Opus 2025-401: What Year Is it?

I’m beginning to wonder what the natural cycles of the world are going to deliver this year.  I’m starting to think that this is going to be the Year of the Lizard.  They are everywhere.  It seems in the past you might see one occasionally, but now they just keep popping up everywhere.  And they are fast little boogers.

A couple of years ago we had the Year of the Cicadas.  I think that the explanation was that we had two of the different cycles of different varieties that coincided and so we had this constant barrage of noise coming from all directions.  It was rather awesome.  It never got to me.  Perhaps if it had gone on longer it would happen, but it was an interesting phenomenon.

A few years more back, we had the Year of the Inchworm.  They seem to be hanging from every tree and getting on the garage door so that we had almost a quilt of inch worms and their droppings.  That was irritating.  They were sticky and juicy and omnipresent.

Some years we have a cascade of wildflowers.  We have some every year, but there are occasional years where they just seem to cover everything and be blooming steadily for months.

Anyway, you look at it’s going to be a good year.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-400: Headlines: Photos and Trader Joe’s

I was a bit amused at seeing the Clickbait saying that Melania Trump was being considered for a photo shoot by Vanity Fair.  I thought it was worth the five minutes that it would take, so I clicked.

First of all, I thought it was hilarious that the staff of Vanity Fair were threatening a walkout if this actually happened. The report said half of them would quit if this became reality.  OK.  I would suggest if I were Melania that I would do the photo shoot just to get them to leave.  It would be great to get half of them fired or quit.  It might be worth the time.  But since liberals tend to have a hard time with truth, my guess is that they would not quit, just like most of the celebrities did not go to Canada when Trump was elected. 

The second thing that stood out to me was the statement that they would rather bag groceries at Trader Joe’s than work at a magazine that would put the first lady on the cover.  First of all, can you say the word arrogance?  These people think they are so good that meaningful work in a grocery store is a terrible contrast.  They would be willing to step down into the gutter of life and actually do a job that peasants take.  True nobility.  Secondly I doubt if they could get a job at Trader Joe’s.  My guess is that jobs at Trader Joe’s are sought after and that they have a wide range of people to pick from.  I doubt if they would be interested in some privileged Prima donna who had worked for a meaningless magazine.

Of course, I could be totally wrong on all of this.  I was encouraged though when the report was that Melania just laughed at the prospect and said she was too busy to consider it.

What a country. What a first lady.  What a presidency. Pass the popcorn. 

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-399: Angel Vector

While driving down the highway listening to the song “Oh God ,you are my God” I noticed that it talked about following him “all the way”.   Somehow that got me to thinking about my guardian angel and wondering if he were cruising ahead of me on the highway.  I could almost see him slicing a wedge of peace, tranquility and safety.  I wonder how many accidents he has prevented.  I wonder if part of the promise of scripture is that if we are on the right path, the highway of holiness, our guardian angel is clearing the way for us.

I know he has been working overtime keeping my body in one piece.  I tripped on a curb recently and although there were enough scrapes and boo-boos to make me more careful I was able to walk away with only a handful of tissue for first aid.  I keep wishing I could leave him a plate of cookies or something.

I miss the old hood ornaments:  Pontiac, looking into the future, airplanes, bulldogs, all kinds of great things.  If they were still allowed I would want one that looks like an angel.  I realize that the absence of hard pointing things on the hood might save a life some day but I don’t think those people should be in the middle of the street anyway.

Sometimes my imagination gets away from me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-398: Beware Utopia

As Americans who believe that we can do anything and achieve our dreams we often fall into the trap of utopia.

Utopia is a perfect political and cultural civilization.  The idea evidently goes back to Plato and The Republic but the term was coined by Sir Thomas More.  When discussing it intellectually most people will concede Utopia is impossible.  In their philosophy of life there are many who think it can be attained.

How does that fit in with what I’m saying?  Some tend to think that there will be perfect solutions instead of compromises.  This is one of the basic differences between what Thomas Sowell calls the constrained vision versus the unconstrained vision.  The left has the unconstrained vision which claims that there are no trade-offs that we can achieve perfection.  While they will admit that there are a few eggs that need to be broken to make the omelette, they assume that it will not be their eggs, but someone else’s.  They believe that the sacrifice you make will be worth it in the long run for the utopia that they want to run and live in.  They will be glad to let you mow their lawn as a reward.

I see this in headlines where people condemn political leaders, such as Netanyahu of Israel.  Is he perfect?  That’s really a stupid question for someone who doesn’t believe in utopia.  Nothing and no one is perfect except for God himself.  The question is not is he perfect the question is, “Is he the best alternative among the choices available?”  The same can go for government policies.  Are they perfect?  No.  They will never be perfect for all people.  It’s possible that tyrants and autocrats can set up a system which is perfect for them, but they overlook all the bleeding corpses that they leave behind them on their journey to utopia.

People who rant about democracy, tend to believe in utopia.  They ignore the long history of democracy, quickly degenerating into tyranny and aristocratic rule.  Our federal Republic was designed knowing that perfection was impossible, that people are flawed, and that we need protections from people who think they know what’s best for us.  It is designed based on trade-offs, and going for the possible solution not the perfect one.

So when you vote, don’t expect the perfect candidate.  When you speak up in a meeting, don’t demand that everything be perfectly matched up.  Be realistic.  Be optimistic. Be persistent. Don’t believe in utopia.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-397: Speaking Truth to Denial

Have you noticed how people have a genuine fear of the truth?  This came up in a recent discussion where the person I was talking to did not want to call evil, evil.  He kept coming up with synonyms or excuses.  I finally pointed out to him that it is very common at least in the book of Proverbs, to call evil, evil, to admit that evil is evil.

Why don’t we want to call evil by its name?  Because there’s always going be someone around us who says you shouldn’t say that, it’s not kind, you’re going to drive people away.  As a result, we don’t drive them away.  They leave in boredom because we don’t have anything to attract them.  We need to speak truth.  Not truth to power, but truth to denial.

Think of all the areas where we don’t want to come right out and say that things are evil.  We don’t want to mention homosexuality as evil.  Everybody always brings up a family member or a friend who is the nicest person in the world and is homosexual.  How can it be evil?  You could ask the same question about the sociopath who has learned how to function in society.  He is still a sociopath.  He is still not to be trusted.  Good manners and smooth talk do not overcome the evil.

You can make a list: transgender, Islam, corruption in government, censorship for you own good.  Add whatever you want.

So we can at least start by not being afraid to use the word evil.  We are surrounded by it.  When we see professional medical people who are supposed to be committed to do a no evil, butchering the bodies of adolescent children because they have had some perverted adult convince them they are the wrong sex, we need to call it evil.  Why?  Because it is.

Of course, we need to be careful that what we are calling evil is evil by an absolute standard not just by our personal preference for the moment.  That again, as I’ve said many times, is something that we have to base on the witness of scripture and of the God we serve.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-396: Wrath and Patience

My list of divine attributes gets a bit conflicted at times.  I’m thinking in terms of the attribute of wrath and the attribute of patience.  I believe both of them can be documented through scripture.

How can the same God have both juxtapositioned characteristics?

