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Church Stuff

I haven’t said a word about this online at all … but here goes what little I can get out.

At our church that we are members of, something happened a couple of years ago which really bothered me at first, and then as time went on the situation got worse, and it became what I view as a doctrinal difference that makes me unable to take Communion there.

I won’t be more clear than that, in this post, as I don’t feel free enough to write about it yet.

In any case, I have continued to go to church there all along, but not as frequently in the past year as before. Things have bothered me physically, for one, and that is in particular “allergies” which were really bad all Winter long, oddly, and it wasn’t just me … others in different areas of The South had similar things. For me, I had long before learned that “to go to church on Sunday” meant a cold beginning on Wednesday for sure almost, from Dec. to Feb., unless you were able to avoid contact with people physically, and the children did so too. Ha.

So with allergies, that means a lower immunity and yes, we stayed home a lot and just have been better off due to such non-activity. Winter flowed right into Spring, allergies just ramped up. They are still out there, bothering me more sometimes than others. I commented to my DH last year early on that I wasn’t happy about going to church for more than one reason, one big one being “I have to take drugs if I go”. I have to take preventative allergy/sinus meds or suffer more and take them afterwards. Their building has made me sick very often, and it’s gotten worse as time has gone on.

I have high sensitivities to mold and chemicals. Cleaning supplies, carpets, synthetic things … ick. The church was built new in 1997. It wasn’t great when it was new, due to being “NEW”, which is no fun for a sensitive person. Later it got even worse, and they found out that there were some a/c filters in an attic that had NEVER been changed, like two years of use. Once that was discovered and fixed, things did improve, but never enough to make me feel alright.

So add trouble to any of that, and it’s so much easier to just avoid it all.

It’s also a fact that I am who I am, my personality. I’ve seen things exploding in people size groups … it used to be a small cozy church, growing, but not exploding. Now it’s just too noisy, almost everyone is unfamiliar to me, core people have left, other core people are still there, but the masses in the morning crowd and swell and those folks are hard to see. Night time services on Sunday are much better. Less people, mostly those I know, and it’s just so much quieter. Morning has music with corporate singing. That music used to be, longer ago, a piano and a violin, sometimes a flute, that sort of thing. It’s way more than that now. We used to sit at the front, and it was bad enough there. With not being there for several weeks, we all went a week ago for the morning service and sat a few rows in front of the music players. I had sensory overload. I mean, a rock concert isn’t as horrid as that was.

I must state many of the things that bother me, the little things, are about church size, growth ideas, and style of preaching. It’s more “intellectual” there, and that was great the first few years. But we’ve missed an applicational style of preaching to the personal heart. I wanted to find another place to worship since before the “problem” that I can’t really write about occured. So it’s not a new thing for me, but only something that my DH was aware of. He disagreed, and so we stayed, and have encountered more and more and more, so much that finally this year he agrees that it’s not good to stay, not that we will surely leave, but we have found another place to go to, and will visit other places still. The place we have found is a wonderful congregation, small, meeting in the pastors house for now. They are part of the Free Church of Scot. con’t. and we love the preaching style, the people there are genuine and love God with all their heart, soul, and mind. The preaching is definitely to the heart. It’s the way of that denomination. Music is “exclusive Psalmody” so done without instruments, voices only. The Psalter they use is quite different from the Trinity Psalter that “our member church” uses. I don’t like that one, but love the Free Church’s … I hadn’t been in an “exclusive psalmist” service before, so couldn’t really agree or disagree with it, though before I tended to probably think I disagreed with it. We’ve been to four Sundays of going to Free Church, and that means, in our case, two times morning and afternoon, and two times afternoon only, and one time morning only — I think that is right. If so, that means four songs for each service, so up to 20+ Psalter songs … and each one is quite lovely, the actual words are so real, whereas Trinity’s seem watery (I’ve compared those to scripture time and again and came away disgusted …)

I’m a musical person, so go figure that I really love the very plain way of worship. I saw it in “our member church” in some way, when we first went to it, in the first couple of years. But it has changed. No way is it ‘modern’ like so many churches are going, it’s still quite conservative comparatively. Comparison to Free Church though is night and day. It’s loud and rushed at “our member church” in the mornings. At night it’s a cappella and songs are picked from the congregation, taking turns picking from each side of the aisle for several choices. It’s much nicer, therefore, at night.

I have noticed that at Free Church my children are paying more attention to the sermon. I can say absolutely it means much more to me that this is true, it means much to me, the sermons do, and they are also speaking to my children. My DD 7 asked me some things yesterday, things about God, which prompted me to tell her the story from Garden of Eden to Jesus’ Ascension. She listened intently to every word and had many interesting comments. I’m seeing the Lord work deeply in her heart moreso lately, like the past year in evidence, but the last month, wow!

