Tag Archives: Religion

I’m Afraid That Age & Reality is Catching up With Me

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It’s getting more difficult for me to think of the words I want to say. Sometimes it forces me to abandon the way I want to say things. I am now 78 and even with the help of the computer, I am afraid it is getting time for me cease writing posts.

My guess is that there are those that will be glad to hear it. I am not sure exactly when I will write my last message to my readers, but I can’t imagine it will be much more than a month. Much more than that, it will likely be mandatory. It is taking me longer each time I sit down to write something.

Well, at least, for what it is worth, I did last long enough to help get another old man into the Oval Office. I likely didn’t help him that much, but I like to think I was contributing much more than I did. I also like to think I didn’t hurt the effort.

If nothing else, I would like to leave any atheist with this challenge, assuming they all have the courage. It is what I call the three prayer challenge. Three times, once a day, pray this prayer. “If you are real, God, tell me.” Of course, if the atheist is right, they have nought to fear. On the other hand, if he or she does get a reply, it just might change your life forever. That, for sure is why it takes real courage to participate in the challenge. If you receive a reply, then you will need to make a decision. Regardless of what decision you make, your atheist days will be over, which is why it is a real challenge.

I say this so that you take this challenge now, before you become to old, you know, like me. I have already made my decision. However, you really want to make sure you take the challenge before age and reality catch up with you. You don’t want to wait until you are too old to make the decision.

Don’t tell me, you don’t have the time, 2 seconds a day. I think it is the fear, not time, which stands in the way. And if you get an answer, that means there is a God. It becomes indisputable. My best guess, you won’t do it. You are afraid you will get an answer.

Well, as you read this, you can already see, I am sure that I am beginning to ramble a little. Still, you get the idea.

The Law of Exclusivity

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I don’t know if it exist yet. If not it should. I am declaring it now. It is as obvious as gravity. I mean, how can something be both true and false at the same time. Besides, the sound of it has a certain ring to it.

The fact of it is that it rings true. If it’s a hot day, it can’t be cold. If it is clear and sunny, it can’t be raining, leastwise in the same place at the same time. If a thing is good, it can’t be evil. If you’re going west, you can’t be going east. Well, that one is open to discussion. That is what Columbus tried to do.

It does seem strange, but the world’s scientist were convinced that we were going through a process of global cooling. Then, after a few years, it was global warming. Then, unable to make up their minds, they decided it was climate change. That is where it is getting hot or cold, depending on the weather of the day and where you live. And, of course, woe to the scientist that says otherwise, you know. All must accept the “fact” that the weather is getting cooler and warmer all at the same time.

The Dems are good at getting something to be good or evil at the same time. If you ask any of the leaders, they will tell you of the evils of guns. On the other hand, if your name’s Hunter Biden, the current gun laws don’t apply to you. Makes me wonder if I should change my name to Hunter Biden.

I guess the one thing that mystifies me the most though, is the way the Dems defy any effort to bring God into our public life, especially schools and courts. According to them, there is no God, you know. And then, come a disaster, natural or man made, suddenly they are asking one and all to pray for those suffering from it.

It does somewhat confuse and irk me, they don’t want us to pray to prevent the disaster, but they love so much to encourage prayer for recovery.

The fact is, God either exists or he doesn’t. He is not something to be turned on and off based on convenience. The Law of Exclusivity demands, you either believe in Him or you don’t.

The best thing, make sure you have made the right decision before you die. If you realize the truth after, you will also realize it is too late. Today is the time of your salvation. Now is your chance at eternal life. If you don’t accept it while you yet live, then you will have eternal death.

That is a fact of exclusivity. You cannot be lost and saved at the same time. If you have not been saved, then you are lost. Certainly, if you deny God and his Son, Jesus Christ, then you have committed the greatest sin of all and you will pay for it forever.

Who is Abandoning and Who is Being Abandoned?

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I have been hearing rumors here and they do seem pretty substantial. Some have been saying that the Catholics are abandoning the democrats. Some have been saying that the democrats have been abandoning the Catholics.

