E-Monsters In The Home
How much money are you willing to throw away during the course of a day?
Not give away or spend or share or lose to a bad investment? I’m talking about money you pull out of your pocket, throw on the ground and walk away from. Maybe we should call that “money left on the ground” or better yet “leaked.” It isn’t misspent or frivolously used, like when you make a bad financial decision. It’s just not there, as if you never had it to begin with.
So, how much of your hard earned money are you willing to treat as if you never had it in the first place? Four or five dollars a day? Maybe just one? Most people, I’m sure, are thinking none but are you aware… Read more
God Blesses Israel
The neighborhood in which I grew up was very middle class. We had all types living there from professionals to laborers but everyone got along, at a distance, and it was “safe.” There were no drugs or serious mischief of any kind and the parents let us kids romp freely without worry. We rode bikes in the street (very little traffic), played baseball or football, depending on the season, and we even had woods and a creek nearby that gave us many opportunities to do a bit of safe exploration.
Our street was a long slow curve the ends of which attached to a moderately busy throughway but we always felt comfortably isolated from the mainstream. From our neighborhood we could see the world without being in it and yet we were very close to every possible amenity. Within two minutes “walk” we had a drive-in theatre, a children’s hospital, a church, a community hall (we had Cub Scout meetings there) and just a bit further away was an orphanage (with a dairy farm), a well developed shopping center and most of the kids could ride bikes to the local elementary school. It was a nice neighborhood situated close to everything you might need.
From the age of 8 to 16 I lived some of the most formative years of my life in this neighborhood. It was there that I developed some of the closest friendships I ever had and experienced many personal firsts: kiss, smoke, caught a fish, fight and there are a few I won’t mention. That neighborhood molded the perspective I have on life and the world. Even today, many years later, my experiences there are still the reason for many of my idiosyncrasies.
The one interesting thing about this neighborhood was the presence of several Jewish families. I recall at least six but there may have been more. Of the six, two lived on either side of us. The Rothenbergs lived on the left and the Aptakers lived on the right. We were close to these families. The kids from all three houses played together. The adults talked across the fence. My dad and Mr. Aptaker often discussed their common interest in gardening. From my youthful point of view I thought they were the only two people in the world who could enjoy gardening. I’ve since learned there are many other people with this same affliction. Read more
Dad Got One Thing Wrong
Don’t misunderstand. I loved and respected my Dad very much. He had his faults, everyone does, but he was generally a reliable bread winner, cared about us, his family, and there were some things about Dad I admire to this day, one of which was his skill at gardening. He loved his gardening!
Unfortunately, there was one thing he got wrong. When I was a youngster, he said I too would develop a love for gardening one day – “growing things in the ground” was the way he put it. He repeated that sentiment many times and it was usually while I was grumbling about being forced to pull weeds, cut grass and rake leaves. I’m a married man of many years now with two grown sons and some grand kids of my own and I’m still waiting for that day. Read more
Jesus – Good Citizen or Collaborator
Filed under: Answering an Atheist, Christian Living, Political Issues
Answering An Atheist
Original arguments are found in the post “Top Ten Worst Bible Stories”
On the web site “Not A Potted Plant” (NAPP)
I recently came across a blog post entitled “Top Ten Worst Bible Stories.” The blog goes by the name “Not A Potted Plant” (NAPP) which obviously says nothing about the author or the content but he does explain the reason for the title in the FAQ’s and a little additional perusing helps to fill in other gaps. He goes by the pen name of “Transplanted Lawyer” and I refer to him by the acronym LT.
From the profile you learn the author is a normal sort of guy and the content clearly indicates he is coherent, observant and thoughtful. He is an atheist and a bit glib on occasions but always fair. The fair part is what got my attention.
Any person can pick a side and be belligerent about it and there are many who do exactly that. They are completely intolerant toward and offer no fair discussion on points of difference. Fortunately, that description doesn’t fit LT. Unfortunately, that is particularly true of the “religious right” (RR1).
Actually, RR are my roots but honestly speaking, I have to admit that the most dominant characteristic of this political sector is the inability to carry on a fair discussion regarding any issue. They don’t talk nicely to each other and they don’t discuss issues with an open mind.
- Taking the “half loaf” approach to negotiation doesn’t figure into their political or religious strategies.
- The capacity to “agree to disagree” is dwarfed.
- Building relationships around common issues in the hope of influencing change on others is not a skill they own.
- If ideologies don’t match up to the letter, the differing parties are shunned or worse, run out of town, the modern day equivalent of burning at the stake. Thank God better minds have changed that trend.
It would be nice if the RR folks would just “take their ball and go home” but unfortunately that isn’t an option. Humanized religious chivalry requires a fight to the death, although they wouldn’t admit to the humanized part.
Anyway, back to the “Top Ten Worst Bible Stories” by LT.2 I’ve decided to answer a few of his observations. I chose him not because Bible critics are few but because he is articulate (unlike some atheists, he actually knows and uses words longer than “four” letters) and he spars the issue rather than the opponent.
I doubt I will change his mind on the issues or anyone else’s for that matter but debate, when healthy, fair and respectful, is always useful.
I’ll answer only one (or a few) issues at a time, not in his order and not necessarily in consecutive posts. Here goes. Hope you enjoy. Read more
Anger And Murder In Modern Society
Anger was one topic Jesus mentioned in the Sermon on the Mount and the interesting is, He associated it with murder. Before He made His remarks there had been a long history of anger-fueled violence going all the way back to the first family and it occurred often even in those early years. It almost always resulted in the death of another person.
- Cain, the first-born child to the first family murdered his first sibling, Abel, and it was motivated by anger.
- Esau was so angry he wanted kill his brother, Jacob. Fortunately the parents intervened and sent Jacob away. The resentment, however, never left. There was constant tension between the descendants of these two brothers which occasionally escalated to war.
- Jacob’s sons, motivated by resentment, planned to kill their brother, Joseph but instead sold him as a slave.
- Two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, in a state of rage, murdered all the men in an entire town because the son of the chief had raped their sister and they did this even though the perpetrator wanted to make things right.
- Moses angrily defended his people by killing the Egyptian guard who was abusing them.
- Later, Moses again became so enraged that he disobeyed a direct order from God, suffering the consequences personally this time. Read more
Tim Pepper - Beautiful Frustration