Lord's Day 22
57. Q. What comfort does the resurrection of the body offer you?
A. Not only shall my soul after this life immediately be taken up to Christ, my Head,[1] but also this my flesh, raised by the power of Christ, shall be reunited with my soul and made like Christ's glorious body.[2]
[1] Luke 16:22; 23:43; Phil. 1:21-23. [2] Job 19:25, 26; I Cor. 15:20, 42-46, 54; Phil. 3:21; I John 3:2.

58. Q. What comfort do you receive from the article about the life everlasting?
A. Since I now already feel in my heart the beginning of eternal joy, [1] I shall after this life possess perfect blessedness, such as no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived-- a blessedness in which to praise God forever.[2] [1] John 17:3; Rom. 14:17; II Cor. 5:2, 3. [2] John 17:24; I Cor. 2:9.

Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum, Come to the Cabaret.

If there were a musical refrain that typified life in the developed world and especially the United States during the last quarter century, this concept from the movie “Cabaret” would definitely qualify. From that movie comes the popular song, “Money” featuring the stars Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey and found on YouTube.

More interesting was that this 1972 film was set in the Weimar Republic of Germany in 1931, before the rise to power of the Nazis and Adolph Hitler. Remember that on August 15, 1971 President Nixon closed the gold window removing the convertibility of the dollar to gold and setting off the cheap monetary inflationary growth that brings us to today. That act eventually led to wage and price controls and the reality of the term known as stagflation.

The logic behind the move more than likely was the reality that you can’t fight an unpopular war and keep the folks happy at home at the same time. Whether that reality brought into today will prove a first step to fascism, I will let history, and current pundits of the far left, the far right, and libertarians to discuss, and sell their books.

What really did happen was that the growth of the money supply was removed from the direct reality of the real world and became popular tools for the manipulation of culture by politicians, central banks, and eventually market speculators. The term “There is no free lunch,” did not apply, and as it relates to the growth of money still has not found application.

In the “Money” video, we see at that time the song thought of money in the tangible sense, like coins. As time went on paper script replaced the coin of the realm, and eventually wheelbarrows were required to transport the paper to stores to buy basic necessities. Thank the god Mammon that we have evolved beyond that primitive reality. Now in the twenty-first century we can create money ex nihilo, just like the Creator of the universe created reality. The problem with this money however is that it really has no tangible basis in reality.

Even though money has no basis is in reality that does not mean that there is not a worldwide market for the stuff. Since President Obama revealed his historic economic stimulus plan the dollar has deflated against the Euro by about 11%. This is when news reports from Europe indicate that European economies are in their worst shape in the post war era. That should cause one to wonder if the US economy is that bad compared to Europe, or the positive reverse, or are speculators, both private market and governments, are manipulating the price of the dollar, as is currently the case again with crude oil, where still decreasing oil demand is met with higher prices.
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Tags: Cabaret, money, wealth, Mammon, Barack Obama, Jesus, cheap credit, free markets

As I was placing flowers on the graves of my mother and father last Friday at the cemetery just outside Wilbur, Washington, I was struck by the number of graves that had military inscriptions. Many of those began with designations such as, PVT WWI, or CPL WWII, SGT Korea, etc. Many of these men were not killed in action, but many lived twenty to fifty years beyond their military service, but chose in some way to memorialize in their death, their service to the United States of America.

Every grave stone in the Wilbur Cemetery that has an interned veteran as an adhered medallion that signifies their service, and many more, as such as my uncle Bob, have a more pronounced remembrance as part of their actual stone. Today and over the weekend, American flags fly above each and every one of those graves, as a Memorial to their actions, triumphs and lives.

As I stopped by my grandmothers grave, I recalled she always used the term Decoration Day. In that plot are buried my great grandparents on my grandfathers side, as well as my uncle Vernon who had a military funeral just about a year ago. A few miles further out in the country at Sherman are buried relatives on my grandmother’s side of the family. All in all you can trace births and deaths beginning before the Civil War and lives lived within about twenty miles dating back one hundred thirty years.

On my dad’s side of the family you would need to stop at Reardan on the way back to Spokane to see his family history, and to see his parents graves you would have to go to a large cemetery just outside Spokane.

