Category: History

Independence.

July the 2nd

During this tumultuous time of 242 years ago fighting off the English since 1773, the colonies wanted badly to gain independence one way or another. The southern colonies desired to keep slavery as their right while the north fought against it. The two sides eventually came together agreeing to declare their right to govern themselves as one united nation.

Thomas Jefferson was quietly composing the declaration of Independence to send to the British crown. Even though he was a slave holder as was Washington, he wrote: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (back in those days the term ‘all men’ included all of humanity regardless of sex, race or nationality) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable (impossible to take away or give up) rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Let us not ever forget it, or as Ben Franklin has been quoted saying, “We must hang together or surely we will hang separately.”

 

July the 3rd.

It was yesterday 242 years ago that the colonies agreed to declare their independence, and not until 6 days later when the official declaration was read to the people of Philadelphia. No instant news in those days as news traveled slowly by horseback and sailing ships across the Atlantic delivering the news to England on August 20th: “The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America.”

A couple days before the end of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, George Mason stood up – a delegate from Virginia, genius, brilliant – and he said, ‘If Congress shall turn oppressive, the only way to reform what’s taking place is through violence. We must give the people the power to address a tyrannical Congress,’

Article V of the Constitution provides a means where the states have the right to propose Amendments when ratified by 3/4th of the States, it would be valid to all Intent and Purposes.

It was not until 1938 when Congress declared the 4th of July as a federal holiday to be enjoyed by all. Our customs of celebration has changed over the years, from an earlier custom of building towering pyramids, assembled from barrels and casks and setting it on fire. Currently, we hold BBQ’s, picnics along a lakeside, a campfire, family gatherings in the backyards with sparklers and our own purchased legal fireworks, and then to view the local fireworks displays. We will perhaps record the Macy’s celebration in NYC to watch later.  This Year Hallmark is broadcasting a White House celebration as the President, and First Lady will commemorate the day by welcoming military families for an afternoon picnic on the south lawn and later viewing the fireworks display put on by the National Park Service.

Happy Independence.

 

July the 4th.

The last paragraph of that declaration.

“We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

Cicero was murdered in 43 B.C. What might he have said that enlightened the Declaration of 1776?  “There is a true law, a right reason, conformable to nature, universal, unchangeable, eternal, whose commands urge us to duty, and whose prohibitions restrain us from evil,”

“It is not one thing at Rome and another at Athens; one thing today and another tomorrow; but in all times and nations this universal law must forever reign, eternal and imperishable,” Cicero said. “God himself is its author, its promulgator, its enforcer.”

What did Hamilton think of this argument?  “The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for, among old parchments, or musty records,” Hamilton wrote in 1775. “They are written, as with a sun beam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased or obscured by mortal power.”

Then there was Jefferson: “God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God?

“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” — John Adams.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Concord Hymn”

R.W. Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

He penned these few lines about the famous Battles of Lexington and Concord, the first official engagement between Britain and the Colonies in Americas beginning on April 19, 1775, which lasted eight and a half years. The American Revolution finally ended on September 3, 1783, with America and the King of England signing the Treaty of Paris.

This document was signed by 56 Americans wanting to be free and independent, many of whom gave their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Tonight, when you see and hear the fireworks exploding, think of the shot heard around the world.

 

The Lone Wolf destroys the peace of many.

What’s going on in this great land of ours from sea to shining sea? A teen-ager grabs a couple guns from his father’s cabinet hides them under a trench-coat, makes his way to the school where he’s a student in good standing and then pulls the trigger aiming and killing some of his class-mates. What was going in in the mind of this kid?  Why? Why is it happening more and more in this 21st century of ours compared with previous times?

In researching this list of previous shootings and rampages in our schools, I landed upon a Wikipedia page listing EVERY shooting in America’s schools going back to the first in 1764 when 10 were murdered by American Indians in what has been named the Enoch Brown massacre. [1]   It was considered a school shooting because a school principal was shot while the others not affiliated with the school were killed in hand to hand combat. Knives and hatchets? Bows and Arrows?