My boys are 10 and 5, and they are listening too, still not quite as opened to some issues, but inroads are obvious.

Finding another church, thus far, has been a boon for us in ways so hard to describe, just let me say, such blessings.

The people there are the main ones (almost the only ones) who aided us in our home repairs during the time we needed help the other week. We knew some of them from our church before, but they had left to go to Free Church a couple of years ago. The others we had only met once, and they so graciously aided us and worked long, hard hours of labour with DH. What a blessing they were to us.

The fellowship there is great. The Sundays are arranged such as the morning service begins at 11am, then everyone has lunch together, “potluck”, and then at about 2pm the afternoon service, then afterwards dessert and more fellowship. Then onward homebound we all are. In the case of a full day of Free Church, we get home between 5pm and 6:30pm depending on how much talking we and the others do.

THAT is a Sabbath I have longed for, so long I’ve longed for it.

“Our member church” is 10:30am and 6:00pm … once a month “dinner” after the morning service, but that has been something that for us isn’t worth it for a long time, and so we have avoided it mostly. I would like it, but no matter what we bring, others bring such things that there is little to no choice beyond salad or something else maybe nicer, but mostly not much. I used to make 3lbs. of beef meatballs, they were so good and you know, if we got three of those meatballs between our whole family it was a miracle. Didn’t matter where in the line we were. Well, that’s only a little thing, there are things about it that are hard to say, but this I will say, in finding a seat, often we’d sit down with our stuff and others still hadn’t sat down mostly, some tables were full, most empty, so we’d picked a table that was empty, and most every time no one would sit with us. We sat down in order to allow others to sit with us, left room for them. We didn’t sit with anyone since there weren’t open spaces for our family as such. It never went well. Atimes we’d find someone to talk to, but usually not. It was just a mess, and I’d always go home hungry. At home it’s frustrating on any Sunday when going to “our member church” due to having to make a meal, and then rush back to night service.

It’s so much nicer to just get something ready on Saturday to take to church. Go to church in the AM with your stuff, and eat lunch between services and have as much fellowship as any Christian could want for after each service. I don’t know if they’ll continue this pattern when they find a building, the Free Church that I’m talking about that we do attend now when we can. I will make sure to find out if this is their intent, or what it is. It is such a delight to worship like that. Soaking it up as much as I can.

Someday I might feel free enough to write more on what’s the ‘big deal’ that bothers me at “our member church”. Right now it’s not something I can publish, it’s something that should be dealt with, but might not have any resolving on either side — which seems most likely to me. My views are not taken kindly by them, but I see my views as being in the right, with church polity being important, and some others angles of it as are connected being superbly only what scripture teaches most simply, which is the common-ist position any could take, and that is trouble when they don’t see that at all.

For now DH is having us go to Free Church for morning service, and lunch, then home to rest and ready ourselves, and then go to “our member church” at 6:00pm. We did that this past Sunday. The Sunday before we did “our member church” in the morning and then went to Free Church for their afternoon service. We got stuck talking to some after the morning service, so missed being able to get to Free Church before lunch was over. We got something to eat afterwards, they were kind enough to get things out for us. That day was a bad one for me though, I truly had a horrid time from the morning service. This past Sunday was much better, but my body goes nuts when getting ready for something unliked, and I was miserable at home until we went. I had to lie abed resting trying to get myself from falling apart. It wasn’t so very bad, but wasn’t as kinful feeling, as Free Church folk are to us, if that makes any sense at all.

I do like some of the people as “our member church” so it’s not about them. It’s about the whole building and what their plans for the future building are, and how the service goes in the morning and the issue that I can’t speak of fully …

As I said earlier, I am soaking up the environs of Free Church as much as I can, and it’s so very healing. There are things about it that make it so we feel we won’t be able to join this church officially, but we are great friends to them inspite of that and would love to keep going there until we find somewhere else, though DH is allowing us to say we aren’t necessarily leaving “our member church” but it does seem the ultimate way it will go, unless everything else out there is just so bad … but then that leaves me in a tizzy situation of not being able to take Communion forever, amen. 🙁

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May worse than April?

We are having very hot weather, since before this June First day … a fitting way for what has happened with us the end of May. I won’t use official titles or words, just know that an event happened that wasn’t needed, but a child fooling around with the ring-a-dingy thingy … which warp-sped into another thingy a few days later, when the massive literal heat of weather hit, and I am so mad about it, but it’s “o.k.” now.

Basically I was spouting Thomas Jefferson quotes to my hubby all last week, though we weren’t by each other. Our home was invaded by true-do-good friends and new aquaintances to get our floors “installed” so that the thingy would go away when next appearance was due.

God graced us with the aide of a person of learned status who truly did their job and the thingy went away.