I’ll let you y’all make up your own minds as to which is which. I don’t have the resources to say with any authority. Maybe you can tell me which one or maybe both. The thing is that everything I know about Catholics or dems I learned from books or second hand.

Well, I guess I did know one thing first hand. It did seem that whenever I found out someone was Catholic, they were invariably also dems. Logic tells me that much of that comes from origins. I mean, those who came from Italy, Spain, France or Ireland, it were most likely Catholic. Over time, It seemed a little odd, considering the teaching of the Catholic Church. If you look at all those in power in the “Organization,” they were also in good standings in Catholic Church. It seemed it mattered not what a Catholic did Monday through Saturday, as long as you attended church on Sunday and officially confessed your sins to the priests. I am sure it also helped to put a coin or two in the collection bucket too.

I suppose, I guess, I can only imagine as to why this is. It might be the concept that, well, everyone sins, regardless of how serious. On the other hand, if the Catholic church fought back, they might fear loss of followers. Then too, it might be those special followers, you know the ones with money. After all, didn’t the fella say, when you have problems understanding things, follow the money.

And so it was, since before the beginning of the 1900s, the Catholic population in this nation has grown, and not just a little. It’s not any kind of prejudice. It is a fact. Today, percentage wise, Catholics are a far greater part of the country. As the Catholics grew, so did the dems. I don’t know why. Just and observation. I don’t care why.

For decades and decades, the loyalty of the Catholic population was taken for granted. It reached a point where they are doing things that are completely contrary to the beliefs of “The Church,” as they like to say. It is as if The Church represents all Christianity.

At any rate, the dems are starting to step on the toes of Catholic believers and they are starting to put some pressure on their relationship. Consider the Little Sisters. Consider the requirement for Christian doctors and hospitals to participate in abortions. Well, not required yet, but the dems are putting the pressure on and the toes are being stepped on.

And so, regardless of the reasons, the Catholics are beginning to change their party affiliation. As near as I can tell, the Pope himself seems to be tied at the toe to the dems. However, if things keep going as they are, he will either have to change his affiliation with “The Church,” or the dems. If he prizes his beliefs, he, and the Catholics in general, will have to separate themselves with the dems. If he prizes his power, he will try to serve two masters. Those who have read the Bible know he can’t do that. The power he will wield will either come from God or the men. Never from both.

Already, Catholics are leaving the Democrats. Or is it that they simply recognized that the party left them? Will it happen that they will leave the the Pope. It happened before, you know. It is where the Church of England came from, AKA Episcopalism in the US.

Irregardless, as we in the South like to say when we are overemphasizing things, almost every Christian oriented church, as well as Arab beliefs, condemn abortion. It might seem that the dems have the down-hill fight. They just might want to pay a little more attention to what is going on behind them. If the Catholics leave the dems, we are talking about a loss of up to 33% of their party and it won’t much matter who abandoned whom.

The Inevitable Results of a Godless People

Posted in Abuse of Power, Christian values, Crime, Elections, News media, Politcal Opinion, Religion, Salvation, School Shootings, The Clintons by

Most of those who regularly read my posts know that I am not a person who likes surveys. However, I would like one survey made of one question. I would like it asked of all criminals immediately after they are convicted. The one simple question, “Do you believe in God?”

I wonder how many would say, “Yes,” but I don’t wonder much. I would guess you would go through a month or two before you would find so much as one.

And then, people are puzzled over why the country is full of liars, thieves, child and wife beaters, and murderers. If only the parents would teach their children about God. If only they would take their children to church. If only our schools teach one hour about the Bible a week.

Don’t misunderstand me. Some very bad people come out of churches; some are even the leaders of the church. Moreover, I’m not sure but I got the impression that Al Capone and his like went to church on Sunday; regularly went to confession and had absolutely no respect for the law.

However, we do need that survey. I wonder if they would permit me to do it. More important, I wonder if they would permit me to publish it. I don’t think too many would like the outcome.