I think all you need to do is read through the prophets.  I think almost any one of them will do, although I’m not an expert on the prophets.  I’ve recently read all the major ones and I see the same pattern in each.  They seem to be overwhelmingly full of the wrath of God.  They talk about the punishments that He is going to bring upon Israel.  There is no ignoring or watering down God‘s anger.

Then in between you find these verses or short sections that talk about forgiveness, restoration, God’s care and love for His people.  How do the two go together?

Well, here’s where you have to read with your brain turned on.  Although there is a lot of mention of retribution, there is also adequate documentation of the offenses committed.  In the complexity of life, God really doesn’t ask too much.  He obviously expects the basic morality that we’ve come to expect in a culture, which is based in Christianity.  In addition to that, He demands that they worship only Him and not turned to other gods.  It’s almost as if they set out to try and break every rule in the book.

Sandwiched in, sometimes almost hidden, is God’s commitment to the faithful remnant.  Very obvious, if you’re paying any attention to the historical narrative, is God’s patience.  While He is guaranteeing to keep his eye on the remnant, he is waiting, waiting, and waiting again for the rebellious majority to come to their senses.  It’s a couple hundred years between the time of Solomon and the deportation of the Northern Kingdom.  It’s a couple hundred more years before the Southern Kingdom has brought down and Jerusalem was destroyed.

I think that qualifies as patience. I think that deserves wrath.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-395: Why No Originals?

I’m listening to a series of podcasts that is discussing the issue of Westcott and Hort and the way they are attacked by the King James Only Bible people.  They are now dealing with the idea of preservation and the question is why did God not preserve the original texts in exactly the same form all the way down to the present.

That is a good question.  Could God have done it?  Of course He could.  He chose not to.  I think one of the reasons why He chose not to was because human beings are very superstitious and they put spiritual value on things where it shouldn’t be.

If you saw the movie, The Robe, the thesis was that the robe of Jesus if touched by someone who was sick would heal them.  The original idea probably goes back to the woman who touched Jesus hem and was healed from a lifetime illness.  When you take something like that and make a spiritual power out of it, you were crossing the line into a pagan superstition.

Another example would be the Shroud of Turin.  I have looked into it a little bit.  I’ve known about it for years, since I was in college.  I don’t know if anything new has been discovered, but it was impressive the evidence they had even then.  This is another interesting topic which I hope never is proven scientifically or even to the satisfaction of the gullible.  If the Shroud of Turin is ever believed to be the actual burial shroud of Jesus, then it will become another bit of spiritual nonsense for the gullible to spend their money on and put their faith in.

Thus we have the original texts of the Bible have all been lost.  What has been preserved is not exactly the same in every manuscript.  If it were and if we had it today, then it would become a bit of idolatry.  People would worship that text more than the God himself.  We see that some degree in the extremes of King James Only movement.  These people believe that the text of the King James Bible is infallible, inerrant and word for word perfect from God.  They call it double inspiration.  I have actually read statements they have made which says if the King James Bible says one thing and the original text says something else then the King James is right.  This is worshiping a book, not a savior.

So I’m quite content with the variations of the manuscripts.  I’m content with the different translations.  I think it gives us more of a chance to understand what it is that God is trying to say to us.  Find a translation, make it your primary source and then compare it to others to see how they measure up.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-394: Asian Kitties

As I was putting on my Crocs to go out on the porch this morning I glanced at the bottom and noticed that they were made in Vietnam.  That got me to thinking about how much of our imported production is switching from China to other locations.  Vietnam is one of them.  I wondered why I was OK with a product made in Vietnam, but tried to avoid Chinese goods.  This is doubly strange since I served in the Vietnam war and I know that there was a bit of animosity there.

We have a record of being able to make peace with enemies from previous times.  Good examples would be Germany and Japan.  I think we tend to forget some of the ambitions of certain countries because they’re smaller.  I don’t expect Germany or Japan to try to attack us.  They seem to have more than learned their lesson.  I wouldn’t say the same about Vietnam if it had the capability.

That remind me of how I saw a meme one time of a cute little cat and the point was that if the cat were big enough, it would love to eat me.  I think the same is true of Vietnam.  I think they are realistic enough to know that they are not going to conquer the world.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have the desire.

I wonder how many other countries there are that would love to conquer the world if they thought they had a chance.  One of the unique qualities of the United States is that we have never seriously thought in those terms.

Maybe it is a thought whose time has come.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-393: The Volkswagen and the Corvette

Conservatives are not backward looking in the sense of wanting to go there.  They are backward looking in the sense of understanding the lessons that have been learned and using that knowledge to move into the future.

Liberals look into the future with stars in their eyes and think that because they want something it will happen.  They ignore the lessons of the past.  They are the peak evolution, not a dead branch.

Picture a race between a Volkswagen and a Corvette.  Both are given 20 gallons of gasoline which is enough to reach the finish line.  Both are shown the road that they are to follow.  Both have the destination.  The Volkswagen starts off driving at 55 miles an hour because he knows that at 55 miles an hour he gets two more miles to the gallon of gasoline.  The Corvette puts his pedal to the metal , lays a bunch of rubber on the road and disappears into the distance in a cloud of smoke.

The Volkswagen eventually drives past the Corvette sitting at the side of the road out of gas.  This isn’t the hare taking a nap but totally out of gas.  That assumes that the Corvette didn’t crash before it ran out of gas or have a gasket blow.  If the goal is to reach a productive and secure future, and the conservative is the one who will arrive.  At that point part of his looking back to the past will involve the repeated failures of the Corvette to ever get close to winning.  If life were a 100 yard dash the Corvette would always win, but life tends to be a marathon.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-392: Filling in the Blanks

I found myself reading through Samuel and wondering about the ages of Samuel when his mother left him at the house of God and later when he was called by God and kept waking Eli up.  I’m going to look again, but I don’t think it tells us.  It came to my attention that there are a lot of things that God does not tell us, but being inquisitive troublemakers, we tend to want to know.  Think of the questions that you keep asking.  You started with your Sunday school teacher in second grade.  You may be asking the same questions of your pastor this week.

Where did Adam and Eve’s children get their spouses?

Who were the Nephilim?

Where in the Bible does it use the term “penal substitutionary atonement?  I know atonement is in there, but I don’t know about the rest.  While we’re on that topic, why do people keep trying to say that there was no forgiveness of sin in the Old Testament when “atonement” is used time and time again?  Don’t they know what atonement means?

We can go on with all kinds of questions, but you get the idea.

Why does God leave these blanks in the biblical record?  I would respectfully suggest that maybe He knew that these were details that we didn’t need to know and He was working with a medium that can’t just swap out memory every time things start overloading.  He was working with parchment and stone.  They didn’t even have paper in those days.  Yes I know about papyrus.  It was not paper.  It was also expensive.  He had to economize on what we needed to know, and I can’t think of any better editor than God himself.

Some people think that allows them to speculate and come up with theories that have the power of inspired scripture.  I don’t think that’s why God left it out.  I don’t think He knew that He would have frustrated authors who couldn’t get published needing to express their ideas.  Well actually, He knew it, but He didn’t care.  We do not have the right to go out and just make up our own theology based on the need for system.