The funny thing about life, as I now reflect on how rapidly it is passing, I consider that military service to also be a tremendous blessing. Any of these writings that deal with leadership stem from working within a company of reluctant volunteers on Viet Nam’s European Front. Rank came easy at that time but I just recalled after I was promoted to Captain, our Command Sergeant Major, coming to me privately and saying, “Welcome to the Officer Corp, Captain,” reflecting that even with his military success, that would be one honor he could never achieve.

When you look at America in the twenty-first century, that Memorial heritage does not seem that important anymore. Perhaps historically we shall see this is the greatest causative agent which has led to this time of economic uncertainty. The trivial pursuit of money, has caused us to neglect the important wealth, that which each human being begins this pilgrimage, and how much we tend to squander it for the trivial along the way.

An appropriate Memorial Day video: REVEILLE

Bugles Across America providing live buglers for every veterans funeral.

Lord's Day 21
54. Q. What do you believe concerning the holy catholic Christian church?
A. I believe that the Son of God,[1] out of the whole human race,[2] from the beginning of the world to its end,[3] gathers, defends, and preserves for Himself, [4] by His Spirit and Word,[5] in the unity of the true faith,[6] a church chosen to everlasting life.[7] And I believe that I am[8] and forever shall remain a living member of it.[9]
[1] John 10:11; Acts 20:28; Eph. 4:11-13; Col. 1:18. [2] Gen. 26:4; Rev. 5:9. [3] Is. 59:21; I Cor. 11:26. [4] Ps. 129:1-5; Matt. 16:18; John 10:28-30. [5] Rom. 1:16; 10:14-17; Eph. 5:26. [6] Acts 2:42-47; Eph. 4:1-6. [7] Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:3-14. [8] I John 3:14, 19-21. [9] Ps. 23:6; John 10:27, 28; I Cor. 1:4-9; I Pet. 1:3-5.

55. Q. What do you understand by the communion of saints?
A. First, that believers, all and everyone, as members of Christ have communion with Him and share in all His treasures and gifts.[1] Second, that everyone is duty-bound to use his gifts readily and cheerfully for the benefit and well-being of the other members.[2]
[1] Rom. 8:32; I Cor. 6:17; 12:4-7, 12, 13; I John 1:3. [2] Rom. 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:20-27; 13:1-7; Phil. 2:4-8.

56. Q. What do you believe concerning the forgiveness of sins?
A. I believe that God, because of Christ's satisfaction, will no more remember my sins,[1] nor my sinful nature, against which I have to struggle all my life,[2] but He will graciously grant me the righteousness of Christ, that I may never come into condemnation.[3]
[1] Ps. 103:3, 4, 10, 12; Mic. 7:18, 19; II Cor. 5:18-21; I John 1:7; 2:2. [2] Rom. 7:21-25. [3] John 3:17, 18; 5:24; Rom. 8:1, 2.

Washington State Fish and Wildlife Photo

Looking for a unique tour of the Eastern Washington channel scablands, either in person or via the internet? The Washington State Swanson Lake Wildlife Area is just that sort of place. The stated purpose of the area’s dedication is to provide habitat for the endangered Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, seen above. However plans also include the reintroduction of the sage grouse which is no longer indigenous.

The area also provides protection for over a twenty-thousand acres of Eastern Washington channel scablands in what is generally considered the Telford-Crab Creek ice age flood channel. This channel begins basically about twenty miles west of Spokane on US Highway 2, essentially at the town of Reardan and extends to the even smaller town of Creston, about forty miles further west. A few miles west of Reardan you ascend to some of the flood exempt loess farm land, which extent unbroken for about ten miles until you descend into Davenport. Leaving Davenport you again ascend up to the loess steppe and that continues until you enter the Telford channel east of Creston. This immense flood scoured across much of the Eastern Washington basalt plateau, as Crab Creek now enters the Columbia River below Wanapum Dam 163 miles downstream from the Reardan beginning.

The lakes and area near Reardan also provide some interesting watersheds. Just east of town surface water flows into the Deep Creek drainage which drains most of the country along the highway from the west-plains of Spokane to town, entering the Spokane River near Spokane proper. North of Reardan and over a low basalt rise you enter the Spring Creek drainage which enters the Spokane River between Long Lake and Little Falls Dams, and west of Reardan waters slowly head for the Columbia across some of the most diverse country in the nation.