The fact of the matter is, the nation that is Godless will inevitably soon be lawless as well. Indeed, today we are a Godless and lawless society today. Truly, guns don’t kill people, but rather Godless people kill people, not the law biding Christians. To be sure, you can include the Godless politicians who are in favor of murdering the unborn, even to the point they kill the child just before birth. Why should anyone wonder when even our doctors practice murder? Why should anyone be surprised when the Ten Commandments are no longer permitted while homosexuality is permitted and and encouraged?

Where nothing is morally wrong, all is permitted, including murder.

Blaise Pascal’s Wager

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Among other things, Pascal has lent his name to perhaps the best high level programming language ever. I have become pretty good at it, which is easy. It is so similar to English that it is easy to pick up in an afternoon.

Moreover, it is very modular. I can write a module for one program and use it with any other program it is useful for. It sort of means I don’t have to keep re-inventing the wheel every time I write a program. Another benefit is that the programs can be very easy to read and or modify. That becomes important when modifications need to be made 3 or 4 years later, after the guy who wrote it has moved out of the state.

If I had to say it lacked one thing, it is an interface to audio, especially text-to-speech and speech-to-text. That aspect of it did cause me a little frustration. It would have been nice to write programs that would be able respond to voice commands and or provide audio alerts.

I am sure there are such interfaces that are available for a price. Given I am living on Social Security, I figured I’d not have the asking price. Still, it would have been nice to make a spreadsheet that would not require a mouse or keyboard.

Actually, I started this post completely on a rabbit trail. I didn’t get off on one. What I wanted to write about is something called Pascal’s Wager.

First, a short word about Pascal. He was a mathematician and theologian who lived during the 1600s. Also, he was a pretty a confirmed Catholic, and pretty much believed that Catholicism was the one true way to God, which is one of the things he and I would have disagreed with, should we speak face-to-face.

Nonetheless, he did come up with an interesting concept, which is called Pascal’s Wager. Hopefully, at the least will cause the atheist to reconsider his position a little. It is a very long article and it is worth a person’s time to take a look at it. However, I will attempt to give you the short version with some of my own personal views.

Let’s consider the flip of a coin. When it comes down, it will either land on heads or tails. I have heard of cases where they come down on their edge but let’s ignore that. Before the coin is flipped, we have three choices, heads, tails or no choice at all. We have the option of not participating.

Let’s change the rules. You must participate. We have just taken that choice away from you. You must chose heads or tails. If you are right, you live forever. If you’re wrong you die, though maybe not immediately.

Such is the way it is in real life, with a few variations. The Christian has chosen the one way. By choice or by default, the atheist has chosen, no God. The choices are exclusive. At least one of the choices has to be wrong. If there is no God, the Christian is wrong. If there is a God, the atheist must be wrong.

So, it would appear we are looking at the proverbial coin toss, right. Wrong. According to Blaise Pascal, the Christian has the least to lose. He will have given up smoking drinking and wild women. He might even lose that fortune that he gave to that church. Then look at all the time and work he provided for the church. Nonetheless, it is finite. The losses are tolerable.

On the other hand, if the atheist is wrong, he will lose everything, throughout infinity. There would be no do overs, no Mulligans. Invariably, there would be pleas for a second chance but there would be none. The punishment for not accepting Jesus doesn’t last just a lifetime, but forever.

So, that is the thumb-nail sketch of Pascal’s wager, based loosely on the toss of a coin. I’m just trying to get you to think about it. We are talking eternity here, not just flip of a coin. As I’ve said many times. I cannot ever make the decision for anyone. All I can present is the truth. Everyone must make their own choice.

I’d like to add just one more little thing. Maybe Bill Cosby has fallen from the graces of most, but he did say something that is very likely true, though it is not exactly biblical. The Bible does say that when Jesus returns, every eye will see Him and every knee shall bow. (Philippians 2:10)

Bill Cosby said there ain’t no such thing as an atheist. On my copy of the routine, he repeated it 4 or 5 times, each time more emphatically. Then, finally he said, “The difference between the Christian and the so-called atheist is that the atheist will be the first ones on their knees when Jesus returns.”

I think maybe Mr. Cosby is right.

