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June 2008 |
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Wednesday, June 4, 2008 Death and Poverty. The Democratic Party is firmly pro-abortion. Its members have embraced death directly, saying that infanticide is "pro-choice". "A woman's right to choose." is never stated accurately as "A woman's right to murder." That thin smokescreen is enough to let many hide themselves from the fact that they have chosen death over life. On a matter of lesser moral importance, the Democratic Party has voted consistently to keep Americans from drilling more oil wells and building more reactors. As gasoline prices exceed four dollars a gallon, and electricity bills quadruple, many more Americans are impoverished. The Democratic Party, then, has two major planks in its platform, Death and Poverty. Amazingly, about half of all Americans will, by their votes, empower the Party that wants more of them to be both poor and dead.
Thursday, June 5, 2008 Listening is Important. In the days of sailing ships, a British fleet was heading back to England. There were known to be hazardous reefs that would rip the bottoms off the wooden ships in the area, but the officers were in a hurry to get home. One of the low-ranking sailors had been using his time on board to teach himself the rudiments of navigation, and he realized that the fleet was heading straight for the reefs. His immediate supervisors ignored his warning. So, he broke the chain of command and approached the captain directly, and told him what he thought would happen. For his trouble, he was tied to the mast and painfully lashed half to death for being "uppity". Soon, the fleet hit the reefs at top speed. Ships were lost and hundreds were killed. That reminds one of this more modern example of failing to listen: "As U.S. Army Air Corps meteorologist out of Saipan, Marshall Islands during World War II (December, 1944), Reid pieced together evidence that a typhoon was apparently developing . . . The reconnaissance that he ordered found the storm, encountered 140 kt winds and aborted an apparent eye wall penetration. Reid then identified a trough of low pressure in the storms path and predicted to his superiors that the storm would recurve into the path of the US Third Fleet. Believing that typhoons never recurve so far to the east, Reid’s superior officers chose to not believe his forecast. Reid pleaded that this was not a guess, they actually flew into the storm and measured the winds! His superior officers conceded to watch it closely but did not act to move the fleet. Reid tells me that he went so far as to place unofficial warnings (off the record) of his own which he is convinced did save lives. Then 36 hours later the storm began the recurve, just as Reid predicted and they tried to move the Third Fleet out of the way, but it was now too late. Unfortunately this resulted in one of the worst naval disasters in navy history (3 ships sunk, 28 ships damaged, 146 aircraft destroyed, 756 men lost at sea (see Henderson, 2007: Down to the Sea, ISBN 978-0-06-117316-5 for a detailed account of this incident). I suppose that this experience went a long way to shape Reid’s views on conventional thought and to compel him to dedicate the rest of his life to the science of weather and finding truth.” (Roger Pielke Sr., Climate Science) We are told by experts in the field, men and women who have embraced poverty, celibacy, and obedience, that our souls may be wrecked upon the shoals of sin or blown away by the high winds of temptation. We should listen.
Friday, June 6, 2008 The Magic Carbon Filter. We have all been regaled with the problems caused by carbon dioxide. A filter has been developed that people can wear, much like a surgical mask. It filters out all the carbon dioxide that a person would breathe. Each of us commits the environmental crime of emitting carbon dioxide. Every day, our disgusting bodies emit over two pounds of carbon dioxide. This new filter would allow us to trap that, putting it in a small back-pack that each person should wear, even while sleeping. Thus, we will save the world. Large sheets of this fabric can be laid over millions of acres. It will keep the dreaded carbon dioxide from getting into, or out of, all plants and animals. At a far less cost than the trillions currently proposed, we can free the world of deadly carbon dioxide. Does it work? I know that my own yard, once lush and green, is now covered with this wonderful material. It has become indistinguishable from a stretch of sand in the Sahara. Those who pass by are impressed by my dedication to the environment.