Specific traveling directions are found on the Swanson Lake website linked above, as well as other interesting information to peruse before your visit. Other related channel scablands information begins with the USGS scablands site.

For the more adventurous, drive west of Spokane about an hour to Creston. On the west-side of town take a left at the grain elevators and just follow the road. The headquarters is about ten miles south. The Swanson Lake office is open weekdays 8-5 but, adds little to this experience. There is a parking area at the lake with a pit toilet and the surrounding sage-steppe ecology is worth some time to experience. The white residue on the lake shore is basically sodium bicarbonate, normal baking soda. Just as you get to Swanson Lake the road changes its name to the Seven Springs Dairy Road. Once you visit the lake if you continue following the road it will head south east and eventually east. Eventually you will descend into the Telford channel itself. There you will find the Telford Road. Turning left, it will eventually take you back to US 2 about 0.3 mile west of the Telford Rest Area which has real toilets and picnic tables. The whole loop, with stops at Swanson Lake and various picture points along the way took me about two hours to the rest area. Other than a few miles of pavement on the Swanson Lake Road heading south out of Creston, the rest is rural gravel, but until you get near the highway at Telford it sees little traffic. On this loop you will pretty much literally encompass the entire Swanson Lake preserve.

Please visit our photo tour of the loop which finally adds some substance to our Creation Media Tab, with the direct link here.

Tags: Eastern Washington, channel scablands, ice age floods, Swanson Lake, sharp tail grouse

Tags: torture, Inhanced interrogations

This week’s Chronicle begins our 11th year of somewhat consistent weekly publication. Through it all I have learned that there are many diverse indicators of wealth, the most important is the Biblical promise of eternal life, and earthly money being perhaps one of the least significant.

As we continue to muddle through a worldwide economic kerfuffle caused by a quarter of a century of cheap, or valueless monetary expansion, about the only other things we know for sure is that there is pretty much an exponential gain in kerfuffle pundits and pundit kerfuffles. This weekly Wonder Springs offering being one of the few exceptions, offering vignettes of true reality based upon direct observational natural science, mixed with gems of satire and humor, and not limited by energetic realities of an enterprise bottom line. That is because in this enterprise there is currently no bottom line.

In that illumination, last week we briefly suggested that American prosperity was not the result of the fruits of capitalism, or the appreciation of a benevolent government helping out the folks. Rather American prosperity is really the results of human best intentions, working out differently than the programs, and sometimes much better than the plans. That enlightenment clearly shows that America rose to power in spite of bungled best efforts of her citizens. In those old days we called it the grace of God. In this present era, the consequences of God, any god other than ourselves, is too frightening to consider. Hence we spin the present, in hopes that the future, will look like the past.

This week we will somewhat enlarge upon the synopsis offered last week, suggesting that what really happened in the United States, and which has not happened in any other country, is really a tension between private enterprise and government which has really created a symbiosis enhancing the results of the American experiment.

What caused the financial crisis in the United States and we exported to the rest of the world is really the breakdown of that tension, or entropy of that process. Instead beginning, not so much with the Reagan Revolution, but rather the insidious growth of the monetary base freed from natural prosperity, was the rise of classes of special rights – special interests. In other words cheap money allowed the enlightened, in some aspect, to take advantage of everyone else. Carried to its logical conclusion we lost and lose both the unique aspects of individual freedom and liberty, but also the cohesion of community, or civilization.
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Tags: Special Interests, Fox News, Bill OReilly, News Corporation, Rupert Murdoch, Barack Obama, New York City, cap and trade, consumerism

From the time I first heard about the global warming alarmist’s “Cap and Trade” energy taxing scheme, it then and still seems to me as one of the most bureaucratic inane proposals ever conceived in the minds of humans. Disregarding whether climate change global warming exists, there is no event in history where mankind has ever accomplished anything truly significantly positive as it relates to major environmental protection. Sure we have cleaned up some air and some waterways, which we fouled by our stupidity and greed. But for the most part we have turned a big blue and green planet into a blue and brown sphere.

