Wednesday.....Culture.....Semper Reformanda (Always Reforming)

A few days ago I did a book review (November 7th, Dave, My Mind Is Going) on Nicholas Carr's book The Shallows, What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains. I didn't stumble upon this topic for I have been concerned with the overall trend away from the written word for quite a while and have been a lover of books and libraries for even longer. I've commented a number of times on my disdain for the whole concept of social networking, and a few days ago, in another blog, I gave my thoughts on the necessity, at times, of an upheaval in our own lives. Introspection into these matters brought me to a decision of my own. My constant need to check the news and email, fluttering like a butterfly over the Drudge Report, stinging like a bee on my blog, and general dependence upon updates of updates brought me to my own desire for upheaval. I want to see how I will function without HAL speaking in one ear. I want the challenge of surviving with less information. (as I paused here, considering what to write next, I checked my email and news)  So I've decided to put my blog, and all use of the Internet aside for six weeks starting on Thanksgiving Day. The blog would then be a few days short of two years. My decision here may be as uncomfortable to me as the Chinese Water Torture Cell was to Harry Houdini. I've been trying to formulate this for a few weeks now. I'll lay my Toshiba aside and have my iPhone surgically removed for that period, only opening up an old laptop for the word processor. I hope to analyze if my own thinking has been effected and even my personality. I hope to read a little bit more and see if this effects my comprehension and retention. Maybe it's time to pray more and write less? In fact it's probably always time to pray more and do anything less but I do hope to continue to write some, maybe daily notes on how I'm doing without a constant input of news and I may try something altogether new. There is really no cable television to add to this for we only receive eleven stations as it is. I may resume the blog in January, in fact I hope to, and I may not.  None of us knows what a day brings. Lord willing, I will at least report back on this little experiment six weeks from Thursday, on January 6th of 2011, or thereabouts.

Monday.....Why I Love America...Redux

The following blog was written April 15, 2009, nineteen months ago. As discouraging as the trend was in America then, it is even worse now. The TSA problem is not only the insanity of political correctness, it's not only a Constitutional problem, it's not only a harbinger of forced searches elsewhere as long as they say they are keeping us safe, it is not only hypocritical as this proclaimed determination to keep us safe has not shown up at our borders, our harbors, in the protocol our military is forced to use and a host of other areas but there is another problem of immense proportions seen here and in many other areas, that being the inability or refusal to apply common sense. The single most discouraging thing of all is the lack of discernment in a potentially fatal percentage of the American public that the history of their country was indeed special but they themselves, we, have yet to take the test to be included in that history. An all-nighter cram session is necessary and no questions on sports...Dancing With The Stars....or how to live fit and buff are not on the test.

April 15, 2009:
"America The Beautiful" expresses the wondrous bounty God had bestowed upon this country. "Spacious skies, amber waves of grain" and "purple mountain majesties" surely describe this land. I appreciate the beauty of the land and also the liberty that was built upon it, but I love this country for other reasons. When I talk about America, I'm talking about it from its beginning when small ships carried whole communities across the ocean. I love it for its diversity. We have problems but we have overcome bigger ones. We have new challenges that almost seem insurmountable but it's not the first time. We have been bonded together through a concept that demanded diversity of background but became unity as Americans. I love America because of the hope it has given the world and the stability. I can write my opinion and speak it. I can pass out books without fear of intimidation. I can oppose iniquity and protest tendencies that are too close to tyranny for comfort. I love it most because God has used it to spread the gospel to every corner of the world. Everywhere I go, in the workplace, in the recreation and shopping areas, vacation spots and at preserved historical landmarks, there are Christians. I can empathize with them, enjoy their fellowship, share my needs and pray for theirs. Our son will find them at college, my wife and I will work with them and many of our representatives will govern with Christ as their head. God has raised this nation and used it mightily, this is why I love it so. I write this blog because these things are in danger. The bond is disappearing. European immigration is occurring again but this time it is an immigration of philosophy. Illegal immigration, sponsored by politicians for political reasons, does a great disservice to the legal immigrants who continue to bolster and favor us as they become one with us. Our corporations are becoming more international than American. Our activist courts look to international law, for American law will not suffice the paradigm change they envision. Our media is failing its calling and most importantly the faithfulness of our churches to the gospel is at low ebb. Previous to revisionist history, we were taught that Americans were a special people who could do almost anything. The Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville thought this people special enough to travel here just to observe. He wrote, "Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power." Ignoring these problems and the historical tendency of many nations to collapse from within, is not love.

Sunday.....Christianity.....Valley Of Vision.....redux

H. L. Mencken was an influential essayist in America in the first half of the 20th century. One of his famous quotes was a definition of Puritanism as The haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy. This is a grossly inaccurate caricature of a religious mindset but an opinion totally expected from a critic in that age. The Puritans loved life and the fruit, joy, blessings and challenges of it. They might be seen at one moment laughing over beer and the next in serious contemplation of the glory of God. It is this concept that I have clung to since first reading about them. Jonathon Edwards, who died in 1758, may have been the last American Puritan. English preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who died in 1892, was called the last Puritan but modern day English preacher David Martyn Lloyd-Jones was also portrayed that way. We have experienced a grand separation of Christian traits in today's evangelicalism. We can be worldly and we can be pious but we cannot be both and either way we have to be victorious, but the solemnity of their own failures was part and parcel of the Puritan life and that introspection is what is needed most today. The pietistic element in Christianity today (liberal churches) can only mollify the secular element in society if it promises to only challenge fellow Christians and not them in being pious. The worldly element of evangelicalism (politically conservative churches) can never mollify the liberal/secular element of society and that element then perceives that Christians challenge only the secular world and not themselves which makes matters worse.  If some desire to, let them glory in their own strength but the Puritan mind gloried in the strength of Christ that overcomes our weaknesses. Please consider the following prayer and if you feel led, bring this topic up for conversation during fellowship with other believers. The book, often mentioned in this blog, that the following Puritan prayer comes from is its initial offering, and source of its title, is Valley Of Vision edited by Arthur Bennett and available through any book seller. Leland Ryken's Worldy Saints and J. I. Packer's A Quest For Godliness would be good reads on this subject.

Lord, High And Holy, Meek And Lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee
in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold
thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to have all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from
deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter
thy stars shine;
Let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.

Friday.....America.....Coupons

While sitting here, logging onto my blog and listening to the radio, a commercial voice said "a coupon is only good if you you use it.? I didn't catch the rest for I found myself contemplating that statement. It's certainly a true but it doesn't address the whole issue. I could hold in my hand a coupon for a free oil change for a Lexus. My choice is taken out of the equation for I don't own a Lexus, nor do I know anyone who does. The statement is still technically true but it is meant to encourage use, or action so the verity of it, in this case, depends on the coupon, not me. Suppose the coupon I had was for 100 free cable television stations? That's about 90 more than I need or want. In fact 100 cable channels would be detrimental to me, and I believe to anyone else. I might prefer to say "the coupon is bad only if I use it" but the statement obviously is referring to utility not advantage. Suppose the coupon is for ability. We've all been given abilities of some kind. Some have many abilities. Many have the same ability but to varying degrees. For instance, Thomas Sowell and I have both been given a level of intelligence. His ability here is enormously greater than mine, but we both use them, presumably to the best of our...another ability....determination. (For those not familiar with Mr. Sowell you can go to your local bookstore and pick up anything he has written and experience his abilities) What are your abilities in areas that would be beneficial to the nation that you live in, are a citizen of, and have a debt of responsibility to? I remember a comic in a Christian magazine many, many years ago where a man is kneeling by his bed, hands folded in prayer and a very satisfied look on his face as he offers up his thanksgiving with Thank you God, for not calling me to be a missionary! The purpose of this blog has always been to encourage people to look into two things that greatly effect their lives. The first of two is the security and the future of the nation we live in, we respect-even love and which will determine our children's future. Consider the events of this past ten days alone. Had an unidentified missile been launched so close to our shores in the past, as apparently happened off of Los Angeles, it would have been a development as major as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Russia has been brought into the missile defense of NATO. A terrorist played our legal system and political correct society to the advantage of all those who wish us harm. The actions of the TSA is much more than inconvenience or embarrassment. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution requires probable cause in searches yet the most improbable are not only searched but violated to insure that the most probable are not offended. It is more than odd that the rights of terrorists are strenuously guarded and the rights of those the Constitution is meant to protect are abused. George Soros, who has a history of meddling in the affairs of governments made this statement "We have just lost this election...and if this president can't do what we need, it's time to start looking somewhere else." This implies that they had indeed looked to the current adminstration for what they needed, and we know the influence Soros had here, but the results were thwarted. This is in the past ten days alone! Your nation is in extreme need right now of vigilance, common sense and determination from its citizens. You most certainly can avoid it but you cannot avoid the consequences. The second purpose of this blog but infinitely more important is to encourage you to consider this, that the common, accepted Christianity of today, it's doctrines and salvation, may not be correct. You may live in a church age that is so weak that when truths arise they are naturally dismissed as undesirable. One must read to resolve this. When Benjamin Franklin made his famous statement about the need for an informed citizenry he was speaking about the need for libraries, for books and literature. My hope for this blog has been that people would encounter it in passing and go to the books.

