleeping peacefully as I looked down upon him lying there. I was tempted to get him up to move him to his bed instead of the couch, but since that would require moving the oxygen system too, I decided to leave him be. I reached down and touched his hand, which caused him to kind of twitch his head. That was the last time I gazed down upon him alive before we discovered him lifeless in the same position a mere three hours later. So, my 3 A.M. unloading job seems barely effected by the supplements.

I usually look to the sky through the tears, speak a quick "thank you" up to God for everything being so peaceful in the way it all transpired, and I usually speak out to Jonathan - telling him I am so sorry for letting him down, and how much I miss and love him, and long to see him again soon.

Anyway, I did not mean to go into this much detail, but just wanted to mainly let everyone know a little about how it is going, and mostly to share the words that gave me encouragement in realizing I am not totally losing it.

Abraham Lincoln: Hero or Hellion?

2010-02-15T20:44:00.010-05:00

It is President's Day, so here is an article about one. I didn't write it, but wanted to share it here. This is actually an excerpt from the book The Confederate Catechism by Lyon Gardiner Tyler which was originally published in 1935, but an affordable reprint can be acquired HERE along with many other related titles. Here is a description of this little writing:

This informative little booklet, originally published in 1935, set out in a helpful question and answer format, offers concise, yet insightful, answers to such questions as: "What Was the Cause of Secession in 1861?" "Was Slavery the Cause of Secession or the War?" "Did Lincoln by His Conquest of the South Save the Union?" etc. Every lover of Liberty should read this booklet and use it to "catechize" his children in the knowledge of the Southern Cause, which Robert Lewis Dabney once predicted "will one day be the cause of us all." 60 pages.

Abraham Lincoln: Hero or Hellion?

The North has become ashamed of the manner in which the South has been treated and it is now pretty unanimous in calling Reconstruction "a dark blot upon the history of the country," but it tries to win over the South to recognizing Lincoln as a national hero by claiming that Lincoln was a friend of the South and that if Lincoln had survived the war, the South would have had no trouble.

This claim is based on mere words -- passages in his messages and reported conversations, but no one of his admirers has been able to produce any real act of kindness done by Lincoln. And words with Lincoln were mere playthings.

As a matter of fact, Lincoln's speeches, addresses, and conversations are scarcely more than a collection of sophisms in which a flourish of words is substituted for the truth. He was a word juggler and tried to fool people instead of convincing them by sound logic. Some examples may be given. Lincoln argued that "the States have their status in the Union and they have no other legal status. If they break from this, they can do so only against law and by revolution. The Union is older than the States and it indeed created them as States." In this remarkable casuistry Lincoln makes the Union a corporate entity which, of course, it was not, but a mere condition or cooperation of certain thirteen unities, each independent of the other. If thirteen slaves united to resist their master and by their joint efforts achieved their independence, could it be said that they had individually no right to their liberty, and, like the Siamese twins, were inseparably joined together forever?

Again Lincoln argued, "If one State may secede, so may another, and when all shall secede, none is left to pay the debts of the Union. Is this quite fair to creditors?" Of course, it did not follow that all the States would secede if one did, nor that any State was relieved of its share of the public debt by secession. Any schoolboy could have told Lincoln that the States would have been obligated to pay the debts even if all did secede.

No more wicked violation of the Constitution was ever devised than the creation of West Virginia out of the territory of the Commonwealth of Virginia. To justify his course, Lincoln got off this grotesque stunt: "It is said that the admission of West Virginia is secession and only tolerated because it is our secession. Well, if we call it by that name, there is still difference enough between secession for the Constitution and secession against the Constitution."

Lincoln had declared secession "anarchy," and it seems that anarchy had no terrors when it subserved his purposes. As a real truth, there was no such thing as either secession for the Constitution or secession against it. There was action in accordance with the Constitution and action in violation of it, and undoubtedly Lincoln's action was in gross violation of his oath to act in accordance with it.

Lincoln was simply trifling, and just as trifling in its essential character was his Gettysburg speech. Because the words have a resonance about them that appeals to the ear and the imagination, it has been glorified beyond anything. Truthfully speaking, it is a mere rhetorical flourish based upon a dishonest assumption implied and not directly expressed. That assumption is that if the South had succeeded, "government of the people, by the people, and for the people" would have "perished from the earth." Nothing is more absurd. The real danger came from Lincoln himself. The Gettysburg address was a gilded fraud. No true frame can be had unless founded on truth.

The suspicion that words in the mouth of Lincoln had little or no weight is proved by his second inaugural, which, next to his Gettysburg address, has caught most the fancy of his admirers. In this paper, while professing "malice to none and charity to all," he showed the greatest malice and uncharitableness possible in describing the slave owner as an incarnate demon, who did nothing but lash his slaves, without giving the least requital for their service of 250 years! The negroes were the most spoiled domestics in the world. The Southerners took the negro as a barbarian and cannibal, civilized him, supported him, clothed him, and turned him out a better Christian than Abraham Lincoln, who was a free thinker, if not an atheist. Booker T. Washington admitted that the negro was the beneficiary rather than the victim of slavery. His successor, Moton, just the other day declared that contact with the white race has been of the greatest advantage to the negro. The fact is that the South's taking ignorant negroes and making them work was no more criminal violation of democracy or self-government than the government is guilty of today (1935) in keeping the Porto Ricans and Filipinos under political slavery. The excuse of the present United States Government is exactly that of the old slave masters: "The Porto Ricans and Filipinos are not fit for freedom."

It is often said that Lincoln, in sending armies to the South, acted only in obedience to his oath "to take care that the laws of the United States be faithfully executed. The Constitution required him to take an oath "to execute the office of President," and, "to the best of his ability, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Now the Southern States were either in the Union or out of it. If the ordinances of secession were void, then the President was limited by the acts of Congress, which, under the Constitution, had the whole military power. Now the only act which authorized him to employ the militia or the regular army to suppress obstruction to the laws was the act of 1807, which required that he must "first observe all the prerequisites of law in that respect." These were the issuance of a writ by a United States judge and a call from the marshal, if he found it impossible to execute the writ. But no call was made upon Lincoln, and only Congress could supply defects in the law. Lincoln, therefore, not only sent his troops without authority, but in raising the army far above the limit fixed by Congress, in declaring a blockade, and in denouncing Confederate privateersmen as pirates, he usurped the powers of Congress. His action, therefore, instead of being in conformity with his oath "to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States," was in plain violation of it.(1) On the other hand, if the secession ordinances were valid, and the States were out of the Union, then his acts were acts of war, and he as plainly violated his oath, for only Congress can declare war and make the laws necessary thereto.

Lincoln claimed that his duty was to preserve the Union, but he had taken no oath to do that, and a Union apart from the Constitution was never thought of by the Fathers.

Worse than that, Lincoln admitted in Seward's official letters to the United States Ministers at London and Paris (April 10 and April 22, 1861) that the government had no power to war upon a State; so to justify his employment of troops, he invented the idea of "a combination of persons" resisting the laws, though it was impossible to show how the Southern people could have proceeded more formally than they did to show that they were acting as States; but as the war progressed he spoke of "insurrectionary States," thus exposing his own insincerity.

Lincoln attempted to excuse himself at the beginning by asking, "Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted and the government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated?"(2) The answer is that the Constitution was a chain of power and the breaking of one link left the chain as inefficient as if a dozen links had been broken. There was the additional fact that Lincoln knowingly violated his oath, while the Southerners thought they had conscientiously absolved themselves from any obedience to it by secession. Of course, the success of the South did not mean a dissolution of the government of the United States. As a matter of fact, Lincoln throughout his administration treated the Constitution as a door-mat and wiped his feet upon it.

On the other hand, there are the facts displayed, first, in his beginning an unnecessary war, and, second, in conducting it with a ruthlessness which has never been surpassed. His proclamation of 8 December 1863, which has been called an amnesty proclamation, was more like one of menace and threat of punishment, for instead of offering pardon to everyone who would submit as the British General Howe had done when American affairs in 1776 were at their lowest ebb, Lincoln excepted from his pardon everyone of any acknowledged consequence in the South. When Richmond fell, Lincoln had an opportunity to show real statesmanship by inviting all the leading men in the South to aid him in restoring peace to the distracted South. This is what the British did in South Africa. But this never occurred to him, and such a man as Lee, who would have contributed most to heal the wounds of the country, was not asked to assist.

Neither did it occur to Johnson, who issued a proclamation like Lincoln had done. But beyond this it is absurd to ascribe Andrew Johnson's policy of reconstruction to Lincoln, for Lincoln in his proclamation of 8 July 1864, declared that he was not bound up to any fixed plan whatever, and Woodburn, in his Life of Thaddeus Stevens, states his belief that "no doubt Lincoln would have cooperated with Congress and the States in carrying out such plan as Congress had proposed if a change of circumstances had made his cooperation desireable."

Indeed, the character of the men with whom Lincoln was most familiar is an overwhelming argument against the idea that he would have stood up for the South against any serious opposition in Cabinet or Congress. One of these was Benjamin Butler, commonly known as "Beast Butler," and the other was Edwin M. Stanton, his Secretary of War. Both wanted to treat the South as conquered territory. Dr. John Fiske said of Butler that "he could not have understood in the faintest degree the feelings of gentlemen." Nevertheless Lincoln wanted Butler to run on the same ticket with him as Vice President. According to Welles, Lincoln spent most of the time in Stanton's room in the War Department. It is to the honor of President Johnson that he kicked this ruffian out of his cabinet. It is inconceivable that Lincoln would have done so. Johnson was far from an ideal, and he blackened his first year as President in wickedly consenting to the murder of Mrs. Surratt and Major Henry Wirz by courts-martial sitting after all hostilities had ceased, and to the shackling of President Davis. But there were things about him that command some respect. In spite of his coarseness and animosities, he showed a nerve in resisting the program of reconstruction that placed him far above Lincoln. He had a superior sense of honor. When informed by Dana of Lincoln's buying votes in Congress, he declared that such conduct "tended to immorality."(3)

What were the main features of Lincoln's "friendship" for the South? A statement of the main features is as follows: (1) The sacking and burning of homes and towns, and the general destruction of fences, crops, stock, and farm implements; (2) the expulsion from their homes of all persons, including women and children and non-combatants, unless an oath of allegiance was taken. This was as if the German commanders in the World War had required every Frenchman in the occupied territory to swear allegiance to the Kaiser. Sherman drove the white population from Atlanta without even allowing this alternative. Not even the British in the Revolution ever issued any order like this. They exacted paroles of the inhabitants, it is true, but this, though a violation of the international law, acknowledged the Americans as enemies, not merely Rebels; (3) The precipitation upon the South of emancipation with apparently absolute indifference whether it created massacre or not, and (4) the subordination of the lives of prisoners to military success which occasioned the deaths of thousands of poor fellows on both sides.