Tracing these shootings through history reveals that in earlier times most were angry outbursts, disagreements of parents angry over the treatment of a child, disagreements of an employee being fired, angriness of one sort or another. Then in 1966, the first mass shooting occurred at the University of Texas when 17 were killed and 31 injured by 25-year-old engineering student, who from the observation deck continuously pulled the trigger on innocents at Sandy Hook for 96 minutes. He had previously taken out his hatred for his parents by killing them that morning. [2]

Fast forward to the 21st century. The first decade had 65 shootings with 110 killed. From 2011 thru 2014: 94 shootings and 36 deaths. 2015 to present: 66 shootings with 84 killed. And now less than 5 months into 2018 there’s been 3 school shootings resulting in 47 deaths.

Let’s go back a few decades.

1940’s- 8 shootings.

1950’s-14,

1960’s-19,

1970’s- 31,

1980’s- 41,

1990’s- 66 separate shootings including the famous ’99 Columbine massacre where 2-teens ambushed   fellow students killing 15 and injuring 21.

Why the escalation? What has changed, what changes occurred in our culture over those decades?

It’s easy to surmise that the trend is escalating, but again, why? Is it because guns are available?  Is it because the legal requirements for obtaining a license to purchase and own a gun are not strict enough? How many of these assaults on human life has been made with an illegally obtained gun? How many of the incidents have been committed with a legally purchased weapon obtained by a student from his parents.

There have been many contributing factors suggested by various leaders, media and politicos including: Failure of government background checks. Higher accessibility and ownership of guns. Desire for fame and notoriety. Copycatism.  The gap between expectations and actual achievement. Mental Illness. Bullying. Psychiatric Drugs. Bullying.

All it just takes is just one to destroy the peace of many.

The political speak is all about gun safety, about the availability of guns, about the need for more additional gun restrictions and even the concept of outlawing guns altogether has hit the airwaves. “Our children are precious to us and their safety is our main concern, so let’s do this now. We must ban fully automatic assault rifles now.” The same old measures are being floated to prevent these shootings from ever happening again.  How about around the world? How do other countries restrict personal gun ownership? Ah, all that is another story.

Allow me to boil it down to just two factors: 1. One or more guns have been used. 2. One human pulled the trigger of the guns.

Do we outlaw all humans from attending schools?

Yes, it’s a human problem of that inherent free-will nature of ours. The first historical account of a human killing another is that of Cain slaying his brother Able. Jealousy is said to be the motivating factor.

There is only ONE solution to this dilemma. Yes, one only, and it’s been known for the last 2000 years.

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”    Matthew 22:36-40 New International Version (NIV)

Ten-Commandments 2

Yep, if parents, students and school officials lived respecting and loving each other as themselves it would end school shootings. Centuries before that humans were provided the Ten commandments. And Yep, if everyone obeyed and lived by these standards set forth in those tablets of stone, that would end school shootings.

But, throughout history, a lone Wolf can destroy the peace.

But, these two simple codes cannot even be discussed in schools anymore, nor displayed anywhere in our public-school system. Outlawed by the court. It’s been considered a violation of that separation of church and state doctrine.

Madalyn Murray O’Hair, the founder of American Atheists, Inc. became famous in the 60’s for pushing the concept of separation of church and state. She eventual won the banning of mandatory prayer and the daily reading of bible passages from the public schools in 2 supreme Court cases of ’62 and ’63.  The Ten commandments were banned from being displayed in public schools in 1980.

Since then, oh how the basic nuclear family unit as the backbone of society has been slowly degraded.  Now it’s meism. Me first. A disrespect for each other, no more honoring each other above selfish desires. Adultery became a no big deal. Then divorce. It’s our sensuousness, our selfishness. Abortion legalized in 1973. Teen pregnancies. Drug use. Foul language. Cheating. Lying. Stealing. Murder. Rape. Incest. Homosexuality. Bisexuality. Oh, and also, dress codes have changed too. In the 50’s the high school required girls to wear lode fitting blouses and dresses that covered their knees and boys had to wear button-down shirts and slacks, no shorts. Nowadays, well anything goes . . . . just cover your genitals is about the only unspoken dress code.