One of my paths of investigation is separating out the traditions of men from the word of God.  It’s not easy.  We have so many built-in traditions we don’t even think about that tailor how we look at what God tells us.  Some of those traditions are harmless and might even be helpful. Sitting in pews facing the front where we’re not distracted by the dandruff on our neighbors shoulder or the baby in the back row could be a good thing, but it is a long way from the house church concept that is explained in Acts.  Sometimes basic understandings that large segments of Christians believe are clearly not taught in scripture.  When you look at the TULIP theory and start analyzing such things as the limited atonement, all you have to do is read John 3:16 and see that that doesn’t work.  Yet it is part of the foundation of many churches.

Learn to tell tell the difference between the traditions of men and the doctrines of God.  Base your life on the latter.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-391: The Middle Road

While listening to a discussion between Peter Robinson and Peter Thiel the idea came up about the two routes history can follow.  The first is the Antichrist and one world government, and the other is Armageddon.  Thiel expressed a desire to find a third way, a narrow path between the two.

This brought to mind how God is continually declaring doom and destruction on Israel for their lack of obedience, and the way they sought after other gods.  The perfect result would be a repentant nation that was following the Lord’s direction and would be overwhelmed by His blessings. No such thing happened.

There was however always this third path that Thiel was talking about.  There always seemed to be a remnant of some kind.  What I take from that is that in the midst of His wrath and punishment God always has His eye upon those who are faithful.  So even in the end times there are those who will be faithful.

When people talk about the wrath of God and how He is so full of violence and they talk about the forecast for the end of time, what they overlook is the fact that there will always be the faithful and they will be cared for.  Armageddon is not about destroying the world.  It is about destroying evil and having righteousness prevail.

Remember the evangelistic campaign that had to do with One Way.  We would hold up our index finger and signify that there’s only one way and that is Jesus.  In Thiel’s vocabulary that narrow third way is actually the one and only one way.  That is based on choices we make.  God may destroy much of the world, but it will be because the world has earned that destruction.  The world has refused to repent.  The world has refuse to turn to the living God and has sought after gods of their own choosing.

Don’t forget, there is always that third, or one, way.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-390: Software Suggestions

Have you discovered the software on your devices that lets you dictate while it types what you say?  You may have noticed the voice activation software has a lot of creative suggestions.  For a time I made a list of a few.

Garnish for Godless.
Make mistakes, woman sticks
Like gods, like garbage.
You guys people, gods people
The old G, theology
The algae, theology
Point of you, point of view
A new peach bowl, Unimpeachable
Care unit, carry in it
Stop auto, stab our toe.
The burgers, the verses
Faster and cars, fester and cars.
Pagans, Bacons
Two pronged answer, two prong dancer
What prophets, wood products
How far will this go, I’ll follow this girl 

I will leave it to you to decide which is the computer and which is the human.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-389: At Least I’m Consistent

I have yet to see a tattoo that I think improves the looks of the person adorned.  If a person is already ugly, then it just increases the ugliness.  If, in looking past the tattoo, I can see the person was attractive, that attractiveness is canceled by the ugly writing on the body.  I always wonder about the character of people who get all these tattoos, but I know fine people who have illustrated their bodies.  I have a friend who has one but most people don’t know because he keeps it out of sight.  I assume he will make it to heaven.  We had a young couple with their six kids over for dinner.  They are great examples of Christian character.  She looks like a walking advertisement for a local parlor.  I like to think it happened before they grew up, but I don’t know.

So I have to fight against judging people.  But even as I fight against judging them, I still think the tattoos are ugly.

It occurred to me as I was thinking about this that I never liked bumper stickers on my car either.  The difference would be that I could enjoy other people’s bumper stickers, I just didn’t want to put them on my car.  I wanted a clean look.  I also worried that my driving habits might be a bad witness for a Christian bumper sticker.

Actually, what started me thinking about this was looking at the outside of my new iPad and thinking about how pristine and clean it was.  The lines were clear.  The surface was smooth.  I thought about how some people put stickers all over their laptops and other tools that are part of their life.  I always thought it was a bit silly, but it gave them a chance to express themselves to people around them.  I don’t think I will ever do that.

So at least I’m consistent.  There is adornment that is tasteful and attractive.  I am not one who has the kind of taste that would know how to decorate myself.  I have no sense of fashion.  I have no sense of color.  My wife will often send me back to change something I’m wearing.  But I do know when I have spaghetti sauce all over my shirt.

I have on occasion been thankful that I don’t have to look at myself.  I extend my condolences to you.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-388: Will Heaven Be Perfect?

I am currently of the mind that heaven will not be perfect, at least not in the sense that we tend to think of perfection.  God is certainly capable of creating a perfect environment, but the problem He has is He’s working with us.

As close to being what God wants us to be as we can get, we will still have massive differences based on our personalities, our preferences or perceptions.  We will always disagree on something.  If we don’t, it means that we are robots with no free will.

Based on that, I’m assuming that there will be some trade-off even an eternity.  It won’t be a big issue.  Even the trade-off situation will be designed by God to work in a harmony that allows us all to rejoice in the God of our salvation.  But don’t expect the celestial choir to always sing the hymns you like.  There might be a time when they go with contemporary music.  They might present something from a culture you have never heard of.  God will give you the patience to deal with it and might even work a miracle and give you a spiritual gift of interpretation when it comes to contemporary music.

Whatever it is going to be like, it is going to be glorious.  I hope you join me there.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-387: Professional Faith

As I was thinking about being able to understand the Bible and how important it is to me I got to thinking about a young man I knew when I was teaching middle school.  He was Muslim.  He was a great kid.  He was a good student.  His parents were really decent people.  He would’ve been an example of what people talk about when they talk about moderate Muslims.

I asked his parents if I could question him about Islam.  They said no problem.  So we had a few conversations.  In one of them I asked him about the Quran.  I wanted to know if he could read it since he spoke Arabic.  His answer was, “No”.  I said why not if you speak Arabic.  He said because the Arabic in the Quran is so old and archaic that he can’t understand it.  He could read the words out loud, but he had no idea what they meant.

This is so common among major religions that originated in the Middle East.  I think you could repeat this with most Muslims.  They might be able to quote things they memorized.  They might be able to read the words out loud if they actually could read.  But mostly they depended upon the guy up in the front who was doing the preaching and teaching to understand what the Quran said.

We had a similar problem with the Jews in the time of Jesus.  Very few Jews actually spoke Hebrew.  They spoke Aramaic and Greek.  They could not read the Bible in the original language, and so they had professionals who would tell them what the professional felt the congregation needed to know.  They had to rely on the teaching of these experts in order to know what their holy books said.

Fast forward to the time of the Middle Ages.  At that point the main Bible available to believers was the Latin Vulgate.  Since most people could not read Latin, it would require professionals to tell them what the word of God said.  They were forced to just know what the experts wanted them to know and you know how easy it is to tailor things if you’re in charge of the media.

Today we have run into a similar problem in protestant churches.  It is not a problem of truth available but sloth and arrogance.  Pastors do not encourage people to bring their Bibles and the preaching served up often has very little to do with a text that was announced.  In this case you can’t blame the pastors totally.  In America today we have a plethora of Bible translations that are readily available.  Take your pick.  Any one will do.  The word of God is available today.  Unlike history if you’re not aware of what God is saying it’s on you, not on the professionals.

