No New Things. . .

Google the phrase “nothing new under the sun.” I did. Wikipedia pops up in the top of the list directing to its page where I discover it’s the name of an album. Vinyl no less. There is nothing new under the sun, by a Missouri group, Coalesce. Amazon offers books that some how, the Google search says, are related to Nothing new under the sun. Then there’s the link to Under the Sun, who headed to North Korea to check out the “carefully managed national image.” Hum. Okay. If their image is carefully managed, then it means the country wants to be seen as a bit, well, crazy.

Not exactly what I was thinking. I could go into the Bible software that I use. But its search capabilities are lacking. It was free, so I won’t complain. Scrolling down the search page I get to a reference to Ecclesiastes 1:9:

What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.

Despite what all new crops of college graduates think, it’s all happened before. Not to burst their bubble, but there are wheels and axles, so no invention there.

It’s been twenty-five years since I graduated with a Bachelor in journalism. I concentrated on newspaper journalism. I remember one of the instructors saying, “today’s news is tomorrow’s fish wrap.” With the ubiquitous computer or iPad or “smart” phone for reading the news, we won’t wrap fish in the news any more.

Here’s the thing about the news. A week ago angry protests and allegations, and pending investigations, of potential police officer racism and murder are left by the wayside so that we can learn everything there is to know about police officers murdered in Dallas. Now everyone’s opinion is all over CNN about the tragic murders of French civilians. What’s real and what’s simple fabricated, is hard to make out too.

Too many talking heads. I told my wife last night that what I really appreciated about what I call Real News, is that as a reporter there is the issue of sources and quotating those sources, and having the article reviewed. I suppose the television news gets that to some extent, but when these supposedly intelligent television entertainment guys stand up and interview people who clearly haven’t got a clue, one does have to wonder if plain dead air—the dreaded “no, no” of broadcast—would be preferable.

Last night one of the news entertainers said, “these have been happening so often they all run together.” EXCUSE ME! I’m sure that the family of the American man and his daughter who where on a trip to Nice are not thinking all these things run together. Neither are the families of the more than eighty people murdered. They were murdered by. . . some guy. We’ll learn the name, but it seems no one can agree on a proper title to refer to “those people who drive over people, shoot people, who were simple celebrating a national holiday. And someone in the political structure of our government wants a declaration of war against an enemy without a country and without a significant, agreeable title to describe the enemy.

We could call them what they are: Cowards! They train to murder unarmed and untrained civilians–men, women, children. Really honorable. It’s sick.

This war that isn’t a war has been going on quite a while now. It started well before the U.S. was attacked fifteen years ago. America lost over three thousand people that day to attacks on two buildings in New York and on the Pentagon in Washington. D.C., and don’t forget the fourth airplane that went down in Pennsylvania after its highjacking. And one of America’s politicians is concerned that if we retaliate we will be baited into a ground war. Seriously. America—representing the superior might of the world—is suppose to cower, suppose to just bury its head in the sand.

And then there’s the United Nations. What gall. It want’s to investigate allegations of police brutality in America. Not to mention wanting Americans to disarm, despite America’s clear Constitutional rights. One might think the U.N. wants to be in charge of the entire world. Like that’ll work. Europe can’t even unit itself, not to mention protect itself. As far as I know, America still supports NATO, is the strength of NATO.

But this war stuff has been going on a long time, and the violence it has brought us. Just look at Cain and Able. Brother against brother.

War. Rumors of war. Earthquakes. Some things never change. There’s nothing new under the sun. I expect one day to hear an angry voice from Heaven yell, “Children! I’ve had enough of your behavior. Go to you rooms. Now!”

It’s that or all Hell’s gonna let loose. And that’s not going to be a good thing.

Can’t we all just get along? I guess not. Nothing new under the sun.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Just a Revealed Religion

Christianity is a revealed religion. I heard this recently. From where I do not know. It wasn’t a compliment, either. It was said in a rather disdainful manner. And it’s been bothering me since I heard it. But it is true, though, that Christianity is a revealed religion, as is Judaism. Christianity came about through revelation to Jews whose faith came about through revelation to Abraham. Furthermore, knowledge has been revealed to us through men and women of G-d since Adam walked in the Garden with G-d.

