Weekly Column
Why Me? Sheep to wolves
31/March/2010 12:14
Sheep: What a stupid animal, so nondescript we really don’t know if you are talking about a sheep, or a herd of sheep.
Wolf: A complex community forming wild dog that hunts with strength and cunning. Wolves form a community so socially complex that the pack has served as the survival model for indigenous people groups.
Left to our own wants and desires, we all evolve from a complex community of wolves into isolated, wayward, and lonely sheep.
We begin to wrap up this “Why Me?” series this week, moving from the historical context of what got us into this mess, to what we can do to move from our fears into a world in which our fears are suppressed, because of the vision of an external responsibility that in some unknown way, gives reason to all the chaos that surrounds our world.
When I was stationed in Germany during the rise of the environmental movement, without a television, I had time to read a lot of books. My educational training outside the military at that time was in secondary education and sciences. The focus of that training was in terrestrial ecology and chemistry.
Reading the environmental books that were then available I quickly became disillusioned with the whole process. Virtually all of the books began with the premise that the world was going to hell, time was of the essence that we do something about it, and then the writer appended a couple of simplistic chapters about their preliminary thoughts, that might lead to a change in the current direction.
What I have learned in the passing of time is that this type of bloviating is truly the American genre of communication, not only in writing, but also in speeches and preaching.
Did you know that before he began any speech Adolph Hitler would come to the stage, gaze into and through the crowd for two full minutes before he uttered a word? This was preceded by at least a half an hour of appropriate music to get the crowd ready for de fuehrer.
The question I have never bothered to research, did Hitler gain his speaking prowess by adapting the style of American revivalist preachers of the Second Great Awakening?
Read More...
Wolf: A complex community forming wild dog that hunts with strength and cunning. Wolves form a community so socially complex that the pack has served as the survival model for indigenous people groups.
Left to our own wants and desires, we all evolve from a complex community of wolves into isolated, wayward, and lonely sheep.
We begin to wrap up this “Why Me?” series this week, moving from the historical context of what got us into this mess, to what we can do to move from our fears into a world in which our fears are suppressed, because of the vision of an external responsibility that in some unknown way, gives reason to all the chaos that surrounds our world.
When I was stationed in Germany during the rise of the environmental movement, without a television, I had time to read a lot of books. My educational training outside the military at that time was in secondary education and sciences. The focus of that training was in terrestrial ecology and chemistry.
Reading the environmental books that were then available I quickly became disillusioned with the whole process. Virtually all of the books began with the premise that the world was going to hell, time was of the essence that we do something about it, and then the writer appended a couple of simplistic chapters about their preliminary thoughts, that might lead to a change in the current direction.
What I have learned in the passing of time is that this type of bloviating is truly the American genre of communication, not only in writing, but also in speeches and preaching.
Did you know that before he began any speech Adolph Hitler would come to the stage, gaze into and through the crowd for two full minutes before he uttered a word? This was preceded by at least a half an hour of appropriate music to get the crowd ready for de fuehrer.
The question I have never bothered to research, did Hitler gain his speaking prowess by adapting the style of American revivalist preachers of the Second Great Awakening?
Read More...
Why Me? A Hundred Year Bad Marriage
24/March/2010 10:50
So you think your marriage is great, that is wonderful!
If you think your marriage is awful and you want or need a divorce, sorry about that!
But the really sad thing is if you are married to another party for over a hundred years and then you find out that the troubles you have been experiencing for most of a century are rooted in a mutual codependency. You seemed to want the same thing but you never really understood why you were always arguing about virtually everything in life. It took a hundred years and you recently found out by reading this Wonder Springs article that you have totally incompatible religions. You always thought that you were progressing towards the same goal, and now after all this time you realize that you need to split the sheets.
The two twentieth century religions that are in the process of breaking up after all this time are evolving atheistic materialism and Christendom; better known as those who promoted a social gospel, Protestant liberalism, or in some extreme cases, social justice, and Liberation Theology. Those who were around at the beginning of the marriage believed that it was a marriage made in heaven. After all both parties in that early relationship were interested in creating a utopian city here on earth. A shining city on a hill to show the world how well Christians could get along with pagans and in turn everyone would turn their hearts to Jesus.
The problem that both participants in the marriage did not understand was the vision of creating heaven on earth is really the only religion of man for all of recorded history, with very few exceptions. If you take the Bible, not as a holy book, but rather just a brief synopsis of human history virtually every story is about someone intent on creating the kingdom of God in the here and now. A utopia is the goal, it really doesn’t make any difference on the means required to get there, if we all just work together there is nothing we can’t do. Read More...
Why Me? Priggish Blathering Compost
17/March/2010 13:40
We have reached the point in this expose´ of the self where history is about to catch up with the present. In that illumination we will soon be able to understand the context that makes us right, meaning correct, and everyone else is not so smart. We base our enlightened understanding on our evolving change we can believe in, never venturing outside our comfort zone, because that is our right, essentially because we are so very cool.
Last week we looked at how New England Calvinism pushed a number of new religious leaders out of the Calvinist box, and the changes they rent we still see among us today. Many Americans and people around the world, still find those rejected box outers to be our prophets and patron saints, even though we would never be so outwardly religious. Religion after all is really not something, we, the enlightened, need because it is so primitive and dare we say, priggish. Thanks to our lucky stars we will never be that way.
We work very hard for our money, even though it never really increases our wealth, and we never have the time to really question who we really are, or where we are going. Again thanks to our lucky stars, for if we had the time to reflect, we might not like the reflection.
However if you look at that out of the box history from two hundred years ago, today really isn’t that different. Just like back then all of life was and is about the present material. You go to church and for the most part they teach you how to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. They seem to talk about God, but no one seems to know God.
You go to the outdoor store and they show you all the neat stuff you need to bring with you when you go to the wilderness, so you can make it just like home. While the wild is somewhat free, the stuff you need to get you there and keep you comfortable surely isn’t. So you need your full time vocation to support your part time advocation.
Is this all there is? Those with the most toys are subservient to their idols’ wishes — no demands. So when you come right down to the nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts, the problems we face today is that we are both natural and transcendent personalities in a totally common or natural world.
Read More...
Last week we looked at how New England Calvinism pushed a number of new religious leaders out of the Calvinist box, and the changes they rent we still see among us today. Many Americans and people around the world, still find those rejected box outers to be our prophets and patron saints, even though we would never be so outwardly religious. Religion after all is really not something, we, the enlightened, need because it is so primitive and dare we say, priggish. Thanks to our lucky stars we will never be that way.
We work very hard for our money, even though it never really increases our wealth, and we never have the time to really question who we really are, or where we are going. Again thanks to our lucky stars, for if we had the time to reflect, we might not like the reflection.
However if you look at that out of the box history from two hundred years ago, today really isn’t that different. Just like back then all of life was and is about the present material. You go to church and for the most part they teach you how to be healthy, wealthy, and wise. They seem to talk about God, but no one seems to know God.
You go to the outdoor store and they show you all the neat stuff you need to bring with you when you go to the wilderness, so you can make it just like home. While the wild is somewhat free, the stuff you need to get you there and keep you comfortable surely isn’t. So you need your full time vocation to support your part time advocation.
Is this all there is? Those with the most toys are subservient to their idols’ wishes — no demands. So when you come right down to the nitty-gritty, nuts and bolts, the problems we face today is that we are both natural and transcendent personalities in a totally common or natural world.
Read More...
Why Me? Outside the box
10/March/2010 11:18
The United States and the world today are facing “Outside the Box” stresses. It has been a long time since the stupendous changes of economics and politics have not only forced people to look outside their comforts and securities for solutions, but also to examine the basic paradigms on which their perceived security is based.
In previous articles we have stated that in western culture about every five hundred years a major reboot of the way we do things occurs. This turmoil creates the fertile soil for new developments that redefine our individuality and communities in ways that were unknown before the plowing or tilling began.
Beginning with the absolute understanding that humanity is a creation of God, and was indeed a creation in the image of God, it logically follows that this five hundred year upheaval, forces us again to look beyond the temporal world and refocus upon the transcendent nature of common life. That understanding then brings about the incorporation of that transcendence into the religions of mankind.
While all religions including evolutionary materialism are exclusive in their worldviews, stresses develop that quickly become fault lines between the reformers and the establishments they are attempting to reform. Within Christianity the last time this occurred was in the Protestant Reformation.
That Reformation led to an era known as the Enlightenment where those new religious views received a more common application. At the time when the human development and religious fervor were properly understood within the broader culture, time was right for the miracle that became the American Revolution and the founding of the United States of America as a constitutional republic.
Notice all the “re” words that accompanied the changes from subjugation by divine right of kings into a worldview that valued individual liberty above all else. It then attempted to formulate a minimal governmental structure in which all humans would have the opportunity to pursue happiness, without class distinction. Read More...
In previous articles we have stated that in western culture about every five hundred years a major reboot of the way we do things occurs. This turmoil creates the fertile soil for new developments that redefine our individuality and communities in ways that were unknown before the plowing or tilling began.
Beginning with the absolute understanding that humanity is a creation of God, and was indeed a creation in the image of God, it logically follows that this five hundred year upheaval, forces us again to look beyond the temporal world and refocus upon the transcendent nature of common life. That understanding then brings about the incorporation of that transcendence into the religions of mankind.
While all religions including evolutionary materialism are exclusive in their worldviews, stresses develop that quickly become fault lines between the reformers and the establishments they are attempting to reform. Within Christianity the last time this occurred was in the Protestant Reformation.
That Reformation led to an era known as the Enlightenment where those new religious views received a more common application. At the time when the human development and religious fervor were properly understood within the broader culture, time was right for the miracle that became the American Revolution and the founding of the United States of America as a constitutional republic.
Notice all the “re” words that accompanied the changes from subjugation by divine right of kings into a worldview that valued individual liberty above all else. It then attempted to formulate a minimal governmental structure in which all humans would have the opportunity to pursue happiness, without class distinction. Read More...
Why Me? The American Miracle
03/March/2010 09:03
There is a historical interest article beginning to make its rounds this week delineating a comparison between the ship survivors on the Titanic and the Lusitania. Probably the most interesting in the free literature is the Discovery article, but for those with ten dollars to spare you can get the original from the National Academy of Sciences.
So far, we might conclude the ships of nation states around the world are economically in a potentially perilous position of sinking. From our leadership we hear that such a catastrophe is impossible. So too were the passengers on the Titanic until that pesky natural iceberg forever altered their reality. Then just three years later, no one on the Lusitania believed that a man caused disaster, the small German u-boat torpedo, could sink the ship in just 18 minutes.
The problem with political leadership is that they have a vested interest in projecting the past into a rosy future. If our ship had a hole in it, we have now by our own ingenuity and skills fixed the problem and we are again full speed ahead. Of course if some might ask the question, “Where are we going?” they are met with scorn and ridicule for being a conspiracy theorist, or a primitive common human, not highly evolved to understand the pleasures of a fantastic ocean voyage.
At Wonder Springs we speak a lot about the world being afloat on an ocean of non-energetic debt money. Just as in the “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” there is money, money everywhere, but none of it can you drink. Of course we are told that if we just have hope, someday a few drops of good money will trickle down to us, but just as with seawater, it is undrinkable and the salinity is such that it can’t be used to grow anything, or abstractly create wealth.
The original American Dream was not such an abstract voyage, because it looked that the ocean as a hazard to keep the passengers from reaching the Promised Land. When they reached the new world, they were determined not to repeat the mistakes they left behind. On the shores of North America, they struggled to overcome wildness, by relying on self sufficiency, hard work, and the providence of God. The only difference between the founding of the American Republic and today is, back then the frontier was physical, today it is more metaphysical or philosophical simply because we have focused entirely on the material without God.
Read More...
So far, we might conclude the ships of nation states around the world are economically in a potentially perilous position of sinking. From our leadership we hear that such a catastrophe is impossible. So too were the passengers on the Titanic until that pesky natural iceberg forever altered their reality. Then just three years later, no one on the Lusitania believed that a man caused disaster, the small German u-boat torpedo, could sink the ship in just 18 minutes.
The problem with political leadership is that they have a vested interest in projecting the past into a rosy future. If our ship had a hole in it, we have now by our own ingenuity and skills fixed the problem and we are again full speed ahead. Of course if some might ask the question, “Where are we going?” they are met with scorn and ridicule for being a conspiracy theorist, or a primitive common human, not highly evolved to understand the pleasures of a fantastic ocean voyage.
At Wonder Springs we speak a lot about the world being afloat on an ocean of non-energetic debt money. Just as in the “Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” there is money, money everywhere, but none of it can you drink. Of course we are told that if we just have hope, someday a few drops of good money will trickle down to us, but just as with seawater, it is undrinkable and the salinity is such that it can’t be used to grow anything, or abstractly create wealth.
The original American Dream was not such an abstract voyage, because it looked that the ocean as a hazard to keep the passengers from reaching the Promised Land. When they reached the new world, they were determined not to repeat the mistakes they left behind. On the shores of North America, they struggled to overcome wildness, by relying on self sufficiency, hard work, and the providence of God. The only difference between the founding of the American Republic and today is, back then the frontier was physical, today it is more metaphysical or philosophical simply because we have focused entirely on the material without God.
Read More...
Why Me? Integrity
24/February/2010 10:06
Today we continue our Novel – Novel tour through history into the sixteenth century and what is known in western culture as the Reformation. According to the current outline we are now half way through our “Why Me?” series and are continuing the theme established last week in which God reboots the Judeo-Christian culture about every five hundred years. Might one speculate if five hundred years to be the general length of any now extinct culture that may have prospered before its historic death?
Be that as it may, with the invention of the movable metal type printing press in 1440 by German Johannes Gutenberg, we now have for the first time in this series a written history of the continuing development of European culture in which books, pamphlets, and handbills can be widely distributed to a least the literate classes. This miraculous dissemination of information provided the technological and energetic basis for Martin Luther and other reformers to get their message out into the world.
So really what was that message?
That message essentially focused on the reality that the Roman Catholic Church had forfeited its integrity in matters concerning both the temporal and the eternal world. Today we see a similar lack of moral and ethical virtue in the general or common perceptions of people toward both formal religion and also atheistic materialism. Just as with the Reformation Roman church it is perceived that all leadership is focused on temporal wealth and power rather than on either the people themselves or their eternal destiny.
While the peasants and serfs of medieval Europe were much more concerned with daily survival, humans, being human, always require a belief that our daily struggles and aspirations will one day receive a personal reward. This concept can only come from our soul created in the image of God. Any attempt by any worldly power to corrupt that hope, desire, or pilgrimage will eventually loose the integrity it needs to continue to rule, reign, or even exist.
Read More...
Be that as it may, with the invention of the movable metal type printing press in 1440 by German Johannes Gutenberg, we now have for the first time in this series a written history of the continuing development of European culture in which books, pamphlets, and handbills can be widely distributed to a least the literate classes. This miraculous dissemination of information provided the technological and energetic basis for Martin Luther and other reformers to get their message out into the world.
So really what was that message?
That message essentially focused on the reality that the Roman Catholic Church had forfeited its integrity in matters concerning both the temporal and the eternal world. Today we see a similar lack of moral and ethical virtue in the general or common perceptions of people toward both formal religion and also atheistic materialism. Just as with the Reformation Roman church it is perceived that all leadership is focused on temporal wealth and power rather than on either the people themselves or their eternal destiny.
While the peasants and serfs of medieval Europe were much more concerned with daily survival, humans, being human, always require a belief that our daily struggles and aspirations will one day receive a personal reward. This concept can only come from our soul created in the image of God. Any attempt by any worldly power to corrupt that hope, desire, or pilgrimage will eventually loose the integrity it needs to continue to rule, reign, or even exist.
Read More...
Why Me? Stupendous Change
17/February/2010 08:11
Barack Obama ran for President of the United States promoting a vision of “Change We Can Believe In.” Much to the chagrin of many of the people who voted for him, the true meaning of that catchy phrase was, “Change He Can Believe In.” What Obama was able to tap into during his campaign, is that all humans seek change that they can believe in as one of the prime goals in their lives. The underlying paradigm of this change however, relies on the ability of me to understand what is happening and to control, or at least find the outcome sympathetic to my desires for happiness. For me to see anything to be really positive change of the first degree, it needs to be achieved without risk, pain, suffering, or just about anything I could define as negative or undesirable.
So many Americans, especially those who worked hard to find their security in traditional American values, are grossly disappointed in the reality that when the candidate Obama said change, he really meant that unsettling word, “CHANGE!”
Oh, the audacity of that strange change fellow! We asked for warm feely change, and would you believe it, he really wanted to deliver change that was bordering on what most people would consider stupendous change. This angst is especially true because they elected George W. Bush twice, and he could not deliver on those warm fuzzy desires either. In fact Bush tried so hard by the end of his second term he had basically crashed all of our retirement security, in the names of freedom and unsustainable spending.
“Oh Jesus, what are we to do?”
Of course to bring the words of Jesus into the lyrics of a somewhat contemporary country song: “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden!”
That brings us to our topic of stupendous change in this week’s article – history. We left off last week at the close of the Tower of Babel myth, which occurred sometime before we have verifiable historic records. By verifiable I mean two or more historical records that point to a very similar occurrence at a somewhat consistent time frame. That history goes back about four thousand years or on the Biblical timeline of what is now considered the Middle East, the time of Abraham or Abram.
Read More...
So many Americans, especially those who worked hard to find their security in traditional American values, are grossly disappointed in the reality that when the candidate Obama said change, he really meant that unsettling word, “CHANGE!”
Oh, the audacity of that strange change fellow! We asked for warm feely change, and would you believe it, he really wanted to deliver change that was bordering on what most people would consider stupendous change. This angst is especially true because they elected George W. Bush twice, and he could not deliver on those warm fuzzy desires either. In fact Bush tried so hard by the end of his second term he had basically crashed all of our retirement security, in the names of freedom and unsustainable spending.
“Oh Jesus, what are we to do?”
Of course to bring the words of Jesus into the lyrics of a somewhat contemporary country song: “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden!”
That brings us to our topic of stupendous change in this week’s article – history. We left off last week at the close of the Tower of Babel myth, which occurred sometime before we have verifiable historic records. By verifiable I mean two or more historical records that point to a very similar occurrence at a somewhat consistent time frame. That history goes back about four thousand years or on the Biblical timeline of what is now considered the Middle East, the time of Abraham or Abram.
Read More...
Why Me? The Babel Constant
10/February/2010 12:45
Volume 12, Issue 6
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Myth: a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, typically involving supernatural beings or events.
Following along different myth paths from either the creation of all life from God’s will or the evolution of some human out of the trees of Africa a few billion years ago, things are getting more interesting. Since time is of the essence however, we will let our readers do their own evolutionary trip but only make a comment.
Does it seem only a coincidence that these most ancient human ancestors are found in Africa, which today we still consider the most primitive place on earth, when it comes to just about anything. Actually it seems as the most logical place to look, considering that there are more monkeys in Africa than anyplace else. But that still doesn’t answer the fundamental question of the leap of faith in intelligence and that little thing such as language. That was just a minor evolutionary leap of faith from squeaks and screams to the iPad. No wonder we need a lot of time. Of course only in the twenty-first century would all this evolving technology seem like a true advancement rather than a waste of precious time.
So when we last left Adam and Eve, they were sinners in the Garden of Eden. The short synopsis of the events thereafter is that the Creator made clothing for the couple, therein creating a covenant of God’s grace, today, in its true essence, the most rare substance on earth.
Then God kicked the couple out of the Garden so that they would not become immortal. They had kids and more kids, and just like today their kids were more self-centered than their parents. Since we know little of those days we must assume that it had little to do with their music their lack of a work ethic. Those things after all take a long time to evolve, or just plain develop. Perhaps a rebel without a cause really is just an unconscious effort to become something new and unique from our parent’s influence?
These kids got so bad that the mean God decided to start over, so he had the dude named Noah to build an arc out of wood, with the help of his reluctant offspring. They got on the ship with two of each kind of animals and it started to rain. During that episode of a little over a month, the vapor canopy that made the earth an Eden, collapsed, waters also came out of the depths of the earth. That was some climate change you could believe in, except for the reality that unless you were on that little life raft, along with all other terrestrial life on earth, you became today’s motor fuel.
In the process of making all that crude oil, so as not to completely try the human experiment all over again, the bottoms of oceans rose rapidly, a lot of that mud ran back into the sea, leaving all sorts of amazing features such as grand canyons, graceful arches, natural features so amazing that it would need a whole section of North America to display the power of these miracles. So today we can even see this if we travel from sea level in the Gulf of Mexico up to say the volcano land of Yellowstone National Park, at about eight thousand feet. That is a real trip of just two thousand miles, with a few side excursions to see some of that truly miraculous scenery. Truthfully the only way you can believe that this happened over billions of years, is just to close off your mind entirely to the existence of God.
The existence of God, that is really what the Bible myth is all about; back to Noah after the flood. The whole human experiment began over again. The Bible says that his ship came to rest on Mount Ararat, which is the present country of Turkey. Some have said that the ship actually exists, buried in a glacier up on the mountain, but we would never really want to find out if it exists for real, for that would make all the evolutionary hocus pocus, be just that. So just to continue to go our own way without God, we will just continue to babel about how we are getting better and better all the time.
This brings us to human noise in the extreme, what the Bible calls the Tower of Babel experience. This occurred not all that long after the end of the Genesis Flood. All the kids the sons of Noah begat after flood settled down on the plains and decided that it was a great place to call home. Cities are like that, they have all that human culture, they are great places to life, and outside the city is really wilderness, with all types of scary things and weird creatures. If we spend too much time out in that forbidden land, who knows it might just scare the hell out of us. We really would not want that to happen, after all that is so – primitive, and we all need to stick together so that we can reinforce our the evolving goodness of elitism.
In the Biblical Tower of Babel myth we find, something we find so mystifying that we can’t at all understand what it meant. Why on God’s green earth would we want to speak different languages. God knows, even we Yanks can’t speak the Queen’s English, and English itself is so imprecise that just about anyone can make up a word and in our world, in a brief instance everyone around the world will know what we are talking about.
Since we used such a word, a short time ago, we will use the example of an iPad. As with all of recent Apple computer creations notice the “i” subservient to the technology, so as to show that owning an “iSomething” really is what makes “you – You.” This is of course marketing genius, but it is not unique in human history, because in the Tower of Babel Biblical discourse we find the “iTower” which is really in its cohesive community, “The WeTower.”
The really great thing about a uniform evolutionary history of millions and billions of years is it takes away our accountability and our responsibility for anything and everything that happens today, that most good people consider bad, for we know that evil really doesn’t exist, so we will call it by some more politically correct term or terms. If we call “terrorism” something like “man caused disasters” they will go away, or at least become part of the wild universe, where we are too scared to venture, for we the highly evolved, are scared to death of the unknown.
Just as in the whole Biblical creation account, we, created in the image of God, know that God used words as his informational construct for creating, building, and eventually recreating the world. Hence if we use words properly, we can create a new world order, out of the chaos of language. This assumes ultimately that our babel can become Babel. Of course this only works in a universe where God, if he exists at all, is here to do our bidding, so that we can create a world in our image, for the good of everyone else.
Let us digress for a moment. Much is said about the teleprompter use of the President of the United States. As a highly trained lawyer, he like no other leader in perhaps the world today, understands that words have meaning. Not only do words have meaning, the punctuation of the words, in the string of words we call sentences, which develop into paragraphs, which become articles, books and speeches, have meaning also. This view of reality was also reinforced in the church he attended for twenty years. The (black) liberation theology that was preached by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, is a process by which the use of words is used to elevate persons of color, to equality amongst all of God’s people.
What is lost in all human babel is that our words do not create anything at all they only reflect the reality of God’s creation, and if God did or doesn’t create that reality our words, are just words no matter the language we use, within the diversity of human language, but also within each language. We are not God and hence only God creates ex nihilo. Those ex nihilo creation words create Godly complex mathematical equations by which the world operates. Actually the math is really just a humanly created symbolic language used to describe natural laws, again that humans can only model they cannot even begin to understand except in truly spiritual or mythological means.
So back early in Genesis Chapter 11 we see the story of the Tower of Babel. In the Authorized, or King James Version it includes just 9 verses and a total of 235 words, with no paragraphs. Since this is the English language version of the Bible that the Apostle Paul used, we see that mixing up languages is no big deal to God. The major function of all this was to get people to move to other areas of the earth and develop a diversity of character more reflective of God himself, rather than mono-ethnic human desires. Through this whole language babel we learned not to trust one another, not because we humans really had changed at all, it was just that we always fear, not so much reality, but we have trouble expressing our fear in words, which is the basis for all of our world’s tribes and nations.
Now so the myth of a created universal history of thousands rather than millions and billions of years is presented in the Bible, a garden, a universal flood, and civilization growing again to a Tower of Babel forcing humans to migrate around the world, must make that babbling experiment not all that long ago and as a consequence something real in this world in which we live. Furthermore perhaps the complexity of the land itself in some miraculous, mysterious, or mythical way contributes to the creation of language and the formation of the cultures they maintain and we are working so diligently to eradicate, with so little success, but that is another mythical line.
When you look at the formation of the United States form of government, for the most part it still remains distinctly unique. Then when you realize that wealth of America came from the fertility of the land, the diversity of her immigrants, and the unity of her language, it illustrates really the grace of God that flows to those who attempt to live according not in accordance with God’s Law, but the power of God’s grace. The founding documents of the United States of America attempt to create a nation “under God.” That God is not pagan gods, Allah the god of Islam, the forces of the universe, or gods of human material fabrication.
Inalienable rights which the Founders sought to codify in words, succinctly the understanding that each human being is truly unique from one another, yet still uniquely unified in our humanity. That unity in diversity is the best description for the Christian Triune Godhead, that unity in diversity came forth in a Constitution that recognized that not all Christians, were Calvinists, some were Baptists. God only knows why but some of the Baptists were also Calvinists and some were not. Some thought it was acceptable to treat other humans as slaves, that struggle took on Civil War ramifications, but through it all the grace of God prevailed, and the United States of America became the most truly successful nation in human history, not because of anything other than the grace of God.
This current Great Recession, in this country and as it has been exported around the world is really the result of a bunch of babblers attempting to create another Tower of Babel in which we can live without God. It didn’t work back thousands of years ago, it won’t work today, but just as in that Mythical real Babel, the people at work to build this new Babylon, are unwilling to learn from the reality of this myth of history.
So to use an uncommon word from the ancient world to describe world in which we live and we Americans are the exporting leaders, through our spin of myths are the greatest sophists of history and currently seem to have no desire substantially change our way, no matter how stupid our babel becomes.
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Myth: a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, typically involving supernatural beings or events.
Following along different myth paths from either the creation of all life from God’s will or the evolution of some human out of the trees of Africa a few billion years ago, things are getting more interesting. Since time is of the essence however, we will let our readers do their own evolutionary trip but only make a comment.
Does it seem only a coincidence that these most ancient human ancestors are found in Africa, which today we still consider the most primitive place on earth, when it comes to just about anything. Actually it seems as the most logical place to look, considering that there are more monkeys in Africa than anyplace else. But that still doesn’t answer the fundamental question of the leap of faith in intelligence and that little thing such as language. That was just a minor evolutionary leap of faith from squeaks and screams to the iPad. No wonder we need a lot of time. Of course only in the twenty-first century would all this evolving technology seem like a true advancement rather than a waste of precious time.
So when we last left Adam and Eve, they were sinners in the Garden of Eden. The short synopsis of the events thereafter is that the Creator made clothing for the couple, therein creating a covenant of God’s grace, today, in its true essence, the most rare substance on earth.
Then God kicked the couple out of the Garden so that they would not become immortal. They had kids and more kids, and just like today their kids were more self-centered than their parents. Since we know little of those days we must assume that it had little to do with their music their lack of a work ethic. Those things after all take a long time to evolve, or just plain develop. Perhaps a rebel without a cause really is just an unconscious effort to become something new and unique from our parent’s influence?
These kids got so bad that the mean God decided to start over, so he had the dude named Noah to build an arc out of wood, with the help of his reluctant offspring. They got on the ship with two of each kind of animals and it started to rain. During that episode of a little over a month, the vapor canopy that made the earth an Eden, collapsed, waters also came out of the depths of the earth. That was some climate change you could believe in, except for the reality that unless you were on that little life raft, along with all other terrestrial life on earth, you became today’s motor fuel.
In the process of making all that crude oil, so as not to completely try the human experiment all over again, the bottoms of oceans rose rapidly, a lot of that mud ran back into the sea, leaving all sorts of amazing features such as grand canyons, graceful arches, natural features so amazing that it would need a whole section of North America to display the power of these miracles. So today we can even see this if we travel from sea level in the Gulf of Mexico up to say the volcano land of Yellowstone National Park, at about eight thousand feet. That is a real trip of just two thousand miles, with a few side excursions to see some of that truly miraculous scenery. Truthfully the only way you can believe that this happened over billions of years, is just to close off your mind entirely to the existence of God.
The existence of God, that is really what the Bible myth is all about; back to Noah after the flood. The whole human experiment began over again. The Bible says that his ship came to rest on Mount Ararat, which is the present country of Turkey. Some have said that the ship actually exists, buried in a glacier up on the mountain, but we would never really want to find out if it exists for real, for that would make all the evolutionary hocus pocus, be just that. So just to continue to go our own way without God, we will just continue to babel about how we are getting better and better all the time.
This brings us to human noise in the extreme, what the Bible calls the Tower of Babel experience. This occurred not all that long after the end of the Genesis Flood. All the kids the sons of Noah begat after flood settled down on the plains and decided that it was a great place to call home. Cities are like that, they have all that human culture, they are great places to life, and outside the city is really wilderness, with all types of scary things and weird creatures. If we spend too much time out in that forbidden land, who knows it might just scare the hell out of us. We really would not want that to happen, after all that is so – primitive, and we all need to stick together so that we can reinforce our the evolving goodness of elitism.
In the Biblical Tower of Babel myth we find, something we find so mystifying that we can’t at all understand what it meant. Why on God’s green earth would we want to speak different languages. God knows, even we Yanks can’t speak the Queen’s English, and English itself is so imprecise that just about anyone can make up a word and in our world, in a brief instance everyone around the world will know what we are talking about.
Since we used such a word, a short time ago, we will use the example of an iPad. As with all of recent Apple computer creations notice the “i” subservient to the technology, so as to show that owning an “iSomething” really is what makes “you – You.” This is of course marketing genius, but it is not unique in human history, because in the Tower of Babel Biblical discourse we find the “iTower” which is really in its cohesive community, “The WeTower.”
The really great thing about a uniform evolutionary history of millions and billions of years is it takes away our accountability and our responsibility for anything and everything that happens today, that most good people consider bad, for we know that evil really doesn’t exist, so we will call it by some more politically correct term or terms. If we call “terrorism” something like “man caused disasters” they will go away, or at least become part of the wild universe, where we are too scared to venture, for we the highly evolved, are scared to death of the unknown.
Just as in the whole Biblical creation account, we, created in the image of God, know that God used words as his informational construct for creating, building, and eventually recreating the world. Hence if we use words properly, we can create a new world order, out of the chaos of language. This assumes ultimately that our babel can become Babel. Of course this only works in a universe where God, if he exists at all, is here to do our bidding, so that we can create a world in our image, for the good of everyone else.
Let us digress for a moment. Much is said about the teleprompter use of the President of the United States. As a highly trained lawyer, he like no other leader in perhaps the world today, understands that words have meaning. Not only do words have meaning, the punctuation of the words, in the string of words we call sentences, which develop into paragraphs, which become articles, books and speeches, have meaning also. This view of reality was also reinforced in the church he attended for twenty years. The (black) liberation theology that was preached by the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, is a process by which the use of words is used to elevate persons of color, to equality amongst all of God’s people.
What is lost in all human babel is that our words do not create anything at all they only reflect the reality of God’s creation, and if God did or doesn’t create that reality our words, are just words no matter the language we use, within the diversity of human language, but also within each language. We are not God and hence only God creates ex nihilo. Those ex nihilo creation words create Godly complex mathematical equations by which the world operates. Actually the math is really just a humanly created symbolic language used to describe natural laws, again that humans can only model they cannot even begin to understand except in truly spiritual or mythological means.
So back early in Genesis Chapter 11 we see the story of the Tower of Babel. In the Authorized, or King James Version it includes just 9 verses and a total of 235 words, with no paragraphs. Since this is the English language version of the Bible that the Apostle Paul used, we see that mixing up languages is no big deal to God. The major function of all this was to get people to move to other areas of the earth and develop a diversity of character more reflective of God himself, rather than mono-ethnic human desires. Through this whole language babel we learned not to trust one another, not because we humans really had changed at all, it was just that we always fear, not so much reality, but we have trouble expressing our fear in words, which is the basis for all of our world’s tribes and nations.
Now so the myth of a created universal history of thousands rather than millions and billions of years is presented in the Bible, a garden, a universal flood, and civilization growing again to a Tower of Babel forcing humans to migrate around the world, must make that babbling experiment not all that long ago and as a consequence something real in this world in which we live. Furthermore perhaps the complexity of the land itself in some miraculous, mysterious, or mythical way contributes to the creation of language and the formation of the cultures they maintain and we are working so diligently to eradicate, with so little success, but that is another mythical line.
When you look at the formation of the United States form of government, for the most part it still remains distinctly unique. Then when you realize that wealth of America came from the fertility of the land, the diversity of her immigrants, and the unity of her language, it illustrates really the grace of God that flows to those who attempt to live according not in accordance with God’s Law, but the power of God’s grace. The founding documents of the United States of America attempt to create a nation “under God.” That God is not pagan gods, Allah the god of Islam, the forces of the universe, or gods of human material fabrication.
Inalienable rights which the Founders sought to codify in words, succinctly the understanding that each human being is truly unique from one another, yet still uniquely unified in our humanity. That unity in diversity is the best description for the Christian Triune Godhead, that unity in diversity came forth in a Constitution that recognized that not all Christians, were Calvinists, some were Baptists. God only knows why but some of the Baptists were also Calvinists and some were not. Some thought it was acceptable to treat other humans as slaves, that struggle took on Civil War ramifications, but through it all the grace of God prevailed, and the United States of America became the most truly successful nation in human history, not because of anything other than the grace of God.
This current Great Recession, in this country and as it has been exported around the world is really the result of a bunch of babblers attempting to create another Tower of Babel in which we can live without God. It didn’t work back thousands of years ago, it won’t work today, but just as in that Mythical real Babel, the people at work to build this new Babylon, are unwilling to learn from the reality of this myth of history.
So to use an uncommon word from the ancient world to describe world in which we live and we Americans are the exporting leaders, through our spin of myths are the greatest sophists of history and currently seem to have no desire substantially change our way, no matter how stupid our babel becomes.
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Why Me? Paradise Lost: Part 2
03/February/2010 07:18
Myth: a traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, typically involving supernatural beings or events.
Our human world builds its society based upon myths. Of course we have now redefined many of them in terms of the myth of science, for the most part to justify our philosophy or religion, many times both. Some of our myths are as old as human language; some are quite modern. To become a myth means that there is something believable about the story. The power of that appeal to truth, greatly contributes to the longevity of the myth.
Old myths in someway touch the deeper soul of humanity; their appeal is many times based upon an unspoken or unknown truth, perhaps even an absolute truth that transcends humanity and life itself. New myths do not stand that test of time as well, and if they lose their basic tenants through corruption and exaggeration, they cease to be myths, or even wise fairy tales.
The creation account in the Bible’s book of Genesis fits our definition of myth. The written record is attributed to Moses, but the oral tradition basically goes back to the creation of it all, and specifically through the development of a human society on earth from a couple we call Adam and Eve, created by God, in his image.
A modern myth is the demise of the earth and everything upon it via the mechanism of global warming caused by man induced greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, but not limited just to that form of hot air. Recent emails that report that the basic assumptions of the myth were manufactured to support a religious bias, have hurt the myth’s plausibility by many who were and are skeptical not only of the underlying truth of the myth, but also the integrity of the proponents.
Just this week, further skepticism has developed because the UN Global Warming comprehensive report was based on some of the science, not in peer reviewed literature, but a popular magazine and a master’s thesis. Furthermore the author of the UN report also authored a novel about the sexual exploits of a well known global warming expert’s exploits as he traveled the world promoting an agenda of?
This week we look at the old myth found in Genesis Chapter 2 and 3, on how sin entered into the human species. The basis of this myth is that all life, as well as all creation was created not by a god, but the God, who gave us a written testimony of his existence and his plan for an age in which we now live. We find that testimony in a Book we call the Bible. Read More...
Our human world builds its society based upon myths. Of course we have now redefined many of them in terms of the myth of science, for the most part to justify our philosophy or religion, many times both. Some of our myths are as old as human language; some are quite modern. To become a myth means that there is something believable about the story. The power of that appeal to truth, greatly contributes to the longevity of the myth.
Old myths in someway touch the deeper soul of humanity; their appeal is many times based upon an unspoken or unknown truth, perhaps even an absolute truth that transcends humanity and life itself. New myths do not stand that test of time as well, and if they lose their basic tenants through corruption and exaggeration, they cease to be myths, or even wise fairy tales.
The creation account in the Bible’s book of Genesis fits our definition of myth. The written record is attributed to Moses, but the oral tradition basically goes back to the creation of it all, and specifically through the development of a human society on earth from a couple we call Adam and Eve, created by God, in his image.
A modern myth is the demise of the earth and everything upon it via the mechanism of global warming caused by man induced greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide, but not limited just to that form of hot air. Recent emails that report that the basic assumptions of the myth were manufactured to support a religious bias, have hurt the myth’s plausibility by many who were and are skeptical not only of the underlying truth of the myth, but also the integrity of the proponents.
Just this week, further skepticism has developed because the UN Global Warming comprehensive report was based on some of the science, not in peer reviewed literature, but a popular magazine and a master’s thesis. Furthermore the author of the UN report also authored a novel about the sexual exploits of a well known global warming expert’s exploits as he traveled the world promoting an agenda of?
This week we look at the old myth found in Genesis Chapter 2 and 3, on how sin entered into the human species. The basis of this myth is that all life, as well as all creation was created not by a god, but the God, who gave us a written testimony of his existence and his plan for an age in which we now live. We find that testimony in a Book we call the Bible. Read More...
Why Me? Paradise Lost: Part 1
27/January/2010 11:37
At the close of my philosophy class at the end of my undergraduate college education, Mr. Gibbons stated essentially that your success in any philosophical argument that you may choose to pursue, really wasn’t due to the strengths or logic of your arguments, but rather the weakness of the position of others. This came as I spent the quarter discussing in written response to Mr. Gibbons questions, the role of language in our interpretation of reality, and a term paper on Philosophy and Science, with a conclusion that stated: Science is what my father uses to convince me to eat my peas and philosophy is what I use to state why I think (eating peas) is a bad idea, and “and” is the word that holds the whole thing together.
Of course none of these discussions dealt with the epistemology of sophisticated language itself and how it developed only in humans. To say that somehow it evolved from the grunts, howls, cries, and similar communications of less evolved animals, truly lacks any intellectual acumen. Furthermore that discussion would quickly require the reality of supernatural intelligence that never has been a prerequisite for what we call the modern university, which doesn’t deal with the real universe at all, and especially in the arts and humanities, mostly uncontested, ad hominem, personal bias about the universe.
We touched on those profound truths last week in our exegesis of the Genesis creation account. This week we continue along those lines looking at how sin entered the perfection of God’s creation and what that means to us today, a day and age when we think we have evolved to such a point that evil and sin no longer exist. That construction, again based not so much on the strength of the evolution argument, but rather a lack of anything looking like an argument from the other side in common life, or as Augustine defined the term, “City of God.”
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Of course none of these discussions dealt with the epistemology of sophisticated language itself and how it developed only in humans. To say that somehow it evolved from the grunts, howls, cries, and similar communications of less evolved animals, truly lacks any intellectual acumen. Furthermore that discussion would quickly require the reality of supernatural intelligence that never has been a prerequisite for what we call the modern university, which doesn’t deal with the real universe at all, and especially in the arts and humanities, mostly uncontested, ad hominem, personal bias about the universe.
We touched on those profound truths last week in our exegesis of the Genesis creation account. This week we continue along those lines looking at how sin entered the perfection of God’s creation and what that means to us today, a day and age when we think we have evolved to such a point that evil and sin no longer exist. That construction, again based not so much on the strength of the evolution argument, but rather a lack of anything looking like an argument from the other side in common life, or as Augustine defined the term, “City of God.”
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Why Me? In the beginning
20/January/2010 10:08
Psalm 8
O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
I shall assume that I am not alone when I consider the transcendence revealed in these words impossible to reconcile with the fact that so many say that this nature, this creation, all happened as the result of a freakish random event called the Big Bang some fourteen billion years ago. I don’t really see that calling it the Great Singularity really makes any change in that reality!
Of course, perhaps the result of my eccentric audacity, I also find it almost as difficult to believe that God began creating the heavens and the earth, as in the biblical creation account, on October 23, 4004 B. C., based on the Julian Calendar. This creation date was proposed by James Ussher in “The Annals of the Old Testament” published in 1650. The Protestant Ussher was Bishop of the Church of Ireland at this time and was hopeful that his chronology would help Irish Roman Catholics convert to the Protestant faith.
Furthermore I assume that both of these theories of creation stem from a basic but ignored truth. The sixteenth-century reformers, especially Martin Luther and John Calvin assumed that the minds of men were basically idol factories. This is verified first of all by empirical observation, but also in the Bible illumination of Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Calvin went so far as to compile a little pamphlet called the “Inventory of Relics” that listed all the divine antiquities of the established church. Whether that included just those of the Roman Catholic persuasion, or included also those of the Eastern Orthodox, I do not know. In any event, I would imagine the list was rather long and quite boring reading for twenty-first century tastes, but snippets are available on the Internet to get the general idea.
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O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens!
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!
I shall assume that I am not alone when I consider the transcendence revealed in these words impossible to reconcile with the fact that so many say that this nature, this creation, all happened as the result of a freakish random event called the Big Bang some fourteen billion years ago. I don’t really see that calling it the Great Singularity really makes any change in that reality!
Of course, perhaps the result of my eccentric audacity, I also find it almost as difficult to believe that God began creating the heavens and the earth, as in the biblical creation account, on October 23, 4004 B. C., based on the Julian Calendar. This creation date was proposed by James Ussher in “The Annals of the Old Testament” published in 1650. The Protestant Ussher was Bishop of the Church of Ireland at this time and was hopeful that his chronology would help Irish Roman Catholics convert to the Protestant faith.
Furthermore I assume that both of these theories of creation stem from a basic but ignored truth. The sixteenth-century reformers, especially Martin Luther and John Calvin assumed that the minds of men were basically idol factories. This is verified first of all by empirical observation, but also in the Bible illumination of Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
Calvin went so far as to compile a little pamphlet called the “Inventory of Relics” that listed all the divine antiquities of the established church. Whether that included just those of the Roman Catholic persuasion, or included also those of the Eastern Orthodox, I do not know. In any event, I would imagine the list was rather long and quite boring reading for twenty-first century tastes, but snippets are available on the Internet to get the general idea.
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Why Me? The novel - novel
13/January/2010 10:41
The novel – novel
Novel:
1. noun: a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism
2. adjective: new or unusual in an interesting way
Well if you reverse the position of novel two with novel one, you have the context of this current “Why Me?” undertaking. So this why me excursion will develop into a new, hopefully interesting way to describe a fictitious narrative, with some degree of realism, eventually the story line will relate to where we currently are, how we got here, and where we may be headed. Over these courses of course we will begin with the beginning, the beginning of it all, and move rapidly forward. Because of the genre, which herein is developed, we will do this in a linear fashion, which we will learn early on, may be in itself fictitious, in the grand scheme of the cosmos.
The idea for this exposé came from a book I purchased many years ago in the theological section of a used bookstore in Seattle. The story was written by a Lutheran pastor someplace in the eastern United States during the middle of the twentieth century. The scenario revolved around the historic figure of Martin Luther, given the heavenly assignment to return from eternity to check out what had happened to the church that bore his name, in the almost five hundred years since the Reformation. He was then to report back to God his findings and any recommendations to change the course of history. As I remember, the essence of that report, Luther found that Lutherans were basically majoring on things of minor importance, with a very minor emphasis on the specific historical truths of both the Reformation and Christianity.
In our current world where everything is all about me, all the time, in every circumstance, no matter the outcome, it logically follows; that in the good, we take credit as independent results of are ascending abilities. Anything that does not achieve the greatness that we hope, must be the fault of someone or something else. This failure also deserves greater distinction if we can blame it on other people as individuals.
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Novel:
1. noun: a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism
2. adjective: new or unusual in an interesting way
Well if you reverse the position of novel two with novel one, you have the context of this current “Why Me?” undertaking. So this why me excursion will develop into a new, hopefully interesting way to describe a fictitious narrative, with some degree of realism, eventually the story line will relate to where we currently are, how we got here, and where we may be headed. Over these courses of course we will begin with the beginning, the beginning of it all, and move rapidly forward. Because of the genre, which herein is developed, we will do this in a linear fashion, which we will learn early on, may be in itself fictitious, in the grand scheme of the cosmos.
The idea for this exposé came from a book I purchased many years ago in the theological section of a used bookstore in Seattle. The story was written by a Lutheran pastor someplace in the eastern United States during the middle of the twentieth century. The scenario revolved around the historic figure of Martin Luther, given the heavenly assignment to return from eternity to check out what had happened to the church that bore his name, in the almost five hundred years since the Reformation. He was then to report back to God his findings and any recommendations to change the course of history. As I remember, the essence of that report, Luther found that Lutherans were basically majoring on things of minor importance, with a very minor emphasis on the specific historical truths of both the Reformation and Christianity.
In our current world where everything is all about me, all the time, in every circumstance, no matter the outcome, it logically follows; that in the good, we take credit as independent results of are ascending abilities. Anything that does not achieve the greatness that we hope, must be the fault of someone or something else. This failure also deserves greater distinction if we can blame it on other people as individuals.
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Why Me?
06/January/2010 11:18
Why Me?