Summary.

Oh, this part is easy. Even in the churches, the Fear of the Almighty God is not being preached and emphasized.  The fear of what happens after we die: Heaven or Hell. Yes, the creator destroyed the entire population of this earth except for one family because the rest of humanity was living as they desired. The ability of God to do this is not being preached. Yes, God threw His first humans away from that beautiful garden because they did not listen to His one wish. Instead they desired to be like God, to be their own master knowing both good and evil. Oh yes, we do know about evil.

Let me present an analogy.  You’ve been hired to work for a certain company and the owner has informed you of his expectations and rules. Obey those and you’ll enjoy the work, the benefits and the comradery of the fellow employees. You also know that if you don’t live up to those standards the owner has the right to call you into his office and say; you’re fired.

“Fired.” Yes, that phase had its beginnings with the concept of spending eternity in the Lake of Fire.

You’re Fired

Recently a headline of our everyday, every minute news broadcasting the latest providing us citizens information on what’s going on somewhere else, by someone else. One headline in bold type stated: “You’re Fired.” The inside story was about a previous administration politically appointed individual who spoke against President Trump and his fascist discriminative ways being dismissed from his position. This brought back memories of the TV series: “The Apprentice.”

Hmm? Everything has a beginning, a history. Yes, even commonly used phrases have a starting point, a beginning somewhere in past history. So, I wondered where and when did that phrase have its beginning. You may already perceive where I’m going with this, but anyway here goes. I entered the phrase into the computer search box and up popped many bold typed headlines with answers, one of which was that TV series when Trump is facing the contestants announcing which of them is being terminated from the next segment saying: “You’re fired.” The camera focused on the look on that person’s face revealing the disappointment, the dismay of not meeting his standards of performance.

Another explanation referred back to times of clans and tribes when a person committed a serious offense and they burned down his home.

Another explanation went back to 1885 indicating that it was a play on the word ‘discharged’ which has two meanings: dismissal of an employee, or to fire a projectile or weapon.

On this earth of ours we see the effects of fire in Volcanoes, forest fires destroying neighborhoods, wild fires burning brush, lightning strikes causing fires and the casual burning cigarette being throw out the car window. We enjoy sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows. We enjoy the warmth of a fireplace and in olden days the light provided by a wick burning within a glass.

Interesting, but still not conclusive for me as I seek to retrieve older historical records of the first beginnings from the most read, most publicized book ever, the one translated into every language: The Bible. First: the story of the old cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when burning sulfur destroyed the area because of the wickedness.

How about this one from Isaiah: “then they will go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me for their worm will not die and their fire will not be quenched: And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind.”

From the book of Revelation: “He also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.” 14:10

This also from Revelation: “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” 20:14-15

“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 13:49-50

“If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, for it is better for you to enter life crippled than having your two hands to go into hell; into the unquenched fire. Mark 9:43

Is that enough? We sure don’t hear many, if any sermons on this topic anymore, do we? Why is that? Do we disbelieve, dismiss these verses as being uncharacteristic of the merciful, gracious all caring creator Almighty God, who wouldn’t or couldn’t do such a thing as it goes against His goodness.

Sorry, but “You’re Fired.”