Tuesday.....International.....Euro Zone

The European Union has 27 members, 16 of which belong to the Euro Zone, a term we are not all that familiar with in the United States. The Zone is the economic and monetary community within the European Union itself. It has a central bank, but no treasury, and it relies on suggestion not authority. That's the problem in the eyes of many and, as they believe, could eventually lead to the collapse of the Zone and ultimately the Union itself but many are very hesitant to turn their lives over to other nations. Ireland is the latest European Union and Euro Zone member to face a financial disaster, Greece preceding it. Referring to an article by British correspondent Ambrose Evans-Pritchard titled The Horrible Truth Starts To Dawn On Europe's Leaders, many believe, as previously mentioned, that the Euro Zone was formed without the proper authority within it needed to protect the currency, the Euro, that was prematurely established to begin with. Making promises of no defaults of member nations, speculators took chances based on political faith alone with no Treasury to enforce common sense. It was a recipe for disaster. The Horrible Truth that the article's author refers to is not just economic collapse of a continent, but the rise of fascism. In what he calls an authoritarian Putsch, the leaders of this new entity, the EU, refused to accept the rejection of the European Constitution by the French and Dutch and then similarly strong-armed Ireland. Because of this the European Union is illegitimate in the eyes of Evans-Pritchard. See if this sounds familiar: the author writes: Mr. Delors ( Socialist economist and former European politician, Jacques Delors) told colleagues that any crisis would be a "beneficial crisis", allowing the EU to break down resistance to fiscal federalism, and to accumulate fresh power."  The phrase more familiar to us would be never let a crisis go to waste. This is what Americans have be warned of for the last two-plus years. These folks, either across the big pond or here, have no intention of following the will of the people, unless that will coincides with theirs. This is why Americans are in revolt today. This is why we cannot sit back and just "hope" that a new Congress will keep their promises. The first thing that we should look for, if and when an economic or domestic disaster should occur, is attempts by the government to implement emergency powers that are ideological in nature. The Congress has to exert itself right now to discourage any such possible plans that may be in the formative stage. Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is not without bias and surely those who he writes about would place him in the same category that we are placed in. So what else is new?  It's up to the individual to determine in their own mind where the truth lies and if we are indeed experiencing a resurgence of Fascism and a good place to start would be the book highlighted below! As the author also wrote Elected leaders can violate democracy as well. There was a corporal from Austria...but let's not get into that.

Sunday.....Christianity.....George Washington

How many of our Founding Fathers were Deists? I don't know. Certainly Jefferson was.  Deism was a popular belief system where there may be a God but he would be a very impersonal one that does not involve himself in the affairs of man, there would be no Holy Scripture for man to refer to, and certainly no atonement. But what about George Washington, the Father of our Country? How do the historians weigh in on him? Peter A. Lillback is an historian but he is also a theologian whose 725 page tome, along with 232 pages of appendices came to a different conclusion than most of the secular historians.  I often wondered about this question myself and eagerly looked forward to reading the book, published in 2006, to see if I could put the issue to rest in my own mind. Lillback has a distinct advantage in this particular area of our first President's life for he knows what the gospel is but he also has biases of his own and those biases have bred controversy. So much, but not all, of secular commentary on Christianity today is given from people who are incapable of understanding the Gospel or who just do not care. Lillback's book breaks down the issue into various areas such as the religious historical setting of the day, Washington's early life, his church and family life before and after the Revolution and his presidency, the testimony of others who knew him well and of course his connection to Masonry. One thing that you have to know about George Washington to even begin an examination of this question is his character and personality, for these traits may effect the impression others will have of his religious belief. Personal honor was everything to the man! If he was going to do anything at all in life it was display a strong character and integrity and let his observers do what they want with it. Lillback gives evidence upon evidence here on Washington's fanaticism in this area and the extreme pains he took to guard it in his life.  How does this relate to the issue of his Christian belief?  Deist belief is not a hazy agnosticism that one could weave in and out of. It was distinct. Lillback makes the case, and I wholeheartedly concur, that one could very well be a deist and be a churchman; but one could not be a deist, a churchman of Washington's level of involvement with orthodox Christian churches, and prize honor and integrity anywhere near the level that Washington did without being a complete fraud. It's not the total answer to the question but it's a beginning and all in Washington's favor for he could not have taken the vows he did, constructed the prayers, espoused the Christian causes he did, and at the same time deny the essence of Christian belief through an actual embrace of Deism! George Washington had a knowledge of the Bible and documentation proved that he read it and valued Holy Scripture from his youth to the day he died when an open Bible was beside his bed along with his Christian wife who had the hope that she would see him in heaven. I understand Lillback's description of Washington's intense personal peculiarities for I hold to many myself. I will not look to the left or the right of the pulpit during a worship service. I will not let any intrusions or intended aids to the preached message enter my mind for I spent my first years in the Christian faith studying "Christian cults" and aberrant theologies and know all to well how easily we fall for man's, often well-intentioned, motives! One of Washington's creeds was actions not words and consequently he came up short on the words as a result. This is evidence enough for someone who wants to come to the conclusion that George Washington was a Deist. I understand this situation. Washington's usage of words such as Divine Providence, which was his norm, is further evidence for some that Washington viewed God as simply a grand architect, but he also used the word God, and the vows, prayers and teachings that he was officially involved with were evangelical.  Whether a young soldier, a general or President of the United States, Washington could not possibly have held to his personal convictions of honor and integrity and continued to hide his deist beliefs. His library was voluminous and he paid great attention to the books he bought, kept and cherished. Many Christians books are included here, as well as sermons, yet no books, of which their were many in existence, that proclaimed Deist belief. Washington relied on others to raise the children in his care and under his sphere of influence. He took great care in this area also and chose Christian teachers over some well respected teachers and professors who were known for their secular emphasis. Lillback gives us one of those biographies that searches out and tackles all the arguments against the main premise. So you'll find chapters on mundane areas of Washington's life as well as rumors that were in existence. All of these are satisfactorily answered. The biggest question of all in this examination of George Washington's religious belief, and the one that many seem to answer even before examination is concerning his well-publicized membership in Masonry. I had this question in the back of my mind as I read through the book, eagerly looking forward to how Lillback would handle it. I've read a fair amount on the Masons, particularly many years ago, but Lillback gave some thoughts to ponder that I had not read. The essence of his defense of Washington is this. Masonry underwent a fundamental change beginning in the late 18th century, a change that put it directly at odds with Christianity, which has remained to today. Previous to this faction coming to the fore, and according to Lillback, Masonry was attempting, in albeit a very unwise way, to advance the Christian religion with the help of Masonic characteristics of order. Before the change in Masonry, a heated debate existed as both factions fought for influence. One prominent Christian minister was recruited to Masonry for this purpose, to halt the slide into an unChristian, even anti-Christian mode. He wisely refused for none of the discerning Christian ministers of the day would have taken the path the George Washington did. Washington himself was warned in a letter against the influence of the European Illuminati. His response was that he did not feel that such a precarious influence existed here in the United States, yet added that he had only been to two Masonic meetings in the past thirty years. George Washington's eternal soul is not dependent on the opinion of historians...either way, but it is a legitimate endeavor to see where this giant of a man and maybe the most illustrious and most influential of all our Presidents stood. After reading Lillback's book I still do not have a definite opinion on this but do acknowledge that this man who had so many qualities and abilities may have been a Christian. Certainly, he was no Deist! The fact that he had weaknesses effects me only as long as it takes me to look in the mirror. The fact that Peter Lillback puts froth some of the very ideas that I have warned against time and time again in this blog does not eliminate the usefulness of this massively documented book on the primary issue that it addresses. The gospel cannot be compromised in any way. Works play no part in the regeneration of a person's soul. If George Washington believed that one does, in effect, work his way to salvation, it would be to his eternal demise. Our hope is not in America's might or its continuing display and defense of liberties and freedoms yet many have fallen for just that fallacy! This book should only be used as an historical biography concerning the religious belief of that historical figure. George Washington may indeed have been a giant among governmental leaders of his or any day but he was a man nonetheless and my interest in his eternal salvation is ultimately no greater than of the person who checked out my apples, coffee and pickled eggs at the Giant Eagle this evening.