I had a 4-day week of not-home-ed-ness and that has set me back. My stuff is all put into boxes due to moving stuff around with me not here. So I’m trying to figure what to do with what, and all that.

My hubby agrees with me now to use this to materialize-down, and to save the things we truly want for the future but do not currently need to have about in packing boxes and put into some PODZ-like storage … and try to get the house totally finished and vamoose …

🙂

It’s June now. I thank God for his guiding hand.

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President’s Day?

Today is “President’s Day” in the U.S. … a holiday I’ve always been loathe to “celebrate”. It’s not a “holiday” holiday, just a federal “no mail or banks” sort of day. You know, the things that are federal or nearly so, like schools of all sorts. 😉

Long we celebrated Washington’s birthday on Feb. 22 and I still set that day aside in my mind as his day, to remember specially who he was, not that it is important. It’s that he was a great man in the history of the U.S. and I refuse to dish his birthday into a “catch all” “President’s Day”. It’s a precise thing to recall struggles and victory via a leader, and that is Washington. Thus, his birthday ‘on the twenty-second of February’ each year is remembered, for what he represents, the past of a glorious experiment.

So there is no mail being delivered today, via the post office, it’ll come tomorrow, if nothing odd happens before then. The banks being closed affects me not. Shops aren’t closed. This is a big “sale” day for department stores! Not that I’m going to go shopping, I am not, maybe just groceries.

What is “President’s Day” supposed to signify then? It’s part of a behemoth federal something-or-other. An ethereal nod towards “our great past presidents” which is effectual towards nothing at all, except for a day to stay home for federal employees (not just them, but I use them as the big example.)

I think of this from a religious viewpoint, and I know that it’s my desire to only recall that “so and so was born on such and such date, and see what he did for this land we live in.” Otherly-wise an “All Out Presidents Day” smacks of the federal religion that exists but is usually pooh-poohed as if it doesn’t exist. I’m firmly in favor of no dichotomy in life … that life is religious, all things are either true religion or false religion, not that every little thing has God in it, or that there is no gray-area at all … this is a general stance of everything devised governmentally is a religion, and is it true and of God, or is it false and of itself?

Many things have come and gone since the inception of this Country. “Under God” is one of them. Hail to HIM! [not to ‘the chief’]

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NSA, Spying and Fox & Friends

[Thanks to DirecTivo! I paused and replayed until I got this soundbite written down just a little while ago.]

Quote from Brian Kilmeade on Fox & Friends daytime morning program, between approx. 8:00-8:30 AM EST, Tuesday, December 20, 2005

“… I heard this soundbite from Senator Harry Reid, when he says: ‘We just killed the Patriot Act’ and everyone cheered. And the President brought that up. And what does that mean?

The Patriot Act was created to make us safer. People are totally gone off the rails in terms of the war on terror and the President is efforting to put it back and even if you don’t agree with it, if you happen to be a judge sitting at home with your robes and say according to the Constitution that I am reading that that is an illegal act, you CANNOT disagree with the motivation the President is doing by eavesdropping on international calls and a very concentrated effort on suspected …”

This is the part I can’t stand: “you CANNOT disagree with the motivation the President is doing by eavesdropping on international calls and a very concentrated effort on suspected …”

Oh yes I can. Yes I do! I disagree vehemently.

Where is the motivation based? Does it matter? No. It can turn into any monster at any point, EVEN IF the motivation intentions for this are pure and true to liberty and freedom in the U.S.

It’s not like that though. The point of the US is that back in Lincoln’s administration they pulled junk out similar to that for the day they lived in. It’s so very similar, what is going on today … not a pure analogy, that’s not the point at all, it’s not an analogy, it’s similar things, not the same, but garments all made from the same cloth.

No it’s not “privacy” but the right to live without being spied on in normal life, Judicial Review, Warrants, etc. Without that, what’s to stop them from listening in on International calls that we make? I don’t speak on the phone much at all, but my husband does and we have relatives in Europe and Australia. What is the criteria of “a suspect”. For awhile now it’s been that “if you look foreign you might be considered …” now it’s “if you make international calls you might be considered …” and where will that end? Give an inch, they’ll take a mile. Just y’all wait and see.

Of course they listen in already when they want to without warrant. That’s not the thing I’m upset about, the listening part. It’s not at all. It’s the “making of a suspect” that goes without Judicial Review and can make Private Citizens into enemies of the State in 2 seconds flat about any old political agenda of any day now or future.

The movies and TV are coming to life for real. :veryshocked:

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Patrick Henry Was Right

www.chalcedon.edu/articles/article.php?ArticleID=176

Good article.

I agree with the article, and only want to note the exception I take: I have deeply held to the founders beliefs as long as I can remember, something taught me right in the earliest years and my voracious reading in my elementary days formed the fullest thoughts, States Rights, and the Constitution and original Bill of Rights and LIMITED GOVERNMENT at most were right. I see the actual views of “The People” around me and know that they ARE apathetic and even apologetic of our heritage.