Saturday, June 7, 2008 "There's two kinds of . . . . . ." Many of us have a tendency, when trying make sense of things, to begin with a simple division of what we're considering into two categories. "There's two kinds of pickups, 2WD and 4WD. I need a 4WD because there's a lot of snow around here." When we deal with people, we frequently say, if only to ourselves, "There's two kinds of people, and so-and-so is the right (or, wrong) kind." We may choose to begin our "bifurcational approach to reality" by dividing all human beings into the two broadest possible classes. With the full authority of the Judeo-Christian heritage, we may say with some confidence that there are those whose souls will spend eternity in the joy of Heaven. There are also those souls who will spend eternity in suffering. Those in the former group tend to avoid any thoughts, words, or deeds that are demeaning to or destructive of their neighbors. Since they know that lying, stealing, fornicating, cheating, and other such things are the cause of eternal pain, they try to avoid such things and the thinking that leads to them. The latter group tends toward thoughts, words, and deeds that are hurtful to their neighbors, and, ultimately, to themselves. Once we make this, most vital of decisions, to be numbered among those who will be saved, we almost automatically find ourselves trying to be better, so the process is salutary. We also find ourselves more aware of the consequences of our neighbors' thoughts, words, and deeds. When we become aware that some of our neighbors have embraced practices and policies that hurt others, we, ourselves, can fall into two sub-categories. We can become part of groups who hate those who hurt us, or we can join with a pattern of thoughts that tell us to love our enemies and do good to those who hurt us.
Sunday, June 7, 2008 From unitarianism to environmentalism. It took The Church many generations to formalize the doctrine that the One God has Three Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Some make the parallel that The Holy Trinity is like one man who is a son, father, and brother. The more we ignore the theological understandings of the Nature of God that it took The Church so long to fully understand, the farther we are separated from Him. Recognizing The Trinity helps to keep our souls in a position to be saved. Reducing God to a more easily comprehensible "One" keeps us from seeing the Truth of the Creator's Divine Nature. Just as we see that, in our own time, a programmer, program, and the relationship between them are inseparable, so it is with God. As we remove the Son from equality with The Father, the possibility of salvation through Him is proportionally diminished. Without the Holy Spirit, there is no way to truly recognize and celebrate That Which makes possible our relationship with The Father and The Son and their relationship with each other. As the unitarian view of God becomes increasingly inaccurate, so does the unitarian view of reality. Over time, their fuzzily seen God dissolves altogether. Belief in Him is replaced with belief in the things He has, with His incredible power, programmed into being. Then, the First Commandment is violated. The unitarian puts an idol, created from human intellect, before He, Who programmed all, and moves toward an agonizing eternity.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008 The Mystery Behind the Mystery of High Gas Prices. Nearly 90% of all Congressional Democrats automatically vote against drilling more oil wells when such bills are introduced in Congress. On the other hand, almost 90% of all Republican legislators passionately vote in favor of drilling more oil wells. Regardless of how badly they have been hurt by paying more at the pump, about half of all Americans will, in the next election, inexplicably vote for the very Democrats whose opposition to drilling has raised the price of the gasoline they buy. This is a great mystery. Why would any gasoline buyer vote for the same Democrats who have made gasoline more expensive by making it impossible to drill more oil wells? Some say that people who buy gasoline, complain about the price, and then vote for Democrats are just plain dumb. The more charitable suggest that Democrats are simply unhinged by their own bitterness. Regardless of the reason, we do know that professional Democrats are invariably unhappy with the way things are, no matter how they are. "Change!", even for the worse, is always important to them. The bitter, angry, and unhappy don't seem to mind high gas prices, even as they make themselves poorer with their own votes. If we point this out, they often validate their feelings by getting angry and insulting President Bush, one of their few discernable skills. Indeed, most gatherings of professional Democrats consist of people trying to show that they can insult and hate President Bush better than anyone else. This, they widely believe, proves that they are "intellectuals". Yet another mystery: Why would people who vote for the legislators who have hurt them, are hurting them, and will go on hurting them, even want to be allowed to vote? If a burst of rational thought was able to pass through their minds, they might admit to themselves: "My Democratic Congressperson worked to keep more oil wells from being drilled. The ensuing oil shortage forces me to pay over $4.00 a gallon for what should cost $2.00. Nevertheless, I am going to vote for that same Democrat. I can't help myself. For my own good, I should no more be allowed to vote than a drug addict should be allowed to purchase unlimited amounts of crack cocaine."
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 Blatant news selectivity. Early this week, some warm temperatures hit the Northeast. "Record warm temperatures!" were breathlessly announced by all news commentators, inevitably followed by the obligatory connection with the imaginary "global warming". At the exact same time, record cold temperatures hit the Northwest quadrant of the United States. Ski slopes were re-opened, crops were damaged, and real damage was done. Not one word about that on the "news".