.All The Right Moves---Aren't Enough

November 11, 2010        

         There are times when upheaval is necessary. The corporate world experiences it. The military experiences it when wars are lost, even the church had its Reformation. We experience upheavals in our own personal lives. It's a turning from one philosophy, one tactic, one foundation, one love to another. It can be painful or it can be exhilarating. One can be dragged into it and one can purposely charge into it. It can be peaceful and appear violent in the form of democratic elections and violent and appear peaceful as the Gospel takes hold in a person's life. We need an upheaval in America today.
         Much of our corporate world has departed from its responsibility to the people it employs and public it services, where the appearance of ethics has replaced ethics itself. Higher Education has strayed from training minds to seek knowledge and truth to training minds to seek profits and self-fulfillment in spite of nagging evidences and longings for that knowledge and truth. Elementary and secondary education too often seeks to procure its own financial security while forming minds that support the legitimacy of their actions. We exalt ourselves in this society and pamper our egos through social networking. We have turned privileges into rights.  We form opinions after having put no thought into it. We buy what they want us to buy and subscribe to what they want us to subscribe to, whoever they may be.. We have become a nation of followers not particularly interested in questioning those we follow as long they keep the benefits coming.
         The problem is that they have reached the bottom of the well. The pensions and the entitlements are sinking the boat. The near future, even without terrorist attacks or international disasters, will not be the same America that we were raised in. The chasm between private and public sectors cannot be bridged. Either the government benefits will be adjusted or the private sector will cover the debt through taxes. Either decision will add to turmoil. Californians, last Tuesday, elected to stay on the path that brought them to where they are today. The other states eventually may either have to bail out California or watch an entity that will be proclaimed too big to fail, fail. Either decision will add to the turmoil, and other states will follow. Illegal immigration will either be halted through strict measures or one by one all the states will be overburdened and those states and its citizens affected may begin looking into seceding from the union. Either decision will bring turmoil. . The health care reform bill will either be repealed, which the Left will use to stir the Socialist pot, or it will be allowed to stand until it would be too late to see how disastrous it is. Either decision will add to the turmoil. The new Congress will either follow the Lindsey Grahams in its midst, which could very well lead to a third party, or it will follow Jim DeMint and bear the brunt of every outrageous slander the old guard can muster. Either decision will add to the turmoil.
         Most of us have contributed to this mess and I contributed more than my share for the few who have not. The basis of this upheaval needs to come from the realization that we are on a path to nowhere. This society, as it is, cannot sustain itself for long either economically or philosophically. There is one remedy and one remedy only. A sufficient number in this nation of upwards of 300 million has to humble themselves before their Creator. We find ourselves at the brink and at times such as this God often pours His Spirit over the land, and as maple syrup that slowly seeps into the pancake, the people change from the inside out, without the help of political parties and hardly aware that that they have taken another path.
         At times like this, in an Awakening if you will, life appears in that people, and hope. Wisdom overtakes greed; patience...insatiability; and humility....arrogance. All the right moves today, the election included, are mere reminisces of a time when the strongest fragrance in the land was that of grace and the greatest bounty was mercy. It's an impossible task, utterly inconceivable and this is to our benefit for if God were needed merely to help us, or to guide our paths, we would never fall on our knees in thanksgiving. My prayer is that this Thanksgiving, God would begin to shake the columns of hell with the same power that, at one time, gave light and heat to every atom in the universe, and apply it to an unworthy people and may He start with my stone cold heart.

Sunday.....Christianity.....To Those On A Great Campus!

I had the opportunity to leave some small cards with this web site's URL on them on a college campus today, and whenever I get to leave these cards I try to write on a topic for those who may visit the blog that day. And...this one (youth) is one of my favorite topics anyway. I can hardly express how nice it was to see the exuberance of our son's friends on the dance floor at his wedding this past summer!  There's an enthusiasm, an energy and an awe at this age that I remember very well. In my own experience, I misinterpreted that enthusiasm, misdirected that energy and never contemplated beyond that awe and excitement. Only God's mercy on the poster boy of immaturity permitted me to experience His blessings later on in life. So I come to you with that on my resume' and also this; I have distractions, but fewer distractions than I could have in viewing with concern this world that we live in. The sports page is started and completed in the drive-through line at McDonald's every morning. I haven't the slightest idea what the television show Lost was. My iPhone, my XM and my blog are the extent of my electronic knowledge of gadgets. I break away from this blog or a book long enough to watch Lawrence Welk and Middle every Saturday and Wednesday while old classic movies and Penguin playoff hockey can bring a sense of guilt. So I guess it's a rather weak resume' of only I've been where you don't want to go but I don't waste a whole lot of time today in trying to warn. I say this only to emphasize that there is only so much time in a day and what is lost, is lost forever. What do I do for real excitement? Well, I'll tell you, buckle your seat belts, for not only did I sow wild oats in my youth but I was a Johnny Appleseed of it, yet there is no excitement, no joy, no awe as great as the realization, and continued refreshing, of what happened on a rocky hill outside the walls of Jerusalem and in a cold tomb on one of its hillsides. There is no thankfulness as powerful as opening one's eyes every morning knowing that God has not abandoned you, no hope as sure as the strength of His grip, no love as strong as displayed by the one most deserving of praise on the one most deserving of forsaking. Remember that you have had only a few short years of navigating adulthood. Be wary in the realization that you are the target of many who want your services only to further their own goals. Consider the faces of old celebrities that often adorn the covers of tabloids at the checkout counter. They were young and beautiful not all that long ago. Time never stops. Fame is fleeting. Plead with God's Holy Spirit to show you your weaknesses, for if you are not aware of them you may fall victim to them. Thank God for for every glass of water, every meal, every breath. Never let a day go by without lifting up in prayer all of your brothers and sisters in Christ who are, at that moment, being persecuted, who are without at that moment, and who are crying out at that moment to the God who beckons you for your acknowledgement of and petitions for them. Do you think that you are relatively smart? Know this...there is one who wants your soul with him in perdition who laughs at your intelligence, and mine. You could not win in a fair fight and this would not even be a fair fight. There are traps all around you. Do not only acknowledge the perils but be sober-minded! Be vigilant, for as theologian Michael Horton warned, this Christian life of ours is not just another social networking. This is real, that is a farce. This has a cost, that is a wage. Press on!
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Friday.....America.....Dave, My Mind Is Going