I have not voted my conscience in my adult years, and still have never really, since I voted Peroutka lastly, there is not actually a party or candidate who would do what I believe is right, scrap it all, and begin again as our framers did and not make the same mistakes (just as long as they make “different mistakes” they will make mistakes, nothing is “perfect”.) I liked Peroutka alright, I do not have a love of the constitution as being the thing that holds this body of people together, or that going to a cleaned up government would work, going “back to the constitution”. I firmly DO believe that it should be scrapped and something different done. It’s unlikely to occur on purpose (men doing it on purpose) — more likely to come about because of distaster neccesity, whether it be a nature disaster or a war with man disaster or a combination. (I have an ally in the Peroutka-like folk though, we have many of the same ideas, just different solutions, though some are the same.)

I decend physically from the founding peoples of this country. I hold that in my heart and know that it’s important to never forget. Remember the colonial days … never forget.

I know that we are so far past the mark that we were when the colonists became rebel to the crown. One can see many other governments and how the people supported the rise of empire, and the masses NEVER LEARN! Oh how sad it is.

People’s that came to this country in the mid-1800’s through the mid-1900’s may not grasp what America really is.

It’s said the American Dream is: To Own Ones Own Home.

Maybe it is, but that’s not my dream. My dream is to live in a free society, with limited government influence. People ruling as need be, not for power, but only for a freedom and never forgetting what was and what can be if things get lax again and power takes over again.

www.chalcedon.edu/articles/article.php?ArticleID=176

Patrick Henry Was Right

What does liberty mean in the 21st century? Can it be maintained? “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”— do these words have any relevance for a society that has largely forgotten its historical roots?

Consider the plight of the American people. We have become apathetic, even apologetic, of our heritage. We have forgotten that the original intent of the Constitution was to place limits on the government’s ability to intrude into people’s lives. We have bought the devil’s lie that humans can build a utopian heaven on earth through what Bush the Elder called a New World Order.

Perhaps more than any other Founding Father, it was Patrick Henry who tried to warn his compatriots that adopting the U.S. Constitution would eventually lead to a consolidated empire instead of a federated republic, which they had under the Articles of Confederation. If our Founders had foreseen that the Constitution would be used to overthrow liberty and establish despotism, they probably would never have ratified it. The Anti-Federalists, like Patrick Henry, were distrustful of a central government that was built at the price of liberty. That’s why they insisted on the Bill of Rights — to stay the hand of tyranny for as long as possible.

Henry said,

We are descended from a people whose government was founded on liberty … but now the American spirit assisted by the ropes and chains of consolidation is about to convert this country into a powerful and mighty empire; if you make the citizens of this country agree to become the subjects of one great consolidated empire of America, your government will not have sufficient energy to keep them together; such a government is incompatible with the genius of republicanism.

Years later, Alexander Stephens, Vice President of the Confederate States of America, said,

The great vital question now is: shall the federal government be arrested in its progress and be brought back to original principles, or shall it be permitted to go on in its present tendencies and rapid strides until it reaches complete consolidation?

More recently James Hall, writing in Etherzone, noted:

The events of September 11, 2001 were tragic, but hardly provide justification to abandon our Constitution or deploy the military to every corner of the globe. The security of the United States is not enhanced by perpetual intervention and permanent war. The Presidency is meant to lead the country, not to transform the nation into an empire. …

President Bush has overseen an expansion of the federal government, that no Democratic administration could accomplish. His use of executive orders has only increased the scope and reach of central authority. Resonantly absent are any efforts to enact fundamental conservative policies, or to reverse past policies of liberal administrations. Appointments and procedures all reinforce and expand a dominant role of bureaucratic agencies over local jurisdictions. The defense of liberty has been forsaken and is the ultimate causality of the Bush legacy.

In the end, Patrick Henry and the Anti-Federalists were right: people are far too trusting of government. Henry realized what few of us are willing to admit any longer — that men are basically evil, intrinsically power-hungry, and inherently incapable of being anything but tyrants in their feeble attempts to play God.

–author: Dave Black, posted on Chalcedon.edu Sept. 29, 2005

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Chief Justice Roberts?

So Mr. Bush defies those he might not even know. Some of us out here do not particularly like Roberts, who he earlier nominated to The Bench. Confirmation Hearings haven’t even started yet. So now that the vacancy of Chief Justice is available to fill, he goes and nominates Roberts for THAT position?

What is tenure anyhow? Nada, most obviously. In any case, Scalia is a better choice for Chief. Thomas is a better choice as well. I am not saying Roberts is bad. I am saying, “What do we know of him?” He doesn’t have a track record … I don’t claim to have studied his public profile and available information. I just know that I know others and what I’ve heard as well, and the little I’ve read … he’s not a strong “conservative” whatever that means. I am one that used to be a “conservative” but I have absolutely abandoned that label the last 5 years in practice.

