Opus 2026-069: The Jinx of the Book

There are a number of things that take the place of superstitious mementos in our lives.  I have a few.  One of them is a book.  Any book will do.  I found that if I travel somewhere and do not take a book along to read that almost invariably I end up sitting staring at a wall.  Once I got so desperate, I was reading People magazine.

I accepted it as superstition and nonsense.  At the same time, it seems to work out that way.  I don’t get stranded unless I don’t have a book.

Then there are the times I want to do something at the next red light.  Guess what?  Life is lived in the green lane.  I balance the frustration with rapid progress.  If I am going to have a flat tire it always seems to be raining.  If I am going to have a breakdown it hits when I left my phone at home.  I am sure you have your own list.

In my intellect I know this is nonsense.  I still take a book with me everywhere I go.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-068: 101 Means 101

In case you have not picked it up, I enjoy debating theology and Bible.  For me a paraphrase of “All roads lead to Rome” would substitute “Bible” for “Rome”.  It is a natural drift in my mind.

There is a basic truth about Christian theology that we tend to overlook and that basic truth is that basic theology is easy to understand.  It might be an exaggeration but with John 3:16 and five minutes I could teach you basic theology.  From there we would open a door to a lifetime of enriching conversations about God, His nature and how He expects us to live.  If we are really bored we could get into prophecy and the end times but since those things generally have no practical application they can be saved for theological desert.

Does basic theology demand that you accept Jesus as God?  Yes.  Does it demand that you agree on whether Mary had other children?  Not really.  Such topics lead to the divisions in the body of Christ and can be taken to the point of undermining the basics but they are not necessary for salvation.  Is there more truth than I could cover in five minutes?  Obviously.  I could not read you the Sermon on the Mount in five minutes but it is loaded with spiritual truth.

Don’t get upset when people disagree with you on topics beyond the five minutes.  Remember that some people tan and some burn but the sun is the same and produces vitamin D in both.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-067: Don’t Assume

What is truly one of the problems we have today is trying to find where we can get accurate information.  We have the category of Fake News.  We have such nonsense as global warming.  We have supposedly honest scientist talking about the missing links when they describe evolution.  Everywhere you look there is deceit, compromise, and all the words they make up to disguise that they are lying to you.

You would think that the one place you would find a real respect for truth is in the believing Christian community.  You would think the truth would set up a standard in their hearts and minds and be expressed through their tongues.  You would think you could go to a church that claims to be Bible believing and find truth being spoken.

Sadly, that’s not the case.

Most of us are aware that many of the mega churches have drifted away from scripture.  We know about the Progressive church.  We know about the new age.  We are aware of the deception is going on.  What we don’t like to admit is that twisting and compromise is setting up a castle in the hearts of minds of people we think of as true believers.

Sometimes the deception is based on the fact that they’ve been taught wrong.  They’ve been indoctrinated with a certain slant from a certain theological perspective, and they adapted.  They repeated without thinking or searching the scripture for themselves.  I think that’s almost universal across the church . And what is amazing is when you share with them something that is clearly stated and they say, “Well, it doesn’t mean that.”

Recently, I was watching a video that caught my eye because it said something to the effect of did Jesus really say, “Go and sin no more.”  My first reaction is, what a stupid question.  I’ve read it over and over again.  I don’t know that I’ve ever researched the Greek, but I know what it says.  How could there be any question?  But evidently there is.  The man putting on this podcast went down along windy road, never getting close to the conclusion before I finally turned him off, but I could tell he was going to compromise on something.  It is a basic statement of Jesus.  Why the question?  Because he’s been indoctrinated in the Calvinistic interpretation of Pauline theology and is incapable of getting beyond it.  I’ve seen the same arguments when someone says with the Bible does not say you’re saved by faith alone.  Then it’s pointed out that the only place that that phrase appears is in James where he is saying it’s not by faith alone.  And again in some convoluted twisted way, they managed to turn that on its head.

No, I’m not talking about those people.  They are not trying to deceive.  They are not aware of their deception.

So whom am I speaking about?

Here’s where I come to my reading and discussion with King James Only (KJO) and Mid-Aact Dispensation (MAD) people . I first entered into my reading and discussing in good faith.  I assumed that the commandment that we interpret as not lying would be followed by them, even though it is under the law.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the way it works.  I think I’ve expressed this before, but I want to say it again here.  The two groups mentioned tend to take the scripture and put it in a special category and, while they will admit it if you confront them, they continually hide it behind their vocabulary.