Thursday, June 12, 2008 The Cost of Universal Health Care that's coming to America.
This chart shows how many new employees we'll have to pay for if we go to Universal Health Care. In a mere 12 years, the number of managers and consultants in a country doubles. "Consultants" are usually another word for "Someone's ne'er do well, but well-connected, brother-in-law". What of the people who actually take care of patients? Their numbers hardly increase at all, but they must report to twice as many "managers" and, of course, those who become what all "managers" want to be, "senior managers". The numbers of "managers" and "senior managers", when totaled, nearly double. The number of people they "manage" stays about the same. Can any sane person feel that this will make things better? When asked that question, every single person in favor of Universal Health Care will tell the same lie: "Our version is designed to do much better." II. On a related issue, it is apparent that when government moves into any area, the number of people "supervising" increases dramatically. In government agencies, the farther one is removed from actual work, the more successful one has become. In departments that deal with any workers, from nurses to farmers, the lowest-ranking bureaucrats actually deal with an occasional patient or farmer. Above them in status and salary are those who supervise those who deal with workers. Above them are the supervisors of the supervisors. Vast, palatial offices are built for those who have reached the higher positions in various regions. If successful, they are ensconced in new, special buildings, always described as being "green", or "ergonomic", or whatever buzzword of the day has generated enough credibility to keep workers from complaining enough to cut their budgets.
Friday, June 13, 2008 Life expectancy.
It's clear that all of us are living longer than in the past. This should be a cause for rejoicing, but it's hardly mentioned by those in the media. Why? No Democrat dares to say that things are getting better. If they do, their perpetual cries for "Change!" are less meaningful. From this, we should learn that: 1. Most "problems" are imaginary. 2. We should pay little, if any attention to chronic complainers. 3. Once we train ourselves to ignore Imaginary Problems, we can concentrate on making our own lives better. Even more importantly: Seeing and understanding that worldly "problems" are imaginary may help us turn our minds from lies to considering truth. We can work on getting away from what the Bible calls "lying spirits" and get our souls, spirits, minds, and bodies closer to God. Suddenly, we can find that we not only live longer, but also, live more happily. If we do it right, we may live forever in the great joy beyond where there are no lies. We now know that most of us have a little more time on earth than we used to have. With this knowledge, we may begin by asking God to grant us the grace to use at least some of that spare time to get closer to Him.
Saturday, June 14, 2008 Effective lies need graphs and pictures. Most of us are suspicious enough of what we hear to ignore most of it. When the other side needs to get more money from us, they first verbalize a lie. Then, they support it with pictures. The "Hockey Stick" is a
perfect example. We see lots of busy lines, and an authoritative black line moving amidst them, which we assume is the average change. That black line is important. It leads us to making the assumption that it is some central point that has been far below the flat, black line above it. Then, we see it rising above the flat line, and there is important-looking red color illuminating the moving line as it goes above the average. "Hmmm", we say, just as we are meant to, "Maybe this is something of concern." The very process of looking at the chart engages our mental processes. Because we enjoy analyzing so much, when we start to analyze, other thoughts are pushed out of consideration. We only think about what's in front of us. After we have analyzed the chart, and come to the conclusion its makers desired, we are "at home" with it. It has become a part of our mind. We believe it. We feel that we have learned something. We feel enlightened. When someone says, "That chart is a fraud.", we are more skeptical of him than of the lie that we have embraced. And, depending on how thoroughly we believed the chart, we may be angry. If our salaries depend on believing what's in the chart, as do many at NASA and other organizations, we will fight against those who question its validity. When someone proves that the chart is a fraud, the agency responsible may admit to "some inadvertent errors", and will quickly go on to more charts that will support the lie. Since the number of people telling new lies has vastly better funding, new charts will fairly spew into the public eye.
Apologies for the above fuzzizess, but that chart shows actual monthly satellite temperatures for the past seven years. As one may see, the actual truth is exactly opposite from the alarmist "hockey stick" in the preceding chart.