Rise above the herd.  Access the source.  Don’t settle for being a part of the mediocre masses.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-386: Reminders: #6, Go Ahead, Say It

There are certain topics I have written about.  They are worth repeating.  I need to revisit them to refresh my memory and enhance my thinking.  Others need to be reminded.  There is a constant bombardment of ideas that clutter our minds.

I need to once again write on the fact that people are either ignorant, stupid, or evil. 

I was listening to a presentation by Dr. Robert Malone as he tried to explain the “benighted” atmosphere of much of our culture.  He confessed that he wanted to use the word “evil” but did not want to get into the religious aspects of the problem.  He then proceeded to explain all of the destructive deceit that was involved in the Covid crisis and other thrusts of the deep state into our liberties.  He came up with three things and managed to make it all sound like some kind of benign mistake.  His concern for the problem was valid.  His analysis was insipid.

Lets take as an example the work of a famous economist, who shall go unnamed, but who writes for the New York Times.  I have not followed much of what he has said but what I have read shows that he is usually wrong and always wrong in a way that attacks Donald Trump.  For people like him, and there are many, I would say that we have three choices.  They can be ignorant.  For some reason they do not have any facts that are correct.  They could find the facts but it doesn’t happen.  This does not apply to our economist.

This person could be stupid.  Sometimes people are so deficient in intelligence that they cannot connect even simple dots.  Reality is mystery and they do not have the ability to do better.  Again, I would say that such a things does not apply.

The final choice is that they are evil.  They deliberately lie and deceive for their own advantage, knowing that what they do will damage, even kill, people who have done them no wrong.  There is no moral justification for their actions.  The only excuse is they can get away with it.

This quality applies to our economist.  It also applies to most people in the various legacy media outlets.  It applies to a large number of politicians and most educators.

You may not feel comfortable using the title of “evil”.  Okay.  How about “depraved”, “nasty” or “savage”?  I am sure you can come up with a word if you try.

I will go with evil.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-385: Headlines: Maximum Wage

The headline said some thing about NBA guards getting paid $38 million a year.  I didn’t bother looking to see what it was about.  I don’t watch professional sports.  At this point I don’t watch sports at all.  I have a life.

All I can say is more power to you.  If in the system of free enterprise the National Basketball Association teams can you forward to pay those kind of salaries and still stay solvent then go for it.  The only thing that would disturb me is if I heard that they were getting a government subsidy through USAID or some other rip off.  If there are enough sports junkies in this country to buy the products from the advertisers who pay the teams to employ these athletes then I salute them.  I have no envy.  My bills are paid, I have food in the pantry and more important, my children have turned out well.  I wish them the same sense of joy and purpose that I have.  I have a feeling it won’t depend on the number of zeros in your paycheck.

That doesn’t mean I will buy what they advertise but I would not know since I don’t watch.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-384: Will We Care?

Sitting out and enjoying the morning, my thoughts always turn to God and His glory.  I was moving into a time of thanksgiving and, of course, started with Jesus and His willingness to sacrifice for my salvation.  I then found myself caught up in the concept of the trinity and what that means.  How do we understand something so incomprehensible?  It is a mystery.

I found myself thinking when we get to heaven we’ll understand this.  Then I said to myself, “I’m not so sure.”  I’m not sure that it will even occur to me to try and understand the trinity.  Think about how there are times we are so overcome with beauty and complexity that we forget about how unusual it is.

Years ago, I worked one summer in Sequoia National Park.  I remember one morning when I was up on top of one of the buildings putting on a layer of sealant.  It was a very boring and mundane task.  The smell of petroleum products overpowered everything else.  Suddenly, for a reason, I can’t explain, I straightened up and looked around me and was overwhelmed by the majesty of the giant sequoias that were everywhere I looked.  In the midst of such splendor, I was focusing on the tar I was putting on the roof.  I will concede it was my job and I was doing my job.  That’s part of my excuse.  The other excuse is that sometimes things are so glorious and we get so used to them that we forget the miracle that we live in.

Think about the glory of Christmas and that first day when the decorations are up and the music is playing.  I often want to dance.  After a few days, I take it for granted.  Think about being surrounded by my grandchildren on a day where we’re gathered to celebrate.  When I first walk in the door, I’m hugging and chasing and we’re all laughing and screaming.  After a while, it’s a matter of do I need another ice cube in my glass.

So stop and look around.  Consider the miracles that are all around you.  I look at the oak trees that are silhouette against the gray sky, and how the sun is trying to break through the clouds in the distance.  I think of the miracle of being on this hill in Texas.  I could go on and on, but you have your own glorious surroundings.

Stop. Contemplate. Be thankful. Rejoice.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-383: On the Road: Demographics

Summer is here.  That means the panic over climate change for those who have short memories.  For normal people it is a part of the cycle of the year.  Temperatures here in Texas are hitting the triple digits or high nineties.  It is expected.

I am also noticing a decline in the number of Teslas I see on the road.  When it was cooler I used to see at least one when I drove into town.  Now I can go days without a sighting.  I find myself wondering if the heat, requiring air conditioning, is too much for the battery charge they carry.  I have no idea.  I don’t run in Tesla circles.  I know people who drool over them but are too fiscally responsible to buy one.  On these hot days they may be glad they resisted the plunge.

Free enterprise is great.  It is wonderful that such products are available for those who want to spend their money that way.  I will wait for a few more generations before I drink from that cup.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-383: On the Road: Demographics

Summer is here.  That means the panic over climate change for those who have short memories.  For normal people it is a part of the cycle of the year.  Temperatures here in Texas are hitting the triple digits or high nineties.  It is expected.

I am also noticing a decline in the number of Teslas I see on the road.  When it was cooler I used to see at least one when I drove into town.  Now I can go days without a sighting.  I find myself wondering if the heat, requiring air conditioning, is too much for the battery charge they carry.  I have no idea.  I don’t run in Tesla circles.  I know people who drool over them but are too fiscally responsible to buy one.  On these hot days they may be glad they resisted the plunge.

Free enterprise is great.  It is wonderful that such products are available for those who want to spend their money that way.  I will wait for a few more generations before I drink from that cup.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-382: After the Cameras Stop

Did Dr. Kildare ever get married?  Did Doogie Howser ever grow up?  Did Marcus Welby ever get forced to join an HMO?

To be honest I don’t believe I ever watched these programs consistently.  In fact, I’m pretty sure I never saw some of them.  I know that Dr. Kildare was in the comic strips at one point and I remember at least trying to read them.  At that stage in my life the romantic hijinks of a young handsome doctor really didn’t appeal to me much.  Maybe I remember him totally wrong.

But what happens when these popular figures are forced to deal with real life?  I was sitting in the dentist’s office recently and realized that leaving my book in the car was a mistake.  I was forced to read People Magazine.  It was depressing.  I wasn’t bothered by the fact I didn’t know any of them or their claim to fame.  What got me was the futility of their lives.  The beautiful young women would soon age and begin to appear in AARP instead of People.  The men would put on weight and drink too much assuming they were not doing so already.

It is hard to live in fantasy.  I don’t know how you can keep your script separate from real life.  A few times I have been forced into role playing situations and found that it took me hours to break out when we were done.  I can’t imagine what it is like to do it for long periods of time.