3 Meals per day? Ha, Ha. Gotch-ya.

How far back in history must you go to find that ancient people (now considered as those of our great grand-parents age) did not regularly eat according to the clock: 6 or 7am breakfast. 12 noon lunch and 6 pm dinner. That’s how it was for me as a kid growing up in the 50’s. You must eat 3 meals a day to maintain optimum health according to the ‘experts’ back then. We had eggs and/or pancakes with a glass of milk and possible orange juice before heading off to school carrying our brown paper sack of a peanut butter sandwich on white bread with a side of chips, possibly an apple and pickle thrown in for added benefit. Then when dad got home, family dinner time at 6 pm of spaghetti and meat balls and slice of bread to swipe the sauce off the plate.  Then homework time and be ready to slide under the covers at 10 after watching the b/w 9-inch TV for local news at 9.  That was life in the 50’s.

And now 60 years later we not only delight in 3 meals per day but snacks in-between. Oh, how I love to snack, to always have a goodie near-by to nibble on while being entertained by others.  Hersey chocolates are my favorite along with jelly beans and an occasional piece of licorice, fig bars or Ritz crackers (a pinch of salt) or a handful of pistachios.  Also, wow, a bowl of potato chips to dip into that sharp cheddar cheese dip between sips of beer while watching a 3-hour ball-game hit it off satisfying the stomach growl.

But, did our great grand-parents eat 3 meals a day when they were growing up? That would have been in the time before the calendars turned to 1900, closer to 1850. Society then was predominately agrarian working the farms, raising cows, goats, chickens, pigs and riding horses to get to the local market. Relaxation was walking to the near-by stream or lake to catch some fish and take a skinny dip. In between the seasons many would head off to the forests hunting a deer, fox, bear, buffalo. Life was not so convenient requiring lots of physical energy. Women were baking bread, feathering a chicken, scrubbing the farm dirt, instructing the kiddies on the realities of life. She was possibly a school mom. Sundays came, time to clean-up, dress up, greet and share news with neighbors at the local church.

The industrial revolution was beginning, and the young workers were moving from farms to the cities to eat lunch in the factories. Go back to 1904 when the first New Year celebration in Times Square and look at the crowd. You will not see any obese folks watching the ball drop. There are many black and white photos of people in the streets of NY in the 20’s to 40’s. No obese. I have hanging in my home office a 1928 photo of my grand-parents congregation of the Auburn Park SW church attending a Sunday School rally day. Lots of slim kids. No overly heavy people.

There were no fast food joints, no drive-ins, restaurants were few and far between, and pushing a cart through the aisles selecting your grocery list was unheard of. McDonalds was not. White castle was not. Nor a Burger King and the rest of the drive-throughs for a what else but a ‘happy meal’.  Yes, the advertisement of a very attractive slim young lady throwing her slim arms high in the air celebrating how happy you’ll be. The trauma of a hard day will end when you down that burger and fries with a diet Coke. We’re open 24/7. Gotch-ya.

Obesity is defined as having your waist size larger than your butt size. Another measurement of obesity is determined by the formula: (Weight in Pounds / (Height in inches x Height in inches)) x 703. That’s your BMI. Anything over 25 is getting close to obesity. A healthy body will be more like the hour glass shape. The US and Mexico supposedly have close to 40% of the population as obese. In the UK two-thirds of men and almost six in 10 women are overweight or obese.

So, here we are in 2018 when farming is done riding a John Deere and trucking the veggies across the country measured in hours for freshness. Chickens are raised by the thousands in large open-air cages. Cows are butchered in factories, and TV’s have 250 selections to choose from, telephones are in hand computers as we drive the free-ways to sit-down office work. Obesity is becoming the majority consuming food 3 times per day and nibbling the rest of the time. There are even voices being heard that smaller meals 4-5 times a day reduces obesity risk by 45 percent. [1] Three-meals per day lowers blood pressure.

So, who do we listen to for sound advice? The advertisers? The government agencies?

Does anyone fast anymore.  For those who may not know what that word (fast) means, I offer this simple definition: Go without food for a self-determined length of time, such as no food at all (water, yes) for a day, three days, 21 or 40 days, or even just a meal or two. Yes, it can be done. It used to be common among Christians to fast during lent before Easter. Oh, to think on that drives me up the wall. I thought that would be considered ‘works of the flesh’, so forget it, I’m saved by faith.