Monday, June 16, 2008 How Environmentalism replaced Communism. In any society, some people have to do actual work. Ground has to be plowed, seeds have to be planted, grain has to be harvested. Ores must be mined, refined, shipped, and processed. Things have to be put together, moved around, and taken apart. A lot of people don't like having to work. They want to be Overseers. Overseers do inspecting, counting, managing, regulating, analyzing, reporting, and enforcing. In Communist countries, there got to be so many Overseers that no actual work was being done. More Overseers are never received well by the people who actually do the work. The endless Overseers that Communism imposed were disliked with increasing intensity. As workers' hated of Overseers grew, and as they got angrier at being demeaned by them, some began to sabotage what they were doing. No one can sabotage more cleverly than an angry, oppressed worker. So, more Overseers had to be hired to inspect every single nut, bolt, wire, military decision, propeller, newspaper article, legal decision, connection, and crankshaft. Each process of assembly had to be Overseen. Soon, lower-level Overseers began to be oppressed by Overseers who oversaw their work, and they developed an "I'll show 'em!" tendency to ignore sabotage. Soon, low-level Overseers and workers joined in silent campaigns of sabotage that wrecked every over-regulated occupation. When saboteurs were caught, they had to be shot or gulaged. That meant more Overseers. "We need more Overseers!" was the perennial plea of every department head during budget allotments. Soon, Uber-Overseers were examining even the upper-level Overseers, who began to disappear with disconcerting regularity. Eventually, there just weren't enough people to do the real work. As the number of Overseers increased, more sabotage kept more trucks from moving, planes from flying, and ships from sailing. When trains went off the rails, the quickly-accused track-layers blamed the engineers, the engineers blamed the poor quality steel, and battalions of armed, thick-booted Overseers were sent to "get to the bottom of it all." Those workers who weren't actively sabotaging were drunk as often as possible, and made mistakes on a scale that no number of Overseers could stop. Naturally, more Overseers were hired to keep workers from getting liquor. As more Overseers were employed, the worse things worked. Soon, a 'tipping point" was reached, and production collapsed. After Russian Communism fell apart, those who could do actual work prospered. But, the desire to be an Overseer is mankind's permanent curse. Soon, the Overseer Mentality resurfaced, with a new name and color. Environmentalism replaced communism, and green replaced red. Only the Overseers remain. The Environmentalists have made a brilliant step forward. They did not try to stop sabotage. Instead, they began the institution of sabotage on a huge, heretofore undreamed of scale. In the early days of Communism, Lenin and Stalin had real enemies to fight. They needed vast manufacturing operations, with real and necessary standards, to produce tanks, planes, artillery, and other endless armament. When Communism collapsed, there were no enemies to fight, so manufacturing became unnecessary to the left. Now, environmentalists believe that all production of anything is both unnecessary and injurious. Sabotaging entire nations became the goal. Efficient nuclear reactors were politically sabotaged, and replaced with silly windmills. Coal-fired generators, which were reasonably clean and efficient, were closed down. Steel mills were closed. Environmentalists agree: "We have learned much from the collapse of the Soviet Union. We have gotten beyond trying to compete with free countries. Now, in the name of our newest, falsest idol, 'Less', we clean up and clean up and clean up until everything has been scrubbed away."
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Galaxies. When we see pictures of far-off galaxies, the usual response is "Gosh, the universe is so big and complicated that it must be dozens of billions of years old." Catholic Fundamentalists, on the other hand, see the same pictures, and say "God has such amazing programming abilities that He can program galaxies, put them in motion, and have them programmed to be self-sustaining in a day or so." Vain humans are most comfortable with believing in a God with less power. They have a hard time understanding what it means when we say "God can program in three dimensions."
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Another galaxy consideration. Computer programs often have a "copy" capability. We can, with the push of a button, copy what we've done. There are also possible modifications available on many programs at the push of a button. For instance, if we had a computer-generated program that portrayed a waving flag, we could copy that repeatedly with changing colors, designs, sizes, and "wave patterns". God, when envisioned as "The Programmer", can do the same thing with three dimensional systems. Catholic Fundamentalists think that if He has a nice Galaxy Program that He likes, but wants to modify, His angelic sub-programmers can download the alterations with the spiritual equivalent of using their copy/modify commands. Presto, a new galaxy is pinwheeling somewhere. This same procedure also happens with everything that each galaxy contains. He and His angels have so much fun doing this that they just keep on and on and on. We can but hope and pray to be found worthy of being elected to that most holy of companies, His exalted Company of Programming Angels and Saints.