I would rather read the faces I see at church than in the pages of People.  I prefer the reflection and inner fire of joy and purpose.

It could be just me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-381: Does God Mature

As I was reviewing my ongoing list of the attributes of God, I came across one which said God was eternal, He does not age or decay.  OK, we are good so far.  I haven’t crossed any heretical lines.  But on the next line, I had written, “does not mature”.  That got made to wondering.

Maturing involves growing in wisdom.  I can accept the fact that God does not grow in wisdom because he has already arrived at the ultimate wisdom.  Then I got to thinking about how if God were a scientist he would be seeking new knowledge all the time.  I was watching a podcast where Peter Robinson was interviewing James Tour and Steven Murray on the origins of life.  They commented on how every time you got a step deeper into the structure of the cell even deeper levels appeared.  My theory is that this will go on forever.  There will always be a deeper level.  That is from the human perspective.  From God’s level, He already has to know about all of these levels.  Because of that He can’t really mature in information.  Maybe He keeps busy designing even deeper levels.

It would almost seem that God is a static being.  We know He is a being.  We know that He is aware and has all the attributes that make Him not a rock, but a self-aware existence.  If He were static, how could He be alive?  That’s one of those questions that we can’t answer now.

This does however make me reflect that perhaps one of the reasons He created us in His image and gave us free will is that it introduces that element we call chance.  For us it’s just part of the daily adventure.  For God, our adventures may be the essence of enjoyment.  The fact that He gave us free will based on His image means that there must be at least a small element of unpredictability.

I often wonder if God gets bored.  That almost sounds like sacrilege, but it is a serious question.  I am suggesting that our kitten like antics liven up his eternity.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-380: Sides of Labels

Labels are one of those things which can be useful or be all the way across the spectrum to destructive.  I am not talking about labeling cans but putting people in categories.  Labels can speed up and help the discussion between people if they both understand what they mean and apply them correctly.  They can be confusing if people use the same word, but mean different things by it even in an honest way.  They can also be used to conceal what you really believe.

The label that brought me to this thought was “reasonable faith”.  I’ve been listening to people who are making preposterous assumptions about truth.  They are resorting to what we would call blind faith.  The orthodox, small “o”, believing community has long made a difference between blind faith and reasoned faith.  For the most part the orthodox community rejects blind faith.  Walking through life there might be times where you have to fall back on that, but it is not where we stand as Christians.  Our faith is reasonable, and based on a coherent system of looking at God and His universe.

Something can be reasonable and yet still not totally understandable.  One reason I have a feel for understanding the meaning of infinity is because I believe in an infinite God.  I in no way come close to comprehending.  I can’t explain to someone who doesn’t want to listen, but I can communicate a general sense about who God is and what infinity is.  Or take the concept of the Trinity.  I have a general feel for what it means to have one God in three persons.  But as one of my professors once said when you think you really understand it, you have probably drifted into heresy.

In politics we see this in the label of democracy.  Most people don’t stop to think about the fact that we do not live in a democracy, and the founders of our republic deliberately avoided establishing a democracy.  Democracies don’t work in the long run.  They tend to lead to extremism and tyranny.  But we still use the term.  We use it in a generic sense and depending on how you use it, you’re either being honest or deceptive.  When you hear a politician, crying out that someone is destroying our democracy they are being deceptive.  We don’t live in a democracy.  The action is being decried is trying to establish a democracy.  It totally deceptive.

I would advise begining a discussion with defining terms and agreeing on what our labels mean.  For instance, earlier I used the term “orthodox” small “o” instead of “born again” or “evangelical”.  The reason is the Orthodox refers to a group of denominations and the other terms have lost their meaning.  If I was talking with you I would accept a word you chose.

Keep discussing.  Keep listening.  Keep growing.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-379: Monday Pulpit: It Just Makes Sense

Someone made a comment about common sense.  I think it was in reference to Iran.  It occurred to me that what a Persian might think of as common sense would not be the same as an American.  For that matter, I have noticed that my neighbor’s idea of common sense isn’t the same as mine.

That might be a good place to start if we are trying to understand others.  If you are dealing with a Muslim who has been raised in a culture that treats women as possessions or tools then why should you be surprised when they gang rape young women parading around in public with a lot of skin showing.  To them it is common sense that she is a whore.  They see no problem and wonder what yours is.

Or take your neighbor.  Perhaps they came from a family that lived where there was no regular trash pick up.  They might have a pile in the back yard where everything was discarded.  It made perfect sense to them.  Why should they obsess about a bag of trash when they could bring in a trailer and haul a big pile out at one time, or not.  What is your problem?  They don’t have one.

Take the people attending churches where “contemporary worship” is the norm.  To you the music is boring, insipid and lacking in theological content.  Keep in mind that many of the people around you were raised with hard rock being played 24/7.  They never had a class in music appreciation in school unless it involved oriental music.  When they do listen to music the main emphasis is on moving to the beat.  To them this type of worship is just common sense.

Consider the world you live in.  Others see through different lenses.  Does that make them right?  Not necessarily but in their way of thinking what they are doing is just common sense.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-378: Over-Engineering

This morning, I had a very unusual experience.  I had a shoelace break.  It has been years since I had that experience.  Usually my shoes wear out before the strings.

That made me think about the value of over engineering.  We often hear about how the government will pay $2,000 for a toilet seat and wonder what is wrong with them.  If it is for the space shuttle and can’t be replaced in space then it might be worth the cost.  Then again, it might not.  

When I step on a ladder rated for 250 pounds I want it to really hold to 400.  When my tires are supposed to last 50,000 miles I want them still in good shape at that point.  I like my Bibles to last 20 years instead of falling apart after a year of use.

One of the reasons we like things made in America is that experience has shown us American made products are often better than those made in China by slave labor.  I remember when I bought a Fender Stratocaster.  I got the Mexican Strat.  It was much cheaper than an American Strat but much higher quality than the Japanese and Korean Strats.  I don’t remember if any were made in China but there was a definite difference.  

Quality has a price.  If I need a tool for a single use then cheap might work but if I want to pass it on to my children, more is required.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-377: The Manipulation of Fear

Fear is a powerful force in our lives.

Most of us can deal with fear when there is something concrete to be afraid of.  If I know there is a bear roaming in my neighborhood I can still think clearly and make good choices.  Number one is don’t go walking my dog.  That is double since I don’t have a dog.  If you are a soldier in combat there is every reason to fear but millions of men have dealt with that.

The fear that gets us is the unknown.  I used to be afraid of the monster under my bed.  It didn’t do any good to look underneath with a flashlight.  He was good at hiding.  I eventually came to accept there was no such thing and the fear departed.  I can now walk in the dark both inside and outside the house and not worry about anything but tripping.

The big problem comes when forces beyond our control conspire to manipulate our fear.  What comes to mind is the recent panic over a virus that got a lot more publicity than it deserved.  At first there was the fear of the unknown.  The powers-that-be lied to us from the very beginning.  After two months I knew it was all a lie.  How?  I paid attention.  Remember the two cruise ships quarantined in Tokyo harbor?  They represented two perfect petri dishes for the incubation of danger of the disease.  On one ship no one died.  On the other seven.  Those are not the numbers of the biggest plague since the black death.  It is more on the level of the seasonal flu.