Nicholas Carr begins and ends his book The Shallows, What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains with thoughts on HAL from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. "Dave, my mind is going...I can feel it. I can feel it" were the computers last words as the astronaut disconnected circuits. Carr follows with I can feel it too. Over the last few years I've had an uncomfortable sense, that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory. Marshall McLuhan appears throughout the book with warnings from years ago that we would experience the dissolution of the linear mind and that we were breaking the tyranny of text over our thoughts and senses. Carr says that he no Luddite and points out that because of the Web, research that once required days in the stacks or periodical rooms of libraries can now be done in minutes but that this boon comes at a price for it shape (s) the process of thought. His book gives us a history of the written word and dissemination of books throughout the world in general. Likewise there's a history of the computer, it's ever increasing use along with some fascinating anecdotes. He spends considerable time on the latest discoveries on the human brain, memory, the processes of learning and cognitive thought...all very readable for the layman. He also gives a caveat on social networking and  companies such as Google. Since Gutenberg's invention, according to Carr, the linear, literary mind has been at the center of art, science and society. The heightened consciousness of the elite in earlier times and most people in more literate times has devolved into computerized minds today that experience cognitive overload from the massive input of semi-related data which eliminates deep thought. Books once enhanced and refined people's experience of life and of nature, writes Carr but this is being replaced by the shallows as the new technologies can displace but not replace the written word and linear mind. Carr details how his own normal  usage of the PC became a dependence upon it and its services. He had first been turned into a human word processor (my present condition) and then something like a high-speed data processing machine, a human HAL, and laments I missed my old brain then set out on research that resulted in this book. We get a fair amount of history and philosophy, from Gutenberg's invention to Nietzsche's use of a typewriter prototype after he went blind but these are only morsels, for the main course is the human brain, how it functions and how it ultimately became dependent on the technology that it invented. We read thoughts on wisdom from Socrates and Aristotle to McLuhan and Henry David Thoreau. This topic isn't new to me and I've recommended Arthur W. Hunt's book The Vanishing Word, The Veneration Of Visual Imagery In The Postmodern World a few times. I recommend both books but Hunt writes of God's design of the written word as a primary method of communicating with man, whereas Carr barely mentions the biggest selling and most powerful book, and source of all wisdom, the Bible.  I'm mentioned in the book! Well, not me personally but the millions of bloggers who wield a keyboard like a magic sword, sending their thoughts into cyberspace. The statistics are there to prove his assertions that extreme computer usage tends to lowers intelligence. It may increase "knowledge" but neuters what intelligence can do with it.  Carr writes The Net's cacophony of stimuli short circuits both conscious and unconscious thought, preventing our minds from thinking either deeply or creatively. Our brains turn into simple signal-processing units, quickly shepherding into unconsciousness and then back again....If our brains are computers, then intelligence becomes indistinguishable from machine intelligence.   Numerous experiments are referenced showing that the hypertext-laden usage of the Internet is producing that cognitive overload. Carr writes research continues to show that people who read linear text comprehend more, remember more, and learn more than those who read text peppered with links. He quotes a certain Rhodes Scholar in that he is comfortable admitting not only that he doesn't read books but that he doesn't see any particular need to read them and cites a digital expert in that we have been emptily praising  great writers of the past. Carr asks Why bother, when you can Google the bits and pieces you need in a fraction of a second. The Net is making us smarter he writes only if we define intelligence by the Net's own standard. Carr explores the phenomenon of Social Networking but saves his greatest concerns for Google, Google's Silicon Valley headquarters-the Googleplex-is the Internet's high church, he writes, and the religion that it practices is nothing more than long established theories on how to improve efficiency in industry transferred to efficiency in the circuitry of the mind. He quotes Google's CEO Eric Schmidt in that the company is founded on the science of measurement striving to systematize everything constantly seeking to refine algorithms to find meaning in our navigation of the Web, the next best thing to actually being able to read (our) minds. Carr quotes Neil Postman in that technical calculation is in all respects (deemed) superior to human judgement; that in fact human judgement cannot be trusted and that the affairs of citizens are best guided and conducted by experts. Carr writes the last thing the company (Google) wants is to encourage leisurely reading or slow, concentrated thought. Google is, quite literally, in the business of distraction. Google, Facebook and others are in a constant competition to keep us distracted. The efforts to digitalize every book in the world is explored with the comments by some in government who were suspicious of Google's motives, despite the altruistic rhetoric...that... when businesses like Google look at libraries, they do not merely see temples of learning...they see potential assets...ready to be mined. Another observer wrote that Google has become a true believer in its own goodness, a belief which justifies its own set of rules regarding corporate ethics, anti-competition, customer service and its place in society and that the real value of books in not in the self-contained literary work but in the data to be mined. Carr enters the debate on artificial intelligence coming down solidly in that it will not happen but does warn that humans may indeed be transformed into computers. He quotes David Brooks of the New York Times in that he once thought that the magic of the information age was that it allowed us to know more but came to realize that the magic of the information age is that it allows us to know less. A little bit of personal commentary here in that this is in no small way related to our voting patterns today. Our knowledge of national and international affairs comes from snippets of information garnered from television shows where hosts who speak in soundbites devoid of any deep meditation on any of the issues seem totally ignorant of accurate opposing views. And this is all that we want, for the pace of the Internet allows no contemplation. Memory is outsourced as David Books put it. Carr enters into this thought with evidence that memory is unstable for a brief period of time and the Internet is the perfect antidote for the development of long-term memory. Allow me another personal comment here in that the proclamation of the Gospel is also effected by the information age in that decisions for Christ are all too often mere hyperlinks in religious surf, just one more piece of data to be stored. The short-term memory of an altar call fails to plow deep in the mind and heart. This is why I concluded my short story, Seaman Murphy, from October 25th with John Cermak's refusal to lead Shane Murphy in the sinner's prayer. Nicholas Carr sums up his theories in that it is becoming much easier for humans to operate computers...but also....easier for computer networks to operate human beings. I want to add Carr's experience in writing this book as he was without the Internet as he worked on it: The dismantling of my online life was far from painless. For months, my synapses howled for their Net fix. I found myself sneaking clicks on the "check for new mail" button. Occasionally, I'd go on a daylong Web binge. but in time the cravings subsided, and I found myself able to type at my keyboard for hours on end or to read through a dense academic paper without my mind wandering. Some old, disused neural circuits were springing back to life, it seemed, and some of the newer, Web-wired ones were quieting down. I started to feel generally calmer and more in control of my thoughts-less like a lab rat pressing a lever and more like, well, a human being. My brain could breath again. Carr's brief sojourn in the Bible was profound in these verses:
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men's hands.
They have mouths, but they speak not;
eyes have they, but they see not;
They have ears, but they hear not;
Noses have they, but they smell not;
They have hands, but they handle not;
Feet have they, but they walk not;
Neither speak they through their throat;
They that make them are like unto them;
So is every one that trusteth in them.

Wednesday.....Culture.....Scrapbooks

         I had previously played with the concept of merit badges in a few blogs. The first merit badge that I offered was on Freedom or Liberty and it was from July 16, 2009.  The blog gave my impressions and gratitude for the Boy Scouts Of America and listed three books to read to attain that particular merit badge (one of which is recommended again at the bottom of this blog.)
           I'd like to give another merit badge to be earned here today called Scrapbooking. This coming transfer of power in our Legislative Branch through the electoral process is vital but only a tourniquet. If our Senators and Representatives try to return to business as usual it won't even be a tourniquet and the Democrats are already playing the "common ground" card. After two years of thuggery in tearing down the hedges that protected our Constitution, they are going to try to come off as moderates concerned about possible gridlock...and people will believe it!.
          The goal of this new Congress has to be one of "holding in abeyance" the agenda of the Executive Branch and possible executive orders, using their subpoena power as they investigate the shenanigans of Congress and the President over the last two years, taking their power back from the Czars, getting hold of our national defense and sending a message around the world that we may have a lame duck but there's a big dog right behind him.  In this past campaign season we saw the utter contempt by some for those many candidates who kept citing the Founding Fathers and their documents.
         The agenda of the Obama administration is meant to exorcise these fundamental concepts of government and yet more than one Republican has already stated that they want to work with the President!  Karl Rove and the boys will be riding into town posthaste and will try to get the old gang back together.  My recommendation to everyone that may read this blog is that you go out to your local craft store and purchase a large scrapbook and begin to document what those who were just voted into office do and say in the coming months. The results of yesterday's voting turned the focus from the Democrats to the Republicans. We are going to find out in short order who meant what they said in the campaign and who were along for the ride. When your at the craft store, pick up a coupon cutter. Every time their name appears in print, cut it out and file it. It may just be you that runs against them next time. This holding their feet to the fire, if they need it, will also prepare you in case your name is on those yard signs next time around.
         
There may be a battle royal in the Senate and hopefully Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina, and a few others, receive some help from yesterday's additions; and there are plenty in the House ready to rally. The cream will rise to the top but it will take a discerning eye to spot it. If there are heroes around today, and indeed there are-many, Jim DeMint is at the top of the list. Rally around him folks!

Sunday...Christianity.....J. Vernon McGee

         J. Vernon McGee was a Presbyterian preacher whose ministry was a staple on Christian radio for many years and continues on even after his death 21 years ago! A learned man, his folksy twang is not going to draw many bank executives or socialites to his radio program but there was something very valuable in this Lawrence Welk of Evangelicals and it is evident in the longevity of the radio ministry.
         I listened in on the way to work this Sunday morning. It was a very sound sermon on the Ten Commandments in that they condemn us rather than being a blueprint for salvation. They command but they also convict in that we then realize that we need a Savior, for we have sinned, and do sin, and only the righteousness of Christ imputed to our account, through faith, and faith alone, in Him will justify us in God's eyes. 
         In the course of the sermon he brought up another point that I would like to mention here. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah were compared. One being very practical and the other a visionary. Reverend McGee thought it important to say that a visionary needs a little bit of the practical, and the practical one needs a little bit of the visionary. My theology is Calvinist and Reformed. I came a long way to get here. I was Pentecostal and Fundamentalist in my early days and segued into the Reformation through Evangelicalism. I have written many times in this blog on the differences between these Christian beliefs and enjoy a healthy debate on the issues involved, but I also think that I have retained and expressed a respect for those other Christian groups evidenced by my words on men such as Pat Robertson, David Wilkerson, Jerry Falwell and James Dobson.
          Those who are dismissive of Theology and doctrine as if they are distractions from the love commanded of us in the Bible might consider that they too are theologians and very doctrinal in their beliefs. Their strong theology is one of weak theology and their strong doctrine is one of few doctrines. Echoing J. Vernon McGee, the Reformed, the strongest of the groups, in my opinion-obviously, needs some Fundamentalist in them, their strength being a willingness to cling to Christ in the face of all the world's intellectual arguments against God. We need some Pentecostalism in us where the euphoria of those first days of faith in Christ is seen every day in us, and we need some of the temporal, family-oriented, May God bless America zeal of the Evangelical.
          There was a political rally in our nation's capitol yesterday that billed itself as non-political and sanity restoring. It was a sham event meant only to assuage the anger of the public days before an election because of a near-takeover of America by Progressives and Socialists. Christians need to be vary wary of copying this false fairness doctrine in the church. The berating of those who believe that there are distinct, discernible truths is a ploy. By attacking the search for and defense of truth as divisive the opponents of truth seek to win by default. They seek to embarrass through false piety.
         There was at one time an American Creed that united a diverse populace and displayed the beauty of multiculturalism, not the deformity of multiculturalism as it is propounded today, but this Creed is under attack in political events such as yesterday's. Christians are united in something infinitely more important and that is as adopted children; redeemed through the perfect life, agonizing death and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the long-awaited Messiah and now long-awaited King of Kings! The fellowship of all Christians needs neither compromise nor rallies but only the shared realization that we shall all stand before Him in white someday; garments given to us even though our fallen nature would never have deemed them valuable.

http://www.thruthebible.org/

Thursday.....Politics......It's Only One Man's Prayer?