And what religion isn’t revealed? I asked myself the question. I thought what might be the opposite of a revealed religion. There is knowledge about Earth that is observed. Science is based on observation. It seems to me that may be why I sensed a certain disdain for Christianity as revealed religion when I heard the term used. Christianity doesn’t make claims that are observable and repeatable, necessarily. Christianity is based upon faith. There are arguments about science as really nothing more than faith. It is faith in what is observed, that it will always be that way. Proof is a big deal in science. Still it’s faith.

After a little research, I discovered that the notion of Christianity as a revealed religion isn’t new—it’s just a new term for me. In fact:

“It was universally acknowledged as the Christian claim up until the eighteenth century. The manner and extent of revelation have been debated by Christians without a clear consensus emerging, but this only serves to highlight the impressive agreement on the fact of revelation. The claim goes back to the founders of Christianity, Christ and his Apostles, and was not simply an invention of the last three centuries thought up in response to the loss of Christianity’s self-evident validity.” —Lee Gatis, The Theologian. (http://www.theologian.org.uk/doctrine/revealed.html)

Natural religion is the opposite of revealed religion. It’s based upon observations of the world around us.

“The term natural religion is sometimes taken to refer to a pantheistic doctrine according to which nature itself is divine. Natural theology, by contrast” argues for the existence of God on the basis of observed natural facts.

“In contemporary philosophy, however, both natural religion and natural theology typically refer to the project of using the cognitive faculties that are “natural” to human beings—reason, sense-perception, introspection—to investigate religious or theological matters. Natural religion or theology, on the present understanding, is not limited to empirical inquiry into nature, and it is not wedded to a pantheistic result. It does, however, avoid appeals to special non-natural faculties (ESP, telepathy, mystical experience) or supernatural sources of information (sacred texts, revealed theology, creedal authorities, direct supernatural communication). In general, natural religion or theology (hereafter natural theology) aims to adhere to the same standards of rational investigation as other philosophical and scientific enterprises, and is subject to the same methods of evaluation and critique.” —Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [Chignell, Andrew and Pereboom, Derk, “Natural Theology and Natural Religion,” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2015 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = ] (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-theology/)

It’s easy to see how Christianity as an experience with G-d is questioned. Despite all attempts to quantify G-d, prove Him, if you will, Christianity is about faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Hebrews 11:1-3.

The challenge today is to maintain our faith despite those who would turn us away. For in these last days, many will come to try to deceive us, to try to get us to turn from our faith. Our “religion” must be more than to believe in a G-d revealed to someone else; we must experience first hand the revealed Messiah. Y’shuaJesus said we may ask and we will receive. And though we’ve experienced the Father G-d through revelation of Y’shuaJesus through the power of the Spirit, we must also turn away from humankind’s scientific explanations by looking at the natural world with an awe and wonder that turns our eyes Heavenward to Y’shuaJesus.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine up you always. . .

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” was one thing my Mom often said. And so He does.

An old pastor sat one morning eating oatmeal and toast, and reading Rev. C.H. Surgeon’s comments on:

. . .after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 1 Peter 5:10.

“That was good, Lord,” the pastor said after reading.

“Thank you. I wrote it,” said The Lord.

The old man didn’t bat an eyelash, taking it all in stride as if the Lord spoke each day to him. It occurred to him that some might think it odd that the Lord would speak in such a manner. What about you? Does it seem strange or odd that a man might hear the words of G-d? Or perhaps only odd that the Master of the Universe would say He wrote that commentary, those words, published by Rev. C.H. Spurgeon hundreds of years ago? If it seems odd at all, why? Perhaps you find it objectionable that G-d would speak to a old man who in this world is very small.