“Conservative” in name doesn’t meant diddly-squat. Practice of being Liberal in Love and Strong in Conserving Right and Justice is what I believe in, it’s not something that there is a particular label for. I’ll say it’s “Biblical Christianity” most certainly, and the political label is: ???? I’ll just say “eclectic”. I’m eclectic in my style and music tastes. Homeschooling in our family is best described as “eclectic”, so politically I guess I’ll call me “eclectic”. I’m not a Republican, not a Democrat, not a Green, not any third-party, afirm much of the “Constitution Party” stands on, but am not a member. I am not an “independent” either. I’m “eclectic” and that’s that.

So I’m not defying Bush’s nomination from any party stance. I’m not standing with my arms crossed and a crosser look on my face. I’m standing here saying, “Think harder, consider the People. Give the job to one whom deserves it, talk to Scalia. You should know he’s ‘your man’ for the job as Chief Justice.”

I said at the beginning of this post: “So Mr. Bush defies those he might not even know. Some of us out here do not particularly like Roberts, who he earlier nominated to The Bench.”

I mean by that, there are folks out here that don’t have a particular political affiliation and we have not any particular stance against or for Roberts. We only have a myriad of questions.

Mr. President [Bush] seems to know Roberts and maybe he knows better than we do. Well, I take that as a piece of important thought process, no Bushite is what I want to see put into the CJ office. I mean, if it’s someone with a track record, it’s not the same. What we have is someone that big questions surround. It’s too much of a “well, we can do it, so we will” sort of thing. Did they consider if it was a prudent choice?

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“Natural Born American”

Fox News Channel was on this morning, TV, and I heard them talking about the “plot to assassinate Bush”.

A photo of the guy was on the screen. Judge N. said something about the guy being a real American, as American as the next American (he really said “natural born american” can you believe that?!!)

The guy was born in the USA, but has co-citizenship with Jordan, apparently.

That’s not American.

That’s a different sort of “American” not the “regular kind of American” that there is. The guy went to school in Falls Church, VA. So what you say? It wasn’t a “normal American type school”. It was a pro-islam, the most extreme type, they said on Fox News Channel.

While they said what they said, as I’ve noted, they don’t assess it as I do. That guy ain’t no American, the way “American” used to be meant.

Think of the movie Gangs of New York. Did you see it? It’s a great movie. The fighting is between the “Natural Born Americans” and the newcomers … the Irish, the Catholics.

The film is interesting in that, while I’m a fan of “Natural Born Americanism”, I didn’t side with it in the movie. The emotions of the movie tie you firmly to the Irish.

In anycase, I use that as a comparison to contemporary America. I take great nostril-flaring offense at being called American like the so-called American/Jordanian. There are newercomers to America. I know about that. I accept them, with reticence atimes, but there’s just something about “Old Natural Born Americans” that I take kinship with, my kith and kin came over before most of the Irish influx. My kith and kin came over mostly before the Revolution of the mid-late 18th Century.

Generation after Generation has been born here.

Now my own DH is a first-born American Generation in his family. His parent immigrated in the 1950’s. God put us together. He took my pride and gave me children half “Old Natural Born Amercian” and half “Second Generation Born American”. The thing is, that means their 2nd generationism is diluted down immensely with my super old natural born american genes. Of course that goes both ways. But it goes on that it’s not wrong per se, since my kith and kin are from many places, and part of that is exactly where my DH’s parents came from. I’m glad to help another family dig deeper into America fastly. 🙂

It’s not that I’m Prideful of having the lines I have behind me. I am thankful to God for them. He saw fit to bring myriads of people to these shores in the early year of colinization. They mixed and produced the first several generations of Americans, before the influx in the mid-1800’s. In their ranks was good citizenship, and religion, and that is what brought me to where I am. I am Presbyterian, Reformed. I had Presbyterian ancestors. Somehow that went into evangelical mishmosh to baptist –what I was born into. But God brought me out of that and to the Reformed camp in my early adult years. Learning of ancestors through genealogy work has been precisely enlightening of the long-chain-of-christians-through-the-years.

My DH’s family is Christian, but just one generation back the maternal granparents and previous generations were not Christians, from what we’ve been told.

We were sent some photos in the past year from some relatives in another country. I was thrilled to see pictures of my MIL, who passed away just one year ago. I also saw her parents, and the parents of her father. That is the non-christian branch. To see them was interesting, I see where the big calves come from 😉 I see that … My DH has a beard and looks SO MUCH like his maternal grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.

So I am happy to see long lines of Christian families, Old Natural Born Americans, continuing on.