We returned today from Rehoboth Beach in Delaware, 82 degrees by the way with people tanning and some even in the water! It was a two night spontaneous trip after a scheduled few days in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I simply wanted to drive around Delaware with my blog's bumper sticker and Christine O'Donnell's name on the back of the car, and also to pass out some small cards with the blog URL on it in the process. The purpose? I wanted to do something, however insignificant, for this courageous young lady who put her reputation on the line for what she believes. I would want to do the same for Joe Miller, Sharron Angle, Marco Rubio and a host of others whose names, hopefully, will someday push the Karl Roves out of the  limelight. Just one person with a blog, you say? No, one more person with a blog! One more voice! One more citizen who has had enough of professional politicians! I know men who are very vocal in their conservative talk, yet they will not vote on Tuesday. I'm sure that there are a number of reasons for this unfortunate phenomenon but the number one  must be the obvious; it's only one vote, they reason. I have two responses to this. The first being, once again the obvious, if enough people take that position...the opponent wins. We hear this reasoning from all candidates in the last minute of their campaigns, but it accomplishes little because the bugaboo remains...come on, it's just one vote! My second response may not be so easy to avoid. If you do not vote...your conservative opinions may be hollow. You may talk a good game but do you show up when needed? You are letting others, and your country down, and those who sacrificed greatly to give you that right. As the old idiom goes, with friends like that, who needs enemies? OK..... I vented. Let me tone it down a little bit for with some there are mitigating circumstances. One might  work very hard in a campaign and give of their money but still not show up at the polls. Another might have a history of honest and dedicated public service but still see their own vote as only one vote. I don't agree with them but do acknowledge that they indeed did show up...just not at the polling booth, a mental miscalculation. I have something else to say about this though. It's about what they are missing! When that vote now button is pushed, there is an exhilaration! One has stayed the course to the end and can look in the mirror. Win or lose, they can stand tall. Their vote has become a part of history as every vote ever cast for Abraham Lincoln...or Ronald Reagan. They will have an answer for their children when asked, Who did you vote for, Dad. Maybe most importantly of all, they will have humbled themselves by not condescending to the little people who vote while they do the more important tasks. And picture this; some day they may pick up the banner themselves and find their own name on the ballot. What might they then say, believe, even depend upon, as they find themselves encouraging others to vote? If we show up now, and if God extends His mercy upon us, they can then look back upon this election and say...It happened before...it can happen again! Do Christians say, It's only one man's prayer..so why pray? No we don't, because God hears every prayer. We know that in His wisdom His answer may be no but He beckons us to come to Him with our petitions. He determines the fate of elections and whole nations also. His answer to us here may also be no, for our dependence is truly on Him alone, but it is a great privilege and blessing to pray, and a lesser one to cast a vote for God-fearing leaders, but a privilege and blessing none the less!

Wednesday.....Culture.....Secret (Service) Agent Man

He was retired from the Secret Service and as one of their agents protected President Reagan for four years. Joseph Petro's book Standing Next To History, An Agent's Life Inside The Secret Service had been well received in 2006. Typical of the integrity that you would expect from these men, the book wasn't going to give away any secrets or information that disparages the people that he protected. I was fortunate to see him speak last night to a gathering that would have to be considered liberal leaning. It was an evening of anecdotes with a little bit of history and didn't enter into political preferences. On the historical side, Special Agent Petro, and his KGB counterpart, were the only two observers, other than the interpreter, when President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, walked away from the Geneva delegations to a quaint cabana on Lake Geneva to personally take the measure of each other. On the personal side, Petro tells of how the first thing Ronald Reagan did every morning for eight years at the Oval Office was to reach into a desk drawer, grab some peanuts and scatter them on the patio for the squirrels. The very last thing he did in that office, upon visiting it one last time prior to the transfer to George H. W. Bush, was to reach in the drawer and scatter the peanuts again. This time he bent over and left a note card on the concrete along with the nuts that read Beware, the new guy has a dog!. So it was a lighthearted talk. The Q&A did bring up partisan politics and Mr. Petro's answer was predictable. He mentioned a tee-shirt that he once had that said you elect em...we protect em. He did make one comment that I would like to explore a little bit further here. He mentioned that the extreme rhetoric of this current political season could lead to violent acts but it is much more muddled and complicated than a simple statement like that. Where does the agenda of the Progressive Left come into the equation? When can subterfuge of Socialists in the administration be questioned? Is there any venting at all allowed as one extreme voting irregularity after another is reported? How far can our military and national defense be depleted, how many judges can legislate from their bench, how many czars will assume duties of the Congress, how many taxes-world taxes-hidden taxes be levied, how many social mores deconstructed through the intellectual bullying of political correctness, how many foreign policy decisions can be based on domestic political consequences, how many investigative whitewashes by the media, how many of these things should Americans watch without speaking about them to their fellow citizens? George W. Bush was called a murderer and everyday American citizens were labelled backwoods, superstitious believers in God yet this was acceptable. Mr. Petro was correct in that these are very dangerous and troubling times. The truth will win out if it can get out but an even greater weapon is prayer....prayer for humility in that we have all added to our national disability of not functioning as, not only a free people, but a God-fearing people that naturally discerns the evils of greed, the corruptions of power and the lure of thinking too highly of ourselves and our abilities apart from God's abiding grace.

Sunday.....Christianity.....Seaman Murphy

Many will see Clint Eastwood's film Hereafter starring Matt Damon. I'll probably see it when it comes out on DVD. I don't have to see it for research now for I've seen so many of them over the years, the decades, films that explore the hereafter. Eastwood is not a director that seeks to titillate. His message in this film may give a subtle message or it may just stir thought. So many are fascinated by life after death. I searched quite a bit myself. I mentioned previously that a Pulitzer Prize winning book The Denial Of Death by Ernest Becker captivated me for a long time in the early 80s but God was about to have mercy on the least worthy of all as he put another book in my possession that would lead me in the right direction. What would happen to me after I die, where would I go, would I even exist? God is ether going to have mercy upon a person, or He will choose not to, but he has designed something that brings us into the equation. He says in Isaiah Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.


It was a warm night for Cape May, New Jersey, in late October, at 70 degrees as the sun went down. The temperature had risen to 77 at midday. John Cermak was sipping a coffee at Marie's diner when Sue Jamison rushed in looking left and right for John who was in a corner by the front window for it gave access to an outlet for his computer. Sue's frantic look eased somewhat at seeing John but John's calm turned a little frantic at seeing Sue rush in like that.

 "John, Shane Murphy is in the hospital. They say he jumped into the water from the ferry in that insane quest of his to find that ghost ship. He's lost his mind John."

John Cermak was the librarian at the Cape May library. He got to know Shane Murphy over the summer as the 22 year old spent most of his days in the stacks looking up everything from ghosts, to shipwrecks, to local and Eastern seaboard maritime history. In 1937 a merchant ship named the Kenmore had been lost in a Nor'easter along with 27 seamen and its captain Manfred von Aire. The mystery that evolved around it was that it was spotted docked at Norfolk, Virginia the following year by two ex-crewmen who had joined the navy and were stationed there. It caused a bit of a stir around Cape May after that and had been investigated by the government and insurance companies. It turned out that a sister ship, the Kenmack, was the ship spotted by the men but their were no records from the Jones Shipbuilding Company that a sister ship had ever been built and maritime records showed no such ship as the Kenmack. Some say that the whole thing was a secret government deal concerning the war that was brewing around the world. Others said that it was a ghost ship for the men who spotted it also said that they walked the decks and there was not a single crewman on board. The myth and the mystery of the Kenmore grew over the years and sure enough there were other "sightings" and the ones in recent years always came from the decks of the ferry crossing over from Cape May to Lewes, Delaware. One book on ghost ships included a chapter on the Kenmore and the Mystery Channel did a piece on it for cable television.

Shane Murphy was headed no where in particular in life. He just graduated from community college but had not even looked for a job in his major. He worked pizza delivery and rented a flat just off of the bridge where you enter Cape May and spent his free time trying to find something in the mystery of a ghost ship that would give something of substance to his life. He brought up the subject time and time again with John Cermak but the librarian was a Christian and always seemed to finish his answers with some scripture verse that mentioned man as a mortal being that would stand before Jesus Christ after death and not float around in another dimension, but that didn't stop Shane Murphy from asking more and more reference questions.