Thursday, June 19, 2008 Progress and vanity. The world was programmed in such a way that our individual programs take great delight in exploring it. As we do so, we often think we "discover" things. "Discovery" and "Progress" are words that describe increasing familiarity with part of His Program that we haven't yet seen or understood. This illusion of progress was provided as an ongoing test of our affections. Some of us choose to make ourselves into "little gods". We discover things and take great pride in our accomplishments Others may understand that all accomplishments and skills are nothing more than increased awareness of what He has programmed. Vanity is good in that it may inspire us to make progress. It is bad if it then keeps us from understanding that progress should lead us to the God Who programmed all. It is worse if it keeps us from loving and obeying Him.
Friday, June 20, 2008 Are souls judged on a sliding scale? America was a strongly Christian country for much of its history. Sin was frowned upon. The Protestant moral collapse began when they embraced birth control. When a society's morals are undermined, as ours are now, a vastly larger number of people believe that such things as birth control and fornication are not "sinful". In amoral societies, either fewer souls are saved, or God has some kind of a program that "adjusts" whatever level an individual's faith and obedience have to be to merit salvation. Consider John Smith, an agnostic who died today while riding his motorcycle without a helmet. His parents never took him to church, he never read the Bible, and the only thing he really knows about religion is what's portrayed on The Simpson's. Naturally, he has spent his whole life in sin. But, God, in His infinite wisdom, knows that if John had lived in a more moral society, and had a more religious background, that he would not have been living in sin with his girlfriend. God knows that if John hadn't been told a million times that "it isn't really a baby", he would not have encouraged her to have an abortion. God also knows that if John had been taught that it was wrong to steal, he wouldn't have been taking a few dollars now and then from his employer. God knows that John's soul was lost when his parents made the decision to raise him "to find himself". II. Fred's on the other side of the coin. He's been raised in The Church. He knows his Catechism. He's read and re-read the Bible. He knows the Commandments. He goes to Church every week. But, he died a few minutes ago after he fell, knocked himself unconscious, and then tumbled down a hotel elevator shaft while having an affair with a woman he'd met on-line. His death was so fast he didn't have time to ask for forgiveness. III. Their two souls arrive at the Pearly Gates at the same time. Will either be admitted?
Saturday, June 21, 2008 Mr. Bush. Like him or loathe him? Many liberals have made careers and avocations of hating Mr. Bush. They often use his invasion of Iraq as a reason to call him a wide variety of names. Their hatred is deep, it is frequently expressed, and totally unbalanced by any respect for him or his accomplishments. When we compare Mr. Bush's war to those fought by Alexander the Great, Caesar, the Founding Fathers, George III, and Abraham Lincoln, we see some similarities to greatness. All those great men seriously underestimated the costs of their campaigns, but all kept going until victory was achieved. So it is with Mr. Bush. He, like they, recognized their nations' enemies and went after them when and where they could.
Monday, June 22, 2008 Overseas money always attacks freedom. Dictators have been unanimous in their support of Senator Obama. Tyrants from Zimbabwe, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, the Middle East, and North Korea are doing everything they can to ensure that he will be elected. Those who run the European Union also support the same candidate. No one whose livelihood relies on slavery wants any people or country to be free. So, big money is flowing to help Obama get elected. II. In the past two years, the price of corn, wheat, meat, and all foods has skyrocketed. In those same two years, the price of gasoline has nearly doubled. It has been two years since liberal Democrats took control of Congress. That has made all the difference.
Tuesday, June 23, 2008 Overseas money is going to Tom Ridge. This morning, the Drudge Report let us all know that at least for the past two years, former Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Ridge, also the former head of Homeland Security, had been working for the Government of Albania as a consultant. His salary from them was reported to be $500,000.00 a year. He'd been working for them for two years without making the legally required public filing of his employment. Albanian politics are complicated. One faction supports Christians. Another, Moslems. Which faction hired Mr. Ridge? Why did he keep quiet? At least we do know one thing: Some people will disregard the law for half a million a year.
Wednesday, June 24, 2008 Blasphemy. Christians know what blasphemy is. We see it every time some second-rate artist wants his fifteen minutes of fame. Blasphemous statues and paintings take their place among blasphemous books. When this happens, Christians are offended, but often more worried about what the blasphemous person is doing to his own immortal soul. "Hope he straightens out and asks for forgiveness before it's too late." sums up the attitude of many. Implicit in this is the recognition that the Christian God can, and will, take care of Himself. It is our injunction to love our neighbors as ourselves and do good to those who hurt us.