The volume of sufferings covers the whole war, and there is not a particle of evidence of the humanitarian intervention of Lincoln with either his Cabinet officers or generals in the field. The truth is the Reconstruction era was the logical result of the Lincoln era, when the Chief Justice, in standing by the Constitution, apprehended his own arrest by the minions of the President.

The thing next to posing Lincoln as a friend of the South is the attempt to pose him as a hero. This, however, had been attempted in favor of John Brown, whose hands were red with the blood of innocent people. In those days, when Lincoln was first coming to the front, hatred of the South was so extreme that, as Wendell Phillips tells us, the first words of everybody in Massachusetts, of every party, that was met by him in the streets or street-cars, on the occasion of the news at Harper's Ferry, were that "they were sorry that he (Brown) had not succeeded," and Gideon Welles tells us that negro insurrections were counted on at the North, when the war began, as something certain to keep the Southern soldiers engaged. That a great negro uprising would occur was undoubtedly the expectation of Lincoln and his Cabinet when the Emancipation Proclamation was issued.

Lincoln was not personally a murderer, though his actions brought death to thousands of poor people in both the North and the South. But was he a hero? His early life is set forth by his friends, Lamon and Herndon, and it is impossible to see in it anything else than the very reverse of a hero. Beginning with his passing counterfeit money at nineteen,(4) and sewing up hogs' eyes for a more ready transportation of them across the river at twenty-one,(5) we are told of his writing anonymous letters at thirty-three, and when challenged to a duel by the man whom he thus secretly defamed, violated all codes by insisting on a weapon that left his brave and honorable opponent at a fatal disadvantage.(6) He is pictured by these and other friends as slipshod, slovenly, and shiftless to such an appalling degree that some of his debts remain still unpaid. We are told by them of Lincoln's passion for funny stories, particularly for dirty ones; of a repellent poem he wrote, a salacious wedding burlesque too indecent to quote; of a letter that he wrote to a Mrs. Browning, shamelessly burlesquing a woman to whom he had proposed and by whom he had been rejected (this at the age of twenty-eight, an age when William Pitt and James Madison had already attained high honors and distinction); of his scoffing at the Bible, etc.

According to these friends, Lincoln's tactics as legislator were certainly not of an heroic nature. He log-rolled and traded in the offices and joined in tricking a Democratic paper into publishing an article which Lincoln was foremost in denouncing after the publication.(7)

There are a thousand other details reflecting upon Lincoln that have been verified by Albert J. Beveridge and set out in his incomplete Life of Abraham Lincoln.

Nor did the responsibilities of high office raise Lincoln above these objectionable habits. Chandler, in his Life of Governor Andrew, relates a story how the war governor of Massachusetts, in pressing a matter upon Lincoln, was put off with a smutty joke, and Hugh McCulloch, who was Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury, is a witness to the unrefined conduct of the President in a stormy contest with Randall, his Postmaster General after the report of Sheridan's victory in the Valley was received.(8) His trading in the offices was kept up to the last. Both Lamon(9) and Herndon(10) declare his nomination as President was secured by his managers through promises of cabinet appointment which Lincoln afterwards fulfilled. To secure the admission of Nevada, he promised in return for their votes to three Democratic Congressmen lucrative appointments -- one worth $20,000 a year,(11) and to get rid of Salmon P. Chase, his chief competitor for the presidency, he appointed him Chief Justice, who, though a good financier, had no great reputation as a lawyer at the time.(12)

Lincoln strictly enforced the draft which forced other people's sons into the army but kept his own son at college till near the end of the war. Then his (alleged) letter of 21 November 1864, to poor Mrs. Bixby,(13) who lost five dear boys in the war, appears a positive cruel mockery after reading Lincoln's letter to General Grant of 19 January 1865, about keeping his own (Lincoln's) son out of the ranks.

United with high moral qualities a hero should have exceptional ability; but Lincoln, though a shrewd trader in votes and political trickery, had nothing of the sort. No constructive measure stands to his credit at any period in his history. He signed important papers without reading them,(14) and John Hay states that he trusted to him the answering of his correspondence. Hay states that Lincoln was exceedingly "unmethodical."(15) Welles shows that there was absolutely no system during his presidency in the administration of affairs, and every Cabinet officer was practically independent of the other and of the President, for whom they had no great opinion, especially Stanton, Seward, and Chase. At the Cabinet meetings Seward took the lead, and Lincoln was treated as a kind of junior partner in the concern.

Instead of expediting the war he put it back by bad appointments and constant interference with his generals in the field. One instance alone is sufficient to show Lincoln's incapacity: Upon the retreat of General McClellan to Harrison's Landing on James River, General Lee marched with most of his army to attack Pope, who was advancing from Washington. This left Richmond with only 30,000 men. McClellan had 100,000, and he asked permission to attack that city. But Lincoln, fearful for his capitol, refused, through Halleck, to grant permission, and soon after removed McClellan and recalled his army, when it had attained the best possible position for future operations. Unfriendly as the historian Rhodes is to the memory of McClellan, he is compelled to confess that the move proposed by McClellan was "the most promising strategy of the whole campaign, both for the security of Washington and for possible results." Lincoln by this act put back the war two years.

Lincoln had behind him a population four times greater than the South, an old established government which had the recognition of the powers of the world, an established army and navy, credit with the bankers, etc., and yet to win success he had to hire thousands of foreigners and to force the Southern negroes into his army. He was reduced to the ignominious confession that without the 200,000 negroes he had in his army, he would have "to abandon the war in three weeks."(16)

Contrasted with this was the great ability shown by Mr. Davis and his Cabinet, who out of nothing created an organization that for four years carried on a war that their own enemies were forced to confess was up to that time the greatest war of all ages. General Lee said of Mr. Davis that "few men could have done as well and none could have done better." Nevertheless had a really competent President like Andrew Jackson, been in the place of Lincoln, with a Cabinet led by an Edward Livingston or William L. Marcy, instead of such marplots as Seward and Stanton, the South would have been suppressed in eighteen months.

Endnotes

1. See Stephen A. Douglas, Congressional Globe, Part II (36th Congress, 2nd Session), page 1455.

2. Abraham Lincoln, message to Congress, 4 July 1861.

3. Charles A. Dana, Recollections of the Civil War (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1902), pages 173-178.

4. Reference: Ward H. Lamon, Life of Abraham Lincoln (Boston, Massachusetts: Fields, Osgod and Company, 1872), page 71.

5. Reference: Lamon, ibid., page 82; William H. Herndon and Jesse W. Weik, Abraham Lincoln: The True Story of a Great Life (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1923), Volume I, page 74.

6. Reference: Lamon, Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 260.

7. Reference: Herndon and Weik, Abraham Lincoln, Volume II, page 370.

8. Reference: Allen Thorndike Rice, Reminiscences of Abraham Lincoln (New York: North American Review, 1888), page 419.

9. Reference: Lamon, Life of Abraham Lincoln, page 450.

10. Reference: Herndon and Weik, Abraham Lincoln, Volume III, page 471.

11. Reference: Dana, Recollections, pages 175-178.

12. Reference: A.K. McClure, Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Times (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Times Publishing Company, 1892), page 123; James Ford Rhodes, History of the United States (New York: MacMillan Company, 1902), Volume V, page 45.

13. John Hay really wrote it.

14. Reference: Gideon Welles, The Diary of Gideon Welles (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton, MIfflin and Company, 1911), Volume I, pages 16-32.

15. Reference: Herndon and Weik, Abraham Lincoln, Volume III, page 515.

16. Lincoln, quoted by John G. Nicolay and John Hay, Complete Works of Abraham Lincoln (New York: The Century Company, 1894), Volume II, page 562.

Reinventing Jesus (Pt. 5)

2010-01-14T21:18:00.008-05:00

Section five is the final section of the book I've been discussing, Reinventing Jesus, and it takes a look at the accusations that Christianity and its elements are simply a relabeling of pagan religions. This is a very fascinating section, since it is one of the root issues even today among Christians who oppose a celebration of Christmas for similar reasons; a group of which I was formerly a member of.

Why should we consider the stories of Osiris, Dionysus, Adonis, Attis, Mithras, and other Pagan Mystery saviors as fables, yet come across essentially the same story told in a Jewish context and believe it to be the biography of a carpenter from Bethlehem? ... Jesus was a Pagan god...and Christianity was a heretical product of Paganism!
- Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy,
The Jesus Mysteries, 9

Nothing in Christianity is original.
- Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code, 232

The traditional history of Christianity cannot convincingly explain why the Jesus story is so similar to ancient Pagan myths.
- Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy
The Laughing Jesus, 61

I have read book after book, article after article, just from within the Christian church, railing against practices like Christmas, because of its apparent connection with the pagan rituals of Saturnalia and the winter solstice. I don't doubt that some of those connections are true, and that the growing early Roman church "merged" and incorporated some of those festival elements into the Church practice. But such a practice, taking place a couple hundred years into the history of Christianity is a whole different thing than implying that the very root foundation elements of Christianity are just borrowed from pagan religions.

The idea that Christianity stole its basic content from pagan religions is not new. It finds its roots in the "history of religions school," which developed in the second half of the nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, this viewpoint had been largely debunked, even by scholars who saw Christianity as a purely natural religion. But in recent years, the notion that Christianity simply baptized pagan deities and applied their characteristics to Jesus of Nazareth has found a new following. (pg. 221)

The question is obviously, why is it finding acceptance and being promoted again in this century, if it has been pretty much dismissed as erroneous in times past? The book states that the answer comes from a combination of things: a postmodern interest in spirituality, along with a increasing lack of historical grounding, along with the obnoxious amount of unfiltered information on the internet. If you think about it, in times past, most historical information had to go through the printing process to get approved and edited for public consumption. This allowed at least a bit of control over what made it out as historical fact and fiction, since it had to usually go through an approval board of scholars, etc. before it made it to print. Nowadays, anyone can put anything on the web, and people flock to it and believe it with rarely an once of further study. Of course not everyone is so quick to believe what they read, but it happens much more frequently than it should. Things get said that have little to no truth in them, then it spreads, gets added to, combined with other half-truths, and eventually becomes "fact" in the mind of some people.

The one interesting point is made in the book is about how things can get reinterpreted and redefined from the pagan religions in order to make them seem more in line with Christianity. Words or scenarios that only seem similar, are relabeled with a term to align them with Christianity. In other words, people have quite often spent time "making it work" to line things up at points. It is also pointed out that it is quite possible that similar terms were used by the New Testament writers that were familiar terms to the audience they were writing. Not in an effort to borrow from pagan religions, but to use language that was associated with them that the common folk were well steeped in at the time.