Define Religion

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Not a fan of even the word religion. I am a Christian. That is to say, I have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Religion is for people who like to follow rituals. Many times, God has scolded the Israelite people for mindlessly following rituals, for being religious while leaving God out of it.

When Jesus set up His church, He left but two rituals, baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Even so, people have made this into a ritual and they leave Jesus out of it. Many of those who go through the ritual have no relation with God. They do not love Jesus nor do they desire to do his his will.

They call themselves religious but they love not his children, but rather kill them before they are born. Some would go so far as to kill them after they are born. They look at God’s children as an inconvenience to be gotten rid of as a wart or something cancerous. However, many show up on Sunday and chant the words without even considering them.

Old Joe calls himself a Catholic, but he has intentionally said and done things that result in the deaths of thousands. Truth be told, I don’t think the man has any relationship with Jesus. He might call himself Catholic but I can’t see any proof of him being a Christian.

Such can be said of many. They have their faith in their church, their religion and or their preacher. When they see Jesus face-to-face, they will realize they should have had their faith in Jesus. Only, it will be too late. Some with have decades to accept Jesus as their Savior. They will have no excuse. There is simply no religion that will save them and it will be too late for any extensions or revisions of their remarks.

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What Do You Want to Believe?

Posted in Christian values, Important things, Lawyers and Representation, Religion by

I am something of an observer. Over the past few years it has occurred to me, maybe most people believe what they want to believe, regardless.

In spite of any proof otherwise, they hold steadfast to that which suits him or her. I find it utterly amazing the hopeless things that folks will hang onto, simply because they want to.

It does help to understand why the theory of evolution caught on, even though not one person has ever come up with one fact to back it up, only speculations, suppositions and more theory.

I am convinced Darwin, himself, tried to prove that which he knew to be true wasn’t, even to the day he died. It was as if, if he could prove evolution, it would disprove God and the Bible.

He never proved evolution. It is still only a theory, but one presented everywhere as fact. I suspect as Darwin’s death grew near, he feared he was going to be facing real judgment from God.

Even so, he never had any idea how he had set the world upside down. And now, very much of the world believes his theory, not because of any proof but because it is what the world wants to believe.

For if evolution is true, then there is no God, there is no 10 Commandments, and mankind is just another animal. It becomes a world where the laws are all from man and murder is the same as killing any other animal.

Indeed, the scopes monkey trial was the next step in proving we all came from the apes. And they have tossed God out of our classrooms, not because of what is believed, but because of what they want to believe.

It does make evolution something to believe in. That is to say, because there is no proof, it’s not science but religion.

I Am Not a Prophet

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After this last election, I wish I could go to God and ask him why he permitted the election of that airhead. I cannot understand why he allowed those extreme socialists into our Senate. He does not answer to me and He owes me no explanations.

Somehow, I cannot imagine myself approaching his thrown and demanding a reason.

Still, if he were so inclined, I would like it if he maybe gave me a hint or two as to what he has in mind. It does sort of seem contrary to what he would want. He has turned the presidency, the House and the Senate over to a bunch of atheists. In their last “prayer” that I heard in the house, it was addressed to, basically, whomever it may concern. Then it was ended with awomen. My spell checker flagged that word. There is a wavy red line under it. The reason it did is because there is no such word and I refuse to add it to my dictionary. The man that said it was simply revealing his ignorance. The word “amen,” has no reference to gender, male or female.

If he had a true high school education, he should have realized that. At or about the fifth grade, I noticed that the word seemed to be used a lot. So I asked about it. I was told that it was simply a way of confirming any prior words. In essence, it is nearly the same as saying, please let it be so.

So, this is now what we will have running our government for at least the next 2 years and I haven’t a clue as to His purpose. However, I can guess. If any or all these guesses are wrong, maybe God will let me know.

On the other hand, no matter who sits in the oval office, God is still in control. It leads me to my first guess. Maybe God is sending them a message. “You think you are in control. Guess what!”