An example from frequent instances.  There’s a word that Christians around the world assume means a certain thing.  That word is “Bible”.  You can be speaking in any language and they may have a different word for it but you know what they mean.  It is a book that contains the words of God from Genesis to Revelation.  These two groups have decided to redefine the word.  When they say the word “Bible” what they mean is the 1611 translation of King James.  They don’t say that, but that’s what they mean.  There are subtle indicators, like for instance they no longer talk about the KJV but instead the KJB.  The difference to them is significant, but it’s no concern for us because we assume that the KJV is a Bible, we may not preferred it as our translation but we referred to it as a Bible.  That courtesy is not extended the other way.  If you don’t use the KJB, you are not reading the Bible.  Anything you quote from another translation has very likely been distorted by Satan.

Do you think I joke?  I wish I joked.  Stay alert.  It’s a jungle out there.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-066: Prima, not Sola

One of the common concepts I am trying to deal with is the five Solas.  I believe it is a teaching in Calvinism.  The five Solas are faith, grace, scripture, Christ and the glory of God.

Logic alone tells us that the literal understanding of five different points that are “only” does not make sense.  If it is “faith alone” then why do you need grace and so forth.  I am sure that in the defining of the terms there is a lot of qualifying and back peddling.

I would suggest that a better approach would be to speak of the five Primas rather than the five Solas.  Even that would require some explanation.  You can’t have five things that are first.  The reasoning is that they are first in different catagories.

Take faith as an example.  “Faith alone” in regard to salvation, which is how this phrase is used, is not only nonsense but is the opposite of what the Bible actually says.  Even Paul, who emphasizes faith, goes on to describe behaviors that will keep you out of eternal life.  At the same time faith seems to be the universal requirement for entering into a saving relationship with Jesus.  There is no question about that but I would say scripture is consistent in expecting obedience after the fact, thus “prima” or first faith.

The Bible is clear from Genesis to Revelation that following rules, laws or ritual can never earn God’s forgiveness.  Salvation comes down to trusting in God and His action in response to that trusting.  We can do one and He will do the other.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-065: Jerky Insights

I just finished putting some beef jerky into the dehydrator and now I wait for the results.  I’ve gotten into this because I couldn’t find jerky that I really liked.  The one place that I could get it and almost get delirious about was a place called Capri Deli, but it’s all the way out in California.  My kids have tried having it shipped, but they don’t seem to be big on customer service when it comes to people out of town.

So I started thinking about making my own and as often happens, I did a lot of thinking and no jerky making.  My kids, again as usual, came to the rescue and bought me a dehydrator and what is called a jerky gun.  The jerky gun is for making it with ground beef.  I started with the jerky gun, but found that the process of preparing and cleaning up was just too much and actually buying top round and slicing it myself was much easier.  And now I have found places where I can find top round pre-sliced.

My kids encourage me because I came up with a recipe for teriyaki jerky and they love it.  Since I don’t have a great enjoyment of teriyaki, they have more left for them when I make it since I don’t do a lot of sampling.  I experiment with different recipes and in the process I’m noticing something.

Most jerky recipes have at least one ingredient that is not common.  I don’t know how much that affects the actual taste, my pallette is not known for it’s discernment, but I have to assume it has some effect.  Today’s key ingredient was celery seed.  Another one is made with coriander.  One recipe I have cause for habanero peppers. With the exception of the habanero, I’m not sure I can really tell that much difference.  I know it affects the taste, but it’s on a subtle level that I don’t notice.  What happens if I leave it out?  Some people will tell right away, others like me, would need to leave out something significant like soy sauce.

I think it is these ingredients that you don’t think about that make the difference in the long run.  Today’s recipe called for kosher salt.  To me salt is salt.  What makes it salt is its salty taste.  Other people would tend to disagree with me.  If I use regular salt, I’m sure it would be OK but somehow I just have this feeling, call it an emotion, that it actually tastes better with kosher salt.  Keep in mind though that I also think that Chinese food tastes better when you eat it with chopsticks.

You can start leaving out key ingredients and, no matter how dull your sense of taste, eventually, you will notice a difference.  I have one recipe that a family member dug up out of an old journal.  It’s nothing but salt, pepper, garlic, and onion, sprinkled on and then dehydrated.  No special sauces or herbs.  You don’t marinate it.  You just dry it.  Sad to say it taste like you just dried it.  Somewhere along the line the missing ingredients made a strong difference.

In life, we have people telling us that certain things are important.  They tell us that certain moral standards make a difference.  Take an overused example of alcohol.  I am a teetotaler.  I don’t drink at all.  I can’t stand the smell of the alcohol.  In my opinion, that makes me a good judge of how much is too much.  I am convinced that having one drink with dinner is not going to destroy you physically or morally.  I’m also convinced that when you have a hard time staggering out the door and can’t figure out which key starts the car, you have crossed a line.  You crossed it long before.  My advice is, don’t take the first drink.  Taking the first drink might not make any difference, but somewhere along the line, somewhere in the evening, you are going to get to the place where it does make a difference.  At that point it’s too late.