Part of the biggest problem most modern lay people have with reading the Bible is that they ignore audience relevance and an understanding of what the initial readers of the writings would have understood them to be saying. The New Testament is full of Jewish terms, symbolism and references to Hebrew prophecies that many today are ignorant of or confused by. Likewise there are things said that have been potentially borrow from "current events" or common knowledge of the period, that we today have no clue about. This could be a topic of a whole series of posts, so I will leave it there. Unfortunately, these modern writers have even less clue of the context and history behind the writings, so they are easily confused, and quick to miss the point, and they go off in all sorts of confused paths of thought.

Other issues discussed include how the Jewish religion was so against "merging" anything from pagans into the religious thought of their day. The early church of the New Testament was made up of converted Jews, so surely they would not have sought to build a new religion based on pagan concepts; that would be a thought so alien to their religious mindset.

The book goes on to examine some of the parallels within pagan religion themselves, showing how while there may be seemingly similarities here and there (many of them "forced" applications), that there are by far more differences than similarities, making Christianity truly unique in all major ways. There is also an examination of a couple of the most common pagan myths that get compared, with aspects like the virgin birth, and a resurrected leader. Stories of Alexander the Great, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Romulus, Osiris, and even Frankenstein are discussed.

By the end, the book has shown the fallacies of these modern writers, and how these silly notions continue to grow and get passed on by more and more historically ignorant writers.

I said it before, I say it again. I highly recommend this book to all Christians to be better equipped to give a reason and defense for their faith against the onslaught of ridiculousness in the media today.

A couple other highly recommended title in this study would include:

Manifest in the Flesh:
How the Original Jesus Tradition Refutes Modern Mystics and Atheists
By Joel McDurmon

In Manifested in the Flesh, author Joel McDurmon illustrates the uniqueness, richness, and importance of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation of Christ. Drawing from Scripture, the Early Church Fathers, ancient history, and the most recent of New Testament scholarship, this timely and lively work presents the robust truth of Christ and exposes the lies of modern pagans, atheists, and New-Age attacks on the gospel.

Manifested in the Flesh brings diverse areas of New Testament scholarship into a readable and unified witness to the truth, and dismantles recent works of unbelief and skepticism with the force of credible and thorough scholarship. At once a viable apologetic, an intense Bible study, a survey of ancient history, and a review of vital theology, Manifested gives the reader an understanding of Christian truth remarkable in both its breadth and depth of scholarship, written in a stimulating and refreshing style.

Learn about . .

The basis behind all attacks on the gospel
The true nature of the pagan mystery religions
The rise of the mystery religion threat in recent years
The Early Church confrontation with and defeat of pagan religions
The background to St. Paul's understanding of Christ
The importance and implications of the Incarnation of Christ
and much more!

By weaving apologetics, biblical study, historical study, and theology together, McDurmon has created a work of Christian worldview for pastor, teacher, parent and student alike. No Christian seeking to understand the nature of our Lord and the great battles that both the Early and Modern Church have fought and continue to fight over the historical Jesus, can afford to skip this book. Hardback, 210 pages
CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS OR TO BUY

Reinventing Jesus (Pt. 4)

2010-01-11T20:37:00.006-05:00

If we take away all the miraculous events surrounding the story of Jesus to reveal a human, we would certainly find no one who could have garnered huge crowds around him because of his preaching. And the fact is that this crowd-drawing preacher finds his place in "history" only in the New Testament, completely overlooked by the dozens of historians of his day, an era considered one of the best documented in history.
- Acharya S,
The Christ Conspiracy, 100

Continuing on in section four of the book Reinventing Jesus that we have been discussing, they look at the evidence for Jesus in history, from sources outside of the New Testament writings.

Comments like those of Archarya S that imply that Jesus never existed because he is not mentioned outside the New Testament are remarkable for their bluster. This would be an interesting topic to pursue fully, but our goals are more focused. (pg 195-196)

It is a remarkable thing that we have any statements about Jesus by non-Christian writers. After all, he was a Jewish carpenter who spent most of his time on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, occasionally journeying to Jerusalem with his disciples. What's more, writers in the Roman Empire were typically upper-class men who looked down on Eastern religions and gazed back on Rome's celebrated past. So why would they ever pay attention to a Nazarene who founded a religion embraced by the lowest rungs of society? Simply put, be couldn't be ignored. (pg. 196)

The book looks at a couple quotes from history to show that Christ was a historically known figure, and not just some person that was later defined as deity by the Council in Nicea. In 170 (way before Nicea), secular writer Lucia belittled the Christians for honoring Jesus "whom they still worship, the man who was crucified in Palestine because he introduced this new cult into the world." His comments show that Jesus was considered a historically known figure, but also confirms that he was worshiped as deity was before the supposed deification of Nicea.

Another writer, Celsus, who wrote around 177, also reveals much about the devotion of Christians toward Jesus as being truly God:

Now, if Christians worshiped only one God they might have reason on their side. But as a matter of fact they worship a man who appeared only recently. They do not consider what they are doing a breach of monotheism; rather, they think it perfectly consistent to worship the great God and to worship his servant as God. And their worship of this Jesus is the more outrageous because they refuse to listen to any talk about God, the father of all, unless it includes some reference to Jesus: Tell them that Jesus, the author of the Christian insurrection, was not his son, and they will not listen to you. And when they call him Son of God, they are not really paying homage to God, rather, they are attempting to exalt Jesus to the heights.

There is more along this line that is covered, to show Jesus was not declared divine at Nicea as many try to claim, but that he was already for the centuries before that, worshiped as God in the flesh.

By officially endorsing Jesus as the Son of God, Constantine turned Jesus into a deity who existed beyond the scope of the human world, and entity whose power was unchallengeable.
Dan Brown,
The Da Vinci Code, 233

I enjoyed this section because it got into a little of the issues at Nicea, the reasons they were brought up, the controversy of the time, and some of the inner discussions/battles even after the council's decision. The issue of the deity of Jesus was not so much an issue, it was already assumed. "Current popularity of the claim that Jesus' divinity was invented at Nicea is a sign of our historically illiterate times" (p. 207). The issue of Nicea was mostly about defining "how" Jesus could be both God and man in one person. It sprung from a debated position brought up by the bishop Arius, who "believed that Jesus was divine inasmuch as he was like the Father. Jesus was like the Father in that he existed before creation, played a role in the origin of creation, and was exalted over all creation. Yet the Son himself was a creature...So while Jesus was like the Father in his divinity, their divine natures were not identical" (p. 208). The issue was not whether Jesus was truly divine, but exactly how Jesus was divine in relation to God the Father. The debate continued over how to properly word it, and that is what came out of this council.

The history of the issues around Nicea are truly a needed study for modern Christians, especially in light of today's attacks from such fiction writers like Dan Brown and the others who just throw stuff out there knowing people are lazy, and will believe without doing any additional research. Don't be a Christian who just believes what he hears without being a good student of history in these matters.

Continue to PART FIVE

Reinventing Jesus (Pt. 3)

2010-01-04T20:55:00.006-05:00

The holiday weekend allowed me to catch up on a bit more reading than usual, so I was able to finish this book I have been discussing, Reinventing Jesus. Picking up with part four of the book, this section deals with the divinity of Jesus. Some of these modern writers like to claim that Jesus was only "declared" diving centuries after his death at the council of Nicaea. I found this, as well as section five to be probably the highlight of this whole book, as far as things I really wanted to know more about. OK, so I think I could probably say the same thing about part three. Actually, this whole book has been a fascinating read, and I highly recommend it.

Jesus' establishment as "the Son of God" was officially proposed and voted on by the Council of Nicaea.
- Dan Brown
The Da Vinci Code, 233
There is nothing recorded in the Gospels showing that Jesus clearly affirmed his own divinity.
-Shabir Ally
Muslim apologist on PAX's Faith Under Fire program
November 27, 2004

It is astounding to me that such statements could be made considering the plain language of the Scriptures and Jesus. However, then I realize that some of the more revealing language is more Hebrew type language/terms that these ignorant men would not catch the power of. "Even scholars who do not personally embrace the divinity of Jesus readily recognize that the New Testament authors did. Somehow this fact escaped the attention of Leigh Teabing, the scholarly gadfly in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. Speaking of the Council of Nicea, an ecumenical meeting of bishops that took place nearly three hundred years after the time of Jesus, Teabing declared, "Until that moment in history, Jesus was viewed by his followers as a mortal prophet...a great and powerful man, but a man nonetheless." (p. 169)

Sadly, this kind of totally ignorant comment will be eaten up by readers ignorant of the historical truth, and then the lie gets propagated further and further. The terms Son of Man and Son of God hold significance when it come to divinity, and this is evident throughout the New Testament Gospels. Those familiar with the Hebrew understanding of these terms would know just what weight they hold and what their use implies to the Hebrew mind. Jesus' very name means "God with us" (Matt. 1:23) and his proclamation at the end of the gospel of Matthew, stating "I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matt. 28:20) likewise show his claims to be more than a mortal prophet. The gospel of John declares "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God...the Word became flesh and took up residence among us." (John 1:1) which sure seems pretty clear to Jesus divinity to me. These gospels were written, circulated and believed by the early church for hundreds of years prior to the Council of Nicea.

Those familiar with the Bible and Old Testament events, know that at various times when angelic being appears, men were prone to fall down and worship them. On those occasions we always find the angel telling the person to not do that, as they are just a fellow servant of the Most High. Worship was preserved only for God, and that was the full Hebrew understanding. Yet, also in the Gospel of John, after Jesus' resurrection he appeared to Thomas, who after touching him declared "My Lord and My God!" (John 20:28). Now, if this were a normal case of "mistaken identity" then we would expect to find Jesus rebuke him for using such terms of divinity towards him, but that is not the case. I guess a question is, why is Jesus' divinity so infrequently "exposed" and why do we not find many more verses speaking of Jesus being truly God? The book quotes from former principal of Wycliff Hall, Oxford University and commentator R.T. France, saying we should be surprised that

explicit use of God-language about Jesus is infrequent in the New Testament, and is concentrated in the later writings.... It was such shocking language that, even when the beliefs underlying it were firmly established, it was easier, and perhaps more politic, to express these beliefs in the less direct terms. The wonder is not that the New Testament so seldom describes Jesus as God, but that in [a radically monotheistic] milieu it does so at all. (p. 174)

The many miracles were evidence that Jesus was more than a mere man. Yes, many men were able to duplicate some of these type things through trickery, but those who walked with and witnessed these miracles knew he was going way beyond the realm of trickery. In Mark 2 we read of the story of the lame man who is lowered down through the roof of a house to be healed by Jesus. He was helaed, but Jesus also said to him "Son, your sins are forgiven" (v. 5). The religious leaders immediately were up in arms, accusing Jesus of blasphemy, because only God can forgive sins (v. 7). This is yet another clear evidence that Jesus himself was declaring himself to be divine...God in the flesh.