Satan says: “gotch-ya.”

[1] htps://www.alternet.org/story/152486/there_is_no_biological_reason_to_eat_three_meals_a_day_–_so_why_do_we_do_it

Is Sodom here and now?

You know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as written in the book of Genesis. The cries from the citizens of Sodom reached the Lord, who was about to go down and destroy the land. Abraham interceded, pleaded to spare the city if fifty righteous men were found. Abraham must have known the wickedness of the city, so he lessened his plea down to ten righteous men.

Angels as men approached the city meeting Lot in the town square. Lot persuaded the men to come home with him for a good home cooked kosher meal. The men of Sodom wanted the angelic men to satisfy their own lusts, banging on the door to Lots home.  Let us have them, they scream. Bang, bang the door-bell rang. Lot told them they could have his virgin daughters instead. No, no, we want these strangers. The angels blinded them, and told Lot to gather his family together and leave this city as it is about to be destroyed.

Lot and his wife and daughters left Sodom to find a new safe home for his family at a small near-by town as the mountains were far away.  He was told to hurry, don’t look back, just get out of there quickly as the town will be destroyed because of its wickedness. His wife may have been concerned for her friends and neighbors. Her daughters had been pledged to marry soon wondering why they did want to come along. She may have wondering about her home there and all the good memories she had, so she turned around to see if was true that the city was being destroyed by sulfur lightning. She disobeyed the command not to look back, and was turned into salt.

It was too late for Sodom. It had gone too far. They did not listen. They were satisfying the flesh above just and righteous living.

The citizens of Sodom had built the walls as the other areas have. They were living well. More people immigrated to the area desiring the prosperity. As time passed they became infatuated with their success and leisure beginning to look for new ways to satisfy the hunger for adventure as all things were so easy to get. They were given time to reconcile, to make amends, to treat each other as you’d have them treat you. But they’ve insisted on going their own way. As the years passed, they’ve become more and more concerned with satisfying the lusts of their selfish fleshly desires. Women were easy prey. Then men with men. Anything to get that desire satisfied. They demanded others to follow along.  They pushed their desires as their right to do as they please. The magistrates had been silenced. The judges have acquiesced finding words in the constitution that allows this freedom. The demands of the right to personal liberty supersede all other rights. Get with it or we’ll file lawsuit after lawsuit and you and your citizens will be bankrupt. You don’t want that, so go along with this new unifying measure and all will be well between us. Your children must have the right to choose who they wish to be. You shouldn’t demand otherwise. You have no right to impose your ways upon everyone. It’s not right. Come along with us and we’ll all benefit in this cultural unifying diversity. That’s all we want. We just want to be accepted. You have your freedom and that’s all we want too; our freedom to love whom we may. So, let’s get along. What’s so hard about that?

Now the world, and specifically here in the US of A is following the same path that led to the destruction of Sodom.  Lusts of the flesh. Against the laws of nature. Adding a “y” to the word Sodom means anal penetration: putting it where it was not originally intended for the purpose of multiplication.

Recently in a small town in the state of Mississippi, an active group petitioned the town of 28,000 to host and pay for a “Gay Pride” parade through the town streets.

The city council voted no: 4 to 3.

The activists threatened. You are distracting progress.

Their lawyers are preparing the suit against the town.

 

 

Are there fifty righteous men within the city?

Tolerating the intolerant.

Over the past few days as the events within this freedom loving country of ours takes the news by storm evolving and escalating to the point that even those who do not keep-up with the news as our busy life demands upon our time, know once civil society is getting out of hand into the weird.  Most likely, you’ve heard about the student uprisings on college campuses demanding a complete stop to offensive behavior and/or speech. One event recently captivated my attention that sums up all the others. A Wooster college in Ohio sit in, students taking over Galpin Hall on January 24, 2018.