Facts were ignored and warnings were multiplied.  Of all the advice given the only one that had any value was to wash your hands and we should have already known that.  Masks were useless.  It said so right on the package.  Distance was a product of the imagination.  Did the virus die after traveling six feet?  The deceit grew as we were offered safe and effective treatments.  They were neither.  

The manipulation worked.  I still see people in the grocery store with masks and that look in their eye.  The game is being played again.  The warnings are starting up.  Lucy has her football out and all the Charlie Browns are ready to punt.  The list of fears is long and often unnoticed.  It includes climate change, warnings about things like salt and coffee, standing up against men in women’s sports and the nonsense of the TSA.

Christians are more resistant to this manipulation, or they should be.  When it comes to fear of a virus that can kill us we are aware of where we go when we die so it is not as big a threat.  We have a general trust in the hand of Providence and the work of the Holy Spirit.  We are aware of the amazing immune system that God designed for us.  

This reduced fear is why Christians were leaders in the Underground Railroad and Civil Rights movement.  It is why they volunteered to care for the sick in times of epidemic.  It is why we staffed the early hospitals.  Many died but the fear was kept in check by trust in a higher power.

That is another reason why the cultural Marxists are out to destroy the church.  We stand in the way of their goal of global domination.  They will keep trying.  We will keep resisting.  It means that every believer is a member of the resistance.  

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-376: The Seething

I am wondering when the revolts will begin.  Will the world submit to sharia law with a whimper or stand up for what they used to believe in?

We still have a bit of freedom of speech here in the United States and we have a population that is well armed.  We still have a minority that actually believes that Christianity is the way.  We still have a chance to wake up without massive violence but I am not sure you can say that for Western Europe.

What kind of moral degeneration and cowardice produces what the United Kingdom is demonstrating today?  While being raped a woman fights back.  She goes to jail.  People who express disagreement with the government are arrested and violent street thugs are released.  You may have been paying attention when it was revealed that police in Scotland had ignored organized rape rings but did nothing because they did not want to be accused of Islamophobia.

Why has the revolution not started in England?  The rest of Europe is the same.

If they don’t begin then we will come to the place where we are grateful for the ocean between us and them.  If they begin will we get pulled in?

Whichever way things go we are looking at a lot of turbulence in the near future.  Vote with care and keep your powder dry.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-375: Divine Warranties

I was meditating early in the morning on the attributes of God.  One of those is immutability.  That has to do with the fact that God’s character does not change.  It’s sometimes stretched to the point where some claim that God can’t even have the flexibility to change His mind, which is non-biblical nonsense.  We know God changes his mind.  The Bible says so.

As I was thinking about this, I got to thinking about the chair I was sitting in made by La-Z-Boy.  The original La-Z-Boy I bought 40 years ago was an awesome piece of work.  It lasted seemingly forever and the warranty was honored without question.  I lived in that chair.  I am now on my third, and it may be my last because the quality has gone down seriously and the warranty is not near what it was on the first one.  Yes, they will still fix them, but it becomes a major issue.  In addition to that, the feature that I like the most with the extended legs is being phased out.

I thought of other products that I’ve bought in the past that had great warranties along with quality.  I don’t know if you’ve ever had a Tilly hat.  I loved them because I could wash them and get rid of the sweat smell.  They also replaced them for free if they wore out.  They were expensive but the warranty made it a great deal.  Then they changed the warranty.  Think of batteries that used to resist corroding and now they start developing that ash on them while they’re still in storage.  Think of things you used to eat that now have all kinds of weird additives that have changed the texture and taste.  My wife used to stop at Jack-in-the-Box for their tacos on a regular basis.  Then some brilliant mid-level executive decided to change the oil they cook things in.  Hasta la vista, Jack-in-the-Box.

God‘s warranties, however, never change.  His personality never changes.  His promises never go away.  I think investing my life in him was a wise decision.  I rejoice in the fact that he will never wear out and I won’t have to buy a second unit.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-374: Legal Incubation

I am currently still willing to be patient as I wait for the Trump administration to begin issuing indictments and making arrests.  I want them to build solid cases.  I want every “i” dotted and every “t” crossed.  I don’t want these sleaze bags to be able to squirm out on technicalities.  I understand that takes time.  They keep telling me that they need the time to put the cases together.  OK, I’m willing to trust because I believe that Trump’s team love America, believe in the rule of law, and are seeking justice.

On the other hand, I think there are plenty of bad actors who have have clearly broken the law and need to be processed.  I think of James Comey who gave testimony on public TV and admitted to passing on classified information to a news recorder.  I understand that that is illegal. If I did it I would be in jail.  I think it might even be a felony.  We have his open testimony before the entire country.  He may be guilty of many other things, but we already have enough to put him in jail while we continue to process the other issues.

I am willing to wait, but I hope the administration realizes that our patience is getting a bit tested.  Start with some low level people who have clear evidence that they are guilty.  Let some of your junior lawyers try the case.  Put the fear of God and Trump in these criminals and traitors.  The future depends upon you.  We Americans depend upon you.

May God bless you as you pursue the rule of law.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-373: The Rule of Law

In listening to a podcast of Socrates in the City with Eric Mataxas interviewing Konstantin Kisin, one of the points made was that an important foundation of western culture is the rule of law.  This does not exist in the historical cultures of anywhere else in the world.  The rule of law is firmly based in the Old Testament, where it talks about not showing partiality and treating strangers properly.  I don’t know that it’s anywhere in the New Testament in the same way however it’s not necessary to have it in the New Testament because it is anchored in the old.

More and more intellectuals like Kisin, Douglas Murray and Tom Holland are conceding that Western civilization was rooted in the values of the Bible and the liberties we take for granted will wither away as Christianity is pushed to the sidelines.  The problem is that they don’t think that what the Bible has to say about Jesus is important enough to embrace.  While I welcome their positive feedback I also know that it won’t stand the test of time as it is.

Western Culture did not become strong because of philosophical principles or moral standards.  Those were strong because the citizens of Europe embraced the conviction that Jesus is Lord and the Holy Spirit gave them the influence to mold a society with the rule of law, among other things.

What we need is revival not just admiring the obvious when the Muslims and the pagans are coming for your head.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-372: Here They Come Again

It is time to get your short term memory dusted off.  The control freaks of our culture are at it again.  They are gearing up to cripple your liberty with another Covid scare.

It is starting out of sight.  We have a lady from our church who fell and broke her hip.  The surgery was successful but they are keeping her in rehab.  Her husband was told that she would not be allowed to have visitors because Covid was back.  Unless you have a loved-one in one of these institutions you would not notice.

The press is starting to plant stories.  Will RFK, Jr. be able to head it off?  I don’t know.  He is one man in an organization out to sabotage his efforts.  Recently we got word that he had removed the vaccine from the regime for infants.  A wise and timely move since they were not in any danger from the virus and do have serious side effects from the vaccine.  

Get ready.  Start practicing.  Repeat after me, “No.”

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-371: Ode to Old: Broadway Joe

You know you’re getting old when you see Joe Namath advertising hearing aids instead of nylon stockings.  I remember from years ago where he posed wearing stockings.  I don’t know if he was actually advertising for them or what.  At that point he was supposed to be one of the sexy men of America and so I’m sure they were using sex to sell something.