Members of other religions react with threats, guns, knives, bombs, and slaughters when they think, or are led to think, that their own deity has been maligned. Frequently, references are made in the Old Testament about the futility of worshipping idols who cannot even walk or talk, much less defend themselves. Those who believed in idols were far more solicitous about their safety. They instinctively knew that their idol was a mere reflection of their own dark desires, and had no life of its own.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 The wrenching move from lies to truth. Global Warming has provided all of us with a tremendous opportunity to embrace truth. We have been flooded with lies proclaiming its dangers for many years. But, the obvious truth, that climate change is driven by the sun, a million times bigger than the earth and only 9 light minutes away, is slowly penetrating into more and more minds. Watching those minds react to truth is more enjoyable than sports. First, those in the habit of believing authority figures deny the truth. Slowly, those whose appreciation for truth is still alive begin to understand that they have been lied to by people making money from the lies. There is, sometimes, a great wrenching away as they see that not only is Global Warming an immense lie, but also, so are many, many other things they've been led to believe by the same people. Awaiting those souls who keep moving toward truth is God and His Church. For that reason, we may be grateful for the magnitude of the lie.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008 A revolving door lets people come and go. Often, people enter The Church. At the same time, many leave. Our relationship with The Church is the most important thing we have. A lack of same is the most important thing we don't have. In the final analysis, our relationship with The Church determines the final placement of our soul. If we are hostile to The Church, it's very hard for our souls to be saved, except for those very few unhappy people for whom the phrase "intransigent ignorance" applies. On reflection, we continually return to "Pascal's Wager". "What's the safest bet for me to make?" Obviously, it's the bet with the greatest reward and the least amount of risk. It's a far safer bet to decide to go in the door than out of it.
Thursday, June 26, 2008 If we only understood how badly we needed it. Lehigh County, Pennsylvania has decided to make some land available for a Bicycling Museum. "The land would be offered to the hall for $1 per year and the county would aid in fundraising to foot the anticipated $6.6 million construction cost. By getting out of the gate with their proposal early, officials hope to make an impression on the hall. Just this morning, I woke up, wishing I could go to a bicycling museum. "Alas. There are none.", I said sadly to myself. But, when I saw the news release above, I was overjoyed. "Finally! Someone cares!" Like most such proposals, it will generate enough enthusiasm to be built. It will provide jobs for several ne'er-do-well relatives of the sponsors, or maybe, the sponsors, themselves. A great deal of thought, planning, and effort will be expended by people on various "vital committees". Eventually, their involvement will culminate in hiring an architect, getting bids on turning his drawings into a structure, hiring a contractor, and making a few "important alterations". Eventually, there will be a grand opening. Shortly after the grand opening, a few enthusiasts will begin to bewail the "public's lack of interest" in their project. Soon, and the sooner the better, it will wither away and disappear. Each such proposal has one, universal end. The taxpayers will be poorer.
Thursday, June 26, 2008 Dependence vs. Independence In the "bifurcational approach to reality" mentioned in an earlier column, we may divide people into two kinds of thinkers. Dependent Thinkers tend to believe what they're told. If an authority figure tells them that the world is getting colder, and tells them things they can do to help save it, an astonishing number of them will take even the most ridiculous statements seriously. When the same authority figures reverse direction, and tell them that the world is getting warmer, a similar sense of alarm will fill their minds. They will embrace it, and alter their behavior accordingly. Few will notice their own inconsistency. If they do happen to notice their reversal, they will be told they are "progressive", and should congratulate themselves for so being. Dependent Thinkers are much desired by every state. Dependent thinkers will allow themselves to be driven from fear into slavery if they are told that is "the safest way". They will not point out obvious flaws and contradictions in the thinking they hear. Some try to leave the depressing morass of dependency by automatically assuming that every public figure is always lying. Some, like Ralph Nader, make that leap, and are disappointed to learn that what they, themselves, say as a public figure is not believed. The fact is, on some occasions public officials may be telling the truth, if only by accident. The other kind of person falls into the Independent Thinker group. They have found that it's always reasonable to assume that anyone who wants to raise taxes is lying.