“The students demand that all new students and faculty be required to enroll in a ‘cultural competency training course’ that will begin during orientation week and continue throughout the whole first year. The Center of Diversity and Inclusion will determine the content of this training course, but it must be submitted to the student activists for review at least once a year.” [a]

Hmm? And here I had thought that the American civil behavior toward each other was already an ingrained part of cultural competency was based on the Judeo-Christian admonition that we must treat others the way we would like to be treated. On the most part we were kind, considerate, respectful, easy going, saying ‘thank you’, ‘you’re welcome’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘is there anything I can do’, opening the door for the elderly and ladies, patiently waiting in line, preferring others the right of way, putting a check on our tongue during family gatherings and the office coffee break, respecting the property of others, politely disagreeing without being disagreeable and on and on we’d act day-in day-out.

Perhaps I’ve been wrong and that there’s another side to: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Matt 7:12

Now the student’s demand “safe zones”, a nice quiet place where they can feel safe from unwanted interruptions, conversations, some zones even offering coloring books and crayons to help escape the bigotry of others. Bigotry is defined as: a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices.

Hmm? So, as a Christian if I stand by and say anything whatsoever about my faith which you disagree with then I’m guilty and intolerant, I’m silenced and found guilty being punished for “hate speech”, and you’ll go to a safe zone to recuperate.  Just yesterday, a creationist speaker was dis-invited to speak on campus. Evidently his talk would have been offensive. A mayor has issued subpoenas of the sermons of the local pastors in case any kind of “hate speech” was involved.

Is society now facing a new ‘social revival’ of sorts.

Does this current generation look at America as having a long history of bigotry?  Yes, you can say that America has a history of being bigoted toward others not of their own kind.

The US was established as a democratic-republic based on Judeo-Christian morality of right and wrong, but our actual history has been filled with intolerance. Our frontiersmen pushed the natives out as our expansion into the west developed. The Indians were not wanting to be engaged with the ‘white man’ and his ways. The same was true for the millions of Europeans immigrating here: Scandinavians found other Scandinavians to live near. Italians desired to live near other Italians, the Jews with the Jews. The same with the French, the Germans, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. They tolerated others but desired companionship of their own kind. It was part of the American dream: one nation under God, indivisible and with liberty to all. Tolerating the others while desiring fellowship with their own kind rather than forced diversity.

America does have a long history of bigotry toward “blacks, or people of color” being brought here and sold as slaves to the land owners in the south and the rich of the north. The free ones in the north expanding westward sought to live near and with their own kind. The southern states forced total separation, which did not end until Lincoln signed the bill officially ending slavery and ML King gave his famous speech. It was bigotry. It was intolerance. But haven’t we moved on from there?

Both sides of my parents were Swedish immigrants. At first we lived near other Swedes and went to a dominate Swedish church, then moved to a varied neighborhood where the high school in the 50’s of Chicago had been integrated with a few ‘black’ students living in near-by neighborhoods. That was my first encounter with those of dark colored skin and we behaved in school with tolerance; some playing football or basketball and in the band. Back in those days there were a few students who just didn’t fit the boy hormones of flirting with girls. They walked and talked differently without any outwardly shown affections for boys instead of girls. We’d quietly snicker ‘queer’. It was a considered a private matter.

We’ve come a long way since those days. Now it’s common to see integrated marriages, neighborhoods, schools and churches. Europeans with Asians, blacks with whites, browns with blacks, with Asians. Families with mixed children. Mixed together tolerating all. The brotherhood of man, as Christianity says all humankind came from the same heritage going back to the first male and female through the lines of Noah and his family; middle-eastern Arabs. Our differences are only outward appearances in skin tone and facial make-ups, that’s all, simply a fact of mixing biological genes over the centuries.

Yes, America does have a long history of intolerance towards those of a different shade and we’ve come a long way to overcome those prejudices. Now there’s this new side that is being highlighted, that of the intolerances toward the LGBT’s demanding complete open tolerance of their life choices and doing away with what they call as ‘white-privilege’. Elementary Schools are telling the kiddies that having two daddies, or two mommies is normal, that’s it’s natural for a boy to dress like a girl if that is her desire and wanting to use the girl’s locker room is fine, and even competing against girls running track is wonderful.