At the Wonder Springs Chronicle we often begin the year with a topical series that seems to be relevant to current or pending affairs. For example in 2007 we began the year with a thirteen part series on Stupendous Change, which was followed with a six part series on Business Ecology. Later we closed out that year beginning a fourteen part series on Symbiotic Economics, which continued into 2008 with twelve more episodes. In 2006 we began with seven Theses and 2005 began with an eighteen part series on Métis Economics.
This year, in the midst of world stupendous economic change, we begin a “Why Me?” series that seems to be most relevant to many people not only in the United States but also around the world.
In common or secular terms, men and women, young and old, are beginning to understand that your life is much more complex than the animals. Just plain existence is not all there is to life, in fact just existence, and we are now learning, material consumption, really don’t offer all that much, especially when unsustainable consumption of things has been hyped as the reason for living and the only key to happiness.
So probably the first question in the quest for “Why Me?” begins with another question, “What is now happening in the world?” or in the terms of the old beer commercial, “What’s up?
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At the Wonder Springs Chronicle we often begin the year with a topical series that seems to be relevant to current or pending affairs. For example in 2007 we began the year with a thirteen part series on Stupendous Change, which was followed with a six part series on Business Ecology. Later we closed out that year beginning a fourteen part series on Symbiotic Economics, which continued into 2008 with twelve more episodes. In 2006 we began with seven Theses and 2005 began with an eighteen part series on Métis Economics.
This year, in the midst of world stupendous economic change, we begin a “Why Me?” series that seems to be most relevant to many people not only in the United States but also around the world.
In common or secular terms, men and women, young and old, are beginning to understand that your life is much more complex than the animals. Just plain existence is not all there is to life, in fact just existence, and we are now learning, material consumption, really don’t offer all that much, especially when unsustainable consumption of things has been hyped as the reason for living and the only key to happiness.
So probably the first question in the quest for “Why Me?” begins with another question, “What is now happening in the world?” or in the terms of the old beer commercial, “What’s up?
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The Forgotten Humans
30/December/2009 11:17
Well fellow humans 2009 really was quite a year. As we are continually being reminded by the political spin-doctors, when we entered the year, total financial catastrophe was just a needed bailout away, and now things are much, much better and all would be surely wonderful, except for the fact that they, the real politicians, inherited such a pending disaster.
Humpty Dumpty didn’t fall off the financial wall – yet, but Humpty does seem to look sort of like a handsome bald headed guy with a beard (Ben Bernacke), and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men look strangely like Goldman Sachs investment bankers; just like good old Humpty himself. So lacking a similar event in American history we should give them credit for keeping the wall from collapsing completely. There are still some questions yet to be answered, mostly around the fact that the wall, in its present condition, is completely unsustainable and would we be much better off in the long run, to build a new wall and let the old one crumble into history?
As I was thinking about a title for this final episode in 2009, things are still not that different than the Great Depression. Leaving financial and employment considerations out of the argument, the title of Amity Shlaes’ book “The Forgotten Man” still seems to fit very well. The problem for the twenty-first century however is that the title is so politically incorrect. “The Forgotten Man and Woman” really doesn’t have a good ring to it. So we are pretty much stuck with “The Forgotten Humans.”
That title also fits well with the prime religion of today, evolving atheistic humanism. The Forgotten, by whatever handle, are no longer created in the image of God, but rather consumption machines of a global plan to bring a fictitious heaven to earth. Probably a better with it, term is Utopia, but many are beginning to call it socialism, or communism. Those many however are just troublemakers who don’t understand their place as evolving animals that the more highly evolved will use to fix all the unnatural things of the world. Of course the evolved elite really wants nothing to do with real nature and reality, because that wildness is really a scary place that doesn’t accept their elitist credentials and treats them as not superior to other animals and even lowly plants.
As this year comes to an end it is becoming apparent that some changes are in the offering, for things are beginning to get complex as we move forward in time. Today we hear in the United States, talk about our Founding Fathers and the U S Constitution. That was just an impossible dream just a year ago. Those Forgotten Humans are realizing that they are just not bred to be consuming stuffers, but they are real men and women, with families and hopes and aspirations beyond making a million dollars over a lifetime, by doing a boring job, so you could retire undefeated. Of course much of that awaking was driven by the reality that many of those prosperous investments have disappeared along with the job. If it didn’t happen to you, it is happening to those you once considered your friends.
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Humpty Dumpty didn’t fall off the financial wall – yet, but Humpty does seem to look sort of like a handsome bald headed guy with a beard (Ben Bernacke), and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men look strangely like Goldman Sachs investment bankers; just like good old Humpty himself. So lacking a similar event in American history we should give them credit for keeping the wall from collapsing completely. There are still some questions yet to be answered, mostly around the fact that the wall, in its present condition, is completely unsustainable and would we be much better off in the long run, to build a new wall and let the old one crumble into history?
As I was thinking about a title for this final episode in 2009, things are still not that different than the Great Depression. Leaving financial and employment considerations out of the argument, the title of Amity Shlaes’ book “The Forgotten Man” still seems to fit very well. The problem for the twenty-first century however is that the title is so politically incorrect. “The Forgotten Man and Woman” really doesn’t have a good ring to it. So we are pretty much stuck with “The Forgotten Humans.”
That title also fits well with the prime religion of today, evolving atheistic humanism. The Forgotten, by whatever handle, are no longer created in the image of God, but rather consumption machines of a global plan to bring a fictitious heaven to earth. Probably a better with it, term is Utopia, but many are beginning to call it socialism, or communism. Those many however are just troublemakers who don’t understand their place as evolving animals that the more highly evolved will use to fix all the unnatural things of the world. Of course the evolved elite really wants nothing to do with real nature and reality, because that wildness is really a scary place that doesn’t accept their elitist credentials and treats them as not superior to other animals and even lowly plants.
As this year comes to an end it is becoming apparent that some changes are in the offering, for things are beginning to get complex as we move forward in time. Today we hear in the United States, talk about our Founding Fathers and the U S Constitution. That was just an impossible dream just a year ago. Those Forgotten Humans are realizing that they are just not bred to be consuming stuffers, but they are real men and women, with families and hopes and aspirations beyond making a million dollars over a lifetime, by doing a boring job, so you could retire undefeated. Of course much of that awaking was driven by the reality that many of those prosperous investments have disappeared along with the job. If it didn’t happen to you, it is happening to those you once considered your friends.
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Mary did you know?
23/December/2009 07:06
Mary, did you know?
A couple of weeks ago in the post, “God if you are real?” we dealt with how God answers our doubts about His existence by bringing people and situations into our lives to answer that question. This week we will take on that testimony that is later offered by these God questioners to the people who contributed so much to establishing God’s present reality. This begins, “Did you know the situation I was in?”
In that illumination, as with Genevon’s return to our group Christmas party, it was a good thing that I was sitting in a big overstuffed supporting chair, because I had no idea that there was anything wrong with her, when our church group called on her that long past Monday night as she was seriously planning on taking her own life.
As we continue to understand the realness to trust God for our provisions, those life or death situations no longer just begin, but become part of a much broader narrative in which we understand the faithfulness of God, not only as he provides for our needs, but also adds to that an abundance of blessings and gifts that mean more to us than we can at this time fully understand or articulate. Many times that blessing comes from someone we will probably never meet in this life, or if that happening does occur, one of the first questions we will ask is, “Did you know?”
We know the words to the hymn Amazing Grace. The last verse begins, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years,” I believe that much of that time will be spent, meeting those who have blessed our lives and asking them, “Did you know?” Once they learn about our knowing, we will meet some of their “Did you know friends, and so on, and so on.” Truly a gift that keeps on giving, because the wonder of the gift of God’s grace, can only be truly received if we attempt to continually give it away.
The Bible puts this in context in Ephesians 3:20,21: Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Read More...
A couple of weeks ago in the post, “God if you are real?” we dealt with how God answers our doubts about His existence by bringing people and situations into our lives to answer that question. This week we will take on that testimony that is later offered by these God questioners to the people who contributed so much to establishing God’s present reality. This begins, “Did you know the situation I was in?”
In that illumination, as with Genevon’s return to our group Christmas party, it was a good thing that I was sitting in a big overstuffed supporting chair, because I had no idea that there was anything wrong with her, when our church group called on her that long past Monday night as she was seriously planning on taking her own life.
As we continue to understand the realness to trust God for our provisions, those life or death situations no longer just begin, but become part of a much broader narrative in which we understand the faithfulness of God, not only as he provides for our needs, but also adds to that an abundance of blessings and gifts that mean more to us than we can at this time fully understand or articulate. Many times that blessing comes from someone we will probably never meet in this life, or if that happening does occur, one of the first questions we will ask is, “Did you know?”
We know the words to the hymn Amazing Grace. The last verse begins, “When we’ve been there ten thousand years,” I believe that much of that time will be spent, meeting those who have blessed our lives and asking them, “Did you know?” Once they learn about our knowing, we will meet some of their “Did you know friends, and so on, and so on.” Truly a gift that keeps on giving, because the wonder of the gift of God’s grace, can only be truly received if we attempt to continually give it away.
The Bible puts this in context in Ephesians 3:20,21: Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.
Read More...
Humpty Dumpty in a new century
16/December/2009 11:00
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
We move from our fairy tale “A Christmas Hunt” between Teddy Roosevelt and Al Gore in our Monday post to a real for goodness sake nursery rhyme. Those people of the English language persuasion all learned this short stanza as young children. According to the Internet it has been with us over two centuries. Humpty Dumpty has been used in various times and places to make a point about society, but really has been pretty much accepted in its monarchial reality. For most of this history it has been assumed that Humpty Dumpty was an egg that would surely break if he/it fell off a wall, and the wall was – just a wall.
No matter how you spin the rhyme, there are dire consequences when something or someone falls off a wall. In the case of Humpty Dumpty the result of his fall was death. In the news of the world today there are a number of spins on the current state of Humpty Dumpty as it relates to current or pending realities. This is especially true in the United States, where a lot of people have too much time to analyze the past, report on the present, and prognosticate about the future. To name a few:
Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall during the presidency of George W. Bush.
President Obama is well on the way of putting Humpty Dumpy back together again.
President Obama attempted to take away the freedom of Humpty Dumpty to sit on his wall, he built through hard work and freedom and this resulted in Humpty’s death. This is definitely a Federal government attempt to acquire the Dumpty Wall for some sort of redistribution of wealth scheme.
What is never questioned in any of the above scenarios is that Humpty Dumpty reality exists today in what we would call a totally secular world or worldview.
As we pointed out in last week’s post asking, “God if you are real?” could that God reality change our and Humpty Dumpty’s worldview? In this respect Humpty Dumpty would only ask that question after he fell off the wall. But it also follows that if “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put Humpty Dumpty together again,” then is the future hopeless for Humpty Dumpty, if he must rely only on a natural king; rather than the King of kings?
Of course the answers to the God question above echo pretty much the same theme, “Humpty Dumpty, the future is great if you don’t lie there in pieces, put your life together.”
Read More...
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.
We move from our fairy tale “A Christmas Hunt” between Teddy Roosevelt and Al Gore in our Monday post to a real for goodness sake nursery rhyme. Those people of the English language persuasion all learned this short stanza as young children. According to the Internet it has been with us over two centuries. Humpty Dumpty has been used in various times and places to make a point about society, but really has been pretty much accepted in its monarchial reality. For most of this history it has been assumed that Humpty Dumpty was an egg that would surely break if he/it fell off a wall, and the wall was – just a wall.
No matter how you spin the rhyme, there are dire consequences when something or someone falls off a wall. In the case of Humpty Dumpty the result of his fall was death. In the news of the world today there are a number of spins on the current state of Humpty Dumpty as it relates to current or pending realities. This is especially true in the United States, where a lot of people have too much time to analyze the past, report on the present, and prognosticate about the future. To name a few:
Humpty Dumpty fell off the wall during the presidency of George W. Bush.
President Obama is well on the way of putting Humpty Dumpy back together again.
President Obama attempted to take away the freedom of Humpty Dumpty to sit on his wall, he built through hard work and freedom and this resulted in Humpty’s death. This is definitely a Federal government attempt to acquire the Dumpty Wall for some sort of redistribution of wealth scheme.
What is never questioned in any of the above scenarios is that Humpty Dumpty reality exists today in what we would call a totally secular world or worldview.
As we pointed out in last week’s post asking, “God if you are real?” could that God reality change our and Humpty Dumpty’s worldview? In this respect Humpty Dumpty would only ask that question after he fell off the wall. But it also follows that if “all the king’s horses and all the king’s men can’t put Humpty Dumpty together again,” then is the future hopeless for Humpty Dumpty, if he must rely only on a natural king; rather than the King of kings?
Of course the answers to the God question above echo pretty much the same theme, “Humpty Dumpty, the future is great if you don’t lie there in pieces, put your life together.”
Read More...
God, are you real?
09/December/2009 08:04
“God if you are real? ? ?”
This is probably the most common question formulated by people in all sorts of difficult situations, from all sorts of backgrounds, from almost everywhere on earth.
Many times this inquiry is veiled in the bait and switch concept of if – then. Such as the famous, “God if you save me from this storm then I will go into the monastery and become a monk.” Without such a God induced provocation Martin Luther may have ended up as a lawyer, or even a simple coal miner.
Many times the situation appears so difficult that the “and then” is not required. This is probably a wiser course of action, at least from the theological point of view. It does seem more than vain however, if you are about to meet your Maker to try to set up a paradigm in which your bargaining with God will somehow stop the storm.
It is also very interesting that in true survival situations, all the survivors of the situation share one common attribute, regardless of social position, wealth, religion, or other criteria. That common hallmark of all survivors is that they prayed.
Read More...
This is probably the most common question formulated by people in all sorts of difficult situations, from all sorts of backgrounds, from almost everywhere on earth.
Many times this inquiry is veiled in the bait and switch concept of if – then. Such as the famous, “God if you save me from this storm then I will go into the monastery and become a monk.” Without such a God induced provocation Martin Luther may have ended up as a lawyer, or even a simple coal miner.
Many times the situation appears so difficult that the “and then” is not required. This is probably a wiser course of action, at least from the theological point of view. It does seem more than vain however, if you are about to meet your Maker to try to set up a paradigm in which your bargaining with God will somehow stop the storm.
It is also very interesting that in true survival situations, all the survivors of the situation share one common attribute, regardless of social position, wealth, religion, or other criteria. That common hallmark of all survivors is that they prayed.
Read More...
Specialization classes
02/December/2009 08:47
On Tuesday evening President Barack Obama presented to the American people and the world at large his war plan for Afghanistan. Those thirty thousand extra troops will give ammunition to pundits everywhere to analyze whether that glass is half empty or half full. Little commentary will focus on the reality that in this analogy it is half a glass. The major question that speeches don’t cover is how you fill up the glass or empty the glass as time goes on. That is also dependent on whether there is a hole in the bucket, dear Jacob. Fixing the bucket will prove more costly and time consuming than the President and his supporters and adversaries are willing to admit. This is especially perplexing when the option of getting a new bucket is quite impossible.
Spun in more historic terms, is the Afghan War really an attempt at colonization focused upon a people who don’t believe in colonization and don’t particularly want to play the game? What is really at stake is a global conflict basically between Twenty-First century western culture struggling against medieval Islamic adherents. This is not a new war, but we think there are enlightened ways to provide a simple solution for Western Culture to triumph over the bad jihadists. Lots of luck fellows!
In reality if it was not for the victory at the Battle of Tours in 732 and in the Siege of Vienna in 1529 the whole world would be followers of Mohammed. This of course leaves out the Grace of God, as outlined in the Bible of Christians and Jews, as Almighty God. As the Almighty he rules over and controls human destiny. Since Western Culture truly no longer believes in God the words of that Biblical icon Solomon is in order, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” Put is more twenty-first century jargon, Lots of luck fellows! A little history lesson of what followed the Battle of Vienna in 1683 might give some global historic perspective.
Of course twenty-first century Islam is not as overtly organized as medieval Islam. Covertly it seems just as successful especially in that old adversary Western Europe. The radical jihadists while well funded must exercise what command and control they have from the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However little command and control is required for attacks such has the recent guerilla attack at Ft. Hood, Texas by Army Major Hasan.
In the last week the threat of further sanctions really had no effect upon Iran. So they are going to install fifty thousand more centrifuges to enrich their only domestic energy needs and alternatives. The Iranian options there have even more salient consequences, none of them easy, none of them cheap, none of them without broad ranging ramifications.
Read More...
Spun in more historic terms, is the Afghan War really an attempt at colonization focused upon a people who don’t believe in colonization and don’t particularly want to play the game? What is really at stake is a global conflict basically between Twenty-First century western culture struggling against medieval Islamic adherents. This is not a new war, but we think there are enlightened ways to provide a simple solution for Western Culture to triumph over the bad jihadists. Lots of luck fellows!
In reality if it was not for the victory at the Battle of Tours in 732 and in the Siege of Vienna in 1529 the whole world would be followers of Mohammed. This of course leaves out the Grace of God, as outlined in the Bible of Christians and Jews, as Almighty God. As the Almighty he rules over and controls human destiny. Since Western Culture truly no longer believes in God the words of that Biblical icon Solomon is in order, “Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.” Put is more twenty-first century jargon, Lots of luck fellows! A little history lesson of what followed the Battle of Vienna in 1683 might give some global historic perspective.
Of course twenty-first century Islam is not as overtly organized as medieval Islam. Covertly it seems just as successful especially in that old adversary Western Europe. The radical jihadists while well funded must exercise what command and control they have from the remote areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. However little command and control is required for attacks such has the recent guerilla attack at Ft. Hood, Texas by Army Major Hasan.
In the last week the threat of further sanctions really had no effect upon Iran. So they are going to install fifty thousand more centrifuges to enrich their only domestic energy needs and alternatives. The Iranian options there have even more salient consequences, none of them easy, none of them cheap, none of them without broad ranging ramifications.
Read More...
The Failure of Success
25/November/2009 11:38
As I reflect on this last year I am thankful at a vast and rapidly increasing number of Americans have learned the reality of the failure of success. It is sad that this new knowledge has come, as broad cross sections of society don’t have a clue of what this means. So how about a few examples.
Healthcare reform as it is now spun is the most apparent case in point. We will do nothing to increase the real healthcare infrastructure. By that I mean no new hospitals, no more doctors and nurses and tangible things like that. Then we are going to insure at least ten percent more people, and save money in the process. Furthermore the federal government is going to provide a cost effective alternative to the greedy insurance companies that are the only crooks in the house.
While we are at it, we are going to save western culture from the onslaught of foreign and domestic Islamic terrorists. But the politically correct definition of this is no longer termed a war, but human induced catastrophes, or something like that. However this salvation can be done by fighting a decade of wars, halfway around the world, with soldiers who thought they were serving their country, but are now legally committed to see these excursions to the end. This while their fellow Americans think of sacrifice as only being able to turn in one perfectly good vehicle in “cash for clunkers.”
But is it too much to ask if you are going to make Afghanistan the hallmark of your war prowess, perhaps early January after your inauguration would be a good time to start a timely review of theater strategies. Then when you get a recommendation from your commander on the ground you can either tell him you support him, he should retire, or these are the tactics you have determined as the best course of action for the United States.
Starting these deliberations once you get a command recommendation and then dithering about a decision for months until early December is absolutely unprecedented in American history. Any statement to the effect of saying that other things were more important than providing safety for American combat forces is completely indefensible and totally dumbfounding. Sadly, I am at a loss for harsher words.
Read More...
Healthcare reform as it is now spun is the most apparent case in point. We will do nothing to increase the real healthcare infrastructure. By that I mean no new hospitals, no more doctors and nurses and tangible things like that. Then we are going to insure at least ten percent more people, and save money in the process. Furthermore the federal government is going to provide a cost effective alternative to the greedy insurance companies that are the only crooks in the house.
While we are at it, we are going to save western culture from the onslaught of foreign and domestic Islamic terrorists. But the politically correct definition of this is no longer termed a war, but human induced catastrophes, or something like that. However this salvation can be done by fighting a decade of wars, halfway around the world, with soldiers who thought they were serving their country, but are now legally committed to see these excursions to the end. This while their fellow Americans think of sacrifice as only being able to turn in one perfectly good vehicle in “cash for clunkers.”
But is it too much to ask if you are going to make Afghanistan the hallmark of your war prowess, perhaps early January after your inauguration would be a good time to start a timely review of theater strategies. Then when you get a recommendation from your commander on the ground you can either tell him you support him, he should retire, or these are the tactics you have determined as the best course of action for the United States.
Starting these deliberations once you get a command recommendation and then dithering about a decision for months until early December is absolutely unprecedented in American history. Any statement to the effect of saying that other things were more important than providing safety for American combat forces is completely indefensible and totally dumbfounding. Sadly, I am at a loss for harsher words.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 10: None Dare Call It Treason
18/November/2009 12:41
After I finished Part 9, of this series a couple of weeks ago, I thought I was pretty much through with the concept of Traditional Historic American Values, at least in the journalistic, or even the blogosphere sense. The next day with the shootings at Ft. Hood, Texas, changed all of that. First of all it must be said that this was a guerilla attack not a terrorist attack. The only place I have found that reported properly is in James Taranto’s WSJ Best of the Web email. In that respect Major Hasan is to stand trial as a murderer and perhaps for treason. Furthermore I felt that the President’s response and later speech in Texas showed reluctance to address reality that even his best-prepared remarks could not hide.
I was still struggling with how to prepare this last article of the series for Veterans Day when Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my friend Jim, who accompanied me a little over a year ago, to pick up my motorhome in Texas. He stated that he felt so good after finishing Julia Duin’s book on “Quitting Church” that he just had to call and state it was nice to feel he was not alone.
A guerilla attack on American soil, American church leaders so out of touch that they think Christianity is primarily about making one feel good about a progressively psycho world, and we haven’t even gotten into some serious reality.
Hence between the two concepts and real life in general, I was pretty much at a loss on how to begin to finally conclude this ten part series on Traditional Historic American Values. In some perspective we have an American President who feels very comfortable in being everything to everyone, except the military’s Commander in Chief. This is contrasted with a long term Christian man, who for the now considers himself part of a community that has freed itself from the doctrinal sterility of American Evangelicalism. What are this world and this country coming to?
Read More...
I was still struggling with how to prepare this last article of the series for Veterans Day when Tuesday afternoon I received a call from my friend Jim, who accompanied me a little over a year ago, to pick up my motorhome in Texas. He stated that he felt so good after finishing Julia Duin’s book on “Quitting Church” that he just had to call and state it was nice to feel he was not alone.
A guerilla attack on American soil, American church leaders so out of touch that they think Christianity is primarily about making one feel good about a progressively psycho world, and we haven’t even gotten into some serious reality.
Hence between the two concepts and real life in general, I was pretty much at a loss on how to begin to finally conclude this ten part series on Traditional Historic American Values. In some perspective we have an American President who feels very comfortable in being everything to everyone, except the military’s Commander in Chief. This is contrasted with a long term Christian man, who for the now considers himself part of a community that has freed itself from the doctrinal sterility of American Evangelicalism. What are this world and this country coming to?
Read More...
Veterans Day Holiday
11/November/2009 15:12
Since the murders at Fort Hood, Texas last week I have been trying to think of an appropriate way to honor our past, present, and future veterans who have and will faithfully serve this country throughout American history. While eating lunch today, it suddenly became quite obvious. The best way to observe a memorable holiday is to observe it as such. Traditional Historic American Values are founded upon sacrifice of self for others. Liberty and freedom, paid for by our Veterans,will insure that these traditional values shall continue. Therefore there will be no Weekly Column this week in observance of Veteran’s Day.
Next week we will wrap up our Traditional Historic American Values series with Part 10: The Conservative - Progressive Illusion.
Next week we will wrap up our Traditional Historic American Values series with Part 10: The Conservative - Progressive Illusion.
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 9: Perspective Also
04/November/2009 12:00
Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts. Haggai 2:4b-9 ESV
Yesterday was Election Day in the United States, the first sort of national election since the Obama happening last year. The results pretty much signify that the shaking continues and again verifies that this still is a moderately conservative nation. I doubt the vested pundits and the commentators will spin it that way, which means that the shaking will continue for the foreseeable future.
In the open historical Congressional seat in upstate New York, the Democrat won, somewhat upsetting the New Era Conservative, nerdy, accountant type, endorsed by the small tent Republican aristocracy. If it were Texas you could prove the statement, “Don’t mess with Texas!” In the rest of the country a nap or maybe another cup of morning coffee, should be in order.
More significant however was the Republican victories in governor races in Virginia and New Jersey. Neither victory bid well for the Obama Administration focus on remaking America in the image of the early twentieth century Soviet Union. ObamaCare and a Cap and Trade energy tax in the short-term future seem much more remote today that they did a short day ago.
Of course no one knows for sure if that Bolshevik agenda is really the goal of President Obama, but that seems to be the present focus of Glenn Beck and his following. Perhaps a more moderate concept of redistribution of wealth would be a better pursuit to save the country from the greedy capitalists. However that also assumes that there is still some real wealth to redistribute to those who feel that they deserve it.
Read More...
Yesterday was Election Day in the United States, the first sort of national election since the Obama happening last year. The results pretty much signify that the shaking continues and again verifies that this still is a moderately conservative nation. I doubt the vested pundits and the commentators will spin it that way, which means that the shaking will continue for the foreseeable future.
In the open historical Congressional seat in upstate New York, the Democrat won, somewhat upsetting the New Era Conservative, nerdy, accountant type, endorsed by the small tent Republican aristocracy. If it were Texas you could prove the statement, “Don’t mess with Texas!” In the rest of the country a nap or maybe another cup of morning coffee, should be in order.
More significant however was the Republican victories in governor races in Virginia and New Jersey. Neither victory bid well for the Obama Administration focus on remaking America in the image of the early twentieth century Soviet Union. ObamaCare and a Cap and Trade energy tax in the short-term future seem much more remote today that they did a short day ago.
Of course no one knows for sure if that Bolshevik agenda is really the goal of President Obama, but that seems to be the present focus of Glenn Beck and his following. Perhaps a more moderate concept of redistribution of wealth would be a better pursuit to save the country from the greedy capitalists. However that also assumes that there is still some real wealth to redistribute to those who feel that they deserve it.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 8: Perspective
28/October/2009 10:20
In nine short months we have learned the USA is not a theocracy, not the shining city on the hill. The church is not the sole author and administrator of moral law especially in common grace. So now for the first time, perhaps in all of human history, the whole world is Ichabod (God has departed).
However two thousand years ago, God saved His chosen remnant of all humanity from their sins, through Jesus Christ alone. So there still is some timeless good news. Furthermore, Americans, God’s common frozen prosperous chosen, have awakened from their debt-induced slumber in this brief timeframe and are beginning to actively participate in a world that passed them by. Definitely a temporal miracle!
Old Testament Israel was conquered through Natural Law by pagans for Israel’s judgment and destruction, because she neglected not only God’s specific revelation, but also Natural Law and common grace. If you invoke law to form an earthly paradise, then you must understand that God’s judgment applies not only to pagan sinners, but also the self-righteous sinners. The United States of America has become no longer a nation of humble grace, but individual, corporate, and community greed and power.
These thoughts provide just a little bit of perspective from history to show that whatever happens as time unfolds in our world, we pretty much have it coming. In the due course of time those societies that think they can prosper with human wisdom alone and without God - quickly learn their folly.
Perspective, along with dithering, are new buzzwords that in the last few weeks have become important for the short-term discussion of America’s future. Dithering was used by former Vice-President Cheney to describe the lack of decision for the Obama Administration concerning sending more troops to Afghanistan. Perspective is the term used by the Obama Administration to describe Fox News, rather than call it a legitimate news organization.
The Wonder Springs Chronicle is not a news organization but it is our job to give perspective on what is happening in our world without dithering around with any depth of journalistic investigation, simply because we really have no resources to do that job with integrity.
Read More...
However two thousand years ago, God saved His chosen remnant of all humanity from their sins, through Jesus Christ alone. So there still is some timeless good news. Furthermore, Americans, God’s common frozen prosperous chosen, have awakened from their debt-induced slumber in this brief timeframe and are beginning to actively participate in a world that passed them by. Definitely a temporal miracle!
Old Testament Israel was conquered through Natural Law by pagans for Israel’s judgment and destruction, because she neglected not only God’s specific revelation, but also Natural Law and common grace. If you invoke law to form an earthly paradise, then you must understand that God’s judgment applies not only to pagan sinners, but also the self-righteous sinners. The United States of America has become no longer a nation of humble grace, but individual, corporate, and community greed and power.
These thoughts provide just a little bit of perspective from history to show that whatever happens as time unfolds in our world, we pretty much have it coming. In the due course of time those societies that think they can prosper with human wisdom alone and without God - quickly learn their folly.
Perspective, along with dithering, are new buzzwords that in the last few weeks have become important for the short-term discussion of America’s future. Dithering was used by former Vice-President Cheney to describe the lack of decision for the Obama Administration concerning sending more troops to Afghanistan. Perspective is the term used by the Obama Administration to describe Fox News, rather than call it a legitimate news organization.
The Wonder Springs Chronicle is not a news organization but it is our job to give perspective on what is happening in our world without dithering around with any depth of journalistic investigation, simply because we really have no resources to do that job with integrity.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 7: Leadership
21/October/2009 10:54
As we begin wrapping up this series on Traditional Historic American Values, we come to the zenith on why the United States has come to the banana republic crossroads. I suppose zenith is probably not really what we are trying to explain, but terms like nadir, canyon, rock-bottom, pits - really do not do justice to the current situation either.
America’s true crisis is really a crisis of leadership. In that respect, void, black hole, and vacuum seem much better descriptions. Republicans point to President Obama as the power taking us to the banana republic standard. The Democrats point to George W. Bush as the creator of the path. The problem is that all the name-calling is really just that and it is decisively counter productive to doing anything but letting the forces of gravity do its thing.
Gravity is a Natural Law and it is the major force behind the current situation. The failure of leadership is that they truly fail to understand the gravity of the situation. The prosperity of the United States has been understood as a universal law for so long that those who are the self described leaders think a little application of warm fuzzies to the problem will make everyone feel better and therefore everything will soon be better.
In the bygone days warm fuzzies were created out of material and understood as such. Today warm fuzzies are created out of deficit spending and the spin goes, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Of course that is a 1988 song from Bobby McFerrin quoting Indian mystic Meher Baba.
Read More...
America’s true crisis is really a crisis of leadership. In that respect, void, black hole, and vacuum seem much better descriptions. Republicans point to President Obama as the power taking us to the banana republic standard. The Democrats point to George W. Bush as the creator of the path. The problem is that all the name-calling is really just that and it is decisively counter productive to doing anything but letting the forces of gravity do its thing.
Gravity is a Natural Law and it is the major force behind the current situation. The failure of leadership is that they truly fail to understand the gravity of the situation. The prosperity of the United States has been understood as a universal law for so long that those who are the self described leaders think a little application of warm fuzzies to the problem will make everyone feel better and therefore everything will soon be better.
In the bygone days warm fuzzies were created out of material and understood as such. Today warm fuzzies are created out of deficit spending and the spin goes, “Don’t worry, be happy.” Of course that is a 1988 song from Bobby McFerrin quoting Indian mystic Meher Baba.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 6: Opportunity
14/October/2009 11:47
“Trivial Pursuit” is a game where you try to come up with answers to questions that have little real importance. Most would say that looking at what is happening in our country and the world today that the answers are not trivial and really important. So why are we so frantically trying to create answers to questions that really are based upon an unreal world?
None of the answers being proposed to the current, but wishfully ending, global financial crisis consider any of the five reality topics we are discussing in this series. Those for a renewal of our thinking processes are: Natural Law, Religion, Freedom & Liberty, Opportunity, and Leadership. If discussed at all these topics are relegated to pretty much Trivia, with the capital T. Hence, it is assumed that we are so enlightened that we really only need to focus on style rather than substance.
Substance, what is that? As long as we have money, especially money in dollar denominations everything will be all right. It really doesn’t matter that sometime in 2011 the debt of the United States will exceed her Gross Domestic Product. A shrinking dollar means that our exports will be cheaper overseas and the Fed has inflation under control, because they say they have.
One of the true Natural Laws relates to liquidity. That liquidity can relate to water, but also relates to financial liquidity. That law states is if you pump much more water from a finite well than can be replaced from the aquifer, the well is going to go dry.
We could spend this whole article writing about opportunities existing and soon to be existing in the management and distribution of real water, but just like energy that is a real world and today the real world, especially in the United States, is treated like a television sitcom.
“Trouble, sacrifice, reality, the devil, God, I don’t believe in any of those myths, hence they don’t exist, because if they did, that might upset my simplistic narcissistic worldview.”
Read More...
None of the answers being proposed to the current, but wishfully ending, global financial crisis consider any of the five reality topics we are discussing in this series. Those for a renewal of our thinking processes are: Natural Law, Religion, Freedom & Liberty, Opportunity, and Leadership. If discussed at all these topics are relegated to pretty much Trivia, with the capital T. Hence, it is assumed that we are so enlightened that we really only need to focus on style rather than substance.
Substance, what is that? As long as we have money, especially money in dollar denominations everything will be all right. It really doesn’t matter that sometime in 2011 the debt of the United States will exceed her Gross Domestic Product. A shrinking dollar means that our exports will be cheaper overseas and the Fed has inflation under control, because they say they have.
One of the true Natural Laws relates to liquidity. That liquidity can relate to water, but also relates to financial liquidity. That law states is if you pump much more water from a finite well than can be replaced from the aquifer, the well is going to go dry.
We could spend this whole article writing about opportunities existing and soon to be existing in the management and distribution of real water, but just like energy that is a real world and today the real world, especially in the United States, is treated like a television sitcom.
“Trouble, sacrifice, reality, the devil, God, I don’t believe in any of those myths, hence they don’t exist, because if they did, that might upset my simplistic narcissistic worldview.”
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 5: Freedom & Liberty
07/October/2009 09:30
Much of the current political discussion in the United States, especially from traditional and conservative paradigms, centers around a pending loss of freedom. A great deal of those discussions concern economic freedom, wealth, or free market principles. The other loci, or the progressive agenda, centers around the ascendance of freedom through the redistribution of wealth from those who have much to those who have a little less.
It is interesting that those who have significant wealth seem to think they earned it. Those who have little wealth seem to think, if they really had a chance economically, they could be wealthy also. There are also a few who just want a handout, for they believe they deserve it, just because they are so special. What is apparent in each of these paradigms is the fact that is all about me, or in this case you!
Have we become so vain that we all think this article is about me, or you?
The Declaration of Independence speaks of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Post-modern Americans seem to think that the sum of these parts ends up as freedom. You would think however, if the Founders of the American republic were articulate enough to understand what they were doing, if they just wanted to promote freedom they would have used the term.
Some of this goes back to the modern myth that the Founders created a democracy, not a republic. If you think things are bad now, if they distributed a dollar to every American citizen, every time a politician, pundit, or other public figure use the word “democracy” to describe the United States designed political system, everyone would be wealthy and everyone would have healthcare, including those who just want a free ride. Furthermore the current national debt would look like spare change.
The founders however used the term liberty and created a representative republic to make it happen. Freedom is really the individual term. Liberty is the moral absolute that makes freedom possible. A representative republic is what is supposed to control excessive limitations or abuses of either.
Read More...
It is interesting that those who have significant wealth seem to think they earned it. Those who have little wealth seem to think, if they really had a chance economically, they could be wealthy also. There are also a few who just want a handout, for they believe they deserve it, just because they are so special. What is apparent in each of these paradigms is the fact that is all about me, or in this case you!
Have we become so vain that we all think this article is about me, or you?
The Declaration of Independence speaks of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Post-modern Americans seem to think that the sum of these parts ends up as freedom. You would think however, if the Founders of the American republic were articulate enough to understand what they were doing, if they just wanted to promote freedom they would have used the term.
Some of this goes back to the modern myth that the Founders created a democracy, not a republic. If you think things are bad now, if they distributed a dollar to every American citizen, every time a politician, pundit, or other public figure use the word “democracy” to describe the United States designed political system, everyone would be wealthy and everyone would have healthcare, including those who just want a free ride. Furthermore the current national debt would look like spare change.
The founders however used the term liberty and created a representative republic to make it happen. Freedom is really the individual term. Liberty is the moral absolute that makes freedom possible. A representative republic is what is supposed to control excessive limitations or abuses of either.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 4: Religion
30/September/2009 13:39
So a lot of people are feeling very uneasy about what is happening in the United States and for that matter around the world. As of this writing it looks as the public option for healthcare reform is dead, and with it goes the hope of meaningful progressive reform. That is a good thing. Now the question becomes will some sort of true free market solutions be proposed and enacted in a still moderately conservative nation.
Moving rapidly along that same track is climate change legislation, known more as “cap and trade” which will meet a similar demise. This leaves President Obama without really two of the capstones of his domestic agenda.
In foreign policy, decisions need to be made concerning both Iran and Afghanistan. These decisions will test the President’s diplomacy engagement strategy throughout the Middle East but just as significantly with Russia, China and other political leaders and tyrants around the world. In these cases a lack of decisive action will speak perhaps more clearly that any resolute overtures.
From all these tests and their outcomes we shall see clearly the ability of Chicago style, urban, community organizational – confrontational religion, to actually work in the real reality of a complex and truly aggressive world. My feelings are that only in the United States is the question of the resolve of President Obama being asked. In capitals and terrorist caves around the world that decision has pretty much been made. Over time the consequences of those decisions will play out not only internationally, but also in the American homeland and domestically in nations around the world.
Read More...
Moving rapidly along that same track is climate change legislation, known more as “cap and trade” which will meet a similar demise. This leaves President Obama without really two of the capstones of his domestic agenda.
In foreign policy, decisions need to be made concerning both Iran and Afghanistan. These decisions will test the President’s diplomacy engagement strategy throughout the Middle East but just as significantly with Russia, China and other political leaders and tyrants around the world. In these cases a lack of decisive action will speak perhaps more clearly that any resolute overtures.
From all these tests and their outcomes we shall see clearly the ability of Chicago style, urban, community organizational – confrontational religion, to actually work in the real reality of a complex and truly aggressive world. My feelings are that only in the United States is the question of the resolve of President Obama being asked. In capitals and terrorist caves around the world that decision has pretty much been made. Over time the consequences of those decisions will play out not only internationally, but also in the American homeland and domestically in nations around the world.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 3: Natural Law
23/September/2009 06:35
The sun rose this morning, we can count on it to set this evening, morning and evening of September 23, 2009. We also understand that gravity keeps us from floating off into space. The world is made up of matter. Water runs downhill and we can expect winter to follow this autumn, and spring and summer to repeat next year. These are just examples of Natural Law that every human being understands, believes and uses them as the basis of countless decisions each year.
The Founder’s of the American Republican experiment added to those observable Natural Laws, a human variation. Those began with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but are quite extensive. They also stated a human Creator God gave those laws for humans to follow and by them flourish as individuals, as well as communities and nations. It seemed quite logical that the rising sun and human liberty were directly related through the whole concept of Natural Law and furthermore they based the unique historical United States Constitution on those absolute precepts.
But what happens when you take away the Creator of Natural Law?
Simply put, the whole process breaks down, and eventually chaos will follow. It is really nothing more than simple logic and the Natural Laws of thermodynamics.
In the United States today we seem to have forgotten these basic logical assimilations. As a society we are told to believe that God does not exist, or if He does, He let it all happen slowly over eons of time, and now passively lets us do our own thing. On our own we have created a god of Mammon, or money, and thereby allowed this god to create subservient powers, by which it shall eventually control everyone and everything including the global climate. In past ages we created idols out of gold, silver, stone and wood. Today the god of money has no tangible existence other than demanding the totality of our lives.
What a better human centered utopian dream could anyone hope for?
Read More...
The Founder’s of the American Republican experiment added to those observable Natural Laws, a human variation. Those began with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but are quite extensive. They also stated a human Creator God gave those laws for humans to follow and by them flourish as individuals, as well as communities and nations. It seemed quite logical that the rising sun and human liberty were directly related through the whole concept of Natural Law and furthermore they based the unique historical United States Constitution on those absolute precepts.
But what happens when you take away the Creator of Natural Law?
Simply put, the whole process breaks down, and eventually chaos will follow. It is really nothing more than simple logic and the Natural Laws of thermodynamics.
In the United States today we seem to have forgotten these basic logical assimilations. As a society we are told to believe that God does not exist, or if He does, He let it all happen slowly over eons of time, and now passively lets us do our own thing. On our own we have created a god of Mammon, or money, and thereby allowed this god to create subservient powers, by which it shall eventually control everyone and everything including the global climate. In past ages we created idols out of gold, silver, stone and wood. Today the god of money has no tangible existence other than demanding the totality of our lives.
What a better human centered utopian dream could anyone hope for?
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 2
16/September/2009 12:18
According to a report in the United Kingdom’s Daily Mail Online, “Up to two million march to US Capitol to protest against Obama's spending in 'tea-party' demonstration.” From the reporting on the tea party demonstrations earlier this spring, there seems to be a significant interest in Britain with Yankee civil unrest, especially when the tea party term is used. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the original Tea Party in Boston has been used historically as perhaps the first step towards the American Revolution and the end of English world dominance. The article is worth the read and the photos are outstanding, probably not what you may have seen above the front-page fold in your Sunday newspaper.
From what little reporting I heard from the mainstream media, the crowd was more like thousands. Moving up or down the spin ladder, I heard tens of thousands. Fox News set the estimate at more than 75,000. No matter the number, there were more people protesting in Washington DC this past Saturday than anyone expected, especially the Beltway crowd and the politicians.
This continues the tie from the left, which attempts to portray the current protestors as anti-healthcare reform, talk radio and Glenn Beck agitated Republican kooks. But from what I understand of Beck’s political philosophy however, he is a Libertarian and also a Mormon. I bring up Beck’s Latter Day Saints affiliation, because everyone knows the stereotype that Mormons are all male dominated, blond haired, blue eyed, racists.
Read More...
From what little reporting I heard from the mainstream media, the crowd was more like thousands. Moving up or down the spin ladder, I heard tens of thousands. Fox News set the estimate at more than 75,000. No matter the number, there were more people protesting in Washington DC this past Saturday than anyone expected, especially the Beltway crowd and the politicians.
This continues the tie from the left, which attempts to portray the current protestors as anti-healthcare reform, talk radio and Glenn Beck agitated Republican kooks. But from what I understand of Beck’s political philosophy however, he is a Libertarian and also a Mormon. I bring up Beck’s Latter Day Saints affiliation, because everyone knows the stereotype that Mormons are all male dominated, blond haired, blue eyed, racists.
Read More...
Traditional Historic American Values - Part 1
09/September/2009 09:09
From very recent history it seems as if the traders on Wall Street believe that their rapidly increasing fortunes are again just a few months away. To a certain extent they are correct because it really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to them because they get paid as long as the markets continue to function, up or down. The only time they really lose is when nothing happens. This brings up two questions you might like to ponder, because the future of Wall Street traders really is of no interest here, but for your intellectual musings they may be:
Does Wall Street any longer reflect the true prosperity of the country (and the world), or is it just an exclusive special interest, determined to extract monetarily its due no matter the greater social costs?
Since the recent inception of a new enterprise model called “Too big to fail” has government intervention in big business essentially sown the seeds of future economic stagnation, or worse, that will eventually have to be treated as weeds and eradicated, to again restore the diversity of the free market system?
Moving on, a few weeks ago I was reading a Wall Street Journal interview with the current Governor of Texas, Rick Perry. The essence of that article discussed present Texas prosperity while the rest of the nation languishes in prolonged recession, budget deficits, and essential despair. Early in the interview the governor pointed to a table with three books that outlined his programs for the current Texas prosperity. Those three books were “The Road to Serfdom” by F. A. Hayek; “The Forgotten Man” by Amity Shlaes, and “The 5000 Year Leap” by W. Cleon Skousen.
Read More...
Does Wall Street any longer reflect the true prosperity of the country (and the world), or is it just an exclusive special interest, determined to extract monetarily its due no matter the greater social costs?
Since the recent inception of a new enterprise model called “Too big to fail” has government intervention in big business essentially sown the seeds of future economic stagnation, or worse, that will eventually have to be treated as weeds and eradicated, to again restore the diversity of the free market system?
Moving on, a few weeks ago I was reading a Wall Street Journal interview with the current Governor of Texas, Rick Perry. The essence of that article discussed present Texas prosperity while the rest of the nation languishes in prolonged recession, budget deficits, and essential despair. Early in the interview the governor pointed to a table with three books that outlined his programs for the current Texas prosperity. Those three books were “The Road to Serfdom” by F. A. Hayek; “The Forgotten Man” by Amity Shlaes, and “The 5000 Year Leap” by W. Cleon Skousen.
Read More...
No weekly column this week
02/September/2009 11:57
There will be no column this week as we have been handling physical things rather than the more mental occupations. The weekly column will return next Wednesday, September 9th, when we will begin a new series on the creation and sustaining of the United States Constitution, based on the book “The 5000 Year Leap.”
Brute’, not concerned with human requirements will however post his weekly insight on Friday as usual.
The series we begin next week will look at the principles behind the Founding Fathers work to codify a constitution for the American Republic by setting aside individual beliefs and political desires, as this noble document was designed and now has become a working unique guideline for all of human history. Then we hope to tie Gratitude - Praise - Worship, as fundamental common religious experiences, finding their highest expression through music.
August was a good month at the Wonder Springs Chronicle, most of our web stats were consistent with recent history but Unique Visitors and Foreign viewers increased significantly. The Unique visitors was up a third, while foreign visitors came to Wonder Springs from 32 countries. Since 11 years ago when I began this weekly endeavor it was designed as a Christian missionary newsletter, the increase in foreign viewership was extremely heartening.
We still look forward to hearing from you regarding your role in changing the world through music.
Jerry
Brute’, not concerned with human requirements will however post his weekly insight on Friday as usual.
The series we begin next week will look at the principles behind the Founding Fathers work to codify a constitution for the American Republic by setting aside individual beliefs and political desires, as this noble document was designed and now has become a working unique guideline for all of human history. Then we hope to tie Gratitude - Praise - Worship, as fundamental common religious experiences, finding their highest expression through music.