Another example of the claim to divinity by Jesus himself, is found in Mark 14:62-64, where Jesus is on trial and asked if he is Christ the Messiah, to which he affirms he is. Then he goes further to state "...and you will see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven." This sent the hears into an uproar, again screaming blasphemy. What was the big deal? People assume the term "Son of Man" refers to his human nature, but in fact that is a powerful Jewish term found in Dan. 7:13-14, and implies divinity. Also, Jesus saying he would come on clouds was yet another powerful claim to divinity, because God was known in the Hebrew Scriptures as being the only being to "come on clouds" which is a reference to coming judgment on a nation (Exod. 14:20; 34:5; Num. 10:34; Ps. 104:3; Isa. 19:1). Jesus was claiming to be the Son of Man, sitting in the most powerful position, the right hand (Ps. 110:1), and to be the judge who would come against the Jewish nation, riding a cloud as God had done many times before. All three of these were startling claims to being divine, and I guess these modern day writers totally missed the implications found here due to ignorance of what was actually being said by Jesus in Hebrew terms.

There is more to unpack in this section, and I will do so in my next post.

Continue to PART FOUR

Reinventing Jesus (Pt. 2)

2009-12-28T13:00:00.034-05:00

In continuing the look at the book Reinventing Jesus that I started discussing yesterday, we move into section three, which discusses the canonizing of Scripture. For those not familiar with the term, when we say canon, we are speaking of those books of the Bible that are included as authoritative. The Protestant church has held that there are 66 books in the canon of Scripture, and those outside of that are considered non-canonical, or extra-biblical, and not authoritative or necessarily inspired.

Eventually, four Gospels and twenty-three other texts were canonized (declared to be the Holy Scriptures) into a Bible. This did not occur, until the sixth century.
-Dan Burstein Secrets of the Code, 116

So, the question is discussed as to whether there was any kind of early consensus in the church as to what books or letters were considered official, inspired Scripture, and what caused some book to be passed over in that decision. These modern writers would have us believe that it didn't come together till hundreds of years after Christ, and that there was a sort of conspiracy to hide some "truth" that the church at the time didn't agree with.

We learn that while the church in general held the majority of books and letters as inspired and canonical early on in history (way before the sixth century), there was some dispute over some between the churches; books like 2 & 3 John, Jude, 2 Peter and Revelation were disputed and almost didn't make the cut. We also learn a bit about many of the other writings that were rejected, and why.

It is a remarkable fact that although nearly all modern forms of Christianity do not question the texts included in the New Testament, in the first four centuries every single document was at some time or other branded as either heretical or forged!
-Timothy Freke
and Peter Gandy,
The Jesus Mysteries, 224

I have had a special interest in the canon, and the extra-biblical writings for a couple years now. So this section was nice to read why some were rejected. There were many writings that were considered beneficial, though not necessarily inspired, that the churches read and used and were deeply familiar with back in the day. There were others that were initially considered worthy of canonization, but over time were deemed unsuitable. There were many that were considered forgeries, and immediately dismissed, while others were determined to be too modern at the time, and thus outside the realm of Apostolic inspiration. Some were forgeries, some purposely written to damage the Gospel, or of definite Gnostic origins. We get some insight into how this process of choosing often played out, and what was examined to make these decisions. When it is done, you will hopefully see that the decisions were not made rashly, or with some hidden agenda, as modern authors like to claim.

Many of the writings that were read and used, though never canonized, I have started to track down to examine personally. There are many, many of these additional writings that have been recently rediscovered in the last 100-200 years that were all but "lost" for the past century and a half of church history. Aside from the known Gnostic and heretical writings making a big splash today, there are many other writings, both from the Old and New Testament eras that shed additional light and understanding on the life, times and theologies of the times when Scripture was written. Some of these I have mentioned in previous posts, like the books of Jasher, or Enoch. Many of these writings are contained in large bodies of work, making it easy to get a hold of a bunch of them at once. Books like "The Lost Books of the Bible" and "The Lost Books of the New Testament" both by Joseph Lumpkin, whose has released a truckload of modern translations of such extra-biblical writings.

You do need to be careful in reading some of this stuff, to know what was considered heretical, and what was considered helpful to read; that is why a book like the one we're discussing, helps to give some background on the issue. All in all, any of them can be considered entertaining to read.

Other writings not related to the topic at hand, are the ones usually related with the Old Testament times. These writings, while also not necessarily authoritative, are nonetheless beneficial in studying to know what the mindset and understandings were in the early Jewish and Hebrew Scripture days. One such set worth checking out, is "The Old Testament Pseudipigrapha" which is available in two volumes. I have read through a chunk of these writings and am fascinated at the thought patterns these early writers give us. From the fantastical to the intriguing, either way, these were many of the writings that were common place, commonly read, and occasionally referred to in early writings, and even in the scripture.

The next section of the book begins dealing with the issue of whether Christianity has borrowed from the pagan religions of the day. Sounds interesting.

Continue to PART 3

Reinventing Jesus (Pt. 1)

2009-12-27T20:15:00.120-05:00

One day last week, I rented and watched the Dan Brown inspired movie "Angels and Demons." Unlike the previous "Da Vinci Code" movie, which had it's little 15 minute segment directly attacking Scripture and the historic Jesus, this movie was pretty tame. It was more an "attack" on fictitious corruption in the Roman Catholic Papal system and the Vatican, and nothing against Christianity itself. After watching the movie, it made me recall a book I had started reading about two or so years ago called Reinventing Jesus: What The Da Vinci Code and Other Novel Speculations Don't Tell You, which I know I never finished. So, I went and got it off the shelf and started up where I left off (though I do plan to go back and re-read the early sections), and spent part of my Christmas vacation reading (surprising I know).

The book deals with issues of concern based on attacks from modern people like Dan Brown, the Jesus Seminar, and other such "intellectuals" who have written book after book attacking historic Christianity and the Bible. This book covers many items of biblical history that are really needed for the even lay person to defend their faith in today's society. These areas that are rarely covered from the pulpit, and unless you are a reader of deeper issues or one who reads and fancies themselves an apologist who studies this information, it is doubtful that most would know this information already. Since we should always be ready to give a defense for what we believe, this type of book is a much needed resource today.

I just wanted to share some of what I have read as I continue through this book. The first section (which I do want to re-read) deals with the issues behind the writing and formulation of the four Gospels, and discussions of the writings known as the "Q" which is a book of supposed quotes from Jesus. When I initially read through this section, I was so new to this area. Now, a couple years later, I have a little more knowledge on the issue, so do want to go back and read this part again for a better grasp.

Even careful copyists make mistakes, as every proofreader knows, so we will never be able to claim certain knowledge of exactly what the original text of any biblical writing was.
- Robert W. Funk,
Roy W. Hoover,
and The Jesus Seminar, The Four Gospels, 6

The second part which is where I picked up, deals with issue surrounding the New Testament manuscripts and concerns and attacks on them. With so many thousands of manuscripts from different time periods, how do you explain the variants between them in places; how do these variants affect the content of the text? I found this section quite enlightening as they go through some of the major points of attack and explain just what the issues are, and how in the end they actually affect the end meaning of Scriptures very little. We also get a look at the issues behind the various manuscripts, to include obviously the issues surrounding the KJV manuscripts and the many others that have since come into use. This was helpful and further enlightening since I was raised through most of my early Christian life as more or less a "KJV Only" advocate. In recent years I have backed off of that stance for other reasons, but the information contained here helps to understand the issue further.

The KJV had many additional words, sometimes whole additional paragraphs of content that is not found in other manuscripts. However, the amount of additionas is often overstated.

Over a period of many centuries, only about twenty-five thousand hundred words were added to the original text. The New Testament grew in size from the earliest copies to the latest copies - fourteen hundred years later - by about 2 percent. That is a remarkable stable transmission process....

Nevertheless, even twenty-five hundred words is not an insignificant amount. Furthermore, these represent only the additions. There are also hundreds of substitutions that do not add to the length of the New Testament but are nevertheless differences between earlier manuscripts and later ones. And what happened to all those hundreds of thousands of variants? .... they need to be reckoned with. (Reinventing Jesus, p. 55)

Looking at the thousands of manuscripts, there is often found many additional words and alternate words in places, between all of the different copies. How do these affect the meaning of Scripture? These issues are discussed here as they break down the variants into four main groups: spelling and nonsense errors, minor differences not affecting translations, differences that affect the meaning but are not viable, and differences that affect the meaning and are viable. They examine some of the various variants, and we see that the issue is blown out of proportion. We end up with issues that are of little concern with the overall teaching of Scripture, and we can confidently stand on the Word, and not buy into the fear that modern authors attempt to spread.

When Constantine commissioned new versions of these documents, it enabled the custodians of orthodoxy to revise, edit, and rewrite their material as they saw fit, in accordance with their tenets. It was at this point that most of the crucial alterations in the New Testament were probably made and Jesus assumed the unique status he has enjoyed ever since. The importance of Constantine's commission must not be underestimated. Of the five thousand extant early manuscript versions of the New Testament, not one predates the fourth century. The New Testament as it exists today is essentially a product of fourth-century editors and writers - custodians of orthodoxy, "adherents of the message," with vested interests to protect.
-Michael Baigent,
Richard Leigh,
and Henry Lincoln,
Holy Blood, Holy Grail, 368-369

How would you respond to such comments if someone hit you with this? That is where this book is helpful, especially since this is the type of stuff modern scholars spew forth and the everyday simple readers of this fiction will regurgitate to you. They do not know the real issues, they simply read books like Dan Brown's and the like, and believe this information as fact.

The reality is that there are at least forty-eight Greek New Testament manuscripts that predate the fourth century. (Reinventing Jesus, p. 116)

This book deals with these issues, and gives detailed examples and breakdowns of doctrines affected, if any, and how these attacks are based on frivolous and false assumptions.

Part three deals with the attacks on canonizing the books of the Bible. Did the early church dismiss some books from the canon of Scripture because they did not like what was taught in some of them? Did they pick and choose what made it into the 66 books we have today based on their desired views of Jesus and the Gospel? What about these other writings and other "gospels" that exist from that time period. What about the Gnostics and their writings? This is the section I am currently in the middle of, and I will write more on this when I am done.

Continue to PART 2

Star of Bethlehem

2009-12-07T22:05:00.005-05:00

And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matt. 2:9-11)

I watched a pretty fascinating DVD presentation today on the Star of Bethlehem that I wanted to share. The DVD presentation is not too technical, not too scientific to understand, and is presented quite well. My wife watched this video months ago, and I have had it laying here to watch but only just got around to it. Aside from further disrupting the traditional view of the nativity scenario (something that seems to have already been traditionally misconstrued as I examined HERE), it answers and connects many other issues that have been of concern.