And, another side to this upheaval is that of those desiring the right to abort the life growing within at any time for any reason. Sexual freedom outside marriage without consequences. It’s also been noted that less and less of the younger generations are attending church on a regular basis as evolutionary atheism gains more ground denying coaches pre-game prayer time with their team, denying students to hold bible studies outside class, denying parents to instill Christian ethics in their children.

So, where are we headed as a society?  How will the future look?

Computers and Creation

“You’re looking at the computer screen before you turn it on; it’s black, it’s nothing, just a blank screen. Was that how it was before the Almighty created light? You press the on button and that energy makes the screen come alive with the background you chose. You see the pictures or diagrams of your favorite places to go, waiting for you to point to it pressing the button on the mouse. Who created those icons? How did they get there? What makes it tick? If it’s overloaded or the devise is old, you may see a tiny blue circle going round and round.

“This entire physical universe is made up of millions and perhaps billions of trillions of configurations of those tiny atoms and molecules. That computer is made up of different configurations of the basics of 1 and 0, millions or billions of those two basics in different bunches create the pictures, the software, the games within that cell phone and computer. Someone, or the entire office full of programmers figured out how to do it. That computer did not fall into place over millions of years by random happenings of 1 and 0, the electrical current of a positive and negative, a yes or a no, it’s on or it’s off. Nope, a designer made it appear alive and do what it does when you press buttons, and there are certain rules you must follow and be mindful of to use it correctly.

“The same with this universe: a master designer had to do it and we must take to heart and apply those rules for us to live correctly as the designer programmed, or we just go round and round in circles.

“We want to solve our mysteries, but some will never be scientifically solved and we don’t like that.

Okay, the major question to these secular humanistic atheists is: how and where did that first physical molecule or atom come from? What caused those to expand into more, expanding into more? They say it was a big bang. Now a bang must have a force making something go bang. “Was there a time when it all began? There it is, the one element that’s missing in our deliberations: the concept of time. Time always moves. The clocks ticks. The sun and moon rise and disappear. The calendar changes. But, the almighty is beyond time, before time; therefore no beginnings, no endings, only now. Its something we can’t comprehend as we’ve been immersed in this time element with a beginning and an ending. Time was a brand new element from the first ray of light, just as this physical realm was a brand new element inside the spiritual.”

 

Copied from “Considering the Ant”. The novel by Arnold

December 25, 2017

On this day in history, time changed. Huh? What? Time just keeps going and going, one day after another, year after year we have birthdays counting how old we get. But yet, our historical calendar changed from counting the years to counting down to zero, and then counting up again. Wow, something must have happened. Alien space ships landing?

Have historians messed with our minds? A typist error not caught by Hallmark? Hollywood? The Media? The schools? This should be the year 8017 or something similar, right, as all calendars start at number one, at the beginning of life.

The difference points to one event recorded in history sometime over two thousand years ago pointing to a new boy being born to a couple who had not yet walked down the aisle. Boys and girls are born everyday to those who have made their vows and to those who have not and the kings, the magistrates, the historians over time don’t change the calendar just for them. What happened? Why was this kid so important?

Got to be something really special, outstanding of great importance to the entire world, for all cultures to change their calendars to the year one and start counting up again.

Yes, folks, you know the event. We’re celebrating it today.

The Supreme, Almighty God, creator of this Universe determined something must be done to change the attitude, the behavior of this part of living creation. Got to show these people a new beginning, a new hope, a new eternal salvation by sending one spiritual part to become a physical being like us, to be born like one of us, the mother experiencing the same pain and effort and then rejoicing and loving this new baby. The angels sang. The shepherds came.

Yes, history has changed. Jesus the Christ Savior was born.