August was a good month at the Wonder Springs Chronicle, most of our web stats were consistent with recent history but Unique Visitors and Foreign viewers increased significantly. The Unique visitors was up a third, while foreign visitors came to Wonder Springs from 32 countries. Since 11 years ago when I began this weekly endeavor it was designed as a Christian missionary newsletter, the increase in foreign viewership was extremely heartening.
We still look forward to hearing from you regarding your role in changing the world through music.
Jerry
Power in Music
26/August/2009 09:16
After posting last week’s article on “Water to Wine,” I needed to go to Colville (population 4500), to pick up some supplies that included a used open top plastic drum. As a consequence I needed to take my Dodge Dakota, which has a hard-wired iPod connection to what once was called a radio. Cranking up my 5 star playlist, I was soon enjoying my favorite songs.
It was after about three songs when it hit me. I can bloviate about world and church problems until I am blue in the face. I can pontificate until the Pope becomes a Protestant. I can do that other stuff until the cows come home, but it really is not going to make a significant difference in the world unless written words, by me and more significant others, are interpreted in music. Music in all its forms is the ultimate human expression that we are indeed creatures designed in the image of God, for timeless fellowship with our Creator inclusively within a redeemed human family.
They say that music can calm the savage beast. None of us like to be considered savages, but music specifically, and other forms of art generically, are what is going to change or restore culture. I first began to understand this artistic concept through the work of Francis Schaeffer, but since that time, that has been confirmed by my own empirical evidence, as well as many other writers and musicians. If the current world is going to change significantly towards either a traditional or a more progressive agenda, it is going to be accompanied by music. As I once heard an old gospel musician say, music that gets down into your soul.
The latest world changing music experience probably began in the early 1960s with the emergence of rock and roll. This was really in many respects a rebellion of the tacit life of the post war prosperity of suburbia and American life in general. With the reality of the Viet Nam war these songs of rebellion became more vibrant, eventually being a causative agent for the hippie movement, as well as in the church where hippies got saved and were soon known as Jesus People.
Read More...
It was after about three songs when it hit me. I can bloviate about world and church problems until I am blue in the face. I can pontificate until the Pope becomes a Protestant. I can do that other stuff until the cows come home, but it really is not going to make a significant difference in the world unless written words, by me and more significant others, are interpreted in music. Music in all its forms is the ultimate human expression that we are indeed creatures designed in the image of God, for timeless fellowship with our Creator inclusively within a redeemed human family.
They say that music can calm the savage beast. None of us like to be considered savages, but music specifically, and other forms of art generically, are what is going to change or restore culture. I first began to understand this artistic concept through the work of Francis Schaeffer, but since that time, that has been confirmed by my own empirical evidence, as well as many other writers and musicians. If the current world is going to change significantly towards either a traditional or a more progressive agenda, it is going to be accompanied by music. As I once heard an old gospel musician say, music that gets down into your soul.
The latest world changing music experience probably began in the early 1960s with the emergence of rock and roll. This was really in many respects a rebellion of the tacit life of the post war prosperity of suburbia and American life in general. With the reality of the Viet Nam war these songs of rebellion became more vibrant, eventually being a causative agent for the hippie movement, as well as in the church where hippies got saved and were soon known as Jesus People.
Read More...
Water to Wine
19/August/2009 07:15
When the name of your organization is built upon the concept of refreshing water, it is always of interest how various enterprises use water in marketing their products. As a general rule, new and improved signifies that someone found a way to use more water and hence make the product weigh more, or be softer, or smoother, and still charge the same, or more money for the “improved” product. In reality the water is essentially a free filler to give you less of what you think you paid for.
I like to have bacon and eggs at least once on weekends for breakfast. A man can only live just so healthy and then life becomes a drag. The best bacon I ever had came from a meat packing plant in Wilbur when my mother lived there. They had to close their doors when the state required expensive upgrades to their facilities that could not be justified based on the potential returns.
I have made my own dry cured bacon, but it takes facilities that I no longer have at my disposal. Costco has dry cured bacon, one of the few places it is available, but I really don’t like the taste. So I am continually on the lookout for different brands of commercial bacon to try out. Last week at the supermarket, there was a 20 oz packet of thick sliced bacon, which was nearing the pull date and marked down. I decided to give it a try. When I open the package Wonder Springs, as I tried to guess how they got so much water in something that is supposed to cook up somewhat crispy.
Since that time, I think I have figured it out. Now the true goal is to sell you as much water as possible and still make you think you are getting a good deal. To do that you create a brine that will give you the smoke taste you think will sell. Once cured it is pretty squishy so you deeply chill and maybe even freeze the bacon slab so that it will slice evenly. Then while it is still frozen you package it for distribution. Once the frozen water thaws you have the squishy wet bacon I popped in the pan and it shrank to about two-thirds the precooked size.
Now that energy prices have made the transport of water much more expensive we are beginning to see many more drinks delivered sans water. You must add your own water in your own container. The manufacturer gives you a powder in a little Mylar tube and you add it to your own tap, bottled, or designer water, which saves everyone money, especially the luscious drink maker. However it does make you think, I am paying a whole lot of money for a few grams of artificial sweetening and flavoring, when the chilled attractive bottle looked like a better deal.
Read More...
I like to have bacon and eggs at least once on weekends for breakfast. A man can only live just so healthy and then life becomes a drag. The best bacon I ever had came from a meat packing plant in Wilbur when my mother lived there. They had to close their doors when the state required expensive upgrades to their facilities that could not be justified based on the potential returns.
I have made my own dry cured bacon, but it takes facilities that I no longer have at my disposal. Costco has dry cured bacon, one of the few places it is available, but I really don’t like the taste. So I am continually on the lookout for different brands of commercial bacon to try out. Last week at the supermarket, there was a 20 oz packet of thick sliced bacon, which was nearing the pull date and marked down. I decided to give it a try. When I open the package Wonder Springs, as I tried to guess how they got so much water in something that is supposed to cook up somewhat crispy.
Since that time, I think I have figured it out. Now the true goal is to sell you as much water as possible and still make you think you are getting a good deal. To do that you create a brine that will give you the smoke taste you think will sell. Once cured it is pretty squishy so you deeply chill and maybe even freeze the bacon slab so that it will slice evenly. Then while it is still frozen you package it for distribution. Once the frozen water thaws you have the squishy wet bacon I popped in the pan and it shrank to about two-thirds the precooked size.
Now that energy prices have made the transport of water much more expensive we are beginning to see many more drinks delivered sans water. You must add your own water in your own container. The manufacturer gives you a powder in a little Mylar tube and you add it to your own tap, bottled, or designer water, which saves everyone money, especially the luscious drink maker. However it does make you think, I am paying a whole lot of money for a few grams of artificial sweetening and flavoring, when the chilled attractive bottle looked like a better deal.
Read More...
Twenty-first century Monopoly is not played on Main Street.
12/August/2009 07:10
Back when I was in elementary school, many summer days were passed playing Monopoly. Most games were over in an afternoon; some took a couple of days. One that I remember dragged on for a week, for we were all so rich and the wealth so equally divided that no one ever gained enough of a strategic advantage to defeat the others. Eventually we just called it a draw and went out and rode our bikes.
The game of Monopoly was invented in 1935 by Charles Darrow during the real Great Depression, and uses simulated property and imitation money, by which each player attempts to amass all the imitation wealth and thus win the game.
If you pause for a moment and think about it seriously, the cause of this deep recession was a lot a people playing a global monopoly game, using simulated property and imitation money in an attempt to amass all the imitation wealth and win the game. The problem is that the global level game goes on, and nobody anywhere, except those living within local enterprise Main Street seem to understand the illusionary nature of the pursuit.
None of this twenty-first century Monopoly relates to the real world, where people are trying to get by with what is left of real money, no longer trying to get ahead, but just holding on until hopefully better times will again give them true hope for a better life.
For the last month or so the global Monopoly players have been encouraging each other that the recession has at least bottomed out and it is time for the depression to give way to active trading in the hopes that reality will soon catch up. The concept of buy low and sell high is tempered with the knowledge you can at least sell short. Just in the last century Monopoly game you have to buy when the opportunity presents itself, or else you will be left behind, and never make up the difference.
Read More...
The game of Monopoly was invented in 1935 by Charles Darrow during the real Great Depression, and uses simulated property and imitation money, by which each player attempts to amass all the imitation wealth and thus win the game.
If you pause for a moment and think about it seriously, the cause of this deep recession was a lot a people playing a global monopoly game, using simulated property and imitation money in an attempt to amass all the imitation wealth and win the game. The problem is that the global level game goes on, and nobody anywhere, except those living within local enterprise Main Street seem to understand the illusionary nature of the pursuit.
None of this twenty-first century Monopoly relates to the real world, where people are trying to get by with what is left of real money, no longer trying to get ahead, but just holding on until hopefully better times will again give them true hope for a better life.
For the last month or so the global Monopoly players have been encouraging each other that the recession has at least bottomed out and it is time for the depression to give way to active trading in the hopes that reality will soon catch up. The concept of buy low and sell high is tempered with the knowledge you can at least sell short. Just in the last century Monopoly game you have to buy when the opportunity presents itself, or else you will be left behind, and never make up the difference.
Read More...
Too bad you can't survive
05/August/2009 09:01
Too bad you can’t survive.
So we now have the close, so what is the opening?
Could it be, to paraphrase an old song, “Your so vain, you probably think this article is about you?”
Or perhaps, using a little community spirit, “We’re so vain, we might realize that this article is about us.”
Or as they teach in business school, “MBA means, Mediocre But Arrogant.”
Then we imply that everyone else has an SBA, which means Stupid But Arrogant.”
However, I realize I must be in error, for as we learned last week many Christians are so humble that they know they are without sin.
In that “but arrogant” motif, it is nice to know that the government’s plan for “Cash for Clunkers” was such a hit that they ran out of money almost immediately. After all what better way to reward bad decisions made in the past, while still allowing the recipients to continue down essentially that same highway. That sure makes you feel real secure that the government can successfully operate a really big budget program like healthcare.
Of course this continues the late twentieth century program to live beyond your means with cheap credit and no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow didn’t come until late 2007.
Read More...
So we now have the close, so what is the opening?
Could it be, to paraphrase an old song, “Your so vain, you probably think this article is about you?”
Or perhaps, using a little community spirit, “We’re so vain, we might realize that this article is about us.”
Or as they teach in business school, “MBA means, Mediocre But Arrogant.”
Then we imply that everyone else has an SBA, which means Stupid But Arrogant.”
However, I realize I must be in error, for as we learned last week many Christians are so humble that they know they are without sin.
In that “but arrogant” motif, it is nice to know that the government’s plan for “Cash for Clunkers” was such a hit that they ran out of money almost immediately. After all what better way to reward bad decisions made in the past, while still allowing the recipients to continue down essentially that same highway. That sure makes you feel real secure that the government can successfully operate a really big budget program like healthcare.
Of course this continues the late twentieth century program to live beyond your means with cheap credit and no thought for tomorrow, for tomorrow didn’t come until late 2007.
Read More...
Nature's God is the human Messiah!
28/July/2009 08:26
In the article a couple of weeks ago we mentioned the quotation from Gandhi where he stated that he did not have a problem with Christ but he did have a problem with Christians. As time has past since that article I have been pondering in a similar vein, why so many people don’t seem to have a problem with Nature’s God but they also have a problem with His Christians.
Now an easy answer would be that the gospel is offensive to sinners, thus when they see Christians for some reason they are turned off. Of course the underlying premise behind this hypothesis is that pagans find Christian piety offensive. But this begs a much deeper question. “Is the piety in question genuine humble piety, or some sort of self-righteous legalism accompanied by a smug superior attitude?”
Of course those who live lives of self-righteous legalism and a smug superior attitude will answer, that pagans are turned off by their personal humble piety. So we can quickly see that any meaningful discussion here achieves nothing of substance.
Growing up in the Lutheran Church one of my favorite hymns was Beautiful Savior. In many other churches it is known as “Fairest Lord Jesus.” It seems to stem from Jesuit roots about 1677, but for some reason it has achieved the common title as the “Crusader’s Hymn,” but has no connection to the actual Holy Land Crusades.
Beautiful Savior, King of Creation
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!
The song in its four short verses ties a strong bond between Jesus the human Savior and the Creator Jesus and Creation. What is extremely interesting is in what we have seen is the non-Christian disconnect between the Creator and the Savior or Messiah of humanity. Putting that in the same construct as with Gandhi and others, “I don’t have a problem with Creation, but I do have a problem with the Creator. What they don’t seem to get is that the Christ Jesus that they don’t have a problem in the Gandhi context is in the other context the one and the same Creator.
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Now an easy answer would be that the gospel is offensive to sinners, thus when they see Christians for some reason they are turned off. Of course the underlying premise behind this hypothesis is that pagans find Christian piety offensive. But this begs a much deeper question. “Is the piety in question genuine humble piety, or some sort of self-righteous legalism accompanied by a smug superior attitude?”
Of course those who live lives of self-righteous legalism and a smug superior attitude will answer, that pagans are turned off by their personal humble piety. So we can quickly see that any meaningful discussion here achieves nothing of substance.
Growing up in the Lutheran Church one of my favorite hymns was Beautiful Savior. In many other churches it is known as “Fairest Lord Jesus.” It seems to stem from Jesuit roots about 1677, but for some reason it has achieved the common title as the “Crusader’s Hymn,” but has no connection to the actual Holy Land Crusades.
Beautiful Savior, King of Creation
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee, truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my joy, my crown.
Fair are the meadows, Fair are the woodlands,
Robed in the flowers of blooming spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
He makes our sorrowing spirit sing.
Fair is the sunshine, Fair is the moonlight,
Bright the sparkling stars on high;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels in the sky.
Beautiful Savior, Lord of the nations,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, Praise, adoration
Now and forevermore be Thine!
The song in its four short verses ties a strong bond between Jesus the human Savior and the Creator Jesus and Creation. What is extremely interesting is in what we have seen is the non-Christian disconnect between the Creator and the Savior or Messiah of humanity. Putting that in the same construct as with Gandhi and others, “I don’t have a problem with Creation, but I do have a problem with the Creator. What they don’t seem to get is that the Christ Jesus that they don’t have a problem in the Gandhi context is in the other context the one and the same Creator.
Read More...
Capitalism's Cancer
22/July/2009 12:14
A number of years ago I was familiar with a pastor that regularly told his congregation not to be surprised when they were confronted with sinners sinning. He likened the sinning to their job description. The pastor had a little trouble however understanding that Christians sin also. In his theology by shear hard work, diligence, and a little empowerment from the Holy Spirit all saints could lead the victorious life.
Somewhat as the members of the pastor’s congregation, we should not be surprised when capitalists make lots of money. It is their job description. Just like with the church and sin, it is likewise with capitalism. Just how much money is the just fruits of one’s labor and when does the fruit turn to greed? We are not going to handle that debate other than to comment it pretty much depends, as in church, on whether you are on the outside looking in, or on the inside looking out.
Humans, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Beginning with Scottish jurisprudence, defining British common law, and codified by American legal precedents, we give corporations personal judicial standing – to make money. This legal standing is the basis for the economic system we call capitalism. However to say the corporation is evil by design is to levy our present sins upon these enterprising ancestors.
When you hear or read critics of capitalism, for the most part the critique says that corporations have no soul, all they want to do is make money, where is the social justice, or an now popular term, empathy? However western civilization never endowed corporations with such human attributes. Corporations are a person in the sense of a very limited individual pursuit of happiness, directly flowing from the process of generating monetary capital to produce human wealth. That wealth that flows to humans, is hence supposed to be utilized for the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and life; including benevolence, stewardship, and charity among a host of others.
It logically and legally follows that the outward folly in capitalism is not with its structure, but more to the reality that the persons who obtain that wealth do not apply it to any means other than reinvestment to make more money and by extension produce greater wealth, essentially only for themselves.
Going back to 1776 and Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” there was an “invisible hand” that guided this wealth production. It was and is still generally assumed that free (laissez faire) markets are the manifestation of that invisible hand. Those markets defined a basket of goods and services, in recent history emphasizing the consumer.
Read More...
Somewhat as the members of the pastor’s congregation, we should not be surprised when capitalists make lots of money. It is their job description. Just like with the church and sin, it is likewise with capitalism. Just how much money is the just fruits of one’s labor and when does the fruit turn to greed? We are not going to handle that debate other than to comment it pretty much depends, as in church, on whether you are on the outside looking in, or on the inside looking out.
Humans, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Beginning with Scottish jurisprudence, defining British common law, and codified by American legal precedents, we give corporations personal judicial standing – to make money. This legal standing is the basis for the economic system we call capitalism. However to say the corporation is evil by design is to levy our present sins upon these enterprising ancestors.
When you hear or read critics of capitalism, for the most part the critique says that corporations have no soul, all they want to do is make money, where is the social justice, or an now popular term, empathy? However western civilization never endowed corporations with such human attributes. Corporations are a person in the sense of a very limited individual pursuit of happiness, directly flowing from the process of generating monetary capital to produce human wealth. That wealth that flows to humans, is hence supposed to be utilized for the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and life; including benevolence, stewardship, and charity among a host of others.
It logically and legally follows that the outward folly in capitalism is not with its structure, but more to the reality that the persons who obtain that wealth do not apply it to any means other than reinvestment to make more money and by extension produce greater wealth, essentially only for themselves.
Going back to 1776 and Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” there was an “invisible hand” that guided this wealth production. It was and is still generally assumed that free (laissez faire) markets are the manifestation of that invisible hand. Those markets defined a basket of goods and services, in recent history emphasizing the consumer.
Read More...
Three Medicines
15/July/2009 13:05
Somewhat building on last week’s model of hummingbirds as a natural model for humans in this new century, this week we will attempt to break down that model into three specific paradigms. Paradigm is a pretty generic concept that today we would probably call worldviews. In the past and spun through western culture they would probably call them three religions. Broadening the concept and making it, what we the enlightened would call primitive or not evolved, those indigenous peoples would probably call them three medicines.
This concept came to mind as I was reading a book on the Protestant Reformation. In that book Person A says to Person B, “You know there are two religions present in this world. One religion is true Christianity, which rests entirely upon the unmerited grace of the Savior, Jesus Christ and life, death, and resurrection to provide justification for a person’s righteousness before God.
“The second religion, and much more popular, is one in which people perform all sorts of works by which they think they can merit God’s generosity to save them from eternal damnation.
At the conclusion of that statement Person B agrees with Person A. In this particular example the first example referred to those who were part of the reformation medicine, while the second religion referred to the papists, which we would call Roman Catholics.
What the context of this conversation shows is the subtitle ascendancy through time of another worldview, religion, or medicine for it is as old as human life itself. The Bible speaks to it in the Book of Genesis as the “Fall of Man.” That story is told begins in Chapter 3 and is the underlying theme throughout the rest of the whole Bible. That medicine, promoted by the serpent, is the human desire not so much to be religious, but to be the author of religion, to become God personified.
Therefore in the flow of time and the development of human culture, we see in the light of human evolution the upward progress of humanity developing from three medicines at the beginning, to two medicines during the Reformation, until today the model to be emulated, as the highest and best representation of humanity, is our unique personal godliness. We have no need for a savior, for we will save ourselves, both individually and collectively.
So why do we need to discuss three medicines rather than just a discussion of worldviews, or religions?
Read More...
This concept came to mind as I was reading a book on the Protestant Reformation. In that book Person A says to Person B, “You know there are two religions present in this world. One religion is true Christianity, which rests entirely upon the unmerited grace of the Savior, Jesus Christ and life, death, and resurrection to provide justification for a person’s righteousness before God.
“The second religion, and much more popular, is one in which people perform all sorts of works by which they think they can merit God’s generosity to save them from eternal damnation.
At the conclusion of that statement Person B agrees with Person A. In this particular example the first example referred to those who were part of the reformation medicine, while the second religion referred to the papists, which we would call Roman Catholics.
What the context of this conversation shows is the subtitle ascendancy through time of another worldview, religion, or medicine for it is as old as human life itself. The Bible speaks to it in the Book of Genesis as the “Fall of Man.” That story is told begins in Chapter 3 and is the underlying theme throughout the rest of the whole Bible. That medicine, promoted by the serpent, is the human desire not so much to be religious, but to be the author of religion, to become God personified.
Therefore in the flow of time and the development of human culture, we see in the light of human evolution the upward progress of humanity developing from three medicines at the beginning, to two medicines during the Reformation, until today the model to be emulated, as the highest and best representation of humanity, is our unique personal godliness. We have no need for a savior, for we will save ourselves, both individually and collectively.
So why do we need to discuss three medicines rather than just a discussion of worldviews, or religions?
Read More...
Hummingbird Humans - The Model for a New Century?
08/July/2009 10:02
Hummingbirds enjoy a drink of sugar nectar at the Wal-Mart feeder before a coming rain.
Hummingbirds are one of the most interesting of God’s creatures. In the forested regions of the American West, human residents provide feeders for hummingbirds stocked with sugar water nectar as a favorite pastime.
On my property I have two such devices both of which attract the little fellows, but they do it much differently. Both feeders have glass reservoirs to hold the juice, and both have red plastic bodies, and flowers with yellow accents. Both a the bottles hold a little less than a quart of nectar which is all made in large batches, so the juice is essentially identical in each jug. (See the website article for pictures of hummingbirds and the feeders.)
One feeder has six feeding stations and came from Wal-Mart. The other, a much more sophisticated and engineered design, with four stations, was purchased from a farm and ranch supply known as Big R.
For reasons known only to the hummingbirds, the feeder from Wal-Mart continually feeds many more birds than does the Big R station. At times there is well over a dozen birds humming around the Wal-Mart, zooming here and there, grabbing quickly their chance to snap up a taste of sweetness. “Zoom, zoom, drink, and flit! Flit, flit, gulp, and zoom!”
Mean while at the Big R, three or four birds are sitting on the little perches drinking nectar at their leisure and to their fill. “Ah, life of a little hummingbird sure has good times such as this!”
Hummingbirds stop for a big gulp at the Big R feeder.
Do the hummingbirds for some reason seem to think that the nectar is different at Wal-Mart than at Big R? Just as in the real world, the prices for similar items are pretty much the same at both Wal-Mart and Big R. And just as in the real world, where the prices at Big R are a little more, those increased prices are generally reflected in higher quality. There is no difference in the nectar at either feeder.
There must be something that attracts more hummingbirds to the Wal-Mart feeder than the Big R feeder. Which brings up two questions for this article. Are hummingbirds similar in their marketing taste to their human counter parts? Second and potentially of deeper meaning, are hummingbirds as smart as humans, or have humans in this new century digressed to the intelligence of hummingbirds?
Before we look at these questions, it must be said that both humans and hummingbirds are still known for their industry. For humans to go to either Wal-Mart or Big R they must journey to Colville. The closest other locations for Wal-Mart or Big R are on the northern fringes of Spokane about sixty miles distant.
How far hummingbirds journey to my feeders I do not know, but it must be a comparable distance, in hummingbird scale, because I doubt that there is some grand design for hummingbirds to build hummingbird suburbs around human habitations. It would not be evolutionary wise to build such a sugar water paradise and then have the humans not show up on schedule to feed the little critters during the summer, or leave just when they have become accustomed to the free meals.
This evolutionary concept would also have to assume, as do many humans, that hummingbirds evolve in their lifetimes, not over eons of time. I would assume that hummingbirds adapt to their environment of that particular year and food supply. If there is a predominance of hummingbird homes near human habitation it may have to do with direct associations relating to natural habitat nothing more. So it seems just has with humans, hummingbirds seem to be attracted to Wal-Mart because it is showier than Big R.
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Free Freedom!
01/July/2009 12:38
This Saturday marks the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the land that became the United States of America. It is pretty well established these men believed that with their signatures they were setting a course for a form of government that would alter many future political structures. They also realized that their very lives were pledged to make this experiment in personal liberty a reality. There was no turning back.
This week there will be various forms of speeches, articles, blogs, and just plain conversations that express the point that “freedom isn’t free.” Of course the people making these statements mean that freedom requires some sort of effort to remain a viable, or even to generate an expanding form of expression of the human spirit.
The interesting thought in all of this is “if freedom isn’t free” why to we go to such great lengths to limit freedom in all aspects of life? Why not just “Free Freedom?”
There a bumper stickers that say, “Free Tibet” and other sorts of free lands, objects, animals, and social groups, but no one seems all that interested in just “Free Freedom.”
The real reason we don’t want to Free Freedom is because in order to Free Freedom we have to give up our personal license. Put more simply, Free Freedom is a whole greater than its parts. In order for Freedom to become Free, I have to give, or surrender my Freedom license to you, and the other way around. By doing such, a sort of synergistic Freedom is created which is much more grand that just each of our respective Free parts.
While none of us have really ever experienced Free Freedom, we know it is an awesome thing. In fact Free Freedom might not be a thing at all, but must be described as a beyond human personality. This personality we cannot comprehend, but must apprehend, or probably more correctly, we will be apprehended by Free Freedom himself.
Read More...
This week there will be various forms of speeches, articles, blogs, and just plain conversations that express the point that “freedom isn’t free.” Of course the people making these statements mean that freedom requires some sort of effort to remain a viable, or even to generate an expanding form of expression of the human spirit.
The interesting thought in all of this is “if freedom isn’t free” why to we go to such great lengths to limit freedom in all aspects of life? Why not just “Free Freedom?”
There a bumper stickers that say, “Free Tibet” and other sorts of free lands, objects, animals, and social groups, but no one seems all that interested in just “Free Freedom.”
The real reason we don’t want to Free Freedom is because in order to Free Freedom we have to give up our personal license. Put more simply, Free Freedom is a whole greater than its parts. In order for Freedom to become Free, I have to give, or surrender my Freedom license to you, and the other way around. By doing such, a sort of synergistic Freedom is created which is much more grand that just each of our respective Free parts.
While none of us have really ever experienced Free Freedom, we know it is an awesome thing. In fact Free Freedom might not be a thing at all, but must be described as a beyond human personality. This personality we cannot comprehend, but must apprehend, or probably more correctly, we will be apprehended by Free Freedom himself.
Read More...
Toward a Capitalistic Renaissance
24/June/2009 08:27
There is beginning in this land and around the world a groundswell of common people sensing what seems to indicate that we are sojourners in an epic time.
Bankrupt are the bastions of American enterprise, the auto industry. It seems that like their railroad brethren, they did not recognize the business school standard, which they were in the transportation business, rather than creators of automobiles. Of course the railroads were helped to their demise by General Motors and Standard Oil, which bought up privately owned public transportation, shut them down, and eliminated true market choice for American land based conveyance.
Automobiles were preceded in stupendous change, by the meltdown catastrophe of the financial universe. From which the concept too big to fail has now redefined the wisdom of Forrest Gump, “Stupid is, as stupid does, don’t mean nothin’.”
Let’s see – cheap monetary policy, coupled with easy credit, financially leveraged to the utmost, speculating in unregulated commodities, or bundled in high-risk real estate securities did not last forever. It sure seems our enlightened leadership believed that it would and even more amazing, that they can bring it back just like before.
Of course the oil players are back at it again, betting that economic recovery and unlimited demand increases are just a fall economic recovery away.
Then recent news indicates that solar activity is at a long time low, creating cool temperatures and the potential for a greatly decreased world food supply. All the while global warming alarmists are still promoting an agenda, that mankind can control climate by limiting carbon emissions and animal flatulence, or just have everyone painting their roofs white.
What is missing in the debate of TV pundits discussing the this or that, is that it really isn’t about this or that at all. The real issue is the concept of human enlightenment. Broken down into its most basic tenet we see the inability of humanity to save itself from itself. The problem is not at all about the stuff, the problem lies within the philosophies or religions of man.
Read More...
Bankrupt are the bastions of American enterprise, the auto industry. It seems that like their railroad brethren, they did not recognize the business school standard, which they were in the transportation business, rather than creators of automobiles. Of course the railroads were helped to their demise by General Motors and Standard Oil, which bought up privately owned public transportation, shut them down, and eliminated true market choice for American land based conveyance.
Automobiles were preceded in stupendous change, by the meltdown catastrophe of the financial universe. From which the concept too big to fail has now redefined the wisdom of Forrest Gump, “Stupid is, as stupid does, don’t mean nothin’.”
Let’s see – cheap monetary policy, coupled with easy credit, financially leveraged to the utmost, speculating in unregulated commodities, or bundled in high-risk real estate securities did not last forever. It sure seems our enlightened leadership believed that it would and even more amazing, that they can bring it back just like before.
Of course the oil players are back at it again, betting that economic recovery and unlimited demand increases are just a fall economic recovery away.
Then recent news indicates that solar activity is at a long time low, creating cool temperatures and the potential for a greatly decreased world food supply. All the while global warming alarmists are still promoting an agenda, that mankind can control climate by limiting carbon emissions and animal flatulence, or just have everyone painting their roofs white.
What is missing in the debate of TV pundits discussing the this or that, is that it really isn’t about this or that at all. The real issue is the concept of human enlightenment. Broken down into its most basic tenet we see the inability of humanity to save itself from itself. The problem is not at all about the stuff, the problem lies within the philosophies or religions of man.
Read More...
Planting Seeds of Common Sense
17/June/2009 06:11
With all the complex happenings currently going on in our world, you may be just hearing the sad news that Common Sense has died. I think I first heard the report some years ago, but I guess it just slipped my mind.
The obituary for “The Death of Common Sense” was filed on March 15, 1998 by Lori Borgman. You can find a number of places on the net for the obit, but one of the most interesting is the link above, which has other similar tidbits from Alan R. Miller, Emeritus Professor of Engineering at New Mexico Tech.
Since much of my writing has to do with various sorts of common type events and personalities, as opposed to specific unique revelations, it has recently come to my attention that rather than being a human personality, Common Sense may indeed be an entity more mundane. Could it be that Common Sense is really just a common seed, a seed many would call a weed?
Reminding you of nature, seeds may look dead, but the spark of life still remains deeply sequestered within the protoplasm, waiting for just the right climatic conditions in which to sprout, grow, and in due season provide a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even one hundred fold.
I would submit that the season for the sprouting of Common Sense is now upon us. As is the general rule, seeds are planted in the spring, sometimes outdoors and sometimes in a greenhouse, or cold frame. In the proper time the seeds emerge and some are transplanted into the garden. In spite of all the best efforts of man, plants we call weeds, do this very well without our husbandry.
The sun provides the light and the energy for photosynthesis. Rain or human watering provides the liquidity to make our gardens and Common Sense grow. With all the enlightened wisdom we can muster, we think we have science on our side, but if you just grow your garden with science you will miss the wonder of it all, the art of passing times, passing seasons, and the joy of harvest.
Many enlightened folks believe that Common Sense is just a primitive and noxious weed, but they fail to understand the symbiosis within the Garden of God. Neither do they dare a taste of the fruit of Common Sense, and hence ignore its life giving properties.
Read More...
The obituary for “The Death of Common Sense” was filed on March 15, 1998 by Lori Borgman. You can find a number of places on the net for the obit, but one of the most interesting is the link above, which has other similar tidbits from Alan R. Miller, Emeritus Professor of Engineering at New Mexico Tech.
Since much of my writing has to do with various sorts of common type events and personalities, as opposed to specific unique revelations, it has recently come to my attention that rather than being a human personality, Common Sense may indeed be an entity more mundane. Could it be that Common Sense is really just a common seed, a seed many would call a weed?
Reminding you of nature, seeds may look dead, but the spark of life still remains deeply sequestered within the protoplasm, waiting for just the right climatic conditions in which to sprout, grow, and in due season provide a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even one hundred fold.
I would submit that the season for the sprouting of Common Sense is now upon us. As is the general rule, seeds are planted in the spring, sometimes outdoors and sometimes in a greenhouse, or cold frame. In the proper time the seeds emerge and some are transplanted into the garden. In spite of all the best efforts of man, plants we call weeds, do this very well without our husbandry.
The sun provides the light and the energy for photosynthesis. Rain or human watering provides the liquidity to make our gardens and Common Sense grow. With all the enlightened wisdom we can muster, we think we have science on our side, but if you just grow your garden with science you will miss the wonder of it all, the art of passing times, passing seasons, and the joy of harvest.
Many enlightened folks believe that Common Sense is just a primitive and noxious weed, but they fail to understand the symbiosis within the Garden of God. Neither do they dare a taste of the fruit of Common Sense, and hence ignore its life giving properties.
Read More...
Serfs and the Warm Fuzzy Link
10/June/2009 12:27
Last week I learned what I had perceived, calling an American a serf is not a way to win friends and influence people. That is especially true when you mix in a little Bible teaching with an audience of what is generally called evangelicals. Being called a serf really doesn’t make you feel good about yourself, and especially the plan that God has for your life. That plan of course being what Francis Schaeffer called, “personal peace and affluence.”
I didn’t write the book, “The Road to Serfdom.” F. A. Hayek wrote it a long time ago, even before I was born. The book basically describes the rise of pre WWII fascism in Europe, along with the compassion and complacency of what would soon be the Allies against Hitler and Mussolini. Hayek’s thesis basically warns about establishing what American pundits are now calling “European style socialism” during the reconstruction after the close of the war. All I did was just merge the two to make a somewhat logical point.
This road in Europe has pretty much been an autobahn, with really the only barrier being Margaret Thatcher’s British experiment in the 1980s, which found a following in America under President Reagan. In true American style, we however introduced steroids to the mix, pumping up everyone with mass body building exercises of cheap credit, expansive monetary policy, and real estate speculation.
As with drug steroids, economic steroids might help your major league career, but once drug testing and old age begin to show their effects, life goes down in a hurry. Can I get a witness on what has happened since mid 2007? Amen!
Along the way auto companies, designed bigger, safer, and dare I say more luxurious cars, so even peasants could feel like royalty. We even found a way to put that luxury into trucks and especially SUV trucks. Along with the bigger is better, came the road to highly leveraged financing and auto company profits.
Recently has come the push for hybrid cars, which are really 1980s econo-boxes hyped up with the aforementioned luxury, batteries and an electric motor. The hi-tech batteries are supposed to “last the life of the vehicle.” But if you try to find a definition of the “life of the vehicle” you will find it defined pretty much as what “is, is.” I suspect the life of the vehicle is really the five or six years it takes you to pay for it.
What hybrids really are is expensive one person commuter boxes for wealthy professionals to drive back and forth to work daily, and maybe a few times a year take it on a trip outside the urban sprawl, where the range of a true electric vehicle would run out of juice. So for this added weight, you pay another ten grand or so, get the warm fuzzy that marketing says, “You are saving the environment.” And this time foreign automakers are getting the profits.
Read More...
I didn’t write the book, “The Road to Serfdom.” F. A. Hayek wrote it a long time ago, even before I was born. The book basically describes the rise of pre WWII fascism in Europe, along with the compassion and complacency of what would soon be the Allies against Hitler and Mussolini. Hayek’s thesis basically warns about establishing what American pundits are now calling “European style socialism” during the reconstruction after the close of the war. All I did was just merge the two to make a somewhat logical point.
This road in Europe has pretty much been an autobahn, with really the only barrier being Margaret Thatcher’s British experiment in the 1980s, which found a following in America under President Reagan. In true American style, we however introduced steroids to the mix, pumping up everyone with mass body building exercises of cheap credit, expansive monetary policy, and real estate speculation.
As with drug steroids, economic steroids might help your major league career, but once drug testing and old age begin to show their effects, life goes down in a hurry. Can I get a witness on what has happened since mid 2007? Amen!
Along the way auto companies, designed bigger, safer, and dare I say more luxurious cars, so even peasants could feel like royalty. We even found a way to put that luxury into trucks and especially SUV trucks. Along with the bigger is better, came the road to highly leveraged financing and auto company profits.
Recently has come the push for hybrid cars, which are really 1980s econo-boxes hyped up with the aforementioned luxury, batteries and an electric motor. The hi-tech batteries are supposed to “last the life of the vehicle.” But if you try to find a definition of the “life of the vehicle” you will find it defined pretty much as what “is, is.” I suspect the life of the vehicle is really the five or six years it takes you to pay for it.
What hybrids really are is expensive one person commuter boxes for wealthy professionals to drive back and forth to work daily, and maybe a few times a year take it on a trip outside the urban sprawl, where the range of a true electric vehicle would run out of juice. So for this added weight, you pay another ten grand or so, get the warm fuzzy that marketing says, “You are saving the environment.” And this time foreign automakers are getting the profits.
Read More...
Twenty-first century feudalism
03/June/2009 11:08
Last Sunday Christianity marked the historic festival of Pentecost. While long disconnected from the Jewish rendition of the same, the Pentecost Sunday is recognized as the birthday of the church. Churches with worship roots in a formal liturgy, focus upon three Biblical readings each Sunday, one from the Old Testament, one New Testament, and a Gospel reading. In Protestant circles these reading date at least from the Reformation, but probably the reading’s roots go much further back, perhaps even to before the schism between Rome and the Orthodox. These Pentecost readings shared in many denominations are: Old - Ezekiel 37:1-14; New - Acts 2:1-21; Gospel - John15:26,27; 16:4b-15. For those seeking a more contemporary addition, “Rushing Wind, by Steve Green is found on iTunes by Steve and other artists.
If you read these passages within in the construct of what is happening currently in the financial turmoil facing the world, they seem totally in sink with our reliance upon our own knowledge and wisdom, and how all the best, from all the finest, is dismally inadequate in its comprehension of present reality.
When have written specifically about the Ezekiel passage in “Dry Bones Valley” in November 2007 (PDF link), as well as mentioned it briefly in other articles. In that article we built upon how the passage refers to the restoration of national Israel which took place in the mid-twentieth century, it also should apply to the restoration of the church, which currently finds it glory not in God, but in the affairs and riches of the world, not much different than the nation of Israel in Ezekiel’s day. If you combine the two restoration principles you find them, discussed amazingly in Romans 11, where in order for we “wild olives” to be grafted in, the olive tree must first be restored.
Just as we can look back in the Bible and see applications and the reality of today, in similar fashion we can see similar parallels in common grace or the society as a whole. Conservative pundits have been calling President Obama a socialist from the time he became a candidate up to the present. From pretty much is inauguration the terms fascism, as been added to describe his developing regime. On some occasions even the word communist has been used. An interesting article in the English version of Pravda used the term Marxism to describe the whole current American scheme. “American capitalism gone with a whimper” is well worth the read.
From the liberal side of the political spectrum and much of the general population however still give the President high or glowing marks for his ability to “not let this crisis go to waste” as “you ain’t seen nothing yet,” to use the President’s own words.
What seems to be missing in all of this however, is really a touch with the reality of the whole situation and tying it into history, a history in which President Obama is just the current player in a line, much like the Pravda article describes. To say that Obama is trying to install “European style socialism” is the United States, grossly simplifies European culture, as well as it dumbs down the natural diversity of the American landscape as well as the true diversity of the American people.
Read More...
If you read these passages within in the construct of what is happening currently in the financial turmoil facing the world, they seem totally in sink with our reliance upon our own knowledge and wisdom, and how all the best, from all the finest, is dismally inadequate in its comprehension of present reality.
When have written specifically about the Ezekiel passage in “Dry Bones Valley” in November 2007 (PDF link), as well as mentioned it briefly in other articles. In that article we built upon how the passage refers to the restoration of national Israel which took place in the mid-twentieth century, it also should apply to the restoration of the church, which currently finds it glory not in God, but in the affairs and riches of the world, not much different than the nation of Israel in Ezekiel’s day. If you combine the two restoration principles you find them, discussed amazingly in Romans 11, where in order for we “wild olives” to be grafted in, the olive tree must first be restored.
Just as we can look back in the Bible and see applications and the reality of today, in similar fashion we can see similar parallels in common grace or the society as a whole. Conservative pundits have been calling President Obama a socialist from the time he became a candidate up to the present. From pretty much is inauguration the terms fascism, as been added to describe his developing regime. On some occasions even the word communist has been used. An interesting article in the English version of Pravda used the term Marxism to describe the whole current American scheme. “American capitalism gone with a whimper” is well worth the read.
From the liberal side of the political spectrum and much of the general population however still give the President high or glowing marks for his ability to “not let this crisis go to waste” as “you ain’t seen nothing yet,” to use the President’s own words.
What seems to be missing in all of this however, is really a touch with the reality of the whole situation and tying it into history, a history in which President Obama is just the current player in a line, much like the Pravda article describes. To say that Obama is trying to install “European style socialism” is the United States, grossly simplifies European culture, as well as it dumbs down the natural diversity of the American landscape as well as the true diversity of the American people.
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Deified Money & Loss of Weath
27/May/2009 06:36
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.
Alas we, the folks, shall never know and are pretty much at the mercy of the god Mammon that really does not care at all about our reluctant or willing sacrifices. The most relevant passage from the Bible comes from Luke 16:1-15:
Read More...
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.
Alas we, the folks, shall never know and are pretty much at the mercy of the god Mammon that really does not care at all about our reluctant or willing sacrifices. The most relevant passage from the Bible comes from Luke 16:1-15:
Read More...
America's Tensioned Prosperity
20/May/2009 09:34
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.
So today the best we can hope for is some sort of balance between competing elite specialists. This of course is best known as the operating genre of Fox News. “Fair and balanced” really means highly paid specialists, working their own niche, come on the various programs to give their perspective from their latest book. This spin is balanced by spin, sometimes in contrast, other times by the host. What makes Bill O’Reilly the ratings leader in cable television is that he is basically a center right guy, who has made numerous trips to the Blarney Stone. “The No Spin Zone,” is really the only place where the average American bloke, and perhaps that fits worldwide, can actually see and hear someone who by definition, believes in traditional values.
Fox News and the “O’Reilly Factor” of course are part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation conglomerate empire. Everyone should visit the News Corporation website to see just how “creating and distributing top-quality news, sports and entertainment around the world,” can be so diversely bodacious. Be sure to check out some of the various tabs to see the depth and breadth of the empire that leveraged capital can accrue.
As we pointed out last week, what Jim Hill attempted to do with railroads in the transportation industry, which was scuttled by progressive President Teddy Roosevelt, Rupert Murdoch has had little trouble achieving the same end, during economic times which favor mergers and acquisitions at the expense of true wealth creation. The difference between Murdoch however, and some of the other current conglomerate CEO’s, is that some of his empire was created by entrepreneurial activity not just buying a brand.
Read More...
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.
So today the best we can hope for is some sort of balance between competing elite specialists. This of course is best known as the operating genre of Fox News. “Fair and balanced” really means highly paid specialists, working their own niche, come on the various programs to give their perspective from their latest book. This spin is balanced by spin, sometimes in contrast, other times by the host. What makes Bill O’Reilly the ratings leader in cable television is that he is basically a center right guy, who has made numerous trips to the Blarney Stone. “The No Spin Zone,” is really the only place where the average American bloke, and perhaps that fits worldwide, can actually see and hear someone who by definition, believes in traditional values.
Fox News and the “O’Reilly Factor” of course are part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation conglomerate empire. Everyone should visit the News Corporation website to see just how “creating and distributing top-quality news, sports and entertainment around the world,” can be so diversely bodacious. Be sure to check out some of the various tabs to see the depth and breadth of the empire that leveraged capital can accrue.
As we pointed out last week, what Jim Hill attempted to do with railroads in the transportation industry, which was scuttled by progressive President Teddy Roosevelt, Rupert Murdoch has had little trouble achieving the same end, during economic times which favor mergers and acquisitions at the expense of true wealth creation. The difference between Murdoch however, and some of the other current conglomerate CEO’s, is that some of his empire was created by entrepreneurial activity not just buying a brand.
Read More...
A Synopsis of American Entropic Development
13/May/2009 10:20
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
Economic Ecology
06/May/2009 09:10
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.
Read More...
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.
Read More...
Twentieth Century Reflections
29/April/2009 10:17
Today Americans celebrate the ascendancy to the Presidency of Barack Obama, the anointed one. For now the plurality believes strongly in his messianic vision. Growing minorities however are beginning to look at him as the other end of that religious spectrum. My mission here today is not to change anyone’s opinion, but to point out that our forty-fourth president is just the latest and last (re)incarnation of what has set the American agenda for perhaps a century, at least from the end of the Viet Nam war.
This operating paradigm focuses upon the role of bigness to solve all the hiccups of human problems. Where do we begin, big urban centers, big business, big labor, big special interests, big politics, big wealth evolving into big debt, big consumption, big bureaucracies, and big government. All of these and perhaps many more are now giving us a world in which the individual has to go it alone, because these big solutions, treat human beings, created in the image of God, as no more than other components of the material world.
When you put the Obama presidency in that light what you see, is not the light of a messiah, but rather the end of an era in which largeness for the sake of itself has run out of gas. The emperors of the paradigm have no clothes, but they still believe they can create them if we figure out some way to provide a method to finance the whole shebang.
George W. Bush played his role very well. Under his watch enterprise imperialism became the dominant force in the world, and we are not talking about the shooting wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the War on Terror. Thru the unregulated financial schemes began in the Clinton Administration; the enterprise imperialists brought the world’s wealth to American shores, and exported incomprehensible debt financial schemes to pull it off. The roots of this growth emphasis however, can be traced back through presidents for most of the century, for big things take time.
As the final player, this time as a true big government leader, the gifted Obama has completed his first one hundred days. By being very busy, he and his teleprompter make their rounds. So far there seems to be little substance, which was not really preexisting underlying economic strength. Really the economy was not that bad until late last year the unsustainable nature of enterprise imperialism became apparent as a drag on real wealth and wealth creation.
As our good friend Brute’ pointed out in his cartoon last Friday, what is missing from all the stimulus, bailouts, and other debt financing programs is even the mention of the role of the entrepreneur in creating new wealth. This new wealth will be the stimulus that will change the twenty-first century, but so far in the first decade of the century we are still looking backward to what was, rather than forward to what may be.
Read More...
This operating paradigm focuses upon the role of bigness to solve all the hiccups of human problems. Where do we begin, big urban centers, big business, big labor, big special interests, big politics, big wealth evolving into big debt, big consumption, big bureaucracies, and big government. All of these and perhaps many more are now giving us a world in which the individual has to go it alone, because these big solutions, treat human beings, created in the image of God, as no more than other components of the material world.