As I look around, I must admit that he has many reasons to let our country just collapse as punishment for leaving him out of our schools… and our lives. Of course, He can just pronounce the sentence and it would done in the blink of an eye. However, I have found He likes to just let things take their natural course. He turns the reins over to the democrats for a decade or two and the US would become a third world country, or worse.

That brings me to the next reason. Maybe He wants us to realize the disasters of socialism. After we live in a communist country for a decade or so, we just might realize the error of our ways. The problem is, will it then be too late. Once communism has its grip on a country, it seldom lets go.

One thought is almost humorous, if not so serious. President Trump now knows who his enemies are and who his friends are. It has become plain. It is not that he made them his enemies but rather they have chosen to abandon him. Also, if we who keep our eyes open we will know the enemies of our country. There are many who call themselves republicans who are trading our inheritance in for a bowl of soup. We now know who they are. Hopefully, we will weed them out and replace them with men and women of real courage and conviction.

As I said, I am not a prophet. Nothing I have written here is directly from The LORD. Still, my best guess, I suspect the US has seen the last of her glory days. I think God has lost His patience with us. He has given us his blessings and we have shown Him our backs. How can we expect that he would continue to bless those who have forgotten Him. We are literally giving Him a bad reputation before the rest of the world. He is unable to point to us as an example of God fearing people.

READ!!

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I have written on reading before. However, it is important enough that it that should be revisited often.

First, schools do not always teach people how to read. Moreover, whenever possible, parents should teach their children starting at 4 or maybe 3. It will give your child a great head-start in school. Moreover, if your child can read when he enters school, it will improve his grades in other subjects as well.

Reading books will greatly increase his vocabulary and understanding of the world around him. This is true for reading for entertainment as well as learning.

Moreover, encourage your child to read every day. A little reading each day will improve the speed at which he reads. More important, it helps to develop that part of the brain used for reading. It is, so to speak, the way with all exercise. That which is exercised is developed. Therefore, the skills exercised and practiced early in life are better developed.

I read rather slow. At one time I got up to 300 words per minute. I am likely somewhat slower now, though it is subject dependent. When the subject is electronics of computers, I tend to go nearly twice as fast. I suspect it has to do with my interest.

Secondly, have your child read the Bible. As mentioned, I am a slow reader. Yet, I decided I would read two chapters a day. Some chapters were a lot longer; some shorter. Yet, by maintaining my discipline, I finished it all. Then I started all over again. I have read the Bible from cover to cover eight times at least. Some parts, of course more.

One important thing, as a result, when someone incorrectly quotes the Bible to me, I know it right away. No one needs to tell me. Oddly, there are many people going around incorrectly quoting the Bible. Many of them call themselves reverend. Many would like me to believe they are preachers of God’s Word. Knowing the Bible as I do, I generally realize their errors immediately. Even if I don’t, I generally have a strong suspicion. It only takes me a short time to confirm the suspicions or discount them.

Of all the things the Bible speaks of, the one most important thing is salvation, that is, how to make sure you will go to heaven. For those unaware, it has nothing to with all the good works you do. Indeed, there will be many “good men” who will spend eternity in hell. If you don’t believe me, read the Bible. Please don’t take my word for it. (By the way, the Bible is clear about it. If you are going to heaven you will know. If you don’t know, you really need to read the bible.)

It is one of the hardest things I have to deal with. I meet people who are very fine people. They are kind and do may wonderful things. Yet, on the cross, Jesus promised the thief that he would be with Him in paradise. Please tell me what good that thief did. What fortune did he give to the poor. He had nothing to give. He simply asked Jesus to remember him. It was a simple thing but so important. The thief realized his hopeless situation. He confessed his horrible person he was. Finally, he realized Jesus’ power to save and placed his faith in Him, both his power and his promise. (He believed. Therefore, Jesus saved him.)

It is the same way for all of us. There is only little variation. It is only when we realize the hopelessness of our situation; we confess and turn from the bad we have done; then we totally trust Jesus. When we try to trust in what we do or say, it says that we lack faith in Jesus’ power and or willingness to save us. If Jesus can’t or won’t save us, I assure, we cannot save ourselves.