G-d spoke to Moses. G-d spoke to Y’shuaJesus. G-d spoke to many individuals, and it is recorded in the Bible. Ah, that’s the problem. Those to whom the Lord spoke are famous people, whose lives are recounted in the scriptures.Yes, certainly that’s true. But why is it not possible that G-d speak to a mere man as that old pastor?

There are a couple of questions one may wish to ask concerning the words attributed to G-d, such as that old man heard. First, one might examine the words to see if they fit in the scriptural box. Are those words consistent with scripture. In this case, in scripture is there anything that might tell us that G-d in fact has spoken to men? Yes. All who are genuine in their believe in G-d understand that the scriptures are inspired by G-d, breathed by G-d, even while being recorded by men. Second, there was a Pharisee, Saul, who was an adversary of the followers of the Way. He was heading to Damascus, on the path of more destruction of Christians. The Lord stopped Saul in his tracks, closed his eyes, and spoke to him. Saul wasn’t famous at the time. Infamous, maybe.

G-d works in mysterious ways. . .

Here’s the text of Rev. Spurgeon’s commentary/devotional.

“You have seen the arch of heaven as it spans the plain: glorious are its colours, and rare its hues. It is beautiful, but, alas, it passes away, and lo, it is not. The fair colours give way to the fleecy clouds, and the sky is no longer brilliant with the tints of heaven. It is not established. How can it be? A glorious show made up of transitory sun-beams and passing rain-drops, how can it abide? The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the rainbow in its transitory beauty, but, on the contrary, must be stablished, settled, abiding. Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock! May your faith be no “baseless fabric of a vision,” but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest. May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts of hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you. But notice how this blessing of being “stablished in the faith” is gained. The apostle’s words point us to suffering as the means employed—”After that ye have suffered awhile.” It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of the many storms that have swept over it, and they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots have forced their way. So the Christian is made strong, and firmly rooted by all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take comfort, believing that by their rough discipline God is fulfilling this benediction to you.”

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Christian Faith in Peril; Some Stand Up for Jesus

It was sometime in the mid-1980s, I drove down the the Bay Area for some weekend shifts at an ambulance company. I worked the psych ambulance, handling psychiatric patients. There was a man I transported that seemed genuine in his desires to know more about Jesus. Off duty, I visited him at the psychiatric facility to which we’d transported him. Word of my visit got back to the ambulance company. During the next shift I worked I was called into the office. The manager told me that he’d been called about my visit. He said he was a Christian, but that we are not allowed to act on our beliefs at work. I tried to reason with him. . . I was off duty. I was told I’d be fired if this happened again.

A year later a friend, and Calvary Chapel pastor, was fired for doing something very similar to what I’d done—reach out to someone in need, in despair.

Fast forward thirty years and we see things getting worse for Christians in America, as they are for Christians all over the world.

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Peachtree Road Race

On the Fourth of July is the Peachtree Road Race. It’s a 10k run through Atlanta, Georgia. There are 60,000 runners allowed to register. One person I know ran last year’s road race with a friend who had a bad knee. Evan said, “I’ve kept pace twice now with people I know held be back, but it was still fun to run.” This year he says he wants to run alone, which really means he’ll set his own pace.

It seems to me that there are several ways a person can be held back in a race. Evan paced himself alongside a person incapable of a faster run simply to keep an injured runner company, to be supportive of him. Neither of them will receive a medal at the end of the road race. They’ll finish, though. Even will run enduring the slower pace of his injured friend, and cross the finish line with the personal satisfaction of completing the run and doing so alongside his friend.

A few years ago, Evan ran another race up in Tennessee. It was a grueling obstacle course that required great endurance. He ran with another friend who, while in good physical condition, was much slower. They ran the race together, alternating walking and running, helping each other over the hurdles and obstacles. Fifty feet before the finish line, the last obstacle required that they crawl through mud covered with two feet of muddy water. As they emerged from that mud bath,

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Are Pets Thankful

Occasionally, looking into the eyes of my daughter’s dog, I will joke with my daughter about what that dog is thinking. Do animals think? I’ve heard that thinking is what differentiates animals from humans. At one time didn’t people think it was communication—talking—that separated us from animals? Huh. My daughter’s cat talks. Well, okay, not in English. Cat talk, I guess. She has a particular way of saying, “Eeyowaaaah” when it’s around the time of day she is feed. When she decides she wants attention, she says, “Eeh,” while rubbing against my leg. And the other day, at the laundry room door, she said, “Eeyo.” It wasn’t feeding time. She wasn’t near by to want her head scratched. What does “Eeyo” mean.