When you put the Obama presidency in that light what you see, is not the light of a messiah, but rather the end of an era in which largeness for the sake of itself has run out of gas. The emperors of the paradigm have no clothes, but they still believe they can create them if we figure out some way to provide a method to finance the whole shebang.
George W. Bush played his role very well. Under his watch enterprise imperialism became the dominant force in the world, and we are not talking about the shooting wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, or the War on Terror. Thru the unregulated financial schemes began in the Clinton Administration; the enterprise imperialists brought the world’s wealth to American shores, and exported incomprehensible debt financial schemes to pull it off. The roots of this growth emphasis however, can be traced back through presidents for most of the century, for big things take time.
As the final player, this time as a true big government leader, the gifted Obama has completed his first one hundred days. By being very busy, he and his teleprompter make their rounds. So far there seems to be little substance, which was not really preexisting underlying economic strength. Really the economy was not that bad until late last year the unsustainable nature of enterprise imperialism became apparent as a drag on real wealth and wealth creation.
As our good friend Brute’ pointed out in his cartoon last Friday, what is missing from all the stimulus, bailouts, and other debt financing programs is even the mention of the role of the entrepreneur in creating new wealth. This new wealth will be the stimulus that will change the twenty-first century, but so far in the first decade of the century we are still looking backward to what was, rather than forward to what may be.
Read More...
Tea Party Flavors
22/April/2009 13:05
Last week’s TEA Parties on Tax Day were ignored, castigated, embraced, or celebrated. Some reputable sources have total attendances at between half a million to a million people. Some not reputable have this at much less to well over a million. It was said that President Obama was unaware of them taking place, or perhaps there was just an unwillingness to look seriously at a world who does not favorably endorse the Administration’s belittling of America’s past, while failing to understand his hope for a benevolent community of government centered personal peace and affluence for everyone - everywhere.
This week we will look briefly at three overriding points that came out of the TEA Parties. These three seem to fit with the concept of group leadership of KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid. We have seen a couple of these TEA Party analyses however that seem to have a dozen similar points, which may be modeled on step programs such as Tax Payers Anonymous.
The general tone of the Spokane TEA Party, which I attended, seemed to have a fundamental belief in the “Supremacy of America’s Founding Documents and Principles.” By this I mean absolute standards by which the country is to run. These documents and principles are not evolving into something more just and harmonious, by current whims of the intellectually enlightened, or a political class.
As we continually report here, those foundational writings center around Natural Law and the Common grace expressed by Nature’s God, the Creator of the Universe, a God consistent with the Biblical Trinity.
This comes into direct conflict with the post American Revolution concept of evolutionary enlightenment based solely on a different kind of naturalism, in which there is no god at all and everything has essentially a totally naturalistic explanation and source.
Evolution doesn’t really answer the big human epistemological questions of Origins, Purpose, and Destiny. Hence in a world, which came from nowhere and is headed nowhere, what we are to do now that we are here, is pretty hard to define in anything but relative terms. In fact it illogically asks, “Am I here at all?” Since logic itself has no basis for its existence either.
Read More...
This week we will look briefly at three overriding points that came out of the TEA Parties. These three seem to fit with the concept of group leadership of KISS or Keep It Simple Stupid. We have seen a couple of these TEA Party analyses however that seem to have a dozen similar points, which may be modeled on step programs such as Tax Payers Anonymous.
The general tone of the Spokane TEA Party, which I attended, seemed to have a fundamental belief in the “Supremacy of America’s Founding Documents and Principles.” By this I mean absolute standards by which the country is to run. These documents and principles are not evolving into something more just and harmonious, by current whims of the intellectually enlightened, or a political class.
As we continually report here, those foundational writings center around Natural Law and the Common grace expressed by Nature’s God, the Creator of the Universe, a God consistent with the Biblical Trinity.
This comes into direct conflict with the post American Revolution concept of evolutionary enlightenment based solely on a different kind of naturalism, in which there is no god at all and everything has essentially a totally naturalistic explanation and source.
Evolution doesn’t really answer the big human epistemological questions of Origins, Purpose, and Destiny. Hence in a world, which came from nowhere and is headed nowhere, what we are to do now that we are here, is pretty hard to define in anything but relative terms. In fact it illogically asks, “Am I here at all?” Since logic itself has no basis for its existence either.
Read More...
Evolving Trails - Natural Progression
15/April/2009 10:26
Shortly after we foraged ahead in last weeks article, it quickly became self evident that the trail ahead had become overgrown with all types of spin and hype, much of it related to the rapidly growing weeds in the political ditches on both our left and right.
We mentioned last week that many spokespersons encroaching on the path from the right ditch were beginning to call actions we are now seeing from the Obama Administration fascist rather than socialist. That was highlighted by a Glenn Beck show last Friday on Fox News, in which the less charged term “stateism” was used in place of fascism, at least for the time being. Rather than using the evolving programs of our current crisis, that we can’t let go to waste, the Beck program focused upon the rise of the progressive movement under Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
From the left ditch, leaving the historically redefined term liberal in the mud, indeed the they are more and more using the tactics of the rise of the American Progressive Movement as a working plan by which to evolve the United States and the world into a diverse community by which all peoples will live in security through governmentally run programs and supervised enterprise.
Both of the positions have more to do with talking points rather than substance. There in lies the true danger to the American Republic as it evolves democratically to take its rightful position as just another member of the community of nations.
Evolution as espoused in general morality has no basis in science. At least science we can measure today. That is because the quantum leaps of information required for evolutionary progress to occur are not supported by the natural laws of Thermodynamics. This is not just a minor problem in logic and research, but also a divine necessity in a world in which there is no god other than we human’s evolving narcissism.
In such a world, fertile bunnies laid colored chicken and candy eggs in hiding places during the spring fertility festival of Easter last Sunday. In church, as an American evangelical, you learned that Jesus will help you through this coming year so that next Easter you will be back on the wide road to material prosperity. Of course there were a few churches where a preacher proclaimed the Resurrection, as the first fruits of a future restored creation in which Christians will live eternally, based upon Jesus propitiatory sacrifice on a cross three days previously. Then in true unity with historical Christianity, we all went someplace and pigged out on ham and other acts of gluttony, ignoring any thought of an Inquisition.
This points us to the true reason for this season and that is security, either real or imagined. Both of the ditches of the narrow path ahead speak of all kinds of wonderful future things, money, self worth, purpose, community, health, but it all comes down to our personal perception of security.
Read More...
We mentioned last week that many spokespersons encroaching on the path from the right ditch were beginning to call actions we are now seeing from the Obama Administration fascist rather than socialist. That was highlighted by a Glenn Beck show last Friday on Fox News, in which the less charged term “stateism” was used in place of fascism, at least for the time being. Rather than using the evolving programs of our current crisis, that we can’t let go to waste, the Beck program focused upon the rise of the progressive movement under Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.
From the left ditch, leaving the historically redefined term liberal in the mud, indeed the they are more and more using the tactics of the rise of the American Progressive Movement as a working plan by which to evolve the United States and the world into a diverse community by which all peoples will live in security through governmentally run programs and supervised enterprise.
Both of the positions have more to do with talking points rather than substance. There in lies the true danger to the American Republic as it evolves democratically to take its rightful position as just another member of the community of nations.
Evolution as espoused in general morality has no basis in science. At least science we can measure today. That is because the quantum leaps of information required for evolutionary progress to occur are not supported by the natural laws of Thermodynamics. This is not just a minor problem in logic and research, but also a divine necessity in a world in which there is no god other than we human’s evolving narcissism.
In such a world, fertile bunnies laid colored chicken and candy eggs in hiding places during the spring fertility festival of Easter last Sunday. In church, as an American evangelical, you learned that Jesus will help you through this coming year so that next Easter you will be back on the wide road to material prosperity. Of course there were a few churches where a preacher proclaimed the Resurrection, as the first fruits of a future restored creation in which Christians will live eternally, based upon Jesus propitiatory sacrifice on a cross three days previously. Then in true unity with historical Christianity, we all went someplace and pigged out on ham and other acts of gluttony, ignoring any thought of an Inquisition.
This points us to the true reason for this season and that is security, either real or imagined. Both of the ditches of the narrow path ahead speak of all kinds of wonderful future things, money, self worth, purpose, community, health, but it all comes down to our personal perception of security.
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Foraging Ahead
08/April/2009 10:09
Foraging ahead is probably the best description of what is happening in the world today. I thought about forging ahead, but that seems to apply to just about anything without any specific direction. In that respect forging ahead is similar to, “Change you can believe in.” Foraging however signifies you are looking for something specifically relating to your subsistence. To some people that foraging has less vital implications than to others, but the foraging thought of providing present and future provisions pretty much applies to us all.
An article I read recently began with a quotation from some well-known historical economist and it went something like, “We shouldn’t forget that finance adds nothing to the underlying transaction; it is only a facilitator of the commerce.”
The mentor entrepreneur I worked with for many years always asked the question, “What does this new individual bring to the table? If the consensus was that the individual had little to contribute, they were not added to the team.
Putting finance in the context of both thoughts, finance should be the mechanism by which two or more tables facilitate their existence and their growth.
However the way things have developed recently and the utopian path ahead proposed by the US Treasury and the Fed, that statement must be modified to something like, “Forget the tables, forget the people, forget the underlying commerce, it is all about the finance.”
As our Monday post “The Greenspan Bug Curve” pointed out, both the Treasury and the Fed assume the underlying causes of the Great Depression were speculation an tight money. As a consequence they are creating unconscionable amounts of money and are in the process of sticking regulatory fingers into all of human enterprise. Now a number of conservative talking heads are beginning to state that this is not socialism, or even benign European socialism, but an attempt to create a fascist state, or world.
Read More...
An article I read recently began with a quotation from some well-known historical economist and it went something like, “We shouldn’t forget that finance adds nothing to the underlying transaction; it is only a facilitator of the commerce.”
The mentor entrepreneur I worked with for many years always asked the question, “What does this new individual bring to the table? If the consensus was that the individual had little to contribute, they were not added to the team.
Putting finance in the context of both thoughts, finance should be the mechanism by which two or more tables facilitate their existence and their growth.
However the way things have developed recently and the utopian path ahead proposed by the US Treasury and the Fed, that statement must be modified to something like, “Forget the tables, forget the people, forget the underlying commerce, it is all about the finance.”
As our Monday post “The Greenspan Bug Curve” pointed out, both the Treasury and the Fed assume the underlying causes of the Great Depression were speculation an tight money. As a consequence they are creating unconscionable amounts of money and are in the process of sticking regulatory fingers into all of human enterprise. Now a number of conservative talking heads are beginning to state that this is not socialism, or even benign European socialism, but an attempt to create a fascist state, or world.
Read More...
The Essential Five Gs
01/April/2009 14:14
This week’s article is dedicated to the memory of Dale Anderson a compatriot from my college days at both Eastern and graduate school at WSU, fellow sojourner to the land west of the Cascades, and Chronicle email subscriber. Dale died suddenly Sunday. We pray that the peace of God will comfort and direct his wife Pam and his family as they move forward in this time of great economic uncertainty.
Glenn Beck is the new rising star on the Fox News Channel. Much of that success that has allowed his show to rise to the number three most popular cable program stems from his focus on nine principles and twelve values of traditional American culture. These talking points are focused visually by adapting the “Unite or Die” flag from the era of the American Revolution. The problem with this number of things to remember is that there are: twenty-one things to remember. Without a teleprompter or some method of similar display, all those values and principles of something, get confusing and all mixed up.
For some time, I have been involved in cultural survival discussions that revolve around four simple words that begin with G. Those four are God, Gold, Groceries, and Guns. Those four necessities served us well, but as we move forward in this new era of 21st Century change, we need to do a little modification and add another point to make a total of five. Compared with the twenty-one on Beck’s list these five definitely qualify for the concept of KISS, keep it simple stupid. If kept in alphabetical order these five also allow you to understand the unique nature of the United States in the world.
So here is our list of Five Essential Gs: God – Gold – Grub – Gumption – Guns.
Read More...
Glenn Beck is the new rising star on the Fox News Channel. Much of that success that has allowed his show to rise to the number three most popular cable program stems from his focus on nine principles and twelve values of traditional American culture. These talking points are focused visually by adapting the “Unite or Die” flag from the era of the American Revolution. The problem with this number of things to remember is that there are: twenty-one things to remember. Without a teleprompter or some method of similar display, all those values and principles of something, get confusing and all mixed up.
For some time, I have been involved in cultural survival discussions that revolve around four simple words that begin with G. Those four are God, Gold, Groceries, and Guns. Those four necessities served us well, but as we move forward in this new era of 21st Century change, we need to do a little modification and add another point to make a total of five. Compared with the twenty-one on Beck’s list these five definitely qualify for the concept of KISS, keep it simple stupid. If kept in alphabetical order these five also allow you to understand the unique nature of the United States in the world.
So here is our list of Five Essential Gs: God – Gold – Grub – Gumption – Guns.
Read More...
Interlude
25/March/2009 09:06
It seems like this whole economic mess had its beginnings in the 1970s. I suppose you could blame it on the Viet Nam war but that probably is a gross simplification. The music of that era seems especially relevant today. Last week we began “The War on Small” with the first line of a 1969 song: War – What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
This week as I was researching the background for Monday’s “Special Report - Prosperity Myth” the words of Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 song, “Keep The Customer Satisfied” seemed to be completely fitting. As long as the Prosperity Myth functioned smoothly and everyone thought they were rich and secure, life was just a “Bobos in Paradise” to use the title of a David Brooks book, all that was required was to “Keep the Customer Satisfied.” So we got more and better stuff cheaper and cheaper. Hallelujah, material heaven here on earth!
However, it now seems that the recent worldwide love affair with President Barack Obama is beginning to show some stress. Basically two thirds of the way through his first 100 days, more and more comments and editorials, about not being up to the job, not ready for prime time, inept management, out of touch, gallows humor, punch drunk, a way to hell, and others are now being used. As his poll numbers deteriorate with all but the political class, it doesn’t seem that reassuring when Congress has only continued or enhanced its numskull performances dating from the Bush Administration. Then there is the debt situation; it is impossible to even keep track of the various trillions here, there, and everywhere.
Read More...
This week as I was researching the background for Monday’s “Special Report - Prosperity Myth” the words of Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970 song, “Keep The Customer Satisfied” seemed to be completely fitting. As long as the Prosperity Myth functioned smoothly and everyone thought they were rich and secure, life was just a “Bobos in Paradise” to use the title of a David Brooks book, all that was required was to “Keep the Customer Satisfied.” So we got more and better stuff cheaper and cheaper. Hallelujah, material heaven here on earth!
However, it now seems that the recent worldwide love affair with President Barack Obama is beginning to show some stress. Basically two thirds of the way through his first 100 days, more and more comments and editorials, about not being up to the job, not ready for prime time, inept management, out of touch, gallows humor, punch drunk, a way to hell, and others are now being used. As his poll numbers deteriorate with all but the political class, it doesn’t seem that reassuring when Congress has only continued or enhanced its numskull performances dating from the Bush Administration. Then there is the debt situation; it is impossible to even keep track of the various trillions here, there, and everywhere.
Read More...
The war on small
18/March/2009 16:50
War – What is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
So goes the first line of the 1969 song by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and released by Motown - first by the Temptations and then by Edwin Starr in 1970. The edgy Starr rendition is what we are most familiar, the prior Temptations recording is somewhat more refined if a true war protest song can ever be refined. War was also recorded by Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s. All three versions are available on iTunes.
Vietnam was called a war, so was Iraq, and Afghanistan. Less we forget, well, actually we want to forget, there still is the War on Terror, refocused by the self proclaimed more civilized Obama Administration into some security or insecurity measures against a few people who don’t agree with American values.
Have you ever heard of the War on Small? Of course the War on Small begs the question small what, or who. Yep! All of the above, but for the purposes of this week’s article we will try to focus upon small enterprise.
Did you miss the news on President Obama’s small business initiative sometime Monday? By Tuesday it was not anywhere to be found on the leading news feeds? The Wall Street Journal’s weekly Small Business Update email had one article that is worth reading. Basically it says that in the diverse small business universe, again the President was long on hyperbole and short on substance. The only meaningful content comes only to the small portion of small businesses that use SBA loan guarantees.
Yippy – Skippy!
Read More...
So goes the first line of the 1969 song by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong and released by Motown - first by the Temptations and then by Edwin Starr in 1970. The edgy Starr rendition is what we are most familiar, the prior Temptations recording is somewhat more refined if a true war protest song can ever be refined. War was also recorded by Bruce Springsteen in the 1980s. All three versions are available on iTunes.
Vietnam was called a war, so was Iraq, and Afghanistan. Less we forget, well, actually we want to forget, there still is the War on Terror, refocused by the self proclaimed more civilized Obama Administration into some security or insecurity measures against a few people who don’t agree with American values.
Have you ever heard of the War on Small? Of course the War on Small begs the question small what, or who. Yep! All of the above, but for the purposes of this week’s article we will try to focus upon small enterprise.
Did you miss the news on President Obama’s small business initiative sometime Monday? By Tuesday it was not anywhere to be found on the leading news feeds? The Wall Street Journal’s weekly Small Business Update email had one article that is worth reading. Basically it says that in the diverse small business universe, again the President was long on hyperbole and short on substance. The only meaningful content comes only to the small portion of small businesses that use SBA loan guarantees.
Yippy – Skippy!
Read More...
Trilogy: Two-headed Coins, The Dow’s Hidden Reality, Sufficient Grace
11/March/2009 10:32
Blame it on climate change. Mostly the economic climate, but also a March snowfall, and plunging temperatures that Tuesday night reached 8 degrees (-13C), with so far 3 record cold nights in a row. This week we have a double length unity in diversity article, that looks in diverse ways at the economic climate, and leads one to still believe that spring always follows the winter, even if today winter looks all too real.
Last Thursday evening was one of the most difficult times I can remember in a very long time. For the most part, I try to look at the world as a realistic optimist. After the Dow fell 300 points and played around 6500, I had to admit that things are getting seriously serious. That number was a thousand points lower than my somewhat flippant prediction of 7500 by Inauguration Day, which really didn’t happen until Economic Stimulus Day. But it was also only a thousand points above the 5500 level predicted by a real financial planner I talked with during a holiday office thing. If things continue on this current path the Dow could be at 5500 by April Fools Day.
Times are serious, and it is time for the folks to get serious also, that I realized meant the pointing finger also had three pointing back at me.
Most of the economic news now uses the 1982 recession as sort of a benchmark for where we are now. In that light 1982 was a life-changing period in my life, which basically has led me to where I am today. Considering all that has happened since that time, in the transcendent eternal sense, I am one of the more wealthy people in the world. Materially and economically things really are not all that much different than back then, maybe even quantitatively below that recessionary level.
In about the middle of the wonderful year of 1982, my folder of job rejection letters reached the thickness of maybe an inch and a half. In the year and a few months since I had been somewhat forcibly removed from corporate America, the only real potential opportunities had come from Long Beach, California, and Houston, Texas, both on my bottom ten places to live in the United States.
The amazing thing is just a few months before my trip to the unemployment office; my cute, corporate headhunter had told me, that with my qualifications I was probably one of the top six candidates in the country in my field. That all changed when new President Ronald Reagan, basically shut down the EPA and put all the new federal hazardous waste regulations on hold.
That pile of rejection letters changed my life; in conjunction with a phone call I received from one business manager, who instead of sending me another rejection letter decided to give me a call. The call came from a sales manager of a copier sales company where I had applied for an entry-level sales position. At that time copier sales people were required to make at least forty external cold calls per day, as well as follow up on any other slim leads that may have been generated by some other means.
The reason that this manager decided to give me a call was because, as we determined, he had been in the class just before me at the Army Security Agency Officers Class at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts. He stated that he had taken that copier sales job (perhaps in the 1973-75 recession) and had just gotten to the point where he could relax a bit, and that there was no way he was ever going to hire anyone that might threaten that long sought security, which he could easily discern from my resume.
Read More...
Last Thursday evening was one of the most difficult times I can remember in a very long time. For the most part, I try to look at the world as a realistic optimist. After the Dow fell 300 points and played around 6500, I had to admit that things are getting seriously serious. That number was a thousand points lower than my somewhat flippant prediction of 7500 by Inauguration Day, which really didn’t happen until Economic Stimulus Day. But it was also only a thousand points above the 5500 level predicted by a real financial planner I talked with during a holiday office thing. If things continue on this current path the Dow could be at 5500 by April Fools Day.
Times are serious, and it is time for the folks to get serious also, that I realized meant the pointing finger also had three pointing back at me.
Most of the economic news now uses the 1982 recession as sort of a benchmark for where we are now. In that light 1982 was a life-changing period in my life, which basically has led me to where I am today. Considering all that has happened since that time, in the transcendent eternal sense, I am one of the more wealthy people in the world. Materially and economically things really are not all that much different than back then, maybe even quantitatively below that recessionary level.
In about the middle of the wonderful year of 1982, my folder of job rejection letters reached the thickness of maybe an inch and a half. In the year and a few months since I had been somewhat forcibly removed from corporate America, the only real potential opportunities had come from Long Beach, California, and Houston, Texas, both on my bottom ten places to live in the United States.
The amazing thing is just a few months before my trip to the unemployment office; my cute, corporate headhunter had told me, that with my qualifications I was probably one of the top six candidates in the country in my field. That all changed when new President Ronald Reagan, basically shut down the EPA and put all the new federal hazardous waste regulations on hold.
That pile of rejection letters changed my life; in conjunction with a phone call I received from one business manager, who instead of sending me another rejection letter decided to give me a call. The call came from a sales manager of a copier sales company where I had applied for an entry-level sales position. At that time copier sales people were required to make at least forty external cold calls per day, as well as follow up on any other slim leads that may have been generated by some other means.
The reason that this manager decided to give me a call was because, as we determined, he had been in the class just before me at the Army Security Agency Officers Class at Ft. Devens, Massachusetts. He stated that he had taken that copier sales job (perhaps in the 1973-75 recession) and had just gotten to the point where he could relax a bit, and that there was no way he was ever going to hire anyone that might threaten that long sought security, which he could easily discern from my resume.
Read More...
The faux pas presumption paradigm
04/March/2009 10:19
The Noise on the Western Front increased considerably in the past week. The essential reason for that increase is that we all continue to believe in a faux pas presumption paradigm. That belief assumes we have within ourselves, within our individual and collective intellect, the potential to make the world a better place and to save ourselves from future destruction.
That is what the Bible calls basically the “unforgivable sin.” Of course we really don’t believe in sin, especially within ourselves, so when it all falls apart, we are completely without the discernment to understand what is and has happened. If that is not a classic faux pas, I do not know what is.
So when President Obama spoke a week ago Tuesday, the speech was so filled with platitudes and generalities that really there was nothing of substance which one might disagree. Furthermore there was a complete disconnect from the outlined shining city on a hill, contrasted with the reality quagmire in the valley of current remorse.
On Thursday in outlining his budget for the next fiscal year, the President kicked up his liberal agenda more than a notch or two, essentially turning his vision of New Deal programs into prescriptions for financial disaster to those who believe in any concept of free market enterprise. From that budget outline it is clear that his Administration wants to turn this crisis-catastrophe into an opportunity to completely make free market enterprise subservient to centralized government planning and control.
On Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, talk show personality Rush Limbaugh, by adding an hour to a programmed twenty-minute speech turned a hoped thoughtful rebuttal to the Obama vision for America, into the opportunity for about an hour nap. When I woke up near the end he was still carrying on about his “first speech to the nation and the world.” Hence I assume I missed very little in the restful interlude.
On Monday the stock market responded to all this Noise, by the Dow dropping 300 points and settling well below 7000 for the first time in more than a decade. My only stock market prediction in this light was the 7500 barrier, which I forecast for Inauguration Day. That had to wait a couple of weeks until the President unveiled his stimulus plan to change the world and to save everything from everybody. But what is a couple of weeks when we all are having so much fun guessing what governmental faux pas will occur next.
With all that good news, around the world the dollar had somewhat of a rally against other currencies showing, I guess, that America remains the economic safe haven in a rapidly deteriorating world. The good thing about the American media is that they are so megalomaniac we really don’t know how bad things are on the rest of the Western Front.
Read More...
That is what the Bible calls basically the “unforgivable sin.” Of course we really don’t believe in sin, especially within ourselves, so when it all falls apart, we are completely without the discernment to understand what is and has happened. If that is not a classic faux pas, I do not know what is.
So when President Obama spoke a week ago Tuesday, the speech was so filled with platitudes and generalities that really there was nothing of substance which one might disagree. Furthermore there was a complete disconnect from the outlined shining city on a hill, contrasted with the reality quagmire in the valley of current remorse.
On Thursday in outlining his budget for the next fiscal year, the President kicked up his liberal agenda more than a notch or two, essentially turning his vision of New Deal programs into prescriptions for financial disaster to those who believe in any concept of free market enterprise. From that budget outline it is clear that his Administration wants to turn this crisis-catastrophe into an opportunity to completely make free market enterprise subservient to centralized government planning and control.
On Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, talk show personality Rush Limbaugh, by adding an hour to a programmed twenty-minute speech turned a hoped thoughtful rebuttal to the Obama vision for America, into the opportunity for about an hour nap. When I woke up near the end he was still carrying on about his “first speech to the nation and the world.” Hence I assume I missed very little in the restful interlude.
On Monday the stock market responded to all this Noise, by the Dow dropping 300 points and settling well below 7000 for the first time in more than a decade. My only stock market prediction in this light was the 7500 barrier, which I forecast for Inauguration Day. That had to wait a couple of weeks until the President unveiled his stimulus plan to change the world and to save everything from everybody. But what is a couple of weeks when we all are having so much fun guessing what governmental faux pas will occur next.
With all that good news, around the world the dollar had somewhat of a rally against other currencies showing, I guess, that America remains the economic safe haven in a rapidly deteriorating world. The good thing about the American media is that they are so megalomaniac we really don’t know how bad things are on the rest of the Western Front.
Read More...
Exclusively Inclusive: All Noise on the Western Front
25/February/2009 10:37
As I was listening to some of the discussions of our current financial crisis, one of the commentators began listing some of the impressive creations of literature that came out of financial hardships, wars, and similar stupendous change events. One of the books mentioned was “All Quiet on the Western Front” chronicling the events that brought about the end of WWI, the war to end all wars.
Shortly thereafter I was treated to both far right and far left pundits interrupting each other with pedantic talking points, none of them showing any civility to each other or to the host. Since this financial catastrophe finds its roots in the material crusades of Western Culture, I mused that what we were all hearing was “All Noise on the Western Front.”
Human beings are unique in all of God’s creation, in that we have some cognitive understanding of life. Yet we have developed or fallen to such a desperate condition that we have become completely hostile to others who do not share our appreciation of dead stuff in the way we suppose is the proper way that stuff and money should be acquired. The noise is deafening, almost like artillery attacks, but we have completely missed the fact that we all share a tremendous transcendent gift and that is life itself.
The talk for the last few months is that we have to save the financial system. The current Administration’s conscience is that somehow, someway, throwing enough money at the problem, we hope, we can fix it. There is one truth in all of this; we are throwing money at the problem, definitely not wealth. Eventually wealth will again surface and money will again become worthwhile, but the way things look now, there needs to be a significant change in attitude and policies.
Tuesday Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he hoped that the recession would end this year. This hope gave the stock market hope and it regained much of what it lost last Friday. Later that evening President Obama gave a similar speech to a joint session of Congress. Today and following we will find out if those words, just words, will change the perception of economic realities. It seems from my perspective that he is intent on growing government with little understanding on how to pay for it.
We can’t take our stuff with us. Yet through all this financial noise we have never asked three important questions.
The first is stuff the prime goal of human life?
Is there another worldview that can provide important human civility?
Finally, do we really have the where with all to act as our own messiah?
Read More...
Shortly thereafter I was treated to both far right and far left pundits interrupting each other with pedantic talking points, none of them showing any civility to each other or to the host. Since this financial catastrophe finds its roots in the material crusades of Western Culture, I mused that what we were all hearing was “All Noise on the Western Front.”
Human beings are unique in all of God’s creation, in that we have some cognitive understanding of life. Yet we have developed or fallen to such a desperate condition that we have become completely hostile to others who do not share our appreciation of dead stuff in the way we suppose is the proper way that stuff and money should be acquired. The noise is deafening, almost like artillery attacks, but we have completely missed the fact that we all share a tremendous transcendent gift and that is life itself.
The talk for the last few months is that we have to save the financial system. The current Administration’s conscience is that somehow, someway, throwing enough money at the problem, we hope, we can fix it. There is one truth in all of this; we are throwing money at the problem, definitely not wealth. Eventually wealth will again surface and money will again become worthwhile, but the way things look now, there needs to be a significant change in attitude and policies.
Tuesday Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said he hoped that the recession would end this year. This hope gave the stock market hope and it regained much of what it lost last Friday. Later that evening President Obama gave a similar speech to a joint session of Congress. Today and following we will find out if those words, just words, will change the perception of economic realities. It seems from my perspective that he is intent on growing government with little understanding on how to pay for it.
We can’t take our stuff with us. Yet through all this financial noise we have never asked three important questions.
The first is stuff the prime goal of human life?
Is there another worldview that can provide important human civility?
Finally, do we really have the where with all to act as our own messiah?
Read More...
Exclusively Inclusive and the Fear Factor
18/February/2009 09:34
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
We began last week with the above quotation from Proverbs, which is the ultimate causative agent in the affairs of man. If the road to passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 doesn’t verify that reality, you truly are not inclined to face the real world.
Blame it on television, especially the Friday night show Numb3rs, where the bad guy almost got away with murder by tampering with the jury. Then math, especially probability theory, figured out how he did it. He succeeded, but only to the closing scene. Add to that a link in Saturday’s WSJ Online email on the Committee on Doubt and Uncertainty, concerning the House Financial Services Committee and we have a program for this week’s column.
Fear is the prime motivator in all-human decisions, or more precisely, the desire for security in the face of the unknown is what makes us do certain things pretty much all the time. To shine some light into that darkness we created the following equation. (For Windows users rather than use a specific math character set, we have attempted to express the variables in standard keyboard text.)
What we want to find out is what is the true Success Probability of any action we take to solve some perceived problem using a Process Factor or factors, which is basically defined as the way we have always done it. This is coupled directly with the Perceived Success over the years we have followed that path. We multiply that average by our Hoped Results and an undefined Fear Factor, which is divided over the Actual Results achieved over time. To use this equation for future predictions we must estimate the Actual Results to calculate the estimated Fear Factor.
(AVG[PFPS]*HR*FF)/(AR*T)= SP
PF = Process Factor
PS = Perceived Success in Years
HR = Hoped Results
FF = Fear Factor
AR = Actual Results
T= Time
SP = Success Probability = 1
Solving for Fear Factor in a potential success
FF = 1(AR*T)/(AVG[PFPS]*HR)
This means the Fear Factor for any defined Success is inversely proportional to the Perceived Success time average.
Now since we do not know the Actual Results until some future defined time, what really constricts our decisions is that inverse proportionality compared to another independent Process Factor. Hence more of the time our decisions are based upon what we perceived worked in the past, rather than what might work in the present, or in the future. Our government’s lack of imagination has been considered the causative agent in the 9-11 attack. The same is true of the current economic mess.
Before I get totally confused with the mumbo-jumbo, let us put this in the context of the recently passed economic stimulus package in the United States.
Read More...
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
We began last week with the above quotation from Proverbs, which is the ultimate causative agent in the affairs of man. If the road to passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 doesn’t verify that reality, you truly are not inclined to face the real world.
Blame it on television, especially the Friday night show Numb3rs, where the bad guy almost got away with murder by tampering with the jury. Then math, especially probability theory, figured out how he did it. He succeeded, but only to the closing scene. Add to that a link in Saturday’s WSJ Online email on the Committee on Doubt and Uncertainty, concerning the House Financial Services Committee and we have a program for this week’s column.
Fear is the prime motivator in all-human decisions, or more precisely, the desire for security in the face of the unknown is what makes us do certain things pretty much all the time. To shine some light into that darkness we created the following equation. (For Windows users rather than use a specific math character set, we have attempted to express the variables in standard keyboard text.)
What we want to find out is what is the true Success Probability of any action we take to solve some perceived problem using a Process Factor or factors, which is basically defined as the way we have always done it. This is coupled directly with the Perceived Success over the years we have followed that path. We multiply that average by our Hoped Results and an undefined Fear Factor, which is divided over the Actual Results achieved over time. To use this equation for future predictions we must estimate the Actual Results to calculate the estimated Fear Factor.
(AVG[PFPS]*HR*FF)/(AR*T)= SP
PF = Process Factor
PS = Perceived Success in Years
HR = Hoped Results
FF = Fear Factor
AR = Actual Results
T= Time
SP = Success Probability = 1
Solving for Fear Factor in a potential success
FF = 1(AR*T)/(AVG[PFPS]*HR)
This means the Fear Factor for any defined Success is inversely proportional to the Perceived Success time average.
Now since we do not know the Actual Results until some future defined time, what really constricts our decisions is that inverse proportionality compared to another independent Process Factor. Hence more of the time our decisions are based upon what we perceived worked in the past, rather than what might work in the present, or in the future. Our government’s lack of imagination has been considered the causative agent in the 9-11 attack. The same is true of the current economic mess.
Before I get totally confused with the mumbo-jumbo, let us put this in the context of the recently passed economic stimulus package in the United States.
Read More...
Exclusively inclusive
11/February/2009 13:16
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
Just nineteen words that you do not hear in any context today about the unfolding crises in the world. Everyone seems to have some idea or plan to save the world, but it is totally amazing, none of those plans include God in any fashion. Some of that I suppose is that God doesn’t consider a top priority that everyone on earth currently, have a large flat screen TV and a retirement account which you can use to quit early and become a human consumptive vegetable.
What we see almost everywhere is greed, cancerous greed, empowered by collusion. Much of that collusion is political, which means in this country that the two political parties maintain control of all elections by forcing political candidates to espouse exclusively exclusive views to receive funding to run for office.
Putting it in a larger context and expanding this enlightened view of extremism, the United States just finished the eight-year leadership of a true laissez-faire capitalist, evangelical Christian. Under the leadership of George W Bush we have seen the demise of both laissez-faire capitalism and religious right Christendom.
The significant fruit of that exclusive exclusiveness is that Americans elected the most leftist president in the history of the country. While Barack Obama claims that the American economy is on the brink of collapse if his economic stimulus package is not enacted immediately, it is impossible to recall another first three weeks of a president in modern times, bungling so much, so soon.
From their vantage point, the remaining political right commentators are promoting the concept that Obama is creating a version of European socialism. What they seemingly fail to understand, is European socialism finds its power from a semblance of centralized planning. There is no central plan in either Obama’s economic stimulus, or in his treasury secretary’s plan to restore financial stability.
Read More...
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Proverbs 9:10
Just nineteen words that you do not hear in any context today about the unfolding crises in the world. Everyone seems to have some idea or plan to save the world, but it is totally amazing, none of those plans include God in any fashion. Some of that I suppose is that God doesn’t consider a top priority that everyone on earth currently, have a large flat screen TV and a retirement account which you can use to quit early and become a human consumptive vegetable.
What we see almost everywhere is greed, cancerous greed, empowered by collusion. Much of that collusion is political, which means in this country that the two political parties maintain control of all elections by forcing political candidates to espouse exclusively exclusive views to receive funding to run for office.
Putting it in a larger context and expanding this enlightened view of extremism, the United States just finished the eight-year leadership of a true laissez-faire capitalist, evangelical Christian. Under the leadership of George W Bush we have seen the demise of both laissez-faire capitalism and religious right Christendom.
The significant fruit of that exclusive exclusiveness is that Americans elected the most leftist president in the history of the country. While Barack Obama claims that the American economy is on the brink of collapse if his economic stimulus package is not enacted immediately, it is impossible to recall another first three weeks of a president in modern times, bungling so much, so soon.
From their vantage point, the remaining political right commentators are promoting the concept that Obama is creating a version of European socialism. What they seemingly fail to understand, is European socialism finds its power from a semblance of centralized planning. There is no central plan in either Obama’s economic stimulus, or in his treasury secretary’s plan to restore financial stability.
Read More...
Stupendous Debt & the demise of enlightenment supremacy
04/February/2009 08:05
The oldest tale in The Book is about a couple that made the wrong choice. That choice was between the perceived understanding of present security compared to the uncertainty of passing time. This choice was precipitated by another created being, who had made a similar choice and now was seeking company for his loneliness.
Following along in that Book of myths we find a time when people thought that they could find eternal happiness by developing mechanisms by which through their intelligence and wisdom they could have it all. The reason given in The Book for that failure was the confusion of languages. I suppose people got so engrossed in doing things their own way, they failed to communicate.
Some may say this was a religious phenomenon, true, for I once heard a leader in the secular Christian TV community using this Book discussion to promote his idea, which if his followers all worked together, they could do what Babylon failed to accomplish. Now if that isn’t a concept rooted in the demise of enlightenment thinking, I have not heard a better.
Finishing up with our brief survey of The Book we find in the last compendium a similar story where in the Babylon of that time, the people of all lands ceased to buy all the things the great leaders of the world provided, for a variety of allegorical reasons. The interesting thing about this Babylon was that the normal ordinary folks were not sad to see the whole thing collapse even though it meant more personal hardship.
There is a whole lot of other wisdom in The Book that is probably applicable to our day and age, but it is just a book, and as we know books are filled with words, just words. To think that words have transcendent meaning to convey something called Absolute Truth is just fiction, maybe interesting fiction, but nothing more. After all reality beyond the concept of man’s own understanding just does not happen in our enlightened age.
Read More...
Following along in that Book of myths we find a time when people thought that they could find eternal happiness by developing mechanisms by which through their intelligence and wisdom they could have it all. The reason given in The Book for that failure was the confusion of languages. I suppose people got so engrossed in doing things their own way, they failed to communicate.
Some may say this was a religious phenomenon, true, for I once heard a leader in the secular Christian TV community using this Book discussion to promote his idea, which if his followers all worked together, they could do what Babylon failed to accomplish. Now if that isn’t a concept rooted in the demise of enlightenment thinking, I have not heard a better.
Finishing up with our brief survey of The Book we find in the last compendium a similar story where in the Babylon of that time, the people of all lands ceased to buy all the things the great leaders of the world provided, for a variety of allegorical reasons. The interesting thing about this Babylon was that the normal ordinary folks were not sad to see the whole thing collapse even though it meant more personal hardship.
There is a whole lot of other wisdom in The Book that is probably applicable to our day and age, but it is just a book, and as we know books are filled with words, just words. To think that words have transcendent meaning to convey something called Absolute Truth is just fiction, maybe interesting fiction, but nothing more. After all reality beyond the concept of man’s own understanding just does not happen in our enlightened age.
Read More...
The Interpreter
28/January/2009 09:06
Our new President sure has caused quite a stir in his first week in office. The consensus across the spectrum is there seems to be no quantifiable anything on really what are the core principles of Barack Obama. There is a lot of spin on the applications so far, some of it I received as comments to last week’s offering, but whether this is spin to appease his far left supporters, or whether they are Obama’s core beliefs, or whether Obama possesses any core beliefs at all, are truly undefined and it might take a while to really know the truth. Then and only then, truth may be only relative and that is no truth at all.
We are surely not going to change any of that here at Wonder Springs, but we will add some thoughts about communities, especially human communities, that hopefully bring some context to the future, which truly is without similar parallels in this country and the world.
“The Interpreter” is a song by Blackfoot Indian, Jack Gladstone. One of the lines from the song goes: “In a barroom brawl, he’ll knock you out, then buy you a drink when you come to.” The link to the song title leads to the rest of the song’s lyrics as well as a little history relating to the song. Jack was raised in Seattle, played football at the University of Washington, in the ancient history when they went to the Rose Bowl, and currently lives in Western Montana.
The job of the interpreter is to provide a means of communication between languages and cultures. Those cultures may share a variety of things in common, they may not. The interpreter seeks to find words and customs to bridge those differences. The barroom incident seems to relate more to customs than language.
The context of the American Frontier is a wise model to what is happening in the United States today. On the Native American side you had basically a communal culture where the concepts of what we today call private property, if they existed, were not all that pronounced, and were subservient to the needs of the community structure of tens and fifties. In the larger community structure of thousands, the ties were much less developed simply because of the demands of environmental survival.
The culture of the White Man was much more hierarchical in nature. The Great White Father ruled from the land where the sun rose, was in charge, owned all the property, and you would submit, because Indian ways were uncultured in comparative arrogance, actually savage in the generalized interpretation. Communities, in the Native American sense, did not and do not exist beyond the concept and influence of the Rez.
Read More...
We are surely not going to change any of that here at Wonder Springs, but we will add some thoughts about communities, especially human communities, that hopefully bring some context to the future, which truly is without similar parallels in this country and the world.
“The Interpreter” is a song by Blackfoot Indian, Jack Gladstone. One of the lines from the song goes: “In a barroom brawl, he’ll knock you out, then buy you a drink when you come to.” The link to the song title leads to the rest of the song’s lyrics as well as a little history relating to the song. Jack was raised in Seattle, played football at the University of Washington, in the ancient history when they went to the Rose Bowl, and currently lives in Western Montana.
The job of the interpreter is to provide a means of communication between languages and cultures. Those cultures may share a variety of things in common, they may not. The interpreter seeks to find words and customs to bridge those differences. The barroom incident seems to relate more to customs than language.
The context of the American Frontier is a wise model to what is happening in the United States today. On the Native American side you had basically a communal culture where the concepts of what we today call private property, if they existed, were not all that pronounced, and were subservient to the needs of the community structure of tens and fifties. In the larger community structure of thousands, the ties were much less developed simply because of the demands of environmental survival.
The culture of the White Man was much more hierarchical in nature. The Great White Father ruled from the land where the sun rose, was in charge, owned all the property, and you would submit, because Indian ways were uncultured in comparative arrogance, actually savage in the generalized interpretation. Communities, in the Native American sense, did not and do not exist beyond the concept and influence of the Rez.
Read More...
Hope for validity
21/January/2009 11:56
Yesterday, Tuesday January 20, 2009 the United States of America peacefully inaugurated the country’s forty-fourth President, Barack Obama. A true Afro-American, without the history of human slavery in his heritage, we see in Obama, a refreshing beginning for not only this country, but also the world. The story that in America anyone can grow up to be President, not only rings true to those with generational history in this land, that bell of freedom now encompasses the whole world, including the continent of Africa.
I personally was moved by the bumbled oath of office, because some forty years earlier I too recited essentially those same words, in the process of being commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Army in Cheney, Washington. At that time the words sent a humble chill down my spine, those words still do, and have, every time I have heard them recited since that cold winter day.
“… to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. So help me God.”
Those are words, just words, but those words have been recited in the call to public service to this country since they were first administered to our first President George Washington. Those words have however a transcendent power that have kept this nation secure for over two hundred years, in times of plenty and times of crisis.
I wish and pray for success for this new President, for he has before him a task and challenges that few have seen in the history of this country. Most would say that these challenges are of economics and of foreign hostilities, but those are really just symptoms of a much deeper challenge of bringing the country back to, and leading forward into the historic hope and promise of the American experiment.
The founding of the United States came from the understanding that human beings were created in the image of God, for a Divine purpose. In that light we all walk a pilgrimage that requires an analysis and affirmation of four distinctly human principles. Those four are origins, morality, purpose, and destiny.
Read More...
I personally was moved by the bumbled oath of office, because some forty years earlier I too recited essentially those same words, in the process of being commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the US Army in Cheney, Washington. At that time the words sent a humble chill down my spine, those words still do, and have, every time I have heard them recited since that cold winter day.
“… to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. So help me God.”
Those are words, just words, but those words have been recited in the call to public service to this country since they were first administered to our first President George Washington. Those words have however a transcendent power that have kept this nation secure for over two hundred years, in times of plenty and times of crisis.
I wish and pray for success for this new President, for he has before him a task and challenges that few have seen in the history of this country. Most would say that these challenges are of economics and of foreign hostilities, but those are really just symptoms of a much deeper challenge of bringing the country back to, and leading forward into the historic hope and promise of the American experiment.
The founding of the United States came from the understanding that human beings were created in the image of God, for a Divine purpose. In that light we all walk a pilgrimage that requires an analysis and affirmation of four distinctly human principles. Those four are origins, morality, purpose, and destiny.
Read More...
Walls of fear
14/January/2009 10:51
Today we begin the impossible, to attempt to describe not a program but a mission for the church to get back to the reason for her existence. That mission focuses, in Augustinian principles, to build the City of God, so that the City of Man again realizes that Biblical Christianity is a viable worldview in the complex nature of human events.
Accomplishment of this mission does not lie within the power of human facilities; these achievements can only come by the transcendent triune God supernaturally. This can best be described as ex nihilo creation of a new reality from rapidly expanding existing human social chaos.
If you haven’t noticed that chaos and realized its importance in daily events, perhaps you should join the reality of this present world. By and through God’s unity and diversity is the reality that reorders that chaos into a recognizable unity and diversity of human events and social structure. That reality in which the church operates is and has always been focused upon common elements, the proclaimed word, baptismal water, communion bread and wine. Added, in this age, should be an emphasis on functional common human communities, which were historically assumed and are truly in existence throughout human history.
After our enlightened prolonged period in which human created uniqueness has been subjugated to only individual and personal fulfillment in natural noise and toys, Christians need to seek only God’s grace, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Just as Elijah came to understand in the wilderness of 1 Kings 19, the still small voice of God only is apparent where the cares and other stupendous events that surround us are put in their proper perspective.
You don’t need to read much in the Wonder Springs archives to realize I have tremendous respect for the transcendent nature of wildness to restore the soul, but that wildness must be tempered with the reality of human community interactions. In that tension, we can find true common grace harmony in specific Biblical grace.
Read More...
Accomplishment of this mission does not lie within the power of human facilities; these achievements can only come by the transcendent triune God supernaturally. This can best be described as ex nihilo creation of a new reality from rapidly expanding existing human social chaos.