I had always been taught that by the time the wise men arrived on the scene, Jesus was a toddler, not an infant; this being based on the Greek words used in Scripture. So, the modern nativity scenes with baby Jesus in a stable and the three wise men standing by (the Bible never says how many there are, just that they brought three types of gifts...shoot there could have been a dozen or more, who knows) has always been kind of odd, since they would not have been around at the birth. This DVD validates that as truth.

Then there is the whole argument of when Jesus was born, how does Dec. 25th play in to the equation; was it just a pagan god's birth date that Christianity "took over" since everyone knows Jesus was not born in December.

Now, I do come from a background of being many years (20+) in the anti-Christmas camp, hanging onto the Reformed tradition about Christmas being of pagan origins, linked too much with Roman Catholicism, anti Regulative Principal of worship, etc. and only changed this practice in recent years. So, the whole Dec. 25th connection is a hot topic with many questions.

This video reveals something pretty interesting information regarding this date. Basically this lawyer started getting interested in the star of Bethlehem, having no background in astrological studies. He acquired a high tech star software program, and started charting stars, dates and places. In summary, he was able to find when the star appeared, it's path of travel, the reason it seemed to come "to rest," or stop over where Jesus was, and many other possible side connections to Scripture.

So in the end according to his findings, get this, the star came to rest over Jesus position, allowing the wise men to find him and present him with their gifts on...you got it...Dec 25th. So, based on science and the stars, Jesus was truly not born on Dec. 25th, but, the first "Christmas" was; Dec. 25th being the day the first gifts were given...to the Jesus child.

There is a lot more to getting to that point, but it is a fascinating study indeed. Visit his site at www.bethlehemstar.net or buy the DVD by clicking on the image above.

I Feel Like Such a Gentile

2009-12-01T07:00:00.008-05:00

"Since, then, there is certainty as to the resurrection of the dead, grief for death is needless... For why should you grieve, if you believe your loved ones have not perished? ... We wound Christ when we do not accept with equanimity the summoning out of this world of anyone by Him, as if they were to be pitied." - Tertullian (c. 200)

"Although the death of a children leaves grief for the heart, it is not right to either go forth in black garments, or to bewail them. The Lord prudently says that you must grieve with the mind, not with outward show... Are you not ashamed to lament your children without restraint, like the Gentiles do? You tear your face, beat your breast, and take off your garments. Do you not fear the Lord, whose kingdom you desire to behold?" - Commodianus (c. 240)

"When the dear ones whom we love depart from this world, we should rejoice rather than grieve. Remembering this truth, the blessed apostle Paul in his epistle lays down , saying 'To me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.'" - Cyprian (c. 250)

"Our brethren who are freed from this world by the Lord's summons are not to be lamented. For we know that they are not lost. Rather, they are sent before us. Departing from us, they precede us as travelers - as navigators are accustomed to do. They should be envied, not bewailed! The black garments should not be taken upon us here, when they have already taken white garments there... The Gentiles can deservedly and rightly criticize us that we mourn as though our dead were extinct and lost. For, we say they are alive with God... There is no advantage in setting forth virtue by our words, but then destroying the truth by our deeds... The Holy Spirit teaches by Solomon that those who please God are taken from here sooner and are more quickly set free. Otherwise, while they are delaying longer in this world, they might be polluted with the pollution of the world..." - Cyprian (c.250)

Words of wisdom and comfort from the early church.

Jonathan, you are free from the pains and weaknesses of this world; your days are now full of joy and life and comfort with our Lord. I miss you terribly but will see you soon, son.

Collision: The Movie

2009-11-29T18:00:00.003-05:00

I finally got a chance to get my hands on and watch the new "Collision" movie today. For those not familiar with this movie, it is a debate film/documentary between atheist Christopher Hitchens and Christian Douglas Wilson, recorded during a series of on-the-road debates they had, showing highlights of the exchanges during the formal debate sessions, with some of the behind the scene antics and personal comments from each sprinkled throughout.

Hitchens is well known as a political writer and activist, and is often regarded as one of the prominent exponents of "modern atheism," though he refers to himself more as an anti-theist. Per Wikipedia (the most reliable source on the web ;-}) he describes himself "as a believer in the philosophical values of the Age of Enlightenment." His main argument is that since the concept of God or a supreme being is a totalitarian belief that destroys individual freedom, free expression and scientific discovery should replace religion as a means of teaching ethics and defining human civilization.

Douglas Wilson has has recently authored a handful of responses to other atheist authors, like "The Deluded Atheist" responding to Richard Dawkins, "God Is: How Christianity Explains Everything" which is a response to Hitchens' writings, and "Letter from a Christian Citizen" which responds to Sam Harris' book.

This movie began as a series of back-and-forth communications between Wilson and Hitchens, that were later compiled and released as the book "Is Christianity Good for the World?" This launched interest in them doing public debates, which of course led to a "tour" of sorts, and highlights from those various meetings were recorded, adding in behind the scenes interchanges, and released as this movie.

The movie does a good job of presenting both of their views equally and adequately, giving us a good look at some of the issues. Obviously not exhaustive on the subject, and no one cries "uncle" by the end, but points are well made. For me, the high points were hearing Hitchens make comments about never having debated or met someone like Wilson and some of his arguments. He said many people he has debated seem hypocritical, but that Wilson seems the genuine thing, actually believing what he defends.

I think at times though, some of Wilson's arguments get lost on Hitchens understanding. Not sure if he just doesn't fully understand what corner Wilson is backing him into, or if he is not sure how (or if) he can respond. Wilson hits Hitchens with pieces of presuppositional apologetic techniques that in recent decades have been popularized by the late great debater Greg L. Bahnsen. Attempting to pull the carpet of reason out from under Hitchens, it seems all but lost on Hitchens (or so it appears somewhat from the small segments we see).

One of the other things that shines through, is the Christian love and charity that Wilson portrays. At least for the footage of the film, we see them both acting civil and respectable to each other, never demeaning or attacking or being hateful to each other.

The other brief, but powerful highlight to me was when Hitchens brings up the supposed failed prophecies of Jesus and his promised first century return (Matt. 10:23; 16:28; 24:34, etc.). This seems to be a favorite technique by the critics, and has been an attack from Jewish apologists and others against Christianity, and was a contention for men like Bertrand Russell:

I am concerned with Christ as he appears in the gospels…there one does find some things that do not seem to be very wise…for one thing, he certainly thought that his second coming would occur in clouds of glory before the death of all the people who were living at the time. There are a great many texts that prove that…he believed that his coming would happen during the lifetime of many then living. That was the belief of his earlier followers, and it was the basis of a good deal of his moral teaching. – Atheist Bertrand Russell, from his book Why I am Not a Christian

However, for Hitchens, it fails when countered effectively by Wilson's preterist response.

Overall, the movie was entertaining. As a Christian, nothing said by Hitchens had much force, but were typical arguments used as more of an emotional opposition to a creator.

My main complaints against this movie deal more with presentation than content. Whoever was hired to do the camera holding was either drunk, or had no clue how to hold a camera and focus in on the subject. The majority of scenes were jerky, chaotically zooming in on noses, hands, mouths, eyes, etc. and unable to hold still, bouncing around like someone was rolling around with the camera. It was very distracting and very irritating. The "sane" parts were the pieces that were obviously from outside "professional" services (like all of the CBN pieces).

Much of this film appears to come from hand-held cameras, and goes from being grainy, black and white, poor lighting, and other effects. Either this footage was captured without the intent to use it in a professional presentation like this movie, or I assume this might have been someone ideas of "art" for the films sake. Either way, it makes this film come across as a poorly shot home movie, and takes away from what could have been a professional film presentation.

On top of the irritating camera movements from the "drunk" camera man (as we began to call him), the audio suffers in many areas. There are many scenes where you clearly see the speakers are wearing lapel microphones, yet the audio we get for the film is obviously from the condenser mic on the camera. So, we get to hear all of the background noise and hiss in many scenes.

Many of the debate segments take place in restaurants, bars, and small public places, and contain a lot of background noise. In some parts, the film editors knew this was a problem, and we have subtitles, which are helpful, but not always present. To counter this, you must crank up the volume and pay very close attention. Unfortunately, you crank the volume to hear the dialog, and when the segue segments kick in with the various styles of music (some very heavy rock), they blast you away. At other times when the volume seems adequate, the editors have decided to add background music that tends to be way louder than it should, and that distorts the dialog.

Overall, a good film that I would recommend to anyone, but I really wish someone with better skill would remix and edit this film and soundtrack to fix these issues.

Wither

2009-11-24T07:00:00.005-05:00

Let it out, let it out
Feel the empty Space
So insecure find the words and let it out

Staring down, staring down
Nothing comes to mind
Find the place turn the water into wine

But I feel I'm getting nowhere
And I'll never see the end

So I wither
And render myself helpless
I give in and everything is clear
I breakdown
And let the story guide me

Turn it on
Turn it on
Let the feelings flow
Close your eyes
See the ones you used to know

Open up open up
Don't struggle to relate
Lure it out
Help the memory escape
Still transparantness consumes me
And I feel like giving up

So I wither
And render myself helpless
I give in
And everything is clear
I breakdown
And let the story guide me

I wither
And give myself away

Light reflections on the page
The worlds want to create

I drown in hesitation
My words come crashing down
And all my best creations
Burning to the ground

The thought of starting over
Leaves me paralysed
Tear it out again
Another one that got away

I wither
And render myself helpless
I give in
And everything is clear

I wither
And render myself helpless
I give in
And everything is clear
I breakdown
And let the story guide me
I wither
And give myself away

Light reflections on the page
The worlds want to create
The worlds which you create

Let it out let it out

Yes, more lyrics that speak to me, especially my melancholy and depressing side. From one of my all-time favorite bands, Dream Theater. Here, watch the video:

Pray for Obama - Psalm 109:8?

2009-11-23T13:08:00.004-05:00

If you have not heard, there is a new crazy Christian idea out on the Internet. People are selling products with the slogan "Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8." The verse in question says:

May his days be few; may another take his office!

Very cute use of words indeed. Sounds pretty harmless at first, until you read the next verse:

May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!

Keep reading, the following verses get worse. So, the call is for a shortness of days and removal of office, but in context, this is to be due to death.

Now, as "witty" (and I use this term lightly) as this use of Scripture is, the point is made that there is a dislike of the President, and they would like his days in office to be few. Now, in their defense (not that I know their true intent, but giving them the benefit of the doubt), they did simply use verse 8. Verse 8, used, abused and chopped totally out of context, as a stand alone thought is fine - point taken. I too could agree with the sentiment. In the ways President Obama is setting this nation up for great harm, I too pray for his days to be few (impeachment anyone?). I hope and pray that his harmful influence and potential for damage to be thwarted. So, taken "as is" and out of context, their point is somewhat acceptable.

However, anyone who looks it up, is not going to stop at verse 8, and it is very irresponsible to strip things out of context to make such a point. So, for that I would condemn such a slogan as not only a poor witness of Christian love and charity, but it is an abuse of God's Word as well as a display of public disrespect for the office of President.

