05.31.07
Posted in Faith, Literature, Today at 11:49 pm by artistry
Yes, it certainly seemed to fly by. It was a busy month and I feel like I accomplished much as far as my studies. I completed my study of 1 Thessalonians. Earlier in the month, it looked like I would get through 2 Thessalonians as well. But, that was before I got into chapter 5. I’m not sure why, but it really slowed me down. 
That’s OK … I will finish 2 and begin introductory reading to the next of the Pauline epistles and still be ahead of my original estimate. I’ll be studying Corinthians for the next 6 months.
I also finished several books on my reading list. I was very good. I made a commitment to myself not to start anything new until I finished some of the books in progress. I finished all but one! Now that’s discipline.
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05.29.07
Posted in Politics, Today at 10:30 am by artistry
I see so many things wrong with the proposed Immigration Bill that I don’t know where to start. I wish, just once, that our esteemed Congress would write a bill in such a way that the intent and provisions were clear. It shouldn’t take days of reading to try to determine what a bill is about. But that would be too easy.
If I broke the law in any of the several ways that those who are in this country illegally did, I would be rotting in jail. Welfare fraud, tax evasion and illegal entry into the country are just a few of the charges that could be prosecuted. What about equal standing under the law? Why not apply the same laws we would apply to our citizens? This bill is about disenfranchisement.
And then there are those who trot out the Melting Pot argument in a dishonest way, as if to imply that as a nation of immigrants, it would be intolerant to oppose ‘normalizing” the status of these people. Mine is an immigrant family. My children’s ancestors came from Ireland, England, Germany, France, Sweden and other countries. Some came seeking better economic conditions and some came to escape religious persecution. Some even sold themselves into indentured service to come to this country. They were eager to be Americans and to join in every aspect of American life, including learning the language, becoming citizens and exercising their vote. We lived in Florida during the first great wave of Cuban immigration. Many of those immigrants worked for my father. He tried to learn Spanish to be able to communicate better with them. They were honored that he tried, but asked instead that he help them learn English. That’s very different from today.
I lived in Cobb County, GA during the mid 90s. Cobb County has one of the largest illegal populations in Georgia. A motel near my apartment complex was the where large numbers of those people lived. The local check cashing store did a huge business with them, sending money back to Mexico to support families. Those people sent a huge percentage of their income “home”. That would be honorable, except that they didn’t have money to live on. So many of them begged. And I have to tell you it is pretty intimidating to be accosted when you stop at the convenience store for milk to have someone beg for money for cigarettes or beer in such a threatening way that you feel compelled to give them money, whether you can afford it or not. And it is pretty threatening to have them demand more, and get between you and your car so your only recourse is to go back into the store and ask them to help you. Needless to say, I never went back to that store again. And my question is why? Where were my civil rights in that situation?
I grant you that there are many who take advantage of the status of these people. Employers hire them at low pay rates and use their presence to drive down wages for US citizens. Health costs keep rising for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that emergency rooms have become the primary care facilities for huge numbers of people. Businesses face rising costs because they have to service customers in multiple languages. States have to offer services such as licensing exams in multiple languages and orally for those who cannot read.
It seems to me that this proposed Immigration Bill creates more problems than it solves. It is a sad fact that the largest percentage of these illegal residents come from Mexico. Some come from Central and South America via Mexico. Why? Perhaps because they know they can get in and stay under the radar and make money to send home to their families. That, in turn, weakens the American economy. The only ones who really benefit are the large corporations who get cheap help and could care less how these people live. I think we would serve them far more if we invested in their countries in such a way that they could earn a living and remain with their families. Let’s face it … a mom or dad who sends money for the family is better than one who just disappears. But a mom and dad who remain with the family and cares for them financially and emotionally is far better. If we really care about these people, shouldn’t we care about their families as well? Is bringing them here to live in poverty and isolation the answer? Or is helping them in their own environment a better solution?
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05.28.07
Posted in Politics, Today at 5:22 pm by artistry
Rachel posted an updated food pyramid over at her site, along with links to articles relating to the adulterated products coming in from China.
My question is this: why are we importing so many components of our foodstuffs from China and further skewing the balance of trade? What ever happened to the US: the Breadbasket of the World? Is this just more of the outsourcing of America? First send the tech jobs and the assembly jobs and even the tech support jobs overseas? Then go after the American farm economy? Kill off the family farm and let the corporate giants evade US consumer safety laws by importing food components from China, either directly or via trading partners.
And the so called Immigration Bill? Don’t get me started.
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05.16.07
Posted in Politics, Worldview at 9:03 am by artistry
I have been amazed and horrified at the vitriol that has poured out on Jerry Falwell. What ever happened to the social rule that said “don’t speak evil of the dead”? Or the one that said “if you can’t say something good, don’t say anything at all”? The world can be an evil place and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
The NY Times has a fairly even-handed obituary for Mr. Falwell.
What bothered me most about all the hateful comments? That people would go so far out of their way to post them. It’s like they Googled Falwell and made the round of the blogs to post disgusting messages. That puts me at risk as well. Too bad … *I* get to be the editor and none of that stuff will make it to the press here. 
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05.11.07
Posted in Today at 3:00 pm by artistry
I haven’t posted a picture of Asher for a long time, and I had a hard time deciding which one to use. He’s almost 10 months old! I finally decided on this one:
It may just be me, but I see a definite resemblance. Or am I looking with a mom’s eye view?
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Posted in Faith, Today, Worldview at 9:53 am by artistry
I have mixed feelings about my ESV Verse of the Day feed. I love it because it points me to the Word of God. I am discomfited when it points me to my failures. Conviction is sometimes painful, even when it teaches good lessons. I started to write this post a few days ago, when the following verse was displayed:
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12.2
You might well ask why I found any discomfort in that, and the answer would be because of the verse which follows which points me to one of my great failings. Romans12.3 says: For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (emphasis mine) So when I get all indignant and have so many great answers and questions I would have raised had *I* been involved in the debate mentioned below, I need to keep Romans 12.3 in mind.