If you haven’t noticed that chaos and realized its importance in daily events, perhaps you should join the reality of this present world. By and through God’s unity and diversity is the reality that reorders that chaos into a recognizable unity and diversity of human events and social structure. That reality in which the church operates is and has always been focused upon common elements, the proclaimed word, baptismal water, communion bread and wine. Added, in this age, should be an emphasis on functional common human communities, which were historically assumed and are truly in existence throughout human history.
After our enlightened prolonged period in which human created uniqueness has been subjugated to only individual and personal fulfillment in natural noise and toys, Christians need to seek only God’s grace, through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. Just as Elijah came to understand in the wilderness of 1 Kings 19, the still small voice of God only is apparent where the cares and other stupendous events that surround us are put in their proper perspective.
You don’t need to read much in the Wonder Springs archives to realize I have tremendous respect for the transcendent nature of wildness to restore the soul, but that wildness must be tempered with the reality of human community interactions. In that tension, we can find true common grace harmony in specific Biblical grace.
Read More...
The Mission, mission
07/January/2009 16:30
As this New Year begins, the current and pending real world indicators don’t look all that optimistic. The latest from the emerging President is that his economic stimulus package could easily reach a trillion dollars. The Federal budget deficit could be a few hundred billion beyond that, and virtually all our states are in dire economic straights. Furthermore, all this monetary chaos is expected to continue well into the future.
Capitalism in its greedy worship of money alone, precipitated this current crisis and at least at present spin asks for more freedom to do it all again. If government would collect no taxes from anyone, then the economy would grow into a giant economic utopia. However, at least for the short term, Wall Street needs some government bailout money to set the ship on course. I think not, that they will not get the money; I think not that it will work.
What is missing in each of these wonderful schemes is any sense of a reality that personal peace and affluence is not only a bankrupt economic model, this all stems from an complete insolvency of the underlying materialist philosophy. Neither of our addicted to their-own steroids models above, is willing to accept this absolute truth.
To focus on these true deficits is to say that we are in the secular world trying to achieve a true mission impossible. This is not a Peter Graves or Tom Cruise action fantasy where the good guy struggles for the whole episode to overcome the bad guy. This is a reality world in which at best the good and the bad are so intertwined that there can be no real resolution of the conflict. Before our current problems can be solved we need to redefine the mission.
This new mission statement is not going to come from any players in any of the above. The only hope for our struggling world is that we redefine the goals of all humanity beyond just tangible material reality. I suppose some good news in all of this is that in the course of all human history, the totally materialistic worldview has little precedence.
In other words this is the only time in history man has not looked in someway for guidance from some type of higher power. This godless materialism, is at best a twentieth century phenomena and has earnestly ruled in the west since it defeated the Soviet form in the 1980s. The end of the Cold War has brought atheistic material prosperity to all, Hallelujah!
Read More...
Capitalism in its greedy worship of money alone, precipitated this current crisis and at least at present spin asks for more freedom to do it all again. If government would collect no taxes from anyone, then the economy would grow into a giant economic utopia. However, at least for the short term, Wall Street needs some government bailout money to set the ship on course. I think not, that they will not get the money; I think not that it will work.
What is missing in each of these wonderful schemes is any sense of a reality that personal peace and affluence is not only a bankrupt economic model, this all stems from an complete insolvency of the underlying materialist philosophy. Neither of our addicted to their-own steroids models above, is willing to accept this absolute truth.
To focus on these true deficits is to say that we are in the secular world trying to achieve a true mission impossible. This is not a Peter Graves or Tom Cruise action fantasy where the good guy struggles for the whole episode to overcome the bad guy. This is a reality world in which at best the good and the bad are so intertwined that there can be no real resolution of the conflict. Before our current problems can be solved we need to redefine the mission.
This new mission statement is not going to come from any players in any of the above. The only hope for our struggling world is that we redefine the goals of all humanity beyond just tangible material reality. I suppose some good news in all of this is that in the course of all human history, the totally materialistic worldview has little precedence.
In other words this is the only time in history man has not looked in someway for guidance from some type of higher power. This godless materialism, is at best a twentieth century phenomena and has earnestly ruled in the west since it defeated the Soviet form in the 1980s. The end of the Cold War has brought atheistic material prosperity to all, Hallelujah!
Read More...
Transcendent Leadership Prinicples
31/December/2008 10:41
This week’s column continues the reflections on two books we reviewed earlier this month. The first book was “Quitting Church, Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It,” by Julia Duin, the Religious Editor for the Washington Times. The second book is “Christless Christianity, The Alternative Gospel of the American Church” written by Michael Horton, Professor at Westminster Seminary California and host of the “White Horse Inn” radio broadcast.
As another year rushes to a close, perhaps it would be appropriate to summarize the essence of what we have been trying to focus upon, as it relates to the true orthodox (traditional) historical, Protestant (stemming from the Reformation), Christian, gospel (Good News). From our research capacity, it is our belief that readers, especially those on the Internet, have or do not hear regularly enough, a comprehensive proclamation of human redemption before the Almighty and Holy God. A distilled substance of that gospel proclamation follows.
Before time began, not all that long ago, God, the Triune Unity in Diversity, created the universe and planet earth out of nothing (ex nihilo). Before time began, God’s understanding of this triune universe (time, space, and matter) would require a specific Godly intervention into that continuum in which to redeem not only creation, but fallen humanity, created in His Image, whom He would soon create out of the dust of the ground.
That redemption would follow a covenant of grace from the introduction of human sin, in the God created good garden in Eden, throughout unfolding history, climaxing with an eternal judgment of humanity at the end of this present age. This present age is a now fallen, but visual and spiritual foretaste of that eternal state of recreated perfection.
Approximately two thousand years ago, a baby born in Bethlehem, named Jesus, became God incarnate through the Immaculate Conception in a Jewish virgin by the name of Mary in the linage of King David, maintaining the prophetic Biblical Messianic lineage. This birth is celebrated in the world as Christmas, but there is no Biblical reason to celebrate that birth, hence it is an extra biblical holiday similar to the Jewish Chanukah, a miraculous festival of light, coming and being maintained in a spiritually dark world.
Jesus lived approximately thirty-three years as the totally human - totally God, sinless man. In the fullness of time, He offered himself as the propitiatory sacrificial Passover lamb, for the sins of all humanity, being crucified on a cross. He was buried for three days, under Roman guard. On the morning of the third day He was resurrected from death, as the First Fruit of that coming eternal restored kingdom. In due time showing himself to many, He visibly ascended to a place known as heaven to rule and reign at the right hand of His eternal Father. From there he will return at the end of this age to complete that redemption of those who through faith alone, have accepted His invitation to be come the legally adopted children of God. By that atoning sacrifice alone, not by any works of righteousness on their part, are people saved from the holy eternal wrath of God’s judgment to come.
Since His ascension, the covenantal lineage has rested within the auspices of what is historically known as the catholic (meaning universal) church, but it does include those from times prior to the crucifixion of Christ according to that same faith alone covenant of grace. Those people looked forward by faith alone to that coming Messianic event, the church looks backward in time.
The church was and is extended by the preaching (proclamation) of the Gospel by the Word of God (the Bible) of this faithful Good News and by the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Communion is also known as the Lord’s Supper and the Eucharist in various divisions of the Christian world and unites all Christians, That communion brings the first fruits of unity and diversity into a timeless Church Triumphant.
By what is generally known as word and sacrament, the power associated with saving faith is preserved by this mysterious and miraculous wonder of God descending to redeem human personalities for His own, from outside of time, into all creation and all time. That salvation comes about by the will of God alone and not by human measures or wishful thinking.
We proclaim these words on a regular basis because as fallen, but redeemed creatures we cannot otherwise comprehend the true wonder of God’s grace. Those who think that this gospel presentation and use of communion are powerless memorials to a past reality fully do not understand either the gravity of human total depravity, or the condescendence of God’s true grace. They ignore this true reality at their present and eternal peril.
Read More...
As another year rushes to a close, perhaps it would be appropriate to summarize the essence of what we have been trying to focus upon, as it relates to the true orthodox (traditional) historical, Protestant (stemming from the Reformation), Christian, gospel (Good News). From our research capacity, it is our belief that readers, especially those on the Internet, have or do not hear regularly enough, a comprehensive proclamation of human redemption before the Almighty and Holy God. A distilled substance of that gospel proclamation follows.
Before time began, not all that long ago, God, the Triune Unity in Diversity, created the universe and planet earth out of nothing (ex nihilo). Before time began, God’s understanding of this triune universe (time, space, and matter) would require a specific Godly intervention into that continuum in which to redeem not only creation, but fallen humanity, created in His Image, whom He would soon create out of the dust of the ground.
That redemption would follow a covenant of grace from the introduction of human sin, in the God created good garden in Eden, throughout unfolding history, climaxing with an eternal judgment of humanity at the end of this present age. This present age is a now fallen, but visual and spiritual foretaste of that eternal state of recreated perfection.
Approximately two thousand years ago, a baby born in Bethlehem, named Jesus, became God incarnate through the Immaculate Conception in a Jewish virgin by the name of Mary in the linage of King David, maintaining the prophetic Biblical Messianic lineage. This birth is celebrated in the world as Christmas, but there is no Biblical reason to celebrate that birth, hence it is an extra biblical holiday similar to the Jewish Chanukah, a miraculous festival of light, coming and being maintained in a spiritually dark world.
Jesus lived approximately thirty-three years as the totally human - totally God, sinless man. In the fullness of time, He offered himself as the propitiatory sacrificial Passover lamb, for the sins of all humanity, being crucified on a cross. He was buried for three days, under Roman guard. On the morning of the third day He was resurrected from death, as the First Fruit of that coming eternal restored kingdom. In due time showing himself to many, He visibly ascended to a place known as heaven to rule and reign at the right hand of His eternal Father. From there he will return at the end of this age to complete that redemption of those who through faith alone, have accepted His invitation to be come the legally adopted children of God. By that atoning sacrifice alone, not by any works of righteousness on their part, are people saved from the holy eternal wrath of God’s judgment to come.
Since His ascension, the covenantal lineage has rested within the auspices of what is historically known as the catholic (meaning universal) church, but it does include those from times prior to the crucifixion of Christ according to that same faith alone covenant of grace. Those people looked forward by faith alone to that coming Messianic event, the church looks backward in time.
The church was and is extended by the preaching (proclamation) of the Gospel by the Word of God (the Bible) of this faithful Good News and by the sacraments of Baptism and Communion. Communion is also known as the Lord’s Supper and the Eucharist in various divisions of the Christian world and unites all Christians, That communion brings the first fruits of unity and diversity into a timeless Church Triumphant.
By what is generally known as word and sacrament, the power associated with saving faith is preserved by this mysterious and miraculous wonder of God descending to redeem human personalities for His own, from outside of time, into all creation and all time. That salvation comes about by the will of God alone and not by human measures or wishful thinking.
We proclaim these words on a regular basis because as fallen, but redeemed creatures we cannot otherwise comprehend the true wonder of God’s grace. Those who think that this gospel presentation and use of communion are powerless memorials to a past reality fully do not understand either the gravity of human total depravity, or the condescendence of God’s true grace. They ignore this true reality at their present and eternal peril.
Read More...
Merry Christmas is not just Personal Peace and Affluence
24/December/2008 08:24
Today, when we wish you a Merry Christmas the general underlying meanings from the culture are essentially, “We wish you in this season and throughout the year personal peace and affluence.”
Not all that well known in the world and in the church is the concept of a worldview of only “personal peace and affluence” was a construct of the late Francis Schaeffer, probably the best, well known Christian theologian and apologist of the last half of the 20th century. Schaeffer was the founder of L’Abri, a Christian community in Switzerland.
It was Schaeffer’s contention that the prime worldview operating in the world in his life was based upon those presuppositions of personal peace and personal affluence. If you look at our current economic stupendous changes, what you see is that these two presuppositions are no longer working as well as they once did.
Therefore, the world economic crisis has at its core a philosophical malady, which has shown symptoms related to housing, energy, and finance. We may concoct all sorts of remedies or prescriptions to treat what we believe is wrong, but true economic health cannot be restored without making alterations to the worldview that personal peace and affluence is not just the highest calling of mankind, but really is an unworkable or lasting way to run a culture or human civilization.
Personal peace and affluence were indeed the operational paradigms of culture in Schaeffer’s era of the late 70s and 80s, Now, another couple of decades down that highway means, contrary to what you might be hearing spun by those who owe their entire position to these paradigms, the problems are going to continue into the future until they are replaced, by both more pragmatic, and philosophically different ways of looking at the functions of human society.
If those new paradigms continue to be only individually and materially oriented, it is going to be a very dark time for human culture for a very long time.
Read More...
Not all that well known in the world and in the church is the concept of a worldview of only “personal peace and affluence” was a construct of the late Francis Schaeffer, probably the best, well known Christian theologian and apologist of the last half of the 20th century. Schaeffer was the founder of L’Abri, a Christian community in Switzerland.
It was Schaeffer’s contention that the prime worldview operating in the world in his life was based upon those presuppositions of personal peace and personal affluence. If you look at our current economic stupendous changes, what you see is that these two presuppositions are no longer working as well as they once did.
Therefore, the world economic crisis has at its core a philosophical malady, which has shown symptoms related to housing, energy, and finance. We may concoct all sorts of remedies or prescriptions to treat what we believe is wrong, but true economic health cannot be restored without making alterations to the worldview that personal peace and affluence is not just the highest calling of mankind, but really is an unworkable or lasting way to run a culture or human civilization.
Personal peace and affluence were indeed the operational paradigms of culture in Schaeffer’s era of the late 70s and 80s, Now, another couple of decades down that highway means, contrary to what you might be hearing spun by those who owe their entire position to these paradigms, the problems are going to continue into the future until they are replaced, by both more pragmatic, and philosophically different ways of looking at the functions of human society.
If those new paradigms continue to be only individually and materially oriented, it is going to be a very dark time for human culture for a very long time.
Read More...
The American Church, striving for failure
17/December/2008 08:16
One of the fundamental operational precepts of human activity early in this century is power in sincerity. As long as you are sincere in your beliefs and actions everything is going to work out just fine, not only in the near term, but in the long run as well. This sincerity however, never acknowledges the possibility of being sincerely wrong. It is thought by truly sincere advocates that the truth of being sincerely wrong is not a possibility.
Two books we have reviewed earlier this week seem to provide pretty damning proof that there is something sincerely wrong with the American church. So far everyone is so busy striving with the bailouts, meltdowns, the freezing global warming winter, and a whole host of other aspects of stupendous change, to look seriously at those failures and work toward constructive solutions, that may not accommodate our sincerity, but still are verified by absolute truths.
The first book was “Quitting Church, Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It,” by Julia Duin, the Religious Editor for the Washington Times. Our review is found here. The second book is “Christless Christianity, The Alternative Gospel of the American Church” written by Michael Horton, Professor at Westminster Seminary California and host of the “White Horse Inn” radio broadcast. The second review is found here.
One of my least favorite Bible verses is found in Psalm 46:10; Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth NIV. The NKJV has it as “be still.” In the larger context the whole of this Psalm pretty much describes what is now happening as our world evolves into this new world order of unforeseen chaos.
As we discussed last week there is increasing anxiety (sincere striving) noise about what is happening to all our toys. We are too early into this to have it really affect our present toys, but the future of ever increasing toys, at least for the short term is beginning to look rather bleak. Since the whole world economy functions greatly on toy manufacturing, distribution, and sales this recession/depression could produce some very yet unknown consequences.
It is my hope, and that also perhaps of Duin and Horton, that some of these consequences will create opportunities for the Christian church to again become a beacon of temporal and eternal truth in a very dark world. In Christianity alone, does anyone find the truth that answers life’s truly important questions. Those indicatives, at least in Christianity, are the basis of Absolute Truth, no other religion, philosophy, or worldview can provide answers anywhere close to the consistency of these principles.
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Two books we have reviewed earlier this week seem to provide pretty damning proof that there is something sincerely wrong with the American church. So far everyone is so busy striving with the bailouts, meltdowns, the freezing global warming winter, and a whole host of other aspects of stupendous change, to look seriously at those failures and work toward constructive solutions, that may not accommodate our sincerity, but still are verified by absolute truths.
The first book was “Quitting Church, Why the Faithful Are Fleeing and What to Do About It,” by Julia Duin, the Religious Editor for the Washington Times. Our review is found here. The second book is “Christless Christianity, The Alternative Gospel of the American Church” written by Michael Horton, Professor at Westminster Seminary California and host of the “White Horse Inn” radio broadcast. The second review is found here.
One of my least favorite Bible verses is found in Psalm 46:10; Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth NIV. The NKJV has it as “be still.” In the larger context the whole of this Psalm pretty much describes what is now happening as our world evolves into this new world order of unforeseen chaos.
As we discussed last week there is increasing anxiety (sincere striving) noise about what is happening to all our toys. We are too early into this to have it really affect our present toys, but the future of ever increasing toys, at least for the short term is beginning to look rather bleak. Since the whole world economy functions greatly on toy manufacturing, distribution, and sales this recession/depression could produce some very yet unknown consequences.
It is my hope, and that also perhaps of Duin and Horton, that some of these consequences will create opportunities for the Christian church to again become a beacon of temporal and eternal truth in a very dark world. In Christianity alone, does anyone find the truth that answers life’s truly important questions. Those indicatives, at least in Christianity, are the basis of Absolute Truth, no other religion, philosophy, or worldview can provide answers anywhere close to the consistency of these principles.
Read More...
God’s natural transcendence: common and specific
10/December/2008 13:07
Contrary to what you may have heard in church, sound Bible exposition requires a young earth. Your pastor may say that the age of the earth really doesn’t matter as long as you have Jesus and the cross, but that is really a logical argument from ignorance, because if the creation story is not essentially a story of somewhat literal days, and instead is gapped, or evolved into millions and billions of years, the whole Bible logically becomes a book of fables and myths.
There are a rapidly growing number of creation scientists on this earth who believe the Bible as written. Sadly there are very few theologians and pastors to which this “debate” makes a difference. Furthermore, as in the recent movie “Expelled”, which stars a Jewish Ben Stein, these creation scientists are being kicked out of their professions, not because they are so much Bible thumpers, but because they promote a view called “Intelligent Design.”
So where did these scientists learn their wild, primitive, knuckle dragging, unenlightened theology?
They learned it from the transcendent nature of their work in the natural or common field of science in which they had chosen to study. Not only is creation too complex to have happened by chance, evolution by it’s core presupposition denies the truth of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, except for quantum leaps of faith and complexity, to bring us miraculously to this ancient but present completely natural state.
In the quest of where did I come from and what is my destiny, Intelligent Design is no better than evolution in answering these questions. However, theologians and pastors for some reason think this is an intelligent response to the problems that are facing this world. I suppose the logic goes, “If people believe in a Designer, they will search for Him and they will find Him in Jesus in the Bible and church, then they will ask Jesus into their heart and will be saved, and the world will be a better place.”
This of course assumes the evolutionary presupposition that we are all good people evolving to a higher level of good consciousness, and denies the reality of another Bible Genesis theological principle and that is sin, in the form of Total Depravity. This is best codified in the words of Julie Andrews from a song in the “Sound of Music,” “Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could, so somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.”
Thus we have the prime theological construct of all human religion, whichever handle you choose to place the spin, including the religion of evolution. “I am good, and I am getting better, but I’m not too sure about you.” (Because in my worldview I am superior to you)
Read More...
There are a rapidly growing number of creation scientists on this earth who believe the Bible as written. Sadly there are very few theologians and pastors to which this “debate” makes a difference. Furthermore, as in the recent movie “Expelled”, which stars a Jewish Ben Stein, these creation scientists are being kicked out of their professions, not because they are so much Bible thumpers, but because they promote a view called “Intelligent Design.”
So where did these scientists learn their wild, primitive, knuckle dragging, unenlightened theology?
They learned it from the transcendent nature of their work in the natural or common field of science in which they had chosen to study. Not only is creation too complex to have happened by chance, evolution by it’s core presupposition denies the truth of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, except for quantum leaps of faith and complexity, to bring us miraculously to this ancient but present completely natural state.
In the quest of where did I come from and what is my destiny, Intelligent Design is no better than evolution in answering these questions. However, theologians and pastors for some reason think this is an intelligent response to the problems that are facing this world. I suppose the logic goes, “If people believe in a Designer, they will search for Him and they will find Him in Jesus in the Bible and church, then they will ask Jesus into their heart and will be saved, and the world will be a better place.”
This of course assumes the evolutionary presupposition that we are all good people evolving to a higher level of good consciousness, and denies the reality of another Bible Genesis theological principle and that is sin, in the form of Total Depravity. This is best codified in the words of Julie Andrews from a song in the “Sound of Music,” “Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could, so somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good.”
Thus we have the prime theological construct of all human religion, whichever handle you choose to place the spin, including the religion of evolution. “I am good, and I am getting better, but I’m not too sure about you.” (Because in my worldview I am superior to you)
Read More...
Common Grace Avenue
03/December/2008 08:02
Few people, either in the print media or on the Internet have written more, for a longer period of time on the subject of stupendous change than yours truly. Surely there are those who have forecast a financial collapse, or pending judgments of God, global warming disasters, or a whole host of other pet topics, but writing about general stupendous change and somewhat reasonable options after the happening are quite rare.
Well, a stupendous financial crisis is upon us and it’s ramifications are now being stupendously felt in various ways not only in the United States, but all over the world. Words such as bailout, depression, deflation, meltdown, and many others are now becoming part of almost everyone’s conversations.
We hear a lot about Wall Street, normally contrasted with Main Street, but it is going to be a very long time, if ever, before either are back to what we once called normal, or secure. So what then, how do we move forward in some sort of consistent basis, while all around seems to be fighting continued and impending chaos?
For our part, we will ask you to move your thoughts to Common Grace Avenue here at Wonder Springs. Common Grace Ave will attempt to take the failed or depressed paradigms and apply common grace attributes gathered from nature to inject not only some hope but some practical absolutes by which a revitalized economic and enterprise structures can develop.
President elect Obama has now named his economic team and for the most part they are closely related to the Bush advisors, if not the Clinton era instigators of this current financial calamity. So on the ocean of non-energetic debt capital there will be just a new group of Titanic passengers rearranging the deck chairs. We say passengers because, not only do they look like they do not know what they are doing, in a somewhat professional way, they freely admit that truth. The last I heard, we have given them about eight trillion dollars to see what they can do, and a blank check to print more money if need be.
Having said that, the truth behind these appointments is that there really was no other sensible alternative. Our generation long bubble of continued economic growth fueled by cheap, essentially free, debt and deficit spending, solely on consumer material goods, has basically made extinct, any opposition species.
Read More...
Well, a stupendous financial crisis is upon us and it’s ramifications are now being stupendously felt in various ways not only in the United States, but all over the world. Words such as bailout, depression, deflation, meltdown, and many others are now becoming part of almost everyone’s conversations.
We hear a lot about Wall Street, normally contrasted with Main Street, but it is going to be a very long time, if ever, before either are back to what we once called normal, or secure. So what then, how do we move forward in some sort of consistent basis, while all around seems to be fighting continued and impending chaos?
For our part, we will ask you to move your thoughts to Common Grace Avenue here at Wonder Springs. Common Grace Ave will attempt to take the failed or depressed paradigms and apply common grace attributes gathered from nature to inject not only some hope but some practical absolutes by which a revitalized economic and enterprise structures can develop.
President elect Obama has now named his economic team and for the most part they are closely related to the Bush advisors, if not the Clinton era instigators of this current financial calamity. So on the ocean of non-energetic debt capital there will be just a new group of Titanic passengers rearranging the deck chairs. We say passengers because, not only do they look like they do not know what they are doing, in a somewhat professional way, they freely admit that truth. The last I heard, we have given them about eight trillion dollars to see what they can do, and a blank check to print more money if need be.
Having said that, the truth behind these appointments is that there really was no other sensible alternative. Our generation long bubble of continued economic growth fueled by cheap, essentially free, debt and deficit spending, solely on consumer material goods, has basically made extinct, any opposition species.
Read More...
Gracefully empowered thankfulness
26/November/2008 09:40
Tomorrow here in the United States we celebrate our Thanksgiving holiday, originally set aside to commemorate the blessings of the Creator towards Christian Pilgrims in the Massachusetts colony almost 500 years ago.
A lot has changed in those half millennia for sure. The Pilgrims basically came to these shores to flee established religious persecution in Europe and to build a new life for their families. To face the unknowns of sea and the new lands across the Atlantic required deep faith, which is generally absent in America and the rest of the world today.
We want it easy, with immediate gratification, or we find other things to do with our time, like nothing of much importance, even temporally. Things of eternal significance are pretty much undefined for the mass of people. However people are still changed by faith, sometimes their own, but many times there are other people which we do not at this time know personally, that are truly responsible for our life changing pilgrimage.
Early last Sunday morning I had a dream in which family members, some alive, some passed, were having a reunion of sorts. I was sitting on the front porch talking to someone about something, when a person who has had a very dramatic effect upon my life came out the door behind me and sat on the grass and asked, “What am I doing here?”
My immediate response was something really not at all profound, which was answered in another brief, but equally pedantic statement from the person now relaxed and feeling at home on the lawn. Then I woke up, with the thought, where does this conversation go from here?
“Well you are an inspiration of my life, whether you know it or not. In fact, when things get really tough and I wonder why I can do this work at all, eventually you come to mind.”
A pretty heavy thought to lay upon someone with whom you have never spoken with personally before. To which the proper and I believe most common response would be, “When and how did I do that for you?”
“Of course, if the truth is laid out, it probably occurred too many times to count, in situations really too complex perhaps for you to bear, but you were there along side in the hard times, and it really cost you nothing towards me. At the same time you probably deserve a substantial part of any reward. All you did, was be you, and that was more than enough.”
Perhaps the best and Biblical response comes from Matthew 25:33-40 in the sheep and the goats parable:
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Read More...
A lot has changed in those half millennia for sure. The Pilgrims basically came to these shores to flee established religious persecution in Europe and to build a new life for their families. To face the unknowns of sea and the new lands across the Atlantic required deep faith, which is generally absent in America and the rest of the world today.
We want it easy, with immediate gratification, or we find other things to do with our time, like nothing of much importance, even temporally. Things of eternal significance are pretty much undefined for the mass of people. However people are still changed by faith, sometimes their own, but many times there are other people which we do not at this time know personally, that are truly responsible for our life changing pilgrimage.
Early last Sunday morning I had a dream in which family members, some alive, some passed, were having a reunion of sorts. I was sitting on the front porch talking to someone about something, when a person who has had a very dramatic effect upon my life came out the door behind me and sat on the grass and asked, “What am I doing here?”
My immediate response was something really not at all profound, which was answered in another brief, but equally pedantic statement from the person now relaxed and feeling at home on the lawn. Then I woke up, with the thought, where does this conversation go from here?
“Well you are an inspiration of my life, whether you know it or not. In fact, when things get really tough and I wonder why I can do this work at all, eventually you come to mind.”
A pretty heavy thought to lay upon someone with whom you have never spoken with personally before. To which the proper and I believe most common response would be, “When and how did I do that for you?”
“Of course, if the truth is laid out, it probably occurred too many times to count, in situations really too complex perhaps for you to bear, but you were there along side in the hard times, and it really cost you nothing towards me. At the same time you probably deserve a substantial part of any reward. All you did, was be you, and that was more than enough.”
Perhaps the best and Biblical response comes from Matthew 25:33-40 in the sheep and the goats parable:
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Read More...
Grace in Winter
19/November/2008 09:43
Before we begin this week’s article I would like you to spend a little time with your thoughts. When we mention winter, what comes into your mind? Do it mentally or write it down, nothing all that elaborate just word associations.
Finished? Now do the same for summer. OK!
If you are a somewhat normal human being, your winter thoughts included, cold, dark, miserable, wet, snow, and so forth.
For summer your concepts were probably, warm, sunny, colorful, flowers, birds, and eventually you got around to too hot.
What you have just accomplished is a very real application of the absolutes of natural law and common grace, in which winter was law and summer was grace, at least until you got to those unbearably hot days when you sought out air conditioning where ever it may be.
Now let us say, when the alarm clock went off this morning you got up and looked out the window and there was six inches of new fresh snow on the ground and it was snowing heavily. Your first thoughts were, “Oh, God how am I going to get to work?” As you stood there gazing at the increasing snow, you apprehended the reality that you can’t get to work, at least not on time, and no one is really going to know when that time really is, because your boss lives on the other side of town and the weather is always worse in that more ritzy suburb.
So you go into the kitchen and the coffee is warm and fresh, you look for the morning paper, and it has yet to arrive, so you turn on the TV and get the news. The news is that this sudden storm is expected to add another six to eight inches before it quits later this morning. With all that snow you are snowbound at least for the day. “Praise the Lord!” You have a day when the cares of the world and work are only what you decide to make them.
What you are experiencing is the title of this week’s article, “Grace in Winter.”
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Finished? Now do the same for summer. OK!
If you are a somewhat normal human being, your winter thoughts included, cold, dark, miserable, wet, snow, and so forth.
For summer your concepts were probably, warm, sunny, colorful, flowers, birds, and eventually you got around to too hot.
What you have just accomplished is a very real application of the absolutes of natural law and common grace, in which winter was law and summer was grace, at least until you got to those unbearably hot days when you sought out air conditioning where ever it may be.
Now let us say, when the alarm clock went off this morning you got up and looked out the window and there was six inches of new fresh snow on the ground and it was snowing heavily. Your first thoughts were, “Oh, God how am I going to get to work?” As you stood there gazing at the increasing snow, you apprehended the reality that you can’t get to work, at least not on time, and no one is really going to know when that time really is, because your boss lives on the other side of town and the weather is always worse in that more ritzy suburb.
So you go into the kitchen and the coffee is warm and fresh, you look for the morning paper, and it has yet to arrive, so you turn on the TV and get the news. The news is that this sudden storm is expected to add another six to eight inches before it quits later this morning. With all that snow you are snowbound at least for the day. “Praise the Lord!” You have a day when the cares of the world and work are only what you decide to make them.
What you are experiencing is the title of this week’s article, “Grace in Winter.”
Read More...
Common Graciousness
12/November/2008 09:25
Last week we wrote about the now generally accepted notion of the American Dream, namely home ownership and it’s pending demise. So how are you going to keep them down on the farm, or in this case in the suburbs and the townhouses, if they can’t afford to buy the place?
Of course one of the options is stated in the question’s preface, they could move down on the farm, but that assumes that rural housing values are commensurately less expensive than their urban and suburban alternatives. When you consider job and income disparities between the two locales. Common sense dictates that cheaper home values reflect lower economic realities, at least if real estate is a market driven enterprise, with or without government incentives.
However, I have noticed recently that in the excessive drive to own you own piece of the American Dream in real property, something much more important may have been scuttled in this attempt for continual wealth appreciation. That factor, for lack of a better word, is the loss of America’s common graciousness.
I write extensively here at Wonder Springs about the reality of natural law and common grace. What I have failed to realize is that when you take common grace and humanize it, what flows out is common graciousness. Common graciousness is beautiful, pretty much beyond description.
In contrast, getting mine at the expense of others is just ugly. Getting mine by empowering others is a start, but true common graciousness means my reward comes from you realizing that there is more to your life than just material possessions, stuff, and junk. True wealth begins when you believe more in others than they can presently realize.
America, last week elected a black President, a true Afro-American. Conservative pundits and news commentators are still trying to figure out how John McCain was able to lose by six percentage points. The underlying reality is that the Obama campaign was about six percentage points more commonly gracious than the McCain candidacy.
What you basically saw from McCain was a grumpy old man, telling you like it is, and how he could help you maintain that status quo. Following the election, anonymous McCain sources began smearing the Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, as dumb and stupid. This only verifies the Obama gracious margin of victory. The fact that McCain has seemly done nothing about these leaks, seems to attest that he lost for more than a few good reasons.
Read More...
Of course one of the options is stated in the question’s preface, they could move down on the farm, but that assumes that rural housing values are commensurately less expensive than their urban and suburban alternatives. When you consider job and income disparities between the two locales. Common sense dictates that cheaper home values reflect lower economic realities, at least if real estate is a market driven enterprise, with or without government incentives.
However, I have noticed recently that in the excessive drive to own you own piece of the American Dream in real property, something much more important may have been scuttled in this attempt for continual wealth appreciation. That factor, for lack of a better word, is the loss of America’s common graciousness.
I write extensively here at Wonder Springs about the reality of natural law and common grace. What I have failed to realize is that when you take common grace and humanize it, what flows out is common graciousness. Common graciousness is beautiful, pretty much beyond description.
In contrast, getting mine at the expense of others is just ugly. Getting mine by empowering others is a start, but true common graciousness means my reward comes from you realizing that there is more to your life than just material possessions, stuff, and junk. True wealth begins when you believe more in others than they can presently realize.
America, last week elected a black President, a true Afro-American. Conservative pundits and news commentators are still trying to figure out how John McCain was able to lose by six percentage points. The underlying reality is that the Obama campaign was about six percentage points more commonly gracious than the McCain candidacy.
What you basically saw from McCain was a grumpy old man, telling you like it is, and how he could help you maintain that status quo. Following the election, anonymous McCain sources began smearing the Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, as dumb and stupid. This only verifies the Obama gracious margin of victory. The fact that McCain has seemly done nothing about these leaks, seems to attest that he lost for more than a few good reasons.
Read More...
Redefining the American Dream
05/November/2008 10:46
The recent two-year American election cycle is over and we have elected a new President. Now comes the huge task of putting substance to change. As is the nature of modern elections throughout the world, the emphasis has been long on hyperbole and absent any specifics anchored in true reality.
But the real substance facing President-elect Obama is trying to restore or redefine the American Dream. Since very liberal tenants have little history in the United States, especially since the Reagan Revolution in the 1980s, any infrastructure to provide these services must be built from scratch, or rebuilt on old ruins.
That leads to tremendous social opportunity, if that dream can be made into some sort of reality. Historically the ability of government to provide anything positive, other than consistently developing infrastructure, does not have a positive record. It has been a very long time indeed since that coordinated governmental role has been active in the United States. Special interest earmarks, or pork barrel spending, and an increasing invasive and bumbling bureaucracy have pretty much steered the recent course at all levels of government. The exceptions are very rare indeed.
To further complicate the recent economic developments, both energy and housing fiascos have pretty much shattered the American Dream that has been the driving force in the United States since World War II. That dream of course was to have a nice car and own your personal home.
After graduation from high school and before graduation from college, the first goal of most American males was to get a nice car, somewhat to impress the chicks, but more importantly to impress your other male compatriots. Once the wheels novelty began to wear off, the reality of work, and probably family began. The next hurdle was to be able to purchase your own house, and attempt to make that into a home.
Read More...
But the real substance facing President-elect Obama is trying to restore or redefine the American Dream. Since very liberal tenants have little history in the United States, especially since the Reagan Revolution in the 1980s, any infrastructure to provide these services must be built from scratch, or rebuilt on old ruins.
That leads to tremendous social opportunity, if that dream can be made into some sort of reality. Historically the ability of government to provide anything positive, other than consistently developing infrastructure, does not have a positive record. It has been a very long time indeed since that coordinated governmental role has been active in the United States. Special interest earmarks, or pork barrel spending, and an increasing invasive and bumbling bureaucracy have pretty much steered the recent course at all levels of government. The exceptions are very rare indeed.
To further complicate the recent economic developments, both energy and housing fiascos have pretty much shattered the American Dream that has been the driving force in the United States since World War II. That dream of course was to have a nice car and own your personal home.
After graduation from high school and before graduation from college, the first goal of most American males was to get a nice car, somewhat to impress the chicks, but more importantly to impress your other male compatriots. Once the wheels novelty began to wear off, the reality of work, and probably family began. The next hurdle was to be able to purchase your own house, and attempt to make that into a home.
Read More...
Understanding true risk
29/October/2008 09:49
A number of years ago, the father of a good friend of mine died. By most accounts my friend’s father was rich, basically a good Christian family man, and generally considered a benefactor of a local Christian University.
This man was a Korean War veteran who returned from the war, sold his interest in the family Eastern Washington farm and used the proceeds to move to the coast and purchase a dairy. Over time he enlarged the dairy and expanded into manufacturing and distributing of a full range of dairy products. From there he built a small chain of supermarkets and invested in real estate.
My problem with this individual was that he considered his wealth to be his own and should have known better. He was quite happy to be considered a university benefactor, even though his contributions were quite modest, compared to his overall wealth.
When you actually looked at what he was able to do, his success wasn’t really due to his business acumen. His success was brought about, by being in the right place at the right time, with a sufficient capital stake, and really not taking any risks. He raised his family, spent way too much time putting all the pieces together, and didn’t do foolish things with the money that came his way. So on reflection I suppose it was his money.
In contrast in my early entrepreneurial days, I had two mentors of that same vintage. These two mentors combined probably had processed twenty times the wealth of the benefactor. They looked at their wealth as an opportunity to invest and contribute to the greater community, and essentially looked at their money as a scorecard for what they were doing, not who they really were.
Read More...
This man was a Korean War veteran who returned from the war, sold his interest in the family Eastern Washington farm and used the proceeds to move to the coast and purchase a dairy. Over time he enlarged the dairy and expanded into manufacturing and distributing of a full range of dairy products. From there he built a small chain of supermarkets and invested in real estate.
My problem with this individual was that he considered his wealth to be his own and should have known better. He was quite happy to be considered a university benefactor, even though his contributions were quite modest, compared to his overall wealth.
When you actually looked at what he was able to do, his success wasn’t really due to his business acumen. His success was brought about, by being in the right place at the right time, with a sufficient capital stake, and really not taking any risks. He raised his family, spent way too much time putting all the pieces together, and didn’t do foolish things with the money that came his way. So on reflection I suppose it was his money.
In contrast in my early entrepreneurial days, I had two mentors of that same vintage. These two mentors combined probably had processed twenty times the wealth of the benefactor. They looked at their wealth as an opportunity to invest and contribute to the greater community, and essentially looked at their money as a scorecard for what they were doing, not who they really were.
Read More...
Main Street reality check
22/October/2008 10:30
Welcome to the new world order, where Wall Street men, create what was once defined as money, ex nihilo, to try and resurrect Wall Street. How much of this money do we need? No one seems to know, but the die of current monetary formation has been cast, both Secretary Paulson and Fed Chairman Bernanke, will make as much as needed, where needed, to stave off a massive world depression.
So what, that the wealth of monetary trillions has instantaneously evaporated for human millions! At least the money ship is still bailing, and will continue to bail, and bail and bail until, people begin to understand that there is no monetary reality at work here. The solution is the process or so it seems to be unraveling.
What is really happening is that these two non-elected officials are attempting to replace the evaporated trillions with new trillions. It sounds so simple, provided everyone plays along for now and somewhere down the river, or over this new ocean, they slow down the money pumps and ease this Titanic to the pier. Of course a few months ago they were talking about inflationary fears, now that word has been exiled with the trillions of the old money.
At some point in the future, these two men will have saved a materialistic worldview, that truly isn’t capable of salvation, and everyone will be much poorer, by the effect of the new trillions, than they were in the first place.
Barack Obama and his Democrat compatriots have gotten the picture. All the big spending programs are now again on the table, all we have to do is believe in hope and hope will carry us through.
Senator McCain for his part has Joe the Plumber for his only touch with an outside reality. If it were not for Joe, you would have to believe that John took short odds to lose at Vegas and now is working hard to widen or meet his point spread.
So in less than two weeks left before the most critical election in United States history, you have the leadership of both political tickets mumbling something about foreign testing, while in the local – national tests, they showed up at the last debate unwilling to talk about, anything relating to the serious present and uncertain future we now find ourselves. But, Praise the Lord, we have Hope Change to believe in, whoever she is?
Actually for most of us, Joe (not Biden) and Sarah are the only people with the only real vision of an American present and a future. That vision centers not on Wall Street, but Main Street.
Read More...
So what, that the wealth of monetary trillions has instantaneously evaporated for human millions! At least the money ship is still bailing, and will continue to bail, and bail and bail until, people begin to understand that there is no monetary reality at work here. The solution is the process or so it seems to be unraveling.
What is really happening is that these two non-elected officials are attempting to replace the evaporated trillions with new trillions. It sounds so simple, provided everyone plays along for now and somewhere down the river, or over this new ocean, they slow down the money pumps and ease this Titanic to the pier. Of course a few months ago they were talking about inflationary fears, now that word has been exiled with the trillions of the old money.
At some point in the future, these two men will have saved a materialistic worldview, that truly isn’t capable of salvation, and everyone will be much poorer, by the effect of the new trillions, than they were in the first place.
Barack Obama and his Democrat compatriots have gotten the picture. All the big spending programs are now again on the table, all we have to do is believe in hope and hope will carry us through.
Senator McCain for his part has Joe the Plumber for his only touch with an outside reality. If it were not for Joe, you would have to believe that John took short odds to lose at Vegas and now is working hard to widen or meet his point spread.
So in less than two weeks left before the most critical election in United States history, you have the leadership of both political tickets mumbling something about foreign testing, while in the local – national tests, they showed up at the last debate unwilling to talk about, anything relating to the serious present and uncertain future we now find ourselves. But, Praise the Lord, we have Hope Change to believe in, whoever she is?
Actually for most of us, Joe (not Biden) and Sarah are the only people with the only real vision of an American present and a future. That vision centers not on Wall Street, but Main Street.
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Prospecting for wealth
15/October/2008 07:47
Ancient truth relevant for today:
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:20,21
Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
May you find in the above words, consolation that the happenings in this current world are not all there is, and there truly is nothing new under the sun. There is a strength available beyond our own individual capacities.
Furthermore, words really do not fully express what many of you are feeling at this time. People, who told you to trust them, either lied to you, or were just ignorant of true reality, including the consequences of ignoring Natural Law. That reality of absolute truth exists and so do you, begin to deal with it seriously.
There has been a slightly positive development this week. National governments around the world have begun to realize that the problem is not with energy prices or unsound mortgages, the root of this disease is really the monetary system itself. First steps have been taken to begin to bring a reasoned approach to what we call banking and money in our various currencies.
So far these steps are quite inflationary, but there really is no other alternative at this time. Especially notice that these measures were taken by national governments, not international financial organizations and enterprises. Finally the world’s problems are beginning to rise above politics, and governments are beginning to look after their people rather than special interests.
Of course politicians, especially here in the United States, remain a leading indicator of completely being out of touch with those they are called to lead. Slowly the reality that neither the far left or the far right have anything positive to contribute to the solution, will pound it’s way into some positive actions.
Read More...
Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”
Job 1:20,21
Though the fig tree may not blossom,
Nor fruit be on the vines;
Though the labor of the olive may fail,
And the fields yield no food;
Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,
And there be no herd in the stalls—
Yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The LORD God is my strength;
He will make my feet like deer’s feet,
And He will make me walk on my high hills.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
May you find in the above words, consolation that the happenings in this current world are not all there is, and there truly is nothing new under the sun. There is a strength available beyond our own individual capacities.
Furthermore, words really do not fully express what many of you are feeling at this time. People, who told you to trust them, either lied to you, or were just ignorant of true reality, including the consequences of ignoring Natural Law. That reality of absolute truth exists and so do you, begin to deal with it seriously.
There has been a slightly positive development this week. National governments around the world have begun to realize that the problem is not with energy prices or unsound mortgages, the root of this disease is really the monetary system itself. First steps have been taken to begin to bring a reasoned approach to what we call banking and money in our various currencies.
So far these steps are quite inflationary, but there really is no other alternative at this time. Especially notice that these measures were taken by national governments, not international financial organizations and enterprises. Finally the world’s problems are beginning to rise above politics, and governments are beginning to look after their people rather than special interests.
Of course politicians, especially here in the United States, remain a leading indicator of completely being out of touch with those they are called to lead. Slowly the reality that neither the far left or the far right have anything positive to contribute to the solution, will pound it’s way into some positive actions.
Read More...
Globalism’s entropy unmasked
08/October/2008 10:00
Last week we dealt somewhat with the religious, or lack of religious underpinning of the world’s current financial catastrophe. This week we turn are attention to specific observations of the continuing demise of global capitalism as the repercussions of energy and mortgage profiteering spreads around the globe.
Friday, American’s political leadership finally adopted a bailout plan, which probably was somewhat better than the original first proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson a couple of weeks ago. Having said that, any bailout can only be looked at as the least destructive measure, among the alternatives proposed, at least in the short term.
As we are seeing this week continued Treasury and Fed moves show that $700 billion and related expenses are just American band-aids and aspirin as this crisis of monetary entropy grows. On Tuesday the Dow fell another 500 points, and it has been reported by the Associated Press that retirement accounts have lost over $2 trillion in the last 15 months.
This week the bailouts are spreading to Europe. Ireland was the first EU country last week to place government guarantees on bank deposits. This week that fever is spreading to the continent as other countries attempt to enact similar measures within their own national entities.
It seems that a unified attempt to quell this continuing monetary problem is for now taking a back seat to national interests. Whether that will work reminds one of the similar problems in the American Congress to enact bailout legislation. Political leaders around the world have become leading indicators to just how much all leadership is out of touch with the current crisis.
Read More...
Friday, American’s political leadership finally adopted a bailout plan, which probably was somewhat better than the original first proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson a couple of weeks ago. Having said that, any bailout can only be looked at as the least destructive measure, among the alternatives proposed, at least in the short term.
As we are seeing this week continued Treasury and Fed moves show that $700 billion and related expenses are just American band-aids and aspirin as this crisis of monetary entropy grows. On Tuesday the Dow fell another 500 points, and it has been reported by the Associated Press that retirement accounts have lost over $2 trillion in the last 15 months.
This week the bailouts are spreading to Europe. Ireland was the first EU country last week to place government guarantees on bank deposits. This week that fever is spreading to the continent as other countries attempt to enact similar measures within their own national entities.
It seems that a unified attempt to quell this continuing monetary problem is for now taking a back seat to national interests. Whether that will work reminds one of the similar problems in the American Congress to enact bailout legislation. Political leaders around the world have become leading indicators to just how much all leadership is out of touch with the current crisis.
Read More...
And Then?