Friday, June 27, 2008 Bloody sacrifices. As the Old Testament repeatedly tells us, the sacrifice of children was common in the late Stone and early Iron Ages. "Passing children through the fire", an oft-repeated phrase of the time, meant that children were thrown into the fire, from which they "passed through" to some world beyond. In Carthage, parents who did this were encouraged to "look happy" as they went home from the ceremony that incinerated their children. The Culture of Death was so strong that it could force parents to have their children murdered. During that time, the only organized Pro-Life force was the nation of Israel. Generation after generation, many of them frequently abandoned their religion and joined the Culture of Death. Today, the Culture of Death has gained the legal right to murder unborn children and old people. The death is as sure and certain as in the earlier times, but it's hidden so that most cannot see how awfully dangerous it is to all living people. While aborted babies may be a few weeks or months old, chemically induced abortions kill children that are only hours old. While the sin is less obvious, it is as real. We can but renounce it, and ask He Who made us all to enlighten those who have been induced to join the Culture of Death so that they embrace life, instead.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 Sacramental validity. Many Protestant denominations recognize the Sacrament of Baptism, and baptize "In the Name of The Father and of The Son and of the Holy Spirit". The Roman Catholic Church recognizes many such baptisms and describes them with the name "conditional". If The Church says that such baptisms have a degree of validity, then they do. What's interesting to explore is how the chain going back to Jesus and John The Baptist is kept unbroken. We know that John baptized Jesus and that Jesus made the first disciples into the modern equivalents of Bishops, just as He decreed that Peter "The rock upon whom I build My Church" would be the first Pope. We know that those first bishops ordained priests. Their authority to provide The Sacrament of Ordination, including the "laying on of hands" from older bishops was unquestioned since it came directly from Christ, Who many had seen and heard. No one doubted that they had the authority to ordain priests and provide the other Sacraments. It is possible, in fact, to trace an unbroken chain of Catholic authority stretching all the way from John the Baptist to, for instance, a seemingly final link in that particular chain, Martin Luther. When we wonder how Martin Luther got the power to be the leader of a church, we find that there was political influence involved. Lots of local princes didn't want to see hard cash being sent from their principalities to Rome. They eagerly helped set Luther up to impose a new religion that would make them richer. By some stretch of the imagination, we could maybe say that Luther, as an ordained priest, could have baptized, but it's hard to imagine how he could have the power to ordain others to ordain others to ordain still later generations when he's in schism with The Church and Catholics who continue to be, in actual fact, living links in the unbroken chain that Rome represents. But, since The Church recognizes some validity in those baptisms, we may infer that the very power of the Name of the Holy Trinity provides the value there is in non-Catholic baptisms performed by links in other chains that have broken off.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 The lies become blatantly obvious. Pray for the souls of those who tell them. Catholic Fundamentalists love the Global Warming lies because they're so good at exposing the shallowness of the other side. In the beginning of the Global Warming lies, a Congressional hearing, featuring James Hansen, was carefully orchestrated. Mr. Hansen and his supporters were able to jigger with the air conditioning system in the room in the Capitol Building in which his testimony took place. So, the room was warm and Mr. Hansen was perspiring as he showed this chart: Instead, the temperature now pretty close to normal, almost 2 full degrees colder than what Mr. Hansen predicted. And, because the sun, a million times bigger than the earth and only 9 light-minutes away, is now putting out less energy than usually, the temperatures are, as the red line indicates, dropping. So, even more lies have to be told. Each lie drives its teller more deeply into the agony of the eternal abyss. From our point of view, it's horribly, horribly sad that so many souls will have to suffer for such a long, long time. The Father of Lies, however, is never sated with the souls of those who do his work.
Saturday, June 28, 2008 "Jacob I have loved. Esau, I have hated." Abel and Cain reappear as Jacob and Esau. Both Testaments, (Malachi 1;3 and Romans, 9;13) agree that God loved Jacob and hated Esau. So it continues to be. God loves those who love and obey Him, and hates those who do not. We can get an indication of how we stand with Him by looking at where we stand on issues like abortion and euthanasia. If we are part of the Culture of Death, we are on the side of Cain and Esau.