I am also happy to have my family be a merging of things:

Old with New, and Old with New.

Old Natural Born American with New Born American, and Old Christian lines with New Christian lines. These things became one and will continue and be strong.

I am only speaking of my family here. I am not making judgement on other families either immigrated recently or in the last 200 years. I am only speaking to the insult of having an Extremist Islam High School in VA and having someone from there born in the USA, holding co-citizenship with the US and Jordan, be called a “Natural Born American” like us.

To be “Natural Born American” it means you are born here and you are of here. You are sticking your boots into the ground and staying here. You are part of the country, part of your region for it’s BETTERMENT, not for it’s destruction.

“Citizenship” is given over easily to the babies of pregnant ladies. They just hop over the border and deliver here and call it “Natural Born American”. Pooey on that. It’s too lax.

A True American isn’t just born here. A True American holds this country in their grasp and helps build it up. That’s why immigrants CAN be acceptable. They are if they hold the US in their grasp and help build it up.

There is much that is wrong with this country, but it’s not destruction to tear down bad government and replace it with Limited Government. That’s only betterment.

If Government would get off their duffs and reduce their size with grand excersice and diet restriction, we’d have a healthier goverment that didn’t stick it’s fat tush into other coutnries faces. That would earn us a measure of respect and we might be left alone. We might have more results with that, to combat terrorism. But the Empire Building Expansion continues. Hate comes at us from all sides. Friendly with China and Israel, in these things I hear our death knell.

Make no mistake either. This post is not pointing fingers as the person/event that sparked the topic. I am not making a judgement saying the Ahmed Omar Abu Ali guy is guilty or not. I am purely, purely sounding off on the Fox News Morning show and what I heard this morning. They offered no evidence to why someone like that could be “Natural Born American”. It was a flippant comment and I was offended by it. Just as much as the cavemen who are watching the Geico commercials on TV are offended. Need I say more?

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Can True Peace come at the point of the sword? Pt II

regarding G.K. Chesterton quotes …

Continuing on from the previous post “Can True Peace come at the point of the sword?” …

From pages 89-90/second section:The Past And Prophecy/Chapter:6 Loose Ends: The Peace to End All Peace/

The Lessons of History
Things just aren’t always as they seem. That is the dilemma of living in a fallen world. G. K. Chesterton brilliantly captured the essence of this dilemma when he wrote:

The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its wildness lies in wait . . . It is this silent swerving from accuracy by an inch that is the uncanny element in everthing. It seems a sort of secret treason in the univers. An apple or an orange is round enough to get itself called round, and yet is not round after all. The earth itself is shaped like an orange in order to lure some simple astronomer into calling it a globe. A blade of grass is called a blade after the blade of the sword, because it comes to a point; but it doesn’t. Everywhere in things there is this element of the quiet and incalculable.

Mirroring the world’s fallenness, the uncanny element in the efforts of the West to achieve peace in the Middle East is its silent swerving from accuracy by an inch. Its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait. It is almost operatic in its unreality, creating a peace to end all peace.

Things just aren’t always as they seem.

Even so, God has called us to peace (see 1 Corinthians 7:15). He has called us to be peacemakers (see Matthew 5:9). If we genuinely desire a true peace, a lasting peace, and a just peace, then we have only one course to follow–the course of righteousness. Therefor, “let us pursue the things that make for peace” (Romans 14:19).

So with this I can say, what seems reasonable (Republicanism) is not exactly that. It has a wildness that lies in wait.

Not only that, it’s not even seen by those that call themselves “conservatives”. Those that write things as the above G.G. quote who quotes G.K.C. don’t see it even though they should.

Skipping to the next section (the above is the last part of that section, so it’s not really skipping, just turning natural pages over) he begins the section called The Future and Faith, and the first chapter in it is Back to Babel.

GHWBush is the president in office at the writing of this book and the way he’s described in the book, well, why is it that the son of that president is lauded so … he’s worse! IMO.

Here’s the GHWBUSH wording

…Not at all unlike one of Plato’s philosopher kings, George Herbert Walker Bush has developed a very unique vision of the world as a result of the very unique experiences life has afforded him. It is a vision of peace, justice, harmony, and unity. It is a vision of reason, cooperation, compassion, and prosperity. It is a vision of nothing less than a New World Order.

And now, as president of the United States–arguably the most powerful and influential man on the face of the earth–he would implement that vision and usher in a bright and fortuitous New Age. Speaking before a joint session of Congress, he said:

The crisis in the Persian Gulf, as grave as it is, also offers a rare opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation. Out of these troubled times a New World Order can emerge.

President Bush is not the first gifted, powerful, and munificent ruler to be driven by the vision of a New World Order or a New Age. In fact, that vision is as ancient as man himself.