01/October/2008 07:43
Well an evolving big financial bailout plan is still lumbering along through the American Congress. Most people would have forecast it would and should have been done by now. But after decades of neglect and wishful thinking the impossible takes a little longer, especially when none of them have a clue in what the outcome will truly become. We must all ask the question.
And then?
That is the big question facing the western world as the dust again settles after another New York based disaster, this one more of the metaphysical rather than the bricks and mortar happening on 9-11. Uptown in the financial district, people, with few exceptions, didn’t lose their actual lives, but their livelihood may be more stupendously changed for the long term, than what happened with the terrorist attack.
Stupendous change articles are not unknown in the Chronicle; we began 2007 with a series of articles that continued through the month of March. Therefore the recent realization that we live in a fallen world and actions have consequences is not to be dismissed lightly in the rush to find a material solution to these complex monetary problems.
Historians may one day trace the beginning of this financial crisis back to the foundation of capitalism, or probably to the Enlightenment itself, but needless to say, the happenings of the last few weeks and the short term future, measured in years, has been greatly altered. Virtually no one alive today has a distinct memory of the adult responsibilities that came to light during the Great Depression, so we must rely on training and abilities of the so-called experts.
The evolving bailout plan is very loosely constructed not to repeat the tight money problems that greatly exacerbated that era, but no one surely likes the concept of having the American people forced to provide the final defense for the greed and malfeasance of a few, but that is the real world. The real questions are this going to be enough, or will it work at all? To answer these real world issues, time will tell. Needless to say, we all need to take stock of the present and readjust our plans for the future.
As I have been ruminating on what has just happened, the Bible construct of Revelation 18 comes to mind, especially verse eight concerning a financial Babylon: Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
The only difference from what just happened seems to be the concept of a literal reference fire rather that a metaphysical reference, but it would be quite difficult to describe what has just happened to all our financial situations metaphorically, especially in just one word, collapse, or failure just are not quite up to the task, fire seems to fit much better.
Read More...
And then?
That is the big question facing the western world as the dust again settles after another New York based disaster, this one more of the metaphysical rather than the bricks and mortar happening on 9-11. Uptown in the financial district, people, with few exceptions, didn’t lose their actual lives, but their livelihood may be more stupendously changed for the long term, than what happened with the terrorist attack.
Stupendous change articles are not unknown in the Chronicle; we began 2007 with a series of articles that continued through the month of March. Therefore the recent realization that we live in a fallen world and actions have consequences is not to be dismissed lightly in the rush to find a material solution to these complex monetary problems.
Historians may one day trace the beginning of this financial crisis back to the foundation of capitalism, or probably to the Enlightenment itself, but needless to say, the happenings of the last few weeks and the short term future, measured in years, has been greatly altered. Virtually no one alive today has a distinct memory of the adult responsibilities that came to light during the Great Depression, so we must rely on training and abilities of the so-called experts.
The evolving bailout plan is very loosely constructed not to repeat the tight money problems that greatly exacerbated that era, but no one surely likes the concept of having the American people forced to provide the final defense for the greed and malfeasance of a few, but that is the real world. The real questions are this going to be enough, or will it work at all? To answer these real world issues, time will tell. Needless to say, we all need to take stock of the present and readjust our plans for the future.
As I have been ruminating on what has just happened, the Bible construct of Revelation 18 comes to mind, especially verse eight concerning a financial Babylon: Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her.
The only difference from what just happened seems to be the concept of a literal reference fire rather that a metaphysical reference, but it would be quite difficult to describe what has just happened to all our financial situations metaphorically, especially in just one word, collapse, or failure just are not quite up to the task, fire seems to fit much better.
Read More...
Three Real Truths
24/September/2008 10:43
Even in my currently isolated position in the suburbs of Nowhere I had the opportunity to listen on the Fox News Sunday Podcast of Treasury Secretary Paulson’s attempt to describe the current financial bailout package that is supposed to be working it’s way through Congress this week. My thoughts were it was grossly simplistic, shortsighted, and supported mostly by wishful thinking. I suppose that last sentence sounds somewhat oxymoronic. Yep! That pretty much is the essence of my feelings.
The whole shebang seems to have nothing to do with the underlying principles that brought about this “crisis,” and the overriding tone of his rhetoric seemed to be we needed this “crisis” to provide the opportunity to fix a broken system. That sure gives me confidence that everything is now going to be smooth sailing on the rising ocean of American debt. But one must wonder just how much more ballast the old ocean liner “Constitution” can take on without a small tempest overriding the gunwales.
The course has been set and a President with a thirty percent approval rating and a Congress still sailing along at about one third that number, have it all under control. You can take that to port, or to the bank?
This brings me to three truths I have heard recently that look more deeply at the American experiment at this time and place. What they show is our current stupendous change voyage may only be beginning.
The first truth comes from Benjamin Franklin, in a speech given by Mark Sanford, the conservative conservationist governor of South Carolina, to the state Republican Party convention. This is the link to the thirteen and a half minute YouTube video.
The story goes, Dr. Franklin was leaving the meeting hall at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. As he was walking down the steps a spectator asked the senior statesman, “Sir, do we have a monarchy, or a republic?” To which Ben was said to reply, “We have a republic, if you can keep it.”
Read More...
The whole shebang seems to have nothing to do with the underlying principles that brought about this “crisis,” and the overriding tone of his rhetoric seemed to be we needed this “crisis” to provide the opportunity to fix a broken system. That sure gives me confidence that everything is now going to be smooth sailing on the rising ocean of American debt. But one must wonder just how much more ballast the old ocean liner “Constitution” can take on without a small tempest overriding the gunwales.
The course has been set and a President with a thirty percent approval rating and a Congress still sailing along at about one third that number, have it all under control. You can take that to port, or to the bank?
This brings me to three truths I have heard recently that look more deeply at the American experiment at this time and place. What they show is our current stupendous change voyage may only be beginning.
The first truth comes from Benjamin Franklin, in a speech given by Mark Sanford, the conservative conservationist governor of South Carolina, to the state Republican Party convention. This is the link to the thirteen and a half minute YouTube video.
The story goes, Dr. Franklin was leaving the meeting hall at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787. As he was walking down the steps a spectator asked the senior statesman, “Sir, do we have a monarchy, or a republic?” To which Ben was said to reply, “We have a republic, if you can keep it.”
Read More...
The sun still rises
17/September/2008 12:14
Here on Big Boulder Creek the sun rose over Toulou Mountain about 8 AM Tuesday morning September 16, 2008. It set over the Kettle River range about 6 PM. Today it rose a couple of minutes later and will set again a couple of minutes earlier.
It was a complete surprise to me to find out when I got to Colville late Tuesday morning, that the world was still functioning at all with the Monday investment bank collapse on Wall Street.
I suppose I would have known about it earlier, but for the last month I have had no Internet service at my cabin thanks, to the great communications giant Verizon wireless. It seems, at least to an unverifiable communication to one questioning user, that they have reprogrammed their cellular tower on Bisbee Mountain west of Kettle Falls to serve more customers to the south and east rather than those in Northern Stevens, Eastern Ferry Counties and Federal Highway 395. As of this writing I have not received a response to my latest email sent Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday, I had planned to write a real journalistic post about this arbriatary and capricious change discontinuing my cellular service with the headline: “Verizon wireless – Can you hear me now?” This would be followed by the sub headline, “Of course not, for I now have to drive four to eight miles to make a call.” It would seem to me a courtesy to at least notify those potential customers that they were going to make a change in service, but in the era where real people don’t really matter why should Verizon do such a thing? After all it is really, “All about the network” and building and maintaining it all as cheaply as possible (emphasis mine).
Read More...
It was a complete surprise to me to find out when I got to Colville late Tuesday morning, that the world was still functioning at all with the Monday investment bank collapse on Wall Street.
I suppose I would have known about it earlier, but for the last month I have had no Internet service at my cabin thanks, to the great communications giant Verizon wireless. It seems, at least to an unverifiable communication to one questioning user, that they have reprogrammed their cellular tower on Bisbee Mountain west of Kettle Falls to serve more customers to the south and east rather than those in Northern Stevens, Eastern Ferry Counties and Federal Highway 395. As of this writing I have not received a response to my latest email sent Sunday afternoon.
Yesterday, I had planned to write a real journalistic post about this arbriatary and capricious change discontinuing my cellular service with the headline: “Verizon wireless – Can you hear me now?” This would be followed by the sub headline, “Of course not, for I now have to drive four to eight miles to make a call.” It would seem to me a courtesy to at least notify those potential customers that they were going to make a change in service, but in the era where real people don’t really matter why should Verizon do such a thing? After all it is really, “All about the network” and building and maintaining it all as cheaply as possible (emphasis mine).
Read More...
Bottom-up leadership
10/September/2008 14:36
At last, the political conventions are over in the United States. Now we are in for a couple of months of what most of the media miraculously discovered in the Republican Vice Presidential candidate, a culture war of words. While they would never admit, even to their closest confidants, they liked what Sarah Palin had to say. The committed to Barack “objective journalists” found not only that there exists articulate and intelligent people who don’t at all agree with their view of America’s present and future, some began to realize that they don’t have the moral high ground, and that the vast majority of Americans agree with Sarah and not the elitist big government agenda.
Feeling quite confident in my position in this populist versus progressive agenda, I decided to begin creation of a new website Freed2Lead.com. This website will be based upon fundamental human rights and upon the uniqueness of each individual, under law, and God’s design. All of these values are now under serious attack by a subversive group of people, in the United States, all of western culture, and around the world. Last week we said that Bill O’Reilly calls these people secular progressives, I called them atheistic evolutionists, but it is really an elitist agenda more repressive to fundamental human rights than Stalin, Hitler, Mao, or any other fascist organizer.
The true long term terrorists are not fundamental religious zealots of either Christianity or Islam. The danger comes from those who seek to establish an “Elitist Enlightenment Estate” based on their messianic materialistic and humanistic worldview. In that worldview they and they alone believe that they are going to save the world from a whole menagerie of human induced ills, to numerous to name here. In this Wonder Springs forum, this is called by its true description, blasphemy, the oldest religion in the world.
I had planned to start this column at the top of my list of last week’s leadership issues and discuss them in how Biblical creation, spun through my esoteric views of science and religion might start a leadership dialog based on the uniqueness of both the spoken word of God, creation, and the specific word of God the Bible. However after reflecting upon the first item on that list, Arbitrary and Capricious Regulations, I decided I should start from the bottom up, because I am currently highly involved in a property dispute with Ferry County about the development of my Kettle River waterfront.
Read More...
Feeling quite confident in my position in this populist versus progressive agenda, I decided to begin creation of a new website Freed2Lead.com. This website will be based upon fundamental human rights and upon the uniqueness of each individual, under law, and God’s design. All of these values are now under serious attack by a subversive group of people, in the United States, all of western culture, and around the world. Last week we said that Bill O’Reilly calls these people secular progressives, I called them atheistic evolutionists, but it is really an elitist agenda more repressive to fundamental human rights than Stalin, Hitler, Mao, or any other fascist organizer.
The true long term terrorists are not fundamental religious zealots of either Christianity or Islam. The danger comes from those who seek to establish an “Elitist Enlightenment Estate” based on their messianic materialistic and humanistic worldview. In that worldview they and they alone believe that they are going to save the world from a whole menagerie of human induced ills, to numerous to name here. In this Wonder Springs forum, this is called by its true description, blasphemy, the oldest religion in the world.
I had planned to start this column at the top of my list of last week’s leadership issues and discuss them in how Biblical creation, spun through my esoteric views of science and religion might start a leadership dialog based on the uniqueness of both the spoken word of God, creation, and the specific word of God the Bible. However after reflecting upon the first item on that list, Arbitrary and Capricious Regulations, I decided I should start from the bottom up, because I am currently highly involved in a property dispute with Ferry County about the development of my Kettle River waterfront.
Read More...
Leadership needs
03/September/2008 11:08
Life is good, if you don’t weaken.
Millie Sphuler (My neighbor’s grandmother)
Well John McCain sure shook up the American political landscape with the selection of Sarah Palin, Alaska’s Governor as his Vice Presidential running mate. As of this writing the news is popping about the Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. Looking at the bigger picture however McCain picked another maverick to focus the country on his vision of change for the United States. Whether this will energize the independent voters needed for him to win the Presidency, we will see over the next couple of months.
Here in Nowhere, I returned last week after an extended family reunion and other errands in Spokane, to find that both my cellular phone and Internet had disappeared during a significant storm the afternoon I left. When I reported the outage to the two Verizon wireless dealers in the area and Verizon, ten days later, they informed me that they were unaware of the problem. No one else who I talked to after I got back, even took the opportunity to report the change, only to whine about the problem to others. Things are somewhat better, I can now get some coverage here and there within seven miles, rather than the previous seventeen, but this makes continued Wonder Springs operations from here virtually impossible.
During that trip to Colville in which I reported the cellular outage, I picked up an audio copy of Bill O’Reilly’s “Culture Warrior” at the library. After listening to that recording I again understood that I too am a warrior in what he calls the “Culture War” raging in America. Bill defined the two sides as the minority “Secular Progressives” (SPs) in contrast with the “Traditionalists.” In Wonder Springs we would define those two sides as “Atheistic Evolutionists” contrasted with “Benevolent Deists” but both of our dogmas and theologies for the definitions are essentially identical.
Bill’s book deals with SPs in urban warfare and does not touch on the chasm between rural and urban Americans. In politics of course we call this the red and the blue states, but again contrary to urban spin, the differences are much more significant than mere politics. In outward culture the differences are profound and in many cases extremely hostile.
Read More...
Millie Sphuler (My neighbor’s grandmother)
Well John McCain sure shook up the American political landscape with the selection of Sarah Palin, Alaska’s Governor as his Vice Presidential running mate. As of this writing the news is popping about the Palin’s 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy. Looking at the bigger picture however McCain picked another maverick to focus the country on his vision of change for the United States. Whether this will energize the independent voters needed for him to win the Presidency, we will see over the next couple of months.
Here in Nowhere, I returned last week after an extended family reunion and other errands in Spokane, to find that both my cellular phone and Internet had disappeared during a significant storm the afternoon I left. When I reported the outage to the two Verizon wireless dealers in the area and Verizon, ten days later, they informed me that they were unaware of the problem. No one else who I talked to after I got back, even took the opportunity to report the change, only to whine about the problem to others. Things are somewhat better, I can now get some coverage here and there within seven miles, rather than the previous seventeen, but this makes continued Wonder Springs operations from here virtually impossible.
During that trip to Colville in which I reported the cellular outage, I picked up an audio copy of Bill O’Reilly’s “Culture Warrior” at the library. After listening to that recording I again understood that I too am a warrior in what he calls the “Culture War” raging in America. Bill defined the two sides as the minority “Secular Progressives” (SPs) in contrast with the “Traditionalists.” In Wonder Springs we would define those two sides as “Atheistic Evolutionists” contrasted with “Benevolent Deists” but both of our dogmas and theologies for the definitions are essentially identical.
Bill’s book deals with SPs in urban warfare and does not touch on the chasm between rural and urban Americans. In politics of course we call this the red and the blue states, but again contrary to urban spin, the differences are much more significant than mere politics. In outward culture the differences are profound and in many cases extremely hostile.
Read More...
Political Ditches
27/August/2008 10:26
A few weeks ago I was reading one of my daily news and commentary emails. The author set the path before us, stating the fact that now that he had the nomination Barack Obama was moving to the center from the political left. In contrast John McCain was moving to the right to try and encourage the conservative base of the Republican Party. The conclusion drawn by the author was essentially, isn’t this American two party system grand. The two party system is what made America the greatest country in history.
That was pretty poor logic. I would long to vote for someone for President (or other political office) that I thought really believed in something, which wasn't created spin, tested in focus groups, or run through the political machine.
I watched about 30 seconds of Michelle Obama’s speech Monday night in Denver. What I got out of it was that the words were carefully and professionally crafted not to say anything that anyone might find offensive, anywhere. Secondly she wasn’t very good at reading a teleprompter, and finally the height of the podium was absurd. It wasn’t high enough to lend her a semblance of authority, nor was it low enough or small enough to connect with the people.
Hello! Is there a real person up there, or a robot just going through the motions? From just her every day demeanor, Michelle Obama seems like a strong and intelligent woman, too bad she wasn’t speaking Monday evening.
America’s wonderful two party system has now become a completely rigged political process, so that a truly normal person, not only is not represented by his or her government, there is no way that you can do anything about it. Now that is not a great way to run a democracy, or even a fascist state.
There is no room for a broad highway of consensus, not even a straight and narrow path to the future. All we have is two deep and foreboding ditches, the far left and far right, and not even a cleared path into the future. The old road that brought American and western culture to the zenith of human civilization has been abandoned, the asphalt or concrete ripped up and now weeds and brush have taken root.
The old saying of “My way, or the highway,” now has become “My way, or no way,” as the “my” has become the political party machines. The problem is that “my” has no reality basis in either you or me.
Read More...
That was pretty poor logic. I would long to vote for someone for President (or other political office) that I thought really believed in something, which wasn't created spin, tested in focus groups, or run through the political machine.
I watched about 30 seconds of Michelle Obama’s speech Monday night in Denver. What I got out of it was that the words were carefully and professionally crafted not to say anything that anyone might find offensive, anywhere. Secondly she wasn’t very good at reading a teleprompter, and finally the height of the podium was absurd. It wasn’t high enough to lend her a semblance of authority, nor was it low enough or small enough to connect with the people.
Hello! Is there a real person up there, or a robot just going through the motions? From just her every day demeanor, Michelle Obama seems like a strong and intelligent woman, too bad she wasn’t speaking Monday evening.
America’s wonderful two party system has now become a completely rigged political process, so that a truly normal person, not only is not represented by his or her government, there is no way that you can do anything about it. Now that is not a great way to run a democracy, or even a fascist state.
There is no room for a broad highway of consensus, not even a straight and narrow path to the future. All we have is two deep and foreboding ditches, the far left and far right, and not even a cleared path into the future. The old road that brought American and western culture to the zenith of human civilization has been abandoned, the asphalt or concrete ripped up and now weeds and brush have taken root.
The old saying of “My way, or the highway,” now has become “My way, or no way,” as the “my” has become the political party machines. The problem is that “my” has no reality basis in either you or me.
Read More...
Combating the Agenda Panacea
20/August/2008 09:38
Strategically speaking this week Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir Putin seems to be in continuing control of an organized agenda to increase Russia’s tactical presence in the country of Georgia. So far tough words from western and NATO leaders have had little effect upon moving Russian troops back to August 7th positions.
It seems that the western Agenda Panacea to provide security to European nations as well as former satellite states of the Soviet Union has been challenged. To put this in some perspective, tough words are contrasted against tanks, troops, and empty promises.
What do both sides share in common? Words of course. Tough empty words or empty promise words are just words none the less. In that context, troops and tanks win. How difficult is that to understand?
The current paradigm of mutual understanding in the world seems to state, if we all just come together and share our differences, we can all then go home, do like we have always done and celebrate our diversity. If we can do that with sincerity, so much the better.
To put this into some sort of American context, for the next couple of months we have entered into a quatra-annual Presidential election contest. In this exchange, words are the only reality. Each is spun in the context of a significant Agenda Panacea. That simply means if you choose to support my words, the words themselves will transform society into the panacea the words describe.
So just as God spoke creation into existence, we humans can do the same, ex nihilo. In most of human history this concept was considered blasphemy. Of course we humans believe in God and in Jesus, but not a stern and jealous God, but a friendly God who accepts my good words and turns them into prosperity, especially material prosperity.
You can either tune in or tune out to hear politicians tell you what you want to hear, and what you always believed you deserved. Can’t you just feel the love and the change it will bring? Everything is beautiful in it’s own way.
Of course that only applies to those who share your own particular Agenda Panacea. Those who have a different Agenda Panacea want you to accept there spin as the spiritual and economic gospel also. They of course are sojourning in the light of their own illusionary creation. However, it is sure nice I have it all together in this world I am creating for myself.
Read More...
It seems that the western Agenda Panacea to provide security to European nations as well as former satellite states of the Soviet Union has been challenged. To put this in some perspective, tough words are contrasted against tanks, troops, and empty promises.
What do both sides share in common? Words of course. Tough empty words or empty promise words are just words none the less. In that context, troops and tanks win. How difficult is that to understand?
The current paradigm of mutual understanding in the world seems to state, if we all just come together and share our differences, we can all then go home, do like we have always done and celebrate our diversity. If we can do that with sincerity, so much the better.
To put this into some sort of American context, for the next couple of months we have entered into a quatra-annual Presidential election contest. In this exchange, words are the only reality. Each is spun in the context of a significant Agenda Panacea. That simply means if you choose to support my words, the words themselves will transform society into the panacea the words describe.
So just as God spoke creation into existence, we humans can do the same, ex nihilo. In most of human history this concept was considered blasphemy. Of course we humans believe in God and in Jesus, but not a stern and jealous God, but a friendly God who accepts my good words and turns them into prosperity, especially material prosperity.
You can either tune in or tune out to hear politicians tell you what you want to hear, and what you always believed you deserved. Can’t you just feel the love and the change it will bring? Everything is beautiful in it’s own way.
Of course that only applies to those who share your own particular Agenda Panacea. Those who have a different Agenda Panacea want you to accept there spin as the spiritual and economic gospel also. They of course are sojourning in the light of their own illusionary creation. However, it is sure nice I have it all together in this world I am creating for myself.
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Leadership Incompetence
13/August/2008 10:51
I began this Chronicle over ten years ago, basically because I saw a dearth of valid leadership both in enterprise and in the religious sector. Over the ensuing years the problem has gotten steadily more acute, and now is rampant in the political arena as well.
Most people in leadership positions seem to think that leadership is an inherited talent or a gift and they are without a doubt one of the supreme benefactors of that acumen. Militaries around the world know that leadership is a learned art, perfected by training and practice. Leaders are not born they are trained.
Perhaps the greatest leadership kerfuffle believes that power and authority are the same. The truth however is that authority is bestowed from above, power is earned from below. To illustrate, in the military officers are commissioned by an act of the United States, but power is achieved by leading those under you wisely and with compassion. This power begins with the NCOs and works its way down to the lowest enlisted man. Your orders may speak with the authority of God, but your ability to lead rests entirely with the power of God flowing through those you lead. That power will keep you alive in combat, or get you quickly killed if you abuse its fundamental reality.
Furthermore if you look at the Bible this is a Biblical principle. Jesus never states that He was given the power to lead, only the authority. “All authority in heaven and earth is given to me.” The power resides in the Holy Spirit empowering those of the laity to follow true leadership and abandon the prideful. If I had a million dollars for every time I have heard a preacher butcher this concept, I would be as wealthy as Bill Gates
A couple of weeks ago I heard President Bush commenting on gasoline prices saying essentially that Americans are smart people and as gas prices rise Americans will cut back on their energy usage. As a consequence as President he was not going to do or say anything.
The first thought that came to mind was he must be suffering some sort of “shell shock” or “PTSD” (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from all the abuse he has taken on his handling of the Iraq war. True leadership requires a destination, a goal, a mission; this statement by the President should serve as an anathema to all trained leaders.
Read More...
Most people in leadership positions seem to think that leadership is an inherited talent or a gift and they are without a doubt one of the supreme benefactors of that acumen. Militaries around the world know that leadership is a learned art, perfected by training and practice. Leaders are not born they are trained.
Perhaps the greatest leadership kerfuffle believes that power and authority are the same. The truth however is that authority is bestowed from above, power is earned from below. To illustrate, in the military officers are commissioned by an act of the United States, but power is achieved by leading those under you wisely and with compassion. This power begins with the NCOs and works its way down to the lowest enlisted man. Your orders may speak with the authority of God, but your ability to lead rests entirely with the power of God flowing through those you lead. That power will keep you alive in combat, or get you quickly killed if you abuse its fundamental reality.
Furthermore if you look at the Bible this is a Biblical principle. Jesus never states that He was given the power to lead, only the authority. “All authority in heaven and earth is given to me.” The power resides in the Holy Spirit empowering those of the laity to follow true leadership and abandon the prideful. If I had a million dollars for every time I have heard a preacher butcher this concept, I would be as wealthy as Bill Gates
A couple of weeks ago I heard President Bush commenting on gasoline prices saying essentially that Americans are smart people and as gas prices rise Americans will cut back on their energy usage. As a consequence as President he was not going to do or say anything.
The first thought that came to mind was he must be suffering some sort of “shell shock” or “PTSD” (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from all the abuse he has taken on his handling of the Iraq war. True leadership requires a destination, a goal, a mission; this statement by the President should serve as an anathema to all trained leaders.
Read More...
The Voodoo weed patch:
06/August/2008 06:33
Its ramifications on the continued development of human civilization
It is a well established truth that domestic, or domesticated, agriculture allowed for the development of human civilization.
It logically, and empirically follows that the fruits of that civilization are based upon the principles, not of hunting and gathering, but on planting and harvest. I would also assert that it’s continued success will again follow similar fields. As a consequence, basic agricultural principles, or science, will not only allow for humanity to maintain our culture, but it is a necessity for any successful human development.
We could consider the harvested fruits of these growing times as the infrastructure upon which the human community flourishes or flounders. It is important what we do, not only with natural soil, but also with the soil of our civilization. Our continued future depends upon the stewardship we practice in the various niches of our natural diversity, in creation and in culture. That diversity requires the synergistic application of energy, liquidity, and informational design.
Mass urbanization began in earnest during the 20th century. As we have traveled down that path into the future, not only have those agrarian roots been ignored, they are found down right repulsive to most urbanites. It is one thing to have a few pots in the living quarters, if you have a house maybe a few roses in the garden. But the sign of wealth, affluence, and just being cool, is to hire a gardener to do the dirty work.
Urbanites are quite happy to get their nature, from books, flat screen television, and perhaps a yearly drive through some place picturesque. As a consequence, the thought of getting dirty, and especially sweaty, is very demeaning and also makes them quite insecure by not knowing what to do with the hoe end of a hoe. Therefore, being terrified of all aspects of true natural law, they just try to ignore it and maybe it will leave them alone. That is just not going to happen and these fearful symptoms show up in many individuals as a form of mental illness.
From an environmental aspect the less there is to do with nature the better. If we just leave it alone, it will become a park, just like Central Park. We will just not let the Federal Government agencies manage the wild and it will become a park, if everyone just thinks good thoughts, and we don’t let those greedy developers do anything except build condos and golf courses.
Read More...
It is a well established truth that domestic, or domesticated, agriculture allowed for the development of human civilization.
It logically, and empirically follows that the fruits of that civilization are based upon the principles, not of hunting and gathering, but on planting and harvest. I would also assert that it’s continued success will again follow similar fields. As a consequence, basic agricultural principles, or science, will not only allow for humanity to maintain our culture, but it is a necessity for any successful human development.
We could consider the harvested fruits of these growing times as the infrastructure upon which the human community flourishes or flounders. It is important what we do, not only with natural soil, but also with the soil of our civilization. Our continued future depends upon the stewardship we practice in the various niches of our natural diversity, in creation and in culture. That diversity requires the synergistic application of energy, liquidity, and informational design.
Mass urbanization began in earnest during the 20th century. As we have traveled down that path into the future, not only have those agrarian roots been ignored, they are found down right repulsive to most urbanites. It is one thing to have a few pots in the living quarters, if you have a house maybe a few roses in the garden. But the sign of wealth, affluence, and just being cool, is to hire a gardener to do the dirty work.
Urbanites are quite happy to get their nature, from books, flat screen television, and perhaps a yearly drive through some place picturesque. As a consequence, the thought of getting dirty, and especially sweaty, is very demeaning and also makes them quite insecure by not knowing what to do with the hoe end of a hoe. Therefore, being terrified of all aspects of true natural law, they just try to ignore it and maybe it will leave them alone. That is just not going to happen and these fearful symptoms show up in many individuals as a form of mental illness.
From an environmental aspect the less there is to do with nature the better. If we just leave it alone, it will become a park, just like Central Park. We will just not let the Federal Government agencies manage the wild and it will become a park, if everyone just thinks good thoughts, and we don’t let those greedy developers do anything except build condos and golf courses.
Read More...
Off road in the VooDoo desert
30/July/2008 11:26
In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25
This is an oft-quoted Bible verse used by all sorts of people to describe and lament the times in which we live. What I have never heard however is the corollary statement that people had to do what was right in their own eyes because they could not get any help with their projects, so they were left alone to their own resources, to make their own way.
Sure you can get help to do something if you are willing and able to pay, but you have to pay not for the value of the service necessarily, but what someone thought or determined what that service was worth. The real world and your world just don’t work together. Again what we are really talking about is a lack of infrastructure to help you with your daily tasks.
One of the first things you will find as you venture off road into God’s creation is that there is a unity in diversity. All things seem to work together. In ecology, that is called simply natural diversity. Why doesn’t it seem to work in human endeavors is, simply stated, we humans think we can come up with a better way, which really isn’t a better way in any way, it just looks right in our own eyes.
Some of those perceived better ways are based on science and valid logical reasoning. Too often however, these ways are based upon some self-righteousness, relying on our own definitions of good and right and center not on reason, but human emotion. When that emotion is divorced from an outside standard of righteousness, it quickly becomes dark and dangerous, essentially a type of voodoo.
As we have done in recent weeks, when looking at the Christian church, you see an organization so intent on saving the world by their methods, they don’t have time to reach the world by God’s methods, or just by being part of the natural community of mankind.
The fundamental statement from a Biblical and creation worldview simply states the reality, “If the church is unwilling or unable to perform her duties to Christianity specifically, and the world in general, we are all in a truly bad state of affairs.”
The information content of natural energetics is an interesting concept. Over time natural diversity will fill the void, in this case the lack of human opportunity and destiny found only in God. Therefore if the church is unable or unwilling to change from within, it will be changed from without.
Read More...
This is an oft-quoted Bible verse used by all sorts of people to describe and lament the times in which we live. What I have never heard however is the corollary statement that people had to do what was right in their own eyes because they could not get any help with their projects, so they were left alone to their own resources, to make their own way.
Sure you can get help to do something if you are willing and able to pay, but you have to pay not for the value of the service necessarily, but what someone thought or determined what that service was worth. The real world and your world just don’t work together. Again what we are really talking about is a lack of infrastructure to help you with your daily tasks.
One of the first things you will find as you venture off road into God’s creation is that there is a unity in diversity. All things seem to work together. In ecology, that is called simply natural diversity. Why doesn’t it seem to work in human endeavors is, simply stated, we humans think we can come up with a better way, which really isn’t a better way in any way, it just looks right in our own eyes.
Some of those perceived better ways are based on science and valid logical reasoning. Too often however, these ways are based upon some self-righteousness, relying on our own definitions of good and right and center not on reason, but human emotion. When that emotion is divorced from an outside standard of righteousness, it quickly becomes dark and dangerous, essentially a type of voodoo.
As we have done in recent weeks, when looking at the Christian church, you see an organization so intent on saving the world by their methods, they don’t have time to reach the world by God’s methods, or just by being part of the natural community of mankind.
The fundamental statement from a Biblical and creation worldview simply states the reality, “If the church is unwilling or unable to perform her duties to Christianity specifically, and the world in general, we are all in a truly bad state of affairs.”
The information content of natural energetics is an interesting concept. Over time natural diversity will fill the void, in this case the lack of human opportunity and destiny found only in God. Therefore if the church is unable or unwilling to change from within, it will be changed from without.
Read More...
Off road ramblings
23/July/2008 11:06
Our Friday cartoon pundit Brute’ Griz, has recently made a lot of good comments about his friend Tony Snow who recently died to this world because of colon cancer. Personally I never met the man, but reading some of what he has written over the last couple of years, I look forward to some eternal day when I will have that pleasure.
One of Tony’s comments in both of the articles that Brute’ linked here at Wonder Springs was about God calling people to get out beyond their normal comfort zone and go off road. Being off road by its very nature causes one to create their own ramblings though you may have a destination in mind.
This ministry – blog, both in the literal sense and figuratively, I would consider off road pretty much from its very beginning. It attempts to present a biblical creation worldview, from a Christian perspective. Not so much because the Bible says it, it must be true (blind faith), but creationism seems to fit observable scientific data much better than the alternative.
To believe a random upward march of organization, contrary to all natural laws, seems not to be science, but wishful thinking through ignorance or laziness, to out right blasphemy in its extreme. That extreme being and is becoming more aggressive and belligerent daily.
So off road with the birds and the beasts, we primitives of the knuckle-dragging group, must contend with being ignored or humiliated by those who fully understand the unlimited potential of human evolutionary progress. That growth occurs now not over millennia according to their worldview, but now we evolve upward virtually week by week.
Into this context I would like to introduce the first principal of the off road universe, or the first common natural law. Common natural law being defined as observable scientific principles by which an orderly universe functions day by day, so that life can continue without chaos and collapse. You don’t need formal training to understand these natural phenomena. You do need to be trained however, to think they don’t apply to you or your crowd of groupies.
That first natural law is, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
I bring this up first because it is in distinct tension with what is developing throughout western culture. I am specifically referring to this global warming hysteria now being forced upon humanity by a group of religious prophets of doom. Many make a great deal of money in the process and live a high lifestyle. While they have limousines waiting to take them to their next destination, they urge their followers to take public transportation or ride bicycles to their revival meetings.
Human civilization is not going to collapse because of global warming, and furthermore eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from human activity is not going to change the wildness of creation. Something to be concerned about however, is global cooling, in that instance there are going to be a lot of starving people a lot faster. This is especially true if we continue to divert human subsistence foods into non and never to be economic biofuels.
Read More...
One of Tony’s comments in both of the articles that Brute’ linked here at Wonder Springs was about God calling people to get out beyond their normal comfort zone and go off road. Being off road by its very nature causes one to create their own ramblings though you may have a destination in mind.
This ministry – blog, both in the literal sense and figuratively, I would consider off road pretty much from its very beginning. It attempts to present a biblical creation worldview, from a Christian perspective. Not so much because the Bible says it, it must be true (blind faith), but creationism seems to fit observable scientific data much better than the alternative.
To believe a random upward march of organization, contrary to all natural laws, seems not to be science, but wishful thinking through ignorance or laziness, to out right blasphemy in its extreme. That extreme being and is becoming more aggressive and belligerent daily.
So off road with the birds and the beasts, we primitives of the knuckle-dragging group, must contend with being ignored or humiliated by those who fully understand the unlimited potential of human evolutionary progress. That growth occurs now not over millennia according to their worldview, but now we evolve upward virtually week by week.
Into this context I would like to introduce the first principal of the off road universe, or the first common natural law. Common natural law being defined as observable scientific principles by which an orderly universe functions day by day, so that life can continue without chaos and collapse. You don’t need formal training to understand these natural phenomena. You do need to be trained however, to think they don’t apply to you or your crowd of groupies.
That first natural law is, “In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
I bring this up first because it is in distinct tension with what is developing throughout western culture. I am specifically referring to this global warming hysteria now being forced upon humanity by a group of religious prophets of doom. Many make a great deal of money in the process and live a high lifestyle. While they have limousines waiting to take them to their next destination, they urge their followers to take public transportation or ride bicycles to their revival meetings.
Human civilization is not going to collapse because of global warming, and furthermore eliminating all carbon dioxide emissions from human activity is not going to change the wildness of creation. Something to be concerned about however, is global cooling, in that instance there are going to be a lot of starving people a lot faster. This is especially true if we continue to divert human subsistence foods into non and never to be economic biofuels.
Read More...
The Great Gegwcatsf Revival
16/July/2008 07:45
I was very soberly and somberly considering writing this week’s article about the latest revival phenomena sweeping the world, when I received an email featuring Ray Stevens and a YouTube rendition of The Mississippi Squirrel Revival that took place at the First Self-Righteous Church.
An active squirrel cannot be a better segue into introducing real nature into the understanding of religious revivals. This is especially true because almost all revivals have to be taken with some degree of humor, because if you don’t, the members of the First Self-Righteous Church will quickly bring you down to their level of scorn of everything and everyone outside the doors.
According to the song the First Self-Righteous Church is located in the town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. With a 2000 census of just over 26,000, Pascagoula is located on the gulf coast at the mouth of the Pascagoula River. Pascagoula basically means “bread eaters” after the Native Americans of the region. The city is the Home of former US Senator Trent Lot and is the birthplace of singer songwriter Jimmie Buffet.
So what is the big deal about the city of Pascagoula? The complex name says it all, along with this vignette of the history. It is the ideal location for revival to breakout, a move of religious excitements that the world has never seen before. However while this revival will breakout at the First Self-Righteous Church, this church will be true to it’s humanistic enlightenment theology. I am speaking of course about, as I created last week, the complex named Gegwcatsf Revival. (Pronounced Jeg-wa-catsf)
As defined last week Gegwcatsf means: green, environmental, global warming, cap and trade, salvation fellowship. Where better for this revival to breakout than a shipbuilding and oil town hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. If the Gegwcatsf Revival can breakout in Pascagoula, soon the whole world will be saved. Yes, and I mean the whole world, the people, well that is another story.
As far as saved people, well true to the Pascagoula name, the saved won’t be Christians, Jews, Moslems or any other currently well known religion, the saved will be strictly bread eaters. People who eat meat, especially red meat, can’t find salvation because cows and other ruminants cause too much flatulence. That gas (methane), while a potential form of energy, contributes more to global warming than all the transportation carbon dioxide. Bad cows, not holy cows!
Read More...
An active squirrel cannot be a better segue into introducing real nature into the understanding of religious revivals. This is especially true because almost all revivals have to be taken with some degree of humor, because if you don’t, the members of the First Self-Righteous Church will quickly bring you down to their level of scorn of everything and everyone outside the doors.
According to the song the First Self-Righteous Church is located in the town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. With a 2000 census of just over 26,000, Pascagoula is located on the gulf coast at the mouth of the Pascagoula River. Pascagoula basically means “bread eaters” after the Native Americans of the region. The city is the Home of former US Senator Trent Lot and is the birthplace of singer songwriter Jimmie Buffet.
So what is the big deal about the city of Pascagoula? The complex name says it all, along with this vignette of the history. It is the ideal location for revival to breakout, a move of religious excitements that the world has never seen before. However while this revival will breakout at the First Self-Righteous Church, this church will be true to it’s humanistic enlightenment theology. I am speaking of course about, as I created last week, the complex named Gegwcatsf Revival. (Pronounced Jeg-wa-catsf)
As defined last week Gegwcatsf means: green, environmental, global warming, cap and trade, salvation fellowship. Where better for this revival to breakout than a shipbuilding and oil town hard hit by Hurricane Katrina. If the Gegwcatsf Revival can breakout in Pascagoula, soon the whole world will be saved. Yes, and I mean the whole world, the people, well that is another story.
As far as saved people, well true to the Pascagoula name, the saved won’t be Christians, Jews, Moslems or any other currently well known religion, the saved will be strictly bread eaters. People who eat meat, especially red meat, can’t find salvation because cows and other ruminants cause too much flatulence. That gas (methane), while a potential form of energy, contributes more to global warming than all the transportation carbon dioxide. Bad cows, not holy cows!
Read More...
How many become one.
09/July/2008 10:29
Does the great indicative question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” have any relevance in the 21st century world? To most people the answer is probably “No.”
By that statement we also believe that the great imperative of “Who Jesus Christ is!” really has no meaning either. How wrong we are, by dismissing the first question we become fools about the reality of the nature of the second.
However everyone who has ever lived in history someway is bound by, “Who Jesus is.” but instead today we wonder if the price of gasoline will ever quit rising. We never stop to think that the two concepts might be related: High gas prices – Jesus Christ.
This seems to set another talking points tension, but there is really much more at stake here than political spin. What we are really discussing is to mutually exclusive paradigms, which lead to totally divergent worldviews.
The first paradigm states that our morality is determined by our nature. The second states that morality determines our nature.
The current world majority position, including and especially in the United States is that we are by nature good people and as a consequence left to our own devices we will produce a moral culture, if we all work together, on, and so on.
The more complex minority position is that only inwardly moral people can produce a moral and just nature. However this position does not define inward morality necessarily as natural, but in fact human nature is immoral. This is basically theologically an Augustinian and Christian view of the nature of man. The Bible states that only inwardly moral people in the world rely exclusively on the morality of Jesus Christ as imputed to them as the basis for any merit on their part.
If this second position, that inward imputed morality determines a good outward nature is an absolute, then attempts designed to produce morality from the inherit goodness of human nature is bound to fail.
So gas prices continue to rise because basically evil people are trying to immorally make as much money as they possibly can, simply because they can, as is their right as distinct human beings. As we are finding out this does not make for a stable human society, nor does there seem to be anyone, who is credited with being a natural leader, have a solution to the problem. That is simply because implied goodness is not real goodness. What we have artificially defined as goodness is really evil, or in another archaic term sin.
Read More...
By that statement we also believe that the great imperative of “Who Jesus Christ is!” really has no meaning either. How wrong we are, by dismissing the first question we become fools about the reality of the nature of the second.
However everyone who has ever lived in history someway is bound by, “Who Jesus is.” but instead today we wonder if the price of gasoline will ever quit rising. We never stop to think that the two concepts might be related: High gas prices – Jesus Christ.
This seems to set another talking points tension, but there is really much more at stake here than political spin. What we are really discussing is to mutually exclusive paradigms, which lead to totally divergent worldviews.
The first paradigm states that our morality is determined by our nature. The second states that morality determines our nature.
The current world majority position, including and especially in the United States is that we are by nature good people and as a consequence left to our own devices we will produce a moral culture, if we all work together, on, and so on.
The more complex minority position is that only inwardly moral people can produce a moral and just nature. However this position does not define inward morality necessarily as natural, but in fact human nature is immoral. This is basically theologically an Augustinian and Christian view of the nature of man. The Bible states that only inwardly moral people in the world rely exclusively on the morality of Jesus Christ as imputed to them as the basis for any merit on their part.
If this second position, that inward imputed morality determines a good outward nature is an absolute, then attempts designed to produce morality from the inherit goodness of human nature is bound to fail.
So gas prices continue to rise because basically evil people are trying to immorally make as much money as they possibly can, simply because they can, as is their right as distinct human beings. As we are finding out this does not make for a stable human society, nor does there seem to be anyone, who is credited with being a natural leader, have a solution to the problem. That is simply because implied goodness is not real goodness. What we have artificially defined as goodness is really evil, or in another archaic term sin.
Read More...
Wealth - Riches - Money
02/July/2008 10:09
“I have always found in dealing with legislatures you can not reason with them, the majority are men who are ignorant, stupid, and full of prejudice who do not desire to know the truth and the more you try to enlighten them the more stubborn and unreasonable they become.” John S. Kennedy to James J. Hill - 1893
To begin this week’s article it must be brought to the attention of the reader that the wealthiest persons on this earth are those, who because of no merit on their part, have been adopted by God as one of His children through the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Dying in their stead on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago, they have been justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ; their sins have been forgiven now and forever. Furthermore, they have been legally adopted as a co-heir with Jesus and died to the ways of this world and been born again into a new eternal life. That life begins here and continues on through eternity.
Many Christians who read the above paragraph will understand that concept of wealth. Sadly many Christians will not, for that is a different form of Christianity than what they have been exposed to and taught in their churches. As a result some other readers will dismiss these paragraphs and what follows. However, if they look at this article with an open mind they may learn something about the world in which we now find ourselves. By God’s grace alone they may begin to view their worldly wealth, riches, and money in a new light.
First let as begin with some definitions, as they will be used in this article.
Wealth is the sum total of all the assets of a person or an enterprise. Some of those assets at a current point in time may be active or passive; as well they may appear positive or negative. As described in the opening paragraph they may be eternal or totally temporal, or they may be absolute in that they have both temporal and eternal components.
Riches are generally construed as positive assets in the time – space – matter continuum. As such they are totally temporal to be used in the world to make it a better place not only for the individual but also for society, culture, and the total community as a whole. That includes not just humanity, but also in the broadest sense the totality of natural creation. This can take the form of paper riches such has equity participations in enterprises, in human government programs, and other concepts based in the reality of our worldly pilgrimage.
Money is a medium of exchange invented by man to make the trading and exchange of wealth and riches less complex and more easily understood and practiced. Money in the present day has no basis in wealth or riches however, and pretty much around the world is totally based on debt financing. People consider those debt bonds and the interest they pay however, part of their temporal richness pool.
Read More...
To begin this week’s article it must be brought to the attention of the reader that the wealthiest persons on this earth are those, who because of no merit on their part, have been adopted by God as one of His children through the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Dying in their stead on the Cross of Calvary 2000 years ago, they have been justified by the imputed righteousness of Christ; their sins have been forgiven now and forever. Furthermore, they have been legally adopted as a co-heir with Jesus and died to the ways of this world and been born again into a new eternal life. That life begins here and continues on through eternity.
Many Christians who read the above paragraph will understand that concept of wealth. Sadly many Christians will not, for that is a different form of Christianity than what they have been exposed to and taught in their churches. As a result some other readers will dismiss these paragraphs and what follows. However, if they look at this article with an open mind they may learn something about the world in which we now find ourselves. By God’s grace alone they may begin to view their worldly wealth, riches, and money in a new light.
First let as begin with some definitions, as they will be used in this article.
Wealth is the sum total of all the assets of a person or an enterprise. Some of those assets at a current point in time may be active or passive; as well they may appear positive or negative. As described in the opening paragraph they may be eternal or totally temporal, or they may be absolute in that they have both temporal and eternal components.
Riches are generally construed as positive assets in the time – space – matter continuum. As such they are totally temporal to be used in the world to make it a better place not only for the individual but also for society, culture, and the total community as a whole. That includes not just humanity, but also in the broadest sense the totality of natural creation. This can take the form of paper riches such has equity participations in enterprises, in human government programs, and other concepts based in the reality of our worldly pilgrimage.
Money is a medium of exchange invented by man to make the trading and exchange of wealth and riches less complex and more easily understood and practiced. Money in the present day has no basis in wealth or riches however, and pretty much around the world is totally based on debt financing. People consider those debt bonds and the interest they pay however, part of their temporal richness pool.
Read More...