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Fireflies, Dragon Flies, and a Dog in the Back of a Pickup

It seems to me that I long too much to be back in rural America. My dislike for cities is apparent when I reread things I’ve posted, or thought about things I say when talking to people. Just this morning, a fellow and I spoke about the way things were “Back in the Day.” He was raised in McDonough, Georgia. While now fully connected to Atlanta, he recalls when it was a small town, where everyone knew one another.

“Things were different back then—simpler,” he said.

“Not necessarily easy, but indeed simpler. And more cordial,” I said.

He mused about walking down the street and everyone he’d pass would nod their head or raise their hand just enough—the Southern Salute.

To that I raised the ante. . . Continue reading “Fireflies, Dragon Flies, and a Dog in the Back of a Pickup” →

R T F M

While working for the U. S. Forest Service as a “Radio Tech,” I had the pleasure of assisting in the installation of a forest-wide electronic public exchange (PBX), a telephone switch. In preparing for that experience, I attended a two-week course for certification on the Mitel 2000 PBX. It was a good course, well-taught, and I came back armed and ready not only for the installation and set up, but also for continued maintenance and upgrades. A major theme of the course was the Mitel Manual. Actually, it was not just one, but a series of manuals on the switch. Throughout the course, the instructors continually referred to one or more of the manuals stressing the critical nature of not just knowing the switch itself, but knowing the manuals. The key to expedient maintenance and repair was in knowing where to look for the answer. We were given our own copies of the manuals, and by the end of the two weeks, they were well worn.

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You are Welcome. Enjoy your Stay. Leave Money. Then Leave.

After graduating college with a degree in Journalism, we all went our ways out into the world. A friend went to a small newspaper in a very small town in Oregon. She knew she’d be better welcomed if she bought a car there, rather than flaunting California license plates, or tags as we say in Georgia. I heard from her some months later. Indeed, she was well welcomed in that town. People would stop and talk to her on the street, in stores, any where she went. Once. After the first encounter, the person would snub her upon second meeting. She said the first “welcoming” was more of an interview. And she didn’t pass the test. Eventually she moved home to her own small California town.

Molly Simpson, in her post Emotional Abuse and the Church, speaks about the way some folks feel abused in their own churches. She offers great insight to folks in dealing with such abuse, while sparing criticism of the churches themselves.

There’s a story that is said to have taken place back during the “Jesus” movement of the early 1970s. There were a lot of young folks coming to home churches where they didn’t sit in pews and wear Sunday-go-to-meeting cloths. One day a fellow accustom to such home church groups saw people heading into Sunday service at a large, traditional church. He thought about going, made up his mind to do so, and headed up the steps. The congregation was seated, and it was a full house. With no seats left, he sauntered up the aisle in his flip-flop sandals clapping. When he got to the front, he simply sat cross-legged on the floor. So. You can imagine the reaction of the congregation. They were simple aghast. Soon an usher, dressed in a three-piece suit and well-polished shoes, came up the aisle toward the disheveled young man. The faces of the congregation said it all. “That’s right. Toss that fellow oughta here!” To the amazement of the congregation, the usher came up to the young man, sat down next to him, and crossed his legs, too.

Molly points out, “referring to Galatians 5:14, “The whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” Every time someone approaches us, we have the opportunity to love them as Christ did.” That’s what the usher did. That’s not what the people of that small town did when they “welcomed” my friend and reporter. That was a false love. For love, as Molly also points out, calls for us to carry the burdens of our brothers and sisters.