…
The Empire Impulse

I won’t go on. He then supposedly quotes G.K. Chesterton again, but I can’t find the bibliographies info to verify it. I have looked in texts online and only find ONE site that has the quote, and unfortunately it says it comes from G.K. Chesterton’s “Orthodoxy” , and searching in “Orthodoxy” for many of the words in the quote they just are not there. I tried other texts then, nothing.

So this is the bibliography info for that quote: “Quoted in Michael H. Larour, The Inklings and their Influences (LONDON: SFG&L Presentations, 1986), 9.

It’s a good quote, but dratted if I can find it. Dratted if I find it at all in any piece either, no, only on a site that has lots of quotes and puts it under the topic “New Age” and has the George WH Bush quote (as is found above) right below the G. K. Chesterton quote. Too suspect, IMO. I won’t perpetuate this connection if I cannot verify that it’s a real quote. It doesn’t seem to be.

But G. Grant goes on to talk about Empire Builders. Why?!! He now seems to support our current Super Empire Builder.

Yakkety Yakkety it goes on and on that New World Order and The Tower of Babel are the same old thing run through the ringer for a fresh wash, that’s all. There are more quotes by others and more Grant-talk. But it boils down to: Who today is there to support? Bush and his Empire? His Military machine churns out supposed-democracy, but it’s not that, if it’s supposed to be it’s a far cry from that, and if it’s not supposed to even be that, well then, what is it supposed to be?

Democratic Empire, or some other sort of Empire?

It matters not which it is, it is all the same in the end, anti-God, setting itself up as “god” and oppressing the earth with centralized government(s) but not for the good of the people, for the good of itself and the continuance of itself at the expense of the people. No centralized government is good. Only one goverment is good, and that is God overall, not centralized as men do, but Top Level as Creator, giver of life, it’s the right of God to be there, not man over men.

This little delve into G. Grant’s “The Blood of the Moon” has taken me on a search for G. K. Chesterton writings. In the past I’ve read quotes here and there. Now I’m reading the real stuff, the context. It’s good.

He was a Christian Catholic. I can’t say much for his Catholicity, but I can say that MOST of his stuff is good. I haven’t delved deep enough but will, and will widely comment on it all here. 🙂

I say this from a Reformed Presbyterian perspective, mind y’all!

Not only all of the above is going through my head, but also Isaiah, from the Bible, is our church’s Sunday evening study, and has been for a long while already. This entire topic is intertwined with Isaiah in particular. 🙂

Here’s a link too: G.K. Chesterton: the Colossal Genius, a page with links to many e-texts, and a bibliography, quotes, and more.

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Can True Peace come at the point of the sword?

Here is an excerpt from George Grant’s 1991 book “The Blood Of The Moon”.

From pages 88-90/second section:The Past And Prophecy/Chapter:6 Loose Ends: The Peace to End All Peace/

True Peace

The prophen Isaiah brough a message to those who lived in the Middle East thousands of years ago. Amazingly, that message is as relevant today as when he first uttered it:

Let there be peace–peace to him who is far off and to him who is nearby. I will bring healing to the land of the righteous. But as for the wicked, they are like the tossing sea. It cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. Therefore, there is no peace for the wicked. (Isaiah 57:19-21)

With remarkable economy and startling clarity, that message traverses both space and time to bring into focus the complex dilemma of bringing peace to our strife-riven world.

Throughout his life, Isaiah had dedicated himself to proclaiming God’s eternal purposes for mankind. He was a diligent bearer of the glad tidings of peace. After all, God had established a covenant of peace with His people (see Isaiah 54:10). It was an irrevocable and everlasting covenant (see Isaiah 61:8). Thus, they had the promise of peace with the nations around them and with God Himself (see Isaiah 26:12; 27:5). They would have “peace like a river” (Isaia 66:12) and “peace like the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:18). It would be a perfect peace wrought by the Prince of Peace (see Isaiah 26:3; 9:6).

This remarkabel promise of peace was indeed good news and glad tidings. But Isaiah made it abundantly apparent that the promise could be redeemed only by the righteous. “Peace on earth and good will toward men” is available only to those “on whom God’s favor rests” (Luke 2:14). No peace, much less this promised utopian peace, will ever be attained for use of sheer force or agression. No peace will ever be attained by mere appeasement for compromise. No peace will ever be attained by clever hegotiation or wily manipulation. Nothing could be clearer: “There is no peace for the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22). There never has bee and there never will be.

Here, here! Good words!

Oh, but the question then is: Who in today’s world is “wicked” and who is “righteous”?

At the point of the sword the American Military is forcing so-called democracy (peace, everyone knows, is tied absolutely to democracy). Must be that these are not the righteous ones, based on the above quotes.

God can use Might to free the oppressed. Surely, He is God. But that in NO WAY means the MIGHTY are also the Righteous ones.