Not so much anymore.  I never thought Namath was particularly good looking, but whatever he may have had has been lost in the process of time.  Now he looks like me.  Now he needs a hearing aid.  It will come to all of us eventually.

The icons of the past become the has beens of the present and the forgotten of the future.  Of course some of us never were, are not and never will be.  I am good with that.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-370: Virtual Residency

My wife is still living in California, at least in her head.  She lives here in the house with me, in Texas.  She gets in her car and drives around Texas on a regular basis.  She loves being in Texas.  She thanks God on a regular basis for being in Texas.  She tells me so.

At the same time her mind is still in California.  She seems to think that there is going to be some simple little fix that is going to keep the scorpions from getting in the house.  Good luck with that.  Of course it’s my fault.  I leave doors open, or at least that’s the story.  I don’t fix the door so they can’t crawl under.  I bring in things from outside.  However it happens the scorpions get inside.

And the Texas drivers are a sight to behold.  You behold them if you’re fortunate enough to get out of their way.  They have places to go and people to see.  One would think the revolution had started and they didn’t want to be late.

And then there are the blue cities.

Life is not perfect, even in Texas.  It will never be perfect.  If it were perfect, they would send us back to California.  It’s still good to be here.  I rejoice in it and adjust to what I have to.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-369: European Gluten

We are in a wave of gluten intolerance.  I am forced to accept that there is something to it.  The queston is, “Where did this come from?”  I don’t remember anything about it when I was a child.

I remember reading somewhere a comment by RFK, Jr.  He said that he was gluten intolerant until he started eating bread from Europe.  I think the inference was that American farmers spray something on the wheat that causes this problem.  If so it should be easy to research and find out.  Go to it Bobby.

I have a different question that is generated by the weird wires of my brain.  Whatever the American farmers are using it has a purpose.  Europe also grows wheat.  Europe has similar problems to the Americans.  What are they using to control the problem? 

My assumption is that what they use also has side effects.  We just are not hearing about them.  I asked myself what the side effects could be and came up with a suggestion:  It makes people stupid.  Consider how Europeans seem to be on board with socialism and governments that use term “democrat” while being authoritarian.  What would cause an entire continent to have their thinking processes dulled to the point that they would put up with the nonsense.  

Enter European gluten.  I suggest that whatever they are using is causing the masses of Europe to be naive and incapable of logical thought.  I wonder if the same substance is being sprayed in the blue cities of American causes them to continue to vote for Democrats in spite of the obvious results.

Something to think about.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-368: Would You Like a Little Definition with That?

We throw words around and I am as guilty of that as anyone else.  The word being misused that’s on my mind right now is “theology.”  We use it, and we should, but we don’t use it properly.  We tend to lump all study of spiritual truth under the title of theology.  That is not accurate.

Theology, as the Greek word tells us is the study of God.  The first part of the word, theos, literally means “god.”  The second part, ology, comes from the word “logos” which has many implications but here means “study of.”  It is not the only type of “ology.”

Believe it or not, I have books that breakdown of the different categories of theology and one of them is anthropology, the study of man.  Then you have soteriology, which I believe is the study of salvation.  Eschatology is the study of the end times.  The same type of division applies to secular studies.

We should start with the basics, which means start with the most important.  That means we should start with our study of God, theology.  Everything else will be built upon our understanding of that foundational knowledge.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-367: Explanations

I seem to have read that the marriage rate is dropping.  I know I keep hearing about how the birth rate is declining in the western world especially.  I would say that this is a result of the feminization of society.

Men have been realizing that their sex drive is not the main reason they want to be with women.  I know women keep explaining it that way about how men are animals and driven by their hormones.  But what men are realizing is that the deeper need for family, children, companionship and a partner in a relationship are more important than sex.  Women can give sex without commitment just as men can.  Men may grab that in the short term but in the long term it’s not enough.

I don’t want to reject the importance of the physical intimacy in a lifelong marriage but even affection and general physical contact is not the end game.  It should be noted that in the Bible sex is recognized and ecouraged in marriage but in Ephesians 5 Paul doesn’t even mention that as a key.  What does he say a man needs?

(Eph 5:33 NAS77) Nevertheless let each individual among you also love his own wife even as himself; and let the wife see to it that she respect her husband.

Most of this long section is about the duties of men to their wives but respect is the only thing a woman is required to give.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-366: Take a Number

In our Wednesday night Bible study discussion somebody brought up how glorious it will be to sit at the feet of Jesus and have our questions answered.  It’s a beautiful picture but the rabbit trails of my mind just keep branching off and going in all kinds of directions.  One question I have about that picture is how the millions, possibly billions, of believers who make it to heaven are going to have one-on-one conferences with Jesus of any significance.  I’ll let you do the math.  If you give each one a minute, how long would it take to work through just the first round of questions?

There are many possible answers.  The most obvious one works in the context of the divine nature.  I don’t think there are going to be a billion Jesus’s talking at the same time to everyone who has a question.  In the dynamic of eternity, it’s going to express itself in ways that we can’t understand.  So my first answer is, we can’t understand.

Another thing that occurs to me is that in eternity with our resurrected minds and bodies we are going to look at things entirely different.  We are going to understand things that we couldn’t understand before.  We’re going to see connections that were so tenuous and convoluted that we never could’ve figured them out.  So part of the answer is possibly in our greatly increased capacity, we will see the answers and won’t need to bother Jesus.

Another answer is that we may forget about them.  Things that are big concerns for us now may not be a big concern for us then.  Picture the unending questions your five year old asked you about everything that popped into his mind like “Why do I have five fingers instead of six?”

It may be as we are waiting for our turn, that an angel will just casually walk in and sit down by us, open a magazine, and eventually engage us in conversation.  In that conversation, we will share why we were there, and the Angel will share with us the answer to our question and we will realize that we don’t need to bother Jesus.

Use your imagination.  I don’t know that it says anywhere that we’re going to be able to sit down and ask all the questions.  I think that’s one of the dreams that we have.  All I can really know is that it is going to be a time of great joy and fulfillment, whether I have questions or not, and whether I get answers or not.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-365: Firsts: Double the Pleasure

I caught a hint of motion out of the corner of my eye.  Often I ignore such things because of all the floaters I have crying out for attention.  This time I looked out the window and saw a fox carefully making its way across the yard.  He seemed frustrated because I had mowed what we hopefully call a lawn so he could not hide in the tall weeds.

What was even more pleasant was that he was followed by what I assume is a she.  Two foxes visible at one time.  This is the first time I have seen that.  Since we don’t raise chickens and our cat usually knows when to hide, I was not worried about the potential down side.  Next time I want to see a bunch of little ones trailing after.

I can hope.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-364: On the Road: Claim to Fame

One of the landmarks in our area is called the Moe Schwab Recycling Center.  I have noticed this repeatedly as I drive.  It has a sign on the road that looks like it official government issue.

I have no idea who Moe Schwab is or was.  I found his obituary and all I could glean from it was that he was an iconic member of our community.

I guess it is always good to have something named after you.