However, then you have those professing Christian like Frank Schaeffer making some pretty strong leaps in this case.

SCHAEFFER: No. Actually, it means something more threatening. I think that the situation that I find genuinely frightening right now is that you have a ramping up of Biblical language, language from the anti-abortion movement for instance, death panels and this sort of thing, and what it's coalescing into is branding Obama as Hitler, as they have already called him. And something foreign to our shores, we're reminded of that, he's born in Kenya. As brown, as black, above all, as not us. He is Sarah Palin's "not a real American." But now, it turns out, he joins the ranks of the unjust kings of ancient Israel, unjust rulers to which all these Biblical allusions are directed who should be slaughtered, if not by God, then by just men. So there's a parallel here with Timothy McVeigh's t-shirt on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing. He said the tree of liberty had to be watered by the blood of tyrants. That quote, we saw at a meeting where Obama was present carried on a placard by someone with a loaded weapon.

Again, in the slogan creator's defense, the slogan strictly asks for prayer to God for Obama, that his days in office be few. Looking strictly at the slogan, they do not seem to be promoting physical violence by man, but simply a calling on God in prayer (at least I pray to God that is their intent). If such a slogan provokes another person to take physical violence, then you cannot hold the slogan at fault per se, anymore than holding a gun responsible for someone using it to kill someone. However, the point is made that things are already at a heightened state of "hostility" over Obama's action (you would think he'd take a hint and stop), so I would have to honestly ask if this type of slogan is really to an advantage for God's Kingdom or if it could be dangerous?

SCHAEFFER: What we're looking at right now is two things going on. We see the evangelical groups I talked about in my new book, Patience With God, enthralled by an apocalyptic vision that I go into in some detail there. They represent the millions of people who have turned the Left Behind series into best sellers. Most of them are not crazy, they're just deluded. But there is a crazy fringe to whom all these little messages that have been pouring out of Fox News, now on a bumper sticker, talking about doing away with Obama, asking God to kill him. Really, this is trolling for assassins. This is serious business.

I agree that there are many in the "Christian" world that are blinded by this delusional "end time" apocalyptic anti-christ scenario, that are already on a heightened alert from years of being told we're living in the "last days" that stirring up this kind of fear and hate could provoke them to physical violence. But again, if some wacko sees himself as fulfilling some last days scenario and commits violence, you cannot really hold the whole of Christianity at fault, or even a slogan. Especially considering that the very Word of God that the wacko attempts to use speaks against people taking such direct violence.

My biggest point of disagreement comes over Schaeffer's words that "Look, this is the American version of the Taliban." The radical Muslims use their scriptures to condone and promote physical violence, not by using it out of context like this slogan, but because their scriptures do literally promote it to begin with. They are not asking their followers to simply pray, they are promoting the taking of violent actions against the enemies of Allah. They are not saying, pray against the infidel, they are saying flat out that it is fine, just, and commendable to kill the infidel. That is quite a drastic difference to telling people to pray against an unjust ruler. If the Muslims radicals were simply gathering in large groups to pray against (and even pray for the death of) the infidels, then I feel confident saying we'd have little to worry about.

The difference is, the Christian Scripture do not call for individuals taking violence unto themselves; unlike the Muslim scriptures which clearly do.

So, is the slogan bad? On the surface, taken at face value, I do not think it is, and would hope that the creator of it is innocent of anything other than good intentions. However, given the current political climate, is it wise to promote this new "Pray for Obama" slogan? I would have to say it is probably more likely to be harmful than beneficial at this time.

We as Christians are to love one another, we are to love our enemies, and we are to submit to our rulers (Romans 13), acknowledging than they, even the ungodly ones, are placed into office by the sovereign hand of the Almighty. We get what we (as a nation) deserve; and considering the way we have let our country go, we deserve what we get. Hopefully it will be a wake up call for Christians to take action, get off their butts, and take a part in the political system of this country, by voting and running for office and by contacting our leaders and demanding they take the godly paths in situations. Take action, pray, get involved...if not, don't complain at what you "allowed" to get into office.

Does America need a revolution? Maybe?
Does it need a revival? Definitely!
Will displaying products with this slogan promote revival? No!

Pray for President Obama. Pray that God will open his eyes to the truth. Pray that God will grant him godly wisdom, to do the right thing, to lead America back to it's Christian foundation. Pray that God will restore justice, order and truth to our nation, it's leaders, and it's laws. Pray that God will convert and save Obama that he can then be used to promote and defend justice and godly principals; but if not, pray that God would see fit to remove him from where he could cause harm, and replace him with a more godly leader. Do all things in love and compassion, and do not provoke others negatively, as I am sure this slogan would be more prone to do.

What are your thoughts? Post them below.

Confessions of a Madman

2009-11-18T12:45:00.003-05:00

Yesterday marked the sixth month since the unexpected passing of my first-born child, Jonathan. The last six months has been a roller coaster ride emotionally as many of you have read on here; a ride I still seem to be on.

During this time, I have developed quite a drinking problem, that only a few very close friends and family members are even aware of. The bad thing is, not only am I drinking harsh stuff, but some of the worst type of harsh stuff that has added poisoning ingredients. I have tried in recent times to stop, but have been unsuccessful. So I post it here publicly in case anyone else wishes to share their experiences with this type of problem.

Hi, my name is Jeff McCormack, and I am a Coke-a-holic. My soda of choice is Diet Coke, or even better, Coke Zero (especially Vanilla or Cherry Coke Zero). You see, soda is bad enough, with all the chemicals, acid and things that drain the minerals right out of your body. If you switch to diet brands, yes, the reduced sugar is one huge advantage (especially to someone pre-diabetic like myself), but you still get the chemicals, the acid, and the added poisonous artificial sweeteners. But, for someone who comes from a lifetime of prior soda addiction, this is a better way to go than sticking with the original. The lesser of two evils, I guess.

HA! So, I was just grabbing your attention. Yes, I do drink more diet soda these days than in times past, but honestly, it is a vice I am willing to live with at this time.

But yes, yesterday was the six month point since Jonathan passed. I can't say things have really gotten any better in my emotional mind yet, I still have issues - daily, mainly when things get quit and my mind slows down. In some ways, the length of time has made things worse. As I mentioned in a post on this topic some months ago, I still kind of feel like Jonathan is a fallen comrade, that I left on the side of the road while I went to get help. The further I get away from him time wise, the more I feel I can never make it back to help him before it is too late. I know, this is weird thinking, I agree, and I can't stand the way my mind works sometimes. I wonder if some kind of happy-pills could fix this (even though the side effects of such pills seem much worse...lol).

Intellectually, I can grasp it....theologically I can grasp it. He is not "left behind" nor is he stuck in need of saving somewhere. He is much better off than when he was her suffering in his weakened state. I can praise the Lord that he brought Jonathan into our covenant family, and that Jonathan never strayed from keeping the truth. I can rest assured that God is faithful and just, and that Jonathan's trust in the saving work of Christ alone ushered him into the very presence of our Heavenly Father for all eternity. All of this is good and all, but my selfish heart and mind have to be forced to think about this side of things.

While I know I should be happy and excited as to the way every little piece of this scenario went down as peaceful and quickly as it did (which my intellectual self is happy about), that is not my mind's first inclination. I am too selfishly wrapped up in missing him, in seeing him, in sharing with him. I still see his facial expression, I still see him sitting at my desk doing my book store packaging, I still hear him grumbling and complaining over certain things. The memories flood in daily, too much to allow the pleasant things I should be thinking, and instead flood my mind with pain and grief.

So, I drink soda as an outlet (sounds like a good excuse, right?).

I really wish I had the mental abilities to follow in the steps of the great King David. For those of you not familiar with the story from 2 Samuel 12, David committed a great sin, and it brought judgment from God upon him in the promise that his son that Uriah's wife had just had with him would not live. When the child became deathly ill, David spent seven days fasting and praying. On the seventh day, the child died, and when David found out:

Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. Then he went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the LORD. After that, he returned to the palace and ate. His advisers were amazed. "We don’t understand you," they told him. "While the baby was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the baby is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again." David replied, "I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the LORD will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me."

I too long for the day when my emotions get out of the way of my intellect and I can say all is well, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, and I am blessed none the less. For now, I struggle still, and appreciate all of the prayers and thoughts that so many of you have sent our way.

So, I toast you all ... raise your Coke high and enjoy the burning sensation as it runs down your throat! To God be the Glory...Great things he had done!

Missed Opportunities?

2009-11-06T13:30:00.001-05:00

Last Sunday, after church, my family and I had to run by the bank to drop off something in the night deposit. It was lightly raining and a tad bit on the chilly side. As we were pulling away from the night deposit, there was a frail looking gentleman in the parking lot motioning to us. We rolled the window down and he motioned with his hand open, saying something about needing to get to the mission downtown, but not having enough money for the bus. We had just left the bank, but only to drop off checks, not to withdraw any cash. My wife rarely if ever carries cash...when she does, she goes through it fast, and so is usually always empty pocketed.

My wife was driving, and she was directly speaking with the gentleman. Her first thought was that he wanted a ride. However, we have a eight person van that is usually filled to max capacity (us plus six kids). My first impression of what he was saying, was that he was asking for cash.

How often are we presented with an opportunity to serve, yet we turn our backs for various reasons. Beggars can be deceptive, there are many out there that are. They want money for drugs or booze; they are scam artists. "Get a job dude, and stop bothering me." How many times have we passed people in need, and not given them the time of day because we were suspicious of their true situation? I know, I will admit, I often act that way.

On this particular Sunday, we acted as usual, cutting him off, saying we couldn't help, and we drove off. It was just habit, an impulse reaction of sorts. I was prepared to hand him a few dollars, because he looked and sounded sincere, however, the window was closed and we drove away before I could act.

As we got back on the road, my wife said to me, he wanted a ride, but we have no room. I said, I think he wanted money for the bus. She said she had no money on her, and we drove away.

All was silent for a few blocks. I know I was thinking in my silence about whether we just blew an opportunity. All I could think of was Hebrews 13:2:

Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

I assume my wife was also pondering the event. All of a sudden, the silence was broken when she said, "I think we should turn back and help him," to which I said "I do too." It had just hit her...wait...we DO have room in the van. Hard habits are hard to overcome, and for a moment, we had forgotten our eight-seat van does have a spare seat now in our van due to the passing of our son in May. I said, and if it is just money he needs, I have a few bucks on me, which she did not realize.

She immediately turned the van around to go back to offer him a ride downtown or cash, whichever was needed. We drove to the bank parking lot, and he was gone. We drove around the shopping center next to the bank, and he was no where to be seen. After a few moments of looking in all of the direction we thought he could have gone in such a short amount of time, we gave up and got back on our way.

Did someone else give him a ride? Or did he simply vanish?