So pay attention to the little things they add up.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-064: Off the Cuff: Have I Got a Deal for You

From reading Psalm 80.

I notice that this is again a Psalm of Asaph.  He does not seem to have the deepest flowing thoughts.  He lives in a time when Israel is a wasteland.  We know this because all the people around are laughing at them.  The temple and Jerusalem have been destroyed.

Asaph totally misses the point.  He complains and calls on God.  He wants restoration and renewal.  What he does not want is responsibility and repentance.  He does not seem to see the sin in Israel.

He tries to make a deal with God.

Psalm 80:18 (KJV) So will not we go back from thee: quicken us, and we will call upon thy name.

He seems to think that he has the upper hand and God will fall for his offer.  He totally misses the point that Israel is suffering because of this kind of attitude.

Do I try to bargain with God from a position of strength?  What a joke but how typical.

homo unius libri

Opus 2026-063: Forgotten Blessings

We live in a privileged age and a privileged country. We tend to forget that, and many Americans who have never left the country unsupervised have no idea of how good we have it.

I say unsupervised because there are many people who might travel to other parts of the world in carefully sheltered bubbles designed to give them a false impression.  I think back to the journalists who were taken to the Soviet Union in the early days of communism.  They were taken to the Potemkin villages and thought they were seeing the real Russia when all they were seeing was a carefully constructed movie set.  Many of them returned, writing glowing approval of the Soviet system, totally unaware that reality was more displayed in the Gulag Archipelago than it was in the construct they visited.  You get the same effect when you go on a scheduled tour.

And thinking about our blessings, my mind went back to some of the things that stood out to me when I was on a tour of Vietnam.  It’s always strange what you remember.

I think the memory that comes back to be most often is the absence of the smell of diesel fuel.  It was pervasive in Vietnam.  There was a limit to personal cars, but lots of trucks and all of those trucks ran on diesel fuel.  Not having the dubious benefit of the EPA those trucks spewed out lots of fumes and clouds of black smoke.  But that was only part of the problem.  Today when I smell diesel fuel being burnt in a truck, I think of Vietnam, but what that brings back is the memory of using diesel fuel to burn the grass off of the berms around the camp.  The idea was to make it harder for terrorist to sneak up through the grass and take a pot shot at you.  You smelled it in your barracks.  You smelled it on guard duty.  You smelled it walking across the camp.  It was everywhere, but it is not here.

How about displaying your flag because you want to.  Several times I’ve read about how people from other countries are amazed at how many American flags they see flying from front porches, from businesses, even from car windows.  Americans tend to be patriotic, or at least we used to be.  Flag waving was a part of our life.  You could drive down the street on the Fourth of July and know that something was up because every porch would have a flag waving.  That means that overall we are glad to be living in a country where liberty is still in existence in parts of our lives.

I can load my rifle and not get an Article 15.  One of the totally retarded truths of being on guard duty on the outside edge of an American facility in Vietnam was that you were not allowed to load your weapon.  If you were caught with a loaded weapon, you’ll be written up.  Keep in mind this was a war zone.  It was a place full of hostile enemy out to get you.  That didn’t matter.  Some politician, back in Washington DC, surrounded by security who were armed decided that the soldiers in Vietnam should not be able to shoot back.  In Texas we don’t have that problem.

I remember the taste of the soda that we used to buy at the PX.  It had been sitting in the hold of a ship, on the back of a truck, in the hot sun for possibly months.  That brought a certain taste that was not necessarily fresh.  You couldn’t get away from it.  Well, you might’ve gotten away from it if you wanted to go into town and buy something from the black market that have been stolen from the American army.  It might still be somewhat fresh.  It always amazes me that if we couldn’t get a part to get our jeep going from the motor pool, it was available on the streets of the cities.

One of the great blessings we have that we don’t think about is the fact that we do not have a national ID card.  In many countries of the world, you can be stopped at any point and asked to produce your papers. I f you don’t have them with you you are in trouble.  I remember just checking into a hotel in Europe, I had to turn over my passport.  I remember traveling on trains and being asked to show my passport.  This is the normal procedure in much of the world.  Be careful what you wish for.  Now I can put on my pants and shoes, slip some second amendment into my pocket, and walk out the door without my wallet or any kind of identification and take a walk.  It’s called freedom.

This is one of the liberties we take for granted.  It is under attack by the underground fascists who are trying to make America a Gulag.  The problem of illegal aliens is multifaceted.  This is often overlooked.  People are calling for a national ID.  With that will come the habit of government officials stopping us and asking for ID.  So far we have mostly avoided that.

I intend to enjoy it and be grateful for it as long as possible.

homo unius libri