RIP

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-363: The Original OCD

Does God personally maintain every electron in the entire universe in orbit around its nucleus?  Is the nature of all of these principles of physics such that if God did not constantly monitor them they would go bonkers?  Of course, He does this in His spare time, which just tells us how infinite God is in His abilities and His wisdom.  The question I guess is, does God constantly hold things in place or has He set up the principles of physics and what we might call the laws of nature so that things can run on their own?

I wonder about just allowing the atoms to do their own thing.  Picture taking a rock and rolling it down the side of the hill.  If it were possible, and I know it’s not, to roll identical rocks, down identical hills, I still can’t picture those rocks ending up in the same place at the bottom of the hill.  I can’t picture them even being close to each other.  That would be a random universe where God did not keep an eye on things.  I can’t picture the untold billions of atoms each one deciding to bounce its own way instead of following the path it was given.

I was listening to a conversation between Jordan Peterson and a podcaster named Matt Fradd, and Peterson commented on how one of the newest discoveries about life is that the essential factors in our development are self repairing.  I believe his point was that mutation is almost impossible, because the core cells, DNA, genes, whatever it is that he was referring to, have a built-in capacity to repair themselves back to their optimal state when something causes them to mutate.  Is that a random law of the universe or is it the active hand of God?

Everything we learn scientifically seems to point toward a designer.  You and I probably know who that designer is.  I think it’s pretty obvious.  That doesn’t give the details of the God of the Bible, but it certainly rules out the accidental development of the universe.  Keep in mind, one of the great hidden secrets of the debate between creation and evolution is that there is not enough time for evolution to have taken place.  No matter how far back the scientist have moved the beginning, they can add as many billions they want, there just is not enough time for this to have developed accidentally.

Keep in mind that if you believe that all of this could develop accidentally then that also means that the law of gravity could cease to work tomorrow, you know, accidentally.  Keep your feet on the ground.  Look up.  Wonder.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-362: The Guitar Fallacy

Somewhere in my copious bits of notepaper I have a list of games that people play.  It’s based on what I’ve experience with my family.  I have a new one to add if I can find the list.  I’m calling it The Guitar Fallacy.

This goes back to my days of working with young people.  This Fallacy bit me at church summer camp.  A young campter came up to me and asked me if I knew how to play a certain song on the guitar.  Not only did I not know how to play it, I don’t think I’d ever heard of it.  He got a look of total disgust on his face and said, “I thought you knew how to play guitar.”  Keep in mind that I was one of the ones leading the nightly singing with my guitar and playing numerous songs strictly from memory.  Because I didn’t know the one song he knew or wanted to know, I didn’t know how to play guitar.

I run into this on a regular basis now.  People will ask me, “Did you hear about…?”  And since I was not listening to their You Tube feed, I have no idea what they’re talking about.  Then they look at me as if I am totally out of contact with the world.  When I figure out what they’re talking about, I may have heard about it.  In fact, I may know more than they know, but I didn’t know about it with the vocabulary choices that they were using to express it.  Other times what they’re telling me I find out about later and it’s pretty much a bunch of nonsense.  I am the one who is ignorant because I do not know what they know.  I get this about weather forecast.  I get this about Politics.  And of course there is all the advice about our health.  It’s fairly common.

So don’t get too excited about experts who come to you and tell you some great insight, or a bit of knowledge that you’ve never heard of before.  There’s a good chance that they weren’t listening very closely when they heard it.  There’s a good chance that if they were listening closely, they didn’t understand what they were hearing.  And there’s a good chance that wherever they heard it, the Clickbait was lying to them.

Be leery of The Guitar Fallacy.  Just because you don’t know their song doesn’t mean you don’t know how to play the guitar.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-361: Monday Pulpit: Just a Passing Fad?

I am often agitated by the way in which people interpret the Bible to reinforce the ideas they came loaded with.  It also makes me wonder how often I do the same thing.

My current radar blip is a reference to the passage in Mark 16 that might have been left out of your modern translation or at least put in brackets.  It contains some really strange ideas as well as standard truths.

Our pastor was commenting on it for some reason.  I don’t remember it having anything to do with whatever topic we were on.  He made two mutually exclusive statements.  The first was a response to this.

(Mar 16:17 KJV)  And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

He said that these signs were only for the disciples.  They do not apply any more.  He says this because his theological system must put the power gifts in a category that has passed away.

For some reason he was okay with the next verse,

(Mar 16:18 KJV)  They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

I cannot understand why one is no longer in effect but the other is in force.  There is no note in the text that says one applies and the other doesn’t.

It would seem to me that they are either both still in operation or they are both no longer in effect.

But that is just me.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-260: Firsts: It’s Alive

One of the great joys of living in Texas hill country is the abundance of wildlife.  Of course that’s not such a good thing when a deer runs out in front of your car but it’s nice when they’re in your yard eating your weeds.  Roadkill is a reality.  Road runners are also around us.

This week I saw my first living armadillo.  Generally, we just see them as dead by the side of the road.  I’ve been here eight years now and this is the first one that I’ve actually seen alive.  I almost didn’t see it.  The car in front of me slammed on his brakes and managed to miss the animal.  That’s one reason I got to see it scampering off to the side.  The second reason is I was alert enough to sit my brakes and not run into the guy that stopped in front of me.

I guess you could call that a double blessing.

homo unius libri 

Opus 2025-259: Who Has the Baton?

Have you ever found yourself lecturing God?  Some people only do it when they’re angry and they’re yelling, “Why?”  I find myself going off on these long speeches where no one is listening.  I have some great things to say.  One of the problems is I can’t remember what they were.  Another problem is nobody cares but me.  But I do have a lot of good things to say.

Sometimes I find myself lecturing God on how things should be or what a particular verse means or something like that and I will suddenly get this tap on the shoulder.  It’s God.  He looks at me with that look He has and ask me am I preaching to the choir again?  I guess I was.  That would be bad enough if there was a choir, but there isn’t.  There’s only a choir Director and me.  I am not the Director.  That is God’s role.  I guess that means that I am either in the choir or the entire choir.

Either way I need to be listening to the choir Director and following his baton.  He establishes the rhythm.  He establishes the tempo.  He is the one who sets the volume.  My job is to take the gifts that I have and join them in the celestial chorus.

I need to remember who has the baton.

homo unius libri

Opus 2025-358: Spiritual GMO

God looks at us and sees our hearts.  When the Holy Spirit moved upon us, when the blood of Jesus washes us, there is a change that takes place.  I think most believers accept that, but I’m not sure that we understand how deep this goes.

The thought came to my mind of scientists reaching down into the DNA of plants and tweaking the code in the DNA.  In the process they come up with new plants and new varieties.  They are playing God.  They really don’t know what the results are going to be.  The scary thing about this is that they could release upon the world a new variety that might destroy a food crop that we depend on or do something else with the environment.

I think about God, who knows what He’s doing, reaching down deep into your spiritual DNA, whatever that might be.  Picture Him making little tweaks that would set up a whole new chain of developments in your future being.  It might start sequences in your spiritual growth that you would have never even dreamed possible.  God has that ability.  And I think that God does that.  This is part of the sanctifying process.  This is God actively turning us into what He wants us to be.

The future is going to be awesome for each of us as we grow in grace.

homo unius libri