Opinions and Perspectives

I do not mean to belittle you, dear reader, but your opinion doesn't matter.

Don't feel dejected - my opinion doesn't matter, either.  And yet here you are reading it!

When it comes to the nature of reality, your opinion is only your perception.  You may be right, you may be wrong, but your opinion is quite irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.  Does this render opinions pointless?  Not at all... in my opinion, anyway.

In fact, it is your opinion that makes you you!  Aside from physical features and characteristics, our "take" on our universe is the only thing that makes a person an individual.  I mean only to set the proper perspective for what many call one's "worldview." 

I don't know how many different terms we have for the way we perceive God and the entirety of reality that He created, but I often hear about this or that worldview, theology, philosophy, religious view, school of thought, etc., etc.   I have found, in my young life, that these terms are mostly superfluous outside of academia. Further, and more importantly, I find that they are entirely without use when you realize that only God's Word is our standard and source of truth.

Different interpretations of the same text?  Yes, that happens.  It can happen to a drastic degree, in fact.  The superfluity, I think, then becomes a matter between reasonable Christians.  Christians who are honest and open, in a true relationship with their Creator and Savior, not seeking trouble with others or only the advancement of themselves - these are the people among whom there should be no such substantial quarrel.  Their views should be more or less identical; their perspectives, however, as individual as their fingerprints. 

We have the highest of commonalities: we are adopted into brotherhood with Christ!  He is our Lord, and He has supplied us with every thought we should think, every conviction, and every emotion we are to have. Where is the legitimacy of owning particular views outside of His Word?  Certainly things which pertain to the daily grind of our physical life on earth may produce a variety of approaches, but the Bible and His Spirit are to be our guide and our source for direction.

There is only one true theology, one true worldview, and one true philosophy, and His Word never changes. It never has, and it never will.  Your opinion may and should conform to His ways - His ways will never bend to meet your standards. 

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) 

So long as we are seeking the truth of God with an honest and open heart in His Word, our opinions should take a backseat and enjoy the ride.  It's hard to do, let me tell you; but, you will learn and live a lot more when you don't let your own notions get in the way of His truths.  Rather, let yourself be a perspective and a glorification of Him.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3:5-8)

Dr. Carson Fails the 2A Litmus Test

The Second Amendment is my litmus test for a decent representative.  If one is not in complete support of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, he will not receive my vote.



I agree with him on many things, but for him to deny people the God-given right and basic human dignity of the freedom to keep and bear arms for their own defense and the defense of their state is to deny an essential truth about individual freedom.  Constitutionally, morally, and reasonably speaking, government has no rightful power to restrict a right simply because it may be abused or neglected.  That's... crazy-talk.

If he has misspoken to some major degree, I will give him space enough to correct and articulate his point - as it is, however, he does not have my support. 

H/T Hannah Jane

Just... C'mon... It's Gross

Okay... I know this is mostly a politically-geared blog.  And I'm sorry to take up this space to complain about something so trivial, but I have to get this off of my chest.  And maybe it isn't as trivial as one may think.

I have to ask: is anyone else annoyed by child-birthing scenes from movies and documentaries?

It seems like most films set in the olden days, back when kids were cheap, someone will, at some point, have a baby.  It is inevitable. Especially in Christian films.  And it is all such an emotional plot element that evokes a sense of urgency and fear, but then we're all relieved and happy when it's over... because who in their right mind wants to hear a woman screaming?  Who wants to hear a baby squalling?  I mean, for crying out loud (no pun intended), it makes me want to pierce my eardrums with a stick! 

And... it's sick!  This is not entertainment!  I mean, would we want to watch an emotionally-charged scene of a cowboy out on the range trying to pull a tick off of his head?  It's just as natural, just as much of a relief...

Maybe the camera could be averted to only show his sweaty eyebrows as he strains to remove the bugger.  Maybe we could have some grunts and strained gasps in there, too... just for effect.  And then he can wipe-off his bloody hands on his handkerchief and pat his horse on the nose and everyone is all smiley and entertained. 

Not.

Am I being callous?  I think having kids is great.  I, for one, wouldn't be here were it not for the phenomenon.  But, really... this is not entertaining.  And for myself, it isn't even educational at all.  So why include it?  It's like a cliche.  No Christian western would be complete without someone giving birth. 

I need to be a filmmaker and just totally turn the Christian film industry on its head.

Maybe next time, I'll discuss the inevitable guitar solos in the middle of every. single. movie. as the protagonist comes to that lowest point of breaking... so touching... so predictable...
 

Put Him Back? Where?

Put God back in the schools, eh?