Now from the conservative Heritage Foundation comes a report that puts some numbers on the economic cost of this ridiculous proposal. The report, “Son of Waxman-Markey: More Politics Makes for a More Costly Bill” outlines those economic costs to the citizens of the United States.

Tags: cap and trade, Heritage Foundation

Lord's Day 20
53. Q. What do you believe concerning the Holy Spirit?
A. First, He is, together with the Father and the Son, true and eternal God.[1] Second, He is also given to me,[2] to make me by true faith share in Christ and all His benefits,[3] to comfort me,[4] and to remain with me forever.[5]
[1] Gen. 1:1, 2; Matt. 28:19; Acts 5:3, 4; I Cor. 3:16. [2] I Cor. 6:19; II Cor. 1:21, 22; Gal. 4:6; Eph. 1:13. [3] Gal. 3:14; I Pet. 1:2. [4] John 15:26; Acts 9:31. [5] John 14:16, 17; I Pet. 4:14.

This week’s Chronicle completes our tenth year of somewhat consistent weekly publication. I suppose the question should be is that a milestone or a millstone?

Onward and upward has been America’s developmental slogan for pretty much all of our evolutionary history. But is that really true or has the increase in American power been pretty much in spite of our best intentions rather than the result? As Brute’ mentioned last Friday, we have worked and tried very hard to get something for nothing, in the end however it seems that we have sustained nothing of lasting value for all of our diligence.

This week we will look briefly at a number of American developmental schemes over history and see how they relate to where we are now and where we need to go forward. Then we will attempt to put President Obama’s present activist government enlargement within that scheme, to see that this may be the bungling bureaucratic bourgeois’ final attempt to continue the slouch toward entropy.

Right now in all the press you hear that we are on the threshold. Pretty much all of the mainstream media seems to think that we are on the brink of eternal bliss. Those of a more conservative bent have considered this the threshold, before socialism, fascism, and our loss of liberty and freedom. We are in the process of losing our capitalist system and the prosperity it provides.

As we proceed through this synopsis we will look at American capitalism to see if it really ever existed without government perks, and just how free are free markets or are they just bungled attempts of failed Machiavelli’s to become the prince of the moment. In the result of these manifest destiny offerings, Have we created a unified bungling bureaucratic bourgeois that encompasses both the so-called public and private sectors?

Before we begin, perhaps a definition of capitalism is in order. From the American Heritage Dictionary we find: An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.
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Tags: bungling bureaucratic bourgeois, capitalism, money, railroads, auto industry, electrical utilities, information technology, Barack Obama, green energy, infrastructure, health care, education

Lord's Day 19
50. Q. Why is it added, And sits at the right hand of God?
A. Christ ascended into heaven to manifest Himself there as Head of His Church,[1] through whom the Father governs all things.[2]
[1] Eph. 1:20-23; Col. 1:18. [2] Matt. 28:18; John 5:22, 23.

51. Q. How does the glory of Christ, our Head, benefit us?
A. First, by His Holy Spirit He pours out heavenly gifts upon us, His members.[1] Second, by His power He defends and preserves us against all enemies.[2]
[1] Acts 2:33; Eph. 4:7-12. [2] Ps. 2:9; 110:1, 2; John 10:27-30; Rev. 19:11-16.

52. Q. What comfort is it to you that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead?
A. In all my sorrow and persecution I lift up my head and eagerly await as judge from heaven the very same person who before has submitted Himself to the judgment of God for my sake, and has removed all the curse from me.[1] He will cast all His and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, but He will take me and all His chosen ones to Himself into heavenly joy and glory.[2]
[1] Luke 21:28; Rom. 8:22-25; Phil. 3:20,21; Tit. 2:13, 14. [2] Matt. 25:31-46; I Thess. 4:16, 17; II Thess. 1:6-10.

I am currently reading a biography on the life of J Harlen Bretz, who in the 1920s was the geologist that discovered that massive floods, completely beyond the scope of human understanding, determined the unique scabland topography of much of Eastern Washington State. Those floods were cause by the release of melt waters from glacial lakes, primarily Glacial Lake Missoula, resulting from the melting of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet during the geological Pleistocene era.