AH, pride … it assailed us in the garden, when we wanted to be like God and it is a constant snare today as was evident in the debate on Nightline. Some of the blogs I read have been full of criticism for both sides. Many think they could have done a better job than Comfort and Cameron. But Comfort and Cameron were willing to stand up and take on the challenge. They were willing to risk ridicule on national television and suffer the ridicule of our comments. How many of us would do that? Seems to me that I am not the only one who thinks more highly of himself than they ought to think. 
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05.09.07
Posted in Faith, Today, Worldview at 11:23 pm by artistry
Tonight Nightline (ABC) aired portions of a debate that took place on May 5 between Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron of Way of the Master and two persons representing the Rational Response Squad. I was disappointed in a lot of ways, mostly by what was not said. I had many arguments I would like to have seen raised. Ray and Kirk were thoroughly Christian in their behavior, which the two from RRS were happy to exploit. They seemed not to feel any similar compulsion.
I’m not posting the URL for the RRS. I think that anyone who has a belief and expounds it in the public forum should be willing to at least use their name. Everywhere that I found the name of the male, his last name was enclosed in quotes, leading me to believe it was not his real (birth) name. The female representative didn’t give her name at all, only her screen name. Anyone who really wants to know the URL can easily Google it. Suffice to say that they are gloating mightily on their site.
Debate Part 1
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Posted in Politics, Today at 10:16 am by artistry
I am an independent, beholden to no party and calling them like I see them. And, as my youngest child keeps reminding me in not so subtle ways, I have been around a while. I am that annoying creature, someone who has seen a fair amount of history and still remembers it.
Today’s war protesters have nothing on my generation. We were the ones who marched and protested and were drafted and died in the Vietnam war. We were also the ones who protested the current Iraqi incursion, but few would listen. And now we know a terrible truth that few want to hear. We broke it, we have to fix it or we will suffer the consequences in many and horrible ways.
Kudos to John McCain for having the courage to speak the truth, even when it is not popular. His statement from the recent Republican debate bears repeating: “We must win in Iraq. If we withdraw, there will be chaos; there will be genocide; and they will follow us home.”
I don’t like it, but I know the truth of it. 
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Posted in Politics, Today at 9:57 am by artistry
We need a time out for politics. The candidates need to stop running and go back to their day jobs. They are getting so desperate for sound bites that they say and do some really inane things. And the press is just as bad. Do I really care how much John Edwards pays for his haircuts? What does that have to do with anything? How does it weaken his campaign against poverty? Get the news reporting away from trivialities, please.
A two-year presidential season is about 15 months too long. Everything they say is based on the latest poll from the various sources. The only consistency is the inconsistency. Take a time out, please!
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05.05.07
Posted in Literature, Today at 9:09 pm by artistry
I did not get any new books in April … at least, I didn’t order any. I did receive some that were back ordered from March, but no new purchases. I have declared a moratorium on purchases until I whittle my reading list down a bit. The only exception will be when I get the books for my next study in the Pauline epistles. I am half way through 1 Thessalonians and expect to finish 2 Thessalonians by the end of May. 1 Corinthians is next and the books for that are big, fat tomes that will keep me our of trouble for some time (and are already on the shelf waiting for me).
In addition to working on Thessalonians and my reading from the Old Testament, I finished the following in April:
- Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher Wright
- Paul: Missionary Theologian by Robert Reymond
And wouldn’t you know it … I just discovered that Reymond has written a systematic theology.
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05.04.07
Posted in Today at 9:00 am by artistry
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05.03.07
Posted in Faith, Politics, Today at 10:30 am by artistry
Today is the National Day of Prayer. There will be an assembly on the steps of the state capitol in St. Paul as well as numerous other gatherings. Prayer is not only our source of communication with our God and Savior, it is a privilege which is not enjoyed universally.
Yes, here in the US we often face criticism about prayer, especially when done in public. The idea of government officials participating in such events is a source of discomfort for some. There will probably be some protesters who will claim that the steps of the capitol are not a proper venue for such an event. In truth, there are some who say there is no acceptable public venue for prayer. Their preference is to keep us indoors, out of the public eye and silent as much as possible. Not many news cameras will report the event. Out of sight and out of mind will be the order of the day.
Yet we cannot be silent. We must pray for those who cannot, for those who must stay hidden and out of sight in fear of what their communities will do and how the legal systems they live under will condone any act of brutality that comes under the the banner of protection from the evil Christians. Zealots are dangerous in any age, and never more so than today.
You probably didn’t see much, if anything in the news about recent events in Turkey. It hurt to read this story, and I hope it makes your heart ache as well. If you are one of those who are not affected by this story and who try to justify it on some basis, then my prayer is that your heart will be softened.
The part of the story that seemed the most cruel to me was that teens, children really, were being directed in such activities by adults, the very people who should be protecting and nurturing them. There is nothing more horrible than exploitation of children in such a cynical manner, throwing their lives away, and for what? To say it is done in the name of any faith is more than I can understand. Three good and godly men lost their lives in this horrific event. We should weep for the way they died and rejoice that their tears have been wiped away and they are now in paradise with Jesus. Of course, we will pray for their families, but we must not forget to pray for the young men who perpetrated this attack, and for the callous adults who incited them to do it.
Further, I pray that our government will not be silent in this regard. It would be ever so easy to ignore it because it did not involve American citizens. To ignore it is to invite further attacks which could, indeed be against Americans.
Ask not for whom the bell tolls.
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