How about you just take your kid out?

Seriously, where does your allegiance lie?  You may not be old enough to have even been in public school when they started banning expressions of religion or belief (except, of course, belief in evolution), or maybe you're like me and were homeschooled your whole life.  But, if you have or are planning to have your children educated by the government, and you are yet complaining about God not being "allowed" in schools, that's rather hypocritical.  I mean, you are probably aware that government has all but declared belief in the Bible to be a mental illness, and that they have declared war on individual liberty in general, yet you insist on sending your child to be "educated" by them regardless of those facts?

When they kicked God out of the schools, all the Christians should have gone with Him.

Where do your loyalties lie?  With God or with government?  In whom do you put your trust?  In which institution would you rather your child be raised, in the family or in the government?  It is the place of the family to raise the children, because that's the way God said He wanted it.

Maybe put God back in the family?  Maybe put God back in the church?  Government is the one institution I can imagine whose daily duties are not necessarily contingent on theology.  Government, contrary to popular opinion, can be secular.  In fact, it should be secular in nature.  However, that will only work if our other institutions of family, church and free market are in good, working order in our collective relationship with God.

Everybody has an Agenda

Bible?  That old thing?  Constitution?  Really... is that even relevant anymore?  We've come a long way since those things were written; there are new challenges to overcome that they just didn't have any way to know about back then.

WRONG!  Where's the buzzer... where's the lever for the trap-door?  This nonsense has to stop!  Stop talking!  If you don't know what you're talking about... don't!  Every time these people open their mouths, they weaken the nation.

Look, people... do I need to explain how life works?  This isn't complex at all. 

Situations change; principles do not change.  Ever.  Not once since the beginning of time.  Unless the principles by which a person lives are deemed to be incorrect from their inception and rejected, there is no reason for a person to change their principles to match their situation... unless someone has an agenda.

"Yes, we used to believe more in [insert defining principle], but times are different than they were 200 years ago.  We need to find a solution that will suit the times we live in."  ~Typical agenda argument.

Okay, first of all, don't end sentences with prepositions; secondly, what is wrong with conserving our values?  There is no shame in being conservative.  Maintaining our ideals is what makes us different as a nation, right?  We don't just say we changed our minds about rights and wrongs, do we?  Never! ... unless those principles get in the way.

You see, I'm going to be a conspiracy theorist for a minute and tell you something the infamous "THEY" don't want you to know... everybody has an agenda.  

Everyone. 

Everyone who's anyone is trying to promote something, push something, assert something... pick your verb, they're doing it.  It may be innocuous, it may be momentous.  It might be benevolent, or it could be malevolent... hard to say sometimes, because it is made to sound like a good idea.  Nobody would promote what they thought was a bad idea for them.  It could affect millions, or it might just be something between two individuals.  Agendas... we all have 'em.

You will find this fact most prevalent and most controversially in two areas of life: politics and religion.  These two worlds, completely intertwined in a thousand different places, make up what may be called society.

The sum of all that I believe the world is and what it should be - my agenda - can be summed-up in the word "liberty."

On the wall of my bedroom is a phrase taken from 2 Corinthians 3:17, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."  This sums up my idea of absolute liberty for eternity.  Second to this comes liberty from worldly oppression, temporal yet essential liberty for all men to live on their own terms, with responsibility falling on none but themselves individually.  With one's agenda being an agenda that seeks to obey the God of the Bible, loving and encouraging others to do the same, your agenda is worth promoting.

And that is what I try to do.

GOP Sacks Huelskamp: "Let Him Eat Cake"

The GOP has taken an inevitable step in its journey leftward by purging its highest ranking congressmen from congressional committees, namely Tim Huelskamp - my congressman.

Huelskamp is a hardliner. An idealist. He doesn't compromise.

The GOP has no use for him, so he has become the first of what we can expect to be many, many Republican representatives and icons to be sacrificed to the gods of compromise and belly-crawling.

Since the GOP has progressed from betraying first its constituency, then its members, and now its own representatives in Congress, we can only expect an abrupt abandonment of conservatism altogether in the not-too-distant future.

"Well, at least they're still better than those nasty-wasty Democrats... I guess..."

Cricket

England's national sport of Cricket seems innocent enough, providing a jolly good time for the players and spectators. What is little noticed, however, is the dark origin of the game.

The first clue may be found in the name itself, "Cricket", which is also the name of an insect, but, not just any insect. Walt Disney, a 33rd degree Freemason, renamed Pinocchio's companion of the century-old Italian tale from "Il Grillo Parlante" (the Talking Cricket) to "Jiminy Cricket."