God can use Might to rid the world of some Wicked people, does this mean the MIGHTY are automatically the Righteous ones? No, it doesn’t. Wicked can be moved by God to undo the wicked someplace else.

So it comes down to the fact of things today: America is spreading so-called democracy at the point of the sword. They claim God on their side. They are spreading their man-made empire.

This is not Righteousness.

So go ahead, wreak your havoc on the World, America. You are no different than the other wicked countries.

Your technological prowess, hair above your ears, holier-than-thou-ness doesn’t fool God.

I say this, an heir (my heritage is from) of the original 13 colonies. I was born in the 60’s, and have lived through campaign after campaign, political/military, they are one and the same. I believe in Limited Government, and seeking to beat swords into plowshares.

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Will Terror ever be vanquished from the face of the Earth?

Here is an excerpt from George Grant’s 1991 book “The Blood Of The Moon”.

From pages 73-74/second section:The Past And Prophecy/Chapter:5 Ji’had: The Unending War of Conquest/

The Lessons of History

During the days of mobilization for World War I, when it looked for a time that American troops would be deployed in the Middle East against the fierce Ottomans, a young Presbyterian pastor, James Alexander Bryan, eloquently expressed the key message of the ages:

Let all be done in bathed prayer–our working and our playing, our eating and our sleeping, our dreaming and our doing. Let all be done bathed in prayer. But most particularly, when we know that our boys, our sons, and our brothers, and our husbands, must face those denizens of terror from the desert realms of the Levant, should we bathe our very inner being, our breathing, and our thinking in prayer. Dost thou not know that the hosts of Cain and the minions of Babel, the legions of Saracen and the hordes of Arabia are set from eternity against the covenant people Pray therefore. Night and day, pray. Moment by moment, pray. Pray for mercy. O dear souls, pray. 12

Pray, because the passion for Ji’had will not go away simply because we deploy troops in impressive and deadly array. Pray, because the desire for Dhimmi will continue to divide East and West despite our carefully constructed international coalitions and strategic alliances. Pray, because it’s never over ’til it’s over.

So if he admits that in this old book (old by modern accounts and political wanderings) does it mean he today Supports the so-called war? Or doesn’t? Or stands upon that middle line? I don’t know. All I know is that the few times I’ve been to his blogs I get the idea he’s different that when I knew him better. But then I really didn’t know him well, and probably misread his activist stances, and his fiery sermons in Ft. Lauderdale. I must admit, he supported Bush in the election. That makes dirty hands in my estimation. I am sorry if this offends anyone, but it is the truth, so be not offended, just ashamed that you too voted for Empire Builder Numero Uno.
—–

If prayer is needed so that Ji’had will go away, why send in troops at all? How does it help? Further on in the book are other things I will post later, that are relevant, I think.

Ji’had will never go away, NEVER, not until God strikes that whole Islamic system down.

They call on God as their God, but say Mohammad is the only true prophet … THIS IS A SLAP in the face, the very Face of the True Living God, Yahweh.

Killing them doesn’t make them go away. It only magically produces more Ji’had-ists than there were before any were done away with.

I understand their passion. I understand it totally. I don’t agree with it though. Leave us alone, we’ll leave you alone. That sort of thing doesn’t work.

Their passion is sort of that Necromonger passion. [See Chronicles of Riddick for that definition.]

So I seek to live in peace. I call for no troops over there. I don’t have a say in that though. Leave those ‘countries’ be. Protect these shores by staying home and protecting here, not trying to “spread democracy” [wink, wink]. They don’t really want it. Why should they? What we have here is bad, why spread it? Yikes. Well, that’s not the real reason any how. We do know that. It’s no secret.

On this book’s rear cover there is this comment:

George Grant’s insights need to be studied by U.S. policymakers.
His book is being pased around in key circles in Washington.
Howard Phillips
former Director, U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity

Maybe they need to pass this book around again. There IS a different administration in “power” since this book was first printed.

But then again, it’s been a long time since I’ve read it. I paged through it today and found key interesting things, as above. More damning things for the Mighty Democracy-at-the-Point-of-a-Sword Spreaders. I must though start at the beginning, and read to the end, boring, but needed. It’s been too long, I can’t not read from cover to cover. I have to get a full overview of the meaning in the book, THEN all the excerpts will be better served out with my sauce. 🙂

Will terror ever be vanquished? Yes, when God decides enough is enough. When God sends Christ to return (it will surely then be defitely over) in Glory and Triumph and all will be judged and His Chosen redeemed. This ain’t no rapture baby, it’s the truth of the Bible, and that’s when Ji’had will cease, if not before. Time will be no more. Eternity is timeless. The beauty of that I know, since time is elastic for me (INTP, right brain, visual-spatial, etc.)