Anyway, the issue is, we have become so callous towards strangers in need, doubting if there is a need, that we often brush them off without a thought. I hate feeling like that, and hope that the Lord gives me a more tender mind to reach out and assist others whenever I am able. My job is to act, and react, in love, and help others. If they are deceptive, then let that be on their head. Who am I to be the judge and jury over whether they are sincere or not? We do not need the government to help the needy, if we all were just more willing to reach out to them with what the Lord has blessed us with.

Already Gone - (Pt 2)

2009-10-27T13:20:00.003-04:00

I finished the book I began discussing previously, but rather than posting additional posts as I went along, I decided to blow through it and give a recap. A couple of findings they discovered with the survey was:

Only 11% stop attending church during college years (most of us assume it is college that shakes their faith)

Almost 90% of those leaving the church, do so during the middle to high school years

Not much variance between those in public school, or those in Christian or home schools

"Sunday school is actually more likely to be detrimental to the spiritual and moral health of our children."

The book is filled with statistics, and breakdown charts of statistics, and can boggle the mind in trying to keep up, but in the end, the point is made. There is an issue, and it stems between a worldview teaching of the Bible's authority and validity versus modern science.

The issue seems to boil down to a two part mindset. Church teaches us moral and spiritual issue and stories. Science and school teach us relevant life facts. Sunday school and youth programs have given the parents the door to shrug off much of the spiritual instruction of their children, and what little they do get in church tends to be Bible stories and Biblical morality.

In many cases, when we look at what is being taught in the Sunday schools, we're just teaching on an inspirational or moral level.

In many cases, they are getting two lessons on a Sunday, and neither are really relevant to them. It's not just Sunday school, it's the sermon, the VBS, it's most of the teaching programs - they are not helping them in the postmodern culture where it is becoming the norm to attack and marginalize Christians. They are not coping - they are not able to cope - they haven't been trained to cope.

If you look at some of the "hard" questions people in the world ask, you have to see that most churches are not educating the children to answer them. There is no real concerted effort to bring our children up with the ability to combat the attacks on the Bible and it's history. Are your children able to answer and defend against questions like:

How do you know God exists>

Where did God come from?

Hasn't science disproved the Bible?

What about ape-men?

How did Noah get all the animals on the ark?

What about carbon dating?

How come dinosaurs have nothing to do with the Bible or church?

How can the earth only be a few thousand years old when it "looks" so old?

After a while in school, on the edge of adulthood, there begins this disconnect:

The facts are relevant; faith is not. If you want to learn something that's real, important, and meaningful, you do that at school. If you want to learn something that is lofty and emotional, you do that at church. At school, they teach you about everything - fossils, dinosaurs, marriage (different views, gay marriage, etc.), sex, the origin of life, what is "right" and "wrong," different religions - they learn about everything!

The issue boils down to an issue of authority - biblical authority. If the Bible is held as authoritative, then our view of things outside of it have to be in conformity to the authority of the Word. We need to be teaching our young children about this authority, and give them clear answers to the challenges the world seeks to attack with.

In our survey, we asked the thousand young adults who have left the Church if they believed that all the accounts and stories in the Bible are true and accurate. Of those, 44 percent said no, 38 percent said yes, and 18 percent didn't know...

...82 percent of those who said they did not believe all accounts and stories in the Bible are true and accurate did so because of doubts about the authority of the Bible.

Responding to these attacks on the Bible should be at the forefront of our attempts to restore relevancy to the Word of God and make our churches relevant to this generation.

Some very good points are made when examining what modern churches do to stay "relevant" and appealing to the younger masses, but it is all just a band-aid that does not heal the deep issue that exists. It is a short term fix in most all cases.

The education in church tends to be more Bible stories, than application of it to the world, science, etc. We send our children out without the ability to defend their beliefs, and they get shredded and turned away.

True spiritual growth and a healthy church all start with an individual - with you -accepting the Word of God for what it is - the absolute authority - and treating it accordingly. The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the living Word of God. The written, uncompromised Word of God in your mind and the presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ in your heart is the pure essence of Christianity. When you gather together a group of people with that, "church happens."

Other issues examined are the church's "relevance" as an institution, and the many issues that turn people away from the church on the corner (hypocrisy, political strife, etc.). Much more is covered, and I found this to be a good read. It fired me up to take action, to desire to teach my children and others, the deeper things outside of simple Bible stories.

We must take a position to be in the Word ourselves, always ready to give an answer for our faith, and we must pass that on to our children. Don't simply allow Sunday school to be our children's only exposure to biblical teaching, it won't be deep enough. For those who homeschool, step up the depth of study when it comes to conforming the biblical teachings with the world of science.

A couple of the suggested resources in the appendix of this book include:

Always Ready - Greg Bahnsen

The Ultimate Proof of Creation - Jason Lisle

The New Answers Book (Vol 1 & 2) - Ken Ham

and many more.

Please post all comments below on the actual blog. Thank you!

Descended into hell...? (Pt 10)

2009-10-14T13:15:00.002-04:00

My last post on this topic, was way back in November. Much has happened since then to turn my life all around, but I recently was provoked to post another quick post on the topic, as I have recently purchased a new book that touched on the subject. If you are new to this whole line of discussion, you can find the first nine parts starting HERE.

In brief summary, I started writing this series because I find that many modern churches explain away the "descended into hell" clause of the Apostle's Creed, saying ti was simply a way of saying he suffered greatly on the cross. Not only is that false when viewed from the understanding that the early church (who formed the creed) believed, but it does great harm to the aspect of salvation that it pertains to.

J.I. Packer's 2008 book is yet another modern Reformed author that does not follow the typical line of thinking mentioned above, thankfully.

He starts as we did, by differentiating between Hades, and Gehenna (what we typically think of when saying "hell." Though Packer doesn't say he "physically" descended anywhere...didn't actually go down, to imply the "place" was down, but seems to feel it meant Jesus really actually died, and that Hades, "the place of the disembodied, is lower in worth and dignity than life on earth..." (pg 87).

He says when Jesus entered Hades, his presence made Hades into "Paradise" to fulfill what he told the penitent thief in Luke 23. This kind of goes against what we have read about the historical Jewish understanding of the separate section of the Hadean realm, but doesn't take him way off track like some moderns get. He goes on to say that while Jesus' was in Hades for three days, it was for the purpose and benefit of the faithfully who had departed prior to his atonement. He says that 1 Pet. 3:19 shows that Jesus proclaimed his kingdom news to "the imprisoned "spirits" who had rebelled in antediluvian times" and even goes so far as to say that it would presumably include "the fallen angels of 2 Pet. 2:4ff, who are also "the sons of God" of Genesis 6:1-4" which is another great admission, considering the who modern "sons of God" debate (see my series of posts on that HERE).

So, I share this just because it excites me to find other within the Reformed denominations who espouse the historic view on these issues, rather than explain them away and do great harm to areas of understanding in the salvation scheme of Christ.

I also just last week obtained an old copy of an 1890 book by Frederic Huidekoper which is actually two separate books in one, with the one of interest being entitled "The Belief of the First Three Centuries Concerning Christ's Mission to the Underworld." If it adds any additional worthy tidbits to this topic, I will be sure to share them.

Already Gone - (Pt 1)

2009-10-13T13:00:00.001-04:00

I am in the beginning stages of reading a book that I believe will turn out to be very interesting, and hopefully enlightening. I carry the book through my bookstore, and from all I have heard, and from my wife's review (yes, she finished it before me...again), it is well worth you looking into. This is especially true if you are a church leader, a parent, or anyone involved with education of children. The book is entitled "Already Gone: Why your kids will quit church and what you can do to stop it" and is written by Ken Ham and Britt Beemer. Britt Beemer works for America's Research Group and specializes in statistics, which help to determine human nature trends. For this book, they questioned and studied 1000 American people, between the ages of 20-30, who were brought up regularly attending a conservative, evangelical church, but were now no longer active in attendance, prayer or personal Bible reading.

The trend in America is seen as matching what has already taken place in churches throughout the UK. The UK used to have a flourishing church life, and looking throughout history at the abundance of spiritual knowledge that has spawned from this area, and that obviously later led to America, we have great ties there that are worth examining. America has always been deemed a nation blessed by God, and has shown tremendous spiritual life in it's fairly short lived existence, but the trend shows a great decline, similar to what has already happened in the UK.

The basic surface level results to the inquiry, show a breakdown of the top reasons these young adults have discontinued attending, and include reasons like: boring services, legalism, hypocrisy in leaders, too political, self-righteous people, Bible not relevant, among other less common reasons. But, in digging deeper, with more probing questions, seeking reasons behind the confusion and frustrations, the book found startling results that will probably shock the readers as much as it did the researchers.

I only just got to the beginning of the first major issue they found, and until I finish exploring all they say about it, I won't divulge anything on it here yet. I hope to blog additional findings as I continue through this book, and hope it is found useful, and helpful to stop this bleeding of our churches.

Pick up the book, read along, and post your comments as I explore the book here.

Proceed to PART 2

Obsession

2009-10-12T07:00:00.003-04:00

OK, I know I am way behind the times on this, it seems. Sometime ago, I know it must have been at least a year or more ago, I received a free DVD in the mail. It was interesting enough to keep, so I laid it aside in a stack of keepsakes on one of the kitchen counters. Well, all of this time went by, but over the past week I was cleaning things up some and rediscovered this DVD, so the wife and I decided to sit down and pop it in yesterday. The DVD is listed as a pre-release special one hour edition of a (then) forthcoming movie, entitled "Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West."

This particular topic has been a point of interest recently, so the timing of watching this movie was about right. Back in April of this year, I believe it was, we had a special speaker come and speak to us at a chapel service at work. His names was Kamal Saleem, and he spoke for approximately twenty minutes, giving a brief history of his years of involvement as a terrorist who was actually sent to America to infiltrate and destroy from within. He had since become a Christian, and was now an outspoken opponent of the radical Islamic mission. I do not know what it was, and I am not normally captivated or interested in this type of topic; but I was mesmerized by his talk, and it had an impact on me.

Turns out he had written a book, and it was just being released that week. I went home that evening, and told my wife about the speaker, and the book. Not sure why, but she was immediately interested and said to order it. So, I did (and you can too, by simply clicking on the book image here...hint hint). When the book arrived I jumped right in, and began reading it. It was obviously a much more expanded view of the short speech he had given at my work, and the details were captivating. I had only gotten about two chapters into it before my wife captured the book from me. Of course, as she usually does with books she reads, she gets lost in them for days and hours at a time until done (meaning me and the kids didn't eat or get cleaned for that whole time...lol...jk, I love you honey). Anyway, she consumed it much quicker than I did, and of course wanted to share it with me. I made her refrain as I spent the next couple weeks finishing it myself.

