Bombs, Brotherhood, and Beginnings

We celebrate history
We commemorate the day of declaration by remembering the day of suffering. July 4th marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. This day was the first day of war. We celebrate in freedom, because they signed in their own blood. We remember death, for in it, we have life.

We gather as a community
For we are a nation of the people, by the people, and for the people. Together we work, together we face life, together we fight, together we win. We do not turn to our government, asking them to bail us out. We are the people, and we will answer the challenges together. United we stand, divided we fall.

We celebrate with bombs
We are not rejoicing in our prosperity, but in our suffering. Sacrifice is what made us, and selfishness will kill us. We glory in death, for in it, we found life and freedom. We honor those who gave all, so that we might have all.


And we forget
America, where are you? When the people are clamoring for the government to give; when the people are crying that there be no more death; when the people demand that we stop defending, when the people refuse to suffer; when the people expect the government to take care of every problem; when the people refuse sacrifice -- then, we have forgotten who we are.

It is not the government's problem. It is ours.
The government should not be giving us anything. We should take care of our own communities.
The government should not be making the decisions without our direction. We control who is in office.
If you want your government back, you'll have to take it. We control who gets elected -- do we care enough to change it?
The nation does not act, we do.
We are the people. Will we stand?

This 4th, remember.

We pledge allegiance to the flag
Of the United States of America
And to the Republic for which it stands
One nation under God
Indivisible
With liberty and justice for all

New Proposal to Give the Unborn a Choice in their Own Abortion

To quiet the concern of right-wing conservatives, Hykler Mountebank has proposed a new birth-choice agreement to the UN Human Rights Council. This concession is a kind response to the concern that "the unborn have no 'choice.'" In short, Mountebank believes that the unborn, a minority group with very little protection, should have equal rights, and not be discriminated against. "It's Democratic, it's bi-partisan, and it's right," he stated.

The proposal is really quite simple, and builds upon already adopted standard practice. When an abortion is being considered, the doctor will be required to state this question, "Do you want to live, or are you willing to die for the good of society?" The question must be stated 3 times in the baby's assumed native language (the language the baby is expected to speak in the future). It is also to be repeated 3 times in "feeish," supposedly the language of babies. "Feetish" is the product of research conducted by the University of Berzerkly, investigating a fetus' response to a mother's heartbeat and voice.Following the question, the baby's response is determined by ultrasound. The proper response is either a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. The interpretation of the response is to be determined solely by the doctor in charge. Left-wing partisans from both sides hail this proposal as a "grand step" in defending the defenseless.

The UN is expected to be slow to adopt the resolution, however. Opposition is driven by nations where the thumbs-up sign has very negative connotations. Several alternate signs have been discussed, but the final agreement remains to be seen.





Source:
Baloney Network - "All the news that isn't true."

Do we worship our own religion?

I find it strange that we think we are so pious. Why, we go out of our way for God. We declare how devoted we are to Him.
We do anything and everything, except obey Him.

We don't keep the Lord's Day, and we don't pay tithe, but we get a Christian tattoo to declare our devotion to God.
Is this really pious?

Exodus 31:15-16, NKJV
15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

Malachi 3:8-9, NKJV
“Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.

Leviticus 19:28, NKJV
28 You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.



1 Samuel 15:22, NKJV
22 So Samuel said:
“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.

I fear that instead of being pious, we are all too often disobedient, going our own way, and wearing a placard of the name of Christ to make us feel better.

When we do not obey, how can we say we are devoted?

God, Thanks For All You Do For Us

"God, thanks for all you do for us. We're so grateful to you. You're doing a really great job being God --the Servant-- and all. I thank you and praise your name! By the way, I've got a couple of things I'd like you to take care of. If you could get those done by dinner, that would be great. Help us today, Lord. Amen"

Why don't we come to God and ask, "How can I be your servant today?"

Is it a Seismic Oscillator or a Spoon?

I am often amused at what we claim to know, especially when our claims are based on finding nothing.
We may study an ancient civilization, and make many claims about them, but we might be very far off. A number of the artifacts that we dig up are from trash pits. Imagine someone digging up one of our landfills, and making claims about our culture. Sure, most would probably be right, but they might be confused as to what we used empty ink cartridges for. Similarly, they might conclude that we often held great banquets, based on the large number of cups and food wrappings they found. The point is, we throw garbage away. It no longer has a use, so we trash it. When digging up trash, you have to realize the object you find was considered useless. If you try to find a way to use the object you find, you've got it backwards.

There was a grand, extensive discussion in my home recently regarding the use for a particular item my father had received for free as a promotion. Aside from the obvious purpose of advertising (the company name and logo were clearly displayed), the practical use of the object escaped us. It became a topic of discussion with friends who came to visit, as it seemed no one could understand what the object was to be used for. Oh, there was a lot of conjecture, and several practical, but ridiculous, uses were suggested. I suppose the object will continue for a time at our house, without use except as a discussion piece. And when we tire of it, it will be thrown into the garbage, where some decades from now it will waylay some poor archeologist who again will try to discover for what on earth our generation used such an object.

It can be very difficult to discover the use of an object if that which the object was used for no longer exists. For example, imagine sometime in the far future, who is living in a city-size high-rise, with hydroponic plants and soil-less environment. One day, our illustratee discovers a spade from our century. He may have ever so many conclusions, but the plaque he puts in the museum will certainly be wrong, for he has no knowledge or comprehension of dirt, yards, and fields. How often does this happen to us? Centuries ago, there may have been purposes which have long since vanished. But objects have remained. We are trying our best to discover what they were used for, but there may be that all-important element missing.