Bretz was able to come to this revolutionary conclusion, by an unusual process for geologists of his era; he spent time in the real field trying to make some sense of what he saw in nature. This was contrasted with the preponderance of geologists who spent their time doing geology in their government or university offices.

Two notes of importance relating to Bretz’s life and work as they relate to a biblical creation worldview. First Bretz was raised in a very legalistic Christian home, which interpreted all of life as moral requirements. Bretz did not see this legalism in nature and hence rejected his parent’s religious views.

Creation is filled with Natural Law as well as Common Grace, as such it establishes the reality of absolutes, but that absolute reality is beyond the scope of human moral capacity and hence either leads to atheism, as in the case of Bretz, or a search for specific grace beyond Christian legalism so prevalent in much of historical and contemporary American evangelicalism. That specific grace is found only in the gospel of Jesus Christ and his propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of humanity and his resurrection from death three days hence.

In the geological time scale these floods happened eight to ten thousand years ago. If that were true, the empirical question arises, “Where is the dirt?” As a general rule topsoil is believed to be created at a rate of about 0.01 inches per century. If that rule is anywhere close to reality then the scablands and the lands to the north under the glaciation should be covered with eight – to – ten inches of topsoil. In reality that depth is two to three inches, much more in line with a young earth and an ice age following a Genesis Flood.

Now as unenlightened as this young earth concept sounds, the Institute for Creation Research (icr.org) has found radioactive carbon fourteen in diamonds. This peer-reviewed research dates these diamonds at about forty thousand years, where as evolutionary geology dates diamonds as one of the earth’s oldest gems. Perhaps the earth age has more to do with your religious presuppositions than it does to natural observational science.

Bishop Ussher’s well-known “biblical” six thousand year creation account was created in the seventeenth century, long before the existence of and ice age with continental ice sheets were known to exist. In Ussher’s light, the Biblical Exodus would have to take place somewhat benignly in the Sinai while all of the temperate Northern Hemisphere was frozen in ice, raped by ravaging winds, and inundated by gargantuan floods. Rather than sticking to a literal six thousand year biblical chronology, creation science points specifically to an young earth history of thousands, rather than millions and billions of years, with a biblical ice age requiring a minimum of at least five hundred years, more likely a longer time period.
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Tags: J Harlen Bretz, geologists, uniformitarianism, economic ecology, Alan Greenspan, United States, real estate

Lord's Day 18
46. Q. What do you confess when you say, He ascended into heaven?
A. That Christ, before the eyes of His disciples, was taken up from the earth into heaven,[1] and that He is there for our benefit[2] until He comes again to judge the living and the dead.[3]
[1] Mark 16:19; Luke 24:50, 51; Acts 1:9-11. [2] Rom. 8:34; Heb. 4:14; 7:23-25; 9:24. [3] Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11.

47. Q. Is Christ, then, not with us until the end of the world, as He has promised us?[1]
A. Christ is true man and true God. With respect to His human nature He is no longer on earth,[2] but with respect to His divinity, majesty, grace, and Spirit He is never absent from us.[3]
[1] Matt. 28:20. [2] Matt. 26:11; John 16:28; 17:11; Acts 3:19-21; Heb. 8:4. [3] Matt. 28:18-20; John 14:16-19; 16:13.

48. Q. But are the two natures in Christ not separated from each other if His human nature is not present wherever His divinity is?
A. Not at all, for His divinity has no limits and is present everywhere.[1] So it must follow that His divinity is indeed beyond the human nature which He has taken on and nevertheless is within this human nature and remains personally united with it.[2]
[1] Jer. 23:23, 24; Acts 7:48, 49. [2] John 1:14; 3:13; Col. 2:9.

49. Q. How does Christ's ascension into heaven benefit us?
A. First, He is our Advocate in heaven before His Father.[1] Second, we have our flesh in heaven as a sure pledge that He, our Head, will also take us, His members, up to Himself.[2] Third, He sends us His Spirit as a counter-pledge,[3] by whose power we seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and not the things that are on earth.[4]
[1] Rom. 8:34; I John 2:1. [2] John 14:2; 17:24; Eph. 2:4-6. [3] John 14:16; Acts 2:33; II Cor. 1:21, 22; 5:5. [4] Col. 3:1-4.

Tags: May Day, evolution, God