The nurse pointed to Shane's room and simply shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. The doctors had concluded that Shane had not attempted suicide and was no danger to himself as long as he stayed off of that ferry. John Cermak walked into Shane's room. It was quiet with no TV on as in most of the other rooms. The ceiling light was on but the light at Shane's bed was off and he sat their motionless, just staring straight ahead.

"Mr. Cermak!"
"Hello Shane."
"I saw the Kenmore! Not only that I walked the decks and talked to Captain von Aire...or..I talked to   someone anyway."

John didn't comment. He pulled a chair alongside Shane's bed and said "I'm listening."

Shane told the entire story without any interruption from his visitor. He had bought a round-trip ticket and boarded the 8 o'clock ferry. He usually pulled a blanket from the deck cabinets but this evening was particularly warm and he didn't need one. He almost fell asleep on the trip back but was gazing off into the inlet when suddenly the bow of a ship passed by the railing going in the opposite direction, this not more than a meter away. He stood up and tried to scream out to someone but could not. He had no idea what to do as he took a hesitant step towards the rail. The camera that he always lugged on board was in the deck chair. The ship's bridge passed slowly and the name Kenmore was written on the side. There was no lights on the ship and it was going to be gone in a few seconds. Shane had no idea what to do. He grabbed the rail as the stern of the Kenmore approached. He looked up to the bridge of the ferry, saw no one, looked back at the Kenmore about to pass...and leaped! He hit hard on the wooden deck and felt pain in his shoulder. It was quiet all of a sudden, and dark. The noise of the ferry was lessening as it slid away in the distance until it was absolutely quiet. The Kenmore moved quickly along without making any noise. It was as if it was a sailing vessel but it was a coal fed boiler ship. He stood up and took a few steps just to hear the sound of his boots on the deck calling out "Hello" but there was no answer. He saw a very dim light in the windows of the bridge that was ten feet over his head. There was a ladder up to the bridge and he reached out and touched it first, then grabbed it and climbed, rung by rung, up to the catwalk in front of the steering house. He could see nothing through the panes of glass darkened by, what he surmised to be, over 70 years of travelling through the mists of the ocean, but the dim light was still there. He walked to the port side and grabbed the handle to the door into the bridge. Turning it brought the sound of metal to metal and he gently pushed the door bringing a squeaking sound. He pushed the door without stepping inside. His heart was beating fast. There at the wheel, facing out over the bow, a man stood, with a captain's hat and long seaman's coat.

"Captain...Captain von Aire?"

"Captain von Aire?" He repeated louder.

"I've been waiting for you!" came the answer from the man without turning around.

"F..f..f..for me?"

""Yes, for you. I see the faces as she passes by and knew that someone would come to me."

"Captain. the world is waiting to meet you. You'll be the most famous person in the the world when they find out!"

"Find out what seaman Murphy?"

"That you are still alive...how did you know my name, I'm not one of your seaman?"

"I've always known your name. I would call out to you...Come to me seaman Murphy. Come and join me!"

"Where is the rest of the crew? Did they die in the storm?"

"They're all around you seaman Murphy. Can't you hear them?"

Shane heard what seemed to be faint laughter and his skin crawled. The captain had not yet turned to face Shane. He would move the wheel to the port a little and then move it to the starboard, always seeming to gaze ahead into the waters.

"Captain? Did you hear what I said? You have to stop this ship alongside the ferry to show the world that you are alive!"

At that the captain put the lock on the wheel and slowly turned as he said "Alive? Seaman Murphy, I have been dead for millennia..for eons. And now you are dead with me and will be my seaman for ever!" As he turned, his face was fully seen by Shane. It was ashen with no discerning marks to distinguish a nose or mouth...only red eyes that seemed to bore a hole into Shane's eyes. The captain gave a loud and hideous laugh "Pour me some rum seaman Murphy!" he bellowed. "You're going to be a fine seaman!" and again came the laugh.

Shane was too frightened to speak. He backed out of the bridge onto the catwalk. There was no sight of the ferry lights for it was probably back at Cape May by now. The captain shouted out again "Seaman Murphy...come to me." Shane backed away until he felt the ladder and stumbled as he descended. He ran to the rail and saw nothing except the waves that were growing higher and higher. It was cold now. It must be below freezing but it was warm when he was on the ferry. The captain's voice was now all around Shane "Seaman Murphy! You wanted to know about us! Now you do. Come to me! You're mine now!"

Shane ran to a lifeboat on the aft deck and cranked on the wheel that held it in place. Slowly, inches at a time, it lowered. Shane could hear laughter all around by now and thought that he felt a hand on his leg. He cranked and cranked until the lifeboat was bouncing on the waves. Grabbing onto the ropes, he slid down and once again hit hard on the wooden planks on the bottom of the lifeboat. He reached up and loosened the ropes until his skiff was set free. The Kenmore slowly passed and the laughter grew softer and softer until the only thing that could be heard was the crashing of the waves around the small boat. Shane had no idea what to do except wait, but the waves of a tempest that was not forecast, was brewing and endangering the lifeboat. He held onto the seats that were attached to the boat until one wave came completely over him sending him into the raging waters. He found himself crying out to the God that he so often ignored in his conversations with the man who he was now telling his story to. Many minutes had passed and Shane had trouble staying afloat in the cold waters. He was losing consciousness. As he lay as still as he could, holding his breath to stay afloat, he heard voices, yells and screams. A spotlight blinded his vision and he felt hands grabbing him before he passed out. He awoke in that room and told his story but no one was even interested. He thought of no one but John Cermak, until there he stood by the end of his bed.

Shane looked at John and said "What happened to me, Mr. Cermak?"

John spoke his first words since his "I'm listening."

"You were in the water for ten minutes Shane. They spotted you jumping into the water and stopped the ferry immediately. They rescued you in no time. You were never out of their sight."

"Then what did I experience? Was it a dream? Am I possessed?"

"I don't know and I won't speculate Shane. I will say this...you've heard me say it before..."it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement." You did not die, but will you live?"

John Cermak got up to leave but Shane said "Mr. Cermak! Don't I have to say a prayer or something? Don't I have to become a Christian right now?"

John stopped at the door, turned and said a few last words before leaving, "Shane, the next few days are going to be difficult for you. They may keep you here while you talk to a psychiatrist. I'll come back every day. I listened and didn't say a world. I listened intently. When I come back, I want you to listen intently to the story that I am going to tell you." He pointed to the book he left at the foot of Shane's bed that appeared to be a Bible. "Some reading material for you. Good-bye for now."

Thursday.....Politics.....Separation Of Church And State?

I had only read the captions from the stories on Christine O'Donnell's comments on the separation of church and state when I overheard numerous comments on the big story, then I investigated just what had happened. O'Donnell, the Republican candidate to the Senate from Delaware, was speaking  in a debate with her opponent at Widener School of Law when, in the course of that debate she asked "Where in the Constitution, is separation of church and state." There was laughter from the audience and she was severely taken to task the next day by the national media. Once again, there is a story behind the story. Law schools are very much like colleges and universities in general as they are primarily liberal institutions with a few conservative ones that look to the original intent of the authors of our founding documents on issues such as this. The laughter of the students displayed an ignorance of the phrase separation of church and state as it used today. It is a pejorative in that it is meant to purge God from the public square. It fits very nicely in the old Soviet Constitution but is eisegesis in ours. I previously wrote on Thomas Jefferson's use of the phrase and it is utterly misinterpreted as Jefferson was writing to the Danbury Baptist Association encouraging them that the state will stay out of the Church's business. The 1st Amendment begins...Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibit the free exercise thereof. Our Founding fathers were speaking about the separation of the state from the particular religious beliefs of its people. The state will not promote one denomination, nor will it discriminate against another. The usage and intent of the phrase today is not touched upon in the 1st Amendment which describes the relationship of church and state, a relationship that was to be nothing like the state church of England to its people or the persecution of those who fled England to come here. Rather, the intent is an attempt to attach an indicative to the 1st Amendment that is not there. The whole incident speaks to the general knowledge, or lack of it, of much of the public on the issues that divide us. A cursory examination is given on an issue, from sources that are easiest to find (the mainstream media,) from an already biased inclination. This election is once again being fought through television campaign ads, YouTube, Facebook, flyers in the mail, soundbites and talking points although the outrage seen in the Tea Party movement is the result of people with  first-hand experience of the consequences of an eroding constitution and usurping of its  powers by an activist judiciary, bureaucratic takeover of Congressional responsibilities, political correctness, highway robbery through taxation, a weakened national defense, threats to our national sovereignty, a desecration of marriage and a direct assault of that 1st Amendment in that a particular religion-Secularism and its atheist sponsors- is being established while Christianity is being prohibited piecemeal. In the eyes of many today, there is an epidemic in America and it is the quest to read, to investigate and  to discern, as opposed to just listen and accept. If a vaccine is not found to stop this, or a antibody to kill it, the grand design of a socialist country with Progressive ideals will cease and desist and, Huxley forbid, a pandemic might even spread around the globe.