The original story from 1883, The Adventures of Pinocchio, claimed that Pinocchio killed the cricket with a mallet, but that it appeared to him some time later as a spirit, warning him of impending doom. Who else do we know who was killed with a mallet? Oh, I don't know, maybe Hiram Abiff, the allegorical chief architect of King Solomon's Temple, the sequence of whose untimely demise is ritualized in the initiation of apprentices to the Freemasonic Craft, in which they are struck with a mallet!

The cricket has two associates in The Adventures of Pinocchio, a crow and an owl. The crow is well known to be a bird representing witchcraft and the dark arts, and the owl is a symbol of the Greek goddess Athena, as well as the mascot of Bohemian Grove. Can a creature in the fellowship of such demonic forces be a suitable namesake of the national sport of England?

Perhaps the actual equipment and rules of "Cricketcraft" will lead us deeper into understanding the underworld of European sport.

At a Cricketcraft match, the "bowler" must throw a ball to knock over three sticks (three being an occult number), each called a "wicket" (wicked, anyone?). The opposing team must have a man guard the wickeds with his bat, another animal of the underworld, often associated with escaping Hell. The batsman protects the wickeds from the bowler, whose act of throwing the ball is called the pitch, which is also a substance used in olden times to burn witches at the stake.

So, in essence, the game requires the bat to save the wickeds from falling to the pitch.

NOTICE: The preceding was entirely tongue-in-cheek.  In fact, I literally had my tongue in my right cheek while writing some portions.  While Cricket may not be evil, it is played in Britain and Canada, so it is fair game for this American to poke fun and ridicule.  I have no qualms about persecuting Canadians and their ridiculous culture, which was hijacked from England and Scotland.  Canadians don't have much (rocks, trees, meese... maybe some nice lakes), so I do feel a little guilty for being mean to their under-cultured nation.  ...  Actually, no I don't.  They burned down the White House during the War of 1812, and that's not cool.  They need to pay.

As the Sunflower...

“It is not while beauty and youth are thine own,
and thy cheeks unprofaned by a tear,
that the ferver and faith of a soul can be known,
to which time will but make thee more dear.

No, the heart that has truly loved never forgets,
but as truly loves on to the close;
as the sunflower turns on [the sun,] when he sets,
the same look which she'd turned when he rose.”
~Thomas Moore

A Word to the Wise

I have hitherto led a quiet, peaceable life.  Even now, I bear no burdens too heavy to carry.  The Lord has dealt lightly with me.  I don't always do or say the right thing, and I have occasionally been known to lose composure when I should have reacted with more thought or consideration, but I do try to keep an even keel, a tempered blade, and a level head.
I have been "wronged" by people before.  I've lost loved ones.  I've lost friends.  But, such is life!  The past should not control me, and I do not suffer from any ghosts from my past, nor am I "a victim" of any crime to my dignity.  Behavior, attitude, and passive aggression from others, I know, can negatively impact your emotions.  Even if it is one person on one occasion, it can affect the rest of your life.

Some use past events as excuses for otherwise inexcusable behavior.  They may even be legitimate excuses; I have known people who have been truly harmed by others, and it is not my place to quantify their experience.  What I do know, however, is that no matter what your story, no matter how many stripes are on your back or how many notches are on your gun, you can build off of them.  Learn from them.  Become stronger for them. Come closer to God because of them.  The truest, purest reaction to trouble in this life is to use it as a reason to lean more on His grace.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."  ~Romans 8:28

Whims Du Jour

"If a woman doesn’t want to be pregnant or bear a child, she has a complaint that’s deeply psychological and deeply physical—at least as physical as gallstones." ~Virginia Heffernan, in an article for Yahoo! News

So, every person on earth started-out in life with the medical worth of a gallstone?  This woman, Virginia Heffernan, lacks some basic medical/biological understanding of what human life is. 

The great statesman and prolific OB/GYN Dr. Ron Paul once said, “As an O.B. doctor of thirty years, and having delivered 4,000 babies, I can assure you life begins at conception. I am legally responsible for the unborn, no matter what I do, so there’s a legal life there. The unborn has inheritance rights, and if there’s an injury or a killing, there is a legal entity. There is no doubt about it.”

No matter how many cells a person has comprising their physical self, no matter the age, no matter what their disposition, all people everywhere deserve the equal protection of law.  The unloved and the unwanted deserve the protection of their life by law as much as the loved and the wanted deserve it, perhaps more so.  It is because of the tendencies in people to be cruel toward the powerless that we live in a republic, where the rights de jure of the individual person take precedence over the majority's whims du jour.