But back to my original thought. We often find something missing, and make a claim from the fact that it is not there. I have heard this done by studying literature. A certain thing is not mentioned in a particular piece or sampling of literature, therefore it must not have existed in that time period. However, the exact opposite may be true. The thing may have been so common that the author did not even think to mention it! We don't tend to explain things that are so common everyone is familiar with them.

For example, imagine someone in the future is studying some travel journals from our time. He may read a great deal, and never once find mention of a speed limit. He may then conclude that speed limits had not yet been introduced in our time period. When, however, the truth is that they are so common, we fail to mention them.

Such an observation can be made about many historical claims. While I believe the best science and research is and should be used, there is always the possibility that we are wrong. It can be a great cause for amusement, but the tragedy is that the people who would know the joke are already dead.

You may have heard that the Eastern nations got into a small dispute recently. Chinese archaeologists on an excavation 100 feet deep found traces of copper. They announced to the world that the ancient Chinese had a telegraph system. Soon after, Korean archaeologists dug to a depth of 200 feet, and found traces of glass. Their news headlines declared that the ancient Koreans had an extensive fiber-optic telephone system. Somewhat incensed, a team of Japanese archeologist started digging. They went down 500 feet, but still found nothing. Their news proudly proclaimed that the ancient Japanese used cellphones.

Feel the Breeze: Somebody Left the Mind Open

I wish to have an open mind like an open receiving dock -- where everything is evaluated and processed in due order. Most people advocate an open mind like the open air -- there's very little there, and it simply allows everything to pass through.

We've got everything all backward. Walmart Stores reject semi loads if the refrigerator temperature is just 1 degree too low, because it might be bad. But if we reject ideas because they might be bad (they seem to be off a little bit, but we just can't put our finger on it), we are mocked and ridiculed. Can you imagine the semi driver yelling at the Walmart receiving department, "Come on, have an open mind! At least give this stuff a try!" Yet this is what we hear all the time. Walmart is intolerant, and they are right.

Why are ideas supposed to just be accepted, while products must meet a standard?
Is there no standard for ideas?

Where is the standard for ideas that determines that 1 degree? God's Word, the Bible, studied aright and interpreted as a whole. Just as you can't go on only 1 sentence out of the receiving dock manual, you cannot just read 1 verse of the Bible. Please read the Manual completely before servicing.

My friend, if your idea is just 1 degree off, it might be best for me to reject it. I can't afford the damage and loss if it's bad. I can't afford the risk.

"The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid. Otherwise it is more akin to a sewer, taking in all things equally."
— G.K. Chesterton

Is it Brainwashing?

-----Note to Readers-----
This one is going to be a bit different. I've done some evaluating from a purely person perspective. It may only apply to me, but I'm curious, so I'm putting it out here. Discussion would be appreciated.
I am discussing a correlation, which I fully understand does not prove causation. Keep this in mind -- I'm just looking at a correlation.
----------------------------------

First, the base observation:
One of the methods of brainwashing is as follows:
1. Barrage the mind with lots of non-conclusive material. Questions, contradictory thoughts/ideas, and difficult propositions work well for this. Just be sure no conclusions can be reached. The goal is to confuse and overwhelm the mind so it shuts down.
2. At some point, the mind will either react or shut down. If it reacts, keep it up, it'll snap eventually.
3. Once the mind is passive, present the information you want to teach in a factual, concrete, assuring manner. This is the one thing that is.
4. Keep it up. Repetition is the key to learning!


I was watching television recently, and came upon the Bible according to the History channel. I got to see this method at work. Basically, with everything the Bible said, HC asked questions of it, said, "this other is just as plausible," and ignored (didn't mention) anything they didn't want to deal with. Then, having so successfully debunked the Bible, they made concrete statements about what happened in a factual manner. Very easy to believe. At first it was comical, then quite irritating. Since when does one man with a Phd know more than well-attested ancient literature? (not to mention God)

I'm revealing my strong rural leanings. I really don't like the city. There is so much noise, and so much confusion. You must learn to block a lot of things out (and not to say hi to everyone you see). Even in the conference hall, there was a constant hum of noise -- lots of people; lots of talking. And it worked on me. It's not hard in that environment to shut down. It's easy to see why what people believe is right for them. It's easy to become cosmopolitan, neopostmodern, and neapolitan.
We observe a correlation between city life and what is so often termed "liberalism." Does this mind-barraging setting contribute to that?

On the way home, I turned on the radio. The car had been a welcome relief from the constant hubbub of voices the last 60 hours (even with the whir of the road). As the radio came on, I was again greeted by a barrage of noise. Music yes, but music filled with extra noise, pushing the mind back into a defensive shell. And I remembered the reports that certain types of rock music are designed to overload and shut down the mind, so the lyrics will simply be accepted without being processed.

How easy it must be then, for we who live in the city, watch TV in our spare time, and listen to rock as we go along, to be subject to brainwashing. It's no wonder we are afraid to believe in absolutes. It's no wonder everybody's ok, and all ways lead to heaven.


Related post:
http://dlorimer.livejournal.com/44420.html