Tuesday.....International....Chancellor of the Chubby Checker

Strikes are roiling France but the UK announced budget cuts today that has British public services twisting in the wind.  Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne declared  today is the day where Britain steps back from the brink as he announced spending and entitlements cuts that has set everyone else in both Europe and America back on its heals. The next five years may see 500,000 jobs lost. Just about every area has been cut, including the military, and the state pension age is being raised to 66, where France's riots stem from their raising the pension age from 60 to 62. Bureaucrats are being axed and the BBC is being hit. Here are some comments from voices in government and society, both in praise of and opposed to:

Today is the day that an abstract debate about spreadsheets and numbers turns into stark reality

Cuts to the funding of border controls and counter-terrorism policing risk weakening our defenses against threats to our national security.

I'm not trying to disguise that it is going to be difficult for a lot of people.

I don't think that there's any way that a Labour government would have made choices that mean that children are actually bearing more of a burden in this deficit reduction than bankers...

George Osbourne has pulled the rug from under recovery with these reckless cuts.

It's going to be a very serious three or four years ahead of us.

This is a budget to destroy 500,000 jobs in the public sector, according to the government's own estimates.

It is a Tory list of shame

The Chancellor has got the strategic direction of this spending review right.

Simply slashing jobs and opening the prison gates is not an option.

I am confident that we have the will and determination to tackle bureaucracy...

Business has been absolutely clear on this-the deficit has to be tackled no matter what and this starts the process.

The broadest shoulders still have the fattest wallets. The price from George Osbourne's day of reckoning will be paid by the economy.

It's great news that the Government is going ahead with necessary spending cuts to get the deficit under control and that politicians are finally setting out clear plans to deal with the fiscal crisis.

This is not a spending review-it's a massacre.

The comments go on and on, back and forth. Once again, the issue here goes beyond the obvious. This financial crisis round the world is real and not only for investors on Wall Street and 401Ks. Incredibly, British taxes may be raised even higher but the government had to do this first. That stiff upper lip of the British will be sorely tested. This is the price paid for fiscal irresponsibility, and short-sightedness, and it is only the beginning. We will pay the piper for the bailouts and stimulus as we are currently paying the price for letting down our guard on constitutional, cultural and ecclesiastical matters. Words from a well-known Christian hymn comes to mind:

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

Monday.....Miscellaneous.....Never, Never, Never Quit...Redux

The following blog is from June 10th of this year but I feel it is necessary to revisit it, for the near future in America is more perilous than it has ever been before; although one would never know it while scanning the television channels.  There are difficulties ahead that may shake us to the very core, shake our beliefs and render us temporarily ineffective to act. There has to be a level of preparation but one rarely prepares for something they, not only do not see, but actively try to will away. We should consider the possibilities and go over in our minds the various ways that events may play out. Yes, we should make our plans and enjoy the multiple blessings God has given but should always remember that life is transitory, that nations rise and fall, that tyrants arise and leaders are born out of necessity but not without nourishment in the womb. Our security is that nothing can befall us without God's permission and if there is a verse to dwell on in times like these it might be Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5,6) The following blog starts off with my propensity to lose things and then, through diligent detective work, find them. In the past two days I lost my keys but found them in the yard, and I lost my cell phone charger but after exhausting all the possibilities at home determined that I must have dropped it in the parking lot at work when I set my bags down. The next morning it was still there. Yogi once said It ain't over till it's over and I would add, if you quit....it's over. November 2nd will only stop the leak. The water has yet to be bailed out of the bilge, the sails repaired and rudder freed from the moorings cast overboard in an effort to set speed records to reach the port of Progressivism.


I am very, very good at finding lost items. The reason is because I am so very proficient at losing things and thus have lots of experience. I will go to extraordinary lengths  to retrieve something I've lost. I bought an English pipe on a vacation to Europe in 1981 and promptly dropped it through an opening in front of the elevator door at work upon returning home. To this day, 29 years later, when I stand before that elevator, my lips curl up like Bill Murray's in Caddy Shack, as he ponders how to get that gopher. That pipe is probably petrified today but it doesn't matter. I recently switched cars with my son and dropped my money clip between the seat and the console, a very tight place. I retrieved it along with a metal bookmark that I had given him with a quote etched on it. The words read Never, never, never quit-Winston Churchill. One word, thrice repeated, does not sound very poetic but it does deliver the message. When utilized in the Bible, it means what it does today...extreme emphasis. I don't mean to sound trite but a saying like that needs pondering over, even meditating upon. Churchill's actual words delivered in October of 1941 were "Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never, in nothing, great or small, large or petty, never give in, except to honor and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy". I'm not talking about never giving up on a personal goal or desired vocation. Motivational speakers abound who do that. In my opinion, one of the most tragic mistakes that we have made is our judgement that man is basically good. The effort to ban all nuclear weapons is based on this, there is elements of it in the failure to acknowledge the legitimacy of the death penalty, and it even shows up in abortion as you have the fetus that is not a person, whose continued existence depends upon genuine persons who are generally good. The same principle of good people making their own decisions is in the same-sex marriage debate. Good people should trump laws in legalizing drugs and illegal immigration. Man is good and laws are neutral therefore, man trumps laws. Why be shackled to constitutions when man can make decisions as they arise? The biggest issue of all may be in our belief that mankind is good, placed under the dominion of a God, where His goodness is suspect to begin with. In reality, man is not good. Given the proper circumstance, rewards and (lack of ) punishments, he will cause havoc, pain and suffering. Should this be the case, would it not make sense to never, never, never quit on dealing with our own weaknesses and seeking Him who can not only give us the strength but give an impetus to live, at times, as though we were good?

Sunday.....Christianity.....Solzhenitsyn Was Right

It's hard to assess what people might think upon stumbling upon this blog. My only source of advertising is the magnetic bumper stickers that I transfer from one car to another as I drive them. The message is very pessimistic as far as the world and our nation is concerned. The coming election is only a tourniquet and there may be far too much blood lost already. It is difficult to write this way and even harder to face the reality of what I believe. I want to be mistaken and that is not a very pleasant situation to be in. Shakespeare wrote uneasy lies the head that wears the crown but uneasy also lies the head that sees madmen take advantage of the gullible. Churchill probably had more peace when he wore the crown during war than when he was ridiculed for the warnings he gave on Hitler's intentions. My son and I have had a tradition during the many beach vacations that our family has taken over the years. The boardwalks always offer little corked bottles with sand or a small sailing ship or some such items inside. We would buy a couple and write a short gospel message, stick the paper inside and heave the bottles into the waves. As he got older the messages became more specific and I would add R. C. Sproul's ministry web site on the paper. It's www.ligonier.org  by the way. The last few years, yes even now, I would put my blog address on it. I am unabashedly a firm believer in God's providence and that He often uses even the most unlikely sources and undeserving people in his plans. As best as I can recall, Alexandr Solzhenitsyn tells this story of his conversion. He was a prisoner in the gulag system that he would eventually expose. He became ill and a doctor, a fellow prisoner, worked on him throughout the night. That doctor openly  talked about his Christian faith while he worked on the future Nobel Prize winner in Literature. A guard came by and warned him to stop. When Solzhenitsyn awoke in the morning he asked for the doctor but was told that he was dead, killed for his testimonies of Jesus Christ. This was the beginning of Alexandr Solzhenitsyn's gift of literature to the world from the eyes of a Christian. He later wrote the following on the condition of his country...Russia.
   Over a half century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia: "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened." Since then I have spent well-nigh 50 years working on the history of our revolution; in the process I have read hundreds of books, collected hundreds of personal testimonies, and have already contributed eight volumes of my own toward the effort of clearing away the rubble left by that upheaval. But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat : "Men have forgotten God; that's why all this has happened.
Our national debt is the result of bailouts and stimulus packages applied with no wisdom. There are economies around the world that might survive the conditions but the world is so intertwined that unless most of them succeed they all will fail. Economic upheavals bring on revolutions in both governments and societies and there are those in high places who are primed  for this chaos to bring about a new world order that they have envisioned for quite some time. Terrorism is directed to societies that follow Robert's Rules of Order while they themselves kill wantonly knowing that they will not have to face anyone as ruthless as they are. Iran will process weapons grade uranium, if they haven't already done so, and the resulting bomb (s) will be used somewhere, sometime. China will not be submissive if their economy collapses. They will use economic blackmail and their ever increasing military power if necessary. Putin's Russia fooled Solzhenitsyn and many others. All of these problems went from the warning stage to the imminent stage since 1992. There are signs, some significant, that peoples and governments want to right their ships of state but enemies of these nations also see these changes in attitude and that forces them to act while they have the upper hand. There is only one question in all of this and that is the American people. Was the reputation that we have had as a people...hype...generated from its enormous successes, or was it real? Well, it was real but the further question is whether we still possess those traits. We are probably going to find out. We know one thing for sure. When people of many former nationalities become one people united in the common bond of liberty, and acknowledge God as their creator and benefactor, they can become an enormous force for right. Germany's Angela Merkel said yesterday that multiculturalism is a failure. It has failed us also as it tore us apart and sapped our strength. Liberty has become an entitlement rather than a reward for vigilance. We have sat in awe at the feet of those who proudly boast that there is no God. It is hard, if not impossible. to judge whether Americans bear the traits of their fathers or whether they have followed other gods. Polls cannot answer this question, only trial can. Speaking for myself, I probably do not have those traits but I have something more sure. I acknowledge that God is the source of our strength. He may, as he has done in the past, make it very evident that we must admit that we cannot sustain ourselves, and that He moves within those who acknowledge where the power comes from. All these problems, this perfect storm has come upon us because we have forgotten him. Solzhenitsyn was right on this.