Pragmatic Enviromentalism
25/June/2008 09:24
Stupendous change, both natural and in the form of man’s desire to rip off others, continue to produce their effects throughout the world. The worldview of Biblical Creation at Wonder Springs however is quite stable. Truly if there were someway to increase capital investment other than through funny money leverage, we would be quite bullish on the potential applications of Biblical Creation not only in the church, but also in the world generally.
As all this spin, clanging bells, and whistles of man attempting to save himself from his own debauchery continue to exacerbate serious problems, making them much more serious than they need to be, there is a unique opportunity to provide positive change based upon a reality that has continued successfully from the beginning of time.
Last week the No Spin Report said that church leadership has caused many of these world problems. Simply because these people have adopted a form of Christianity that really is not Biblical Christianity at all, but a gospel pretty much based upon worldly pragmatism. Hence, the power of God in changing people’s lives has departed. Contrary to the modern wisdom, “if it feels good and it works” is not a paradigm for true church growth.
To remind all, Biblical Christianity is truly based upon an imputed foreign righteousness of Jesus Christ, which saves all who call upon Him through faith in His propitiatory death and resurrection as legal justification for a new life. This true Christian gospel is based upon a death to the old sinful self and a new birth into an adoption as a child of God.
Any other renditions called the gospel by Christians are really false gospels more fitting with other worldly religions. As these false gospels flourish and reproduce the church continues to lose influence in the world, because it truthfully cannot be distinguished from all the other so-called paths to God. This brings us to the point of this week’s look at pragmatic environmentalism.
Just because much if not most of the current environmental movement thinks it is based upon some deep (religious) truth doesn’t make it so. It may have worked in the past when there was no stress of a true changing environment, but that doesn’t mean any or all of the paradigms are based upon any sense of absolute truth. Contrary to popular opinion, absolute truth does exist in the world and it is the standard and natural law by which creation operates. You transgress natural law at your peril.
Read More...
As all this spin, clanging bells, and whistles of man attempting to save himself from his own debauchery continue to exacerbate serious problems, making them much more serious than they need to be, there is a unique opportunity to provide positive change based upon a reality that has continued successfully from the beginning of time.
Last week the No Spin Report said that church leadership has caused many of these world problems. Simply because these people have adopted a form of Christianity that really is not Biblical Christianity at all, but a gospel pretty much based upon worldly pragmatism. Hence, the power of God in changing people’s lives has departed. Contrary to the modern wisdom, “if it feels good and it works” is not a paradigm for true church growth.
To remind all, Biblical Christianity is truly based upon an imputed foreign righteousness of Jesus Christ, which saves all who call upon Him through faith in His propitiatory death and resurrection as legal justification for a new life. This true Christian gospel is based upon a death to the old sinful self and a new birth into an adoption as a child of God.
Any other renditions called the gospel by Christians are really false gospels more fitting with other worldly religions. As these false gospels flourish and reproduce the church continues to lose influence in the world, because it truthfully cannot be distinguished from all the other so-called paths to God. This brings us to the point of this week’s look at pragmatic environmentalism.
Just because much if not most of the current environmental movement thinks it is based upon some deep (religious) truth doesn’t make it so. It may have worked in the past when there was no stress of a true changing environment, but that doesn’t mean any or all of the paradigms are based upon any sense of absolute truth. Contrary to popular opinion, absolute truth does exist in the world and it is the standard and natural law by which creation operates. You transgress natural law at your peril.
Read More...
No Spin Report
18/June/2008 10:16
I returned home late Saturday night from my motorhome adventure to and from Texas. It was a great trip, well worth the expense, but still quite tiring. Only one somewhat major problem was encountered with the motorhome and that had to do with the solenoid that ran all the gauges in the coach and burned out early in the trip.
The manufacturer recommends that you use a 100-amp continuous duty solenoid. We quickly found out and they are not normally available through auto parts stores. We were able to get an 80-amp through NAPA, which worked fine for the last thousand miles or so. There is a question whether the other stores sold us something that didn’t last, because they could, or whether their computers really didn’t give them the proper information. The NAPA people found that theirs was and 80-amp continuous duty using something from a bygone era known as a “book.”
For those unfamiliar with a book, it is a source of information printed on paper and bound in an order so that the information can be accessed and evaluated.
As I stated in the last post at the beginning of the trip, virtually all the land we traversed was formed and shaped by water, most of it in the form of vast oceans. Much of that ocean bottom now is located 6000 – 8000 feet above current sea level.
The landscape looks like there were huge quantities of sand and mud under water. The land rose quite rapidly and the water just ran off, causing the truly unique features that cover most of the North American west. Once dry land, this mud and sand hardened into sandstone or other forms of rock. Much of it is still just sand and dry soil, sans water. It really just doesn’t look that old.
To say that this happened slowly over eons of time doesn’t make any sense, simply because the physics of moving water just doesn’t work that way. I guess I don’t have enough faith in evolutionary science to be a believer in its presuppositions. But the question also comes forward, were these evolutionary theories formed by observations of reality, or were they formed in the sandstone buildings of enlightened human thinking and then transposed upon the natural environment.
Read More...
The manufacturer recommends that you use a 100-amp continuous duty solenoid. We quickly found out and they are not normally available through auto parts stores. We were able to get an 80-amp through NAPA, which worked fine for the last thousand miles or so. There is a question whether the other stores sold us something that didn’t last, because they could, or whether their computers really didn’t give them the proper information. The NAPA people found that theirs was and 80-amp continuous duty using something from a bygone era known as a “book.”
For those unfamiliar with a book, it is a source of information printed on paper and bound in an order so that the information can be accessed and evaluated.
As I stated in the last post at the beginning of the trip, virtually all the land we traversed was formed and shaped by water, most of it in the form of vast oceans. Much of that ocean bottom now is located 6000 – 8000 feet above current sea level.
The landscape looks like there were huge quantities of sand and mud under water. The land rose quite rapidly and the water just ran off, causing the truly unique features that cover most of the North American west. Once dry land, this mud and sand hardened into sandstone or other forms of rock. Much of it is still just sand and dry soil, sans water. It really just doesn’t look that old.
To say that this happened slowly over eons of time doesn’t make any sense, simply because the physics of moving water just doesn’t work that way. I guess I don’t have enough faith in evolutionary science to be a believer in its presuppositions. But the question also comes forward, were these evolutionary theories formed by observations of reality, or were they formed in the sandstone buildings of enlightened human thinking and then transposed upon the natural environment.
Read More...
Just traveling
04/June/2008 07:14
No regular article this week just a few observations on the travel and the state of the universe in particular.
This morning we are located in an RV park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. It is a quaint little town of about 2500 people on the famous American highway Route 66, which now has become Interstate 40 except for the vestiges that remain as the main streets in these small towns.
Santa Rosa has some very typical southwest architecture, especially a sandstone courthouse, a Roman Catholic Church, and charming little stone houses. We ate dinner last night in the former bank building, converted into an upscale restaurant. There is a sign on the outside of the building that says that it is for sale.
It looks like the economy, before the recent criminal rise in fuel prices, had already taken its victims. There is a large motel and restaurant here that look like they closed a couple of years ago. The same can be said for Fort Stockton, Texas where we spent the first night in the Wal-Mart parking lot after picking up the motorhome near San Antonio on Monday.
Everything in the motorhome seems to work, which was something I somewhat worried about. However, I just discovered that the strong cross winds yesterday blew off the cowling on the exhaust fan. The Foretravel is probably the premier name in the industry, just a step below the commercial buses that touring musicians use. As a consequence there are a lot of high-end touches of quality that I was not expecting, well beyond good looks.
We have traveled from San Antonio to here on basically flat ocean bottomland. Slowly that has risen from in elevation about 600 feet in San Antonio to about 6000 feet on our travels. Now we are back down to about 4500 feet here in Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa lies on the Pecos River and we are about a mile east of the Pecos here in the RV Park. For American western fans we drove west of the Pecos most of the day. If I remember my romantic western history correctly, the east side of the Pecos was the area of civilization, west of the Pecos was the land of the outlaws and other less desirable forms of humanity.
Read More...
This morning we are located in an RV park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico. It is a quaint little town of about 2500 people on the famous American highway Route 66, which now has become Interstate 40 except for the vestiges that remain as the main streets in these small towns.
Santa Rosa has some very typical southwest architecture, especially a sandstone courthouse, a Roman Catholic Church, and charming little stone houses. We ate dinner last night in the former bank building, converted into an upscale restaurant. There is a sign on the outside of the building that says that it is for sale.
It looks like the economy, before the recent criminal rise in fuel prices, had already taken its victims. There is a large motel and restaurant here that look like they closed a couple of years ago. The same can be said for Fort Stockton, Texas where we spent the first night in the Wal-Mart parking lot after picking up the motorhome near San Antonio on Monday.
Everything in the motorhome seems to work, which was something I somewhat worried about. However, I just discovered that the strong cross winds yesterday blew off the cowling on the exhaust fan. The Foretravel is probably the premier name in the industry, just a step below the commercial buses that touring musicians use. As a consequence there are a lot of high-end touches of quality that I was not expecting, well beyond good looks.
We have traveled from San Antonio to here on basically flat ocean bottomland. Slowly that has risen from in elevation about 600 feet in San Antonio to about 6000 feet on our travels. Now we are back down to about 4500 feet here in Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa lies on the Pecos River and we are about a mile east of the Pecos here in the RV Park. For American western fans we drove west of the Pecos most of the day. If I remember my romantic western history correctly, the east side of the Pecos was the area of civilization, west of the Pecos was the land of the outlaws and other less desirable forms of humanity.
Read More...
Show me the - - - - -!
28/May/2008 07:40
Some months ago I finally got around to seeing the movie “Jerry McGuire.” It really wasn’t has bad as some had led me to believe. And the famous line, “Show me the money,” really fit quite well within the whole context of the film.
The United States and really western culture has entered into a new era of which we have no history to rely upon. An economy based upon cheap energy, its sister cheap financial leverage, and consumption just because we can, is stupendously drawing to a close.
The fat lady has sung her song and left the building. Rumor has it she is building a quaint little place in Nowhere, not far from where Brute has his den. Fat ladies and fat bears should make perfect neighbors.
In Uncle Sam’s land we also have federal and state elections coming up in the fall. This means nothing of any significance will even be seriously discussed until this time next year and any implementation months or years down the track. This is no way to run a railroad.
In this sense railroad is not a metaphor but an example of what needs to happen in America once all the dust has settled. But the problem with building these future railroads is that they are not going to happen under the current regulations and mechanisms ruling our financial, environmental and consumptive niches.
Currently, the movie line, “Show me the money,” just doesn’t operate in the building of anything of lasting value. Furthermore, creating money out of nothing and giving it to people to buy stuff they really don’t need, isn’t going to work either, and will just make the transition to true wealth producing enterprise all the more difficult.
As for me and my house, I have purchased, or recycled, or am going to reuse a 1991 Foretravel motorhome for my primary place of residence, at least until some path toward a better future is possible. So this Saturday I head for Texas and with a friend will slowly drive back here to Nowhere.
This purchase is about five cents on the dollar of what it cost new 17 years ago and even with five dollar per gallon diesel, reasonable travel is still cheaper than building, renting a small house, or apartment. So once we figure out how everything works and make a few upgrades we will do a little chronicling of the present state of North America in words, pictures, and video. If I am in your neck of the woods, maybe I can stop by and show you what I have learned.
Read More...
The United States and really western culture has entered into a new era of which we have no history to rely upon. An economy based upon cheap energy, its sister cheap financial leverage, and consumption just because we can, is stupendously drawing to a close.
The fat lady has sung her song and left the building. Rumor has it she is building a quaint little place in Nowhere, not far from where Brute has his den. Fat ladies and fat bears should make perfect neighbors.
In Uncle Sam’s land we also have federal and state elections coming up in the fall. This means nothing of any significance will even be seriously discussed until this time next year and any implementation months or years down the track. This is no way to run a railroad.
In this sense railroad is not a metaphor but an example of what needs to happen in America once all the dust has settled. But the problem with building these future railroads is that they are not going to happen under the current regulations and mechanisms ruling our financial, environmental and consumptive niches.
Currently, the movie line, “Show me the money,” just doesn’t operate in the building of anything of lasting value. Furthermore, creating money out of nothing and giving it to people to buy stuff they really don’t need, isn’t going to work either, and will just make the transition to true wealth producing enterprise all the more difficult.
As for me and my house, I have purchased, or recycled, or am going to reuse a 1991 Foretravel motorhome for my primary place of residence, at least until some path toward a better future is possible. So this Saturday I head for Texas and with a friend will slowly drive back here to Nowhere.
This purchase is about five cents on the dollar of what it cost new 17 years ago and even with five dollar per gallon diesel, reasonable travel is still cheaper than building, renting a small house, or apartment. So once we figure out how everything works and make a few upgrades we will do a little chronicling of the present state of North America in words, pictures, and video. If I am in your neck of the woods, maybe I can stop by and show you what I have learned.
Read More...
Reflections and talking points
21/May/2008 18:27
In recent weeks I have been listening to a great number of people espousing talking points on various subjects. That spin basically comes from two sides:
“Things are bad and getting worse unless you adopt this specific plan.”
“ Things are pretty good and if all we do is dwell on the negative all the doom and gloom will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The reality lies someplace in the middle, but for some reason not only do we not hear the middle, the middle ground seems to have been swept away. People have sought the high ground on either bank while the floodwaters have wiped out the middle ground and covered the fertile valley soil.
Recently I heard a couple of Democrat senators expressing there view on the attractiveness of their candidate for President, either Clinton or Obama. They both continually mentioned how McCain was, or was becoming, a carbon copy of President Bush, who has some of the lowest popularity ratings in the history of such things.
What they seemed to have just overlooked is that the popularity ratings of Congress, both Democrat and Republican are about a third lower than the President. Furthermore, all three major Presidential candidates are members of that less popular arm of the Federal government. Candidates still are courting their historic political bases, and as of yet there have been very little if any ideas that have any merit towards actually contributing to some positive change.
Read More...
“Things are bad and getting worse unless you adopt this specific plan.”
“ Things are pretty good and if all we do is dwell on the negative all the doom and gloom will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
The reality lies someplace in the middle, but for some reason not only do we not hear the middle, the middle ground seems to have been swept away. People have sought the high ground on either bank while the floodwaters have wiped out the middle ground and covered the fertile valley soil.
Recently I heard a couple of Democrat senators expressing there view on the attractiveness of their candidate for President, either Clinton or Obama. They both continually mentioned how McCain was, or was becoming, a carbon copy of President Bush, who has some of the lowest popularity ratings in the history of such things.
What they seemed to have just overlooked is that the popularity ratings of Congress, both Democrat and Republican are about a third lower than the President. Furthermore, all three major Presidential candidates are members of that less popular arm of the Federal government. Candidates still are courting their historic political bases, and as of yet there have been very little if any ideas that have any merit towards actually contributing to some positive change.
Read More...
Reflections: Energy dinosaurs
14/May/2008 08:25
I suppose using the term reflecting upon the future is a mixing of idioms, but such is the nature of the American language, for to look towards the future in someway must be rooted in the past. Hopefully that past is anchored in some sort of reality, rather than just some mystical illusion.
For the next few years I see a great deal of economic and other stresses in the world, but after that period I am quite optimistic. The basis for this outlook is that we have entered the winter of the end of cheap energy. That winter is going to change the way we look at things significantly, but after the winter comes the wonder of spring and that period of new growth will make the next few years of bleak darkness seem worth the time of passage. During this winter we will see the demise of the energy dinosaurs.
Wonder always springs from where we least expect. For a couple of decades now, the good life has become so common not only have we begun to expect and demand it, sort of as a right, we have also vastly cheapened the wonder of life itself.
That first winter impression will be the death of large motor vehicles whose true and only function really was to be a large status symbol with little utilitarian value other than what was sold at the dealership. “This is a great status conveyance by which you can haul or pull a bunch of your stuff you really don’t need, to and from a place you really can’t afford.”
However, what I am really talking about is the death of the larger dinosaurs of cheap energy that gave us this illusion that wealth was really simply the accumulation of expensive stuff, produced in someplace we would never want to visit, by people we have virtually nothing in common, other than being members of the human family.
During this winter the hype about global warming caused by fossil fuels will be frozen, perhaps in permafrost. As such this current speculative and market manipulation of the cost of fuel and energy will perish and we will enter a time of relatively stable prices. Rising slowly, all energy prices will be a reflection of actual demand rather than simply greed and monopoly market making by big oil speculators.
So really what we will see is the demise of the whole spectrum of energy dinosaurs that now dominate our economic and political landscape. To understand this new future we must first look at how this energy savannah was created in the first place.
Read More...
For the next few years I see a great deal of economic and other stresses in the world, but after that period I am quite optimistic. The basis for this outlook is that we have entered the winter of the end of cheap energy. That winter is going to change the way we look at things significantly, but after the winter comes the wonder of spring and that period of new growth will make the next few years of bleak darkness seem worth the time of passage. During this winter we will see the demise of the energy dinosaurs.
Wonder always springs from where we least expect. For a couple of decades now, the good life has become so common not only have we begun to expect and demand it, sort of as a right, we have also vastly cheapened the wonder of life itself.
That first winter impression will be the death of large motor vehicles whose true and only function really was to be a large status symbol with little utilitarian value other than what was sold at the dealership. “This is a great status conveyance by which you can haul or pull a bunch of your stuff you really don’t need, to and from a place you really can’t afford.”
However, what I am really talking about is the death of the larger dinosaurs of cheap energy that gave us this illusion that wealth was really simply the accumulation of expensive stuff, produced in someplace we would never want to visit, by people we have virtually nothing in common, other than being members of the human family.
During this winter the hype about global warming caused by fossil fuels will be frozen, perhaps in permafrost. As such this current speculative and market manipulation of the cost of fuel and energy will perish and we will enter a time of relatively stable prices. Rising slowly, all energy prices will be a reflection of actual demand rather than simply greed and monopoly market making by big oil speculators.
So really what we will see is the demise of the whole spectrum of energy dinosaurs that now dominate our economic and political landscape. To understand this new future we must first look at how this energy savannah was created in the first place.
Read More...
Reflections: Good Health
07/May/2008 09:46
Personally, in this period of reflection of these last nine years of writing the Chronicle, there is by far and away one thing that separates these writings into two episodes. That has been the improvement in my health since I had my aortic heart valve replaced in 2003. Essentially someone this old should not feel this good and have so few natural problems.
To set the stage, I have been physically active all my life and have felt really good all that time. While this was only church league softball as I got older, I was active in competitive athletics until I was into my late 40s and had completed various recreational runs after that time. I also trained and ran a marathon in 1988 and was working in the strenuous construction field of laying and sanding hardwood floors regularly until 2003. I used to say that I was physically stronger, than I was at 25.
On May 29, 2002, my mother died after about a five year experience with Alzhiemer’s, so I spent most of the summer and fall traveling between Seattle and eastern Washington doing work on her estate. One Friday afternoon in early January 2003, it was almost a spring day in Seattle, so I decided to go to the park and shoots some baskets. My first strenuous exercise after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and I felt great.
Shortly after midnight of Saturday morning, I awoke with a shortness of breath. That had never happened before. I began to wonder if I was having a heart attack. Having this excellent health record I had never seriously considered what were the symptoms of a heart attack, so I got on the Internet to see just what those symptoms might be.
As I read the symptoms and checked them with what was happening in my own body it appeared that I was not having a heart attack, but I could find no cause for why I was having trouble getting enough oxygen. Not having a heart attack, what was going on? I began to seriously worry. Finally about 2AM I called 911.
The fire truck and the aid car arrived and the paramedics hooked me up to their machines, gave me oxygen and checked and rechecked my vital signs. After about an hour, which seemed like eternity, they gave me the diagnosis. I was not having a heart attack, as far as they could tell there was absolutely nothing wrong with me.
Thus, not reassured about anything, they told me I should go to my doctor on Monday. There was no need to panic, things were fine.
Sure, don’t panic, don’t worry, be happy. That all sounds good, but I still had questions and absolutely no answers.
Read More...
To set the stage, I have been physically active all my life and have felt really good all that time. While this was only church league softball as I got older, I was active in competitive athletics until I was into my late 40s and had completed various recreational runs after that time. I also trained and ran a marathon in 1988 and was working in the strenuous construction field of laying and sanding hardwood floors regularly until 2003. I used to say that I was physically stronger, than I was at 25.
On May 29, 2002, my mother died after about a five year experience with Alzhiemer’s, so I spent most of the summer and fall traveling between Seattle and eastern Washington doing work on her estate. One Friday afternoon in early January 2003, it was almost a spring day in Seattle, so I decided to go to the park and shoots some baskets. My first strenuous exercise after the Christmas and New Year’s holidays and I felt great.
Shortly after midnight of Saturday morning, I awoke with a shortness of breath. That had never happened before. I began to wonder if I was having a heart attack. Having this excellent health record I had never seriously considered what were the symptoms of a heart attack, so I got on the Internet to see just what those symptoms might be.
As I read the symptoms and checked them with what was happening in my own body it appeared that I was not having a heart attack, but I could find no cause for why I was having trouble getting enough oxygen. Not having a heart attack, what was going on? I began to seriously worry. Finally about 2AM I called 911.
The fire truck and the aid car arrived and the paramedics hooked me up to their machines, gave me oxygen and checked and rechecked my vital signs. After about an hour, which seemed like eternity, they gave me the diagnosis. I was not having a heart attack, as far as they could tell there was absolutely nothing wrong with me.
Thus, not reassured about anything, they told me I should go to my doctor on Monday. There was no need to panic, things were fine.
Sure, don’t panic, don’t worry, be happy. That all sounds good, but I still had questions and absolutely no answers.
Read More...
Reflections; The winds of change
30/April/2008 08:17
Female ruffed grouse, Eagle Mountain, Minnesota.
(Copyright Smithsonian Institution)
Volume 10, Issue 18
PDF link
Can you believe the wind this spring? It seems to be blowing hard every single day. I heard that it blew down two big trees across the highway yesterday. It sort of makes you wonder if these winds are doing more than just moving air. Perhaps they are changing our environment much more than just the movement of leaves and branches of the natural world.
Come to think about it, there seems to be some windy times happening in the more human world also. We call them winds of change, the unseen but still powerful forces that mold and reshape human history. Yes, the winds of change are blowing for all of human society on planet earth.
Four weeks from today, nine years ago, I published the first of these almost weekly episodes. Before that, for about six months I had done one about every month. For the next few weeks I will reflect on what I have noticed in the expanse of those nine years, and what they might mean for the future. Some of that focus may be personal, some with a broader reference.
Monday as I was on my evening walk to the highway, something moved a few feet in front of me. Startled, I thought to myself, “What was that, a snake, or some other horrible creature?” It turned out to be a ruffed grouse. As I watched, this medium sized bird seemed aware of my presence, but also completely unconcerned about my predatory human nature. As I stood there watching, it slowly ambled into the brush and I continued upon my meditative journey.
So how many human beings have had that hair-raising experience and lived to give a report? Not many, especially in the last part of that thought, being able to give the report.
Read More...
Grizzly Economics
23/April/2008 07:01
By Brute D. Grizzly
Exclusive, Non-syndicated Columnist
The news recently has been horrible. It seems if there were no bad news, especially on the economy, there would be no news at all. In case you didn’t know, grizzly bears are no stranger to horrible news, we have been living with that kind of discrimination since western civilization came to these shores and gave us the scientific name of: “Ursus arctos horribilis.” Can you believe anyone, especially a jolly, plump guy like me being called “horribillis”? That’s more than enough to make my ancestors really, really, angry. To think that politicians and sport stars only figuratively bite off people’s heads, is a literal understatement.
But I’m not here today to harp on past mistakes of all the human immigrants to this land. I’m here to write about the present and the future, especially in what will make this continent work better, for more Americans and Canadians. I do have a lot of relatives who also live in Canada. The rest of you people might want to read this also, you are all members of what God and we critters call the human kind.
The biggest problem in North America seems to be oil prices. They say gasoline will be at four dollars per gallon by summer and Canadians relatively paying more. So is, or will, anyone in, or who would like to be in the political power structure, be willing to do anything about it? No. Why not? Because oil price increases really don’t effect those people, they are paid either directly or indirectly to let the markets do their thing. The facts however, are that energy runs the world, not money, and when the “hidden energy tax” on basically all goods and services kill economic growth, these big monopolies and cartels will have all the money and no place to spend it.
What these corporations and speculators are doing is basically Liquidity Mining what little true capital that exists within the postmodern national governments. This comes directly on the heels of a similar adventure in the subprime housing market. The effects of this mortgage meltdown will be rippling through the economy for at least a couple more years. Yes, the economic future of western society looks rather grizzly.
The problem is that in the 1980s, under the presidency of Ronald Reagan, Americans only adopted half of the solution to government owned monopolies, and instead substituted regulations that allowed for private takeovers of these cartels. Like this was going to change everything with greater market efficiencies? Government’s were even trying to sell the Brooklyn Bridge.
Read More...
Natural Law stings America!
16/April/2008 10:29
Do you believe in Natural Law? I mean this as a serious question.
I believe most people today, can’t even seriously define natural law, so how can they believe in something that they don’t have a clue.
So natural law is beginning to sting the American economy, and it comes as a great surprise to everyone, and the “experts” are baffled. However, they sing in a cappella harmony, “It is all going to work out for the best, all you have to do is trust us.”
We must begin at the beginning. Natural law is what makes the whole shebang work. That means the universe, the solar system, planet earth, and all life. The sun rising every morning is not an act of faith. It is a law that the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours. The moon rotates around the earth about once every 28 days. The Krebs cycle allows the physiology of your cells to function. Your nervous system sort of allows your body to operate in a somewhat organized fashion. Natural law is best described as a great natural unity in diversity, where every little detail works together in infinite precision.
Evolution does not have a reason for why the whole shebang exists, and even less evidence on how it can all work together so well. Intelligent Design really gets you no farther down that road either, for just not any person can design a universe, about all humans can design is a modern airplane or a computer program. The interesting point about all these human created things is that their function rests entirely upon a mass set of underlying assumptions, which are also part of the body of common natural law.
This whole natural law thing has worked relatively well in the world for all of human history. Human’s learned in order to survive you don’t mess with nature, or nature will mess with you. Like if you transgress nature’s law, you will be eliminated from the gene pool.
Throughout human history most people believed in God, or gods. One of these God’s, the Elohim of the Jewish Bible, began to have oral human religious history codified about 4000 years ago. According to God, he chose one of the smallest and least important nations on earth to be the caretakers of His word as a specific revelation of God’s unique almighty power and personality. Within this Book were reasons why the whole shebang existed, and how God created mankind thousands of years ago.
Read More...
I believe most people today, can’t even seriously define natural law, so how can they believe in something that they don’t have a clue.
So natural law is beginning to sting the American economy, and it comes as a great surprise to everyone, and the “experts” are baffled. However, they sing in a cappella harmony, “It is all going to work out for the best, all you have to do is trust us.”
We must begin at the beginning. Natural law is what makes the whole shebang work. That means the universe, the solar system, planet earth, and all life. The sun rising every morning is not an act of faith. It is a law that the earth rotates on its axis every 24 hours. The moon rotates around the earth about once every 28 days. The Krebs cycle allows the physiology of your cells to function. Your nervous system sort of allows your body to operate in a somewhat organized fashion. Natural law is best described as a great natural unity in diversity, where every little detail works together in infinite precision.
Evolution does not have a reason for why the whole shebang exists, and even less evidence on how it can all work together so well. Intelligent Design really gets you no farther down that road either, for just not any person can design a universe, about all humans can design is a modern airplane or a computer program. The interesting point about all these human created things is that their function rests entirely upon a mass set of underlying assumptions, which are also part of the body of common natural law.
This whole natural law thing has worked relatively well in the world for all of human history. Human’s learned in order to survive you don’t mess with nature, or nature will mess with you. Like if you transgress nature’s law, you will be eliminated from the gene pool.
Throughout human history most people believed in God, or gods. One of these God’s, the Elohim of the Jewish Bible, began to have oral human religious history codified about 4000 years ago. According to God, he chose one of the smallest and least important nations on earth to be the caretakers of His word as a specific revelation of God’s unique almighty power and personality. Within this Book were reasons why the whole shebang existed, and how God created mankind thousands of years ago.
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The Chutzpah of Egalitarians
09/April/2008 09:15
“The times they are a changin’” This is especially true up here in the woods of nowhere. There is still snow, especially as you go higher in the mountains. “Is this really all caused by human global warming, or is there some special interest at work here?” When the yearly total for snow passed 100 inches we all believed it was time for spring.
But spring or no spring, the chutzpah of the egalitarians is still an ominous cloud of an impending economic winter that should make American’s, as well as all citizens of the planet, seriously look at what might fall from the sky in the months to come.
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning shameless audacity. We recently have heard a lot about audacity, and will hear more about it in the months ahead. A lot of that will have to do with joining chutzpah with hope. Hope is and interesting word in that it can be both a noun and a verb. So when you are talking about hope are you talking about a process or are you talking about a destination.
We fail to realize in either sense, is that hope without a tangible object for its endpoint or fulfillment is really an exercise in futility. We are told that that endpoint really doesn’t matter, that each should determine that goal for ourselves. The problem is that this is pure nonsense in both the natural and the metaphysical sense.
The chutzpah of hope should focus on the rights of humanity. In our current political situation in the United States everyone is no longer satisfied with common rights, guaranteed by our constitution, but they want special rights. We want rights to make each of us special, to be part of some sort of elite, without the responsibilities attached there to. That leads absolutely to anarchy.
The interesting thing about all these special rights is we truly need these rights to prove that we are human. That doesn’t work however, because we simply do not create our own or the reality of others.
What is really happening in western society is that we have reached the end of the chutzpah of evolution and found we are at a dead end. To make matters worse we have burned all the bridges behind. So as a society and as individuals at the end of this evolutionary wilderness trail, we light this big fire to dispel the darkness and chant some chutzpah mantras, nobody shows up to comfort us in our loneliness, then we become scared and withdraw further into ourselves.
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But spring or no spring, the chutzpah of the egalitarians is still an ominous cloud of an impending economic winter that should make American’s, as well as all citizens of the planet, seriously look at what might fall from the sky in the months to come.
Chutzpah is a Yiddish word meaning shameless audacity. We recently have heard a lot about audacity, and will hear more about it in the months ahead. A lot of that will have to do with joining chutzpah with hope. Hope is and interesting word in that it can be both a noun and a verb. So when you are talking about hope are you talking about a process or are you talking about a destination.
We fail to realize in either sense, is that hope without a tangible object for its endpoint or fulfillment is really an exercise in futility. We are told that that endpoint really doesn’t matter, that each should determine that goal for ourselves. The problem is that this is pure nonsense in both the natural and the metaphysical sense.
The chutzpah of hope should focus on the rights of humanity. In our current political situation in the United States everyone is no longer satisfied with common rights, guaranteed by our constitution, but they want special rights. We want rights to make each of us special, to be part of some sort of elite, without the responsibilities attached there to. That leads absolutely to anarchy.
The interesting thing about all these special rights is we truly need these rights to prove that we are human. That doesn’t work however, because we simply do not create our own or the reality of others.
What is really happening in western society is that we have reached the end of the chutzpah of evolution and found we are at a dead end. To make matters worse we have burned all the bridges behind. So as a society and as individuals at the end of this evolutionary wilderness trail, we light this big fire to dispel the darkness and chant some chutzpah mantras, nobody shows up to comfort us in our loneliness, then we become scared and withdraw further into ourselves.
Read More...
The American Enigma
02/April/2008 10:48
Why did God put Adam and Eve in a garden?
Think about that as a deep metaphysical question of the ages.
Why not someplace else? It seems from the Genesis account that the whole world was not a garden. This garden in Eden was a special place on the surface of the newly created earth.
Before I answer that question, a little insight into this week’s article. I have struggled with this concept since I was writing last week about origins. The title of this message is about an American enigma, it is also a world enigma, that points to a fault line in human understanding that perhaps goes back to that garden time. That fault, or chasm is much deeper today than it was back then, because the river of life on this planet has swept away, through floods and just plain aging, much of the fertile soil of human intellect concerning this planet we call home.
America is where this question has been asked however, and the United States is still the preeminent power in the world. So when Uncle Sam speaks, we all are obliged to listen. Right now this aged dude seems to have some sort of ailment. Contrary to the media spin doctors and pundits no one really knows how seriously sick he really is. Therefore, they all seem to report on what is happening in a way that suits their specific interests.
Is there any reality in these talking points? Perhaps, but there is a precedent to say that the cough is only a minor cold. However, there is something unknown or unusual about Sam’s symptoms that we have not seen in our lifetime. There is no reason to panic, but we need to seriously look at the situation and propose a treatment scheme, or maybe just decide to let the disease run it’s course. But to just ignore the situation does not seem a prudent course of action.
Read More...
Think about that as a deep metaphysical question of the ages.
Why not someplace else? It seems from the Genesis account that the whole world was not a garden. This garden in Eden was a special place on the surface of the newly created earth.
Before I answer that question, a little insight into this week’s article. I have struggled with this concept since I was writing last week about origins. The title of this message is about an American enigma, it is also a world enigma, that points to a fault line in human understanding that perhaps goes back to that garden time. That fault, or chasm is much deeper today than it was back then, because the river of life on this planet has swept away, through floods and just plain aging, much of the fertile soil of human intellect concerning this planet we call home.
America is where this question has been asked however, and the United States is still the preeminent power in the world. So when Uncle Sam speaks, we all are obliged to listen. Right now this aged dude seems to have some sort of ailment. Contrary to the media spin doctors and pundits no one really knows how seriously sick he really is. Therefore, they all seem to report on what is happening in a way that suits their specific interests.
Is there any reality in these talking points? Perhaps, but there is a precedent to say that the cough is only a minor cold. However, there is something unknown or unusual about Sam’s symptoms that we have not seen in our lifetime. There is no reason to panic, but we need to seriously look at the situation and propose a treatment scheme, or maybe just decide to let the disease run it’s course. But to just ignore the situation does not seem a prudent course of action.
Read More...
Diverse Origin
26/March/2008 13:05
Last week we began the article with the statement “Only in the Beginning, the beginning was not an end.” Coupling that with some other recent events, I realized that I have never really written about my concept of the origin of the universe. I am not a physicist, but I do see some problems with all current explanations on how the cosmos came into being. These problems deal however, not with physics but metaphysics.
What the post everything world seems to forget is that our physics (science) is derived almost completely from our metaphysics (philosophy or worldview). To say that our science, as presented, is based upon objective analysis of observable data, is grossly stretching the truth, because the data itself by definition can not interpret the presuppositions used to spin the data to prove our point. The current discussion about climate change being the prime example.
Just as the discussion of climate change, whether you believe in global warming by human intervention, or cooling by decreased sun activity, or you really don’t care at all because you will die before it really becomes an issue, all stem from a universe in which you are the great singularity that determines truth. In other words you are god (little g). whether you think you are being objective or not.
In that similar light all modern cosmos origin models fall out from that same Great Singularity principle. That be true whether it deals with the Big Bang and Black Holes or White Holes and other interpretations. All these theories have to deal with what we observe as an infinitely huge universe, in which we live on a small speck somewhere on the fringe of the Milky Way.
From both cosmology and philosophy these solutions beg the question what came before the beginning? Only religion answers that question, but that answer falls outside the acceptable presuppositions of the worldview of natural materialism, and hence is defined outside the valid “laws of materialistic science.”
What that really does however, is to close off the unknown, or more appropriately unmeasurable, as a paradigm in which human logic can not and should not venture. It also closes off any avenue, street, or humble trail, to any absolute beyond the problem with our own insecure, inadequate, individual, great singularity. More bluntly, we retreat from external reality into a fantasy world of our own delusions.
This really is not a significant problem for evolutionary dogma, because by definition mankind is really an unknown enigma within a cosmos in which absolutes do not exist, essentially because all cosmology is atheistic in nature. Atheistic evolution can not be wrong, because it’s universe both in the natural and the metaphysical sense is “designed” without that concept beyond itself. Simply put, God can not and does not exist, because the paradigm is too limited.
Read More...
What the post everything world seems to forget is that our physics (science) is derived almost completely from our metaphysics (philosophy or worldview). To say that our science, as presented, is based upon objective analysis of observable data, is grossly stretching the truth, because the data itself by definition can not interpret the presuppositions used to spin the data to prove our point. The current discussion about climate change being the prime example.
Just as the discussion of climate change, whether you believe in global warming by human intervention, or cooling by decreased sun activity, or you really don’t care at all because you will die before it really becomes an issue, all stem from a universe in which you are the great singularity that determines truth. In other words you are god (little g). whether you think you are being objective or not.
In that similar light all modern cosmos origin models fall out from that same Great Singularity principle. That be true whether it deals with the Big Bang and Black Holes or White Holes and other interpretations. All these theories have to deal with what we observe as an infinitely huge universe, in which we live on a small speck somewhere on the fringe of the Milky Way.
From both cosmology and philosophy these solutions beg the question what came before the beginning? Only religion answers that question, but that answer falls outside the acceptable presuppositions of the worldview of natural materialism, and hence is defined outside the valid “laws of materialistic science.”
What that really does however, is to close off the unknown, or more appropriately unmeasurable, as a paradigm in which human logic can not and should not venture. It also closes off any avenue, street, or humble trail, to any absolute beyond the problem with our own insecure, inadequate, individual, great singularity. More bluntly, we retreat from external reality into a fantasy world of our own delusions.
This really is not a significant problem for evolutionary dogma, because by definition mankind is really an unknown enigma within a cosmos in which absolutes do not exist, essentially because all cosmology is atheistic in nature. Atheistic evolution can not be wrong, because it’s universe both in the natural and the metaphysical sense is “designed” without that concept beyond itself. Simply put, God can not and does not exist, because the paradigm is too limited.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: The end and the beginning
19/March/2008 09:36
Only In the Beginning, the beginning was not an end. As such we finally come to the end of this Symbiotic Economics series. This final chapter is far from what I envisioned at the onset and has definitely taken longer than I had originally outlined. Such is life, the endings take longer most of the time than the beginnings. Perhaps more appropriately, the seeds of the new beginning are planted in the soil of the end and just as in nature, sometimes it takes a long time for the seed to germinate to even produce a seedling, and again much longer to produce some mature fruit.
It is fitting, whether you consider yourself a religious person or not, that this ending comes at perhaps a unique week in history. Last Sunday, western Christianity celebrated Palm Sunday, or the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Again, according to church history, by this Friday (Good Friday) night he was dead, having been crucified. That crucifixion, a propitiatory sacrifice to fulfill the legal requirements of the Mosaic law, still needs to be the prime reason for the existence for that heretical Jewish sect of the Pharisees, which has become known as Christianity.
In 400 years of God’s silence after the completion of the Old Testament canon, or the Jewish Bible, there comes an ending of such a generally recognized importance, that it changed the marking of time. That is an ending, period. But if it just ended there, with a dead rabbi and prophet, Christianity would not exist. Whether you believe it or not, Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead and was witnessed by many, well beyond his direct followers, before He ascended into Heaven to be with His eternally coexistent Father, and until He returns in judgement at the end of this present age. At that time, this then silent humble sheepish Lamb of God, returns in power to become the King of Creation. This King was what the Jewish people were looking for 2000 years ago, and still are waiting in anticipation.
As we stated last week, that Jewish blindness was caused by God, until such time that the Gentiles had been added or grafted into the eternal Olive tree that is spiritual Israel. That spiritual Olive tree is metaphysically speaking the oldest tree on earth, because it extends back to the institution of the Covenant of Grace, after humanities fall into sin in the Garden in Eden. That family tree begins with Adam and Eve, grows through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thereafter, through David, Solomon, and his successors up to a virgin birth in that lineage through Joseph and Mary, having a totally human son Jesus, in Greek, or Yehoshua in Hebrew and the western alphabet, translated Joshua in English, all meaning Yahweh (God) is Salvation.
Putting all this into terms of succinct historic orthodox Reformation Christianity, Jesus became God’s sacrifice, bringing God’s righteous and holy judgement upon himself, instead of letting it fall upon me, and the rest of fallen humanity. Jesus died for my sins. But it does not end there, on the third day he rose from the dead for my justification as righteous in the totally legal sense, thereby adopting me as a child of God, and co-heir with Christ for eternity. That is the good news, we hear so little about in today’s world. That Good News, is celebrated this Sunday, generally called Easter, but more appropriately Resurrection Sunday.
Read More...
It is fitting, whether you consider yourself a religious person or not, that this ending comes at perhaps a unique week in history. Last Sunday, western Christianity celebrated Palm Sunday, or the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Again, according to church history, by this Friday (Good Friday) night he was dead, having been crucified. That crucifixion, a propitiatory sacrifice to fulfill the legal requirements of the Mosaic law, still needs to be the prime reason for the existence for that heretical Jewish sect of the Pharisees, which has become known as Christianity.
In 400 years of God’s silence after the completion of the Old Testament canon, or the Jewish Bible, there comes an ending of such a generally recognized importance, that it changed the marking of time. That is an ending, period. But if it just ended there, with a dead rabbi and prophet, Christianity would not exist. Whether you believe it or not, Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead and was witnessed by many, well beyond his direct followers, before He ascended into Heaven to be with His eternally coexistent Father, and until He returns in judgement at the end of this present age. At that time, this then silent humble sheepish Lamb of God, returns in power to become the King of Creation. This King was what the Jewish people were looking for 2000 years ago, and still are waiting in anticipation.
As we stated last week, that Jewish blindness was caused by God, until such time that the Gentiles had been added or grafted into the eternal Olive tree that is spiritual Israel. That spiritual Olive tree is metaphysically speaking the oldest tree on earth, because it extends back to the institution of the Covenant of Grace, after humanities fall into sin in the Garden in Eden. That family tree begins with Adam and Eve, grows through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Thereafter, through David, Solomon, and his successors up to a virgin birth in that lineage through Joseph and Mary, having a totally human son Jesus, in Greek, or Yehoshua in Hebrew and the western alphabet, translated Joshua in English, all meaning Yahweh (God) is Salvation.
Putting all this into terms of succinct historic orthodox Reformation Christianity, Jesus became God’s sacrifice, bringing God’s righteous and holy judgement upon himself, instead of letting it fall upon me, and the rest of fallen humanity. Jesus died for my sins. But it does not end there, on the third day he rose from the dead for my justification as righteous in the totally legal sense, thereby adopting me as a child of God, and co-heir with Christ for eternity. That is the good news, we hear so little about in today’s world. That Good News, is celebrated this Sunday, generally called Easter, but more appropriately Resurrection Sunday.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Sarah’s Talent - The tree becomes one
12/March/2008 08:13
As I finished writing last week’s Chronicle, I was encouraged by the words of Saint Paul in Romans 11:13-27, that the olive branch of the Gentiles might again be grafted into the Olive tree of Israel. I understood right away that this would have to be a supernatural work of God, but until I started doing research for this week’s episode, I had no idea what a Divine miracle that this would be. Last week’s article thus forms the foundation for this chapter of Symbiotic Economics. If you haven’t read that article, perhaps you should do so before proceeding.
The children of God, and the line of God’s covenant chosen, have been hated by the world since the beginning of time. This hatred falls directly upon the Jewish people, as children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Christians. That hatred continues until the present era, all you need to do is look at the news each day.
Christianity accepting Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, or Christ, early on followed that same anti Semitic course. Much of that surfacing as early as the Second Century, relating to the Celebration of Easter Sunday as opposed to the Jewish Passover. Of course this had nothing at all to do with the Easter name, being derived from a pagan festival of spring and fertility.
Following any or all of these diverse streams of hatred of God’s people descend only to one place, the slough of despair. This is the design of the evil one, to bring division and hate upon all of God’s people either Christian or Jew, and to divide them from one another.
For all of human history God has chosen to work through human instruments to accomplish His will. In essence that is a manifestation of His love for creation and His children created in His image. Sometimes these miracles can appear ordinary, in other situations truly supernatural and transcendent. However, the normative case is that they occur through common means, or within the attributes of natural law and common grace.
Therefore, the following parable of Sarah’s Talent seeks to build a bridge over, or a path around, the slough of human total depravity. As such it will try to bring forth a potential common means of reconciling Jew and Gentile as one Olive Tree, as Paul seeks in writing the Roman’s Epistle.
Read More...
The children of God, and the line of God’s covenant chosen, have been hated by the world since the beginning of time. This hatred falls directly upon the Jewish people, as children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as Christians. That hatred continues until the present era, all you need to do is look at the news each day.
Christianity accepting Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah, or Christ, early on followed that same anti Semitic course. Much of that surfacing as early as the Second Century, relating to the Celebration of Easter Sunday as opposed to the Jewish Passover. Of course this had nothing at all to do with the Easter name, being derived from a pagan festival of spring and fertility.
Following any or all of these diverse streams of hatred of God’s people descend only to one place, the slough of despair. This is the design of the evil one, to bring division and hate upon all of God’s people either Christian or Jew, and to divide them from one another.
For all of human history God has chosen to work through human instruments to accomplish His will. In essence that is a manifestation of His love for creation and His children created in His image. Sometimes these miracles can appear ordinary, in other situations truly supernatural and transcendent. However, the normative case is that they occur through common means, or within the attributes of natural law and common grace.
Therefore, the following parable of Sarah’s Talent seeks to build a bridge over, or a path around, the slough of human total depravity. As such it will try to bring forth a potential common means of reconciling Jew and Gentile as one Olive Tree, as Paul seeks in writing the Roman’s Epistle.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Natural Theology
05/March/2008 07:58
In this Symbiotic Economics series we began by criticizing a worldly economic system that treats human beings as production tools, consumer machines, or some sort of livestock. We stated that this should be expected because evolutionary religious dogma is without foundation in deeper human attributes, simply because it is designed naturalistically. We somewhat blamed evangelical Christianity for allowing this to happen, because in this time after Christ, the church has been given the responsibility of proclaiming the message of God. Instead basically for a bowl of soup or a piece of the pie, the church has adopted programs with very few differences than the world they say they oppose.