It was written in a very captivating way, and leads you through his story of being recruited at the young age of seven, and how he progressed through the ranks of the radical terrorist army, and recounts mission after mission and what he went through for their cause. The story was tearful, tearful, fearful, and enlightening, and at times I had to step back and say, this can't be true. Some of it was just too shocking to my soft American mind I guess.

Throughout the story, he recounts how he now looks back and can see how the hand of God was on him to protect him through some of the horrifying things he went through, that honestly, he should not have survived. Even the way his conversion went down, one can see how God is plainly in the details of it all. An awe inspiring story I must say.

Anyway, so we had read this book a couple months back, and now had discovered this movie that we received way prior to that time, and had failed to ever watch. So, with the book and all of those gruesome stories as a backdrop, we watched this movie. Most of what Kamal (not his real name, by the way) had written was now being displayed in graphic color before us. It was all coming to life as we watched Islamic TV new clip after news clip of their agenda, their teachings, and their actions. Now it was not just reading one man's story, and hoping he was not making most of it up (some of it just seemed too shocking). Here I was seeing the same agenda he spoke of, on the screen, spoken from the mouths of the leaders of the movements. It all became so much more real now. Here is a condensed twelve minutes preview of the movie:

I highly recommend everyone to get your hands on the movie, show it to friends, get your church to screen it for the congregation to watch, and get the word out. You can access the site to read and see more, at www.ObsessionTheMovie.com. I checked and this movie is available for rent through both Blockbuster and Netflix online. On the official movie site, I see they have since released another movie, "The Third Jihad" which I am interested in checking out too.

The book by Kamal Saleem is a great read too, and additional information about it, as well as quite a bit of extra video interview footage, can be found on his site at www.kamalsaleem.com.

Sadly, we Americans have become quite ignorant, passive, and so tolerant that we have opened the door and allowed this stuff into our own backyard, with very little protest. The foot is in the door, now what will we do to slam the door on it? Education is the first step.

The Mind of Madness...

2009-10-01T20:51:00.007-04:00

Last week the family and I went on vacation down to visit family in North Carolina. This is about the fourth time my family has made the trip, but it was my first time finally being able to go with them. For one reason or another, I have never been able to go with them. Last year's trip was the first time that my family stayed in our timeshare during the trip, and they had a blast. I experienced the trip through the many photos and videos. The trip last year was the week of May 10-17, so this years trip was a bit later in the year. Maybe the date stands out to you, but probably not. Dates have become very much an "issue" for me lately, and seeing the photos from last year, dated that week in May, well, maybe it is just my twisted mind..

Since I had seen the many photos of the kids fishing last year, once we arrived and went fishing it all came to life to me. Unfortunately, one of the key photo subjects was not with us this time, and it was all that was on my mind as I relived the photo memories in person now. (Comparison photos from this years trip can/should be viewable to the public for a while by clicking HERE on my Facebook page.

Later in the week, we made the trip to the aquarium, which had also been visited by the family the year before. I again had experienced this previous visit through the photos and video clips. One of the first displays that hit me hard was the alligator. The kids again climbed on it, but all I could see when I looked, was Jonathan sitting there with his arm in the alligators mouth. Probably this, being added upon the already heightened emotional status of the prior events, made me noticeably somber for the aquarium trip (my wife assumed I was being grumpy because I am no real fan of such "nature" trips...lol).

Now, do not get me wrong. I did not mope around and cry the whole trip. We had a great time, and it was the first time that I can recall in many years (if ever) that we went on a vacation for any length of time where we really had nothing to do but relax. Unlike the 2007 trip to Disney where it was run, run, run, this trip was do what we want when we want, for the most part. We slept in almost every day (well, they slept in, I used the early morning time of peace and quiet to do some much desired reading...completing three previous started books). We fished, we swam, we shopped, we visited the in-laws, but nothing was on any specific time table. It was nice to get to spend such exclusive time with the kids, and I think we all had a good time.

We returned right before the weekend, so we had the weekend to recover before starting the new work week. Our church had a picnic Sunday after church. I ended up getting sick Saturday evening, so I was unable to attend church or the picnic that followed. I used this almost entire day alone, to rest and read. I did however, decide that this quiet time might be a good time to disassemble the photo board we made for the memorial service for my son Jonathan (pictured in a previous post). It had been folded up behind the couch ever since the memorial service ended, and we wanted to remove the photos to put them all into a dedicated photo album with other keep sakes and memorable pieces. I knew it was going to be a hard task, and I knew my wife would have a hard time with it, as she had often asked me to help her get it done.

So, I did it, but it wasn't pretty. I guess doing this, on the back of the already mentioned grievous vacation times just made matter worse. With each photo I removed, memory after memory of "better" times flooded my mind...and of course the tears flowed and flowed. (Yeah, I said it, I cried, but I AM a man...lol). One of the toughest ones was one with my mother holding Jonathan. My mother passed away in 2002, so seeing a photo of both of them, now being gone, just hit me pretty hard.

I made it through, and immediately jumped back into reading to get my mind off of it all. If not, being home alone, I would be really depressed and mope around even worse. My stinking melancholy temperament always attacks me when I get alone, and the littlest thing sets it off usually...not that it needed anything else this time.

The thing with dates, and this is where my madness is the strangest I guess, is that whenever I see a date prior to May 17th, it immediately screams at me of a time when I still had my son with me. At my office at work, I have iTunes installed on my computer, with a couple hundred songs that I play randomly through the day as I work. For those of you not familiar with iTunes, it has a column out beside each song, with stats, which includes one for the last time the song was played. Many times a day I look at the player to identify the artist or song/album titles that is playing, and I see that date. Any date prior to May 17th chokes me up for a moment and I immediately think "I last heard this song when Jonathan was still alive."

Likewise, when I see or hear dates anywhere else, a similar thing happens. I do not know if this is in anyway common, or something anyone else might experience. I can only compare to those around me, and this type of thing does not happen with my wife. Shoot, she barely remembers what day it is, has to think hard to remember her own age, and has no clue of when our anniversary is, or how many years we have been married. So, the date game is not an issue with her, to say the least (sorry honey for picking on you...I love you...lol).

Tuesday my family went back to the home school co-op school for classes, and Jonathan's art teacher met my wife in the hall, and turned over to us yet another batch of Jonathan's artwork from the previous school year. Add another memory moment to the already heightened memory meter for the week. oh, and the other odd thing, is that this same art teacher lost her husband...May 17th, 2008...one year to the date, prior to Jonathan's death, so that has always been a bit mind boggling. The date game drive me further into madness, but I guess it always will.

Well, I won't go on, I know some of you are probably tired of my constant grieving on here, and I understand. I just wanted to share and get this weeks story off my chest. I do hope to return to writing here more frequently, both on personal life matters, as well as further theological topics.

I have once again begun reading some of the more challenging topics, and have acquired a couple more titles dealing with topics previous discussed on prior blog postings. I am hoping to be more frequent in my blogging here, and I thank each and everyone of you who take the time to read the words of a simple madman like me.

Many of you read through links on Facebook, and leave comments on Facebook itself about my posts. I appreciate every comment, but would appreciate it even more if you would leave your comments right here, below, on the blog itself. That will preserve them linked to the article permanently, unlike how they disappear on Facebook.

Thank you

Today in History

2009-09-06T16:05:00.004-04:00

Eighteen years ago today, my life drastically changed. On 9/6/91 our first born child Jonathan was given to us by the grace of God, and we were parents at last. The past eighteen years were filled with the typical ups and downs of parenting, and our other five little blessings came along too.

As most everyone knows, my life drastically changed yet again on May 17th of this year when my first born "mysteriously" passed away. Life has not been the same, and it never will be, but we push on...day by day. Today would have been my son's 18th birthday...an achievement age in most everyone's life. We were truly blessed to have had him in our possession for the time we did, and though I miss him terribly each and every day, I occasionally try to smile, knowing he is no longer suffering the issues he had while on this earth. I long for the day when I will see him again in our Father's heavenly kingdom.

Happy birthday my dear son...I love you and miss you so very much.

You Woke Up in Heaven

2009-09-02T12:59:00.005-04:00

It has been three and a half months since my oldest son passed from this life. This coming Sunday, 9/6/09 would have been his 18th birthday. My cell phone gave me a startling buzz this morning when I put it on, alerting me, as it was set to do, that a birthday on my calendar was four short days away. It of course, brought immediate tears to my eyes.

It probably would not have been as bad had it not been for the previous series of dreams I had mere hours earlier.

I will say I am glad to have not been plagued all this time with sad dreams, as some have reported having. I have heard many stories of people who have had dreams of "closure" after losing loved ones. I had one such dream, within a week of his passing. It was very odd, but did provide a sort of closure.

However, last night, I had another, this one less dramatic. I was simply with Jonathan, and he was doing something on the computer. I just sat beside him, amazed to be back with him, and I kept just rubbing his foot and leg, glad to feel him physically again. I kept wishing we would stand up in the dream so I could wrap my arms around him and hug him again. I woke up weeping greatly, of course.

I soon went back to sleep, and found myself in another dream with Jonathan. This time we were standing, and I immediately wrapped myself around him and just held him close. Again, I woke up weeping, but somewhat happy for the experience.

Well, after last night, I was inspired to finish writing a poem/song that I had long ago started putting to paper. I got it to a place where it feels presentable, though maybe not 100% completed. I present it here in it's current form, just to basically "dump" it out of my system as a release. I have carried it around for weeks and weeks, so it is good to finally be able to release it somewhat. It is basically a recap of my last day with Jonathan:

You Woke Up in Heaven

The day was spent to get you well
You were so tired, I sure could tell
"How are you doing" I ask again
"You worry too much" you say and grin

I held you up for the exam
Just lean on me, until this ends
As we drove home you were so mad
Another issue it seems you had

Lay down your head and get some rest
Tomorrow morning you'll feel your best
But how was I supposed to know?
That off to heaven you would go

You woke up in heaven that morning
God took your hand and led you home
And though I'm sad and crying in pain
I'm sure happy for you all the same

Now I sit in pain and grief
My mind still swims in disbelief
I hear your voice, still see your face
And wish I too, could finish this race

I long to stand right by your side
To take your hand and be your guide
To teach you things you did not know
For now I'll wait down here below

You woke up in heaven that morning
God took your hand and led you home
And now dear God, please give me strength
To live my life, whatever it's length

Thank God

2009-08-11T07:26:00.000-04:00

I am beaten down
I am broken ground
I have lost my found
But I'm not done

I have everything
But I am nothing
Just a squirming bug
Under a rug

But I thank God for everything
Thank God for everything

There's a road ahead
We all end up dead
Some get there ahead
Some hang on

I will take a step
Then another step
'Cause I find it helps me
Not to stall

If I thank God for everything

Song lyrics from the song "Thank God" on the new solo album Balance by King's X guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor (tytabor.com); they really hit home with me when I heard them recently.