Thursday.....Politics....Maggie Thatcher and Jeane Kirkpatrick Would Have Been Proud

There is an ad that I often see in the magazines where a man is fishing from a boat, with his back to the waterfalls that are fast approaching. A rather incredible thing is happening in our nation today, as it also drifts aimlessly towards a waterfall, for women have pushed the men aside, taken hold of the oars and are attempting to row the boat to shore before catastrophe strikes. Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Star Parker and Sharron Angle are just a few of the many women who have risen in defense of this nation and there are many more behind word processors, microphones and in the home. They are smart, articulate, motivated, confident and courageous as they entered the fray with the Harry Reids and Nancy Pelosis of this world. They've been mercilessly attacked, particularly by the Liberal/Progressive women who long ago jettisoned the quality of feminism in favor of robocharm. The feminist movement succeeded for those who bought into it and showed them that they can be every bit as shallow, greedy self-centered and short-sighted as we men can be. Congratulations! We can be very thankful for these Conservative women, many of whom have raised children of their own and refuse to turn them over to Karl Marx and Hillary. The criticisms of these mama grizzlies are often, at best, absurd. An example of politics in this beginning of the 21st century, can be seen in the recent controversy concerning Meg Whitman. This Liberal/Progressive element has absolutely no use for truth or ethics. There is no conscience to hold one back. Any rational observer, no matter what their political affiliation, should be able to look at this story and gasp what have we come to, that we can distort to such a extent that there is not a scintilla of ethics in the motives of those behind it trying to gain votes. The story should not even be Meg Whitman, it should be the outrageous charges, the acting and the deceit that some are capable of and the blindness of the media in failing to call it what it is.  Christine O'Donnell is another example. Hillary had her personal seances in attempting to contact the spirit of Eleanor Roosevelt while in the White House, but O'Donnell admits to toying with witchcraft in her youth and she is ridiculed with the attempt to severely injure. The issue is not O'Donnell's youthful indiscretions or even Hillary's impersonation of Shirley MacLaine, the issue should be the overt attempt to destroy a person for political gain. Christine O'Donnell is being attacked because she is an average person, a normal person who has the audacity of seeking a United States Senate seat without having first knelt at the altar of corporate greed or party politics. It's reported that Maureen Dowd will attach the label "mean" on all these women in her upcoming column. There's a scene in the film School Ties which starred Brendan Fraser and Matt Damon, where the school's director found evidence that someone was cheating on an exam. Damon, who was the guilty student, and knowing that this "elite" school would not stop before finding the culprit, pointed to Fraser, an innocent student, and said "He is the cheater." This is what is happening in the onslaught of verbal attacks on these fine women. Can it get worse than this? Probably. Do we ever want to see it? No. Some of these women may not win their races but they are the better half of the Republican Party. The Declaration of Independence concludes with these words by the men who signed it; And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. That banner was about to fall but was picked up by these women and they are being assailed because of it. What are we men willing to pledge to each other or do we have to go over the waterfall before we will even consider the question?

Wednesday.....Culture.....Facebook Wednesday?

Maybe I should just change Wednesday....Culture to Wednesday....Facebook for changes seem to a weekly, even daily, item for Mark Zuckerberg's empire. To recount a little bit here, I wrote a few blogs on the Facebook phenomenon lately. I've had concerns on social networking for some time. One change that I read about only a few minutes ago is that chat conversations can no longer be deleted, for Facebook removed the delete button. Facebook users are wondering why and they are not very happy about it. The second bit of news was much bigger. Facebook and Microsoft's Bing search engine are becoming intertwined. They will share personal data which brings privacy matters into the picture but Facebook responds by saying that their users can opt out of the special service if they wish. This service will enable Bing users to see "friend's" particularly likes or dislikes on anything from "movies to restaurants." And this may just be the beginning of new services, say the partners. Microsoft has that other monolith Google in its sites, and as one analyst put it "Google, Facebook battle for future of the web." Zuckerberg chose Bing, for now, for "They are really the underdog here" and "because of that they're incentivised to go all out and innovate." In yet another piece of news, according to Fox News, "A privacy watchdog has uncovered a government memo that encourages federal agents to befriend people on a variety of social networks, to take advantage of their readiness to share--and spy on them," The narcissism, the pursuit of the trivial and the super-willingness to taste every grape dangled over the mouth is only part of the problem with this juggernaut of technological innovation in social networking. There is a tapeworm growing in this frenzy for technological gimmicks. Every gimmick is a tentacle, every hour spent on it is literally wasted when one considers that the nation's code of ethics is in critical condition. Will this one day become a cyber-bulimia where one throws up and then waits only long enough to catch a breath before devouring more? The following is but one example of the mindset of those who are drunk on invention, power and an accumulating of money, an accumulation that never seems to end. The Wall Street Journal did a piece, titled "Technology=Salvation," this past weekend on Peter Thiel after interviewing him. Thiel was an early investor in Facebook and is reported to presently own about 3% of the company. It begins with Thiel's opinion that except for the Internet and computers, technological progress today is a myth. According to the Journal, he is a macro investor along the lines of George Soros and bets on the direction of the world's markets. Herein is part of the ethics problem shared by many other professions in that "right and wrong" is an extinct animal and law is simply a rule meant to be challenged for personal gain. Life is a game. According to Mr. Thiel, the national debt is not a problem, it could even double over the next 20 years, as long as wealth is also created. It doesn't matter how much you owe for you are making good money...but circumstances change and by that time its way too late to act responsibly. Mr Thiel acknowledges this, sort of, as he describes those who lost big in the sub-prime mess as "betting...on the productivity gains to make ...debts affordable." He hit on the crux of the problem, but he promoted the cause and not a solution for he laments that there are not more companies as great as Facebook and admits that it is "dangerous" to be part of such a successful company when other areas are not succeeding. This is maybe the understatement of the year. Corporations often buy other corporations, not to improve their product, but to find themselves on top when, and if, the economy settles out. It's an untenable theorem. Facebook, and other behemoths, will come to a point where they will not be able to afford it, and when they do, their employees will suffer and those dependent upon them will be left out in the wind to dry, or, could Facebook ever be too big to fail? This is the present administration's position, throw the money at bailouts and stimulus, just tax enough to be able to pay for it, and hope that world events do not thwart the plan. One unforeseen problem... the people are not going to be taxed to pay for the megalomania dreams of superegos. The welfare of the people does not come into play with Facebook execs, only the desires of the people that they are more than happy to prescribe steroids to. Mr. Thiel was portrayed in the recent movie on Facebook, The Social Network, as the man who, as the Journal article puts it, "sets the ball rolling toward cutting out Facebook's allegedly victimized co-founder Eduardo Saverin." This was the mindset of Facebook, is the mindset of much of corporate America, and will be the week ethical link in the chain that brings the house of cards down. Throughout the article's interview, it seems that Mr. Thiel is trying to convince himself that if only we apply all our resources towards technological growth, the macro problem will be solved. He seems to hold up the innovation of Facebook as a guiding principle to what is needed in all of corporate America. He is flailing his arms in the wind and the author of the article, Holman W. Jenkins Jr., spots it as he concludes the piece with "perhaps it really does fall to some dystopian science fiction writer to tell us what such a world will be like-when nations are unravelling even as a cyber-nation called "Facebook" is becoming the most populous on the planet." It has been my contention that Facebook is an extended vacation in the maturing process of a people. It is changing, not only the way people spend their free time, but the way they think, for a linear thought process built on reading words is being supplanted by a image-centered process that only reads short summaries, for there are so many topics to be browsed.