You disagree with me? Read the Bible. Please read it for yourself. Don’t take my word for it. It is the primary reason I suggest you teach your child to read. If he reads the Bible, he will be less likely to be mislead by false teachers. In fact, most false religions will discourage you from reading the Bible. Martin Luther read the Bible and discovered that the Catholic Church had been misleading people for centuries. By the way, they also discouraged people from reading the Bible. They said, “We will read it and interpret it for you. You don’t have the understanding.”

My suggestion is simple. Read the Bible often and ask God to provide understanding. He can do it. He has written it so all can read it, not just the elite. I assure you, Satan does not want you to read the Bible. One of his biggest weapons in deceiving man is to keep everyone ignorant.

Another reason to read is to keep men from deceiving you about: history, government, economics, and basic law. To be sure, we do have to rely on lawyers, but there are some basic things we need to know for ourselves. It may keep us out of jail and it might keep others from defrauding us.

Certainly one of the primary reasons to become a good reader is to help us in our line of work. Certainly lawyers and doctors need to read. The worlds of medicine and law are changing daily. That case the lawyer takes on today just might drastically change in one or two days.

If a doctor were to stop reading, within ten years, he will likely be twenty years behind the state-of-the-art practice. There was a time a man could become a shade tree mechanic and support a family of 6 or 7 until he retired. However, cars now have computers. It has completely changed the world for mechanics.

Moreover, every year or two, they change the design of cars. A mechanic who can’t read is at big disadvantage.

Then too, there is reading for enjoyment. I read “Assignment in Brittany.” I liked it so much I read it two more times. Then I saw the movie that was based on the book. What a let down that was. Movies can be entertaining, but to really enjoy the plot, you need a good book. I suppose it is possible that they could have made the movie of “Assignment in Brittany” nearly as good as the book, but it would have had to be about 12 hours long. How many people do you know willing to sit through a 12 hour movie? Those making the movie simply didn’t have the time to let the story develop as in the book.

One more small thing. There are many more books to chose from than movies.

Purgatory

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Today, I received a pamphlet in the mail from Catholics. I do not know if it was a church or just an organization. Nonetheless, I noticed that the pamphlet had a paragraph on purgatory. It surprised me because I thought they gave up on that hoax. The scam had been uncovered ever since Bibles were readily available and people could read the scripture for themselves.

Nonetheless, this is the hoax. When a person dies, they go to purgatory during which time they pay for all the wrong they did. If someone, usually a relative provided things of value to the church, then it could be used to lessen the time the person spends in purgatory. Hence, wealth was used to help relatives into heaven.

There is one thing that the wealth accomplishes to this day. It makes the Catholic church rich. It was the whole purpose of the hoax. The Catholic church needed money. So, one of the clerics came up with this idea.

Firstly, there was no talk of purgatory until centuries after Jesus’ resurrection.

Second, if you have a word processor and you were to load the entire Bible into it; then did a word search on purgatory, you would not find it. It is not there. There is nothing there that resembles it. Certainly, Jesus did not use the term. He used the term hell and He used the term Heaven. On at least one occasion, He used the term paradise, but not purgatory. If there were such a place, don’t you think He would have said something about it?

Third, Jesus made it quite clear. There are those who will go to heaven and there are those who will go to hell. There was no mention of purgatory.

Finally, a word about wealth. No one, but no one can purchase salvation. If there was a purgatory, God would not want anyone’s wealth. If God wanted it, he could make more wealth than what is on earth. However, wealth serves Him no purpose. For what is He going to use it?

Moreover, if you stack all your good works on top of each other, it would not begin to reach to heaven for just one person. God is not impressed by anything you do in your pride. The only thing he respects are the things you do in the name of Jesus. That which is done without faith in Jesus is as filthy rags.

It is one of the biggest lies that Satan teaches, that we can impress God with what we do with our hands or what we give him without faith. Certainly faith in the Catholic church will gain you nothing. On the contrary. In God’s eyes it is idolatry. God’s word should be the foundation for our faith, not some edict from Rome.