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Malachi One, verse three and Romans Nine, thirteen Make the oddest little hymn that some of us have seen: "God hates Esau.", Scriptures say. Doo-dah! Doo-dah! "God hates Esau.", Scriptures say, oh doo-dah day! Should we hate him too? Is that what we should do? "God hates Esau.", Scriptures say. Should we hate him too?
God's hated him for centuries. Still hates him today. Why does God hate Esau so? 'Cause Esau will not pray. Esau always does what's wrong, he never chooses right. And that is why God hates him so, 'cause he shuns His light.
Esau hates the Church of Christ. Doo-dah! Doo-dah! He hates life, truth, and sacrifice, oh doo-dah day! Malachi has made it clear, and so did great Saint Paul God hates Esau through and through, hates him most of all. Esau still hates God today. Doo-dah! Doo-dah! He wishes God would die today, oh doo-dah day! Esau's here today, and that's why we should pray, "God, stick him deep down in a hole, and keep him far away."
Sunday, June 29, 2008 The Golden Bowls. Take them literally. Remember them frequently. Frequenters of this site know that it takes Scriptural passages as literally as possible. It often does so by defining God as The Loving, Unprogrammed Programmer, a Being with the power to program particles and compile them into systems and beings. The highest points of His Program includes those with of us with free will, for whom the whole thing was programmed. A couple of passages in the Book of Revelations (which is interpreted in Catholic Fundamentalism terms in the "Revelations" section on the header) tell us that The Throne of God is surrounded by twenty four elders. They sit in a circle of thrones around Him; (Rev 4;9), "each holding a Golden Bowl full of incense made of the prayers of the saints." It's interesting to take that literally. If even the least of us believers are included among "the saints", and this seems to have been the clear teaching of the Catholic Church from the beginning, then we realize that all of our prayers take actual form and have actual and everlasting substance in Heaven. From that passage, we may reasonably infer that our own prayers ascend, and take form before God in Heaven. Each prayer is like a deposit in the safest, solidest bank in all Creation. When we appear before Him at Judgment, one of the things on which we will be judged is the size of our account in His bank. One of our prayers should be that our prayers are worthy to be deposited in at least one of those Golden Bowls reverently held out and up to God by the 24 elders whose thrones surround Him. Asking for the intercession of more powerful saints helps get our prayers deposited.
Sunday, June 29, 2008 Saintly intercessions. Some Protestants have a problem with asking for saints to intercede for them. First of all, only the Roman Catholic Church has a valid process by which Big-League Saints are certified. Few professional Protestants, many having a hard time maintaining their own cash-flows, want to validate the power of the Roman Catholic Church, which may endanger the privileged place in the scheme of things that their founders may have seriously believed themselves to have had. It's hard, for instance, to imagine Lutherans asking Martin Luther to intercede for them. He was, after all, excommunicated and his soul sent to Hell by the only Church to Whom Christ directly gave both the power to confer sainthood and the keys to lock and unlock the Pearly Gates. One may wonder if only the Devil, therefore, could give Luther the power to intercede, and that intercession could do nothing but encourage more souls to be lost. Most of us know that those in power take advice from, and do favors for, their best friends. God has no better friends from among humanity than the Saints who lived, and often died, for Him. Since we are made in his image, it only makes sense that He would listen to the requests of His very best friends. In that light, it makes no sense at all to not ask a Saint whom we consider a friend to ask the most powerful Friend of all for help.
Monday, June 30, 2008 Anglicans. When England's state church began to zoom leftward, many conservative Anglicans were appalled. The recent ordination of homosexual bishops concluded a leftish slant that began with giving the "OK" to birth control, back in the 1920s and 30s. A few years ago, very large numbers of English Anglicans wanted to become Roman Catholics. Whole parishes of them were often led toward Rome by Anglican priests who saw that their own faith had replaced Scripture with political correctness. All of them hoped that their entire parishes, or most of them, would be received, en masse, into the Roman Catholic Church. There were, by knowledgeable estimates, six or seven hundred Anglican parishes in Great Britain that wanted to make the switch. Nothing happened. England's Roman Catholic Bishops, themselves mostly leftist, didn't want to see conservative influences expanded in their sees. They sandbagged the transition. Many are being received into The Church on an individual basis, but the momentum of the movement was sabotaged. We may pray that Rome intervenes, and allows as many as wish to join with The Church that prevailed in England for the thousand years that preceded the awful, evil wife-murderer who began the Anglican faith. |