We have just spent six weeks looking at the difference between God given wealth and worldly money and riches. Simply they start from, or are based upon, two different paradigms and never the twain shall meet. Our current world monetary situation, because it is devoid of true wealth, uses basic debt leverage to make everything run, sort of. We have now however, reached the point where debt has no basis other than other debt. In other words, we are to have faith in debt because we need to have faith in debt.
There is a link to a very relevant article from the Telegraph.co.uk website posted below this article. It basically describes how the Federal Reserve’s plan to rescue the economy has so far failed miserably, and some of the repercussions that have been felt in Europe.
So today we embark on the last phase of this Symbiotic Economics scenario by looking at Natural Theology. So what do I mean by Natural Theology, the birds and the bees? Sort of, but more to the point natural information and energetics. As you may remember our big concern with debt is not debt for debt sake, but that debt has so little energetic value and there is so much debt leverage available with no place to go, people do insanely stupid things to make it grow. This is proven in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. Planting illusionary seeds and expecting them to produce real gains, makes someone trying to con you into buying the Brooklyn Bridge look like a stunning genius.
This is a “word,” one Word. This sentence is made up of ten words, sure enough. Logarithmically it is two Words. When I write a hundred words it is three Words. I don’t know how many words I have written since I began “Chronicles of Diversity” but totally it might be six Words. Add to that all the other words I have written in my life it will probably still be six Words. Maybe if I continue to write for another 20 years I might reach seven Words.
Read More...
We have just spent six weeks looking at the difference between God given wealth and worldly money and riches. Simply they start from, or are based upon, two different paradigms and never the twain shall meet. Our current world monetary situation, because it is devoid of true wealth, uses basic debt leverage to make everything run, sort of. We have now however, reached the point where debt has no basis other than other debt. In other words, we are to have faith in debt because we need to have faith in debt.
There is a link to a very relevant article from the Telegraph.co.uk website posted below this article. It basically describes how the Federal Reserve’s plan to rescue the economy has so far failed miserably, and some of the repercussions that have been felt in Europe.
So today we embark on the last phase of this Symbiotic Economics scenario by looking at Natural Theology. So what do I mean by Natural Theology, the birds and the bees? Sort of, but more to the point natural information and energetics. As you may remember our big concern with debt is not debt for debt sake, but that debt has so little energetic value and there is so much debt leverage available with no place to go, people do insanely stupid things to make it grow. This is proven in the sub-prime mortgage fiasco. Planting illusionary seeds and expecting them to produce real gains, makes someone trying to con you into buying the Brooklyn Bridge look like a stunning genius.
This is a “word,” one Word. This sentence is made up of ten words, sure enough. Logarithmically it is two Words. When I write a hundred words it is three Words. I don’t know how many words I have written since I began “Chronicles of Diversity” but totally it might be six Words. Add to that all the other words I have written in my life it will probably still be six Words. Maybe if I continue to write for another 20 years I might reach seven Words.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wealth 6 - Golden Seeds - Golden Talents
27/February/2008 06:20
Keeping in the tone of last week’s allegory theme of air and water to eternal riches, to complete the story, along with the seed of using air as an effective means of concentrating densities to stratify and remove specific density materials, came seeds of magic dust, or rather magic sand, and a powerful liquid elixir, unlike any other used in refining processes.
What needs to be specifically pointed out here, is these seeds all were external in their nature. Furthermore the returns will be based upon farming realities both in the Bible and in creation, up to a hundred fold increase.
The American dream today and specifically evangelical Christianity is a religion of the heart. To which most people will give a hearty amen. You hear almost continually, I want more heart knowledge rather than head knowledge. Like I am already so smart I don’t need to learn any more. While not spoken outwardly normally, is the thought that if I can just overcome the limitations of my natural body, I can live in a spiritual heaven here on earth. That ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is pure gnosticism, in a very childish, not child like performance.
“If you don’t agree with me, I’m going to my room and pout until you change your mind and come and rescue me and affirm my self esteem, and tell me what a good person I really am.”
So all of us raised in America during the last half of the 20th century and still alive today, are all to a certain extent, rich, spoiled, brats. What we all need is a little concentrating and refining to get to those true golden seeds and golden talents that we possess. But get this straight, those seeds and talents, including life itself are not yours, but gifts of the Almighty.
Read More...
What needs to be specifically pointed out here, is these seeds all were external in their nature. Furthermore the returns will be based upon farming realities both in the Bible and in creation, up to a hundred fold increase.
The American dream today and specifically evangelical Christianity is a religion of the heart. To which most people will give a hearty amen. You hear almost continually, I want more heart knowledge rather than head knowledge. Like I am already so smart I don’t need to learn any more. While not spoken outwardly normally, is the thought that if I can just overcome the limitations of my natural body, I can live in a spiritual heaven here on earth. That ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is pure gnosticism, in a very childish, not child like performance.
“If you don’t agree with me, I’m going to my room and pout until you change your mind and come and rescue me and affirm my self esteem, and tell me what a good person I really am.”
So all of us raised in America during the last half of the 20th century and still alive today, are all to a certain extent, rich, spoiled, brats. What we all need is a little concentrating and refining to get to those true golden seeds and golden talents that we possess. But get this straight, those seeds and talents, including life itself are not yours, but gifts of the Almighty.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wealth 5 - The precious metals allegory
20/February/2008 11:04
When we think of allegories with spiritual applications, especially in recent history, C. S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia and J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” come to mind. Today as we look at the application of Haggai’s prophesy concerning the end of the age, we can see the best of both allegorical chronicles played out in the reality of time.
In Lewis’ fashion we must come to the story in childlike wonder and anticipation, instead of Aslan, the LORD, creator of the universe, will come to save struggling humanity with deep magic from before the dawn of time. In a similar vain to Tolkien, this drama takes place in a middle earth continually shaken by dark and violent events in which the prize of the struggle is not just a golden ring with magical powers, but all silver and gold present in the world, not just the natural metals, but the silver and gold present in the hearts and minds of mankind. Through all this, humanity must either accept these miracles with awesome amazement and the wonder of a child, or be destroyed by the Creator and Sustainer of the human living temple of God, the Son of God alone, Jesus Christ.
Let us read again this passage:
The Coming Glory of the Temple
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'" (Haggai 2:1-9)
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In Lewis’ fashion we must come to the story in childlike wonder and anticipation, instead of Aslan, the LORD, creator of the universe, will come to save struggling humanity with deep magic from before the dawn of time. In a similar vain to Tolkien, this drama takes place in a middle earth continually shaken by dark and violent events in which the prize of the struggle is not just a golden ring with magical powers, but all silver and gold present in the world, not just the natural metals, but the silver and gold present in the hearts and minds of mankind. Through all this, humanity must either accept these miracles with awesome amazement and the wonder of a child, or be destroyed by the Creator and Sustainer of the human living temple of God, the Son of God alone, Jesus Christ.
Let us read again this passage:
The Coming Glory of the Temple
In the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, 'Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the LORD of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the LORD of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the LORD of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.'" (Haggai 2:1-9)
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Symbiotic Economics: Wealth 4 - Facing Reality
13/February/2008 12:22
We began this series on Symbiotic Economics looking at the transcendent nature of reality and how as Henry David Thoreau said, most live lives of quiet desperation. Quiet desperation is simply the result of a fear of looking truly at the reality of reality.
What we have seen in the last two articles on the paradigms of wealth is that we have all spent our lives, assuming that we could get wealthy by acquiring money. The more money we acquire, is based entirely on how hard we work, we scratch, we use other people to achieve this illusion of wealth. But this wealth paradigm is based upon a lie, a false reality. The reality of it all is that you and I have invested much if not all our lives, working an breathing a lie. Can you really face that reality and take steps to overcome that house built on the foundation of shifting sands, and constructed of temporal stuff?
To begin this week let us go back to our wealth Biblical references. In Deuteronomy 8:11-20 we see that it is the LORD that gives us the power to get wealth. Now that means that you do not have to be a Christian to be wealthy, in fact probably at least initially, means Christianity is an impediment to real wealth, simply because the LORD will not bless you with wealth you can not handle successfully. In the long term however, proper understanding of wealth and it’s application is a gift from God. In that paradigm of true wealth, what you have is related to what you give freely to help others.
Before we move on let us look at the reality of this Biblical wealth statement. It is an indicative of the reality that God is in control of wealth. It states a real natural law. That means you can mess around with a lot of money and other assets, get rich, but the ability of converting that into true transcendent wealth and understanding what you really have, is based upon a revelation of God. That revelation can be a general or common revelation or a specific revelation. The truest form of this specific revelation is based upon what Jesus did, not what Jesus wants you to do. Both generally become application indicative truth in modern evangelicalism, but the latter is really just an imperative statement of the wonder of God’s grace and achieves nothing outside the finished work of Christ.
Read More...
What we have seen in the last two articles on the paradigms of wealth is that we have all spent our lives, assuming that we could get wealthy by acquiring money. The more money we acquire, is based entirely on how hard we work, we scratch, we use other people to achieve this illusion of wealth. But this wealth paradigm is based upon a lie, a false reality. The reality of it all is that you and I have invested much if not all our lives, working an breathing a lie. Can you really face that reality and take steps to overcome that house built on the foundation of shifting sands, and constructed of temporal stuff?
To begin this week let us go back to our wealth Biblical references. In Deuteronomy 8:11-20 we see that it is the LORD that gives us the power to get wealth. Now that means that you do not have to be a Christian to be wealthy, in fact probably at least initially, means Christianity is an impediment to real wealth, simply because the LORD will not bless you with wealth you can not handle successfully. In the long term however, proper understanding of wealth and it’s application is a gift from God. In that paradigm of true wealth, what you have is related to what you give freely to help others.
Before we move on let us look at the reality of this Biblical wealth statement. It is an indicative of the reality that God is in control of wealth. It states a real natural law. That means you can mess around with a lot of money and other assets, get rich, but the ability of converting that into true transcendent wealth and understanding what you really have, is based upon a revelation of God. That revelation can be a general or common revelation or a specific revelation. The truest form of this specific revelation is based upon what Jesus did, not what Jesus wants you to do. Both generally become application indicative truth in modern evangelicalism, but the latter is really just an imperative statement of the wonder of God’s grace and achieves nothing outside the finished work of Christ.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wealth 3 - Two paradigms (continued)
06/February/2008 06:57
The Super Tuesday elections are over in the United States, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday also, and the Super Bowl as well. As Lent begins there will be a lot to talk about around the company water coolers and coffee pots. However, we really don’t have water coolers and coffee pots in offices anymore, now days everyone drinks bottled water and designer coffee. I suppose there could be an article or two, even in this wealth series, on how our money has made us less wealthy in terms of our community structures, but that will have to wait at least for a few of weeks. It also might be a good topic to meditate on during lent, since that was once a season in the church calendar when that type of thing was encouraged.
Of course the Chronicle post last week of the red - blue state map from the 2004 Presidential election also changed your life for the near term, I’m sure. Well seriously I doubt it, even when our Friday blog guest Brute’ pretty much leaked the results of the story.
If you go to the red - blue map post or the large copy you have framed and hanging on your wall, just what else will you see?
(Most American readers of this blog are religious right evangelical Christians, some of them just might have such a copy on the wall, if not on the wall, then on their computer’s hard drive. It now seems however, that 2004 may have been the high water mark for moralistic nationalism in this country. Since then, the tide has been slowly ebbing in the opposite direction.)
The importance of the map from our perspective is that the blue areas are also where debt based finance, especially as it relates to banking and government debt based services, are most prominent. In the oceans of non energetic debt, the debt waters keep rising and will eventually submerge those land areas that are now turning (or turned) blue. This is a much more serious threat to man caused global warming than all the emissions from automobiles and coal fired power plants combined. Former President Clinton was right, the best way to curb human global warming is to slow down economic growth, even if his statement was taken somewhat out of context.
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Of course the Chronicle post last week of the red - blue state map from the 2004 Presidential election also changed your life for the near term, I’m sure. Well seriously I doubt it, even when our Friday blog guest Brute’ pretty much leaked the results of the story.
If you go to the red - blue map post or the large copy you have framed and hanging on your wall, just what else will you see?
(Most American readers of this blog are religious right evangelical Christians, some of them just might have such a copy on the wall, if not on the wall, then on their computer’s hard drive. It now seems however, that 2004 may have been the high water mark for moralistic nationalism in this country. Since then, the tide has been slowly ebbing in the opposite direction.)
The importance of the map from our perspective is that the blue areas are also where debt based finance, especially as it relates to banking and government debt based services, are most prominent. In the oceans of non energetic debt, the debt waters keep rising and will eventually submerge those land areas that are now turning (or turned) blue. This is a much more serious threat to man caused global warming than all the emissions from automobiles and coal fired power plants combined. Former President Clinton was right, the best way to curb human global warming is to slow down economic growth, even if his statement was taken somewhat out of context.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wealth 2 - Two paradigms
29/January/2008 13:42
Last week we looked at people wealth, as the total of both our assets and liabilities. Those liabilities can be converted by God into assets, either instantaneously, or over time into a more classical outlook. This week we begin to look at a more detailed rendition of worldly liabilities.
Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” is essentially an outmoded concept in our post everything world. We in the United States however, for most of the next year will be forced to hear much to the contrary by those who seek to become President of this fair land.
On the one hand we have the Democrat Party candidates, who essentially tell us that they have great plans to raise this country to new heights by promoting a program of national socialism. On the other we have Republican Party candidates that tell us there is nothing wrong with this country that a little - big corporate monopoly socialism won’t fix. There is a movement to draft an independent candidate, but so far we haven’t been able to find the dude named, Noneof Thebove. Truthfully, we don’t even know if Noneof Theabove is really a female dude, or a male dude anyway, and again we are told that it really doesn’t matter anymore, we are all the same.
That is true, for the most part we are pretty much interchangeable in the post world. It wasn’t too long ago that Americans were production units that were the envy of the world. With globalism that has all changed, now we are just to be the consumption units of the world economy. The only problem is that without first class production wages, you really can’t afford to be first class consumers either.
“Wealth of People” is an interesting concept, except it too doesn’t fit with the post everything world. This concept is a quite different paradigm than we see anywhere in the world today. Simply, wealth of people believes, as we discussed last week, that true wealth and the ability to create it, rest with God alone, and we really aren’t supposed to believe in God at all. Good production units and consumption units can’t believe in God, because that makes them hard to manage, because they don’t always do what they are told. After all, if we can raise production units of cattle, pigs, and chickens why can’t we just raise and manage human beings the same way?
If we evolved from a primordial swamp, via whales and monkeys that would probably be true. However, the most primitive science tells you that isn’t true. Of course if you check out some of the stuff on television these days it does clearly show a trend line heading in that swamp direction, rather than the other way around.
Read More...
Adam Smith’s “Wealth of Nations” is essentially an outmoded concept in our post everything world. We in the United States however, for most of the next year will be forced to hear much to the contrary by those who seek to become President of this fair land.
On the one hand we have the Democrat Party candidates, who essentially tell us that they have great plans to raise this country to new heights by promoting a program of national socialism. On the other we have Republican Party candidates that tell us there is nothing wrong with this country that a little - big corporate monopoly socialism won’t fix. There is a movement to draft an independent candidate, but so far we haven’t been able to find the dude named, Noneof Thebove. Truthfully, we don’t even know if Noneof Theabove is really a female dude, or a male dude anyway, and again we are told that it really doesn’t matter anymore, we are all the same.
That is true, for the most part we are pretty much interchangeable in the post world. It wasn’t too long ago that Americans were production units that were the envy of the world. With globalism that has all changed, now we are just to be the consumption units of the world economy. The only problem is that without first class production wages, you really can’t afford to be first class consumers either.
“Wealth of People” is an interesting concept, except it too doesn’t fit with the post everything world. This concept is a quite different paradigm than we see anywhere in the world today. Simply, wealth of people believes, as we discussed last week, that true wealth and the ability to create it, rest with God alone, and we really aren’t supposed to believe in God at all. Good production units and consumption units can’t believe in God, because that makes them hard to manage, because they don’t always do what they are told. After all, if we can raise production units of cattle, pigs, and chickens why can’t we just raise and manage human beings the same way?
If we evolved from a primordial swamp, via whales and monkeys that would probably be true. However, the most primitive science tells you that isn’t true. Of course if you check out some of the stuff on television these days it does clearly show a trend line heading in that swamp direction, rather than the other way around.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wealth; Part 1
23/January/2008 08:24
Modern worldly economics is based upon the book, “Wealth of Nations,” published in 1776 by Adam Smith. We have mentioned that book in a few of these Symbiotic Economics articles, but in the seventeen articles thus far they are pretty much all oriented towards people, rather than money, wealth, getting rich and the other reasons why people study economics. Since the title of the series is Symbiotic it must be directly related to life. Thus far, in worldly evolutionary dogma, only human beings can care about economics in the reasoned way, Symbiotic Economics is about how people react with one another, both positively and in a negative fashion.
As I write these words Wednesday, January 23, 2008, there is growing apprehension that all the wisdom of mankind still can not predict the financial future of civilization. Like, how far will the stock markets fall tomorrow, or? When you read this what will be the concerns about not only the economy of where you live, but how it may effect the rest of the world, and more to the point, directly what is going to happen to the lives of you and your family.
Symbiotic Economics, has a different worldview than classical economics and therefore could be subtitled “Wealth of People.” The wealth of people concept probably has a deeper meaning to you today than it has for a decade or two. If you are not a decade or two old, this time is going to be new territory.
Bluntly, evolution does not have an answer to what is facing the world, simply because evolution does not believe in, or has constructed any absolutes by which to design a sound natural order. Only the God of the Bible and creation, who created the whole thing really knows what is going on. That wisdom is not going to come from relying on God’s grace after you have done all you can do either. Furthermore, in evolution there is no basis by which to judge evil or good, or sin and grace. Actually, we have all been indoctrinated by our educational framework to only believe in relative choices as they relate entirely to self, with no thought to a wider world, other than what it can provide for me.
So just what is wealth in the symbiotic economic sense?
Wealth is the total energetics of all your assets of aspirations and liabilities, applied to the outward focus of your life.
“Boy, I didn’t hear that anywhere before, show me the money?
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Symbiotic Economics: The Gracious Diversity
16/January/2008 11:11
Without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 ESV
For a long time I have taught that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. This is also a somewhat general consensus among Bible teachers. I might also add that the main difference from last week’s article on the Timid Desperadoes and this week’s Gracious Diversity is the way faith is exercised in life.
Timid Desperadoes basically have a small God. That may manifest itself in a small view of who they are, as created in the image of God. The other opposite tries to inflate the self, in their own image, not understanding the difference between the Creator and the created.
Members of the Gracious Diversity however, have an inkling of what the Apostle Paul meant when he stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
It isn’t even science to understand, if you never try, you can never accomplish anything. Furthermore, without trying, you are not fulfilling God’s mandate to “be fruitful and multiply.” Fruitful signifying something much greater than just the possibility to procreate. That reproducing gift he gave to all the animals and the plants also.
So is there some mysterious formula that can change a Timid Desperado into a member of the Gracious Diversity? And can using that formula make the small numbers of the Gracious Diversity even more gracious and more gifted?
Formulas you use to make cleaning compounds and recipes you use make something to eat, dealing with human beings are a lot more complicated than some alchemy concoction. But there is one thing that is required to make things work. That is true of the magic blue cleaner that cleans the toilet bowl, and also the gooey mess of flour, yeast, and liquid, that gives you a loaf of bread. That last recipe should give you a hint, we are speaking about the application of energy. In the toilet bowl cleaner it was chemical energy, in baking bread it was the oven energy.
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For a long time I have taught that the opposite of faith is not unbelief, but fear. This is also a somewhat general consensus among Bible teachers. I might also add that the main difference from last week’s article on the Timid Desperadoes and this week’s Gracious Diversity is the way faith is exercised in life.
Timid Desperadoes basically have a small God. That may manifest itself in a small view of who they are, as created in the image of God. The other opposite tries to inflate the self, in their own image, not understanding the difference between the Creator and the created.
Members of the Gracious Diversity however, have an inkling of what the Apostle Paul meant when he stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
It isn’t even science to understand, if you never try, you can never accomplish anything. Furthermore, without trying, you are not fulfilling God’s mandate to “be fruitful and multiply.” Fruitful signifying something much greater than just the possibility to procreate. That reproducing gift he gave to all the animals and the plants also.
So is there some mysterious formula that can change a Timid Desperado into a member of the Gracious Diversity? And can using that formula make the small numbers of the Gracious Diversity even more gracious and more gifted?
Formulas you use to make cleaning compounds and recipes you use make something to eat, dealing with human beings are a lot more complicated than some alchemy concoction. But there is one thing that is required to make things work. That is true of the magic blue cleaner that cleans the toilet bowl, and also the gooey mess of flour, yeast, and liquid, that gives you a loaf of bread. That last recipe should give you a hint, we are speaking about the application of energy. In the toilet bowl cleaner it was chemical energy, in baking bread it was the oven energy.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Timid Desperadoes
09/January/2008 10:51
Timid Desperadoes, sounds like a band of outlaws from the old wild west doesn’t it? Definitely not a rock band. Sheriffs with white hats upholding law and order. Outlaws and other thugs with black hats, robbing from everyone in an effort to do there own thing. Cowboys and Indians, like some of us saw in the movies and on TV when we were kids. Finally, the US Army sent to keep all the factions apart, to bring stability to the real west, where most of the above illustrations, were really just tales of romantic fiction.
Lest we forget, so came the missionaries. In this area, the land I call the home of the Swept Aways, (both white and Indian), they were the Protestants and the Black Robes (Roman Catholics). While proud general Custer, or more appropriate to the area, Colonels Wright and Steptoe, didn’t respectfully ride in to the tune of the Gary Owen, to get slaughtered, to slaughter, or to slip away in the night, there was an often unreported war between these hostile competing religions. This religious backdrop hopefully can be a backdrop for this week’s article. This time redundantly hopeful that no war will occur.
The real settling or unsettling of the west, was a struggle between competing cultures, European and Indian, with very different worldviews, to bring it all into 21st century focus. In modern terms both cultures were dirt poor. The arriving culture deemed poor, because they had not dirt. The other culture believed the dirt sacred, too sacred for anyone to own, and as a result didn’t understand the basics of the worldview they found so foreign. Foreign, as defined in the dictionary probably didn’t even exist in most of the native languages. As with much of human history, those that had the most and most lethal weapons, ruled the land and wrote the history.
As there are today, back then there were Timid Desperadoes in both cultures. Both cultures handle these people differently, which still brings much tension and animosity, as we all journey through this pilgrimage we call life. Furthermore, not everyone in either culture is a Timid Desperado, though most are. There are some who live life beyond the timid. They may still be found, and were to be the topic of this week’s message, which will be postponed until next week. These, the non timid, may still be Desperadoes, but desperado is really redefined as a search, to find meaning in life, which seems too illusive to find. Most of the non timid, non desperadoes, are really more brothers and sisters, part of the diverse human family.
So what brought about this Timid Desperado concept?
Read More...
Lest we forget, so came the missionaries. In this area, the land I call the home of the Swept Aways, (both white and Indian), they were the Protestants and the Black Robes (Roman Catholics). While proud general Custer, or more appropriate to the area, Colonels Wright and Steptoe, didn’t respectfully ride in to the tune of the Gary Owen, to get slaughtered, to slaughter, or to slip away in the night, there was an often unreported war between these hostile competing religions. This religious backdrop hopefully can be a backdrop for this week’s article. This time redundantly hopeful that no war will occur.
The real settling or unsettling of the west, was a struggle between competing cultures, European and Indian, with very different worldviews, to bring it all into 21st century focus. In modern terms both cultures were dirt poor. The arriving culture deemed poor, because they had not dirt. The other culture believed the dirt sacred, too sacred for anyone to own, and as a result didn’t understand the basics of the worldview they found so foreign. Foreign, as defined in the dictionary probably didn’t even exist in most of the native languages. As with much of human history, those that had the most and most lethal weapons, ruled the land and wrote the history.
As there are today, back then there were Timid Desperadoes in both cultures. Both cultures handle these people differently, which still brings much tension and animosity, as we all journey through this pilgrimage we call life. Furthermore, not everyone in either culture is a Timid Desperado, though most are. There are some who live life beyond the timid. They may still be found, and were to be the topic of this week’s message, which will be postponed until next week. These, the non timid, may still be Desperadoes, but desperado is really redefined as a search, to find meaning in life, which seems too illusive to find. Most of the non timid, non desperadoes, are really more brothers and sisters, part of the diverse human family.
So what brought about this Timid Desperado concept?
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: The Desperation - Joy Continuum
02/January/2008 10:30
Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:4.5
Some years ago, Gary, a friend and former boss, asked me to help him finish a flooring job up in Skagit County, so that it would be completed for the homeowner’s Christmas. Returning back to Seattle, through real winter weather after finishing the job, Gary turned on the radio to the local Christian music station, since he figured they would have the most spiritually oriented Christmas music.
The music was very good until we had almost reached our freeway exit, then this male singer came on vocalizing a historic Christmas carol, updated into the contemporary Christian (CCM) motif. They say that you can be a Country recording artist if you know three guitar cords, this dude had a range of about three notes. To make matters worse each of the three were consistently and noticeably flat. In true CCM fashion he had discarded most of the verses, using only two or three of the least spiritually significant and repeated the chorus ad nauseam. This backed up by a very tacky synthesizer orchestra.
When we attended the same church, Gary and I had both sang in the church choir. Gary being one of the congregation’s normal soloists. Self, not being that good, with a voice more suited to country music than church, knew my place in the back row tenor section.
Finally, I could take no more of this and I finally asked, “Is it just me, or is this guy really bad?”
To which Gary replied, “Actually he is worse than bad, he is basically awful!”
We went on to discuss how this guy could ever get his music even recorded, not to mention get radio air time.
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And give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:4.5
Some years ago, Gary, a friend and former boss, asked me to help him finish a flooring job up in Skagit County, so that it would be completed for the homeowner’s Christmas. Returning back to Seattle, through real winter weather after finishing the job, Gary turned on the radio to the local Christian music station, since he figured they would have the most spiritually oriented Christmas music.
The music was very good until we had almost reached our freeway exit, then this male singer came on vocalizing a historic Christmas carol, updated into the contemporary Christian (CCM) motif. They say that you can be a Country recording artist if you know three guitar cords, this dude had a range of about three notes. To make matters worse each of the three were consistently and noticeably flat. In true CCM fashion he had discarded most of the verses, using only two or three of the least spiritually significant and repeated the chorus ad nauseam. This backed up by a very tacky synthesizer orchestra.
When we attended the same church, Gary and I had both sang in the church choir. Gary being one of the congregation’s normal soloists. Self, not being that good, with a voice more suited to country music than church, knew my place in the back row tenor section.
Finally, I could take no more of this and I finally asked, “Is it just me, or is this guy really bad?”
To which Gary replied, “Actually he is worse than bad, he is basically awful!”
We went on to discuss how this guy could ever get his music even recorded, not to mention get radio air time.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: The Wealth of People
26/December/2007 15:27
The season photo on the Chronicle Front Page features a picture of the River with a greeting: Blessing for a Joyous Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. It is my prayer that will be God’s gift to you and your family for the next period of time that we use to break up our rapidly passing lives.
As I have written prosperous a number of times recently, I seem to have trouble getting the key strokes in the right order and sometimes missing a letter or two. Then that little underline on the computer screen comes on and says I have made a boo boo. I then have to look and see just what I did to cause the modern writer’s nemesis. At least now I know how to spell the word for sure, that is prosperous.
Looking at the definition, it seems to always point to material blessings. Further researching in English we really don’t have a word that speaks to a much broader context of human life, beyond stuff. Just previously I wrote material blessings, but we pretty much have to designate a spiritual adjective to signify something different or in addition to just physical prosperity.
Joyous Christmas however, I hope helps you focus on the reason Christmas is celebrated in the first place. That God became man, dwelt among us, and became God’s propitiation for our sins, by dying on a cross, and being raised from the dead as our justification before God the Father. That is the true transcendental reason for the season, lest we forget.
There is a popular Christian chorus, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength.” Sometimes that is changed during the singing to “The Joy of the Lord is our strength.” While none of us seem to know where these words come from, they are found in Nehemiah 8:10. Then he (Nehemiah) said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Read More...
As I have written prosperous a number of times recently, I seem to have trouble getting the key strokes in the right order and sometimes missing a letter or two. Then that little underline on the computer screen comes on and says I have made a boo boo. I then have to look and see just what I did to cause the modern writer’s nemesis. At least now I know how to spell the word for sure, that is prosperous.
Looking at the definition, it seems to always point to material blessings. Further researching in English we really don’t have a word that speaks to a much broader context of human life, beyond stuff. Just previously I wrote material blessings, but we pretty much have to designate a spiritual adjective to signify something different or in addition to just physical prosperity.
Joyous Christmas however, I hope helps you focus on the reason Christmas is celebrated in the first place. That God became man, dwelt among us, and became God’s propitiation for our sins, by dying on a cross, and being raised from the dead as our justification before God the Father. That is the true transcendental reason for the season, lest we forget.
There is a popular Christian chorus, “The Joy of the Lord is my strength.” Sometimes that is changed during the singing to “The Joy of the Lord is our strength.” While none of us seem to know where these words come from, they are found in Nehemiah 8:10. Then he (Nehemiah) said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Traveling by compass
19/December/2007 11:01
Sometime after I arrived at my place up in Northeastern Washington I was listening to music on iTunes when the song “Right Outta Nowhere,” by Kathy Mattea began to play. The song is about a young woman with “a great big dream and a history of playing small,” and “an old hippie with a half a dozen Ph.D.’s” running a little junk store, “some choices hold you down, some chances set you free.”
I have always liked Kathy’s music, because, in the context of this series, many times it speaks to the transcendent qualities of normal life. “Right Out of Nowhere” is also the title of the album, but I really didn’t buy the album for this song, there were others that I felt more of that transcendent quality. But as I began to listen to “Nowhere” I realized, this place on the river is about as close to a real nowhere as you can get. As a seasonal sidelight, her Christmas album “Good News” won a Grammy, for good reasons.
Actually the famous place, “The middle of nowhere” is about 10 miles to the north and east and I will describe that center a little later. So weekly now I sit at my laptop in the ‘burbs of nowhere and write and send this out to the world. I assume from the web stats that some nowhere people are beginning to read this blog with nowhere as it’s home. This nowhere is defined by its wildness. It is not wilderness in the legal sense, this nowhere transcends all human knowledge and wisdom. Most of the old abandoned mines in nowhere have Biblical names, because they needed them to even begin to be developed, and only a fool would think otherwise.
Now nowhere is not to be considered the end of the world. My friend Jim who gave me the inspiration of the “Day that Religion Died,” some years ago moved for a while to Minot, North Dakota. He used to say Minot is not the end of the world, but you can see it from there. I have been to Minot, and thankfully it isn’t New York City, but in the world of today there really isn’t an end to the world, everything is linked by satellites, cellphones, and the internet. Minot however is heartland America, really the only place where people stay near the 100th meridian.
The 100th Meridian is not that big of a tourist attraction as you traverse in your vehicle through the Great American Drive Through, or fly above the Great American Fly Over on your way from the right coast to the left coast or vise versa, but that is because they don’t learn you in school that the 100th Meridian is about where the transition between the tall grass and the short grass prairie occurs. “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian” is the book that made Montana writer Wallace Stegner famous as he wrote about John Wesley Powell’s progressive designs for rural America, many of which have been adopted with modification, either to the benefit or demise of the heartland, depending upon your perspective.
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I have always liked Kathy’s music, because, in the context of this series, many times it speaks to the transcendent qualities of normal life. “Right Out of Nowhere” is also the title of the album, but I really didn’t buy the album for this song, there were others that I felt more of that transcendent quality. But as I began to listen to “Nowhere” I realized, this place on the river is about as close to a real nowhere as you can get. As a seasonal sidelight, her Christmas album “Good News” won a Grammy, for good reasons.
Actually the famous place, “The middle of nowhere” is about 10 miles to the north and east and I will describe that center a little later. So weekly now I sit at my laptop in the ‘burbs of nowhere and write and send this out to the world. I assume from the web stats that some nowhere people are beginning to read this blog with nowhere as it’s home. This nowhere is defined by its wildness. It is not wilderness in the legal sense, this nowhere transcends all human knowledge and wisdom. Most of the old abandoned mines in nowhere have Biblical names, because they needed them to even begin to be developed, and only a fool would think otherwise.
Now nowhere is not to be considered the end of the world. My friend Jim who gave me the inspiration of the “Day that Religion Died,” some years ago moved for a while to Minot, North Dakota. He used to say Minot is not the end of the world, but you can see it from there. I have been to Minot, and thankfully it isn’t New York City, but in the world of today there really isn’t an end to the world, everything is linked by satellites, cellphones, and the internet. Minot however is heartland America, really the only place where people stay near the 100th meridian.
The 100th Meridian is not that big of a tourist attraction as you traverse in your vehicle through the Great American Drive Through, or fly above the Great American Fly Over on your way from the right coast to the left coast or vise versa, but that is because they don’t learn you in school that the 100th Meridian is about where the transition between the tall grass and the short grass prairie occurs. “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian” is the book that made Montana writer Wallace Stegner famous as he wrote about John Wesley Powell’s progressive designs for rural America, many of which have been adopted with modification, either to the benefit or demise of the heartland, depending upon your perspective.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Have some materialism soup!
12/December/2007 12:25
This week’s article begins as a designed allegory, not a good allegory, or not a bad allegory, just a so-so allegory, mediocre at best and downhill from there on out. As such you can make it deeper than it was meant to be, or just a stupid sort of story. Since music and religion died in America, things have just been going that way, dumbed down beyond political correctness, which really serves no purpose other than another day of a somewhat challenging life, in a world that doesn’t seem to care one way or the other.
In the classic movie “Oliver” the orphan Oliver has the audacity to ask for some more swill, porridge, or soup to fill his empty stomach. In the 20th century, western culture has been fed a tempting materialism soup, and over time we have become accustomed to the stuff. After all with just a little salt, pepper and a few other spices of life, it really isn’t all that bad. But just as Esau in the Bible, we individually and collectively, have given up any birthright we may have inherited for just another generous helping of the stuff swill.
Proper exposition of the Jacob - Esau passage is well beyond what we want to use in this message, but just as with Oliver, we are all hungry in this world, and if materialism’s soup is all we have to eat, why not have another bowl, the dude that runs the orphanage says we will grow to find it irresistible. And to be perfectly honest that is all he has to offer anyway.
“So just how do you make materialism soup?”
I’m glad you ask. First of all you need the veggies. In classic cajun cooking it is known as the trinity, onion, celery, and green pepper, sweated not sautéed. In French cooking it is called mirepoix, onion, celery, and carrots, again sweated not sautéed. The ingredients in materialism soup are three also, socialism, reaganism, and evangelicalism. Again just sweated, by no means do you want to brown these veggies, it will truly change the flavor and it might not slide down as easily.
After you saute the materialism vegetables you need to add a lot of water, a few soup bones to add a little flavor, but very little meat itself, that is saved for the leadership elite that runs the orphanage, and a little flour to thicken it up a little, but not enough to give you gas, because again gas is not all that appetizing. Besides on the side we get stale bread, the fresh stuff is first offered to those who are in charge.
In order to make this materialism soup at all, we need to first chop up the vegetables. The knife we will use is dull, just like the butter knife our grandmas had, that will only slice warm butter, or prepared margarine. The ingredients must be added in order to get the proper flavor in the sweat, as it slides off the plastic cutting board before it drops over the edge into the pot.
Read More...
In the classic movie “Oliver” the orphan Oliver has the audacity to ask for some more swill, porridge, or soup to fill his empty stomach. In the 20th century, western culture has been fed a tempting materialism soup, and over time we have become accustomed to the stuff. After all with just a little salt, pepper and a few other spices of life, it really isn’t all that bad. But just as Esau in the Bible, we individually and collectively, have given up any birthright we may have inherited for just another generous helping of the stuff swill.
Proper exposition of the Jacob - Esau passage is well beyond what we want to use in this message, but just as with Oliver, we are all hungry in this world, and if materialism’s soup is all we have to eat, why not have another bowl, the dude that runs the orphanage says we will grow to find it irresistible. And to be perfectly honest that is all he has to offer anyway.
“So just how do you make materialism soup?”
I’m glad you ask. First of all you need the veggies. In classic cajun cooking it is known as the trinity, onion, celery, and green pepper, sweated not sautéed. In French cooking it is called mirepoix, onion, celery, and carrots, again sweated not sautéed. The ingredients in materialism soup are three also, socialism, reaganism, and evangelicalism. Again just sweated, by no means do you want to brown these veggies, it will truly change the flavor and it might not slide down as easily.
After you saute the materialism vegetables you need to add a lot of water, a few soup bones to add a little flavor, but very little meat itself, that is saved for the leadership elite that runs the orphanage, and a little flour to thicken it up a little, but not enough to give you gas, because again gas is not all that appetizing. Besides on the side we get stale bread, the fresh stuff is first offered to those who are in charge.
In order to make this materialism soup at all, we need to first chop up the vegetables. The knife we will use is dull, just like the butter knife our grandmas had, that will only slice warm butter, or prepared margarine. The ingredients must be added in order to get the proper flavor in the sweat, as it slides off the plastic cutting board before it drops over the edge into the pot.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Wildness cries
05/December/2007 07:48
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And for the dwelling places of the wilderness (wildness) a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone. Jeremiah 9:10
Back in my early days of being an entrepreneur I was asked to do some environmental consulting for a major corporation. In order to do that work I would have to sign the company’s consulting agreement, which they said had been prepared by one of the best legal firms in the nation, to be fair and honest with both parties, but still uphold the requirements of the corporation.
I read over the contract and it sounded good to me, but within all the verbiage were a lot of legal terms which I did not fully understand. I therefore decided to take it to my securities lawyer for his interpretation. Bruce began reading the multipage document. About half way through he smiled, wrote a short sentence on the legal pad where he always took notes, and continued reading to the end of the document.
When he finished reading, Bruce looked up and stated that this indeed was a very good and fair consulting agreement, perhaps the best he had ever read. Then he smiled again and brought my attention to a short paragraph at the bottom of one of the pages. The only thing I find wrong with the document, he said, is that there should be a comma between, what I shall call here, this and that. In other words, it should have read this, and that. He then went on to explain without this comma, if litigation ever was required, he could use that lack of the comma to justify my position and we would probably win. Therefore, he said it was fine for me to sign the contract and wished me good luck.
As I read some of my documents that I referenced last week in “Answers? --- What questions?” I was struck with the fact that there was some pretty good stuff written in the articles, but they sure could use some editing, and more than a few commas, between this, and that. That however, was before OSX, at least for me on the MAC. Hence, that was before the computer voice of Kathy would read back to me what I had written. Out of all the stuff these Chronicles have covered over the years, I still find editing the finished work to be the most difficult. Possibly, that is because, I learned most of my writing skills, in the 6th grade, and none of my many educational endeavors hence, have really ever brought a serious improvement. That is truly a frightening concept, when you put it into the context, that in such academic disciplines test scores have continued to erode for all students since the time of that apex.
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And for the dwelling places of the wilderness (wildness) a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone. Jeremiah 9:10
Back in my early days of being an entrepreneur I was asked to do some environmental consulting for a major corporation. In order to do that work I would have to sign the company’s consulting agreement, which they said had been prepared by one of the best legal firms in the nation, to be fair and honest with both parties, but still uphold the requirements of the corporation.
I read over the contract and it sounded good to me, but within all the verbiage were a lot of legal terms which I did not fully understand. I therefore decided to take it to my securities lawyer for his interpretation. Bruce began reading the multipage document. About half way through he smiled, wrote a short sentence on the legal pad where he always took notes, and continued reading to the end of the document.
When he finished reading, Bruce looked up and stated that this indeed was a very good and fair consulting agreement, perhaps the best he had ever read. Then he smiled again and brought my attention to a short paragraph at the bottom of one of the pages. The only thing I find wrong with the document, he said, is that there should be a comma between, what I shall call here, this and that. In other words, it should have read this, and that. He then went on to explain without this comma, if litigation ever was required, he could use that lack of the comma to justify my position and we would probably win. Therefore, he said it was fine for me to sign the contract and wished me good luck.
As I read some of my documents that I referenced last week in “Answers? --- What questions?” I was struck with the fact that there was some pretty good stuff written in the articles, but they sure could use some editing, and more than a few commas, between this, and that. That however, was before OSX, at least for me on the MAC. Hence, that was before the computer voice of Kathy would read back to me what I had written. Out of all the stuff these Chronicles have covered over the years, I still find editing the finished work to be the most difficult. Possibly, that is because, I learned most of my writing skills, in the 6th grade, and none of my many educational endeavors hence, have really ever brought a serious improvement. That is truly a frightening concept, when you put it into the context, that in such academic disciplines test scores have continued to erode for all students since the time of that apex.
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Answers??? --- What questions?
28/November/2007 09:15
Recent poling of the USA populous found that Americans were relatively comfortable or secure in their situations, but rather uncomfortable with what was happening at the national level. These results were consistent pretty much across the spectrum of the people. So what are the answers to our nation’s ills?
The really big problem is that no one seems to know the right questions? As we discussed briefly last week, throwing up a bunch of ideas into the air and seeing if any float, seems to be what some of the best minds in the nation have come up with.
We are told in various ways that everything is onward and upward but nobody seems to be able to give a reasonable or real description of the destination. So how can they, or why should they be empowered to set the course, when they seem more lost than the average man on the street?
The answer is these pundits are not the men and women on the street, and by choice they have lost touch with normal men and women trying each day to not journey onward and upward, but just get through the day without losing ground. Furthermore, these elite no longer care about either the bourgeois or the proletariat, they also have lost touch with natural reality, and as far as any transcendence, well that is just an outmoded concept not needed in the new world order.
Well, if the new world (utopian) order is almost here, why does the future look so chaotic and bleak?
“Next question please! Oh by the way, have you read my new book, attended my latest seminar, voted for me, paid to join my internet groupies, donated to my cause? Keep tuning in daily because I am getting cooler, more poised, equanimous, self centered, and vain all the time? Don’t you just love me and want to be just like me, only a whole lot less influential?”
Read More...
The really big problem is that no one seems to know the right questions? As we discussed briefly last week, throwing up a bunch of ideas into the air and seeing if any float, seems to be what some of the best minds in the nation have come up with.
We are told in various ways that everything is onward and upward but nobody seems to be able to give a reasonable or real description of the destination. So how can they, or why should they be empowered to set the course, when they seem more lost than the average man on the street?
The answer is these pundits are not the men and women on the street, and by choice they have lost touch with normal men and women trying each day to not journey onward and upward, but just get through the day without losing ground. Furthermore, these elite no longer care about either the bourgeois or the proletariat, they also have lost touch with natural reality, and as far as any transcendence, well that is just an outmoded concept not needed in the new world order.
Well, if the new world (utopian) order is almost here, why does the future look so chaotic and bleak?
“Next question please! Oh by the way, have you read my new book, attended my latest seminar, voted for me, paid to join my internet groupies, donated to my cause? Keep tuning in daily because I am getting cooler, more poised, equanimous, self centered, and vain all the time? Don’t you just love me and want to be just like me, only a whole lot less influential?”
Read More...
Symbiotic Economics: Green Zoos
21/November/2007 10:26
When we began this year’s series of Chronicle articles we were discussing stupendous change. In the concept of transcendence we have been looking at these last few weeks, stupendous change is really just transcendent natural law. Some will say and have said that these natural events are a judgement by God for the sins of America, the world or other parties. However it is a stretch to say that God needs to actively interfere with the natural workings of creation so that He can change the plan of earth’s history. More to the point is Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
This groaning in birth pangs, looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ. Creation’s churning may also become more pronounced simply because of the Ezekiel 37 dry bones prophesy coming into reality. The complexity of these manners and changes can be seen expressed in three stupendous change events that have happened in the United States in this century.
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon were definitely acts of terrorism. They are also a statement of personal and religious rebellion from a group zealous in their belief that the world is heading in the wrong direction. Al Qaeda had the organization and resources to make a very bold statement. In that statement over 3000 Americans died. The point being that when it suits our purposes we believe humanity is above natural law and order, but then in the next breath, we reinforce the belief that we are indeed direct descendants of whales and monkeys. That tension in itself is a groaning of all creation.
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and vicinity. But matters could have been much worse if the hurricane track had not altered at the last minute probably saving many lives in the process. Was that change in course a gift of God’s grace, or was the hurricane itself God’s judgement on an evil city? Still others would say that the whole storm was made much worse by global warming. However, when you build a city below sea level in a hurricane zone, then not maintain the levees and dikes that hold back the river and the ocean, it is only a matter of time until a groaning creation will have an impact.
A similar statement is true for the recent wildfires in southern California. When you build human infrastructure in an area where it should not be built, then in order to protect it and maintain property values you do not manage the vegetation for whatever natural and political reasons, when the fire starts, the imp
This groaning in birth pangs, looks forward to the return of Jesus Christ. Creation’s churning may also become more pronounced simply because of the Ezekiel 37 dry bones prophesy coming into reality. The complexity of these manners and changes can be seen expressed in three stupendous change events that have happened in the United States in this century.
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon were definitely acts of terrorism. They are also a statement of personal and religious rebellion from a group zealous in their belief that the world is heading in the wrong direction. Al Qaeda had the organization and resources to make a very bold statement. In that statement over 3000 Americans died. The point being that when it suits our purposes we believe humanity is above natural law and order, but then in the next breath, we reinforce the belief that we are indeed direct descendants of whales and monkeys. That tension in itself is a groaning of all creation.
Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and vicinity. But matters could have been much worse if the hurricane track had not altered at the last minute probably saving many lives in the process. Was that change in course a gift of God’s grace, or was the hurricane itself God’s judgement on an evil city? Still others would say that the whole storm was made much worse by global warming. However, when you build a city below sea level in a hurricane zone, then not maintain the levees and dikes that hold back the river and the ocean, it is only a matter of time until a groaning creation will have an impact.
A similar statement is true for the recent wildfires in southern California. When you build human infrastructure in an area where it should not be built, then in order to protect it and maintain property values you do not manage the vegetation for whatever natural and political reasons, when the fire starts, the imp